Author: Violette Poète

Summary : Christmas is a time you spend with your family… or warning a hero about two guys wanting to kill him. (Set during 2x09 Running to stand still)

Christmas visit

He will warn Barry (the Flash- he corrected himself) and that is all. Leonard didn't plan on helping Mardon and Jesse. After all, he valued his freedom and going after Barry (the Flash...) wasn't a good idea if he wanted to stay out of jail. Plus, he didn't forget that Team Flash managed to save his sister and although he is glad she's okay, he is also pissed that he kinda owes them.

Worst of all he owes Barry. Because it's Barry, not the Flash who acted out in front of Lewis. Without his mask. Did he even realize how dangerous that could have been? But no, he had to come and be the hero. The idiot.

Ever since he discovered the Flash's identity, he had more and more trouble seeing him as a true opponent. They even had a deal. He was really amused when he discovered that Barry Allen was a forensic scientist for the police. A good guy to the core. Worse, a guy that believed the best of people. Barry Allen was a naïve idiot do-gooder and in Leonard Snart's world, there weren't many of those.

Breaking into the West's house was easier than Len had thought, considering it was the home of a cop and a hero. He kept quiet in front of the door listening for noises but no one was here. Curiosity, for once, took the better of him and he couldn't help but look around. He started upstairs.

The first room was Joe West's, he assumed. On a chest of drawers there was a picture of him with two smiling teenagers and one of them was Barry. The kid had a childhood almost as bad as his. The saying was "Know your enemy" and Cold had done his research. His mother dead, his father in jail, he had the chance to be adopted by the supercop superdad Joe West. Oddly enough, thinking about this chance Barry Allen had did not make him angry. Had he been honest (and God, he hated that), he would have admitted that the kid deserved it. Leonard didn't. Even before becoming Captain Cold. Lisa deserved it, but he never did.

The second room seemed vacant, but there was an old poster of a boys band on the wall and he smiled, amused. Probably the old room of the other teenager in the picture in West's room, Iris. Leonard had read her blog when he first wondered about the Flash, before knowing she was the hero's adopted sister. He also read some other articles of hers in the newspaper, but clearly no one thought she could handle a great story. She sure proved them wrong. He took a step back and closed the door behind him. Call him a gentleman but he wasn't going to poke around in a girl's room without a good reason.

The third door was the bathroom's, the fourth was Barry's. It was neat, quiet and cozy. Somehow, Leonard had expected it to be a big mess. Maybe because the kid looked so rushed all the time… There was the sound of a car slowing down and Snart froze, listening. The car drove off, but Cold decided to go downstairs. Breaking into Barry's home was one thing, searching his room was an other.

They had a nice home, he realized. Nice and warm and very far away from anything he ever had. When he thinks about home, he thinks about the safehouse he shares with Lisa. It's not very comfortable or nice, but he quite likes it. It was all the home he needed: sure and secret. Barry's home wasn't that, it was as friendly as the guy himself. Friendly even to him.

He started to poke around in the kitchen and found a stash of chocolate. Was it supposed to be hidden? If so, they were almost as bad at hiding it as his sister. It was a good brand and he started to get bored. Maybe it would break the persona he created but he really wanted a hot cocoa. He waited a few more seconds but knew he was still alone. He put his gun down, took the milk out of the fridge. It only took him a few minutes to make the hot beverage and he considered doing his dishes before thinking that, after all, it wasn't his home. He tried to find where they could have put the marshmallows, but couldn't find it. Leonard sighed. What was a hot cocoa without marshmallows?

He grabbed a mug and smirked in front of a " #1 Dad" mug. He filled the cup and went back to the living-room. He sat down in a chair, his gun by his side and waited.

He had almost finished his beverage when he heard voices echoing outside. Finally. He never liked waiting and sitting down in the West's house made him realize he wanted to go home.

Barry is pissed and Cold expected no less. And if he is angry at him, maybe he won't ask him to help. But Leonard understood quickly that he was mistaken and he's willing to let the kid have a go. Fine. Try to convince me. See if I care… Leonard Snart is no hero and he doesn't help heroes. The Flash's last remark got to him, though. He tried not to show it, wished Barry a merry Christmas, and got out of there.

It was true, he had to admit. He didn't do a very good job at being a villain lately. Maybe because he always felt more like a thief. Sure, he has ways that can be seen as… reprehensible to say the least. But he never hurt people for fun. He always needed a reason and often, a very good one. Still, it was the first time he warned a hero that two people wanted to kill him…

Life was sure easier when he hadn't met the Flash, when he wasn't Captain Cold. "Easier", though, was not something he sought, but "interesting". And things were definitely more interesting these days…

He got home quickly after that and waved at the security camera. Lisa was beneath the door, waiting for him, her arms crossed, but a smile on her face.

-How dare you get out of jail without my help?

She hugged him quickly and he hugged her back.

-Sorry, Sis. An opportunity presented itself.

-Do I even want to know?

-Probably not.

Leonard Snart wasn't a man who smiled very much. He smirked, was sarcastic and made a few jokes, but he didn't smile very often. However, when Lisa sighed and then managed to ask if he at least brought her a present, he couldn't help but smile.

...The End...