[ Oh no, what a loss that would have been. He's going to cry a whole river. But... the news is shocking. Cisco tends to think of this place as... not safe, exactly, but no more dangerous than Central City had been. ]
[ He had told her not to. He had made her promise. But that doesn't matter, now. What matters is making sure any reprisals come at him and not at her ]
it's not her fault. if you wanna blame someone, blame me. just leave her alone okay? she's just a confused fucked up kid.
[ Yeah, Cisco's blaming himself pretty hard right now, too. Less out of any sort of attachment to Snart and more for the fact that Arya is in danger now, and could have gotten herself killed, and even if she had succeeded, she would have killed someone, and he knows how bad that would be for her, psychologically. How bad it has been for her in the past. ]
and mick's not gonna get it in his mind to go after her on his own or anything, right?
[ He thinks about letting it be, not trying to justify himself, but the guilt in his stomach is like a living thing, growing larger and larger. And he shouldn't care what someone like Snart thinks about him, but he can't just leave it like that. He can't ]
you're probably not gonna believe me or give a shit but i was just trying to keep her safe. i told her what you and mick did because i wanted her to know you were dangerous in case either of you got ideas about using people i care about as leverage again. i wanted her to know she should run in the opposite direction if she ever saw you. but not this. if i'd known she would do this i would've never mentioned your goddamn name. for her sake.
[ A moment later: ]
you already made me an accessory to murder the first time you killed someone with that cold gun. i know plenty about how it feels.
Admit it, Cisco. You didn't tell her to do it, but you want me dead as much as she does. Do you really think she came up with that all by herself? Kids are funny like that, they pick up on the little things while us adults pretend like we don't see them.
You wanted to take out the trash, but you're too afraid to get your hands dirty.
actually, i don't want you dead. if i did, you would be. and i wouldn't care about how dirty my hands got doing it.
i know you probably like to think you're the biggest baddest villain who's ever come at me but i hate to break it to you - you're not. if i was gonna go all kill bill on people who've wronged me you wouldn't even be close to the top of the list.
[ He thinks about how much he should tell Snart - whether explaining Arya's background will put her in more or less danger. Cisco thinks of Lisa. Sometimes, in some ways, Arya reminds him of her. So he's honest. ]
she didn't come up with it all by herself but she sure as hell didn't have help from me. for that you can thank the sick fucks in her world who thought it would be fun to take in an orphaned kid and brainwash her into being an assassin for their creepy death cult.
i would NEVER want her to have to kill someone ever again. she deserves better than that.
[ He's been texting Ray at the same time, and there's something he doesn't want to say. Something he has to say. But it's awful, typing it out, and he hesitates a long time before hitting send. ]
[ There's a pause. Enough time for him to read and process what Cisco wrote. ]
I didn't do it for you. Whatever happened to that kid to make her that way, she never had a chance.
She deserves one.
[ The same chance he wishes he could have given to his sister. The same chance he'd wished for when he was her age, and it was already too late for Mick. ]
[ That is... unexpectedly free of snark or cold-heartedness, coming from Snart. He'd expected a comment about Arya being psycho or needing to get with the real world. ]
doesn't matter who you did it for. you did it.
she does.
[ That's a very strange feeling - agreeing with Snart. Being glad for a choice Snart made. Time to change the subject a little before he has to think about it. ]
rory made it sound like you guys think i've been talking shit about you to everyone, but he's wrong. i've only told three people about the thing with my brother - ray, eddie, and arya.
[ He hadn't even really told Arya all that much. Just that they'd gotten hurt. Though really, it's not like Snart had exactly kept a low profile, posting a picture of himself by an unconscious guy. For all Cisco knows, Arya would've marked him out as someone she needed to take down when she saw that, regardless of anything he said. But it does no good to speculate. ]
Yeah, about the thing with your brother. What about everything else? You'd think I came with a warning label.
Newsflash: I'm out of your league now. I've got bigger and better things to do than harass you or your Scooby gang. This place is just a detour.
Didn't even know that Eddie guy was one of yours, but I wasn't about to let that cop think he could get away with locking me up and throwing away the key Guantanamo-style. So I gave him a taste of his own medicine. He got a bump on the head, I got a broken arm. I'd say we're square.
[ Cisco takes a moment to think about whether he's mentioned Snart to anyone else. There's Harry of course, but Cisco knows that he isn't going to start shit. Almost certainly. And otherwise... ]
that only adds one name to the list. girl named rey.
[ He sure as hell isn't going to mention the fact that he'd only come up because Cisco had been scavenging copper to make heating ribbons he could install in things should Snart decide to go freeze-happy. Cisco's gonna keep that one close to his chest, thanks. But... it does bring up the problem of whether Rey is a ticking time bomb that might set off the delicate situation again. ]
i'll talk to her. make it crystal clear she shouldn't get involved.
[ Bringing up what he'd done to Eddie isn't exactly the best way to not piss Cisco off, but he fights that reflexive anger. Eddie is alright now. And as much as he hates to admit it, at least half of the blame for how badly that all went doesn't rest on Snart. It was this stupid maze of a place that had kept anyone from finding that cell for so long. And it was Eobard who had done the initial damage which made it so being locked up for any amount of time was unusually awful for Eddie.
In his initial blinding rage when all that was happening, he'd thought it was because Snart found out about him and Eddie. That it was an attack meant for him. But he knows better, now. They'd had their own beef to settle, and Cisco wasn't a part of it.
Snart had kept his promise with Barry, in Central City, not to kill anyone. He'd gone back on his word about helping them transport the Rogues, but he'd kept that other promise. One out of two isn't the worst of records, all things told. ]
if you swear to me that you're not going to hurt anyone... that no one else is gonna get 'roughed up' or kidnapped or tortured or killed... then i can promise not to tell anyone you're dangerous. same goes for rory.
[ How much, he wonders, had all his warnings about Snart been a way of dealing with the fact that he can't warn anyone about the much, much bigger threat living amongst them. Can't do it because of an agreement just like this one. ]
but i'm not gonna lie about anything if people ask.
I'm not going to stop fighting or stealing. That's asking a leopard to change its spots, and I like my spots. If someone starts something with me I have a right to finish it. Same as anyone. You're not going to declaw me. Why should I be left defenseless when no one else is?
[ He knows it's for the best, but making any kind of deal with Snart just makes Cisco feel a little queasy. The only chance of Snart honoring it is if he thinks it's in his best interest. And considering how badly thing seem to keep going for Snart in this place, it's reasonably likely that he does think that, for now. But making this deal doesn't mean Cisco is going to stop preparing to be ready for the day when Snart decides to change his mind. ]
deal.
[ He can't just leave it there, has to say something else. ]
but if someone comes at you in the future, don't just assume it's cuz of me. as long as you keep up your end of the bargain, it won't be.
[ And that should be it. He should really leave it. He shouldn't- ]
and why would you even bother stealing shit from people here when there is no money anyway like what's the point
Haters come with the territory. I'd say it's lonely at the top, but I like my space.
Why does anyone steal anything? Because it's fun. I need more money like I need another hole in the kidney.
Kid's got talent, I'll give her that. Didn't even see her coming and she nearly got me in one shot. Stabbed and twisted like a pro. Broke a thirty year no-shank record.
[ Ugh, whatever. Cisco can't actually muster a shit to give whether or not Snart likes stealing things for fun. Oh, he thinks it's stupid, and there are about ten million better ways to have fun than that, but if there aren't any casualties, what does he care if Snart takes a diamond from a museum or an ugly painting from some spoiled rich assholes? ]
she's had to be.
[ And he's not telling Snart any more than that; it's not Cisco's story to tell, and he's probably already said more than Arya would want him to. But of all Arya's talents and qualities that Snart could admire, this is the worst one. Killing was a skill that had been forced upon her, and Cisco knows much much the blood on her hands haunts her. ]
For the record, I'm not holding anything against the kid. I've been where she is and I know where she's going.
People feel sorry for her now. It's heartbreaking when they're young and cute. They'll try to fix her, but she'll never be who they want her to be. Then she'll hit eighteen, twenty, thirty- not so cute. Then it won't matter where she came from or why she is the way she is, no one wants to hear it. You can't fix what's broke, right?
She'll be just another number in the system like the rest of us, and all anyone will care about is locking her away for as long as they can, and how many tax dollars it'll take to do it.
[ He could correct Snart - that he's not been where she has, not exactly. That the assumptions he's making about Arya's world - that there's no sympathy for friendless children, no justice system organized enough for numbers, none of the things he's taking for granted. But Cisco knows Snart's talking more about himself than about Arya. He doesn't want to feel sorry for him, but it's a pretty pathetic trajectory he's mapped out. And if all those assumptions are making Snart sympathize with her, not blame her, then he isn't going to disrupt that. ]
she doesn't have to go that way.
she's such a smart kid, she's got so much potential, but all anyone in her world cared about what how they could use her.
[ Cisco doesn't get it. He'll never get it. His experience is so different from theirs he might as well be a different species.
Leonard doesn't sympathize with Arya. He empathizes. She's safer from him than anyone but Mick will ever know. Some part of him still wants to reach out to the girl like he'd tried to reach out to himself. Failed to reach out to himself. ]
Maybe not. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Either way, there's always room for another Rogue.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
just what the hell is going on, snart? your partner's not giving me a lotta straight answers.
no subject
Thanks for that, by the way. You're a real pal.
no subject
you almost died? how come?
and how the hell is it my fault?
no subject
Because you shot your mouth off to a damaged little girl with a sword, and she thought she'd be doing the world a favour by stabbing me with it.
1/2
is she okay?
2/2
it's not her fault.
if you wanna blame someone, blame me.
just leave her alone okay?
she's just a confused fucked up kid.
no subject
Why would I blame her? Like you said, she's just a confused fucked up kid.
I blame you. You were the one she was trying to protect and she was willing to die to take me out.
How do you feel about being an accessory to murder, Cisco? I bet Barry would be proud.
no subject
and mick's not gonna get it in his mind to go after her on his own or anything, right?
[ He thinks about letting it be, not trying to justify himself, but the guilt in his stomach is like a living thing, growing larger and larger. And he shouldn't care what someone like Snart thinks about him, but he can't just leave it like that. He can't ]
you're probably not gonna believe me or give a shit but i was just trying to keep her safe. i told her what you and mick did because i wanted her to know you were dangerous in case either of you got ideas about using people i care about as leverage again. i wanted her to know she should run in the opposite direction if she ever saw you. but not this. if i'd known she would do this i would've never mentioned your goddamn name. for her sake.
[ A moment later: ]
you already made me an accessory to murder the first time you killed someone with that cold gun. i know plenty about how it feels.
1/2
2/2
You wanted to take out the trash, but you're too afraid to get your hands dirty.
At least the girl has guts.
no subject
i know you probably like to think you're the biggest baddest villain who's ever come at me but i hate to break it to you - you're not. if i was gonna go all kill bill on people who've wronged me you wouldn't even be close to the top of the list.
[ He thinks about how much he should tell Snart - whether explaining Arya's background will put her in more or less danger. Cisco thinks of Lisa. Sometimes, in some ways, Arya reminds him of her. So he's honest. ]
she didn't come up with it all by herself but she sure as hell didn't have help from me. for that you can thank the sick fucks in her world who thought it would be fun to take in an orphaned kid and brainwash her into being an assassin for their creepy death cult.
i would NEVER want her to have to kill someone ever again. she deserves better than that.
[ He's been texting Ray at the same time, and there's something he doesn't want to say. Something he has to say. But it's awful, typing it out, and he hesitates a long time before hitting send. ]
i might not've meant to make this mess but i did.
i owe you one for not letting mick hurt her.
[ Does he have to?????? ]
thank you for that.
no subject
I didn't do it for you. Whatever happened to that kid to make her that way, she never had a chance.
She deserves one.
[ The same chance he wishes he could have given to his sister. The same chance he'd wished for when he was her age, and it was already too late for Mick. ]
no subject
doesn't matter who you did it for. you did it.
she does.
[ That's a very strange feeling - agreeing with Snart. Being glad for a choice Snart made. Time to change the subject a little before he has to think about it. ]
rory made it sound like you guys think i've been talking shit about you to everyone, but he's wrong. i've only told three people about the thing with my brother - ray, eddie, and arya.
[ He hadn't even really told Arya all that much. Just that they'd gotten hurt. Though really, it's not like Snart had exactly kept a low profile, posting a picture of himself by an unconscious guy. For all Cisco knows, Arya would've marked him out as someone she needed to take down when she saw that, regardless of anything he said. But it does no good to speculate. ]
that's it. no one else. just so we're clear.
no subject
Newsflash: I'm out of your league now. I've got bigger and better things to do than harass you or your Scooby gang. This place is just a detour.
Didn't even know that Eddie guy was one of yours, but I wasn't about to let that cop think he could get away with locking me up and throwing away the key Guantanamo-style. So I gave him a taste of his own medicine. He got a bump on the head, I got a broken arm. I'd say we're square.
no subject
that only adds one name to the list. girl named rey.
[ He sure as hell isn't going to mention the fact that he'd only come up because Cisco had been scavenging copper to make heating ribbons he could install in things should Snart decide to go freeze-happy. Cisco's gonna keep that one close to his chest, thanks. But... it does bring up the problem of whether Rey is a ticking time bomb that might set off the delicate situation again. ]
i'll talk to her. make it crystal clear she shouldn't get involved.
[ Bringing up what he'd done to Eddie isn't exactly the best way to not piss Cisco off, but he fights that reflexive anger. Eddie is alright now. And as much as he hates to admit it, at least half of the blame for how badly that all went doesn't rest on Snart. It was this stupid maze of a place that had kept anyone from finding that cell for so long. And it was Eobard who had done the initial damage which made it so being locked up for any amount of time was unusually awful for Eddie.
In his initial blinding rage when all that was happening, he'd thought it was because Snart found out about him and Eddie. That it was an attack meant for him. But he knows better, now. They'd had their own beef to settle, and Cisco wasn't a part of it.
Snart had kept his promise with Barry, in Central City, not to kill anyone. He'd gone back on his word about helping them transport the Rogues, but he'd kept that other promise. One out of two isn't the worst of records, all things told. ]
if you swear to me that you're not going to hurt anyone... that no one else is gonna get 'roughed up' or kidnapped or tortured or killed... then i can promise not to tell anyone you're dangerous. same goes for rory.
[ How much, he wonders, had all his warnings about Snart been a way of dealing with the fact that he can't warn anyone about the much, much bigger threat living amongst them. Can't do it because of an agreement just like this one. ]
but i'm not gonna lie about anything if people ask.
no subject
-No kidnapping.
-No torture.
-No killing. Self defense excluded.
I'm not going to stop fighting or stealing. That's asking a leopard to change its spots, and I like my spots. If someone starts something with me I have a right to finish it. Same as anyone. You're not going to declaw me. Why should I be left defenseless when no one else is?
What goes for me goes for Mick too.
Keep your trap shut and we're in business.
no subject
deal.
[ He can't just leave it there, has to say something else. ]
but if someone comes at you in the future, don't just assume it's cuz of me. as long as you keep up your end of the bargain, it won't be.
[ And that should be it. He should really leave it. He shouldn't- ]
and why would you even bother stealing shit from people here when there is no money anyway like what's the point
no subject
Why does anyone steal anything? Because it's fun. I need more money like I need another hole in the kidney.
Kid's got talent, I'll give her that. Didn't even see her coming and she nearly got me in one shot. Stabbed and twisted like a pro. Broke a thirty year no-shank record.
no subject
she's had to be.
[ And he's not telling Snart any more than that; it's not Cisco's story to tell, and he's probably already said more than Arya would want him to. But of all Arya's talents and qualities that Snart could admire, this is the worst one. Killing was a skill that had been forced upon her, and Cisco knows much much the blood on her hands haunts her. ]
no subject
People feel sorry for her now. It's heartbreaking when they're young and cute. They'll try to fix her, but she'll never be who they want her to be. Then she'll hit eighteen, twenty, thirty- not so cute. Then it won't matter where she came from or why she is the way she is, no one wants to hear it. You can't fix what's broke, right?
She'll be just another number in the system like the rest of us, and all anyone will care about is locking her away for as long as they can, and how many tax dollars it'll take to do it.
Food for thought. Best served cold.
no subject
she doesn't have to go that way.
she's such a smart kid, she's got so much potential, but all anyone in her world cared about what how they could use her.
no subject
Leonard doesn't sympathize with Arya. He empathizes. She's safer from him than anyone but Mick will ever know. Some part of him still wants to reach out to the girl like he'd tried to reach out to himself. Failed to reach out to himself. ]
Maybe not. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Either way, there's always room for another Rogue.