In the animated fairy tale world of Central Kingdom, Eobard Thawne, an evil sorcerer, schemes to protect his claim to the throne, which he will lose once his godson, Prince Barry, finds his true love and marries.
Eobard intercepts Barry on his way to his wedding with Sir Raymond of the Palms and pushes him into a well, where he is magically transformed into a live-action version of himself and transported to Central City in the real world, a place where there are no "happily ever afters." Barry, frightened and confused, quickly becomes lost and homeless.
Enter Leonard Snart, a reformed thief who does not believe in true love or happily-ever-after and only cares about being a good caretaker for his 6-year-old half-sister Lisa, which he's had to start raising himself (with the help of his best friend and on-and-off boyfriend Mick) after their dad went to jail. Len and Lisa encounter Barry on their way home, and Len begrudgingly allows Barry to stay the night in their apartment at the insistence of Lisa, who believes Barry is a fairy tale prince...
Moodboard: Being in a relationship with a proudly ND (autistic and ADHD) speedster has given Len context for his own way of thinking. It’s also given him a new appreciation for little displays of care, like reminding each other to eat if hyperfocus extends into mealtime, or sharing good stim after a difficult day
@a-redharlequin For your autistic-and-ADHD Barry headcanon!
(Moodboard image description and image sources behind the "Keep reading” at the bottom of this post.)
Silver in the Cold (1769 words) by Thette / @bold-sartorial-statement for @peppersandcats
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Flash (TV 2014), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart
Characters: Barry Allen, Leonard Snart, Sara Lance
Additional Tags: hints of sara lance/iris west, hints of ray palmer/mick rory, Illustrations, Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Golden Age Hollywood, Stalking, iris stalks len to find out more about him, No Smut, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Movie Star, Implied/Referenced Prostitution, Flirting, alternate universe - joe did not raise barry, Gay Barry Allen, Gay Leonard Snart, implied/referenced period typical racism, implied/referenced hays code homophobia
Summary:
Len hated publicity, but it was a part of the contract. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried for his best character smirk, before turning to the fan beside him.
"Barry, was it?" Len extended his hand, and Barry shook it, a bit too vigorously. He also didn't let go after the customary shakes, which was interesting. Len stroked Barry's pulse point with his index and middle finger, feeling the heartbeat speed up and watching Barry's eyes go wide.
Green. No, hazel. His eyes were a beautiful hazel, with brown specks around the dilating pupils.
Len let his eyes travel from Barry's face, down his body and up again. That face was now blushing a lovely scarlet. He still hadn't said a word, or made a move to let go. Len tilted his head, waiting. It took Barry five seconds to react.
"Yes! Yes, I'm Barry. Barry Allen. I've been looking forward to meeting you, Mr Snart."
"Always nice to meet a fan," Len said, letting go of Barry's hand, and dragging his fingertips across his palm. "And please, call me Len. We're going to spend a lot of time together today."
(In which Leonard Snart plays the villain on the silver screen, and Barry Allen is the lucky fan who wins a day on set.)
Notes: Written for the Coldflash Bingo Collection, for the prompt “Movie Star AU.”
(Image description: a bingo card, with black crosses over three squares, and a red cross over the square “Movie Star AU.” End image description.)
Warnings: Takes place in the mid-1930ies. Minor reference to period typical racism, where Joe was not allowed to raise Barry. Len refers to Barry as an "invert," which is period typical and was used both derogatory and as an intra-community term. Reference to period typical homophobia, in the form of the Hays code. Minor reference to Barry's history of survival prostitution.
Image credit and description: All images are in black and white, with moderate blur and desaturation. Top row: Cropped screenshot from Infantino Street (The Flash 3x22), a closeup of Leonard Snart's smirking face in three quarter profile to the right. The shot is from behind Barry Allen's shoulders, and his silhouette is to the left in the picture. They're standing very close. Image source: Home of the Nutty
Second row, left: Photo of a pile of handwritten letters, overlaid with the text "Always nice to meet a fan" in white letters with black borders. Image source: Photo by Ylanite Koppens, public domain
Second row, middle: Vintage Victorian style film slide camera engraving. Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel, CC BY 2.0
Second row, right: Photo of Wentworth Miller from the chest up, in three quarter profile, in the middle of the picture. He looks slightly surprised, with a mostly neutral facial expression. He is wearing glasses, a white shirt and a waistcoat. To his right, behind him, is a man in a suit, partially depicted. To his left is a woman, depicted from the back. She stretches her arm behind Wentworth Miller, touching up the other man's makeup. Image source: Cropped photo from the set of The Loft (2014), unknown photographer
Third and fourth row, left: Photo of Grant Gustin from the waist up, in front view, slightly right of center. He has a neutral and slightly bored expression. He is wearing a light-colored suit, a white shirt and a dark tie. The background is a neutral color. Image source: Cropped photo from Tyler Shield's photoshoot of Grant Gustin and Danielle Panabaker
Third row, middle and right: Cropped photo of part of the Coca Cola filmstrip "Black Treasures." (1969). The filmstrip is rolled up. Overlaid is the fic title "Silver in the Cold" in white letters with black borders. Image source: Photo by Bart Everson, CC BY 2.0
Fourth row, middle: Text in white with black borders on a plain gray background, "I can be gay as long as I die in the end---I'm a villain, you know."
Fourth row, right: Cropped photo of two men kissing. The photo is in profile, and the men are depicted from the waist to the chin. To the left is a relatively muscular man in a dark suit, white shirt and tie. To the right is a slim man, slightly shorter, wearing a light colored suit. The taller man holds his arms around the shorter man's waist, and the shorter man holds on to the taller man's right arm. Image source: Vintage photography, unknown photographer, cirka 1920-1940, (fourth picture from the bottom)
Journalist and LGBTQ+ rights activist Barry Allen reunites with his childhood crush, Leonard Snart, now one of the most influential men in the country. As he prepares to run for president, Len impulsively hires Barry as his speechwriter, going against the advice of his advisors. A fish-out-of-water on Len's campaign team, Barry encourages him to show active support for LGBTQ+ causes, even though Len himself is still in the closet and worries that he needs to tread lightly. As the two get to know each other better, sparks fly and they start to get close, despite concerns that the public will never accept them as a couple. But when his enemies get a hold of a very compromising tape, Len is forced to choose between his relationship and his political ambitions...
Coldflash Is a Romantic Comedy ▶ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
After two and a half years, the Flash and Captain Cold's tumultuous relationship has finally crashed and burned, just like everyone around them had predicted. When Len finds out that a heartbroken Barry asked his team at S.T.A.R. Labs to perform a procedure that would erase not only their relationship, but Len's entire existence from his memory, he is devastated. In order to get over the pain, he holds Barry's team hostage and orders them to perform the same overnight procedure on him. But as the memories begin to pass him by and he revisits the times where he and Barry were happy and perfectly in love, he begins to uncover a conspiracy that convinces him that perhaps their break-up was not as inevitable as it looked and was instead carefully engineered by the man passing himself off as Harrison Wells. Now aware that he's made a terrible mistake, and knowing that he has to warn Barry the second he wakes up, Len desperately tries to cling to his memories by hiding Barry in the last place Len ever actually wanted him to be: his childhood memories.
Psychiatrist Meets Psycho? - A Demon Possession AU
Dr. Leonard Snart, psychiatrist extraordinaire, studies Barry Allen, infamous serial killer who has always claimed to be possessed by an evil creature intent to destroy him and everything he cares about.
Separated from his study object by a transparent wall, Leonard feels himself growing closer to Barry every day. Dangerously close. An unlikely pair to fall in love - yet it happens. But Barry is not alone in his cell, his dark passenger always by his side. A dark passenger that doesn't know love, and ends it instead…
Leonard Snart is a marriage, weddings, and romance columnist for Central City Picture News who is tired of writing just about engagements and weddings.
One day he finds himself with a perfect story that could change his life: Barry Allen, better known as the runaway groom, has been engaged three times before, always making it all the way to the wedding before mysteriously bolting.
Len writes a story about this 'runaway groom' that immediately starts to gain traction on social media. Now accused of making things up for clics, Len goes to the town to get the real scoop on Barry, who is currently planning his next wedding. But as the ceremony gets closer, the reporter discovers there's more to the groom, and the groom discovers he might be marrying the wrong person.
