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Nate likes to think that he’s great at putting all the pieces together, even when he doesn’t know the whole picture. That’s what makes him such an awesome historian. He also likes to think he’s great at reading people; he’s able to be with a person for a short time and be able to figure out their likes and dislikes, and generally who they are as a person.
That’s why, after living on a time ship in close quarters with Ray for the better part of a year, he was shocked to say the least when Ray didn’t hesitate to run up and start hugging Snart in a tight bear hug.
He feels slightly better when he looks around and sees other equally shocked faces all around. (Although the shock might be more from the fact that their dead teammate is alive and breathing. And it is the Snart that the others knew, not the super evil Legion of Doom Snart that Nate and Amaya met, Gideon made sure of that with some type of scan thing) Even Snart’s face is shocked to have Ray wrapped around him.
That shock quickly melts off his face as he rolls his eyes and awkwardly pats Ray on the back. “There, there.” Ray just holds him tighter if that’s possible. “Alright, enough Raymond. I’d like to remind you that I need to breath now that I’m not floating around the time stream.”
Ray jumps back, but still stays in Snart’s personal bubble. “Sorry, I’m just, really happy you’re back.”
Snart shifts his weight onto one hip and crosses his arms. “But not enough for a welcome back kiss? Guess you didn’t miss me that much.”
Nate doesn’t know this Snart at all really, but even he can tell that Snart’s being sarcastic. Ray must be used to the sarcasm and wants to call him on it, because he quickly pecks a small kiss on Snart’s mouth then pulls back before Snart even knows what’s going on.
Ray’s face is beet red as he retreats back to let the others go up to Snart, who looks like he’s trying to hide his shock.
The most interesting part of all though is that the others don’t even blink, like they’re used to the two of them like that. Amaya seems to pick up on that too, because she comes over to Nate’s side.
“I think I made the mistake of assuming Ray’s fiance was a woman. Is it possible for two men to get married when you guys are from?”
“Yeah. Some states legalized same sex marriage in the early 2000s, but it became legal across the country in 2015. I thought his fiance was a girl too, but now that I think about it he never did say a pronoun when talking about them.”
Why didn’t Ray ever say anything to him? He thought they were best friends, was Ray scared to say anything? Nate knows he looks and acts like some stereotypical frat boy, but Ray knows he’s cool with Sara being bi. Maybe it’s just different since it’s him and not someone else, or maybe he’s not bi, but gay and had a hard time with it when he was younger. It would explain why he was embarrassed to kiss him in front of the others, and why Snart looked shocked that Ray actually kissed him.
Another thing is, if Snart was his fiance, then why did Ray always say ex -fiance and not late -fiance? Maybe they broke up before Snart died?
This is going to take a lot more investigating on Nate’s end before he comes to any solid conclusions.
~~~~~~~~~
If Nate thought that the ‘welcome back’ kiss was a one off, he was wrong.
The group just finished being briefed by Sara, and they all split up to do their jobs. Nate’s walking back to the bridge when he hears voices still talking. He peeks around the corner and finds Snart and Ray alone, their backs to him. Nate decides this is as good a time as any to do some research.
“Are you sure you’re ready to go back in the field this soon?” Ray asks.
Nate hears a frustrated sigh. “For the last time, yes Raymond. It’s been a week of just sitting around doing nothing but watch all the Star Wars films with you. If you’re so worried about me, then why don’t you give me a good luck kiss?” Snart asks in what Nate’s learned is his signature drawl. Is that where Ray’s been all week, watching Star Wars with Snart?
Nate watches in shock as Ray doesn’t hesitate to lean down and give Snart a quick peck on the lips. “There,” Ray says. “You ready now?” Wow, maybe Nate was right about Ray just not liking PDA, because Ray just went for it and Snart didn’t tense up like when they were in front of the whole team.
Nate can see the profile of Snart’s face as he turns to face Ray fully. He’s smirking as he looks Ray up and down. “I’m not sure, maybe you better give me one more kiss to be safe. Isn’t the Boy Scout motto to ‘always be prepared’? As an Eagle Scout, you should know that.” That’s another check in the pro column that they used to date. Nate knew that Ray was in the Boy Scouts, but even he didn’t know that Ray made it to Eagle Scout.
Nate hears a chuckle and Ray is shaking his head. If Nate had to guess, he’s sure Ray’s rolling his eyes too. “Don’t push your luck. If you want another kiss so bad, I guess you’re gonna have to get through this mission unscathed.”
Snart studies Ray, smirk still on his face. “Guess I will.”
The two continue just looking at each other for longer than strictly necessary, before Ray is the first to look away and to the map they were studying on the center console.
“So, you’re going to be here, right?” Ray points.
Snart nods and crosses his arms. “Yeah. And I think Mick should be here instead. This one time…” Nate tones the rest out. They’re right back down to business like nothing ever happened.
~~~~~~~~~
After a surprisingly successful mission, (something that rarely happens with their group) Nate notices Snart pull Ray aside, and after a moment’s hesitation, Nate decides to follow them. He peeks around a doorway to find them alone in the library. Snart’s smirking again, something Nate’s learned is almost a default expression on him.
“I made it through the mission unscathed.”
Ray smiles. “So you did, any reason we had to come in here for you to tell me that?”
Snart studies his nails. “I just figured you didn’t want an audience for when you give me my prize.”
“Prize? I don’t remember offering you any prize.” Ray says with a grin. Oh gross, Nate does not need to see his best friend flirting. Nate didn’t know Ray was even capable of flirting.
Snart gives Ray a coy grin and puts his arms up on Ray’s shoulders, linking his hands behind Ray’s head. Ray in turn places his hands on Snart’s hips. “See, I seem to remember you promising one kiss before, and one kiss after the mission. My math says you’re short one kiss.”
Ray leans down, very close to Snart’s face. “Well, that wouldn’t be very hero-like of me to break a promise, now would it?” Ray whispers so quietly that Nate could barely hear him.
“Guess you better fix that,” Snart whispers back.
“Guess I should,” Ray says before his lips meet Snart’s in the middle. This kiss is different from the first two, they go slower this time, savoring the moment. Ray’s hands grip Snart’s hips tighter, and Snart runs his hands through Ray’s hair. Ray guides Snart until he’s leaning back against the desk. They start getting more heated, and is that tongue?
Okay, yup! Nate’s done watching them. They are not showing any signs of slowing down, and Nate really doesn’t need to see any of this. He’s gonna go wash his eyes out with bleach now, and maybe douse that desk with bleach afterwards. Hell, maybe he should just have Mick burn it to be safe, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to look at it again anyway.
~~~~~~~~
After what Nate accidentally witnessed in the library, he puts a stop to his investigation. He really doesn’t need to see a repeat performance. He just leaves them to their own devices, and lets them have their space. Which is why it’s really annoying that he’s trying to mind his own business, but it’s like they only do coupley things in front of him and no one else. He doesn’t even think they realize they’re doing it, he just picks up on it by accident.
Like in the mornings, most people on this ship like sleeping in. The only early birds are Nate, Ray, and now Snart. Nate and Snart are sitting on opposite ends of the table, completely ignoring each other's existence while they eat their breakfast, when Ray plops down next to Snart with his plate, all full of smiles. Snart doesn’t smile back, but Nate notices the tension leave his shoulders, which is practically a beaming smile for Snart.
Ray pouts when he sees Snart’s plate. “Aw man, I forgot bacon. Can I have some of yours?”
“No.” Snart doesn’t look up from his tablet.
“Please?”
“Still a no.” Snart continues to scroll. Nate feels bad, he would give Ray some of his, but he ate all of it. He’s just about to get up and get some for Ray when Ray just swipes a couple pieces from Snart’s plate anyway. Snart glares at him.
“You kept saying no. Plus you’re Jewish anyway, you’re not suppose to eat bacon.” Huh, Nate didn’t know Snart was Jewish. He wonders if he can read Hebrew. Nate has some documents that he needs translating and asking Stein is always a pain. Although knowing Snart, he’ll probably be a worse pain than Stein.
“Bacon from the fabricator doesn’t count, it’s not like it came from a real pig.” Snart snatches a couple pieces of sausages from Ray’s plate in retaliation.
Ray rolls his eyes, but doesn’t fight back. He leans into Snart’s space to see what he’s reading on his tablet. “Oh, I’ve been wanting to read that, let me see!”
Snart holds up his arm to shield Ray away from his tablet. “Not with those greasy hands, go wash up first.”
Ray continues to try and get the tablet, and Snart keeps fending him off. Nate gets up to put his plate in the sink. They don’t even notice he’s there, like they forgot he was in the room to begin with, which very possibly is what happened.
Nate, the curiosity getting the better of him, turns around and watches them from the doorway, just in time to see Ray lean forward and give Snart a short kiss. It’s enough to give Snart pause, and he’s able to snatch the tablet. Snart recovers quickly and glares.
“Hey, you’re the one that told me if you’re gonna break into a candy store, that you don’t just steal one gumdrop.” Ray defends himself with a grin.
Snart hangs his head and sighs. “Oh, they grow up so fast. Glad you upgraded from stealing a handful of jelly beans, to bacon, a tablet, and a kiss all in one go. You know if you get tired of this legend gig, there’s always a spot open on my Rogues in Central.”
Ray pretends to think about it. “Tempting, but I gotta pass. There’s no way I’m going up against Team Flash.”
Snart shrugs. “Barry’s no match against my cold gun. C’mon, it’ll be fun.”
“Barry’s not the one I’m worried about. Cisco with his meta powers on the other hand…”
Snart looks confused. “Ramon’s a meta?”
Nate thought Snart’s known all the people on Team Flash since the beginning. How does he not know Cisco is Vibe?
Nate watches as different emotions appear on Ray’s face, from confusion and shock, to some type of realization, to finally something akin to sadness and what looks to be regret. “I forgot, we all found out when we had the team up against the aliens. You were still dead then.”
A tension builds in the room that wasn’t there before, and Nate realizes this might be the first time since Snart came back that anyone mentioned his death. “Right.” Snart says with a tense nod.
Ray takes Snart’s hand and threads their fingers together. Snart looks at their hands in confusion, and Nate feels like he’s invading on a private moment, but he can’t get his legs to move.
“Barry asked where you were.” Ray says quietly. “I think he wanted to rub it in your face that you were with the good guys,” Ray chuckles. “I, uh, had to tell him what happened. He called you a legend.”
Ray looks like he’s moments away from breaking down, when Snart takes his free hand and places it on Ray’s face. “You shouldn’t have had to do that. I’m sorry I put you in that position.”
Snart leans in, and Nate thinks he’s going to kiss Ray, but he just rests his forehead on the other’s. Ray takes the hand that’s still on his face and grips it tightly. He turns his head and places a kiss on the hand. “You’re back now, that’s all that matters.”
They start looking deeply into each other's eyes, and Nate feels like he’s about to gag. He gets his legs moving and gets lost. The only thing worse than having to watch them make out like teenagers, is when they get all sappy like that.
~~~~~~~~~
After that, Nate can’t help but spot all of the stolen touches between the two. If they’re standing next to each other, then they make sure to have at least their shoulders touching. If one is sitting in the chairs on the bridge, then the other rests an arm or a hand on a shoulder. At this point, Nate’s shocked one of them hasn’t sat in the other’s lap.
It came close once though, Ray was sitting on the couch in the rec room reading, Nate on the plush loveseat across the room, when Snart walks in with his tablet. He spares the loveseat a glance, then goes over to the couch where there’s more room. Instead of sitting on the other end of the couch like Nate thought he would, he plops down fully across it, and Ray just lifts his arms up to make room for the other’s legs like this is normal - which for all Nate knew, it might have been.
After Snart gets comfortable, Ray takes one of his hands and starts caressing Snart’s knee. He doesn’t even look like he’s realizing he’s doing it, he just keeps on reading. Snart doesn’t seem to notice either, he is way more absorbed with whatever he’s doing on his tablet.
That night, Nate lays in bed wide awake and his mind buzzing. He comes to one solid conclusion, they had to be dating before Snart died. There is no way they can be that comfortable around each other in such a short amount of time, it’s just not possible.
There’s also the added evidence that they know little things about each other, like how Snart knows Ray’s an Eagle Scout and Ray knows Snart is Jewish. There’s a chance Ray told other people he’s an Eagle Scout and that’s how Snart knew, but Snart just doesn’t seem the type to willingly give out information about himself unless it’s around people he completely trusts.
Now all Nate needs to do is go to Ray and ask how long he’s really been with Snart and why he never told anyone.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Nate gets up early and goes to the end of the hall to Ray’s room. He raises his hand to knock, but is surprised when the door opens and he comes face to face with Snart himself. Who is wearing yesterday’s clothes.
Snart crosses his arms and smirks, daring Nate to say something. “Raymond, your friend is here wondering if you can come out and play.” He calls over his shoulder.
“What?” Ray’s voice comes from inside the room. Nate hears Ray stumbling over something and then he pops up behind Snart. His hair is messy, like someone's been running a hand through it, and his shirt is inside out. “Nate? Hey man, what’s up?”
“I’ll leave you two nerds to whatever it is you do.” Snart gestures his hand between Nate and Ray, and turns around to walk a couple steps backwards. “Raymond, it’s been a pleasure as always.” Snart actually winks at Ray and Ray’s face turns red.
Ray clears his throat after Snart leaves. “Come in. What can I do for you?”
Nate waits for Ray’s door to close behind him before he speaks up. He figures Ray wouldn’t want just anyone walking by to overhear. “How long have you and Snart been dating?” Nate’s never been a person that beats around the bush and Ray’s face gets even redder by his bluntness.
“Wha- Dating? Snart and I aren’t dating. We aren’t doing anything together.”
Why is Ray lying? “You know I don’t care if you’re gay or bi or anything, you’re still my friend. I’m just wondering why you never told me that Snart was the fiance you were talking about before when we were in the jurassic period.”
Ray’s voice gets higher. “Fiance? Snart was never my fiance, it was Kendra, or you might know her as Hawkgirl? I’ve never been with Snart.”
Nate’s starting to get irritated with how Ray keeps dodging the truth. “Dude, why are you lying? You obviously just slept with the guy, he just left your room at six-thirty in the morning, your shirt is inside out, and you have major sex hair. Not to mention the wink he gave you as he left. And that’s not counting all the kisses I’ve seen you two share.”
Ray takes a deep breath and looks up at the ceiling. “This is all his fault.”
That… is not what Nate was expecting. “Whose fault? What are you talking about?”
“It was a joke. That first kiss was all me, but it didn’t mean anything. He was just being a smartass as always so I called him on his bluff. He saw you watching him after and thought it would be funny to make you think we were dating. Did you really think he didn’t notice you watching him in all those doorways?”
That is really not what Nate was expecting. “So all those kisses?”
“Fake.”
“And that sappy thing in the dining hall the other morning?”
Ray gives Nate a look like he expects more from him. “Do you really think Snart would willingly apologize to anyone?” Ray thinks about something. “Although me stealing his bacon was real, he is Jewish and shouldn’t be eating it, even if it isn’t from a real pig.”
Nate feels like an idiot. “So all of it was fake, every kiss, look, touch, all of it?”
Ray hesitates. “...Yeah? I mean, we never slept together. He just came in here the night before. He knew you would come see me and wanted to mess with you, so he had Gideon warn him if you were coming down the hall, messed up my hair when you did, and then told me to put my shirt on inside out. Then he just waited for you to show up.”
“Are you telling me, or asking me?” Nate has to ask because Ray doesn’t sound so sure himself.
Ray shrugs as he sits on his bed. “I don’t know. I know it was mean what we did, but it was fun. Hanging out with Snart I mean, not playing the joke on you. And we really did watch Star Wars . Turns out he’s a huge nerd and loves it. He can quote line for line every movie, even the prequels, and he’s super pissed we met George Lucas without him.”
Nate sits down next to Ray. Now he knows why it looked so real. “You weren’t faking it, were you.”
Ray nods. “It’s stupid, I know it wasn’t real, but sometimes if I just closed my eyes and pretended, it felt real.”
“Then why don’t you tell him? From the way I saw it, it didn’t look like he was faking it either.”
Ray’s head shoots up. “What are you talking about? It was all acting.”
Nate shakes his head. “Not from where I was watching. Sometimes, when you were talking to someone else, he would just look at you. I don’t know, like you were the only person in the room.”
Ray looks cautiously optimistic. “Really?”
Nate nods. “Really.” He reassures him. “He should still be awake, go tell him right now.”
Ray stands up. “You know what, I’m just sleep deprived enough with the right amount of adrenaline to do this. Wish me luck.” Ray holds up his hand for a high five and Nate indulges him.
“You’ve got this! Just wait a minute.”
“What?”
Nate points at his shirt. “You might want to fix your shirt. And your hair for that matter.”
Ray quickly fixes his shirt. He looks in the mirror, but declares his hair a lost cause. Nate grabs the ball cap near him and tosses it to Ray. “Thanks, man.” Ray says as he puts the hat on backwards. He holds his arms out in a ta-da fashion. “Am I good now?”
Nate holds a thumbs up. “You got this, dude.”
~~~~~~~~
Nate went back to bed for a couple hours, before getting up again and going to eat some breakfast. Everyone is there, save for Ray and Snart.
“Yo, Pretty. Have you seen Snart or Haircut? They haven’t shown fer breakfast yet.” Mick says at one of the tables. He has his rat in the cage on the table and is periodically throwing in scraps of his own breakfast. Nate would complain, but Axel the Rat really is pretty cute, and Gideon already checked to make sure he doesn’t have any diseases so he’s clean.
Nate shakes his head as he punches into the fabricator what he wants. “Nah, I just got up myself. I haven’t seen them yet.” Nate technically isn’t lying, he did just get up and he hasn’t seen either of them yet. Mick just never asked if he was up earlier and saw them.
Mick shrugs. “Weird. Haircut said he’d help make some little armour for Axel here, like the stuff knights used. Not usual for him to be late.”
Nate shrugs too as he sits with his breakfast. “Maybe he just lost track of time or got distracted. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Nate doesn’t really want to be thinking on what Ray got distracted by, or by whom he should say.
“Sorry I’m late, Mick. My alarm didn’t go off.” Ray scrambles into the room. He’s dressed in the same clothes as earlier - at least this time his shirt is still on the right way.
He sits down next to Mick with his tablet and starts flipping through some pictures, they must be the designs for Axel’s armour. Ray leans to the side and his shirt slides down, showing his collarbone, which has what looks to be a bruise?
Oh!
Nate’s face goes red. That’s not a bruise, or at least not one he got from any mission. Nate really hates that he was right on why Ray was late to breakfast.
Snart wanders in at the moment, grinning like a cat that got the canary, or more like atom in this case. He peeks over Ray and Mick’s shoulders and scoffs.
“Raymond, I can’t believe you were serious about building armour for that rodent.”
Mick looks more offended than Nate has ever seen him. “You take that back, Snart. If he’s gonna be in the field with us, then he should be protected too.”
“He’s kind of got a point.” Snart gives Ray a disbelieving, then betrayed look.
Ray starts pouting, and Snart sighs and rolls his eyes. He pulls up a chair next to Ray. “What have you two idiots got so far?”
Ray starts explaining more in detail, so Snart rests his arm behind Ray’s seat so he can see what’s being pointed out on the tablet. He starts grazing his thumb on Ray’s shoulder, and Ray doesn’t even seem to notice as he’s adamantly talking with his hands.
“Hey, Leonard. Why don’t you two get a room?” Sara teases from her spot next to Nate.
Snart’s thumb freezes, but he keeps his arm in place. When he recovers he smirks at Sara. “Too late, Sara. We already did.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
His smirk stays in place even when Ray elbowed him in the side. “Really?” Ray looks to be fighting a grin so he’s not too mad.
Snart gives Ray a quick kiss. “She started it. I’m going to get some breakfast while you and Mick finish playing dress up with the rat.” He pats Ray on the shoulder and goes to the fabricator.
Ray turns to Mick, who’s playing with Axel. “Why does he dislike Axel so much?”
Mick shrugs. “He’s a cat person.”
Ray rolls his eyes and meets Nate’s gaze across the table. He nods in thanks, and Nate gives him a small salute with the hand holding the fork.