Chapter Text
Leonard Snart never was the best kid. I suppose he picked that up from his father Lewis Snart, one of central city's top criminal’s. Wanted for armed robberies, domestic abuse, grand larceny, aggravated assaults, and countless murders. Lewis had zero self control. And no morals equals no limits for how far he’d go.
That wasn't the only difference between the two of them, not even close. Sure Len had done several armed robberies in the span of his life, stole priceless irreplaceable items that could land someone life in prison, and sure they were both on the most wanted list, but Leonard liked to think that despite him committing crimes too, he still wasn’t as bad as his father. Maybe others wouldn’t agree, but those people probably didn’t know about his incredibly messed up childhood.
Lewis did things for all the wrong reasons, he didn't care about the rules or killing people along the way. Leonard on the other hand did things because he wanted to, but he did so by a code; He wouldn't kill unless extremely necessary, he’d never become as bad as his father, and lastly he vowed to never fail in his crimes or get caught. They were simple rules that he followed with ease and it paid off.
Back to what I was saying about his childhood, when Lewis would try and get him to steal he refused at first, he’d obviously learned that stealing was wrong and he knew better than to break the law. But soon Lewis came up with the idea that he should stop buying food so that Len’s only choice would be to let himself and his sister starve or shoplift.
It obviously worked, and by the time he got to high school he was going on his own heists. It started originally because he wanted to make enough money so that he and his little sister could move out. But there came a point where Len wasn't just going on heist for satisfaction from his dad or to earn money. It was just starting to become second nature, it was fun for Leonard and it was a distraction from his life.
Their father took out all his anger on his two kids along with his wife and it never ended well for any of them, but going on the heists did help a little. In many ways Leonard was smarter than his dad. He could think critically and was extremely intelligent so it did him good to bring his son along. But when they got back home his dad would turn into a completely different person.
The littlest things would set him off and he'd have no filter since he wasn't in public or focused on successfully completing a heist. Len did excessive chores and kept the house spotless to try to please his father, but he never was satisfied. Nothing he did was appreciated by Lewis. It's the reason why Leonard still seeks validation so much, he never got it growing up. Not even a thank you. Lewis only spoke to his children with foul language or worse…
He’d leave them with dark bruises that took weeks to heal, though by the time they did, it was likely that they had already gotten more. Lewis was an ex-cop so any attempt to call the police only led to him manipulating the cops and them getting treated even worse.
Lisa was only eight when Lewis came at her with a broken beer bottle, he was angry. Angrier than Len had ever seen him. It was early when he woke up to hear her crying coming from her bedroom. His dad stumbled out as Len ran in. Blood continued to soak her shirt. He begged Lewis to take her to the hospital, but he was drunk out of his mind not that he would have even if he wasn’t. Len did what he could to help using some gauze.
Though that day was never mentioned between the two of them again Len never forgot it and even though she was young he knew Lisa never did either. The huge scar across her shoulder was probably a constant reminder and he wished that he’d been up that morning to prevent it and the scarring memories that came with it.
Len always tried his best to protect his sister, but his dad was bigger and stronger than him so he couldn't successfully, at least not physically. One time he told Lewis he loved him when he was in a rage in an attempt to get him to stop hurting Lisa.
It was of course a lie, but he hoped it would be enough to trick him into coming at him instead. It was a psychological trick he knew he’d fall for. Just as he planned, Lewis got angrier and raged off on Len instead, and even though it hurt like hell he was glad he was the one feeling it instead of Lisa.
One day a few years later, Len’s mom noticed how Lewis hadn’t come home all night nor did he arrive in the morning, she figured he was out at some bar and then he passed out somewhere. She told Len and Lisa to pack their things as fast as they could, she did the same. Just as they were about to head out Lewis walked through the door and saw them trying to leave.
At first she tried denying it out of fear. But then she dropped the act and confronted him. She was hysterical. Through tears she told him that the person he was now wasn’t the man she married. That his behavior was unacceptable. That he made all of their lives miserable. The more she said the more indignant she got. Between the crying and cussing she struck a few nerves in him, he snapped.
For a second Len was frozen in fear, all he could do was cover his sister's eyes and watch, but then he snapped out of it and told Lisa to go to her room. He pulled out his phone.
Livid, Lewis squeezed hands around her neck. She was gasping for air as he choked her with a deranged smile. Suddenly, she kicked him in the crotch and was able to escape from his tight grasp. Immediately he threw a powerful blow to her face. It was enough to knock her out cold. She had blood falling down her face alongside her tears. Leonard tried squeezing his eyes shut as his breathing started to speed up, but he still couldn’t erase the image of his bruised and bloody mother. He felt like a coward for just standing there, but Len knew there was nothing he could do except keep filming, though due to how hard he was shaking he was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep that up for much longer.
Lewis spat on her frail body laying on the floor before he went to use the bathroom and to her son's surprise she got up. She put a shaky finger to her lips signaling him to be quiet, with immense fear in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” She kissed his forehead before grabbing Lewis’s keys, and her bag she’d packed earlier. He knew what that meant.
“I love you.” That was something Len hadn’t said in years, the last time he said those words his father beat and screamed at him, telling him never to say that again to anyone. She put her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out loud and Lisa who’d secretly been watching from her door the whole time walked over to her.
“Mommy?” Lisa didn’t completely understand what was going on, but she could obviously tell that she was hurt.
“I love you both,” she whispered, before giving them a hug.
“Here, all the videos are on there.” Leonard handed her phone to her. Right as she opened the door Lewis turned the knob on the bathroom door.
She had enough time to save herself, just not her two kids and that destroyed her. But she knew that she’d be back to save them, she’d get her kids and move to a different city, or state, or maybe even move out the country if it came to it and they’d have the life that she wanted, the life they all deserved. She just prayed that he wouldn’t hurt them.
She drove down the streets, feeling the best she’d felt in years. She wasn’t scared of him anymore, just determined to see him get put behind bars, maybe even put to death. The phone her son had given her had pictures of their injuries, videos of him abusing them, all the proof that they needed. Finally they could be free.
But sadly, she never made it there. On the way to the Central City Police Department a drunk driver hit her straight on and she didn’t survive. When Leonard saw it on the news later that night he fell on his knees in his room. He couldn’t stop shaking and he didn’t know how to stop the tears that just kept coming.
Days passed and he couldn’t even look at his sister, how was he supposed to tell her what happened? Was she better off not knowing the truth?