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“Mayor Snart? Are you okay?”
Leonard nodded to his assistant, and smiled tiredly.
“Yes, Hartley, I'm fine, you can go home.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, don't worry.”
Hartley shot him one last worried glance and left with a simple goodbye. Len sighed. He was exhausted, but he was always trying to keep a good show for the people working with him.
The situation with Zoom was already being hard on everyone, and he did not want to burden his colleagues, or the people of Central City as a whole, anymore than what they already were.
He checked his agenda for the following day, it would be as busy as usual. He had to do so much for the city, to try to keep it afloat. People were leaving by hundreds. Everyone was terrified of being Zoom's latest victim.
Some people had decided they wanted to continue their lives as they used to, they wanted to keep living and not hide in fear.
Still, less and less people would go to the movies, or enjoy a walk in the park...
Len had had to ensure a curfew, and had been obligated to extend it. So many people died, so many people went missing. It was overwhelming but he refused to step down and abandon his people. He would not fail them.
His alarm rang. The curfew would start soon, he'd have to go if he did not want to spend the night in his office.
Mick, his bodyguard and childhood best friend, was waiting for him.
“Still working late? When are you gonna do take a moment for yourself, Snart?”
“When Central City is freed from Zoom, then I'll sleep for a month.”
Mick rolled his eyes so hard Len thought he heard it. Then they said nothing else, Mick took his job really seriously, and did not want to be disturbed when they were on the move. He would let nothing happen to the person who was his brother in everything but blood.
He came home half an hour before the curfew, which left more than enough for Mick to go back to his place. He had insisted a long time to live at Snart's, so that he could also protect him there, but Len had refused.
Despite the risks it presented, he would have his privacy.
Mick lived a couple houses down the street, and could be there in a few minutes if needed. That was the only reason he had given up on the idea, although he would still bring it up sometimes.
(“It's just that I don't want the trouble to find another job.”
“Of course, Mick.”)
After saying goodbye to his friend, Len finally was home.
His house was calm, as always, but he liked the silence, even if it felt lonely at times.
“Hi.”
Len turned back to the intruder, ready to fight if he had to. His phone was in his hand and he was about to press the emergency button when the man stopped him:
“No! Please, don't! I don't want to hurt you!”
Despite his better judgment, he held his finger back, but still ready to call if he needed to.
The man was tall, a few inches taller than him, he had brown hair and brown eyes. His hands were up to show he was not armed. Len felt he knew him from somewhere but he could not remember why he looked familiar.
“What do you want?”
“My name is Ray, I have an offer for you.”
“Ray...” It hit him and he gasped. “You're Raymond Palmer.”
“In a sense, yes,” Ray said and shrugged. He had dark circles under his eyes, his skin was blemish and he was pretty thin for his height, as if he had not eaten properly in weeks.
“The media said you were dead.”
“Well, officially I am. But, hm, obviously I'm not. It's a long story, and it's not really happy. In any case, this is not really why I am here, although it's linked, I mean...”
“What do you want from me?” Len asked before the other started rambling forever, he had a feeling he could.
He did not know why, but Len wanted to trust him. It was strange, Palmer could be working for Zoom and trying to trick him, but Zoom was more of the type to send someone to off him, why would he be playing mind games like this?
“It's not what I want from you, it's what you want from me.”
“I'm not following, Raymond.”
“You can call me Ray, you know, no one calls me Raymond.”
“What do you want, Raymond?”
“O-kay,” he said rolling out the syllables. He looked like an over-sized puppy, not at all threatening. Still, Len did not put the phone away. He could not trust him yet, he had to be careful.
“It's a long story,” he repeated.
“Make it short.”
“I thought politicians were supposed to be diplomats.”
“Raymond, I've had a terrible day, I have no patience for a stranger in my house talking in riddles.”
At that, Ray looked guilty.
“You're right, I'm sorry.”
Len sighed. He wondered absent-mindedly how many times he sighed a day. Lisa often told him to stop it, or he would run out of air.
“Everyone thinks I'm dead. For a while, I couldn't have contact with anyone – that's the long part of the story, but it doesn't matter. So when I got back, I thought I could finally get back to my old life, but then I said to myself, Ray, you have a golden opportunity here.”
“For what?”
Len was so curious, he knew that whatever Raymond was going to tell him would be important. He had no idea how, but he knew it.
“I spied on Zoom. I know who he is.”
Len dropped his phone when Raymond revealed Zoom's identity. It couldn't be, could it?
Two months later
“Citizens of Central City! Today is the day we can finally say we are free! No more crippling in fear behind our curtains! Today we stand proud and tall in the streets of our city!”
The crowd cheered loudly. Some people threw confetti up in the air. The sun was shining, the birds were singing.
It was a beautiful day.
“That was a good speech,” Ray told him when Len left the stage.
“Thanks, Raymond.”
“Will you ever call me Ray like everyone?”
“What if I don't want to be anyone to you?”
Raymond smiled softly and Len's heart swelled. There were no more dark circles under the other's eyes, his cheeks were red from laughing and smiling so much.
“Len, you'll never be anyone to me.”
Raymond took his hand, and it felt like a promise. Now they had time, now they could live.
It was a beautiful day.