Work Text:
Look, Mick’s not normal. Really not normal. He knows that. He’s known that for a long time.
He used to think it was because he didn’t believe in god and baby Jesus. His mom believed in that stuff she took him to church when she could even though he bitched and moaned the whole time about having to get up to goddamned early on a Sunday and wear a stupid tie.
He stopped thinking that was the reason he wasn’t normal around the time that he realized the only thing his father believed in could be distilled in the basement.
The house was old and Mick’s room was right above the basement, he could always smell the fumes. Probably fucked up his brain. That or the led paint. Probably the reason everything burned so easy too.
Mick’s not normal how the fuck could he be.
Mick learns how to forget what he is. And isn’t. Fire is easiest. When he has fire, the whole world disappears. When the fire bites him it’s like the world never existed at all. Mick likes this best.
He learns later that sex works too. So does alcohol but Mick likes sex better. Sex is fun. In sex, no one is normal, everyone has some fucked up weirdass kink they’re hiding. Mick likes that, likes indulging them. He learns early on he doesn’t much care what kind of body he’s laying with as long as it’s willing.
His father would call him a faggot for that but he father was a deadbeat drunk, and dead now so he can’t say shit about shit.
It’s doesn’t matter anyway because it never lasts. No one makes Mick feel normal for long. Not until Len.
When he stops Len, - Leo back then - from getting shanked on his first day like a bleeding heart dumbass he doesn’t expect to actually like the kid. The thing is though, Len is fucked up and not normal in allot of the same ways he is.
Only maybe it’s worse because Len is really smart. Too smart. Len is little. Scrawny. Too much anger, too much brain. Too much stupid to fit into that little body.
Mick think’s he’s what fire would look like if fire was cold. Icy.
Len will stand outside for hours in the middle of winter for no fucking reason at all. Except for maybe the same reason Mick holds his hand over fire.
He breaks icicles off in bare hands and holds them till they’re just water and he’s shaking a little.
People can call Len a freak but they don’t mess with him anymore because Mick is always standing out there with him, usually with a lighter stolen with hands much smaller and quicker then Mick’s.
Mick is not normal. Len is maybe bugfuck. It’s fine. They have an understanding.
One time Mick tells Len about the time that he was maybe abducted by time traveling aliens and his future self. Sometimes he remembers it sometimes he doesn’t. it’s another thing that makes Mick not normal but Len just looks at him cocks his head to the side and raises one eyebrow. To anyone else the look would seem mocking but Mick knows that’s just Len’s face. They don’t talk about it but Mick feels better. Mick doesn’t tell Len that he was there too and he was beautiful. Also maybe a baby? Mick doesn’t really like to think about it too much.
From there Mick’s life doesn’t exactly get more normal. Maybe it would have but as it turns out Len is one of those people who just seems to attract weird shit. Mick decides to stick with him anyway. He makes his peace for the most part.
Then again it probably would have been smart to cut and run around freeze ray or maybe just motherfucking superheros but nobody ever acused Mick of being smart so shit at least he got a fucking flame thrower out of it cause damn if Len aint the most considerate.
Well he’s not but whatever. Supervillains it is then why the fuck not.
The whole time traveling spaceship thing is not as much of a surprise as it should be honestly.
The team mostly make him uncomfortable. The captain might be out of his mind in a way Mick cannot relate to, the bird people are just plain weird, and the walking haircut is annoying. Canary is ok. She reminds him of Len a little. Len is definitely narcissistic enough to be into her though.
Firestorm parts one and two are tolerable but that might just be the “fire” thing. Also Mick gets drugging a loved one for their own good. Mick is still surprised Len hasn't
noticed how he get’s a suspiciously good night sleep right before big jobs even if he was planning on micro managing through the night. Mick doesn’t judge.
shit happens. Events transpire. The captain is definitely out of his mind. He was right about the bird people (now person). Maybe haircut isn’t all bad if you ignore half of what he’s saying, Canary is even crazier then Len but it’s cool, and firestorm has way more drama then one old guy and one kid really should.
Really the biggest problem is Len. Len is becoming a hero. OK maybe a pretty shitty anti hero type but Mick can see it. If Len is a hero what the fuck does he need Mick for? Mick would be a terrible sidekick he can’t wear spandex.
Maybe things get worse from There. Maybe allot worse. From Russia and goddamned haircut to fucking 2046.
Mick is not fucking normal ok. He never was. So he fucks up. He fucks up so bad. Then he makes it worse.
Mick kinda wants to die now. He doesn’t. He mostly wants to burn down the world. He’s given the opportunity to burn down Leonard Snart and the crew of the Waverider. He takes it. He should have stuck with the dying idea.
He doesn’t know how long he was Chronos but he knows that during that time he sure as shit wasn't Mick Rory.
Mick Rory would never threaten to kill Lisa Snart. Mick Rory picked up Lisa Snart from the ice rink when Len couldn’t. Mick Rory helped Lisa Snart beat her second boyfriend into the hospital. He still doesn’t know what the guy did. Doesn’t matter though because Mick Rory would never let anyone hurt her and get away with it.
Why did Chronos say he would? Mick doesn’t know. Mick knows it’s incredibly unhealthy to cut off that part of his life like it wasn't even him but fuck it he was never normal anyway why should he care.
Mick Rory starts to exist again when he can’t keep fighting Len. He just can’t. He thought Chronos was made of more anger then person but fuck, it’s Len. Little tiny determined Lenny Snart who was once going to fight a guy with a fucking shiv.
It was Mick’s job to protect him.
Chronos didn’t stand a chance.
Life goes on. Shit happens. Events transpire.
Mick finds himself trying to give a real grown up “be the best you can be” to his younger self.
Mick really should have seen this coming. It says something alarming about his life that he should have seen this coming.
When he next sees him Len looks at him cocks his head to the sides, raises one eye brow and mouths something about time travelings aliens.
Mick guesses they still have an understanding.
He get’s to hold little baby Len before they leave. He really is adorable it’s obnoxious. He has to resist the urge to tell the baby that everything is going to be ok, and that sooner or later Mick would be there to protect him. it’s a stupid impulse. Not like end ended up being the greatest friend anyway.
Anyway turns out snack size captain Hunter is a stone cold badass. Also the time masters might as well stop sending assassins because evidently the combined power of their crazy is too much for anyone.
Mick likes that.
They manage to grab Savage but not actually kill him, Bird man pops back up again and shit, doesn’t anyone die for good around here what the fuck.
Mick is honestly worried about Jax and by extension his other half. Rip has officially gone around the bend. For real this time. The bird people are still fucking weird. Len and Canary are playing cards like nothing is wrong at all. Assholes. Palmer moping like the over grown puppy dog he is and Mick can’t even hate him for it this time. that kid can’t catch a fucking break.
Of course the time masters are secretly evil. Mick could have told you that right off the bat. Drunk on their own goddamn power. Mick hates all their destiny crap and their smug fucking faces.
They try fucking with his brain again but their dumber then him if they actually expect it to work again. He’s got a crew again. For real this time. And they might be fucked up and bugfuck crazy but he kind of is too so whatever. Len forgave him once he’s not making him do that again.
And besides they need him now.
The time master’s can seriously go fuck themselves for all Mick cares.
Mick is ok with dying. It’s not something he thinks about allot. Yeah that time he nearly BBQ’d himself alive he thought about it but mostly in that ‘fuck this is not a good way to go what is wrong with me’ kinda way.
He always figured he’d die some normal way. Prison fight, over zealous cop, his own damn pyro tendencies, fuck maybe even cancer.
He never thought about going out in a blaze of glory to save someone else. That’s a hero thing. Mick has never been a hero.
Now that he does think about it he thinks it maybe has more to do with the fact that when you see someone you care about holding down a dead man's switch and preparing to die you’re not actually thinking about heroics.
What Mick thinks is more like “not him. not now. I’m not letting this happen.”
It makes him feel powerless.
Mick was never a fan of powerlessness.
Oh course what he wasn't thinking about was Len.
Mick was really starting to hate the whole ‘knocking mick out for his own good thing.’ Len had going.
Mick kinda hates everything right now.
Rip abandons then right back where they started. Somehow it manages to be worse then when Len did it.
Shit happens. Life tries to move on.
He thinks really hard about finding Lisa.
He doesn’t.
He tries to go back to his old life. He still has Len’s gun even after everything.
The guy he was running with kills an innocent so mick burns him. he doesn’t care if he survives it. The guy was creepy anyway. Mick wonders how that effects the agreement Len made with the Flash. Mick is surprised to find that he cares.
Ray shows up again. Like a bad penny you just can’t get rid of. It Reminds Mick of a little kid at juvie with too much brains and not enough common sense. Fuck.
Mick doesn’t know when haircut became ray. He doesn’t want to think about it actually.
Mick doesn’t find Lisa.
Mick goes with Ray like a fucking idiot. He must be out of his goddamn mind to be doing this again.
Any normal human being would be running away from this clusterfuck at near Flash speeds.
Any normal human being would be putting the crazy fucked up past in the past where is belongs.
Any normal human being wouldn’t be secretly wondering if stupid, genius, too much brains not enough common sense Leonard Snart was still out there somewhere. With a plan. Just waiting for Mick to catch up like always.
Mick Rory is not normal.
But who fucking cares.