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Parties among the rich and successful are always a great opportunity for networking. So, with the holidays drawing near and their net worth spiraling after a rumor slipped out about their heir, Rathaway Industries decided to host a Christmas masquerade in hopes of saving their company.
Representing Palmer Technologies, Dr. Raymond Palmer was one of those on the elite guest list. Leonard Snart, a most wanted criminal, was not.
And yet, he ended up there anyway. It took a certain set of skills to crash these kinds of parties, but Len had the charm and cunning to pull it off. A party full of rich snobs to pickpocket from was one thing, a party full of rich snobs to pickpocket from where he could wear a mask and have a better chance of not being caught was another. He wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by. He enlisted the help of Lisa and Mick - a job of this scale couldn't be pulled off alone, and Lisa wouldn't leave him alone until he agreed to let her tag along, and slipped in unnoticed among the crowd.
"Wow! Lenny, this amazing," Lisa breathed once they were inside, taking in the spectacles of the ballroom. The walls were adorned with windows and artwork that reached up to the ceiling, from which hung a giant golden chandelier.
"You can't steal the chandelier, sis." Len smirked. Lisa pouted.
"Says who? It matches my dress perfectly."
"Do it. Might set the building on fire," Mick chimed in.
"We aren't doing that," replied Len.
"Fine. Then I'm gonna go me find some alcohol. These pants are ridin' up my ass. I hate these fancy parties and fancy monkey suits," Mick said as he hunted down the nearest unsuspecting server. The Snarts looked on in silent amusement before turning to each other.
"Well, I'm gonna go find me some cute rich girl to hook up with." Lisa grinned, eyeing the others in attendance with a predatory air.
"We're here to steal, not to schmooze."
"I am stealing. Stealing hearts." They both snickered. "Besides, why can't I do both? It's what I do best."
"That you do, dear sister. Don't have too much fun now."
"No promises," she said with a wink as she approached a cute young brunette across the room.
Len, now alone, took the opportunity to simply stop and observe. He observed the best potential targets in the room, the best way to escape in case something were to go wrong, and even how it might be possible to steal that chandelier Lisa had her eye on until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He tensed slightly, though with the expensively tailored suit and mask on it was hard to notice, and turned to face who was trying to get his attention. He was surprised to find a tall, attractively built young man smiling brightly at him. His suit clung flatteringly to his body, just tight enough to show off his assets, in a deep maroon that complimented him well. The mask he was supposed to be wearing hung at his neck, but from what Leonard could see, it matched his suit perfectly. Needless to say, Len liked what he saw. When the man reached a hand out for him to shake, he accepted it without hesitation.
"Hi! My name's Ray Palmer, of Palmer Technologies. I don't think I've ever seen you at any of these parties before," the man, Ray, introduced himself, and clearly expected Len to do the same.
"Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft," Len stated nonchalantly. Ray chuckled slightly.
"Okay, I've never met Bill Gates, but I'm pretty sure you aren't him."
"How would you know if you've never met him?"
"I've seen pictures of him."
"Ah, but I'm wearing a mask. You can't know for sure, can you?"
"That's true. So why don't you take your mask off and you can prove me wrong?"
"No can do, Mr. Palmer. See, this is a masquerade party. The point is to keep your mask on. Which you seemed to have to missed completely."
"It's Dr. Palmer. And I have a mask. I just don't want to wear it. I like to have people recognize me. So, I'm going to take a guess and say that you refusing to take it off means you're trying not to be recognized."
"Did you figure that out when I gave you a fake name, Mr. Palmer? Kudos to you, you smart boy."
"Dr. Palmer. I have three PhD's."
"So do I. They're in 'I', 'didn't', and 'ask.'"
"Are you always this rude to people you just met?" Ray crossed his arms. Len smirked at him and outstretched an arm, nodding to the dance floor.
"You're right. I've been being horribly rude, haven't I? Why don't you and I have a quick dance as an apology?"
"Or, you could just actually say you're sorry," Ray retorted, but nonetheless linked their arms together.
"I never say sorry. Goes against my beliefs."
"You're an ass, you know that?"
"And yet here you are, dancing with me."
For once, Ray had nothing to say to that. He'd gotten the idea that no matter what he said, the mysterious man would only continue to snark at him. So he merely sighed and let himself enjoy the moment.
Up this close, Ray could see the man was beautiful, even with a mask on that much was obvious. His eyes were an icy shade of blue, and the perpetual smirk on his face only added to the air of mystery surrounding him. The suit he wore was a deep navy blue, with a stunning mask to match that covered most of his face. Really, everything about him was stunning.
"Like what you see, Dr.?" Len interrupted him from his thoughts, and Ray turned a shade of red to match his outfit.
"I have a fiancée."
"Now, see, I didn't ask about that either. But that sure is some disappointing information." He pouted exaggeratedly. Ray laughed a bit and cleared his throat, slowing their dancing to a stop and pulling away.
"I should probably get going... I have other people I need to see..." He said quietly.
"Of course. Nice chatting with you, Dr. Maybe you and I will meet again."
"Well, it would be easier to do that if you told me who you were."
Len merely winked at him and left to go find his sister.
It wasn't until the end of the night that Ray realized his wallet was missing.
Some years after, when Rip Hunter gathered them on that roof top and gave his "saving the world" spiel, Len had to do a double take. He would be lying if he denied that one of the reasons he even went along with them all on the Waverider was to get close to the man he danced with some time ago, but lying always was a strong suit of his.
Yet he still couldn't help picking on him like he did when they first met. It was too easy. And way too fun to see his reactions. It was a source of entertainment.
Ray recognized who Len was the moment he heard his voice. It was easy to place, and Ray found it difficult to forget about the mysterious man who once stole his heart and his money.
Both decided to keep quiet about their revelations for their own reasons, mainly assuming the other had forgotten their prior meeting.
It wasn't until after they actually got together that they found that wasn't true.
It was the morning after a pleasant night together, and Len actually stayed after Ray fell asleep for once. Ray had woken up first, and he took the rare moment to just quietly gaze at his lover, the man who made his heart swell as often as he managed to piss him off. Len could feel his eyes on him, and scoffed quietly.
"Like what you see, Raymond?"
Ray blinked in surprise, letting out a laugh at the familiar question.
"Yeah... Bill Gates."
Len snorted, opening his eyes to plant a sleepy kiss on Ray's lips.
"Told you we'd meet again."