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ajremixTitle: Dog Days
Fandom: DC TV
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2261
Characters: Mick, Len, Lisa
Summary: Based off this post. They told Mick the dog failed out of the mobility service program for being disobedient and refusing to learn. Mick didn't care, he wasn't in need of a service dog he was just that hard up for company.
They told Mick the dog failed out of the mobility service program for being disobedient and refusing to learn, brought to the shelter because the owners kept up a cycle of fostered and training animals. Mick didn't care, he wasn't in need of a service dog- though his therapist would probably approve -he was just that hard up for company.
Mick wouldn't have even thought about getting a dog had it not been for his neighbor dying- a crotchety old woman who hated everyone but their landlord, her hairstylist that came to her apartment every two weeks and, inexplicably, Mick. The first time he'd met her Mick had a hankering for his mother's chocolate chip peanut butter cookies only to find part way through the mix that he was half a cup of flour short. So he'd gone to her door to see if she had any to spare and she demanded half the batch as payment. Mick haggled it down to a quarter and she'd liked them so much she gave Mick copies of her family's recipes and would get half the meal in return every time he made them. When she died she left Mick the contents of her storage locker, one of the big, half-garage types. It was mostly full, generally of kitschy things not worth much outside of nostalgia but there were a couple boxes of dog supplies- themed collars, a couple leashes, various kinds of beds, a harness, what seemed like a metric ton of toys and more dog-themed blankets than Mick had of regular ones.
Even then the idea didn't sink in until he mentioned the boxes to his boss. The man had lost a leg during one of the Operation Desert Whatevers though at least he was brought back home to be with his little boy who happened to have been born on the day of his deployment. Soon after he'd bought his son a newborn pup. "So they can grow up together," he told Mick, keeping half an eye on the toddler and puppy as they ran around the waiting area of the garage until an aunt picked them up for a play date. "Hard to beat the loyalty and comfort you get from a good dog," he said before calling to little Jefferson and littler Gray when they chased each other too close to the tire display.
So Mick went to a shelter and got himself a dog. A curly coated retriever with black fur and brown eyes and came with the name Leonard which Mick would never admit was part of the reason he got him. He hadn't thought about that name and the corresponding person in almost ten years. Three days later, after Leonard made himself comfortable in the apartment and Mick got him registered at a local vet, Mick was seriously considering renaming him Shithead.
It seemed whoever took him out of the service program was only half right in their assessment. Leonard had indeed learned all the tasks, he just did them whenever he felt like it, opening cabinet doors for Mick to bang his shins against at ass crack o'clock in the morning, leaving the kitchen tap running until Mick came home, turning on and off the lights like Mick lived in a damn discotheque. Sure it drove Mick crazy but he also thought it was hilarious and he always appreciated quality trolling. Not to mention the occasions Leonard would jump on the couch and lay his head on Mick's lap, falling asleep to head scratches was a tough thing to give up. Besides, Mick figured out pretty quick that Leonard was less inclined to cause trouble when he had some decent exercise. Running with Mick, mostly, but on his off days they spent a couple hours at a park. Catching frisbees was Leonard's favorite though it was a pretty even chance that he'd bring it back or run off with it.
Which was how Mick met that most gorgeous man he'd ever laid eyes on.
Leonard had run off with the frisbee but Mick wasn't too worried, headstrong though he was he always came back when Mick whistled. About halfway across the field, something caught Leonard's attention and he dropped the frisbee, trotting off elsewhere. Mick rolled his eyes and jogged out to get the toy. When he picked up the frisbee, Leonard was on his way back holding a book in his mouth.
Mick ran toward him, simultaneously horrified and amused that his fucking dog stole from someone. "Leonard!" A man walking on the path looked up, saw Shithead with the book and did a quick check through his bag before giving chase. Thankfully it never took much effort to make Leonard drop things and Mick had already wiped the dog slobber off the well-worn book as the owner came up to him. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, straightening. "He's a bit of a rule breaker."
"I'm familiar with the type," the man said and Mick's breath caught. He was just barely Mick's height, hair dusted with gray and very, very blue eyes behind slim silver-framed glasses. Something about the man made Mick want to ask if they met before but he caught the question on the tip of his tongue, wordlessly holding out the book. The man chuckled, tone wry but amused, "Talented dog."
"He's full of surprises," Mick heard himself agree distantly. Idly he realized he was trying to memorize the guy's face in hopes he would remember it during the late hours tonight.
The man smiled and turned away with what Mick hoped was a lingering look. "Maybe I'll see you around."
Mick stared after him as he walked off until Shithead knocked him in the back of the knee with the frisbee.
A couple days later Mick learned Leonard figured out how to open the front door by coming home after a half shift and seeing the apartment door wide open. Thankfully Leonard was right in front of it, playing tug of war with a pre-teen girl "Hi!" The girl chirped, giggling as Leonard dragged her a couple inches on her butt down the linoleum hall. "I like your dog!"
"Uh." Mick said. "Thanks." Then, "Where do you live?"
She pointed next door where the old lady used to be.
"Huh. Didn't realize anyone moved in."
"Your dog keeps me company until my brother gets back. It's just us two so it can get boring some times." She pulled extra hard on the rope bone and squeaked when Leonard let go, making her fall backward. She threw the bone inside Mick's apartment and Leonard ran in after it. She stood and dusted herself off, giving Mick one last shining smile and a "Bye!" before leaving.
The next day Mick installed a deadbolt on his door and while he felt a little twinge of guilt for taking away the girl's after school playmate, he didn't want to risk someone taking advantage of the open door.
Mick ran into the man again the following week during his run. Normally on runs Leonard was good at sticking to Mick's side with little deviation. That time, however, Leonard had bolted on ahead and Mick mentally told himself if he didn't see the dog when he rounded the upcoming bend, then he'd worry.
Sure enough there was Shithead, reveling in the attention of the gorgeous man who sat on a bench, giving him a good neck scratch. Mick slowed to a stop next to them and the man's eyes widened. Mick tried not to look embarrassed, remembering he wasn't in the shape he used to be and that he didn't have a shirt to cover up the extensive burn scars on his shoulders. "This is your dog?" The man asked as if he didn't remember Leonard stealing his book the week before, voice not quite as smooth as Mick recalled. Mick was suddenly struck with the tentative possibility that maybe the man was staring at him for reasons other than the scars.
"Yeah." He still had the suspicion they'd met before.
"He suits you." The man sounded a bit more like he had previously, giving Leonard a light shove in Mick's direction. "Pleasure seeing you again, Mick," the man drawled- purred, really, and Mick couldn't help the aroused shiver running down his spine.
Trying to think of something to say, Mick blurted out the first thing he could think of that wasn't utterly embarrassing. "How did you know my name?"
He smirked. "It's on your dog's license."
Mick, a bit appalled at himself for asking such an obvious question, went back to his run with Leonard following after.
And so it went over the course of a month or so. Mick would see the man in the park, generally just a figure in the distance he'd spot on occasions but the sporadic times Mick would pass by him on his runs gradually turned into an almost daily occurrence. Mick still sometimes got self-conscious whenever he wondered if he'd see the man, knowing he got red all over when he sweated heavily and not yet entirely used to the way some people would look at his scars. Then Mick would pass him by and the man would give Mick a smirk and a wave and an appreciative once-over and Mick would get self-conscious for entirely different reasons. Basketball shorts did not do the best job of hiding arousal and jogging with a chub was damn uncomfortable. But he'd give a little wave and whistle for Leonard to follow.
Meanwhile the girl- Lisa -apparently stalked Mick and would ambush him when he'd take Leonard out for his evening walk for a couple minutes of fawning all over the dog. After a while- having gotten her brother's permission, she said -she started walking with them. Mick even let her hold the leash sometimes between the park and the apartment. Leonard was always on his best behavior with Lisa, the little Shithead.
He started wondering- idly, for the moment -if he should give Lisa a spare key to the apartment so she could walk Leonard after she got back from class. Play with him, have someone to keep her company. It'd probably do Shithead a lot of good instead of putting dog and owner in an escalating game of what-needs-to-be-childproofed-this-time every other day. He mulled it over in his head while he showered when Mick suddenly remembered she lived with her brother and Mick had no idea what kind of person he was. C'mon- he let his little sister spend up to an hour at a time with a person he'd never met before, what made the guy so certain Mick wasn't some creep?
When Mick got out of the shower he figured he'd go next door in the next day or two and get a feel for the guy before deciding about the key. He wrapped a towel around his waist because, even if he recalled throwing the deadbolt on the front door, the memory of the one time he'd forgotten to and Leonard had opened the door, causing Mick to inadvertently flash the sisters across the hall- who gave him thumbs up and wide grins which was only a marginal boost to his ego, all things considered -was still fresh enough to make him err on the side of caution. Which was good because Leonard apparently also learned to undo a deadbolt, allowing the gorgeous man from the park and Lisa inside his living room with Leonard laying at their feet like this was normal.
The man's eyes went dark and wide, ogling Mick appreciatively even as he hand clamped over Lisa's eyes. "Not for your eyes, Lise," he said, licking his lips as his eyes traced the trickle of a stray droplet that Mick was suddenly hyperaware of.
"Ugh, Lenny."
"You're not even old enough to appreciate this, stop complaining."
Mick's eyes narrowed, the niggling sense of familiarity coming back full force. "Wait... Leonard Snart?"
The man smirked in that undeniable way that haunted Mick's teenage dreams. "I was wondering if you'd forgotten me."
"You moved in next door?"
"Serendipitously, yes. Hadn't expected to run into you again after juvie but I'm certainly not complaining."
Then, because Mick's life was a fucking romantic comedy, Shithead stole his towel.
Mick swore loudly and lunged at Leonard, realizing halfway the dog ran right by Len and out the door and Mick ducked behind the couch instead, head hanging low and flushing bright red all the way down to his shoulders. Len, after letting out a startled bark of laughter, had gallantly turned his head away. Lisa protested as Len put his second hand over her eyes for extra security. Peeking to make sure that Mick was, at least, no longer exposed, his lips curled into the kind of smile that made Mick sink further behind the couch and trying very desperately not to react. "I was going to ask about letting Lisa dogsit for you but, given recent events, we'll just get your wayward dog and let you salvage your dignity. I look forward to seeing more of you later, Mick," he said, eyes trailing deliberately over the parts of Mick he could see.
Once the siblings left, Mick went right back into the shower.
When Mick and the Snarts moved into a house with an actual yard a year later it was because Leonard only ever behaved for Lisa and totally not because Mick wanted to spend the rest of his life spoiling her and making Len happy.
---
Some details that didn't make it in:
-by the time Leonard stole the book, Len and Lisa had moved next door and Leonard recognized the scent
-Mick's a medically discharged firefighter and works at a garage that Jax's father owns for the last three years
-due to injury Mick is no longer able to lift over a certain amount over his head
-Jax adores Mick and Mick is somewhat terrified by this
-the vet is Kendra who took it over after Amaya retired (though she still stops by with her granddaughter)
-the sisters are Laurel and Sara
-Len's a structural engineer/architect and is Ray's first choice in designing Palmer Tech buildings
-after juvie both Len and Mick went straight
-Len's book is Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness
-Lewis is dead and Len has custody of Lisa
-Len totally stalked Mick's jogging route when he realized the hot guy was also the one that saved him in juvie who he had the biggest fucking crush on
-the nickname Shithead is a reference to the Steve Martin movie The Jerk
-Mick's pyromania is more lowkey in this 'verse and Leonard knows to break him out of a trance if mick stares at fire too long
-part of the reason Mick didn't want to give Leonard back at first is because he knew most people wouldn't give troublemakers a chance or put up with his quirks
Fandom: DC TV
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2261
Characters: Mick, Len, Lisa
Summary: Based off this post. They told Mick the dog failed out of the mobility service program for being disobedient and refusing to learn. Mick didn't care, he wasn't in need of a service dog he was just that hard up for company.
They told Mick the dog failed out of the mobility service program for being disobedient and refusing to learn, brought to the shelter because the owners kept up a cycle of fostered and training animals. Mick didn't care, he wasn't in need of a service dog- though his therapist would probably approve -he was just that hard up for company.
Mick wouldn't have even thought about getting a dog had it not been for his neighbor dying- a crotchety old woman who hated everyone but their landlord, her hairstylist that came to her apartment every two weeks and, inexplicably, Mick. The first time he'd met her Mick had a hankering for his mother's chocolate chip peanut butter cookies only to find part way through the mix that he was half a cup of flour short. So he'd gone to her door to see if she had any to spare and she demanded half the batch as payment. Mick haggled it down to a quarter and she'd liked them so much she gave Mick copies of her family's recipes and would get half the meal in return every time he made them. When she died she left Mick the contents of her storage locker, one of the big, half-garage types. It was mostly full, generally of kitschy things not worth much outside of nostalgia but there were a couple boxes of dog supplies- themed collars, a couple leashes, various kinds of beds, a harness, what seemed like a metric ton of toys and more dog-themed blankets than Mick had of regular ones.
Even then the idea didn't sink in until he mentioned the boxes to his boss. The man had lost a leg during one of the Operation Desert Whatevers though at least he was brought back home to be with his little boy who happened to have been born on the day of his deployment. Soon after he'd bought his son a newborn pup. "So they can grow up together," he told Mick, keeping half an eye on the toddler and puppy as they ran around the waiting area of the garage until an aunt picked them up for a play date. "Hard to beat the loyalty and comfort you get from a good dog," he said before calling to little Jefferson and littler Gray when they chased each other too close to the tire display.
So Mick went to a shelter and got himself a dog. A curly coated retriever with black fur and brown eyes and came with the name Leonard which Mick would never admit was part of the reason he got him. He hadn't thought about that name and the corresponding person in almost ten years. Three days later, after Leonard made himself comfortable in the apartment and Mick got him registered at a local vet, Mick was seriously considering renaming him Shithead.
It seemed whoever took him out of the service program was only half right in their assessment. Leonard had indeed learned all the tasks, he just did them whenever he felt like it, opening cabinet doors for Mick to bang his shins against at ass crack o'clock in the morning, leaving the kitchen tap running until Mick came home, turning on and off the lights like Mick lived in a damn discotheque. Sure it drove Mick crazy but he also thought it was hilarious and he always appreciated quality trolling. Not to mention the occasions Leonard would jump on the couch and lay his head on Mick's lap, falling asleep to head scratches was a tough thing to give up. Besides, Mick figured out pretty quick that Leonard was less inclined to cause trouble when he had some decent exercise. Running with Mick, mostly, but on his off days they spent a couple hours at a park. Catching frisbees was Leonard's favorite though it was a pretty even chance that he'd bring it back or run off with it.
Which was how Mick met that most gorgeous man he'd ever laid eyes on.
Leonard had run off with the frisbee but Mick wasn't too worried, headstrong though he was he always came back when Mick whistled. About halfway across the field, something caught Leonard's attention and he dropped the frisbee, trotting off elsewhere. Mick rolled his eyes and jogged out to get the toy. When he picked up the frisbee, Leonard was on his way back holding a book in his mouth.
Mick ran toward him, simultaneously horrified and amused that his fucking dog stole from someone. "Leonard!" A man walking on the path looked up, saw Shithead with the book and did a quick check through his bag before giving chase. Thankfully it never took much effort to make Leonard drop things and Mick had already wiped the dog slobber off the well-worn book as the owner came up to him. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, straightening. "He's a bit of a rule breaker."
"I'm familiar with the type," the man said and Mick's breath caught. He was just barely Mick's height, hair dusted with gray and very, very blue eyes behind slim silver-framed glasses. Something about the man made Mick want to ask if they met before but he caught the question on the tip of his tongue, wordlessly holding out the book. The man chuckled, tone wry but amused, "Talented dog."
"He's full of surprises," Mick heard himself agree distantly. Idly he realized he was trying to memorize the guy's face in hopes he would remember it during the late hours tonight.
The man smiled and turned away with what Mick hoped was a lingering look. "Maybe I'll see you around."
Mick stared after him as he walked off until Shithead knocked him in the back of the knee with the frisbee.
A couple days later Mick learned Leonard figured out how to open the front door by coming home after a half shift and seeing the apartment door wide open. Thankfully Leonard was right in front of it, playing tug of war with a pre-teen girl "Hi!" The girl chirped, giggling as Leonard dragged her a couple inches on her butt down the linoleum hall. "I like your dog!"
"Uh." Mick said. "Thanks." Then, "Where do you live?"
She pointed next door where the old lady used to be.
"Huh. Didn't realize anyone moved in."
"Your dog keeps me company until my brother gets back. It's just us two so it can get boring some times." She pulled extra hard on the rope bone and squeaked when Leonard let go, making her fall backward. She threw the bone inside Mick's apartment and Leonard ran in after it. She stood and dusted herself off, giving Mick one last shining smile and a "Bye!" before leaving.
The next day Mick installed a deadbolt on his door and while he felt a little twinge of guilt for taking away the girl's after school playmate, he didn't want to risk someone taking advantage of the open door.
Mick ran into the man again the following week during his run. Normally on runs Leonard was good at sticking to Mick's side with little deviation. That time, however, Leonard had bolted on ahead and Mick mentally told himself if he didn't see the dog when he rounded the upcoming bend, then he'd worry.
Sure enough there was Shithead, reveling in the attention of the gorgeous man who sat on a bench, giving him a good neck scratch. Mick slowed to a stop next to them and the man's eyes widened. Mick tried not to look embarrassed, remembering he wasn't in the shape he used to be and that he didn't have a shirt to cover up the extensive burn scars on his shoulders. "This is your dog?" The man asked as if he didn't remember Leonard stealing his book the week before, voice not quite as smooth as Mick recalled. Mick was suddenly struck with the tentative possibility that maybe the man was staring at him for reasons other than the scars.
"Yeah." He still had the suspicion they'd met before.
"He suits you." The man sounded a bit more like he had previously, giving Leonard a light shove in Mick's direction. "Pleasure seeing you again, Mick," the man drawled- purred, really, and Mick couldn't help the aroused shiver running down his spine.
Trying to think of something to say, Mick blurted out the first thing he could think of that wasn't utterly embarrassing. "How did you know my name?"
He smirked. "It's on your dog's license."
Mick, a bit appalled at himself for asking such an obvious question, went back to his run with Leonard following after.
And so it went over the course of a month or so. Mick would see the man in the park, generally just a figure in the distance he'd spot on occasions but the sporadic times Mick would pass by him on his runs gradually turned into an almost daily occurrence. Mick still sometimes got self-conscious whenever he wondered if he'd see the man, knowing he got red all over when he sweated heavily and not yet entirely used to the way some people would look at his scars. Then Mick would pass him by and the man would give Mick a smirk and a wave and an appreciative once-over and Mick would get self-conscious for entirely different reasons. Basketball shorts did not do the best job of hiding arousal and jogging with a chub was damn uncomfortable. But he'd give a little wave and whistle for Leonard to follow.
Meanwhile the girl- Lisa -apparently stalked Mick and would ambush him when he'd take Leonard out for his evening walk for a couple minutes of fawning all over the dog. After a while- having gotten her brother's permission, she said -she started walking with them. Mick even let her hold the leash sometimes between the park and the apartment. Leonard was always on his best behavior with Lisa, the little Shithead.
He started wondering- idly, for the moment -if he should give Lisa a spare key to the apartment so she could walk Leonard after she got back from class. Play with him, have someone to keep her company. It'd probably do Shithead a lot of good instead of putting dog and owner in an escalating game of what-needs-to-be-childproofed-this-time every other day. He mulled it over in his head while he showered when Mick suddenly remembered she lived with her brother and Mick had no idea what kind of person he was. C'mon- he let his little sister spend up to an hour at a time with a person he'd never met before, what made the guy so certain Mick wasn't some creep?
When Mick got out of the shower he figured he'd go next door in the next day or two and get a feel for the guy before deciding about the key. He wrapped a towel around his waist because, even if he recalled throwing the deadbolt on the front door, the memory of the one time he'd forgotten to and Leonard had opened the door, causing Mick to inadvertently flash the sisters across the hall- who gave him thumbs up and wide grins which was only a marginal boost to his ego, all things considered -was still fresh enough to make him err on the side of caution. Which was good because Leonard apparently also learned to undo a deadbolt, allowing the gorgeous man from the park and Lisa inside his living room with Leonard laying at their feet like this was normal.
The man's eyes went dark and wide, ogling Mick appreciatively even as he hand clamped over Lisa's eyes. "Not for your eyes, Lise," he said, licking his lips as his eyes traced the trickle of a stray droplet that Mick was suddenly hyperaware of.
"Ugh, Lenny."
"You're not even old enough to appreciate this, stop complaining."
Mick's eyes narrowed, the niggling sense of familiarity coming back full force. "Wait... Leonard Snart?"
The man smirked in that undeniable way that haunted Mick's teenage dreams. "I was wondering if you'd forgotten me."
"You moved in next door?"
"Serendipitously, yes. Hadn't expected to run into you again after juvie but I'm certainly not complaining."
Then, because Mick's life was a fucking romantic comedy, Shithead stole his towel.
Mick swore loudly and lunged at Leonard, realizing halfway the dog ran right by Len and out the door and Mick ducked behind the couch instead, head hanging low and flushing bright red all the way down to his shoulders. Len, after letting out a startled bark of laughter, had gallantly turned his head away. Lisa protested as Len put his second hand over her eyes for extra security. Peeking to make sure that Mick was, at least, no longer exposed, his lips curled into the kind of smile that made Mick sink further behind the couch and trying very desperately not to react. "I was going to ask about letting Lisa dogsit for you but, given recent events, we'll just get your wayward dog and let you salvage your dignity. I look forward to seeing more of you later, Mick," he said, eyes trailing deliberately over the parts of Mick he could see.
Once the siblings left, Mick went right back into the shower.
When Mick and the Snarts moved into a house with an actual yard a year later it was because Leonard only ever behaved for Lisa and totally not because Mick wanted to spend the rest of his life spoiling her and making Len happy.
---
Some details that didn't make it in:
-by the time Leonard stole the book, Len and Lisa had moved next door and Leonard recognized the scent
-Mick's a medically discharged firefighter and works at a garage that Jax's father owns for the last three years
-due to injury Mick is no longer able to lift over a certain amount over his head
-Jax adores Mick and Mick is somewhat terrified by this
-the vet is Kendra who took it over after Amaya retired (though she still stops by with her granddaughter)
-the sisters are Laurel and Sara
-Len's a structural engineer/architect and is Ray's first choice in designing Palmer Tech buildings
-after juvie both Len and Mick went straight
-Len's book is Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness
-Lewis is dead and Len has custody of Lisa
-Len totally stalked Mick's jogging route when he realized the hot guy was also the one that saved him in juvie who he had the biggest fucking crush on
-the nickname Shithead is a reference to the Steve Martin movie The Jerk
-Mick's pyromania is more lowkey in this 'verse and Leonard knows to break him out of a trance if mick stares at fire too long
-part of the reason Mick didn't want to give Leonard back at first is because he knew most people wouldn't give troublemakers a chance or put up with his quirks
