[fic][DC TV, Lisa, Len, Mick, PG-13] Make Me the Reason You Answer to Love

[ajremix]

Title from Give and Take by Yes. Meant to put it up when I wrote it five days ago but got distracted/forgot.

Title: Make Me the Reason You Answer to Love
Fandom: DC TV
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1806
Characters: Mick, Len, Lisa
Summary: Len would be happy to help his little sister plan her wedding except he has a slight issue with the fiance...



Len agonized for the better part of an hour before he bit the bullet and texted Lisa:
 

won't be able to participate in any more planning, sorry

About ten minutes later- because Len specifically decided to do this when he knew Lisa had a full day of taste testing with caterers, final fittings for her dress and meeting with decorators because he didn't want to give her time to actually call him -he received:
 

???
WHY!!

i'll still give you away but you don't actually need my help
you make all the same decisions i would've
you have mick there to give you good alternatives

 

After he'd already hit send, Len winced at the mention of Mick, hoping he didn't inadvertently give himself away. She shot him back a response, demanding to know the truth. Len made up some lie about his Master's thesis requiring more time than he thought. Lisa called bullshit on that and Len doubled down, saying between his thesis and trying to make his little sister's wedding day the best possible, he was stressed out and losing sleep and Lisa knew full well how bad Len could get when his insomnia triggered. When she called bullshit on that, Len clutched his phone tightly and took a deep breath. Steeling himself, Len typed out the truth and hit send before he had a chance to stop himself.
 

i'm horribly attracted to your fiance

Your WHAT

i'm sorry. i didn't mean for it to happen
i'm sure once you're married it'll sink in my head that mick isn't available
until then i think it's best to have some space

 

For a long time, or at least the longest five minutes of Len's life, he received no response. And then:
 

 

I cant believe this
lenny
We need to talk
You me n Mick r sitting together
Face to face
n talking
This is ridiculous
2 hours. My place

And then she ended with an eyeroll emoji which thoroughly confused Len. That was for exasperation, right? He was expecting an angry emoji or a series of fires, something to show she was furious at her brother's emotional betrayal and instead it just seemed like she thought he was being an idiot?

For an hour Len fretted and paced, unable to focus on anything and eventually caved, leaving for Lisa's apartment early. There he fretted and paced outside her door for forty minutes until Lisa, with Mick right behind, arrived. Once she saw him, Lisa gave him a look. Not angry, not hurt, but- again -like she thought Len was being an idiot. Len, resolutely, kept his eyes on Lisa and away from Mick and v-neck shirt stretched tight over his broad chest or the way the scruff along his jaw made it look that much stronger.

Lisa glared into Len's eyes like she knew exactly what he was trying not to do before turning to open her door. "Get in," she said firmly, making the two men go in before her. "Sit," she commanded next, gesturing to her table. And they did, taking chairs on opposite sides of the table and turning them slightly so they were facing Lisa who stood at the end, hands on her hips, and sighed.

"Lenny. I am not marrying Mick."

The bluntness of that statement momentarily made Len think he misheard. "You're what?"

"I'm not marrying Mick," she repeated, pulling out her phone and flicking at the screen. "He's my Maid of Honor. This is my fiance." She held the phone out, it was obviously a selfie with Lisa and a young man with long dark hair and a bright smile. Lisa was leaned back on his shoulder and her expression was relaxed and so happy it made Len's heart swell to see it. "His name is Cisco Ramon, which you would know if you looked at the dumb invitation I sent you."

"Why would I need an invitation?" Len asked, "I helped you plan the date and location."

"Obviously so you'd know who I was marrying! Cisco's from Central, too, which is why we're getting married here instead of you flying out to Coast City." She gave him that 'my brother is an idiot' look again. "What made you think I was marrying Mick?"

There was a lot he could've said. The way Mick looked at her, fond even when Lisa was at her most demanding, the way he knew her taste in dresses and colors and flavors, the way neither had a problem sharing a hug and bumping each other's shoulders, the fact that Len couldn't see why she wasn't in love with Mick because the man was a helluva catch. Instead, Len said, "You have matching jackets. They have the same patches."

They both stared at him for a moment. Then Lisa said slowly, "We're in the same bike club. That was how we met. I told you that."

"That's another thing," Len said defensively, "you talked about him a lot. Meanwhile, I barely remember you saying a thing about this Ramon guy!"

Lisa buried her face in her hands. "Lenny, I told you about Mick because I've been trying to hook you two up for a year!"

That caused Len's brain to stall out. "What?"

"Mick," Lisa tossed her hand toward the man in question, who was turning bright red from the ears down and trying to hide in plain sight, "is gay as hell. He might like looking at women, but he'll also stare after a flashy car or whatever. He just likes looking at pretty things. He's only interested in dicks." She turned towards Mick, her tone wry. "Lenny's sole criteria, meanwhile, is that he has to like you. Considering this whole situation, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say he likes you."

"Lisa," Len drawled out warning. It was pretty much just for show, however, and Lisa knew it because she just stared him down, daring him to make something of it. Honestly, though, he wasn't going to give her too hard a time about it because Mick was giving him hopeful, sidelong glances.

"But, you know," Lisa said airily, "it makes more sense that you thought I was marrying my best friend than, say, Mick thinking I was marrying my older brother."

He turned to Mick in surprise and the other man was looking away, practically glowing red. "You don't look that similar," was he only muttered defense.

"Half siblings are still siblings."

"How do you not know about Ramon if you're her best friend?" Len asked.

"He has a problem remembering faces and names," Lisa said. "Especially if he's never met them before."

"Why haven't we met this guy yet?" Mick asked, big arms crossed over his chest.

"He was supposed to be here to meet you two," she admitted, "but he got an invitation to do research on that big particle accelerator over by Metropolis. He'll be back in time for the wedding."

That didn't appease either man. "So he just left you to handle everything?" Len drawled, this one his dangerous drawl.

"He didn't just leave. I forced him to go." Lisa lifted her chin, sniffing like she found the accusation distasteful. "I reminded him that it was basically his dream and that he'd defer to me on all decisions anyway. Besides, I knew I had you two to fall back on if I needed any help."

Len stole a glance at Mick, a little surprised. He knew that Mick and Lisa were close but Lisa, like Len, never admitted to weakness or the possibility of it to anyone. "You're really close, aren't you?" He said, amazed that Lisa could say that so freely.

Lisa shrugged, looking surprisingly subdued. "We helped each other out through some bad shit. Mick talked me out of some bad relationships and was always there whenever dad came poking into my life. And I help Mick with," she waved a hand vaguely, "his stuff." The fact she was obviously deferring to Mick on the specifics spoke highly of both Lisa's relationship to him and how bad this 'stuff' was.

Mick pressed his lips together, shooting a glance or two Len's way before admitting, "I have pyromania. It's tied to my anxiety and impulse issues."

"Yesterday he tried to back out of planning, too," Lisa said, a smile quirking at the edges of her lips. "He thought his impulses and attraction to you would let him do something he'd regret."

"Ain't never gonna hurt you like that, Lise," he said mulishly. Len couldn't help falling for him a little more.

"I've learned his cues over the years," Lisa said. "Whenever you've seen me grab his hand, it's usually because his anxiety is ratcheting."

"That's not going to be a problem, is it?" Mick asked, voice low.

"Why would it be a problem?" Len responded automatically. It then clicked that Mick was referring to a relationship, if they were to attempt it. "It's not like I don't have my own issues. We can figure it out if we decide to go for it."

"Oh, you're going for it." Lisa glared down at both of them, though there was a spark of happiness in her eyes. And smugness because she knew this was a good idea. "I'm going to order some dinner for us. You two better have decided on a first date by the time I get back."

A beat after Lisa went into the kitchen to find a takeout menu, Mick leaned over to Len and asked lowly, "You wanna have that first date right now?"

Len smirked. "Absolutely."

Sneaking out to have sex at Len's place probably wasn't a proper first date by most people's standards but after their awkward hot-and-cold dance of flirting then immediately feeling guilty about it for the last month, it was good to just get the tension out. After, when Len had sated his desire to admire Mick, lazy and warm and blissed out in the afterglow, Len reached over to his phone. He snickered at what he found there.

"What?" Mick asked, eyes shut, stretching out lethargically and temporarily derailing Len's attention.

"Lisa sent a text to both of us."

"Oh?"

You 2 are dicks

It said, followed by an emoji sticking out its tongue.

already knew that tho
When you get married I get to be both your maid of honor
I will find a way to make it happen

Mick huffed quietly to himself. "Brat," he said in that hopelessly fond way he got about Lisa. One of the things Len couldn't help but find endearing about him.

"That she is."

"She's gonna be insufferable about this."

Len tossed his phone to the nightstand and pressed himself back against Mick's side. "I think," he drawled, fingers tracing nonsense patterns over Mick's ribs, "I'm okay with that."