#For those of you too lazy to read: Barry steals Lewis's family but it's okay

[coldinpantsreboot]

Hey, I've had the idea for a very long time with the age swap coldflash too. No super powers, just super traumatized teenager Len and his concerned good neighbor Barry.

Leonard is 16-17, Lisa is half his age, and Lewis is still an asshole who bullies his kids. Everyone in their neighborhood seems to know what's going on at the Snarts' house, but Barry is the only one trying to help. He takes Lisa to the hospital when she "accidentally falls down the stairs." He brings extra groceries he bought, but there are too many for him alone and they might spoil. He gives Lisa a box of his niece's toys that she no longer plays with, but they all look too new for second-hand.

Leonard doesn't understand why a 30 year old man cares so much about him and his little sister, but he accepts it. Cautiously, he begins to trust Barry, to open up to him, and he receives the kind of support, understanding, and care he's never received before. And when Lewis becomes completely unbearable and dangerous, Leonard can't refuse Barry when he offers to finally move in with him.

Leonard tries to be helpful wherever he can. He cooks, cleans, does laundry, but Barry stops him when he sneaks into his bed at night and offers sex as a thank you ("I'm not going to have sex with you" "Why?" "Do I really need to explain why I don't want to have sex with a teenager...? God, you really don't get it. We're going to see a child psychologist tomorrow!") The man asks nothing in return for his help and Leonard has to accept it too.

After a while, they become a real family. Lisa is tentative at first, but starts calling Barry dad (Len once also jokingly called Barry daddy and winked at him, and he took him to a psychologist again). Len and Lisa even get to know Barry's parents, who are, as expected, very nice people and wonderful grandparents to Lisa. They accepted even Leonard with kindness, though they didn't realize who they were to each other.

Leonard: he's our kidnapper.

Barry: no! He's just kidding!

Nora and Henry: basically you did steal the kids, honey.

And after a long conversation, Barry and Len come to a difficult decision. Thanks to Henry's friend Joe and his lawyer acquaintances, Lewis was pretty quickly stripped of his parental rights and Barry legally adopted Lisa. She was now completely safe and Leonard realized for the first time that he no longer had to be responsible for her. He could think about college and not feel guilty about having to leave his little sister with a monster. And, of course, Barry supported him in that.

Leonard consciously chose a college in another city. He needed the time and distance to figure out what his options were now, what he could become and what he really wanted, but most importantly, to figure out his own feelings. He was only 18, but he knew it was love. He was in love with Barry, and the time he had spent away from him only proved it. But that doesn't mean he could afford it.

Leonard didn't even come home for the holidays. Lisa cried into the phone, resentful, and he tried to explain to her that he hadn't left her, but he didn't believe his own words. He celebrated his twentieth birthday in the company of some acquaintances and his closest friend Mick. Leonard was in the bar when Barry suddenly walked in. Their eyes met, and Len got goosebumps from the other's gaze. Barry didn't get angry or yell, he said something about Lisa missing him and if he, Barry, had offended him in some way, he was ready to apologize, but Lisa wasn't to blame anyway. Leonard listened to him until he stopped. He was drunk enough to kiss Barry and then proceed to make out with him. They had finished when Mick walked into the bathroom and froze, looking at them perplexed.

Leonard: I'm going to go home.

Mick: It's about time, dude.

And Barry smiled at him with such a soft smile that Len knew he would never regret trusting this man.

I've immersed myself in Star Wars again and read a lot of obikin fanfics, so now I have a completely different dynamic in my head for Coldflash. We're used to Leonard flirting with Barry most of the time while he either doesn't realize it, or is embarrassed, or other. But what if a young and very confident superhero is desperate to flirt with an adult villain? I want to see Barry shower Snart with rose petals when they meet and say something like: hey babygirl, don't be so cold to me, come with me and I'll show you all the perks of being nice ;) And Leonard: what did you just call me...?