Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So, who’s ready for a week of rest, relaxation, and fun in the snow?” Barry asks from where he’s sitting in the back of the car, as soon as he realized Joe would be driving one of the cars he had jumped at the chance to be in this one.

“You’ve asked that question several times Barry and every time we answer it’s the same thing. We are all ready for a break from villains, destruction, and chaos,” Cisco says from where he’s pretending to be dozing against the window.

“I know, but this is the first annual Team Flash vacation. I want to make sure that everyone enjoys it. I had to practically promise Ollie my first born child to get him to cover Central while we’re gone,” Barry says.

“I still don’t understand the logic behind all the heroes in a city going on vacation,” Harry says through the phone attached to the dashboard. Between him and Joe as the drivers the choice had been a simple one.

At least to Barry.

“Is there any chance we can switch drivers? He’s been complaining since we left,” Wally says.

Wally hadn’t made the right choice.

“We’re almost there Wally. Just a little longer,” Joe says.

“That’s what you said an hour ago,” Eddie says.

“And if would have been true if the main road hadn’t been closed,” Joe says.

“How much farther is it in miles?” Jesse calls through the phone.

“Roughly five minutes,” Caitlin says.

“That’s not miles,” Jesse says.

“Better plan for ten then,” Iris says giggling.

“Not this time,” Barry says as the pull up to the front office for the ski lodge they had booked. They get out of the cars and go inside.

They had chosen a smaller, independently owned resort for a number of reasons.

First, it was close enough to Central so if there was a situation Oliver couldn’t handle Barry could Flash back.

Second, a smaller facility means fewer people. Meaning there would be less chances for someone to see something they shouldn’t.

And three, an independently owned lodge, just felt warmer than a commercial one.

Case in point, the lodge from the outside has a cute rustic feel. With old fashioned street lights lining the cobble stone path up to the door.

Barry opens the door and they file into the office. There’s a small lounge area, warmly lit and with large comfy looking chairs and couches, and bookshelves as well lining the walls.

“Hi, welcome to the Snowy Day Inn. I’m Pamela the owner. You must be the Star Labs party. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person,” she says with a cheerful smile.

“Hi Pamela it’s so nice to finally meet you in person, I’m Iris!” she says. Barry had let Iris and Cisco handle the details of the trip. He just handled getting Hero coverage from Oliver, and even that had come with a ton of help from Felicity.

“The pleasure is all mine. We’re just getting your cabin ready. It’s the second larger one we have on site, so it takes a bit before all the checks are done.”

“You do them so close to the guest’s arrival?” Harry asks.

“The final checks yes. We do one as soon as we book a particular cabin and then again right before the arrival window. In case any issues arise between the last inspection and the arrival.”

“Don’t mind him. He’s just grumpy. I’m Cisco, we’ve spoken a few times too.”

“Ah yes! Hello Cisco, I assure you that all the things we discussed have been taken care of.”

“Great! Thank you so much! I know some of the requests were sorta strange.”

“No stranger than the Sorority Reunion we held or the High School Reunion we hosted. You’ll fine when you’re a more intimate sort of facility that seeming weird requests are run of the mill,” she says with a winning smile.

They all jump as a young boy, maybe seventeen comes rushing in from the back and mumbles to her animatedly.

Her face falls and she bends to talk to him in hushed tones, before turning to them and says, “I’m so sorry but the pipes in your cabin have frozen. Rendering it inoperable…I apologize for the inconvenience, something like this has never happened before. We’ll have to refund your deposit. I’m so sorry.”

“Are there no empty cabins? We could split up,” Cisco says but she shakes her head.

“No, two of the cabins close to yours also froze. One’s roof caved in during that storm last week and the last one is much too small. It’s actually the Honeymoon Cabin. And the last one is occupied…”

“I sense a but,” Cisco says.

“But the occupants are close personal friends of the lodge, so I know that they should have enough empty rooms for you and would say yes if I asked. But I couldn’t ask you to spend your vacation with virtual strangers,” she says and Iris and Cisco look at them.

“Is this okay with you guys?” they ask and they huddle in so that Pamela can hear them.

“You’ll have to be careful what with your identities and powers,” Joe says and the others share a look.

“I mean Wally and I definitely can’t go running on the snow and ice,” Barry points out.

“Yeah, and I’m sure we could sneak into one of the messed up cabins if we needed to Vibe back.”

“You’re actually entertaining this?” Harry asks.

“Well yeah, this is the first time all our schedules have lined up. And Barry did point out that he’ll probably never convince Oliver to cover for him again,” Jesse says, and Harry doesn’t look like he agrees but he seems to back off on disagreeing.

“Anyone else against the idea?” Iris asks.

“Don’t you think we should meet the strangers before we do this? I mean what if they are horrible people?” Wally asks.

“Then we leave.”

When no one else raises any objections Cisco and Iris turn to Pamela.

“It’s fine with us. As long as it’s okay with your other guests,” Iris says.

“And we can still get that refund if it looks like we won’t be able to coexist with the other guests?” Cisco asks.

“Of course. I never want any of my guests to have less than an amazing time. You’re already being incredibly kind by even agreeing to give this arrangement a try. Let me call the cabin and let them know the situation and then you can head up to the cabin to meet them,” Pamela says, and she picks up the office phone and dials a number.

They listen as she quickly details the entire situation to whoever is on the end of the phone. Quickly laying out for them why this is their only option.

“You’re sure? Thank you so much,” Pamela says and hangs up the phone.

“They said that they would be happy to let you stay with them. They are in cabin B12 just follow the road, it’ll be the first cabin,” Pamela says handing them keys and they head back to their cars and park outside the cabin in question.

The cabin has the same warm feeling as the main lodge. With the same style of lamps lining the walk way. This one is bit smoother. Like it was designed for constant walking.

The curtains are drawn, with the glow of some light shining through them.

“I know that this is a little late but what if these guys are serial killers? Caitlin asks.

“We have two cops, five superheroes, and two kickass civilians. We’ll be fine,” Cisco says as they walk into the cabin. It’s just as warm on inside with older style wallpaper and electric lamps made to look like old oil lamps.

“Beside, the chance of it being someone legitimately bad is so low. At worst it’s probably a group here for a family reunion and there’s like ten kids or something,” Barry says.

“Well, well Scarlet. Isn’t this a surprise,” none other than Leonard Snart says from the hallway behind them.

Chapter Text

Barry wastes no time pinning Snart to the wall. “What are you doing here Snart?”

“Well I was welcoming the guests that Pamela asked us to house. Now it seems like I'm not welcome in my own cabin,” Snart says.

Barry opens his mouth but stops when the barrel of a gun is pointed at his face. Snart smirks and his eyes move off of his face and to the side.

“Put that away Lisa. They're our cabin mates,” Snart says and Lisa puts the gun away and Barry lets Snart down. Lisa relaxes a little and blows a kiss at Cisco.

“What are the two of you doing here?” Barry asks backing away from both Snarts.

“Vacation,” they say as Mick walks in with his own gun ready.

“What's the plan Boss?”

“A relaxing week spend in this cabin. Not attacking each other. Pamela will kill us if we got blood all over the place.

“These are the guests she asked us to share with?”

“Yes, and unless you want to face her wrath I suggest we all find a way to get along.”

“Snart, you can't honestly want us to live together?” Mick growls eyeing the heroes unhappily.

Snart gives him an unimpressed look, “Well what do you want to do Mick? We leave she loses our money. They leave she loses ours. You know she'll insist on refunding whoever leaves.”

“You're crazy if you think we're not going to arrest you,” Joe says.

“We outnumber you, we're not in your jurisdiction, and no one in this cabin has a record or warrants out on them,” Snart says.

“What are you talking about?” Joe hisses.

“The Flash, when he asked for my help with something, erased my record. You’ll find no records of me or evidence of any crimes. All I had to do was send in my Tech guy to examine the virus he used and replicate it for all the Rogues. And redo mine since I was arrested after my record was already erased,” Snart says with a shrug as Axel Walker and James Jesse walk into the room.

“Are they our new roomies?” Axel asks excitedly examining them. Sometimes a little too closely.

“Yes.”

“They look boring,” Axel whines.

“Trust me Ax, there's more to them than meets the eye,” Snart says with a smirk at Barry, but no one is listening as they get distracted by a crash from the front door.

Mark standing there glaring daggers at Joe. “What is he doing here?” He hisses.

“Now Marky. Remember your therapy. Clyde's alright, he's out with Hartley getting boring groceries, and probably one of them is ready to strangle the other,” James says.

“He shot my little brother!” Mark growls.

“I mean to be fair Mick has tried to light him on fire a few times. And Snart has threatened to shoot both of you. And myself for that matter,” James says.

“You don't have to talk to him. You don't even have to like it but Pamela needs the money. You know she does and you also know that she can't afford a murder here,” Snart says.

“I hate to interrupt this lovely family squabble but we should go,” Eddie says.

“You can't. Pamela needs the money. I know this is straight out of a movie plot but there's a real estate developer trying to buy her out. Of she can't pay the mortgage she'll lose this place,” Lisa says.

“Normally our visits are enough to pay everything she needs but she's lost a lot of business thanks to the larger Lodge a couple miles away from here,” Mick says.

“Why don't you just steal the money... I didn't just say that,” Eddie says, looking like he had just been betrayed by his closest friend.

“She won't take charity. She's a stubborn lady,” Roy says as he and Shawna come in.

“Great who else is here?” Cisco asks.

“All the Rogues. Sam and Rosa are chopping wood and Hartley and Clyde are doing the grocery shopping. You'll know when they show up because you'll hear Hartley screaming from Clyde's motorcycle,” Axel says giggling.

“Great now I have to put up with Hartley too?” Cisco groans as Sam and Rosa take the wood to the kitchen.

“Come on I'll help you with your luggage,” Mick says and they head out to the cars and starts getting stuff down.

“What do you say Barry should we attack?” Wally asks.

“Listen. We just want to enjoy our vacation. A fight goes against that, plus it would damage the cabins and Pamela's business,” Mick says.

“You guys care a lot about Pamela. Why?” Wally asks.

“That's my personal business,” Mick says and his phone rings and he answers it.

“Hey Hart. Yeah the new roomies are here. Some of them you might know from Frankenstein's Lab...how can a place not have chocolate icing? Fine, get that funfetti stuff Axel loves to put on everything,” Mick says and hangs up.

“What was that all about?” Eddie asks, never expecting to hear a wanted criminal and Supervillain talk about funfetti icing.

“Axel's surprise birthday party is this week and Hartley is picking up the stuff for the cake,” Mick says and helps them carry their bags to their rooms. When they go back down to the living room they find Lisa and Shawna on the couch while Lisa does Rosa's hair and America's Next Top Model plays in the background.

“Well this is strangely normal,” Joe says as they sit down too.

“We're not criminals 24/7,” Shawna says pulling out a large book.

“Really Shawna? Schoolwork while on vacation?” Lisa says.

“Unless you want to write this paper for me, yes.”

“What are you studying?” Jesse asks, settling in between the two girls on the couch, studying the way Lisa twists and turns Rosa’s hair.

“Anatomy. I want to be a nurse, Cold got me into an online program,” Shawna says underlining something.

“I didn't know that,” Caitlin says.

“You never asked,” Shawna says as Jesse introduces herself.

“So why are you getting dolled up?” Jesse asks.

“It's date night,” Rosa says and Sam comes in and takes a picture of Rosa.

“Sam, what are you doing?” Rosa says.

“Taking a picture of the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on,” Sam says and Shawna and Lisa mime throwing up.

“Are there any good places for dates?” Wally asks.

“I bribed Mark to freeze the local lake a little more so that it would be safe to skate on,” Sam says.

“I normally just bribe Clyde. He's much more easy going and usually will do it for free,” Lisa says.

“Except Clyde is off with Hartley getting food,” Sam says.

“Do you think Clyde would help me out?” Wally asks.

“Maybe, depends on when you catch him,” Lisa says.

“Your best bet is after he’s just been with Hartley or Axel. They’re some of the youngest so they sort of cling to each other. Worst time is probably if Mark and him have had a fight.”

“I'm going to explore,” Harry says walking off and Wally rolls his eyes.

“I guess introductions should be made,” Wally says but a scream interrupts him.

“That sounded like Hartley,” Sam says and they all run to the sound of the scream.