Len wakes in a thick fog to the sound of faint voices arguing. His head throbs sharply upon awakening, and he's not sure where he is, but this definitely doesn't smell like the safe house. He pries heavy eyelids open and finds himself in a bright room, strapped down to a chair. That would explain the throbbing neck, then – he's been slouching in the chair for who knows how long.
It's uncomfortable, but more uncomfortable is the fact he remembers he wasn't alone before the attack.
He looks around, but Barry is nowhere to be found. He can hear voices, but none of them are his. One is female, one is male, and they seem to be talking off to the side, around a corner where he can't see.
He can't make out what they're saying, only that their inflection seems to indicate they are arguing.
He squirms, and must make some noise because a second later the arguing stops and two people round the corner, approaching him. One is a blonde woman, the other a brunette male with sharp eyes like a hawk.
Len sits back, adopting a more casual position despite how much he wants to continue attempting to twist free. Somehow, he knows it is useless. This guy looks adept at tying people up, and the girl...
She looks apologetic, at least, but he's not sure why.
"Where's Barry?" Len asks, because that's all that matters right now. The blonde girl looks at the guy, but the guy keeps his mouth shut. "He was with me when you attacked – where is he?"
If they have done something to Barry, he will ice them. He will start with the feet and work his way up, a slow, torturous demise. He will let them feel helpless and cold before it ends.
"You're Leonard Snart," the guy says in a gruff voice, and the girl sighs heavily. "AKA Captain Cold."
"So my reputation precedes me," Len says with a shrug, which is actually rather difficult due to his position right now, and the fact everything seems sore.
"Barry is not going to like this," the blonde murmurs to the brunette.
"Barry has made some questionable decisions," the guy replies.
"So I'm going to assume you're the Arrow?" Len asks, watching the guy for his reaction. To his credit, he remains calm, although his eyes harden a little, and the girl's eyes widen. "Or Green Arrow, whatever you're calling yourself now. And you must be Felicity."
The blonde smiles. She has a nice smile, for someone who was part of capturing him. "Has Barry mentioned me? Wait – of course he has, he asked for my help. I mean, not that he needed to mention me or anything, because-"
"He gets it," the guy says.
Felicity falls silent.
"Why am I here?" Len asks. "I assume you already know the Flash's identity."
Felicity smiles again. "I told you! You owe me twenty dollars. I told you he'd know who Barry is."
The guy sighs. "I hear you're planning to marry Barry."
"That would be correct."
"Why?" the guy asks, frowning.
"Why?" Len repeats, confused.
"What's in it for you?"
Len's getting really tired of people assuming he's a complete asshole. He's only an asshole on occasion, and when people deserve it. Barry doesn't deserve it. "I love him," he says as calmly as he can manage. "I don't care if you don't believe me. I went through the same thing with his foster dad. I don't have any ulterior motives. What would I gain by changing my name to Leonard Allen?"
He would gain nothing, except Barry.
Felicity's eyes widen. "I thought you wanted to change your name to Leonard Caldwell?"
"Before the wedding," Len explains. "After that, it's Leonard Allen. Why? Problem?"
"No," she says quickly, shaking her head. "I think it's sweet. Isn't it sweet, Ollie?"
Ollie. Len files that little tidbit away. Barry let it slip once that his name was Oliver. Len's really going to have to look into this Arrow guy.
The guy scowls. "Do you know my name?" he asks.
"You look kind of familiar," Len says, "but I don't usually visit Starling City. Or Star City, whatever you're calling it now. And Barry hasn't told me, yet."
The guy relaxes slightly. "At least he can keep a secret, even partially."
"I don't like secrets," Len says. "Never been a fan of them."
"You're also a wanted criminal, so your opinion doesn't matter."
"Rude," Felicity says.
Len's eyes narrow. "All of the evidence against me is gone; you have no proof of your accusations. That being said, I'd like to know where Barry is, now. He was with me when you attacked."
"Barry's fine," the guy says. "I wouldn't hurt him."
Len snorts. "But shooting him full of arrows is perfectly reasonable," he mutters, glaring at the guy, whose eyes narrow once again. He's going to get permanently stuck with that look if he keeps it up.
"Ollie," Felicity hisses. "You shot Barry?"
"It was a while ago," Ollie defends.
"Just because he heals fast doesn't mean he's invincible," Len says. "I have a bone to pick with you, Arrow. You could have killed him."
"Barry's fine."
"That's not the point," Len snaps, and it must look hilarious, him strapped to a chair and lecturing the Arrow of all people, but he doesn't care. "What if you punctured his heart with your little stunt? Would he have healed then? For a hero you're sure willing to risk your friend's life for a training exercise. The Flash would never do that."
It seems he's struck some kind of chord with the guy, as Ollie just stares blankly back at him for a moment. Felicity grabs his arm. "We need to let him go," she says calmly. "When Barry wakes up he's not going to be happy."
"Where is he?" Len asks. "What do you mean, wakes up? Did you smack him over the head, too?" This he levels at the guy, glaring at him again. "You really don't care about his well-being, do you?"
"I care a great deal for Barry," the guy snaps back. "But he can be reckless, and I'm just being cautious."
"By knocking both of us out and stealing his boyfriend? Did you drag him here, too?" Len asks.
The guy remains silent.
"So he's here," Len says.
At least Barry's not home, freaking out. If their roles were reversed, Len would definitely be freaking out if he woke up after being attacked and found the kid missing.
Now he just needs to get free, find the kid, and break out.
An alarm of some kind goes off on Felicity's phone. She looks at it and then at the guy. "Barry's awake."
"Go to him," the guy says.
"He's not going to like this," Felicity complains. "We need to just let his boyfriend go. We are definitely not getting invited to the wedding this way."
"Just a few minutes," Ollie says.
Felicity groans but does as she's told and leaves the two of them alone.
Len glares at the guy. "You do realize he's the Flash, right? He can be down here literally in seconds."
"I know that," the guy says. "That's why I handcuffed him to the bed."
Well, that doesn't sound suggestive at all.
Len's eyes narrow further.
There's a blur of motion, which is his only warning as to what's happening, then Ollie is sent sprawling to the floor. Barry stands above him, looking absolutely livid, and it's a look Len's never seen on his face before, not even after he kidnapped Caitlin, or Cisco. And he's vibrating, his whole body is, so his face and everything is mostly a blur of motion, but even then Len can tell he's pissed. And it's a little scary, seeing the Flash like that.
And he's reminded not for the first time of all the damage the Flash could do if he wanted, just like the Reverse-Flash.
"Fuck you," Barry snaps, voice vibrating to this odd pitch as Ollie looks up at him. Barry takes in a heaving breath and finally stops vibrating, voice returning to normal just like his appearance, but he still looks so angry. "You couldn't just talk to me, you had to kidnap us?"
"How did you get free? I just sent Felicity up to-" Ollie starts.
"I can phase through solid objects, did I forget to mention?" Barry says, glaring down at him.
And yeah, the kid did forget to mention that.
But that does come in handy. Len files that away for later, too.
"Barry, I know you're angry-" the Arrow starts.
"Oh, I'm beyond angry, Oliver," Barry snaps. "I'm fucking pissed! Shooting me with arrows is one thing, kidnapping my fiancé is another! And you shot arrows at him! What if I didn't catch them?"
Len remembers these arrows, vaguely, in the seconds leading up to the bright light and his unconsciousness. They were aimed for his arm, so he knows he wouldn't have been mortally wounded, but the thought that arrows were still shot at him is enough to make his skin crawl.
Through his life he's always had to worry about guns being shot at him, not arrows.
He was not prepared for arrows.
"I was just concerned," Oliver says. "And shh! He doesn't know who I am!"
Barry rolls his eyes, finally glancing at Len, his expression softening briefly. "Leonard Snart, Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen, Leonard Snart."
"Pleasure," Len drawls, glaring.
"Barry," Oliver hisses.
"No – you kidnapped us, so you don't get a say," Barry says, rounding back on him. "I thought we were friends, Oliver!"
"We are," Oliver says.
"Right now we're not," Barry snaps. "You broke into our home, knocked us out, took us here and tied us up. Does that sound like a friend to you?"
Len wants to cheer Barry on, but his whole body aches from this position and he just wants to go home. "Could you untie me, kid?"
Barry's at his side in a flash. "I'm sorry, I should have done this immediately, I was just so angry," he says quietly, kissing the side of Len's face as the ropes fall away, and Len brings his sore wrists in front of him, rubbing at the redness around them. He gets to his feet despite the wave of dizziness which slams into him.
"Oliver's sorry," Felicity says, suddenly back with them. Len stiffens and looks up, but she's smiling at them. "Just so you know, this wasn't my idea."
"Oh, I know it wasn't," Barry says darkly. "This was all the Arrow."
"You can't really blame him, Barry," Felicity says softly, taking a step closer to them. "He just now found out about you two, and... Len is a criminal. No offence!"
Len sighs. One of these days he's really going to take offence to that.
"Yeah, but he's with me now, and you guys should trust that I know what I'm doing," Barry says calmly, and Len is impressed. "I know he was my enemy, but he's not anymore. Captain Cold and the Flash haven't fought each other in a while."
"He betrayed you at Ferris Air," Oliver points out, and Len winces.
"Because I asked him to," Barry snaps, and that at least shuts Oliver up. "I had second thoughts about transporting human cargo to some prison in the middle of nowhere. I thought they should get a chance to be free, so Len said he'd take care of it. No, we didn't mean for the plane to explode or for people to die. So you can blame all of that on me but you leave Len out of this."
It's silent for a long time.
Len's never heard Barry this adamant before.
He grabs the kid's wrist, realizing he's thrumming with energy again, close to vibrating.
The kid stills, relaxing slightly. "We're leaving. And if you try to stop us, you won't like the outcome."
"No one is stopping you," Felicity says. "We just wanted to talk... and we went about it the wrong way, but Oliver was worried, and you know how he gets."
That's a lousy excuse, but Barry actually cracks a faint smile. "Yeah," he says softly, "I do know how he gets." He takes in a slow breath. "Can I still count on your help with the whole name thing?"
"Of course," Felicity says with a nod. "Oliver, apologize to our friend."
Oh, this should be good. Oliver doesn't look the type to apologize.
But Barry is looking at him expectantly, and Len knows how persuasive that look can be.
Finally, the Arrow sighs. "I'm sorry, Barry."
"Apology accepted," Barry says. "Now apologize to Len."
The Arrow scowls, but Len looks at him, waiting.
He sighs again. "I'm sorry, Len."
"Apology not accepted," Len says.
"Len," Barry says.
"No. I'm still angry with him. I'll forgive him in my own time."
Barry looks like he wants to argue, but nods anyway, understanding.
"Let's just go home, kid."
Barry nods, and then they disappear in a blur of motion.
It's a while before Len can breathe again.
xXx
"I'm so sorry," Barry babbles as he rubs at Len's wrists, over chafed skin. Apparently, even unconscious, he put up a struggle.
"Not your fault," Len tells him. He doesn't blame Barry for any of this.
"My fault," Barry says, shaking his head as he sits back with a sigh. "I knew he'd be mad, but I just... I didn't think he'd resort to this. But he doesn't see you has my boyfriend, he sees you as a criminal."
"I kind of got that," Len says, rolling his eyes. "He was... looking out for you, in a weird sort of way. I guess it's good he worries, but I don't appreciate his methods."
"No one appreciates it right now," Barry mutters, still obviously angry with the guy, even an hour after they've returned home.
"Are you okay?" Len asks, watching the kid.
Barry stiffens. "Uh – yeah? I wasn't the one tied to a chair for hours."
Len shrugs. "You were handcuffed to a bed. Why the bed?"
"Uh – I don't know?" Barry says, frowning. "Because I'm his friend, and he wanted to keep us together but didn't want me near you?"
"And what's this about you phasing, kid?"
Barry pauses. "Oh. Right. You were out of town that day."
"What day?" Len demands.
"Uh – well... there was this whole thing with the Trickster..."
"Yes, I recall that much," Len says, because he'd received Barry's distraught voicemail when his father had been kidnapped. "What does this have to do with going through solid objects?"
"Well, the Tricksters kind of... put this thing on my wrist. A bomb, that would explode if I went under a certain speed, so I had to keep running," Barry explains with a sigh, and Len's eyes narrow. It's a good thing these Tricksters were caught, but they are still going on his list. "Anyway, the only way to get it off without, you know, exploding, was to go through a solid object, and the bomb would come off. So I did. And, uh... now I can do it with a lot of things."
"Why did you never tell me this?"
"Because you'd have that look on your face like you do right now," the kid mutters, scowling. "I'm fine, Len."
Len sighs heavily. "Sometimes, I'm amazed you make it through the day, Scarlet."
Barry's warm, moving to press against his side as they sit on the bed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you until now."
"Apology accepted."