Prompt: Dirty Laundry (Carrie Underwood)
For the fancam of Micheal, just look up "Walker Scobell ", a child actor who was in a Ryan Reynold film recently - honestly, that kid is going places.
That lipstick on your collar, well, it ain't my shade of pink
And I can tell by the smell of that perfume, it's like forty dollars too cheap
Barry Snart (nee Allen) knew that Leonard, his husband of several years, had something going on lately. Given his past, he'd hoped it was just Leonard rebreaking into things, as you could take the thief out of the criminal world, but you couldn't take the criminal world from the thief. This was far worse than a random heist, however.
And there's a little wine stain on the pocket of your white cotton thread
Well, you drink beer and whiskey, boy, and you know I don't drink red
He'd gotten home from work with Micheal, their son, only to trudge up to their bedroom and find one of Leonard's white shirts lying on the floor. Cursing his husband for his laziness once again, Barry had made a move to pick it up and dump it in the wash basket outside their bathroom next door over, but froze (ha, froze, how ironic) seeing the wine stain on its pocket and lipstick prints on the right lapel.
It also smelled, not like Barry's normal cologne that he would have worn had they been on a date recently, but like an alcohol-based perfume you'd buy at Walmart, stingy and gross. It made Barry's eyes sting, but not for the reasons he wanted them to.
Found it over in the corner, wadded up on the bedroom floor
You shoulda hid it in the closet, you shoulda burned it, you shoulda lost it
He almost felt like crying, breathing becoming harder and knees weak as the realization of what the so-called 'detective' had discovered, his heart feeling like sparks of lighting were stabbing it to death more than shooting through it. Leonard was cheating on him and seemingly, if Barry's brain went back in time into looking at what he passed off given their rather tumultuous lives despite not really superheroing anymore, had been for months.
Now I'ma have to hang you out to dry, dry, dry
Clothespin all your secrets to the line, line, line
He couldn't let Micheal find out about this. The last thing their teenaged son would need, in the literal middle of middle school and having his own set of problems at 12, but Barry also didn't want to even look Leonard in the eye, as the very thought made sparks start dancing off of him, risking a potential fire if the man were actually there and not at work still.
Leave 'em blowing in the wind, just say goodbye to you
All those midnights sneaking in "I'm late again, oh, I'm so sorry"
All the Ajax in the world ain't gonna clean your dirty laundry
[Then again, was he even at work, or had he lied about all those late nights? All those times where he'd snuck in while Barry was sleeping only to be there in the morning and then gone again. Were any of those interactions real to him?]
If the neighbours get to asking, I won't cover nothin' up
I'll tell 'em every little detail, how you drug me through the mud
Thinking quickly, Barry just put it on the bed before grabbing a pair of scissors from in the kitchen, cutting holes in the object along the sleeves. If Leonard was going to do this, to him, to Micheal, to their marriage and their friends and family, he was going to set an example.
Leonard owned the house given it was a former safe house when he was still stealing expensive things with Mick when he was earthside, so he could keep it. He wasn't keeping Micheal and Barry here, however, not after this.
I'm gonna string up your old button-down and slide it on the porch
Just in case you get the nerve to come knockin' on my door
Stringing up the shirt to the best of his ability, he sped around the house packing some of his and Micheal's things before he hung the damned object on the flagpole that Leonard had installed outside the property just before Micheal was born, pulling the strings until the shirt fluttered in the wind, the word 'CHEATER' chiselled under it in the pole for good measure.
If Leonard even had the gall to think to contact him, this would at least deter him for a while as the first thing he would see was what he'd done and there was nothing that rattled Leonard more than someone presenting him with his own work.
Yeah, I'ma have to hang you out to dry, dry, dry
Clothespin all your secrets to the line, line, line
Barry couldn't help but bristle already seeing their neighbours come out to view the spectacle, wide-eyed and already gossiping loudly as Barry angrily stomped inside, smiling ruefully at Micheal who'd come downstairs to most likely get a snack from the kitchen. "Hey, buddy, glad I caught you before you went back to your room. Do you wanna get out of your school uniform and put it in your overnight bag for me? We're going to stay with your Grandpa Joe and Grandma Cecile for a bit."
"Really? Why Dad?" Of course, Micheal was curious. His son was so much like them and once he knew about this, long into the future, he'd be devastated. "Not like it's not cool or nothing. I haven't seen Jenna in ages thanks to that gifted school she's going to. Is Papa coming with us after he gets home?"
Leave 'em blowing in the wind, just say goodbye to you
All those midnights sneaking in "I'm late again, oh, I'm so sorry"
All the Ajax in the world ain't gonna clean your dirty laundry
"No, he isn't." He didn't mean to add a hard line in his voice, but it came out anyway. "You and I are going without him. He needs some time on his own for a little bit without you and me in his space. You know, like when he and Uncle Mick sometimes hang out or sometimes when he goes out with your other uncles and aunts, like Aunt Lisa."
He couldn't believe he'd be calling Mick Rory of all people as well as the Legends at large aunts and uncle to their son, but most of those guys including Mick by some weird happenstance, had their own kids now and he couldn't exactly separate Leonard from his best friend since he was 15 in juvenile detention.
[There was most likely a separation coming in the future he wasn't prepared for, but right now, he wasn't crossing that bridge, not with his son around to witness him breaking down.]
Found it over in the corner, wadded up on the bedroom floor
You shoulda hid it in the closet, you shoulda burned it, you shoulda lost it
Nodding, his son ran off quite excitedly (most likely due to seeing Jenna, his son totally had a crush on her, but he'd never tell Joe or he wouldn't hear the end of it from both Micheal and him) to pack the rest of his bag that Barry passed to him before he slumped bonelessly into a nearby chair, struggling with what to do next.
Now I'ma have to hang you out to dry, dry, dry
Clothespin all your secrets to the line, line, line
The excuse that they were staying with Micheal's pseudo grandparents would only work for so long until he started asking why they weren't going back home and why Leonard hadn't called or come by to see them. He didn't know what he would say to that then.
Plus, despite knowing it was a terrible thing to do, he'd have to block Leonard's number on Micheal's phone for a while with his own and meet with Micheal's school to get Leonard taken off his pick up list and off other events as well while he wrapped his head around things, sorted out what was going to happen and Leonard grovelled.
[That was a big maybe however, he didn't know if the man knew the meaning of the word.]
Leave 'em blowing in the wind, just say goodbye to you
All those midnights sneaking in "I'm late again, oh, I'm so sorry"
All the Ajax in the world ain't gonna clean your dirty laundry
He knew Joe and Iris and others would be mad also and want to rip him a new one, but Barry didn't know if he'd let them do anything. He was numb to it all, for now, only sorting out himself and his son with a hasty exit and even worse, damage to Leonard's reputation (not like it could get any lower) before he sorted out other problems.
Out to dry, to the line
For now however, son under his arm and oblivious to the neighbours, the flag or even the turmoil his father was going through, Barry just shuffled him into the car and backed out of the drive, starting the short travel to Joe's place and texting him that he was coming with Micheal and asking what he wanted for dinner as he'd pick it up. His treat.
He didn't notice that as he turned the corner and disappeared, a beat-up pickup truck in the shade of ice blue was slowly making its way up the other street on its way home, the person inside expecting to see his partner and son waiting for him.
If only he knew just how wrong he would be.