When Cisco was seven, if someone had asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, the answer would have been unironically: time traveler. Making a working time machine was one of his bucket list items that he knew could never be achieved, but damn would it be something if it happened.
Now he was making one. And all things considered lately, he had a sneaky suspicion that it might be the real deal. Not that it was an easy task regardless of Barry's diagram and blueprints. It had to open at one of the seams for Barry to get inside, be breathable once he was in so he wouldn't suffocate, and be made of a specific material Barry wrote down that could conduct electricity, which was not easy to find. It was going to take Cisco weeks to get it all right.
Wells asked him not to tell the others what Barry had called the machine so they wouldn't worry, which made sense. Everyone trusted that if Barry wanted Cisco to make something, it had to have a good purpose, but a time machine sounded crazy or at least frightening to most people. Still, it was odd. Wells in general seemed odd, which Cisco kept trying to dismiss. After all, Barry trusted him, didn't he?
Even reuniting with Ronnie hadn't garnered the response Cisco expected. Sure, Wells seemed pleased at Ronnie's return and interested in his new state of being with Professor Stein, but he was also wary, scrutinizing.
If Cisco didn't know better, he'd swear that sometimes Wells seemed...scared.
It didn't help his paranoia that he kept having these déjà vu moments he couldn't explain, where he'd swear something should have or would have happened differently. Residual temporal fallout from whatever had happened to Barry? Maybe, but it felt more personal. All Cisco knew was that he didn't feel the same connection to Wells that he used to, and he wondered what all of this had in store for them.
"Am I a time traveler too?" Cisco asked Barry while going over the blueprints once more, even though the materials hadn't arrived yet to start building. "Is that why I feel this way."
"You can feel the vibrations of the universe," Barry said, lying on the floor of the workshop as if he were staring at stars.
"I what?"
"You can't let your love for somebody cause you to be afraid of what might happen. You gotta take the good with the bad, no matter what."
Cisco's phone buzzed on his desk from the number he'd recently labelled 'GG'.
'Up to anything fun?'
"Was that advice about you, Barry?" he asked his friend. "Wells? Or Golden Glider?"
"Salted caramel's her favorite."
"Huh?" Nothing Barry said was ever truly startling anymore, though still strange. "Are you telling me to ask your criminal boyfriend's criminal sister out on a date?"
"I'm just so happy to be back with all of you again." Barry rolled into a sitting position, bright smile all for Cisco.
"You will be, buddy," he said, despite the melancholy sting always close at hand. "Whether it's from a time machine or whatever your symbols mean. I know it."
He thought he understood why Barry had started drawing on flat surfaces, then moved to corners, and now wanted a full cube to cover. He needed every dimension to make whatever he was trying to do work, though Cisco still wasn't sure how it would work.
If you build it, he thought with a wry smile, then texted 'GG' the address to his favorite ice cream parlor.
'Half an hour?'
'You're on, cutie. Without chaperones this time?'
'Unless Barry tags along, absolutely.'
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Barry had not tagged along for ice cream, and as much as Lisa liked the boy, she was grateful to have Cisco all to herself. He was sweet, wicked smart, and a huge dork. Lisa hadn't realized how much that was her type until it came in a petite package with long, wavy locks, the brightest smile, and graphic T-shirts.
They'd only talked about Barry and Len for the first few minutes, before leaving behind their day-to-day babysitting to get to know each other more than text messages allowed.
"You even knew my favorite ice cream flavor."
"Technically I cheated. Barry told me."
"I figured. You still listened."
Now, heading back to the safe house, Lisa touched her pendant with a fond smile. Cisco made a girl want to rethink all sorts of choices, and at the rate things were going, that might even pan out into something tangible. After all, she had enough practical experience to be a certified mechanical engineer, she just didn't have the schooling. Cisco spoke so earnestly about how they could get around that to skip other qualifications.
"If you'd even be interested, I mean," he'd said. "You could help at STAR Labs. Or not. I'm sure badass femme fatale thief is far more exciting."
"Not always." Lisa had twirled the spoon around her empty ice cream dish, the clack of metal on glass drawing Cisco's attention away from his nerves. "It gets lonely with just Lenny and Mick around sometimes."
"There's no one else...around?"
"Barry, I suppose. You."
"A-And uhh...your brother wouldn't have a problem with that, would he? Me being around?"
"If he did?" She waited for the inevitable backtrack. Len had scared away more dates than she could count even without trying.
"If he did...guess I'd have to tell him 'Too bad. Lisa can make her own decisions.' Though I might use Barry as a human shield after that." He chuckled with a shy dip of his head, and Lisa was smitten all over again as she chuckled with him.
"Smart call."
They were going to see a movie some night soon. If Len did have a problem, well, Lisa would give him a piece of her mind, not that she anticipated dissent when she could easily throw Barry back in his face.
Who apparently Len was yelling at right now because Mick should not be at this particular safe house tonight, and Len didn't have other friends. Yet still, there were voices as Lisa entered, and Len's did not sound happy.
"That right? Well you tell Vincent, assuming he doesn't shoot you on sight for being such a poor tail, that these are my streets, and I'm not running for the hills this time. It's a new world, and the Santinis need to fall in line like everybody else."
Santini? Vincent Santini? Shit. Lisa should have guessed this would happen. Len had been all about taking over Santini operations, but he'd been distracted, hadn't even worked toward that art heist he and Mick had been planning. Apparently, Vincent decided to act first.
"And just in case there's any doubt I mean business..." Len said in a low threat, followed by the whir of the cold gun and a timely scream.
A moment later, a man came rushing out of the main room for the front door, too focused on escape to notice Lisa hiding there as he held a frozen hand to his chest. Just a hand, which could likely be thawed and saved from any permanent damage. Even if the foolish runner was being sent with a message for Santini, someone like this walking into Len's turf and tailing him to a safe house would have earned him an icicle to the chest a few months ago-or at least a bullet.
Then again, Barry had been quite adamant about the no killing policy.
"What are you looking so smug about?" Len asked when Lisa revealed herself with a slow slide into the room, arms crossed and head cocked.
"Nothing."
"Seems a firmer hand might be necessary for our old friend Vincent to put things in perspective."
"Meaning?"
"Mick and I need to have a chat about that painting before we lose our window. And if things escalate, we may need to pay Vincent a visit in person to ensure no one gets any ideas about me having gone soft."
His expression certainly was hard tonight, but not from anger or cruelty. It was for her, for Mick, for Barry-that they could all be in danger if he didn't take control. He was worried he didn't know how to fix what was going wrong without falling into his old ways.
Drawing in close to her brother, Lisa said, "What if you did soften up a little?"
He glanced at her, just his eyes moving from where they'd been staring at his cold gun on the table. "If that was something I wanted...now wouldn't be the time."
"Keep up appearances, fine," she said. "Just make sure Mick plays nice with Baby Flash when you do."
He did of course, they both did when the night for stealing the 'Fire & Ice' painting came. Lisa kept out of it, but also kept close watch from the sidelines where she could have stepped in if necessary, tripped Len or Mick up to keep things even. It wasn't needed though, because while Captain Cold and Heat Wave made a big show and had Kid Flash running in circles, they didn't cause any serious burns or frostbite and still managed to get away with their prize.
Mick set it on fire and left it to burn on Vincent Santini's doorstep. Pity. Lisa liked that painting.
Please tell me there's a reason your brother stole a priceless painting tonight, Cisco texted her afterward.
Lenny always has a reason. Have faith.
Faith in Cold is a toss-up. In you and Barry...easy.
She smiled, contentedly back with Len and Mick at their newest safe house since the last one had to be ditched, though she did wonder how the fallout might be faring at STAR Labs.
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If Joe ever got his hands on Snart...
When he got his hands on him, he reminded himself, since he doubted Snart had any plans to stop helping take down Wells when his own future hung in the balance.
But why did he have to return to his petty crimes and pull Joe's son into it? Barry was already part of this, and Wally had been nicked by that cold gun before. Forcing Kid Flash to take on Snart and his psycho partner with a flame thrower was too much.
The worst part was Joe couldn't admit to the real reason he was angry. Only he, Barry, and Cisco knew Snart was helping with the murder case. He was supposed to be a bad guy right now.
The most Joe could lament about, especially with Wells present, was, "I thought we had a deal with this guy."
"For Snart not to hurt people," Wally said, "and he didn't."
"He still destroyed part of a city block to steal that painting."
"Technically, there was no deal against that," Cisco said.
"I don't care who he did or didn't hurt, I am throwing his ass in jail next time!"
"That would be the preferable scenario, Detective," Wells offered.
Having to meet eyes with the man and pretend he still trusted him sobered Joe immediately. Maybe Snart knew what he was doing. They needed time and for Wells to stay fooled long enough for them to stop him. If he really was a speedster, there was no telling how powerful he might be.
Barry had rambled a few details to give to Team Arrow about that body they needed, but nothing had turned up yet. They needed to narrow their search area. The trick was figuring out where to start.
There was a bigger picture to consider, Joe just hated it. He hated that he had to let his sons, his daughter, and all the rest of these people stay close to a cold-blooded murderer. Even so, Barry, who'd warned them about Wells, who'd dropped plenty of hints to lead their investigation, didn't seem to mind the man's company. Joe didn't understand that at all.
For now, all he could do was play along.
"I knew trusting Snart was a bad idea," he said, while internally he had a feeling that Snart was the one he'd have to trust most when this turned deadly.
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After Mick torched the painting, Len joined him in returning to the safe house to appease Lisa that they were both safe, then went off on his own to get a drink and call it a night. He was always more relaxed after a heist, especially if he got to burn something, but that didn't mean he'd skip a victory beer before bed.
Lisa was on her way out too for 'plans' Len assumed meant another date with Cisco. Just as well. He'd be interested to know if Cisco mentioned West being out for blood after tonight, though Len hoped the detective had enough sense to understand why he'd needed to send a message-on multiple fronts.
He was starting up a late dinner as Lisa said her goodbyes for the evening, but before she could make her exit, a whoosh of lightning arrived and Len had a helper at his side chopping vegetables.
"Aww, don't you two make the domestic pair. I wouldn't want to interrupt, but if you want my advice, honey," Lisa said to Barry, hardly fazed by his appearances anymore, "don't let Lenny pretend he doesn't love every minute of having you around, and make sure he enjoys some post-heist afterglow, huh?" She winked before sauntering out of the room, which made Len scowl that she'd gotten in the last word before he could scold her.
Thanks for the advice, he remembered suddenly what Barry had said to her when they first met. Huh.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"I have to consume about 10,000 calories a day."
"I remember."
They didn't talk much as they made dinner, or even while eating it. When they did, it wasn't a true conversation. Len went over plans concerning Santini, getting a foothold in several neighborhoods, ways they could take down Wells when the time came, and Barry responded with riddles that only occasionally made sense.
The rest of the time they stayed silent, enjoying each other's company like Len rarely experienced with others. Barry's close quarters, the way his knees bumped Len's beneath the table, made Len's heart beat rapidly for want of more.
"Thank you for listening," Barry said when they began to clean up, and while the phrase could mean several things, Len knew Barry meant it for him not killing anyone tonight, for not hurting Wally, for playing nice, which was foolish at best, but Len couldn't deny how much he'd enjoyed the past few months more than the several before that. Or before that.
Or before that.
"Don't think me domesticated now, Scarlet."
"Never," Barry said, slipping up behind Len as he was putting away a washed dish. Warm hands slid around his waist, resting low, while Barry molded against his back and set his chin on Len's shoulder.
Len trembled from the contact, the comfort of it, but it was the tingle of electricity that relaxed him.
"I love nights like this," Barry said. "Just us. Calm, quiet, to balance the adrenaline."
"Balance is...good." Len brought his hands to rest over Barry's.
"There is a lot coming in the next few weeks before you find the body, before Cisco finishes the machine."
"Machine?"
"I'm hoping it can keep everyone safer this time."
Riddles again, even present in the moment with the Speed Force starting to surround them. "What about the body? Why not just tell me where it is?"
"All things in their time. There are others who deserve a second chance. I need to let their stories play out."
"Ever the hero."
"Just like you." Barry mouthed at Len's neck. Then his hands began to sink lower.
"Barry..."
"I remember a specific night, putting away dishes in the kitchen, holding you just like this. Do you?"
Len wanted to tell him that he couldn't remember something that hadn't happened, but in the Speed Force, with Barry's lips on his neck and hands drifting down to touch him, the scenery in front of him flickered like a mirage, showing not the dingy safe house kitchen, but a nice apartment.
They bought it together after Barry asked Len to move in with him.
No, that hadn't happened. Not yet.
"I can think of something better to do than dishes," Barry said, but it was future Barry, Len realized, falling into step with the shared memory, the kitchen flickering again as it tried to solidify into another time and bring them with it.
Len needed to stop it, but he couldn't think, couldn't-
"You always feel good in my arms, Len."
He...had to...to...
What was he doing again?
Oh right. Barry cooked tonight so Len was putting away the dishes. He'd been feeling frisky waiting for Barry to get back from patrol since Len was on leave from the Waverider enjoying a few vacation days at home.
Home. He'd wanted a real home for so long.
"And you always feel good holding me," Len said, "but I'm not finished with the dishes yet."
"They can wait." Barry squeezed gently where his hands had fallen below Len's waist.
"What did you have in mind?" Len pressed back into his body.
"Inappropriate use of extra virgin olive oil?"
Len laughed. "Could be fun."
With a pleased hum, Barry's long fingers began to undo the clasp of Len's pants and slid smoothly into his underwear at the invitation. He knew just how to touch Len to draw things out while making his knees tremble with every caress.
Eventually, the hands retracted but returned slick. Olive oil worked nicely for several things.
"You're making a mess of me, Scarlet," Len said.
"Yep. And I've barely started."
One hand stayed at the front, while the other moved to the back of Len's pants and dipped inside to smooth along the crease and tease his puckered skin. When, not long after, a careful finger breached him, Len whined and hunched forward to brace himself on the counter,
"I want to take you apart right here. Would you like that, Len?"
"Y-Yes."
Barry pushed in deeper, and Len struggled not to melt to the floor. He didn't used to allow this, not with just anyone, but Barry made it easy to show his vulnerable side and not be ashamed. With Barry, Len could be at ease. Receptive. Loud.
Stretching him further, Barry began to vibrate his fingers, causing Len to moan especially loud. It was slow, careful work that most people wouldn't expect from the fastest man alive, but it was beautiful torture.
"I want to feel you," Barry said, and while a brief thought of condoms passed through Len's mind, he wondered why that would matter when they never used them anymore, committed to each other as they'd been for years.
Sticky and wet, Len's discomfort ceased when Barry tugged his pants the rest of the way down and spun him around for a deep kiss. At some point he'd tugged his own pants down too because they clashed together, sliding smooth from the oil.
Len knew he was flush long before Barry hoisted him onto the counter and spread his legs apart, but it was Barry who sported a glow in his cheeks.
"You're turning scarlet, Scarlet."
Barry's giggle was a melody Len never tired of. He tilted Len back, checked to be sure he was adequately stretched, and pressed forward, eliciting an eager gasp.
"Good?"
"Good."
More like mind-blowing, but if Len praised Barry too much, he'd get a big head on his shoulders, and playing superhero did that enough.
Once Barry was pushed in to the brim, it felt like the first time again, full and complete and wholly on fire.
He started slow to be sure Len adjusted, but Len wasn't fragile and wrapped his ankles around Barry's waist to urge him to go faster, harder. The noises that left him never bothered him when he was with Barry. Barry could be vocal too, and they were long past hiding anything from each other.
"God, I love your voice like that," Barry huffed.
"I love you," Len said, the words leaving him easily now when once that would have been monumental.
They'd been through so much together-hadn't they?-that they were allowed this one perfect thing that was theirs alone. A crescendo that built and built and made stars dance in front of Len's eyes as if he were in a different kitchen somewhere and not the one he and Barry shared.
"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," Barry said, weightier than 'I love you' and enough to make the flickers of that other kitchen more prominent just as the two of them finished.
Len's breath caught on a gasp, because this wasn't like a first time, it was their first time, and he'd succumbed to a too beautiful future and dragged Barry along with him.
The Speed Force remained around them as Barry mouthed at Len's neck again with contented nips. "Guess we're back."
"I did that," Len said, clinging to Barry while simultaneously feeling like he should pull away. "I shared that with you. How?"
"It's okay. When you touch time and space and dimension enough, you can bleed between worlds. Most people can't control it. I can't, not fully. Definitely not outside the Speed Force. But you can."
Len couldn't look at him, despite how good that had felt, leaving him just the right kind of sore. "I'm sorry," he said barely above a whisper.
"Don't be sorry." Barry tilted Len's face toward him, clear-eyed and blindingly beautiful. "Don't be sad. As long as we both wanted it. Here. In the moment. You did, didn't you?"
"I did."
"It's 2015," Barry smiled wide, "but when it's 2018, we can live that moment again."
There was hesitation in Barry's lean forward, waiting to see if Len would draw away. He didn't. He accepted the kiss Barry pressed to his mouth, even though he should feel disjointed, guilty, terrified that impossible words had left him while an enigma of a boy made him moan on his own kitchen countertop.
He felt an echo of those emotions as he said, "What a mess we've made of everything," trying to play it off like he meant the counter when he really meant everything else. But his doubts washed away when Barry crowded in between his legs just to get closer and kiss his lips once more.
"Better clean up then," he said, and the whirlwind that surrounded them took them away, only fizzling back to reality after Len and Barry were stripped and in Len's shower under a spray of warm water with Barry holding Len to the tile and kissing him again.
A thrill reignited in Len's belly, because this was a mess, all of it, but they were in it together.
The water washed them clean, and Len imagined their clothing tucked into the bag he brought to the laundromat. Safe houses didn't tend to have washing machines. They continued lazily kissing, bodies entwined but not heating up for another round, just enjoying the feel of one another caught up in lightning that wasn't bothered by the spray.
Still, water or not, eventually the lightning began to dim.
"I just need to hold out a little longer, and then, when this is over, can we try falling in love from the beginning?" Barry held him tightly and spoke against his lips as the last licks of lightning faded. "Can I keep you?"
Len dropped his forehead to rest against Barry's. "Yeah, kid. You can. Then you'll be a better thief than me for stealing something I never thought anyone could."
He could see in Barry's eyes the moment when clarity began to grow clouded, and he clung foolishly at Barry's face as if he could hold his mind there too.
"No. Stay with me. Stay with me, Barry. Stay here. We can fix this. We can fix you."
Barry leaned into his touch, but his attention still drifted. "I know you think it's silly, but I like the Captain Cold statue at The Flash Museum. Did you really have to steal the hockey cup again this year? You're nothing like Lewis, you know." He switched topics so seamlessly, Len almost forgot to feel the drop in his stomach at the mention of his father. "Your grandfather would be proud of you for turning away from crime to help people."
There came the drop, because Len hadn't done that, not really. Not yet.
He helped Barry out of the shower, helped get them both dry, changed them into clean clothes, and left Barry to his doodling in the corner of the bedroom as he went back to the kitchen to clean up properly. It took all his strength when holding the last clean mug he was about to put away to keep from hurling the damn thing against the wall.
Soon wasn't enough, but it was the only promise Len had.
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Iris could admit that the weeks following Christmas went by in something of a blur, lost as she was in what Caitlin called 'engagement glow'.
"Speak for yourself."
"I am. That's why I know what it looks like."
Caitlin and Ronnie were planning their wedding too, which had been interrupted a year ago. They were going to tie the knot sooner than Iris and Eddie, mostly because, despite the 'glow', Iris was hesitant to set a date until she knew Barry would be Barry when he stood up next to her as Man of Honor.
The whirlwind was even crazier when her articles finally got her a position at Picture News. She had a front row seat to everything happening with Kid Flash, which gave her an advantage she was more than happy to exploit-since Wally loved being front page news and happily told her everything she ever wanted to know.
Writing about it all helped distance herself sometimes from how worried she was about her brother when he was out saving the city. Most of the time, Barry left Wally to his heroics, putting so much faith in him that the boy believed that much more in himself and rarely needed a hand. The rest of the time, Barry played his role in other ways.
Like keeping the inmates company.
Iris thought it strange at first, but when Hartley Rathaway was caught attacking Wells and then his family's company, Barry sat outside his cell and sang to him since he needed constant noise to help his tinnitus and Barry had warned them that Hartley's earpieces contained bombs and needed to be removed.
"Enough showtunes," Hartley complained once, though Iris could tell he wasn't being serious.
"Better than Cisco Rick-Rolling you," Barry said. "I promise I won't let him do that this time."
Between Barry singing and talking to Hartley, and Cisco getting pulled in eventually too, they soon let the young man out of his cell. Cisco gave him new earpieces, and then Barry had whispered something to him that made Hartley's eyes widen. He'd agreed to lie low after that and to help if they needed anything.
Then there was Shawna Baez. Barry talked her ear off about love, which she'd thought she had with her boyfriend, but he'd been using her, and she'd let that draw her down a dark path that didn't have to be her future.
"The Hybrid OR Caitlin gets you into is super cool. I wish I'd gotten to recover in a place like that."
Apparently, Shawna was destined to be a nurse. They let her out eventually too, which was what they'd hoped for, to reform these 'evil' metas.
Sadly, many of them were still pretty terrible. Mark Mardon, for one, who had the same power set as his brother and came looking for him one day. Barry had been well ahead of that and told them where to find Weather Wizard before he could be a lasting threat, landing him in a cell right next to his brother.
There were hints sometimes of other encounters Barry was having on his own, like the times Iris would catch him coming back from somewhere and he'd smell terrible.
"Barry, did you go into the sewers?"
"Friends in low places," he'd whispered. "Shhh."
She didn't dare question what that meant. She was just glad for the new friends she'd made, and not only Cisco, Caitlin, and more recently Ronnie, but also Linda Park at Picture News, an easy friend who had a lot of Iris's same drive, and who she'd caught giving Wally the side-eye on more than one occasion.
"Do you need me to help him get his foot out of his mouth long enough to ask you out?"
"What? No. He is way too young for me," Linda had said, but the dart of her eyes to the floor and the tug at her lips proved she didn't mind the age difference that much. Iris might have to do something to help them along if Wally's completely neurotic fumbling anytime he was around Linda was any indication of him liking her back.
The point was that time was flying, so much had been happening on top of Iris being engaged and lighting up every time she saw Eddie. She didn't want to have anything hanging over them to sour their future, but she needed Barry, the whole and complete Barry, to be there with her when the time came. It meant she couldn't quite get excited about planning anything for the wedding yet, and she knew that was hard on Eddie, which was one of the main reasons she'd come to the precinct today to take him out to lunch. She knew he understood why she was stalling to set anything in stone, but she still wanted to remind him just how much she loved him and couldn't wait to be his wife.
When she didn't find Eddie at his desk and noticed Joe missing as well, she headed upstairs to Barry's old lab, where she knew she'd likely find them working on the Nora Allen case. Cisco had been helping too, but as far as she knew, they hadn't gotten any closer to proving Henry innocent.
It seemed someone else was helping now, because a fourth voice could be heard as she neared the room to find the door open.
"You're a liability, Thawne," the other voice said, "storming in here, demanding answers when any other cop might be nearby."
"I'm supposed to be in on this too," Eddie said. "Why didn't anyone tell me you were involved? Or that all of you know who the killer is?"
"I don't know who he is," Cisco retorted.
"The less some of you know, the better," Joe said, "at least until we have enough to end this. For now, Eddie, we need you to look after Barry while the rest of us-"
"While you what, exactly?" Iris broke in as she slid around the doorframe to find them huddled near the corkboard, with Barry sitting on the floor amongst them at the side of his desk, doodling symbols. "You do remember it's best to shut the door if you're playing vigilante, right? And who is..." She eyed the fourth man, who appeared to be an officer until she got a good look at his face. "Snart. Who'd have guessed you'd look so good in uniform?"
Barry's hand rose into the air from where he sat on the floor.
Iris snorted.
"Joe and Leonard know who killed Barry's mother, but they won't tell us," Eddie lamented. "They've known for weeks!"
"I don't believe I gave you permission to call me that, Pretty Boy," Snart growled.
"I'm sure there's a good reason why Dad doesn't want anyone to know the killer's name yet if they're still investigating," Iris played Devil's advocate for her father, much to Eddie's chagrin. "So is the whole you hating Snart thing a ruse?"
"No," Joe glared at the other man, to which Snart smirked back at him. "But sometimes we do what we have to, and right now I need one of you to take Barry back to the Labs so we can get back to work."
"But I want to go home with you," Barry joined the conversation, bouncing up onto his feet and moving toward Snart as if none of the others were there. "Please, Len. I sleep better in your bed."
What?
"What?" Joe's hands dropped to his sides in shock. "You sleep with him?"
"Perfectly platonic and innocent, Detective, I assure you." Snart pushed at Barry's chest to keep him from embracing him like he seemed to want.
"Except for the mess we made in the kitchen," Barry snickered.
A stiff silence settled over them like the calm before a tornado.
"Would you believe he meant by cooking?" Snart said.
"You touched my boy?" Joe stalked forward while Snart pulled Barry behind him like he was protecting him. This was bad. "You laid your dirty hands on my son?"
"The way I remember it, he laid his hands on me first."
Really bad.
Joe lunged, hauling Snart up by the front of his stolen uniform, but before anything could be said or blows dealt, Barry's lightning flickered and Joe was across the room as Barry held out his hands in defense.
"I hate to break it to you, but that right there is called honor."
"Barry..." Joe was still seething, murderous toward Snart, who teetered for balance after being roughly released from Joe's hold.
"For our anniversary this year," Barry spoke on earnestly, like he was trying to say something important enough for Joe to understand, "I want to take you somewhere you've never been before, Len. We'll figure out how to keep your clothes from catching on fire, I promise."
Iris saw the surprise on Eddie's face at the mention of 'anniversary' in relation to Snart, but Cisco looked guilty more than anything. He'd known. Iris was going to have to have a talk with him.
"Would it help if I said please?" Barry kept on, constantly in motion to block Joe's path. "It's all I've got. I'm still singing the same tune. There's good in him, I promise-"
"Barry, stop," Joe cut him off. "I don't even know if you're talking about Snart. If you're talking to me. If you're even here. You're never here, Barry." The distress in his voice was palpable, everything about him so tired, more worn than he'd been letting on.
"I'm here." Barry nodded, even as he clutched at his head, fingers twisting into his hair. "I'm here, near, dear. Look, getting powers is overwhelming."
"Barry-"
"It's 2016! I'm here." He smiled so hopefully at Joe as he dropped his hands from his head.
"It's 2015, Barry," Cisco said sadly from the sidelines.
"It's...2015?" Barry turned to him, expression dropping as he started to back away, hands returning to his strands of hair. "It's 2010. It's 2003. It's 1990. It's 2000. It's 2024. It's 2046."
"Barry," Snart said quietly as Barry neared him, but Barry twisted around and started backing toward Iris instead.
"I'm Barry. I'm Barry. I'm Barry Allen. I'm everywhere. I'm all the time. I want to come home. Dad, please, can't you come home?" He spun around just as he reached her and through his tears she knew that he was partially with them as he looked at her. "All I know is you're everything to me, and you always have been. And the sound of your voice will always bring me home. But his did too," he said with tears filling his eyes and making him sniffle as he fell forward into her arms, and she accepted him gladly, unsure what else to do.
The others looked on in silence, tenser than before and saturated with sorrow. As Barry sobbed into Iris's shoulder, Snart eventually met Joe's cold expression.
"I know how this seems, Detective, but we have a...connection."
"Don't even..." Joe snarled.
"No fluff," Snart tried again, struggling to explain himself when it meant being open. "Just truth. Sometimes I can see the future too. I can be there, even though I can't explain how. I don't understand what's happening to me, but Barry and I are connected. He stays with me often, that's true. The night of my last heist, we gave in to what we wanted."
Slowly, Joe moved toward Snart again, standing his ground with a calmness that Iris wished she wasn't familiar with, because when he was like this, nothing could reach him. "He is in no state to tell you what he wants."
"At the time, I thought-"
"I don't give a damn what you thought," Joe said, then cast a sharp look at Cisco and Eddie as if in warning to clean up this mess for him before he turned for the door.
Iris stood in his way holding Barry, but when he tried to touch Barry's shoulder, Barry burrowed further into her arms. Joe looked close to tears himself as he bypassed them to storm out of the room and give himself air. He'd return before long, she knew. For now, he needed space.
Honestly, Iris wasn't sure how she felt about Barry and Leonard Snart having midnight rendezvouses, but they had larger concerns than Barry's devotion to a criminal, however misplaced some of the team might find it.
Once Barry was calmed enough to return to his drawing, mumbling to himself now, too shaken by what had happened to talk fully, Iris closed and locked the door behind her, crossed her arms firmly over her chest, and addressed the odd trio before her. She wasn't fazed by Snart staring her down; she was hardly going to be intimidated by Eddie or Cisco.
"Now, who wants to tell me everything else I've missed?"