The familiar smell of the precinct filled Barry's nostrils as the elevator doors opened and he walked into the lobby. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that had been lost to him in the two months that he had been out of work. He pulled up the strap to his brief case that had been falling down his shoulder back over the joint as he smiled and acknowledged the warm greetings he was beginning to receive.
"Welcome back, Allen!"
"Good to see you on your feet again."
"You've got plenty of files on your desk." He could not help but smile at the last one that came from the captain. Despite his distaste for going through case files, apart of him did not mind it today. It was his first day back on the job. He had gotten the full clearance from Caitlin to get back to the lab and perform his day job as a CSI.
He was more than ready to go. It was nice to finally have gotten a sense of normalcy back in his life-- one that had been the normal before he was shot. Even Oliver, despite his struggles with his addiction, was managing to get into a routine in Central City. He was frequently making calls to Queen Enterprises back in Star City. He was even in the starting process of opening up a division in Central City.
They were comfortable. They were happy with where they were in their relationship. While Barry had been in recovery, they had been staying at the West home to have extra help with Barry's special needs and requirements. They had started talks about finding their own place now that Barry was fully recovered.
They were comfortable.
Barry took a deep breath as he began to open the padlock that was encasing the door to his lab. The feeling was reminiscent of what he felt whenever he would return to his college dorm after term breaks-- the excitement of a fresh start of a not so new routine but also the looming dread of the work that was ahead of him. Nevertheless, he was grateful to be back.
He stood at the door and wallowed in the scent of chemicals that stained the air of the room, setting his brief case on his desk, feeling his mood fill with dread as he looked at the stack of files that rested on his desk.
"Might as well do this the quick way." He mumbles to himself, picking up the stack. He opens the first file, reading the reports as hundreds of words process in his mind in milliseconds. He quickly jumps to the next one. The files were all reports of the cases that the acting CSI had made during his time out, catching him up on anything that he had missed. He threw down the final one, as the case was strikingly similar to the ones he had read before.
"You good there, Bear?" He heard Joe ask from behind him. He must have been in his own world while reading, as he had not heard him walk in.
He spins around in his chair, standing up to meet him on the other side of the room. "Just a lot of files." He lies through his teeth.
"But you can read them in less than thirty seconds?" He questions knowingly.
Barry furrows his eyebrows. He begins to respond defensively, "Well, it's still a lot to process. A second feels like a minute. Thousands of words."
"How about I get you out of the lab then?" Joe suggests. "We've got a murder case on seventh."
Barry nods, swiftly turning to grab his case from the desk behind him. "Another one? Aren't you getting worried?"
"The gang presence seems to have migrated from Star City over here," Joe begins as the walk out the door. "We've been tracking two pretty hefty gangs who've been behind a lot of the crimes lately."
"How long have they been active?"
"The Static Gang has been active a little over a month," Joe begins. He hesitates, taking a deep breath before finishing. "The Viper Gang has been in Central City for six months."
"Were they the ones who were dealing the Vertigo?" Barry asks, remembering a case that he was working right before he was shot.
Joe nods. "Vasquez made the connection while you were recovering."
Barry lets out a drawn out sigh as they continue to make their way out out of precinct. They walk into the elevator before moving forward into their conversation. He begins to speak as the elevator door closes. "What are we going to do about it?"
"Team Flash is not going to do a thing about it." Joe tells Barry firmly. "Busting up gangs is not exactly in your line of work."
Barry points his index finger upwards as if he had an epiphany. He speaks with a knowing tone. "But we do now have the Green Arrow who is highly experienced in that regard."
"And just because your partner deals with that mess doesn't mean you should," Joe tells him authoritatively as they walk out the elevator.
"Come on, Joe." Barry pleads. "We've been fighting all of this seemingly sporadic crime for months. Taking these gangs down is what we've been working towards."
"But you're not a vigilante," Joe tells him as they walk to his vehicle. "So leave all of this to the cops. Please."
Barry raises an eyebrow. "What's the difference between what Oliver does and I do?"
"He does what the police force is supposed to do," Joe tells him firmly. "You stop metahumans because we are not as equipped as you and S.T.A.R Labs to do so."
"I stop the ill-intentioned people who try to hurt the people of this city." Barry responds. "Which is exactly what he does. I can expand away from only stopping metas."
"You're not him, Barry." Joe finishes. "So stop trying to be."
-/-
Barry feels his frustration build up as he storms into his lab. It took everything in his power not to slam his brief case onto his desk in front of him. Instead, he lightly set it onto his desk before ramming his fist onto the metal desktop beside it. Rage consumed him as he let out a yell of anger.
"Here I thought punching things and yelling was my thing." Barry hears a welcomed voice. He turns around and sees a smiling face holding a bag full of what he could assume was greasy fast food. But he did not mind, as the only thing that mattered was the man holding it. "Either I have been a horrible influence on you or your first day back has been that shitty."
Barry smiles as he walks towards Oliver, grabbing the bag out of his hand as he plants a greeting kiss on his lips. "I can assure you it's the latter."
"How bad is it?" Oliver asks Barry with concern.
"You see that stack of folders on my desk?" Barry begins, pointing to the heaping pile of case folders resting on his desk. He responds after Oliver nods. "About eighty percent of those cases are either first degree murders, stabbings, or reports of gang violence."
"The case that Joe and I just investigated— the victim was shot in the chest and we think he was collateral damage in a drug deal gone wrong."
Oliver raises an eyebrow at the statement. "I didn't realize this happened in Central City-- I thought your biggest issues were metas."
"They were." Barry responds solemnly. "Joe said the Static and Viper gangs have been infiltrating the city's crime circuits. We have had more of a gang presence in crimes than metas recently."
"The Viper gang?" Oliver asks with concern. "They were in Star City last year. We busted up their biggest drug operation and then we hardly even heard a peep about them from the SCPD?"
"Because they moved from Star City to here," Barry motioned him towards his brief case, slipping out a folder. He holds it out to Oliver for him to grab. "This was the first file that CCPD had on them— right before I got shot."
Oliver opens the folder and flips through a couple of pages, pointing his index finger to a particular line. "They're dealing Vertigo?"
"I knew that Vertigo was hitting the streets but the sitting CSI when I was out made the connection to the The Viper Gang." Barry says solemnly. "It's bad and it's only getting worse."
Oliver raises an eyebrow and begins to speak in a faint, soft voice. Although quiet, his tone was serious. "Are we going to do anything about it?"
"Joe wants Team Flash far away from this."
"I know that I've been in Central City a lot recently but I don't think I've been here long enough to be a considered a member of Team Flash," Oliver begins knowingly. "I'll call John and Laurel and we'll take care of it."
Barry immediately shakes his head. "Oliver, no."
"When have I been known to listen to cops?" Oliver quips with a hint of frustration.
Barry stands up and takes Oliver by the face. He smiles as Oliver's face begins to loosen up. "You listen to a cop when he's your partner's adoptive father." Barry plants a soft kiss on Oliver's lips, causing them both to grin. "Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to get on Joe's bad side when it comes to his work."
"Fine." Oliver relents, Barry's hands still cupping his face. He flashes him a wink before speaking. "But I'm still going to loop John and Laurel in— see if I can get them to Central City."
He plants a kiss of his own on Barry's lips before grabbing his phone from his pocket and walking off. Barry lets out a loud sigh. "Your stubbornness is not one of your more attractive qualities."
"Ditto." Oliver tells him with his back turned. Barry laughs before walking back to the bag of food. He begins to take the articles of food out of the paper bag and place them on the desk in front of him. He takes a bite out of his burger as Oliver walks towards him. "Thanks, Bear. You couldn't have even waited on me."
"I'm starving," Barry replies through chewing. Oliver chuckles as he sits down and begins to pick at his food. Barry clears his throat as he swallows his food. "So, Iris told me that there is an apartment for rent over at the loft. It's in the floor below hers."
Oliver raises an eyebrow, wiping some spare ketchup off the top of his lip. "You want to live in the same complex as your ex-girlfriend who's wedding I practically ruined?"
"Well it's not—" Barry stuttered, trying to figure out the correct way to word the sentence that was going to leave his mouth. "You didn't ruin her wedding. Plus we see her everyday anyways. It's Iris?"
Oliver smiles. "I'm joking. We can look into it."
The two eat, enjoying each other's company immensely. For the first time in their relationship, their time together didn't feel like a ticking time tomb. Their interactions weren't tainted by the stresses of Barry's injury or the pain of Oliver's struggle with addiction. It was the two of them— enjoying a meal together and talking about their day. It felt normal. For the first time, they felt normal.
Barry felt his phone ring and he knew their time together was about to be cut short— it was the "call of duty." He answered the call from Joe, who was telling him that he needed to meet him at a crime scene— it was another murder. It was a member of the force. He looked to Oliver apologetically. "Joe needs me to check out a murder victim— apparently it was one of ours."
"It's fine." Oliver tells him sincerely. "It's your job, I get it."
Barry raises an eyebrow. "Would you want to come with me?"
Oliver shoots him a knowing look before he stands up and patiently waits for Barry to scoop him up and carry him to the scene.....
"Ollie," Barry says wearily and winded. He hadn't set Oliver back on his feet. He takes a deep breath before finishing. "You fattened me up with burgers and made me carry you three blocks-- I'm too weak for this."
Oliver laughs as Barry sets him down. "I have been carrying you up and down the stairs for weeks now. I don't want to hear it."
"I was shot!" Barry says through a chuckle, his tone in sarcastic defense.
"And?" Oliver quips. They both laugh as Barry sets him down and they begin to walk towards the scene. Joe is the first to greet them with a sullen look on his face.
"It's Vasquez," Joe tells them. "He was shot while looking into a deal that was busted up last night."
"What?" Barry asks with shock and hints of sadness. "Why was he out here in the first place? He was doing a detective's job."
Joe sighs. "He's been key to a lot of the cases with the Vipers. We needed all hands on deck."
"What's his position on the force?" Oliver questions.
"He was a CSI." Barry responds as he squats down next to the body. He removes the tarp cover that rested over it. "He was sitting in for me as head while I was recovering."
"Any chance this was the Vipers doing?" Oliver continued to question. "They shot a few officers in Star City while they were active there. It seems like they're could be a connection."
"Well, there's two entry wounds and no exits." Barry begins examining the dead body. "One in the shoulder and one in the—"
Joe bites his lip before looking in another direction, as if he knew the thoughts that were running through Barry's mind. Oliver watches Barry sink from a squatting position to a kneeling position— he turns his head slightly and he can see a single tear roll down his cheek. He then knew what was happening.
"They shot Vasquez because he was working the Vertigo case." Barry speaks dimly. "The same case I started—"
"They're targeting the force, Barry." Joe reveals solemnly. "We lost a detective last month when you were in the coma. He busted a deal with their leader and they killed him at a scene the next day."
Barry's sadness quickly turns to anger. "So it wasn't just an accident? I was the fucking target?" Oliver tries to put a hand on his shoulder but he quickly rejects it, continuing his rant loudly. "These bastards don't give a fuck who they hurt!"
"Bear," Oliver says calmly and softly as he tries to repress his own emotions of rage. He tightly grasps Barry's wrist, stopping him misstep as he had began to pace. "Take a deep breath. We can work this out later."
"I can't just take a breath! I-"Barry yells. Tears begin forming in his eyes as his throat catches, not allowing him to finish his thought. He can feel the eyes around him, staring at him as if they were waiting for an outburst. He looked into Oliver's desperate but calm eyes— they begged him to breathe before he did something he would regret. He then stood completely still, keeping his eyes on Oliver.
"Not now." Oliver murmured, only loud enough for Barry to hear. Barry's eyes were reluctant. They were stubborn. But something about the soft nature of Oliver's eyes in that moment soothed them and Barry gave in. Not moving his gaze, he takes a short but deep breathe. Oliver softens his grip on Barry's arm, allowing him to maneuver it free. He looks at Joe who gives him a nod of approval. He walks off harshly, ruffling his hands through his hair.
"Joe, why didn't you tell me this?" Oliver questions profusely. His voice becomes a whisper. "I could've stopped them weeks ago!"
"Barry didn't need you in a greed hood saving the day, playing cop" Joe responds quietly. He points his index finger into Oliver's chest. "He needed you. Just like he does now. Please follow him," Joe pleads with Oliver.
"Yeah," Oliver mutters with a nod, running off to catch up with Barry. He followed behind closely as he walked further away from the scene. Once they had turned a corner and were in an enclosed alley, Oliver calls Barry's name. He didn't turn around.
"Goddamnit, Barry." Oliver utters sternly. "Please fucking talk to me!"
"They had me shot, Oliver." Barry yells, feeling the rage and anger build up inside of him as turns around to face him. "All of that pain and suffering was because that gang wanted me dead."
The fury was rising inside of Oliver as well— every bit of his instincts wanted to find the men who did this and send three arrows through each of their hearts. He could feel the anger burning throughout the nerves in his body, clouding his mind with thoughts of vengeance. But he couldn't act on this— he couldn't make his feelings apparent. He had to hold it together and be steadfast. Barry was struggling. He needed him strong.
"Barry, I get that—"
"No you don't!" Barry began, despair oozing throughout his tone. "You didn't feel a bullet penetrate through your back and feel the sensations of life leave your body."
"You didn't wake up after months of being asleep to seeing the people you care about the most staring at you hopelessly because you couldn't brush your own fucking teeth."
Tears began to stream down Barry's face as he stood inches away from Oliver. "You didn't close your eyes thinking you would never again see the person you wanted to spend your whole life with."
"They almost took me away from you, Ollie," Barry cries and immediately moves to rest his chin in the crease between Oliver's neck and shoulder. "They nearly fucked up everyone I love's life because they wanted me dead." He immediately crashes his body into Oliver, who pulls him in tightly for an embrace. He caresses the back of his head, allowing him to feel safe and secure.
Barry lets out his cries into Oliver's shoulder, who at that point had let out a few tears himself. Their grips and holds on each other get tighter as their cries get softer. Oliver takes hold of Barry's face and gives him a stare of intent. "We're going to find them. And they're going to get exactly what they deserve, do you hear me?"
"I hear you." Barry tells him somberly. Suddenly his demeanor becomes cold and stoic. "They're going to get exactly what they deserve— a fucking hand through the chest."