Chapter Text
“You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequences of your choices.
And remember... you can’t get time back.”
Thawne killed Nora Allen with disturbing satisfaction. Barry stared speechless while his worst nightmare happened again in front of him and he couldn’t stop it. He just begged the man to kill his mother to set the timeline right. He just wanted a new life and to start over but he only made things worse. It was a cruel joke of fate and time. “I’m so sorry mom…” He murmured feeling powerless while his heart shattered in a thousand pieces. “I’m so sorry…I couldn’t save you.” The Reverse Flash smirked at him and suddenly grabbed Barry roughly by the arm and in an instant, they were swiftly in the doorway of Joe’s house… back to the original timeline.
“There we go,” Thawne added with satisfaction. “Things are back to how they should be. Well for me, anyway. For you…” he chuckled darkly. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.”
“What?” Barry asked puzzled. “What’s that supposed to mean Thawne?”
“See you sometime soon, Flash,” Eobard said smirking as he disappeared in flash of red lightning unaware of how much this timeline affected his young enemy.
Barry remained alone in the porch of Joe’s house dreading what Eobard’s words meant. He looked around and he saw two cars parked in front of the house. One was blue and the other one looked suspicious, it was completely black, with tinted windows and really luxurious for the neighborhood. He shrugged and turned to see the old wooden door he knew so well...he had more important things to worry about than about some cars. He slowly grabbed the cold doorknob and he hesitated for a second. He didn’t know what to expect… “What if everything was wrong?” He turned the unlocked doorknob and entered slowly the house. He smiled when he sensed the glorious smell of Grandma Esther’s secret chicken recipe. Since he didn’t want to startle anyone in the house he closed the door silently and breathed in trying to calm his nerves.
“Dinner is ready!” Joe yelled from the kitchen and Barry walked towards the living room halting immediately when he heard a familiar laugh he had last heard a year ago. His heart started beating wildly and he stared in shock the members of the family reunion.
“E-Eddie?”
Everyone turned around to see a very stunned Barry Allen standing next to the couch almost frozen like stone. Wally, Iris, and Eddie smiled and Joe looked a little confused.
“Barr! You made it!” Iris squeaked happily and Wally smiled.
“Barr I thought you weren’t coming?” Joe said raising an eyebrow a little bit surprised.
“I-…” Barry stuttered suddenly feeling little mortified with his imposed presence. “I…thought … maybe I should-” he said pointing to the door.
“I’m glad you could make it son…I made a lot of chicken…” Joe interrupted happily putting the dish on the table and Wally smiled with the delicious smell that invaded his senses while Iris crinkled her nose.
“Clearly Iris doesn’t like it…” Joe said glaring at his daughter. “So there is more than enough for all and you know there’s always room for you Barr. I just thought that you had an important dinner tonight…”
“Oh yeah…about that… It was canceled.” Barry lied awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “So I thought I could… you know… drop by and say hi. I should have called first though.”
“Nonsense son…” Joe added joyfully. “You know I love having all of the family reunited.”
“The more the merrier,” Eddie added joyfully. “Besides since the honeymoon, Its been a while since we all enjoyed a nice family dinner together so I’m glad you could make it Barr.”
“Thanks, Eddie,” Barry said smiling.
“Barr…do you want some beer?” Joe asked opening the fridge.
“Sure!”
“I agree with Eddie!” Iris said cheerfully embracing Barry warmly. “Besides when was the last time you had a proper homemade dinner, you are terrible at cooking and in your apartment, the fridge is always full with junk food and nasty Big Belly Burger leftovers…you are lucky that you have a fast metabolism to burn all that crap.”
Barry chuckled. “Yes, you are right…”
Iris released him from the embrace and Wally suddenly hugged him and he smiled and then he hugged Eddie trying hard not to cry and hiding the fact that he was more than overwhelmed to see him alive and well. He had missed his friend so much and he had always felt that it was somehow his fault that Eddie shot himself to end Thawne. He couldn’t even express the relief he felt having Eddie back in the family. Eddie would always be to him the true hero who without a doubt sacrificed himself for his sake and his friends.
Iris swiftly helped Joe and Wally to set the table and they quickly seated down to enjoy the delightful dinner that Joe prepared for them.
“So how’s the university going Wally?” Eddie asked interested taking the bowl of salad.
“All good…with speed everything is easier…” he replied grinning and Barry chocked on a mouthful of his beer. “So Wally had powers in this timeline.” Iris gave him a funny look and Barry smiled awkwardly.
“I can read really fast all the books and I can speed-sketch my designs.”
“That’s quite a handy ability, son,” Joe added feeling a little proud and amused. “I would love to speed cook…especially when I have two speedsters eating.”
Iris and Eddie laughed.
“By the way Joe! This chicken is amazing!” Barry added happily eating a slice and Wally nodded in agreement.
“I like more grandma’s Esther’s noodles,” Iris added pouting while eating salad.
“Next dinner we can have the noodles,” Joe added smiling at her and Barry smiled taking a drink of his beer. “...and maybe Barry can finally bring his boyfriend.”
That was it. Barry splashed his beer all over Wally and Eddie laughed loudly.
“Dude!!” Wally yelled with mortification.
“M-My what?” Barry squeaked in shock.
“Oh come on Barr… we are not stupid.” Iris added smirking. “You have been acting really mysterious and busy lately… I bet that you are dating someone really hot and mysterious but you don’t want to tell us.”
“No…I- If I was dating someone you would definitely know.” Barry tried to defend himself. “There is no reason for me to hide something like that from you.”
Iris scoffed. “Like there was no reason to hide the fact that you were the Flash from me for a year…”
“Touché,” Wally added and Barry glared.
“You know that was different…we were trying to protect you,” he said looking at Joe for back up and Joe just drank his beer. Iris narrowed her eyes clearly suspicious of his statement.
“Sure Barr…but you know that I am a reporter and I will find out sooner or later who are you dating.”
Barry laughed nervously. “Truthfully…he didn’t even know if he had a boyfriend? Did he have a boyfriend? How many things changed? What had he done?” He thought cleaning with a napkin the mess he made all over the table and looking at Wally, who was trying to dry his shirt with a napkin as well.
“I’m so sorry Wally.”
“It’s okay.”
“By the way Eddie…” Iris murmured mischievously taking her husband’s hand tenderly. “I’ve been meaning to ask you…”
“Anything for you Iris…”
“Could give me some information about the case you are working on?” she asked eagerly. “The CCPN is dying to have new information and I want the premise…”
Eddie sighed, Joe glared and Barry was grateful for the change of subject.
“Iris…” Joe murmured somber. “What do we agreed about talking about work-related stuff at the table.”
Iris sighed. “I just need new information about the case and Barry doesn’t want to help me either.”
Barry shrugged innocently. He didn’t even know about the case.
“It’s an ongoing investigation Iris…we can’t share that information yet,” Joe added dryly and Iris rolled her eyes. Barry silently ate his chicken. “Besides it is a dangerous situation I don’t want to get you involved at all…so maybe we could talk about something else… let’s talk about your honeymoon to Atlantis!”
Eddie beamed and Iris sighed defeated.
“Fine…we brought you guys some gifts...” Iris added standing up. "But dad you don't deserve yours!"
Wally laughed at Joe. "No Atlantis gift for you, dad."
Barry’s eyes widened. “There was an Atlantis in this timeline…in this Earth? How much had he changed their reality?” He thought excited of the opportunity to go visit the mystic island.
“Atlantis?” Barry asked eager leaning forward.
“Yes…” Iris replied looking inside a bag for the gifts.
“Like the lost and legendary city of Atlantis?” Barry continued with raised eyebrows.
“What?” Wally and Joe asked puzzled at the same time and Eddie laughed wholehearted.
“No Barr… The Bahamas…” Iris explained laughing at Barry’s nonsense. “Atlantis Paradise Island Resort.”
“Oh…right…” Barry said turning crimson and slumping his body on the chair feeling completely ashamed.
Wally laughed. “Dude, you are so weird sometimes…”
Barry groaned and Iris chuckled.
“Okay, they are small tokens… souvenirs…” Iris explained giving Wally and Barry their wrapped gifts. “Everything was so expensive…”
Barry opened his gift and it was a really nice new mug and a snow globe of Bahamas.
“Thanks, Iris…it is perfect,” Barry said slowly turning the snow globe to see the small particles fall and shine and something made his heart clench watching it. He felt as if he had forgotten something important.
“Oh, this is awesome... thanks, Iris!” Wally said distracting Barry from his thoughts. He turned to see that Wally’s gift was a huge beer mug and a shirt and Joe’s gift was a really cool cap, a t-shirt, and a beer mug. Iris and Eddie started talking about the tours they made during the honeymoon, they showed them the pictures they took and they finished their meal after a delicious Nutella mousse Iris prepared for them. After awhile Eddie suddenly yawned and Iris slowly stood up.
“We should be going.” She said and Eddie nodded sleepily. “Tomorrow is a long day at Central Picture News…the Mayor is going to give a press release.”
Barry watched his wristwatch and it was eleven o’clock. It wasn’t late but tomorrow they all had to work and Wally needed to go to the university.
Iris went looking for her purse on the sofa and Eddie followed her. Joe seized the moment and swiftly grabbed Barry by the arm softly.
“Barr…we need to talk.”
“Sure…what’s up?” Barry said smiling at Joe.
“It’s about work…I talked to Captain Singh about the case and he agrees with me.”
Barry tilted his head. “What case?”
Joe frowned confused. “The case you have being working this past couple of months…”
“Oh! That case! Right…” Barry repeated awkwardly. “Sure! What about it?”
“You are out,” Joe said dryly.
“W-What?” Barry asked surprised. He had never been taken off a case before. “Why?”
“I knew you would react like this.”
“Why the hell I’m out Joe?” Barry asked feeling a little hurt even though he had no idea of what was the investigation about.
“Because it is too dangerous. We will have Julian take care of the investigation.”
“Julian?” Barry repeated with wide eyes. He had no idea who the hell was Julian.
“Yes, Barry… Julian…I know you don’t like him but he is a really good CSI and he is not a meta-human. David agrees with me that it is much safer if you don’t get too involved. We think that someone in the precinct is also a turncoat.”
Barry was confused. “Who the hell is Julian? What case? Who is a turncoat?” His mind was reeling.
“Don’t worry Barr we can talk about it tomorrow with Captain Singh... and Barry please don’t be late. Julian is telling the Captain about your multiple infractions…repeated absences, disappearing throughout the day, phone call interruptions and guests in the labs.”
“What?” Barry asked running his hand through his hair already hating this unknown Julian. “And what did the Captain said?”
“Nothing… probably he will lecture you about it tomorrow.”
Barry sighed. “Right…okay, I will try to be on time.”
“See you tomorrow Joe…” Eddie said grabbing his coat and Iris by the hand. “Barry do you need a ride to your apartment?”
Barry lifted his gaze with raised eyebrows. So it seems like he had an apartment.
“No...it’s okay Eddie… I just will… you know…”
“Yeah flash away,” Eddie added and Barry just nodded.
“Exactly.”
“No problem… so, Wally, are you staying or do you need a ride?”
“No thanks, Eddie. I am going to Star Labs, I’m going to watch a movie with Jesse, but I will use my speed, it’s faster.”
“A movie at eleven o’clock?” Joe asked. “Wells won’t like that…”
“It’s okay tomorrow I have classes in the afternoon and Jesse is free,” Wally explained. “So see you later guys.” Joe sighed and Wally disappeared in a yellow streak before Joe started lecturing him.
Iris and Eddie started walking towards the door. Their car was parked right behind the black suspicious luxury car. Barry was going to walk away when Joe stopped him.
“Barr… I was wondering are you okay? You seem kind of distracted?”
“I’m okay… it’s just that I’m tired…” he said shaking his head. “Don’t worry…”
Joe nodded. “Go rest. Like Eddie said... tomorrow is a long day. We will talk about the case and don’t be upset you are still the best CSI of the CCPD.”
Barry sighed but quickly embraced Joe. “Thanks, Joe…the food was awesome.”
Joe laughed. “Sure Barr…see you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Nite.”
Joe closed the door and Barry left the house walking at a normal speed. He needed some fresh air. He had changed completely the timeline. He thought that with Thawne murdering his mother everything was going to return to be exactly the same but he was completely wrong. He needed to investigate what had happened in this reality? If Eddie was alive did the Singularity happen? What about Zoom? No Zoom definitely happened if Jesse and Harry were here in Star Labs.
“Ughh this is so confusing!” he said exhaling.
Barry suddenly felt a presence following him. He tensed and turned to see a huge man walking from the black suspicious car towards him. The man was huge and definitely intimidating. He looked like he worked for the government. Maybe FBI or something like that.... or maybe he should stop watching movies with Cisco.
“Where do you think you are going doll?”
Barry was startled. “Excuse me?”
Mick laughed. “Where do you think you are going, kid?”
The speedster froze when he finally recognized that the man in front of him was no other than Heatwave using an elegant tuxedo in the middle of the night in front of his house.
“Heatwave? For real?”
Mick scoffed. “I’ve been waiting for you. Come on I will take you home.” Mick added dryly moving towards the kid and Barry took a step back.
“Wait…” Barry murmured. “Do you know where I live?”
“Of course I know where you live,” Mick said narrowing his eyes. “Kid, did you hit your head or something? Because I know alcohol doesn’t work on you.”
“How the hell can you possibly know where I live and that alcohol doesn’t work on me?”
“My job is to know everything about you.”
Barry shivered with the thought. Okay, …that was creepy.
“So Snart, put you to follow me! That man is unbelievable…” Barry groaned annoyed. It seemed that Snart finally told Mick his secret identity. He was going to kill Cold. “So are you casing my home, my family… my life?”
“That’s a way of saying it…yeah…” Mick grunted a little confused with the kid’s nervous and edgy attitude. “Come on doll, let’s not make the boss wait.”
Barry sighed and started walking away. “Like hell, I will go with you to meet Snart… I can go home by myself Mick…thanks and good night! And tell Snart that I don’t appreciate someone stalking me or my family…tell him to stay away or our deal is off and I will send him into Iron Heights.”
Mick furrowed his brow watching Barry leave. The kid was acting extremely weird and walking really fast away from him. He sighed and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number and he saw the kid in the corner of the street stop near a tree and answer his mobile.
“Unbelievable! You have my number! Stop stalking me!” Barry yelled turning to see Mick on the phone next to the black car and then to the screen of his mobile that said, Mick. “And why do I have your contact?”
Mick rolled his eyes bored. “Kid you are going the wrong way.”
Barry froze startled suddenly realizing that he had no idea of where the hell he was going. He had no destination. He didn’t even know where his apartment was so it was probably true that he was going the wrong way. Maybe he should have accepted Eddie’s offer. He exhaled annoyed. He was completely lost and confused.
Mick blew out a breath of air. “Kid…let’s go home…” he repeated.
Barry heard Mick murmur through the phone. His voice was deep and honest. Mick didn’t seem to want to hurt him and weirdly enough Heatwave knew where he lived. It was a disturbing thought, but given his weird situation, it was useful.
“Fine,” Barry whispered defeated. “Take me home.”
“Sure doll,” Mick said ending the call.
Barry was tired but he was grateful that the ride home was uneventful and that the car was extremely comfortable. To his astonishment, Mick was driving impressively good and calm. He wasn’t sure why he thought that a ride in a car with Mick would be a hazard but so far it was fine and even pleasant. Suddenly Barry frowned noticing that they were entering one of the most expensive and luxurious neighborhoods in Central City...a place where he obviously couldn’t afford an apartment.
“Mick…”
“Mmmhh…”
“Why are we here? Are you planning on stealing something?” Barry asked concerned looking through his tinted window the impressive houses lighted at night. “Because I certainly won’t be part of this…nor allow one of your stupid heists with Captain Cold or any of the Rogues.”
Mick scoffed. “Kid, what the hell are you talking about?”
Barry turned to see Heatwave. “You are a thief like Snart and an arsonist…”
Mick burst to laugh out loud still looking at the road ahead. “You are funny…and you have always been a special kind of crazy Barry. I like it.”
Barry started massaging his temple. His head was starting to hurt. Mick stopped the car next to a guardhouse and rolled the window down. Barry’s eyes widened to see Clay Mardon alive and working like a security guard in a fancy house.
“Open the gate, Clay.”
“Sure, Mick…”
The black gate in front of the car started opening for them. “We arrived Red.”
Barry gasped at the enormous manor warmly lighted against the darkness of the night and surrounded by a beautiful garden. The private residence was a French formal estate. It was breathtaking and definitely extremely expensive. He couldn’t possibly live here. He couldn’t afford this with his modest salary as a CSI. Mick was probably joking with him.
“You are kidding me? I live here?” Barry asked impressed.
“Yes, you live here most of the time…”
Barry nodded silently biting his lip and Mick glanced at Barry.
“Kid this isn’t funny. I’m not sure what you are playing at but you are starting to scare me...is everything okay?” the arsonist asked worriedly.
Barry stared at Mick. Behind the rough features of the older man, Barry easily noticed the real concern in his light brown eyes.
“I’m just kidding Mick,” Barry added avoiding eye contact and feeling a little guilty and unsure of why the hell he was feeling guilty. Mick nodded and parked the car in front of the house.
“Len told me to inform you that he would be really late… so take a shower and relax.”
The two men started walking towards the door.
“I know that it’s been tough lately at the CCPD, especially with the case you are working on...Len's worried.”
Barry tilted his head. “I guess…Captain Singh wants me out…but I’m not sure why.”
“Probably the reason why Len wants you out as well,” Mick said a little cryptic. They walked towards the lobby of the house and Barry almost gasped when Mick actually used proper keys to open the huge door…keys…probably stolen keys…or maybe Snart was indeed rich in this timeline… “a glitch of the universe?” Barry exhaled defeated. Mick opened the door for him and Barry entered the house and he stared with wide eyes the scenic interior.
“Welcome home,” Mick added closing the door behind him.
“Oh my god…” the speedster murmured in shock forgetting that he should be playing cool.
Barry was greeted by a reverie. The interior of the rotunda had a spectacular luxury design. The railing of the marble stone staircase was black wrought iron with gold accents and wooden handrails. The wall sconces and the huge chandelier of the ceiling were made with gold and quartz crystals. The inside of the chamber’s dome was custom handmade inlaid in Venetian plaster molding and a Tiffany glass dome crowned the very top of the hall.
“Incredible….”
Mick stared at Barry. The reaction the kid was having was cute and exactly the same one he had a couple of months back… the first day he came to Len’s house.
“Go rest Barry…” Mick said noticing that the kid had black circles under his eyes. “You look like hell…”
“W-what? Ah….yes…” Barry said distracted taking in all the beauty of his surroundings. He smiled and unconsciously started to walk to the left still awestruck with the decorations.
Mick gazed worriedly. “Barry!” Heatwave said and the speedster turned to see him.
“Yes?”
“Wrong direction…go to the right, use the stairs and the biggest wooden double door is the entrance to the main room.”
“Sure…” Barry added laughing nervously. “I know that.” He replied trying hard to not look too awkward but he failed and Mick raised his eyebrows confused. Something was clearly wrong with the kid and maybe he should inform Len soon.
Barry followed Mick’s instructions and went upstairs to the main room. He opened the luxurious door and closed it. He swiftly rested his back against the door feeling utterly lost. “What have I done?” He thought slowly sliding towards the floor.
The timeline was completely strange. He tried to breathe and relax but he was clearly panicking. He buried his face on his hands. He didn’t understand anything of what was going on. He knew he could just run out of this house if things got complicated or dangerous but he didn’t even know where to run? He didn’t even know what was right anymore? Star Labs? Caitlin, Cisco? He needed to find out what was the same and what had changed.
He quickly stood up and turned on the light glancing at the bedroom and he laughed loudly. The room was ridiculous. The bed was huge and was covered with a white soft duvet with grey accents and a royal blue coverlet. The white and blue pillows looked amazingly fluffy and comfortable. In front of the bed was a fireplace and on top of it was a huge screen embedded in the wall. There was a luxurious chandelier hanging from the vast ceiling and the room had a wall of windows connecting directly to the gardens and the pool. The windows had long gray curtains he could close for the night or for privacy. There was also a wooden door that led to a bathroom, a comfortable sofa, a cozy bedroom bench in front of the bed and two nightstands with lamps.
Barry moved towards the bed and he suddenly saw over the nightstand a cute picture of him and Leonard laughing and almost kissing and he froze.
“Oh my God…Impossible.”
He stared speechless at the picture. “It can’t be…It can’t be… Am I dating Leonard Snart?” Barry inspected the picture in shock. “I’m dating Captain Cold…my nemesis…a criminal…” Truthfully it was a beautiful picture. It was taken during a sunset and the warm light was bathing their faces. Leonard looked so happy. No…they both looked so happy. He had always thought that Snart was really handsome but he never considered the idea of dating a thief and a criminal older than him for twenty years…but he looked so happy. He started trembling…“What the hell was he going to do?” He couldn’t remember anything about Snart and his relationship. “Snart will obviously notice that he wasn’t his Barry.” He slowly rested the picture in its place and breathed in.
It all made sense now. Joe and Iris were right he was dating someone and he was hiding the fact that it was Leonard Snart because Joe would never approve a thief as his boyfriend. That’s why Mick was nice to him and knew where he lived. Barry closed his eyes trying to calm down. No, he couldn’t calm down. “He was dating Snart! What the fuck?” Maybe he should leave the house before Snart arrives but he needed to find out first where the hell was his apartment and what happened to Cisco and Caitlin.
Barry continued exploring the room until he found a laptop resting over a desk. He quickly grabbed the computer and seated on the edge of the comfy bed. He pressed enter and the screen requested him a password.
“Shit!” he sighed annoyed closing the computer.
He turned to see the room and saw the bathroom door. He glanced towards the main entrance of the room and sighed. He was really tired maybe the idea of taking a bath like Mick suggested wasn’t that bad. “No… stop it was a terrible idea…what if Snart enters and he is bathing and completely naked? …but Mick told him that Snart was going to be late…maybe he could just take a quick bath…” Barry stood up and opened the door of the bathroom. He was curious and he wanted to inspect the room before taking the important decision of bathing or not... When Barry entered the restroom the light automatically turned on and he blew a breath.
“Seriously Snart… this is your bathroom?” He laughed thought and he briefly decided that he was definitely taking a bath. The place was perfect. He had never been such a luxurious bath before, with an enormous walking closet. It would be a shame not to use it. It had a huge bathtub, two luxury walk-in showers and beautiful decorations and plants and Barry was awestruck. The speedster quickly undressed and locked the door. He turned on the rain showerhead and took a long warm bath forgetting he was in his nemesis house and exited twenty minutes later feeling much better.
He dried his lean body, put on his black briefs and wore one of the clean bathrobes hanging on the wall. He exited the bathroom drying his hair with a towel and seated again on the bed opening the laptop. A stupid password won’t be enough to stop the Flash and CSI Barry Allen. With his speed, he tried a lot of combinations…captaincold, Heatwave, rogues, rogues01, various combinations of numbers, goldenglider, flash, streak, scarlet, saintsandsinners, 123456, coldgun…nothing worked. He exhaled defeated and turned to see the picture on the night table. Maybe… he could try one last time. He typed the letters and the password worked.
“Seriously Snart… Coldflash? Barry scoffed at his enemy’s secret password, but truthfully he found it kind of cute. But it should be FlashCold…why the hell was Cold first? Setting the stupid thought aside he went directly to Google and typed Star Labs in the search bar… everything was exactly the same, the particle accelerator explosion did happen…and Dr. Wells was found guilty of murdering Nora Allen, his father was set free…the Singularity happened…
“Black hole opened in the sky in Central City.”
“Central City saved by The Flash and Firestorm.”
Barry smiled widely. Ronnie was alive in this timeline! He quickly typed Caitlin Snow, and he found out that she has married Ronnie thanks to Facebook.
“Well, maybe I didn’t screw everything up. Maybe this is a better timeline.”
He was beyond surprised to see that a lot more had changed than he realized. Barry kept reading and he read about Zoom and how the evil speedster showed in cameras how he merciless slew and destroyed the Flash. Barry remembered when Hunter broke his spine and shivered at the unpleasant memory and suddenly he felt his chest ache…. so his dad was dead. Barry felt miserable but he couldn’t escape this fate. It was meant to be like this. He felt his warm tears trailing his cheeks and he quickly brushed them off with the palm of his hands and continued with his investigation.
He searched for Cisco Ramon and he laughed.
“Oh my god!” Barry’s eyes widened reading that Cisco was the richest man in America and a philanthropist who was engaged to Lisa Snart a famous jewelry designer and sister of Central City’s Mayor Leonard Snart.
“MAYOR?!” Barry yelled at the computer. “Holy crap…so Leonard was the mayor of Central in this timeline…just like in Earth 2.” “How the hell did that happen?” He continued reading the headings.
“Mayor Snart hottest bachelor of Central City.”
Barry laughed. “Oh my god.”
Barry closed the computer in shock with a little too much strength. This was so surreal. He knew he liked men but he had never dated a man before. He had only dated Linda, Patty and he had always like Iris… but now he was secretly dating the hottest bachelor of Central City. He laughed at the thought. Well, that explains the house. Barry smirked proudly he knew Leonard Snart could be good. Barry let his body fall on the bed. He was so tired. He shifted to his side thinking and his heart skipped a beat. “Oliver! Felicity!” He needed to know that they were okay. He quickly stood up and grabbed his cell phone from his jeans that were resting on the sofa and he dialed.
“Hello? …Barry?”
“Felicity!” Barry yelped excitedly. “How are you?”
“I’m good…” she answered a little confused. “Are you okay Barry? It’s really late, it’s any meta-human giving you problems?”
“What? No…no…” Barry said looking at the time. It was past midnight. “I just needed to talk to someone.”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Felicity asked worriedly.
“No, I just kind of made a big mistake! After everything that happened with Zoom, I just couldn’t take it anymore…I wanted a new life, I wanted to start over again and I changed time and somehow I made everything worse in the new timeline so I reset everything and put it back the way it was before but now some things aren’t the same anymore. Not even a little bit.”
“Whoa Barry slow down… take a breath…you are talking way too fast…”
Barry inhaled and exhaled deeply. “I think I screwed up… I changed everything and I don’t know if I can fix it.”
“Okay…so you ran back in time and changed our reality… and everything changed?
“Exactly…”
“And what’s wrong? What do you need to fix?”
Barry halted thinking. “Well everything changed but now that you mention it nothing is wrong so far, or bad enough to fix… things are just different and I feel lost and out of place because I don’t remember things… I don’t know what to do....”
“Barry where are you? Are you with Cisco or Caitlin?”
“Ehmm long story…” Barry said looking at his luxurious room. He had no idea how to tell her that he was Central City Mayor’s secret lover. "No, I haven't talked to them."
“Okay calm down…if you want you can come tomorrow and we can talk about it, but you should talk with Cisco and Caitlin first. You know that they will understand your decision of changing the timeline and if something is terribly wrong they can help you fix it. If not... you know that Team Arrow will always help you…anyways Sara, Thea and Laurel will probably be happy to see you again.”
Barry gasped. “Laurel?”
“Yes…”
“Is Oliver still the Mayor of Star City?”
Felicity laughed. “Yes, he is Mayor at day and vigilante at night.”
Barry nodded and relaxed. "Good."
“I’m glad you called Barry…but relax everything is fine in Star City, don’t worry about us and I’m guessing that probably your memories will start adjusting to this new timeline… you will remember everything so just keep calm…okay? And please don’t do anything stupid.”
“Yeah…thank you, Felicity.”
“Good night…Oh! And Barry…”
“Yes?” he asked.
“Maybe everything changed…but the secret is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but rather on building the new…just check your emails, Facebook, photos…maybe that could help you trigger some memories from this timeline…”
“That’s a good idea, I will,” Barry added eagerly to try that. “Say hi to Oliver.”
“I will…and if anything happens, call me, immediately.”
Barry laughed. “Okay, I will….Nite Felicity.”
“Nite Barry.”
The CSI sighed and ended the call. Suddenly an alarm on his cell phone startled him. He looked at the screen and the word “pills” was displayed. Barry frowned. He wasn’t sick he didn’t need pills. He dismissed the alarm and shifted to rest comfortably on the soft bed. He opened his photos and started checking everything he missed the last couple of months. He saw a photo with Leonard and Lisa, they were celebrating something, he saw pictures of Iris and Eddie’s wedding, Ronnie and Caitlin’s wedding, the inauguration of Lisa’s jewelry and a few cute pictures with Len…All of the memories seemed so perfect and happy. Maybe he could just fake his secret relationship with Snart until he managed to discover what he needs to change or fix in this timeline because so far everything seemed perfect in his friend’s lives and they deserve it. He just needed to keep calm.
After a while of browsing through his photos, he found the selfie with Cisco on Earth 2 and he smiled…it was one of his favorite memories… he needed to go back to Earth 2 and travel to Atlantis. Maybe he could ask Jesse and Harry to take him and he would take pictures and show Iris, Eddie, Wally and Joe that it really existed… he smiled to himself and slowly shifted on the bed…his eyes were starting to close…and suddenly he was completely surrounded by comforting darkness.
Mick opened the huge door and Leonard entered the house. The Mayor’s presence was strong and cold but he looked tired.
“About time, boss,” Mick said grabbing Leonard’s overcoat. “How was the party?”
Leonard groaned annoyed. “Peachy.”
Mick scoffed. “That boring?”
“Worse. The dinner was awful and the party tedious.” Leonard confessed. “I was seriously considering freezing all those bigoted idiots and the crazy women who couldn’t stop gawking at me like a piece of meat…”
Mick snorted looking at his best friend. “That’s why you should make official your relationship with Barry…”
“You know the media would eat him alive.”
“I think he can defend for himself…give him credit.”
“By the way…where is he?” Leonard asked worriedly. “I got your text and I tried to escape earlier from the party but clearly I couldn’t.”
“Upstairs in your room. He was sleeping last time I checked.” Mick informed.
Leonard nodded. “I will talk to him.”
Mick nodded. “Boss just… be gentle. The kid was acting a little nervous and confused.”
“I’m always gentle Mick.”
“The hell you are…” Mick murmured and Len glared heatedly.
“What I’m trying to say Len is don’t jump on him like you usually do...you are going to scare him…”
“I don’t jump on him.”
Mick grinned. “Yeah, you do…you can’t keep your cold hands to yourself when you see him.”
Leonard smirked. “True… can’t help myself.”
“Just be cool…and don’t scare him.”
“I promise I will be subtle.”
Mick rolled his eyes. He was sure that Leonard was going to screw everything somehow. He couldn’t keep calm when the kid was around. Mick knew it was Len’s instinct to be overprotective and dominant with Barry but sometimes he was just ridiculous. It was kind of funny and entertaining sometimes until it meant trouble and it usually meant trouble.
Leonard went up to his room and slowly opened the door without making any noise. If the kid was asleep he didn’t want to scare him. He checked his cell phone and it was three in the morning. The Mayor approached the bed and smiled at the sight. Barry was sleeping, resting on his back wearing only black briefs and a white bathrobe loosely open in the front. Len smirked at the lovely sight of Barry’s chest and abs. Lifting his glance he noticed that the kid fell asleep on the computer by his side and the cellphone in his hand. It was cute and… Mick was completely right. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself when his speedster was sleeping looking so tempting in his bed with lips slightly parted.
Leonard quickly took a picture with his phone and started undressing. He took off his tie, his white shirt, his shoes, and pants and left them over the sofa and he took the laptop and Barry’s cell phone away to put them on the nightstand. Leonard smiled at the last picture on Barry’s phone. It was the selfie on Earth 2 with Cisco. He liked Cisco a lot, especially since he treated his sister like a princess. He locked the screen of Barry’s cell phone and slowly proceeded to climb on the bed trying not to stir up his mate. Surely Mick was right and maybe Barry was acting strange but probably it was just stress or that he was tired. Sometimes Mick overreacted to stuff. Len moved his hand over Barry’s chest and the kid unconsciously moved closer to nuzzle into Len’s chest and into a warm embrace. Len smiled and covered both of them with the white duvet and he finally fell asleep.
It was early in the morning when Leonard stirred awake and saw Barry completely asleep at his side. Barry’s scent was intoxicating. Len leaned to kiss softly his boyfriend and then turned to see the time. It was seven o’clock and fuck… Barry was going to be late to his work again. He smirked with an idea. He was going to wake up Barry slowly in the speedster’s favorite way. He started kissing Barry’s neck softly and moved his hand over Barry’s briefs, stroking his mate’s bulge. The Speedster moved slightly and gasped parting his lips with a low moan. Len increased the lustful contact smirking and Barry writhed in his sleep feeling the friction on his hardening member and his breathing was getting shallow and quick. Len captured his mate in a tight embrace kissing him deeply and Barry moaned opening his hazel eyes a little dazed with pleasure.
“Good morning Scarlet.”
Barry groaned confused at the pair of beautiful deep blue eyes watching him and then he recognized Captain Cold smiling warmly at him.
“SNART!”
Barry’s eyes widened and pushed his nemesis away from him and he flashed off the bed, tangling with the sheets and duvet and falling hard to the floor with a loud thump that surely woke up the whole ridiculous huge manor.
“Ouch!”
“Scarlet?”
“FREEZE!!” Mick suddenly yelled opening the door with a loud bang and with his hands on fire ready to kill the intruder and to defend Barry. Len rolled his eyes at Mick and the arsonist looked at his boss puzzled. "I always wanted to yell that..."
“What the hell were you doing?” Barry asked Len in shock trying to cover his flushed body with the bathrobe and turned to see in disbelief Mick’s hands on fire ready to attack something or someone. “Okay…so Mick was also a meta-human?”
“What the hell am I doing?” Leonard asked annoyed. “I was trying to wake you up, Scarlet!”
“You were assaulting me!” Barry yelled angry instantly regretting his choice of words when he saw for the first time a mortified face on Captain Cold. Barry felt his heart clench tightly and his stomach drop.
“Seriously? What the hell is going on here?” Mick asked bewildered looking at Barry who was clearly afraid on the floor and then at Len who was silently looking guilty on the bed.
“Len, what part of “hands off the kid” you didn’t understand?”
Leonard looked somehow hurt and confused and Barry was lamenting his stupid panic attack. He was supposed to fake it until he could finally understand this timeline. He wasn’t supposed to freak out like this.
“I’m sorry…” Barry said laughing awkwardly. “I’m okay…I just panicked. I’m sorry Leonard.”
“It’s Len.” The Mayor replied dryly feeling his heart shatter and Barry felt miserable at the icy tone.
“Right…. Len…I should go to work. You are right…it’s late. Thank you for waking me up.” Barry said grabbing his clothes from the sofa and flashing to the bathroom leaving a very confused Heatwave and Captain Cold in the room. Mick looked at his friend.
“I told you he was acting weird.” He said turning off the fire in his hands.
Leonard groaned and climbed off the bed. “I thought it wasn’t this serious.”
“You didn’t talk to him yesterday?” Mick asked. “I told you to be cool and subtle…”
“I didn’t…and I was subtle I saw him sleeping so peacefully that I couldn’t muster the resolution to wake him up. It was in three morning…”
“Len sleeping with him and then waking him up in God’s know what perverted way you did wasn’t subtle at all.”
“How was I supposed to know that it would scare him? We always wake up like this.”
“Because I warned you!” Mick groaned. “…you are an idiot.”
“Shut up Mick…”
Barry was hyperventilating in the bathroom. Captain Cold just kissed him. Mayor Leonard Snart kissed him. He tried to breathe and opened the faucet to let the water run to wash his hot face.
“Calm down…calm down.”
All of this was his fault for falling asleep in his enemy’s bed. “What the hell was he thinking? No, he clearly wasn’t thinking…” He looked at himself in the mirror and his blush was still evident. He washed his face and groaned. “Who was he kidding?” He had liked the kiss a lot and the way Snart touched his body…he felt like he was on fire… like there was something deep down telling him that he felt safe in Len’s arms…like he belonged there, in the warm embrace of his strong mate. “Mate? Okay, that was a weird word choice.” Barry shook his head and quickly entered the shower and set the temperature to cold. After a couple of minutes, he dried and then dressed in the clothes he was wearing yesterday and exited the bathroom taking a deep breath.
Mick had left the room and Len was waiting for him sitting on the edge of the bed looking utterly confused and really attractive without a shirt covering his chiseled abs and only in his tight dark blue boxers that clearly left nothing to the imagination of the large size of Len’s dick.
“Scarlet…are you okay?” Len asked looking clearly worried.
No he wasn’t okay he was daydreaming with his new timeline boyfriend’s hot body and he knew he was inevitably turning crimson.
“Yes...I’m fine.” Barry lied wrapping his arms around himself. “I’m sorry if I scared you or hurt you.” Barry continued keeping always his distance.
“You didn’t…I’m just worried,” Len said offering Barry his right hand. Barry hesitated but finally took the cold hand and Len pulled him forward closing the distance between them. Barry slightly gasped and Len swiftly stood up. Blue eyes stared into deep hazel eyes.
“You know you can always trust me and tell me what’s wrong…but I can’t help you if you push me away.”
“I…I can’t…tell you.” Barry struggled against Len’s grip. The truth was too complicated and everything was getting too overwhelming. “I’m sorry Len.”
“Barry?” Len murmured softly. “Is this about the case you are working on? Is it too much?”
“No, it is not the stupid case… I’m sorry Len…I’m late to work…I promised Joe that I would be on time. We can talk later…I promise…I just need to figure some things out by myself.”
Len tried to stop the speedster but he was too slow. He just saw Barry disappear in a yellow streak of lightning leaving him alone in the cold room. Len quickly turned to see that Barry at least took his cellphone with him.
“Mick!”
Heatwave entered the room immediately. “Yes, boss?”
“Follow Barry. Don’t lose him and if anything happens, call me right away.”
Mick nodded. “Do you have any idea of what’s wrong with him?”
“Not yet Mick…” Len said looking at the window. “But I will find out soon.”