Torn Asunder

by gothraven89

Barry and Leonard are together, until they aren't. After Len has skipped town Barry discover a devastating truth about just why they crashed and burned. With his heart broken and his trust betrayed, Barry goes after the man he loves. Will he be able to win back the one he hurt? Warning: Slash, don't like it don't read. Reviews and constructive criticism welcome!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Flash characters or comic book series or Legends of Tomorrow. It is all property of DC and whoever else has legal authority. I am not making any kind of profit from this writing; it is all for fun and freedom of expression.

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Warning: strong sexual content and heavy angst. Apologies in advance for any Out of Characterness, certain members of Team Flash are not shown in a favorable light, just wrote what was in my head.

Side note: This story takes place before Earth-2 Wells and Jay Garrick make an appearance and Lisa and Mick know that Barry is the Flash, so it is a slight AU.

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Torn Asunder

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" Barry, son please." Joe said desperately as he stepped forward, his face a look of anguish and remorse.

" H-How could you?" Barry chocked out softly, his hazel green eyes wide in disbelief and his face slack with utter shock as he stepped backwards, away from his adoptive father.

As he backed away, Barry's shell-shocked eyes volleyed to the two people flanking Joe on either side, Caitlyn on Joe's right and Cisco to his left. His friends.

The four of them were all currently standing in the center of STAR labs with the Flash suit standing in its alcove, bearing silent witness to the implosion of relationships that were happening right then and there.

" The two of you were in on this?" Barry asked, still shocked as he continued to look between Caitlyn and Cisco.

" Barry." Caitlyn began to say, her eyes growing over bright while her voice was tight with regret, while Cisco was shaking and looking ashamed of himself.

Barry held up his hand, Caitlyn instantly falling silent as they watched the disbelief that painted Barry's handsome features slowly morphed into an expression of utmost betrayal and anger. Joe, Caitlyn, and Cisco all had to use their will not to cower under those hazel green eyes suddenly turned nearly black with quiet rage. Even Barry's face had gone pale gray with anger as he spoke.

" You did this to us, to me?" Barry asked, his voice cold and hard as steel.

Caitlyn had to duck her head, while Cisco looked pleadingly at his best friend. It was Joe who spoke.

" W-We just wanted what was best for you-" The detective began to say when he fell silent as Barry was suddenly in his face in the blink of an eye thanks to his speed.

" So you thought the best way was to lie to my face, to manipulate me?" Barry hissed through gritted teeth, his eye glittering with hurt and angry tears. Then Barry's face crumbles a little and it is the worst thing Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn had ever witnessed as he continued.

" The new medical tests, the late nights here at the lab testing out the new suit and other stuff, and the piles of evidence to keep me at the crime lab longer, you three did all this to break me and Len up? To come up with so many different lies to take up all my time and make me neglect the man I love? Knowing what I've been through with Eobard Thawne and all his lies?"

Joe was struck dumb by these words out of his adopted son, the full weight of what he had done with the help of Cisco and Caitlyn hitting him with full force.

" Barry, y-you love Snart?" Cisco asked softly. Barry tore his glare away from Joe and leveled it on Cisco, making the young scientist flinch involuntarily as he spoke.

" We were together for months before you guys found out about us. It wasn't just some fling, some desire to live dangerously." Barry spat before he turned his wrathful eyes back to Joe.

" We were together, somehow we were working. Him and me, we were... we were happy. I haven't even told him that I love him." Barry said, his voice breaking on the last words.

" Barry I am so sorry." Caitlyn said with a sob as the tears finally broke free.

Barry was unmoved by her tears as he just shook his head.

" Good for you, you're sorry but is it because you three succeeded in splitting us up or that you got caught." It was here that Barry let out a humorless huff as a disgusted smile curved his lips.

" I mean, I never would have found out that you guys did this if I hadn't walked in on you talking about it just now. You weren't even going to tell me were you?"

At the way Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn stayed pointedly silent, Barry shook his head and finally let a few tears fall free and carve glistening trails down his pale cheeks before he angrily swiped a hand over his face.

" Who's idea was it?" He asked, his voice now hollow and dead.

Joe let out a shaky breath and nodded wearily.

" It was my idea, I was just here talking with Cisco and Caitlyn while you were out on patrol after we found out that you and Snart were together and it just... we came to an agreement to keep you really busy to show you that Snart wasn't invested in you. Son you're wrong, we were going to tell you, we just didn't know how. It's why we were here talking about it."

Barry crossed his arms and barely bit back a snort.

" He was invested enough to put up with all the shit you guys were pulling for almost two months." Barry snapped.

" I know, I saw that but he's a criminal Barry, you gotta understand my apprehension." Joe said as he held his hands out. Barry deflated at that and nodded before he grew stone-faced yet again.

" He didn't have the best track record and yeah, Farris Air happened, but do you guys really have any ground to stand on here since it's been months since you found out about us and he did nothing but be there for me?" Barry asked flatly.

Once more the wave of shame washed over Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn. Barry then turned his gaze to Cisco, skewering the younger man with a look as he spoke.

" If someone treated Lisa the way you all treated Len, what would you do?" Barry watched in grim satisfaction as Cisco froze at the question before he averted his dark eyes to the floor.

" We'll fix this Barry, we'll tell Leonard the truth." Joe said as he stepped forward, Caitlyn and Cisco both nodding. Whatever embers of hope Joe was trying to stoke were quickly snubbed as Barry sent them a frigid look.

" You're about a week too late. After we had a massive fight where Len called me out on not having time for him, I left to go meet you at the crime lab because you called me about that homicide cold-case, thinking that we both needed to cool off. When I went back to his place I found it empty. He's gone, and I don't know where he went." Barry revealed flatly before he continued.

"And before you ask, I went to Saints and Sinners to ask Lisa and Mick if they knew where Len went, but they both shut me down, told me to go to Hell." It was here that Barry paused, allowing a sad, defeated smile to ghost over his face.

" Mick threatened to barbecue me while Lisa said she'd be glad to gold plate whatever would be left of me once Mick was through. And on top of that, Len managed to turn off the tracker in the cold gun so I have no way of finding him." Barry's face grew furious again as he finished.

" So congratulations, your plan fucking worked."

" Barry!" Cisco said desperately but Barry just shook his head.

With a final, hurt filled glare Barry was gone in a light gust of air and a streak of yellow and red, leaving Joe, Caitlyn, and Cisco standing in the middle of lab to realize the full weight of the destruction they had caused.

Several hours later, just as night fell over Central City...

Joe wearily let himself into his house while he tucked his phone into his pocket. He had just tried calling Barry for a fourth time only for it to go straight to voice mail. As he dropped his keys into the dish on the table by the door, Joe felt eyes boring into the back of his head. Knowing that it was better not to fight the inevitable, Joe turned around and bet the dark eyes so very similar to his own.

From where she sat at the head of the dining table facing the front door, Iris West sat with her dark eyes like two orbs of hardened obsidian. They glittered with cold fury and disappointment as she gazed at her father.

The entire house was so silent one could probably hear a pinprick at one end while standing in the other.

Joe wordlessly made his way to the dining room and made a b-line for the liquor cabinet where he poured himself a brandy. Both father and daughter knew it was a stalling tactic but neither said anything as Joe took a sip of the strong alcohol and sat down at the table across from Iris. The silence reigned for several more agonizing seconds before Iris finally broke it.

" Before you ask, he's at my place." She said cooly.

" How is he?" Joe asked.

" A wreck, but can anyone blame him after the shit you guys pulled?" Iris replied, sending her father a withering look.

" Snart's a criminal, even with him and Rory occasionally joining that group of time-traveling space cadets. And besides, he's almost my age." Joe said, though in his own ears the words sounded like he was grabbing at straws.

" Len is more than his past actions and the persona he puts up and you know it dad." Iris said sternly before she huffed and shook her head in disgust.

" For all his arrogance and bravado, there is a good person underneath it all, the person Barry saw before anyone else. The person I got the privilege of seeing because I gave Len a chance. And besides, he's not the one who betrayed Barry's trust here, you did. How could you be so cruel Dad, and worse still you dragged Caitlyn and Cisco into this? Didn't it ever once cross your minds what would happen when Barry learned the truth, that he lost the man he loves because of your conspiracy?" Iris asked in outrage.

" What was I supposed to do Iris?" Joe shot back.

" You were supposed to treat Barry like the adult he is, to let things happen as they are supposed to. To see for yourself how much Len cares about our Barry and wasn't using him. For all you know they might have broken up on their own without you guys manipulating them. This wasn't about the fact that Barry was with Len, this was about the fact that they were going strong, they were working and you just couldn't stand that it's Captain Cold who makes Barry happy." Iris said, seething. Then her face crumbled and her eyes grew pained as she continued.

" How do you think it made me feel to get a call from Barry, to meet up with him at my place and for him to just fall apart in my arms and tell me that my father, the man he considers his second father, along the two closest friends that he's got all took advantage of his trust and concocted a plan to sabotage his relationship with a man who is actually evolving and trying to redeem himself?"

" I just, I just didn't want to lose Barry Iris." Joe all but whispered as he sagged in defeat and looked decades older than he was. Iris was unmoved as he eyes flashed with anger once more.

" Well you lost him anyway, by your own actions not Len's. Worse still Len skipped town after he and Barry had that fight, you and those two idiots actually succeeded in driving someone clean out of their home." She said harshly, making Joe feel even worse, before she got up from the table and started heading for the door. She paused beside her father and looked down at him, all anger now gone, leaving only this palatable grief in her dark eyes as she spoke.

" You know, I was apprehensive about Barry being with Len too. Len's such an intense man and capable of a lot and Barry wears his heart on his sleeve." She said with a sad smile before she continued.

" Then I got to see the way they were with each other once we found out about them and I gave them a chance, I got to see a side of Leonard Snart that he doesn't show to anyone. Do you know what I believed when I saw how much Len and Barry cared about each other?" She asked her father softly. At Joe's silent, questioning gaze Iris let a single tear escape and slide down her cheek as she answered.

" I believed that Barry finally had something like what I had with... with Eddie. After I found out that they'd broken up and that Len had left town I was so mad at him that I wanted to hunt him down and make him pay for hurting Barry after he promised me that he'd do right by him. Now, now I can't even look at myself knowing that I blamed the wrong person, that my own father caused all of this."

Joe wanted the ground to just swallow him up right now, Iris' words and the disappointment in her eyes making him feel like his heart was being ripped apart.

" Iris, I am so sorry." Joe began to say when Iris shook her head and held up her hand, silencing him.

" What is Barry supposed to do with sorry? After all this is his life, his trust, his heart that you messed with. You broke it, you damn well better try your hardest to fix it dad." Iris said before she turned and strode away, grabbing her jacket and leaving. Joe flinched as the door slammed shut in Iris' wake.

As Joe sat as the only occupant of his house, he set down the glass of brandy on the table and then held his head in his hands. It crushed him further to know that not only had he hurt the heart of his adoptive child, he had hurt the hearts of both his children.

Iris had just told him to fix what he had broken, but where the Hell could he even start?

About a week later at Saints and Sinners...

Lisa Snart AKA Golden Glider took a sip of her martini and sighed. Dressed in leather pants with gold-hued accents and a dark red v-neck top with one of her signature leather jackets, the dark haired woman was sitting at the bar with her mind thousands of miles away. It had been more than a week since Len had dropped everything and full on left town, saying he needed the time and space to clear his head and process a few things, mainly that his love-life was a burning pile of wreckage.

Lisa clenched her jaw at the very thought of the young man, especially after he had had the gall to show up at this bar and ask where Lenny was, like he had any right to after neglecting her big brother for nearly two months. Lisa was just about to drain the rest of her drink when Mick Rory AKA Heatwave's gruff voice sound behind her.

" Hey Goldie, we got us some ballsy visitors."

Intrigued, Lisa turned to find Mick standing beside her, while behind him stood the last three people you'd expect at a bar like Saints and Sinners; one Detective Joseph West, Dr. Caitlyn Snow and Cisco Ramon.

Any other time, Lisa would have been quite pleased to see Cisco standing in front of her, but instead she felt this dull anger and a surge of protectiveness for her big brother as she calmly got up from the bar stool she was sitting in to greet her guests.

" Well, well, West, Uptight and Cisco, what brings you here to this part of town?" Lisa asked with sugary fake pleasantness, her blue eyes flashing dangerously much like her brother's would, while Mick grunted behind her and cross his arms, his dark eyes wordlessly assessing Joe, Caitlyn and Cisco.

Joe held his ground as he spoke.

" We're here about a personal matter, don't want any trouble." He said, his badge and gun hidden but on edge at the many faces he did recognize in the bar. Caitlyn and Cisco shuffled uncomfortably before Cisco spoke.

" Can we talk to you guys, in private?" He asked, his expression uncertain and with many of the seedy bar's other patrons openly staring at them in suspicion.

Lisa and Mick shared a look, it didn't go unnoticed by either of them that Joe looked worn beyond his years while Caitlyn and Cisco both looked absolutely miserable and borderline desperate. Mick nodded curtly to Lisa who let out a sigh before she turned her icy blue eye back to the duo.

" Follow us, there's a room in the back." She said curly before she and Mick headed off to said room with Joe, Caitlyn, and Cisco following close behind. Once they had piled into the room, which turned out to be a back office, Mick turned to Cisco and Caitlyn and spoke.

" So what do the Flash's dad and sidekicks want, especially after that scarlet asshat got my partner all twisted up enough to make him full on leave town?" He drawled roughly. Lisa tilted her head, silently asking the same thing.

" I-It's not Barry's fault. There's a side to this that you guys don't know." Cisco said said nervously.

" We came to explain." Caitlyn added softly.

" Then by all means, please explain." Lisa said with a flourish of her hand before she crossed her arms and waited.

Taking in a deep breath, Joe stepped forward and began to explain the part that he, Cisco, and Caitlyn played in driving Leonard and Barry apart. Caitlyn and Cisco would chime in and confess their actions, but it was Joe who did most of the explaining. By the time the three of them were finished, the room had grown deathly quiet.

Lisa's face looked like it was carved from marble, her blue eyes wide and the left one twitching as she bore into Joe. Mick just stood there staring at them, his own eyes wide with disbelief, as if he couldn't process what he was hearing. Instead of flying into a full blown rage like the pyromaniac was known for, Mick seemed shellshocked by the revelation. The tension was taught like a cord drawn as far as it could go.

The seconds went on for what felt like eons, and then the tension snapped.

With speed that would have made Barry proud, Lisa was across the room.

Caitlyn and Cisco both flinched while Mick smirked as the sound of a resounding smack shot through the air and Joe nearly toppled to the floor, a stunned look on his face and his hand going to his cheek that was on fire.

" You asshole!" Lisa shrieked before she tried to hit Joe again, and she would have connected a fist this time had Mick not suddenly been there to grab her hand and stop her.

" Goldie he's a cop! Think of the heat it'll bring! You can't go hitting cops, even ones that really deserve it!" Mick growled, the surprising voice of reason as he sent Joe a scathing look and he pulled Lisa back.

Lisa's blazing eyes then went to Caitlyn and Cisco, skewering them both with a look of pure outrage and disgust.

" How could you guys be so cruel, to Barry let alone my brother? And you Cisco, how could you?" Lisa hissed.

" Lisa I am so sorry." Cisco said as he stepped forward with his hands held out in a placating gesture.

" You gotta understand, we just didn't want to see Barry get hurt again." Caitlyn said with a look of pleading.

" They were together for months, months Snow! Nobody was dying and even our heists were petty and more about show than actually stealing anything valuable. He's my brother you sick bastard, and after everything he's been through in his life he finally let someone in! And Barry, Oh my God Barry, all those things I said to him because I blamed him and it wasn't even his fault!" Lisa exclaimed.

Joe felt the hot poker of guilt lance through his heart as he saw the genuine anguish in Lisa's eyes. Composing himself and still feeling the lingering sting of her hand, Joe stepped forward and spoke.

" Lisa, I know you're mad and you have every right to be, we did a really stupid thing, but we're here to try and fix it." He said.

Lisa took in a deep breath to calm herself, but she was still seething as she shrugged Mick off and spoke.

" Does Barry know what his family did to him?" She asked with a sneer.

" Yeah, he walked in on us discussing how to break it to him and heard the entire thing a week ago." Caitlyn said sadly.

" The only time he speaks to us is when he's being the Flash, other than that he won't even look at us." Cisco replied.

Joe felt himself grow sad as well as he remembered how in the week following the revelation, Barry hadn't been able to bring himself home. He was still staying with Iris and had asked his adoptive sister to get some of his things from the West house so that he had fresh clothes for work. Work itself was an even bigger nightmare because Barry avoided Joe like the plague and when they did have to interact at crimes scenes or at the lab it was strictly professional. If there was anything that made Joe's heart crumble, it was hearing his adoptive son call him " Detective West" and look at him with his normally bright hazel green eyes dead and hollow with quiet misery. Joe was brought back to the present as Rory spoke.

" Serves you right." Mick said gruffly, and he really wished he had the heat gun with him right now so that he could barbecue someone who deserved it at least.

" Why are you here now?" Lisa asked with her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

With a sigh, Joe answered.

" Barry told us that your brother left the city after they fought, and that you guys wouldn't tell him where Leonard went when he came here asking. Would you be willing to tell us where Leonard is so we can tell him the truth."

" Not a chance." Lisa shot back with a glare.

" Please Lisa, we just want to make things right." Caitlyn pleaded, but Lisa was not moved.

" No, I won't betray my brother's confidence. There's enough of that going on at your end." Lisa declared, before she deflated a little.

" At least, I won't to the three of you. I'll tell Barry but the three of you will back off and stay there, got it?" She ordered sternly.

Then with a last disgusted look Lisa stalked past them, pausing to skewer Cisco with a look.

" I never thought you of all people could stoop so low Cisco." She said, anger turning into this deeply sad disappointment that made Cisco want to curl up and die. Lisa then tore her gaze away, turned in her heels and walked away without a backward glance. Mick slowly followed in Lisa's wake, he too paused to look at the trio, his eyes settling on a dejected looking Caitlyn who immediately tensed under those hardened eyes as the pyromaniac spoke.

" When me and Snart kidnapped you, I figured you'd want payback, but to use your pal as the instrument, that's cold even by Cold's standards." Caitlyn felt her eyes burn at these words and had to look away as Mick turned his gaze to Joe and Cisco.

" Some good guys you turned out to be." He drawled before he pulled out his signature zippo lighter and flicked it open expertly, with a humorless smirk and a shake of his head, reveling in having the moral high ground for once. Mick focused his attention on the beloved and beautiful orange flame as he walked away without a backward glance.

Joe, Caitlyn, and Cisco could only stand there in the silence, with the muted sounds of the happenings of Saints and Sinners on the other side of the door as their only company.

The next night...

Barry sighed as he shoved a spoonful of Rocky Road ice-cream into his mouth from the large tub that Iris was holding between them as they sat side by side on her comfy leather sofa, watching some mindless comedy that Iris had suggested.

It was the end of another rough day for Barry on both fronts. There had been a string of highly unusual thefts in a high end neighborhood near the center of the city that had turned out to be the work of new metahuman. This meant that Barry had been forced to interact with the three people he wanted to avoid at all costs. He gave Joe the cold shoulder at the crime scenes, their usual easy banter nonexistent, making the exchange so painfully awkward. Later on, when he was facing the meta, who had the ability to phase through things and was dubbed the Polter-Thief, Barry was curt and cutting with Caitlyn and Cisco through the communication channels. Barry had come inches to having his own heart pulverized by the meta trying to phase his hand straight through Barry's chest, but at the last moment Barry used his windmill arms to send the meta careening into a wall while he was solid. Once Polter-Thief was hauled off to Iron Heights, Barry sped back to the lab to change out of his suit and put it back in its alcove before he flashed out of their without a single word to Caitlyn and Cisco.

He ran back to Iris' apartment where they had a quiet dinner of take out together before they parked themselves on the sofa.

Iris subtly took in her best friend beside her and felt her heart lurch. Barry was the picture of a man totally heartbroken. The bright and cheerful young man Iris knew him to be was replaced by this quiet, tired, and all around unhappy version. Iris knew full well that in addition to missing Len like crazy, Barry was still feeling the full weight of the betrayal he had discovered.

Now was the quiet devastation in solitude. As the credits began to roll on the movie they had been half-heartedly watching, Iris was just about to ask Barry what movie he wanted to watch next from the quintessential pile of movie's meant for when one was feeling like dirt when there was a knock on the door that startled them both.

" I'll get it." Barry said before Iris could even open her mouth to say anything.

The next instant, in a blur of red and yellow Barry flashed over to he front door.

" Who is it?" Barry asked first. A few moments later a woman's voice sounded from the other side.

" Open up Barry, it's me Lisa." Barry's heart instantly started to pound as he grew concerned just from the way Lisa's voice sounded, devoid of the usual bravado and serious.

As he unlocked the door and pulled it open, Barry had a dozen different questions about why Lisa was here at Iris' door seeking him out even after she had told him a week ago that she'd blast his face with her gold gun if she ever saw him again. The questions had caused the most fear were in regard to Lisa's brother. Was Len alright? had something happened to him? Barry had these thoughts running through his mind as he pulled the door away to reveal a very dressed down Lisa Snart.

Dressed in her usual style of leather and with her long brown hair cascading down her shoulders, Lisa looked as beautiful as ever, but her expression was quiet, contrite looking even instead of the usual confidence.

" Hi Barry." She said quietly.

" H-Hey Lisa." Barry replied just as Iris materialized by his side.

" Hey." Iris said, her dark eyes curious as she looked between Lisa and Barry before she continued.

" Please, come in." Lisa relaxed a little and nodded before she stepped inside the apartment.

Barry shut the door behind her and the three of them made their way further into the apartment, coming to stand and face each other in the kitchen area as Barry spoke.

" Lisa, is everything ok? Is it Len, did something happen?" He asked rapidly. Lisa found herself smiling sadly despite how awful she was feeling as she shook her head.

" Lenny's ok Barry, he called me today just to check in." She replied.

" Lisa what's going on? You and Mick made it clear you never wanted to see me again other than as the Flash." Barry said quietly.

Barry and Iris watched as Lisa's face grow incredibly sad as she shook her head.

" I know Barry, and I am sorry. Me and Mick were just so pissed about you and Lenny splitting and then him leaving that we didn't give you a chance. But now we know what really happened." Lisa said quietly.

In an instant Barry shut down, the anger at Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn coming back full force.

" Cisco told you." He said knowingly.

" Him, West, and Snow did in fact. They came to Saints and Sinner's last night and told me and Mick the truth." Lisa said before she stepped forward looking guilty as Hell.

" I am so sorry Barry." Barry just shook his head as he stepped closer himself.

" No Lisa don't be, you didn't know."

" Well neither did you." Lisa replied.

" Did Mick go through with barbecuing someone?" Barry asked, half joking, half dead serious.

" It was a close call, but all three of them are fine. I smacked your dad though, not sorry." Lisa said, looking pointedly at Iris.

" You smacked dad and you aren't in lockup?" Iris asked incredulously.

" Guess I got freebie." Lisa said nonchalantly before she sighed and reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She held it out to Barry as she spoke.

" I think you really do love my brother, and your family screwed you over too so I am giving you this chance to fix things."

Barry was stunned as he took the paper from Lisa. Barry unfolded it and found that there was an address scrawled on it in elegant script.

" He's in Coast City?" Barry asked, a bit surprised and a little disheartened since Coast City was hundreds of miles away from Central.

It was proof of just how far Len wanted to be away from him and Central City.

" What if I can't fix anything?" Barry asked softly, his eyes growing over bright with self-doubt.

" You gotta at least try Barry. I'm sure Len will understand once you tell him the truth." Iris assured.

" Lenny's a stubborn jerk brother, but if there's anyone with a chance at getting through to him, it's you." Lisa said with a hopeful smile, then her eyes hardened and her smile grew dangerous as she closed the distance between her and Barry.

" My threat from before still stands, you may have been duped but if you ever hurt my big brother like this again, you'll have a date with the heat gun and the gold gun, got it?" She said sternly.

" Got it." Barry said quickly with all seriousness, then his face broke out into one of his blinding grins, one that had been absent for way too long, and surged forward, seizing Lisa in a bear-hug.

" Thank you." Barry said sincerely.

Lisa wanted to remain stern, but instead she deflated and bit back a smile as he wrapped her arms around Barry and hugged him back. A few minutes later Lisa took her leave of Barry and Iris.

" Holy crap." Barry said as he clutched the paper with Len's location and made his way back to the sofa to sink down into it bonelessly.

Iris quickly joined him and reached out for him, rubbing at his shoulder and smiling.

" She's given you the chance Barry." She said before he smile dimmed.

" Dad, Cisco, and Caitlyn owned up to what they did and told her and Rory the truth, does that count for anything?" She asked.

Barry let out a deep sigh and stared at the paper in his hand, the physical representation of his chance to get Len back. He turned his gaze to Iris and nodded slowly.

" Y-Yeah it counts, not nearly enough but it counts... I just... it just hurts so much." Barry said softly before his face crumbled.

Iris gathered him into her arms and simply held him.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in an outwardly abandoned looking warehouse on the docks of Coast City...

Steely blue eyes gazed out the window of the warehouse that he had purchased and converted into a safe house with Mick's help, looking like two orbs of ice as they stared at the distant lights that shined across the gulf that led out to the ocean. Those lights were Central City, and if Leonard Snart were honest, those lights were home.

It had been more than two weeks since he had drove out of Central City on his bike and come here to clear his head, process the complicated and overall annoying emotions that had bubbled up to the surface. Standing at the window of his current bedroom, dressed in black sweat pants and a dark blue long sleeve shirt, Leonard let his mind wander yet again to the events that led to him currently being where he was, hundreds of miles from Central City.

The fight with Barry had stung more than the master thief cared to admit. For two months Leonard had endured canceled plans, loneliness, and excuses up to his eyeballs with Barry running off at every beck and call from work both regular and Flash related. Leonard always prided himself in being a patient man, but even he had his limits. That limit was reached when one night they were finally in bed together after days of being apart and things were going down a very pleasurable route only for Barry to get a call from West to come to the crime lab for some late night police work that couldn't wait till morning. To Len's quiet outrage, Barry had agreed and that had set off the big blow up. Barry arguing that this was work and it was important, with Len countering that their time together was important too and clearly was not a big priority. Barry had left anyway having had the gaul to tell him that they both needed to cool down, and Len had had enough. Being who he was, Len always had a go-bag at the ready so he had gotten dressed and grabbed it and the cold gun, left Barry a note telling him not to look for him and just left.

Now here he was standing at the window of the safe house he kept in Coast City, gazing out at what he had left behind. At first Leonard's phone had been inundated with missed calls and voice messages from Barry, none of which he replied to. Now though, over the last few days the only calls he got were from his sister and Mick, keeping him updated about the happenings of Central City in his absence. Guess Barry finally got the hint that he didn't want to talk to him. With a small huff and his face stony, Leonard turned away from the window and padded on bare feet to his bed. He wearily climbed in and wrapped the sheets around him. As he lay there restless and uncomfortable, feeling like the bed was too big for him despite his six foot two frame, Leonard felt his eyes begin to burn, much to his chagrin.

Turning onto his back and staring up at the blank gray ceiling high up above, Len shut his eyes against the burning sensation. It didn't stop the single drop of salt that slipped past the corner of his right eyelid. Clenching the sheets, and with his heart radiating the worst kind of pain, Len forced himself into a restless and lonely sleep.

A couple of days later...

Barry's heart was racing, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he had just run hundreds of miles in a matter of minutes from one city to another. A couple a days earlier Barry had looked up the address and asked Captain Singh for some time off. The Captain had given him two full weeks and told Barry that he had better come back as his bright, bouncy, normal self. Barry smiled sadly at the memory, his downed mood confirmed to have been noticed by his coworkers. Now though, Barry found himself walking along the streets adjacent to the docks and piers of Coast City, bundled up in his black wool coat against the moderate chill in the air and wearing regular clothes after having changed out of the Flash suit and stuffing it into the friction proof duffle bag Cisco had given him for the trip. It was a silent peace offering that Barry had hesitantly accepted. Caitlyn had presented him with a new batch of those high protein bars for his trip as well. He was still frigid with the both of them, but he trusted Caitlyn and Cisco enough to have his back when he was the Flash. He allowed them this because neither were not the mastermind behind the plan. He still wasn't really talking to Joe, and while he appreciated Joe, Caitlyn, and Cisco coming clean about everything to Lisa and Mick, he wasn't quite ready to even begin contemplating forgiving them.

Besides, he himself had to earn a certain someone's forgiveness, and that was his main priority.

With that in mind, Barry ducked into an alley and made sure the coast was clear before he tapped into the speed force and took off. Thankfully he wasn't going fast enough to incinerate his clothes, but he was fast enough to slip onto the docks and zigzag through the many abandoned warehouses till he finally found the one he was looking for. Barry did a quick circle around the structure and found a flight of metal stairs that led to a side door on the second story.

Taking a deep breath and looking around to make sure that there was no one around, Barry speed up the stairs in the blink of an eye and stood before the metal door, who's blue paint had faded over time. Barry stared at this door, now hopefully the only thing physically separating him from Len for a few moments before he steadied his nerve and raised his hand. He knocked on the door three times, three metallic thuds sounding.

Thud... Thud... Thud.

Only silence greeted him and Barry felt his heart sink. What if he was too late and Len had already moved to another location? What if he read Lisa's note wrong? What if she hadn't even given him the right address at all?

Barry was so caught up in his disheartened thoughts that he startled when the metal door was suddenly flying open. Barry had time to let out a startled yelp as he was suddenly seized by his coat collar and yanked forward into the warehouse with speed that nearly rivaled his own. The next thing Barry knew found himself shoved against the wall by the still open door and there was a familiar cold gun shoved right in his face, its blueish-white electrical energy charged and ready to freeze him to absolute zero.

The next instant it was gone and Barry found himself gazing to a pair of stunned steely blue eyes, the eyes that had been haunting his dreams for weeks.

" Barry?" Len asked as he stared at the very last person he expected to ever see here.

" H-Hey. How are you?" Barry asked with a breathless smile as he finally took in the sight of the man he had been missing so much.

He watched as Len's eyes lit up, the beginnings of a smile forming before something violently shuttered in Len's tired eyes. In an instant Len's eyes were icy cold and his face seemingly carved from granite as he took a step back and sent his unexpected visitor a muted glare.

" Peachy, now what the Hell are you doing here Barry?" Len asked flatly.

Barry stepped away from the door looking sad but hopeful as he spoke. He hungrily took in the sight of the man he had been yearning for for weeks. Len was barefoot and dressed in dark blue jeans and a black long sleeve Henley shirt that was tight enough for Barry to make out the lithe frame hidden beneath and had a merest v-neck that still showed off Len's collarbones and a hint of one of his tattoos. Barry instantly felt a small wave of heat and desire lance through him, but he quickly stomped down on it because now was definitely not the time.

" You were gone. You wouldn't answer my calls and I've been looking for you for weeks now." He began.

" Not to state the obvious but shouldn't that have been indication enough that I didn't want to be found, that I really didn't want to see anyone, least of all you?" Len drawled as he crossed his arms and quirked his eyebrow at Barry.

Barry felt his heart lurch painfully as he took a tentative step forward and spoke.

" Please Len, I need to talk to you about what happened, about us."

" Interesting, you're assuming that there still is an us." Len shot back coldly, all the while feeling a dull ache spread through him at his own words.

Barry instantly felt his eyes burn, but he forced the tears back as he shook his head.

" Please don't say that. I-I know I screwed up really bad but there is a whole other side to this that neither of us knew about. That I just found out. Please Len, just let me explain." Barry said desperately.

Len stayed pointedly silent, gazing intensely at Barry, most likely searching those hazel green eyes for any hint of deception. It was an agonizingly long moment before Len blinked and seemed to deflate a little.

" Fine." Len said simply, gesturing towards the living room area behind him where a lumpy looking leather sofa stood while he turned his back on Barry and made his way towards the kitchen area.

Barry felt his hopes rise as he made his way over to the sofa, shedding his light duffle bag and his coat to reveal the simple white button up shirt he was he was wearing over faded blue jeans. Across from the sofa and coffee table was a small, flatscreen TV, most likely stolen. Barry ignored this hunch and took a quick glance around the area. By a far window stood a simple, neatly made queen-size bed with crisp navy blue sheets and a iron bed frame, and a few feet away stood a walled off area, most likely the bathroom. Barry set the bag down on the floor by the sofa and draped his coat over one of the arms before he took a seat at one end and waited, his eyes watching Len as the older man opened the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of beer bottles. Barry felt himself smile a little at the quiet, considerate gesture and gazed warmly up at Len as the older man reached the sofa and held out one of the beers to him.

" Thanks." Barry said, his tentative smile fading back into a serious look as he saw that Leonard's eyes were still hard.

" Just being a proper host, nothing special." Len said flatly as he sat down at the other end of the sofa, as far away from Barry as possible.

Both men took a moment to sip some beer before Barry set his bottle down on the coffee table that rested in front of the sofa and turned to face Len fully.

" First off, I wanna tell you that I'm sorry, for all of this and I-" Barry began to say when Len cut him off sternly.

" I am not interested in apologies Allen, you can do all that later, just get on with it."

Barry nodded and tried not to wince at Len's use of his last name before he took a deep breath and began to explain the devastating truth that he had quite literally stumbled upon. How Joe, Caitlyn, and Cisco had conspired to monopolize as much of Barry's time as they could so that he barely had any for Len. Barry talked about how he had discovered them talking and had confronted them in the lab, how the three of them had confessed what they had done, and his devastation afterwards. He also talked about how he had tried to find Len, had gone to Saints and Sinners only for Lisa and Mick to threaten him with serious physical harm.

That part got a fleeting smirk out of Len before his face grew stony again as Barry continued.

He explained how he stopped speaking to Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn outside of the unavoidable interactions at work and when the Flash was needed.

" How did you find me?" Len asked quietly, his face unreadable as he processed what Barry had revealed.

" I backed off like Lisa and Mick asked me to, I've been crashing at Iris' place since I found out and one night were were just watching a movie and eating ice cream. Rocky road by the way." Barry said with tearful eyes and a wan smile.

Len felt his own lips twitch a little at this bit of information, seeing as to how rocky road was actually his favorite flavor. He refocused on Barry as the young man continued.

" There was a knock at the door and it was Lisa, she told me and Iris about how Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn came to Saints and Sinners the night before and came clean about everything they had done." It was here that Len spoke.

" May I ask, are either my fiery partner or even more dangerous baby sister currently in Iron Heights on charges of homicide after all of this?" He asked, only half joking.

Barry chuckled dryly as he wiped at his gritty eyes.

" No, they're both fine, Lisa did tell me she slapped Joe though. He obviously didn't arrest her, she said it was a freebie."

Len looked quite proud of Lisa in that moment.

" The good Detective should count his blessings, he got off lightly; my baby sister packs a mean right hook."

Barry laughed nodding before the pair drifted off into a tense silence. Len took another sip of his beer before he spoke.

" How are you?" He asked, not really looking at Barry.

Barry felt his eyes fill again as he let out a shaky breath and spoke.

" I feel like the rug's been pulled out from under me. I was already feeling shitty for the fight and you leaving, but now that I know that three of the people I trusted the most did things on purpose to get us to that point I just... I am so sorry Len." Barry gritted out with a small sob.

Len wanted nothing more than to slid across the sofa and take Barry into his arms, Hell he had wanted to kiss the young man breathless the moment he had realized who it was, but then Len remembered the fight, the hurt, and stayed where he was. Clenching his jaw, Len set his beer down on the coffee table and sighed.

" Well, thanks for letting me know just what lengths your adoptive father and friends will go to get rid of me. If that's all..." Len said coldly before he got up from the sofa, picking up his bottle of beer and draining the rest of it in one long pull before he shuffled off to the kitchen area to dispose of the bottle.

" W-What?" Barry croaked, completely taken aback by what he'd just heard as he turned his wide, tearful eyes to Len as he slowly rose to his feet.

Len tossed the empty bottle into the trash with a but more force than necessary, the sound off glass shattering filling the air as Len turned to face Barry with cold, hard eyes.

" You came here, you told me what you found out, now your done, so you know where the door is." He said flatly with a sharp gesture to the door.

" Len no, please." Barry said as he rushed across the room at normal speed to come within arms length of Len.

He felt his hard crumble when Len took a step back and sent his a warning look.

" Please what Kid? I have an idea as to why you came all the way here, the two of us going back the Central to play boyfriends again, but you're wasting your time, as far as I am concerned you and me are done here." Len said, even though inside he felt like claws were ripping his heart in half.

" No, no we're not." Barry said firmly as he tried to take a step closer.

" Barry I am warning you, we can't just kiss and make up like none of this ever happened." Len said as he backed away again.

" Len please, don't you think I know that? I know we all hurt you really bad, Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn for doing what they did and me falling for it like the idiot I am but we aren't done, I won't accept that." Barry said as tears spilled from his eyes and he reached out for Len.

" No, this isn't just about the crap they pulled, and you aren't an idiot Barry. They may have manipulated things, but you had a choice, you chose who you would rather spend your time with, and it was them, not me." Len said before a humorless smirk spread across his face and he shook his head.

" The only one who's an idiot here is me, for ever thinking that some one like me and someone like you could ever have a chance in Hell of working out. It was good while it lasted Kid, and for a second there I allowed myself to believe, but I've learned my lesson. I guess you learned a lesson about those you trusted as well. It's been enlightening but now I am way past the point of done so I want you out of here, now." Len growled as he pointed to the door left open, even though his own heart and conscience were screaming at him to stop being such a liar.

Barry stood there with tears flowing from his eyes, a look a pure horror on his face at what Len had just said. With his own eyes burning Len walked past Barry and made his way over to one of the large window he had stood at a few nights before. The bright blue of the Gulf and Central City looking tiny in the distance was lost on him as Len crossed his arms and kept his back to Barry. Though he couldn't see his now ex-lover, Len could still hear the young man's shaky exhales and quiet sobs. Then Len felt his heart freeze as he heard the sound of feet slowly over the hardwood floor. Then a moment later, the sound of the metal door shutting filled Len's ear like a sonic boom before a low buzzing like white noise took over. Len felt his knees go weak while his whole body went numb. He couldn't move at all and could only think one thing.

Barry was gone, Barry had just left, Barry had given up on him. This was what he had told Barry to do then, why,why did it feel like his very soul was dying right then and there?

Len felt his eyes blur with salt, a single tear escaping and carving a salty train down his cheek, and then he let out a startled grunt as a hand grabbed him by the upper arm hard enough to bruise and he was spun around. He came face to face with the very person he thought had just walked out of his life forever.

" B-Barry?" Len whispered uncomprehendingly.

Barry himself looked a wreck, his face flushed and tear tracks like glistening rivers down his face. With a broken sound, Barry lunged forward, all but tackling Len into a hug that was tight enough to squeeze the air from Len's lungs.

" No." Barry gritted out against Len's ear as he fisted his hands into the back of Len's shirt tight enough to make his knuckles turn white.

" I let you go once, I will not make that mistake again, do you hear me Leonard Snart?" Barry continued.

Len forced his arms to stay at his side and stayed stiff and resistant in Barry's hold, looking straight ahead as he spoke.

" It was stupid of us to even start. You're the hero, I am the villain. You're family still saw that and tried to protect you." He said hollowly.

" No, no this wasn't the way to protect me." Barry said through gritted teeth, reveling in the feel of having Len in his arms even as the man till held himself stiff and unyielding.

" They took advantage of the fact that they were important to me and used it to make you feel like you weren't, like you didn't matter. Well you're wrong Len, you matter to me, you matter so much." Barry said softly.

Len clenched his jaw and reached up to wipe at his eyes without touched Barry as he spoke.

" Why, because I am such a good lay?" He asked crassly with a snort.

Barry let out a watery huff before he sobered and shook his head as he pulled back. He let go of Len's shirt and reached up to cup the sides of Len's neck. Len barely bit back a groan at the touch of Barry's warm hands on his skin after so many weeks of being deprived of them as he gazed at the young man with hard eyes. Barry met those soul piercing eyes head on as he spoke.

" While you really are great at that, that's not the reason." He said quietly.

" Then what?" Len asked flatly, fighting with the part of him that wanted to shove Barry away.

" You matter because you showed me the good in you, you let me see the real you. You matter to me because you showed me that you're more than what you did before." Barry let out a shaky breath before he said what was most important.

" I can't let you go because I love you Len." He said finally.

Barry watched as the hardness left Len's face, those features he adored growing slack with complete shock.

" Wha-What?" Len asked softly in disbelief.

" I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner but, I am in love with you. I've loved you ever since that night we were at your place, and we were watching Ocean's 11 and you laughed so hard that you actually snorted." Barry said with a tearful smile.

Len's mouth moved but no sound came out as he gawked at Barry in incomprehension. When he did finally regain his ability to talk, Len could only manage a whisper.

" Say it again."

Sniffling, Barry nodded.

" I am so sorry Len." He said, only to frown in confusion as Len shook his head.

" No, that other thing, that really important thing." Len said softly. Barry found his face splitting into a grin so wide his face actually hurt.

" I love you Len." He said softly.

Len's whole body seemed to sigh as he finally let go of the tension. Still with his eyes a bit guarded, Len leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Barry's while he reached up and gripped Barry's wrists, causing the younger man to let out a hiccuped sob and close his eyes and fresh tears flowed.

" You love me?" Len asked softly, painfully unsure.

" I love you." Barry replied as opened his eyes and looked into those steely blue orbs.

" You love me." Len whispered, this time sound more sure as he rubbed his thumbs across the backs of Barry's hands.

" I love you." Barry said firmly before he he grew somber.

" And you don't have to feel the same-" He began to say even though it made his heart crumble, but Len immediately cut him off.

" I do." Len said firmly. This time Barry's tearful eyes grew wide, the two simple words like a sucker punch to his sole plexus.

" You do?" Barry whispered breathlessly. Len nodded against Barry's forehead, the last of the guardedness leaving his eyes, leaving them the most crystalline clear blue and completely vulnerable and open as Len spoke.

" I love you too Barry Allen, I think I fell for you a few weeks after we got together, when me and Mick got back from a mission with Rip and you found out how close Savage came to tossing me off a roof in 1995 Bulgaria and you yelled at me for thirty-three minutes and sixteen seconds straight before you called me "Captain Brain Freeze" and then kissed me breathless."

Barry laughed loudly, and Len smiled finally, but then the smile was dropping of his face as Barry's laughter turned into a gut-wrenching sob. With a low moan Barry crumbled completely, giving into to the exhaustion and crippling despair he had been keeping himself from fully feeling for weeks now. This time Len did not hesitate as he let go of Barry's wrists and finally wrapped his arms around the man he loved. Barry collapsed against Len, sob wracking his entire body as he buried his face into the place where the older man's neck met his shoulder.

" m' sorry Len, for what my family did, for hurting you." Barry sobbed, his voice muffled by Len's shirt.

" Shhhh... I know, I know. Me too, I hurt you too, never should've left you like I did." Len said, his own voice tight as his throat constricted and fresh tears silently fell from his eyes.

They stayed that way for what seemed like hours, trading profuse apologies and quiet declarations of love, but then as they continued to feel the warm from each other's bodies pressed together so closely, something shifted in the air between them. It went from sweet reunion to something more desperate, primal in the span of a few seconds.

Len and Barry drew back from each other so that their faces were mere inches apart, Len's quietly intense eyes no longer tearful, but hungry as they bored into Barry. Barry felt his own tears subside as something hot and needy uncurled in the pit of his stomach, that feeling from before now coming back a hundred times stronger.

With a shaky breath Len lashed out and seized Barry's cheeks, yanking Barry to him and all but smashing his mouth to the younger man's. Barry let out this desperate, muffled sound at the feel of those lips he had been missing for weeks now and responded in kind, kissing Len back with just as much hunger. The moment their lips touched it was like a touching a live-wire. Barry's hands sought out every inch of Len's he could find, digging his fingertips into the older man's still shirt covered shoulders and back, reaching up and running his hand over Len's soft, buzz-cut hair. Len was no better as he slowly trailed his own hands down Barry's back and past his waist before settling over his ass, squeezing the firm globes hard and bringing their hips together in the process.

Barry wrenched his lips away from Len's with a gasp at the contact, letting out this wanton noise as he arched against the other man that just totally drove Len mad with want. With a low rumble of his own, Len lunged forward, seeking out Barry's neck and throat and attacking they pale skin with his teeth and tongue. Barry sobbed and cupped the back of Len's flushed neck, trying to press even closer as he tilted his head to allow the other man more access.

Without stopping his assault on Barry's neck and throat, Len wrapped his arms around the younger man's trim waist and all but lifted Barry off his feet as he stepped away from the window. With grunts and moans emanating from the both of them, Len half carried half dragged Barry with him, the younger man's still sneaker clad feet tapping sporadically against the floor as Len all but barreled towards the bed. Knowing that they would hinder the activity he was currently partaking in, Barry quickly vibrated his feet and phased right through them, leaving the simple Converse sneakers forgotten on the floor.

They fell onto the mattress in a tangle of limbs and shifted till they were laying in the center of the bed, Barry groaning and mouthing at Len's jaw as the other man's weight covered him. Len finally drew back and loomed over Barry, the two of them breathing hard and taking a moment to just gaze at each other. Then Len reached out and cupped Barry's cheek.

" Hmm." Barry hummed in pleasure as he leaned into Len's hand, pressing his lips to the other man's palm before he looked back up at Len. Barry reached up and wrapped his arms around Len, pulling the steely blue eyed man down for another deep kiss. As they kissed, Barry used his weight to roll them over so that he was now on top. Barry then pulled away and straddled the other man, swallowing as he looked down at Len's nearly black eyes and lightly flushed face.

Letting out a shaky breath, Barry reached down and lightly gripped the hem of Len's shirt before he looked back up at Len, a silent question in his eyes. Len nodded wordlessly before he pushed himself up into a sitting position and let Barry slowly pull off his shirt. The dark long-sleeve fell to the floor over the side of the bed and was forgotten. Len felt his face heat up at the way Barry was staring at his now shirtless upper body, all of old scars and ornate tattoos on full display, like he was something magnificent. Len reached out and hooked the side of Barry's neck, pulling the man in for another smoldering kiss. When the broke apart, Barry pressed his hands to Len's chest and gently pushed the man back down onto the bed and loomed over him. He leaned in a pressed a kiss to the corner of Len's lips before he started kissing a trail along the older man's chiseled jaw and down his neck.

Len relaxed and shut his eyes, allowing himself to enjoy the sensation of Barry's lips and hands on him, the almost burning hot sensation wonderful beyond words.

Barry kissed his way down to Len's right pec, where a quarter sleeve tattoo of ornate mandala snowflakes and tribal waves in vibrant blue, white, and black ink started and continued across his shoulder and down to just above his elbow. Len gritted his teeth in a urge to keep himself from crying out as Barry's mouth closed around the sensitive bud that graced his peck and began to gently worry it with his teeth. Len managed to keep himself from crying out, but that all shattered as Barry reached for the other bud on his left pec and teased it with his fingers, while with his other hand he lightly ran his knuckles along the sensitive skin of Len's naval right above the waistline of the simple jeans the older man was still wearing.

" Oh God Barry!" Len moaned as he arched up against Barry.

He felt Barry smile around his nipple, and then Len was throwing his head back and crying out without shame as the speedster put his abilities to use and started to full on vibrate.

With a feral growl Len suddenly sat up, dislodging Barry and yanked the younger man sideways and pinned him to the bed. Barry looked up at Len in shock, but the shock quickly morphed into a wanton smile that made something in Len's eyes flash dangerously before he lunged forward and pondered the younger man's mouth. When they drew apart breathlessly several long moments later, Len straightened up and his hands going to the first button of Barry's white button up.

Instead of just ripping it open, Len started taking his sweet time undoing a button and slowly biting at the skin that was exposed with each button he opened. Barry wreathed and groaned in delicious torture. Once Len had the last button undone and pressed a bite just above Barry's bellybutton, the older man kissed his way back up Barry's quivering stomach and chest before he began gnawing on Barry's throat and neck. Barry moaned and arched up against Len, while the older man's hands tucked under his open shirt at he shoulders and started to peel the garment off. A few moments later the white fabric was joining Len's forgotten long sleeve Henley shirt.

Barry reached out to touch Len, to bring him closer, but Len lashed out with speed to rival his own and had the younger man's wrists pinned to the bed above his head with one hand. At Barry's questioning look, Len smirked and quirked his brow.

" You love me." He began.

" I do, I do." Barry said immediately, nodding his head.

It urned him a sound kiss before Len drew back and continued, an open vulnerability coming to his features that had Barry's heart lucking painfully.

" You still put me through Hell kid."

Barry felt his eyes fill with tears as he choked up. Len tightened his hold and held Barry's wrists down when he felt the younger man try to break free and shook his head, instantly causing Barry to still.

" 'm so sorry Len." Barry said softly.

" It's not all your fault, I know that now." Len said quietly without any of his usual Captain Cold drawl, before his face grew stern.

" West and your friends stole something very valuable from me." Barry nodded, having an inkling as to what Len was referring to and remaining respectfully silent.

" They stole time with you that was rightfully mine. And sure, technically I don't have legal title to that time and we can both time travel these days and erase what they did-" Len said before a quietly angry Barry cut him off.

" But then they'd just be getting away with it. And they might just do it anyway at a different time and in a different way." Len nodded, reaching up with his free hand to run his fingers through Barry's chocolate brown hair in a quiet show of tenderness before he continued.

" I may not be able to steal back the time, those two months they ran this con on us both, but there is something I can have as compensation." Len drawled seductively as he ghosted his fingertips over Barry's face before trailing them down his flushed chest and stomach and coming to hover over the button and fly of Barry's tented jeans.

Barry let out a shaky breath and lifted his head up so that he could watch as Len dexterously undid the button of his jeans and then pulled down the zipper, partially freeing the most private part of him. Barry's wide eyes looked back up into Len's dark and hungry eyes just as Len's hand tucked under the elastic waistband of his boxer briefs.

Then Barry's loud cry shot through the safe house, echoing off the walls as Len finally touched the more intimate part of him. Len watched in silent awe as Barry's head fell back and his whole body arched magnificently, his stomach and chest going taught and heaving as Len slowly moved his hand.

Len leaned in and ran his tongue over Barry's parted lips before he spoke.

" You are here, and you are mine Barry Allen, and now I am going to wring from you every single orgasm you owe me."

Barry could only moan wantonly and writhe at Len's words. Len let a feral grin spread across his face as he began to pull off Barry's underwear and pants, his lips going to Barry's ear as he spoke.

" Lucky for me we've got all day, two months worth of missed opportunities, and your nonexistent refractory period." He growled with a laugh before he promptly sank his teeth into Barry's earlobe and wrenched another cry from his very missed love.

Things devolved quickly after that, two sets of jeans and underwear, along with Barry's white socks falling to the floor to make a pile of discarded clothing as Len made good on his promise.

Several hours later, with the one bright day now a color twilight over Coast City...

The cries and groans that rung through the safe house were soft and hoarse, on the bed Len lay on his back his pale body glistening with sweat. With his face flushed, Len groaned as he gripped Barry's hips, the young man straddling him and moving his hips rhythmically. Above him an equally sweaty and flushed Barry gazed down at him with a look of pained pleasure on his face. Barry had his hands pressed to Len's chest, using whatever strength he had left to hold himself up.

True to his word, Len had not let up for all of these hours. They had made love as many times in a row as Len could manage, and when he needed time to recover, Len had Barry in other, highly pleasurable ways.

Now though, as he watched Barry above him, Len knew that his Barry had finally reached his own limits. With a groan, Len released his hold on Barry's hips and raked his nails along Barry's ribs and chest before gripping the sides of Barry neck and pulling him down till their lips met. Len stroked one of his hands over Barry's trembling back while his other hand tangled in his sweat dampened hair.

As they continued to move together, their muffled moans grew steadily louder. With a low growl Len used his weight to roll them over settling between Barry's parted thighs and pulling his hips back before slamming them forward, making Barry break the kiss by wrenching his head away as he cried out hoarsely. Len gritted his teeth and continued to ram into Barry, being sure to hit that sweet spot inside as much as possible as he held Barry close, the younger man wrapping his trembling legs around his waist. Their cries and their movements soon began to grow erratic, the both of them feeling a tingling in their lower back, the signs of impending release.

Then with one final thrust from Len, Barry fell over the edge into white hot euphoria.

" LEN!" Barry screamed raggedly as he arched up against Len and vibrated with the force of his climax.

This was enough to drive Len to completion as well as with a roar of his own, Len stiffened as well, his vision going white.

" BARRY!" Len groaned as Barry clawed frantically at his back.

Then with twin gasps the pair collapsed into a boneless, debauched heap. Len shuddered in the aftershocks of his release, but as he slowly came back to himself he noticed how quiet Barry was being. With a groan, Len used some of his remaining strength to push himself up a little to get a good look at Barry beneath him.

The young man's eyes were closed and his breathes were even. As he took a closer look at him, Len realized with a start that Barry wasn't a sleep, he was unconscious. Len's stunned expression morphed into a self-satisfied grin. Not only had he made good on his promise to make up or lost time, this final session of lovemaking had been so intense it had rendered the young man senseless.

With a low chuckle, Len pressed a kiss to Barry's slack lips before he forced himself to untangle himself from Barry and get up. On slightly unsteady feet of his own and with a lingering look at Barry laying there on his back gloriously nude and passed out, Len first turned on the lights and then made his way over to the windows and pulled down the special opaque blinds to hide said light from the outside world and keep of the pretense that the warehouse was still abandoned. Len then made his way to the bathroom and ducked inside. Len grabbed a towel and cleaned himself up a bit before he got another towel and wet it with lukewarm water. Len shuffled back out and made quick work of getting back to Barry's side. As he sat down beside Barry on the bed, feeling wonderfully sore and wrung out himself, Len took the damp towel and began wiping at Barry's face to gently bring the man he loved back to consciousness.

After a few moments under Len's ministrations, Barry's brow knitted together and his eyelids fluttered as consciousness returned to him.

" Mmm." Barry groaned as his hazel eyes slowly opened. With a sigh Barry looked up and focused on Len.

" What happened?" Barry rasped as he reached out for Len, who leaned closer and let Barry cup his cheek.

" Well, for the past few hours we've been making up for lost time and you passed out." Len explained as he kissed Barry's thumb.

" M'sorry." Barry said with a soft groan, to which Len shook his head and smiled down at his still somewhat dazed lover.

" Don't worry about it Scarlet, I demanded a lot from you today." Len said before he leaned down and pressed his lips to Barry's in a chaste kiss. Barry moaned softly in approval.

They shared a few more chaste kisses before Len reluctantly drew back.

" Let's get cleaned up." He said before he gently pulled Barry up off the bed.

Barry wobbled on his feet a little, but Len held him steady. Len left Barry's side to pull the well soiled sheets off the bed. The two them shuffled off to the bathroom where Len dumped the sheets into the hamper before he and Barry ducked into the simple standing shower with frosted glass doors.

Though he preferred his showers cool, barely warm, this time around Len turned the water on and set the temperature to moderately hot. Barry groaned when the water cascaded over them and wrapped his arms around Len when the other man turned back around to face him. They went about cleaning each other of the lingering evidence of their coupling, Len groaning when Barry washed his back while vibrating his hands and pressing kisses to the many scars that littered the older man's back.

When they switched places, Barry smiled as Len washed his back and kissed at his already fading bruises, but then he felt his heart lurch and his eyes fill. Barry kept the tears at bay and focused instead on the feel of his Len here with him now. The shift in Barry's mood was not lost to Len, but the older man didn't comment on it. Instead the pair focused on the shower they were sharing after all these weeks apart.

They finished showering and drying off before shuffling out of the bathroom with towels wrapped around their waists. As he walked behind Barry, Len admired the smooth and gracefully built back and shoulders. The pair made their way back to the bed and picked up their clothes from the pile on the floor. Barry put on his under wear but instead of his own shirt he simply put on Len's dark blue henley. Len paused as he pulled on his jeans to admire his slightly large shirt on Barry, feeling a surge of possessiveness wash over him.

Barry smiled shyly before he picked up his white button up shirt and held it out to Len, the meaning of it clear. Feeling several powerful emotions rise up inside him all at once, Len said nothing as he turned around and held his hands out. Feeling himself choke up but keeping the tears at bay, Barry smiled crookedly as he guided the sleeve holes of the shirt over Len's hands and then pulled the shirt up over the older man's powerfully build shoulders. The shirt was probably a size too small, but Len didn't mind one bit as he left Barry's shirt unbuttoned around him and turned around to pull Barry into his arms for a lingering peck that the younger man enthusiastically returned. When they drew apart, Len spoke with their faces still close.

" You hungry?" He asked.

" Yeah, I could eat." Barry replied with a quiet smile.

" How does stir-fry sound?" Len then asked.

" Sounds great, and you know how much I love your cooking." Barry said with a blinding grin.

" And besides, now you have your speedy veggie chopper back." He added.

Now Len was the one who felt that tell-tale sting behind his head as he pursed his lips lightly and nodded.

" Yes, I do." He said simply before the pair headed off to the kitchen area.

About and hour later found Barry and Len sitting on the sofa, each with a plate of piping hot sesame chicken stir-fry over simple rice. They ate in comfortable silence, watching some random action movie on the TV. But as he ate, Barry could still feel the heaviness in his heart that had been plaguing him for weeks now. Sure, he was here with Len, had finally told him the truth about what Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn had done, and they had reconciled and finally told each other that what they had was not some passing fling, but actual love. And yet, Barry still felt this clawing ache in the pit of his gut as he ate dinner with Len beside him.

Once they were done, Len took their plates before Barry could protest and headed to the kitchen to wash then. Barry reached for his duffle bag that was still where he had left it earlier and pulled out a couple of the high protein energy bars Caitlyn had given him. As he chewed on one, it tasted like ash in his mouth, when in fact Caitlyn had steadily improved the flavors of these things. It had nothing to do with the bar itself, but the one who had made them. Someone who Barry considered one of his closest friends, someone he trusted, someone who had used that trust in their endeavor to hurt the man Barry loved.

Len subtly eyed the faraway look on Barry's face as the young man sat and mechanically chewed on an energy bars. It didn't take much for Len to figure out what Barry was probably thinking about. It made a surge of cold fury rise up inside him. In all honesty, Len didn't give one single fuck what Joe West, Cisco Ramon, or Caitlyn Snow thought of him. He had bad blood with each of them and he owned that, but what Len would not forgive was what they had done to the young man they were supposedly trying to protect, from him.

Barry was not a child, sure he was young, maybe even naive about a few things, but above all that, he was a man, and a very good one at that. For his trust and his love to be taken advantage of like those three had done left a bitter taste in his mouth.

What he had done to Barry at Farris Air had been one thing, they were enemies and Len had thought at the time that he was nothing but a liar and a thief who hurt people and was good at it. Ironically it had been Barry who had showed him that he could be more than what life and his history had shaped him into. What Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn had done was lower than low, even by his standards. They were the one's to but the lost look Barry currently had on his face there, not him.

Len quickly shook himself of his vengeful thoughts and instead focused on cleaning the dishes. Once that was done, Len picked up the cold gun from the counter where he had left it and padded across the room to set his most trusted weapon down on the night stand by the bed. He then made his way back to Barry's side and pulled the younger man into his arms.

They watched the rest of the action movie in comfortable silence, with a few comments and laughs here and there. Once the credits were rolling, and Barry had let out his fourteenth yawn by Len's count, the now sometimes time-traveling super villain/ maybe hero deemed that it was time to call it a night.

The pair got up and started switching things off, Len quickly replacing the sheets on his barren bed, this time with ones of crisp steel gray. With the safe house now plunged in darkness, Barry and Len divested each other of their clothes, Len allowing the disorder in an otherwise immaculate living space before they climbed into bed.

Len was not surprised when Barry lay on his side with his back to him, like he didn't want to face him all of a sudden. With sadness swirling inside him, Len reached out and gently ran his hands up and down Barry's smooth back.

Barry felt his face crumble at Len's gentle touch, knowing how the older man was not the most tactile of people. It only served to drive home how much he had hurt Len on his own, without Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn's meddling. When Barry let out this shaky breath, Len sighed and gripped Barry's shoulder firmly and gave it a light tug. Barry resisted for a second before all the fight left him, he was already pretty much exhausted at this point, and turned over to face Len.

Len felt his heart lurch at the quiet pain and devastation written across Barry's face now that the euphoria of their physical reunion had completely faded. Letting out a shaking breath through gritted teeth and with his eyes filling, Barry spoke.

" They hurt you, they hurt us. They took advantage of me." Barry began before his breath hitched. With a small groan he forced himself to continued.

" I am so fucking pissed, I don't even know where to start. But even now I-" Len cut him off.

" You still love them. I know Scarlet. It's what's making you feel even worse." Len said knowingly with a sigh as he pulled Barry to him.

Barry didn't break down into sobs this time, just let out a few shaky breaths and wound himself tightly around Len and groaned in quiet despair. Len tucked the sheets more tightly around them and rested his head over Barry's.

" Are you still mad?" Barry asked softly.

Len found himself smiling wanly as he pressed his lips to the spot behind Barry's ear and nodded.

" Yeah, I still am, just not as much at you as I was." Len answered honestly.

" Okay, but I just want you to know that I took time off work and that for the next two weeks, so unless something really bad comes up back home, I am not going anywhere. I am gonna be here with you because I want this, I want us back." Barry said, his voice croaking on the last few words.

Len found that he couldn't speak as well, Barry's words doing something to his vocal cords. Instead Len surged forward across the mere centimeters that separated them and sealed his lips to Barry's in a deep, possessive kiss that he hoped conveyed just how much he wanted them back too. One which Barry returned fervently.

They didn't devolve into carnal pleasure this time. They kissed heavily and spoke quietly about what each other had been doing during their unwanted separation before they finally let their shared exhaustion and peace carry them off to the first restful sleep they had both had in a long while.

About a week later...

" You sure about this?" Barry asked as he zipped up his custom fireproof duffle bag.

" Yeah, getting bored not being where the real action is." Len replied nonchalantly as he shrugged on his signature dark blue parka where he stood beside the speedster.

Barry wasn't fooled for a second as he grabbed Len by the front of his parka and pulled him in for a kiss.

They had spent a week here at the Coast City safe house, with plenty of awesome makeup sex and Len collecting what was owed to him. But in addition to that they had also reconciled much of the anger and hurt that was between them and them only. Both of them were still seething about Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn, but in the past week Barry had proven his commitment to Len by staying true to his word about only leaving when there was a dire emergency that the Flash was needed for. Surprisingly, there had only been a couple of instances where the Flash was needed, such as Rainbow Raider running amok after getting drunk out of his mind one night and Mirror Master thinking it was a good idea to go on a crime spree. Barry had his suspicion that Len had called Lisa and Mick to keep the rest of the Rogues in moderate check so that he and Barry could have their peaceful retreat. The Legends crew weren't due back from their trip to 1930's Paris, France for another couple of days as well. So Barry and Len had spent their days quietly staying in or exploring what Coast City had to offer. The food was great and Len had some connections to allow them access to certain hidden places in the city known only to a few, like a hidden art gallery beneath the Coast City train station. The days had gone by in moderate bliss.

Now though, Barry and Len were packing up and heading back to Central City a week earlier. Barry had a feeling that it wasn't really boredom that had caused Len to suddenly ask Barry is he had any problems with headed back this early, but homesickness. Barry had been apprehensive, but he too missed his and Len's city. He missed work, he missed Iris, and yes, he missed the three who had driven him away.

Barry and Len withdrew from each other with some final nips to each others lips before they went back to packing their bags. Once that was done, Len went about locking the place up before he and Barry headed downstairs where Len kept his bike.

" I'll get the door." Barry said with one of his bright grins, Len nodding and allowing a true smile to grace his face, the one he never showed anyone but those closest to him.

Barry pressed the button that raised one of the warehouse's loading bay doors, which was connected to a ramp. Once the door was up, Len walked his bike out into the crisp afternoon air. Barry pressed another button on the panel and the door started to slide back down, ducking under it when the thing was halfway and joining Len at the top of the low ramp. Len reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black remote and pressed the button, effectively killing the power to the secret safe house. The seemingly abandoned warehouse would remain dormant now, until the next time Len, Mick, or Lisa had need of it.

Len and Barry strapped their bags to the back of Len's bike before Len wordlessly held out a helmet for Barry. The pair donned the protective headgear in silence. Once that was done, Len got on the bike and turned the key in the ignition, the powerful machine coming to life with a low rumble. Smiling, the man who was secretly the fastest man alive, and the superhero known as the Flash climbed onto the bike behind the man known as Captain Cold and wrapped his arms securely around the man, smiling into the fur trim around the hood of Len's parka.

Len revved the engine of the bike and then in one fluid motion the bike was down the ramp and gliding out of the Coast City docks. Within fifteen minutes Len and Barry were at the city limits, driving past the big sign bidding them farewell from Coast City and wishing them a safe journey.

They were heading home, a week early and back to face some of the massive issues they had left behind there, mainly a trio of big betrayals and loss of trust. As they rode along the smooth, straight road back towards Central City, both Barry and Leonard shared the same thoughts. They wondered what would happen once they got back, where they would go from there. Len wanted retribution for what Joe, Cisco, and Caitlyn had done to him through Barry. The old Leonard Snart would have simply had a field day turning all three into ice-sculptures, but he wasn't that person anymore. Now he had that pesky thing called a conscience, and he also considered that these were the people had done to Barry what he himself had done once, betrayed his trust. Perhaps his vengeance could come another way? After all, success was a form of vengeance in its own right. Maybe showing those three that he had Barry's heart still, that they had ultimately failed in the endeavors and only succeeded in alienating themselves from Barry would be punishment enough. Barry tightened his hold around Len, the solidness of the other man like a rock he could hold onto while the currents of his life were in chaos. Barry didn't know what he was going to do about the state of his relationships with three of the most important people in his life. He was still angry and hurt, but he missed them like Hell at the same time. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but right now he had Len with him, and he still had his trust in Iris. It wasn't everything but it was enough.

Barry turned his thoughts away from the three people who had hurt him deeply in their well-meaning, if misguided actions to try and protect him. Instead Barry turned his hazel-green eyes to the rapidly passing scenery along the mostly deserted highway back to Central City. It would take them hours to get home this way, the two of them riding on Len's bike. But the fastest man alive didn't mind one bit as he buried his nose deeper into the fur of Captain Cold's iconic parka. Right now they were just Barry and Len with the open road ahead of them.

After all, there was nothing wrong with taking the slow route home.

The End