Joe wasn't needed on the case Barry had been called into for a briefing by the Captain, but he did want to pick Barry's brain about something once he was released. He checked his watch, figuring the meeting had to be over in a couple of minutes, and wandered over to the room, lights off as Singh covered several items of importance on a projector. The door was slightly ajar, which Joe found odd. Someone must have snuck in late.
It made it easier for him to nudge the door open further though, peeking inside to scour the room for Barry. Of course he'd chosen the table at the far back, away from everyone else. There wasn't even anyone in the other far back table to the right, so Joe was surprised to see that some beat cop in uniform, even with his hat on, was sitting next to Barry and—
Had his hand in Barry's lap.
What the—?!
Barry was squirming, the officer's hand moving swift but subtle beneath the table where no one could see but Joe. What was his son thinking, fooling around on the job? And who was this cop? Joe couldn't place him from behind, only slightly making out buzzed short hair beneath the hat. At least it wasn't Joe's partner this time that one of his kids had taken a shine to.
But then who was this guy, and how long had Barry been seeing him? Barry knew better than to hide a guy from him; Joe had made it plain to his kids when they were in college that he'd support them bringing home anyone—other than a cop. Maybe that was it, though Joe had given up that caveat with Eddie, and thought Barry and Iris both knew that. Joe would have to tell Barry, when he teased him later about getting off during one of the Captain's briefings. He couldn't help grinning to himself at Barry's audacity. Kids.
Joe saw the moment when the officer's hand retreated into his pocket, then stepped away and leaned back against the wall to wait for the meeting to end. But a minute later the door opened fully and out stepped the very man Joe had been curious about. He kept his head down, moving at a quick pace straight for the exit. He didn't notice Joe, but Joe saw him—his profile was unmistakable.
Leonard Snart. Captain Cold had just given his son a hand job in the precinct.
Joe gaped after Snart, unable to do anything but stand there until the man was well out of sight. How the hell was Joe supposed to confront Barry about this?
Joe decided not to bring up what he'd seen at the precinct, hoping it was a one-time thing, something Barry just needed to get out of his system, and then it wouldn't be an issue. The few times Barry had pined after a guy it was always the same type—suave, precise, manipulative. Bad news. Maybe Barry had gotten talked into a difficult situation because of Snart's good looks and smooth voice, seduced by a little danger. Surely, it wouldn't amount to anything the next time Barry needed to put the guy away.
But then Joe found himself at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city. They'd had reports of a cat burglar breaking into offices and high-rises at twenty plus stories—like something out of a tall tale from Gotham. Nothing worth troubling The Flash over, but still a problem. They had a few leads that had pointed them toward specific buildings as possible next targets, so Joe was staked out keeping watch for the thief.
He grinned when he first spotted Barry on a neighboring building through his binoculars, leaning against a stone gargoyle watching the mayhem of Central City below him. Joe thought about calling Barry on the comms, or maybe trying to get his attention with a wave. Until Leonard Snart showed up on the opposite rooftop and the two started talking.
Casual. Familiar. Barry didn't even get down off his perch. Snart put down his cold gun. Seemed to say he was playing nice. But then the mood shifted and Barry started to unzip his suit.
Joe pulled down the binoculars. No way. Absolutely no way. Without the binoculars, he couldn't see any specifics—thank god—but he could still SEE what was going on. Knew the moment the Flash suit was removed, revealing pale skin instead of head-to-toe red. Barry…giving Snart a show.
Joe turned away. Even if he couldn't see clearly, it was more than enough. That Barry would even… What was he thinking?
A flash of lightning finally alerted Joe when it was safe to look again. He lifted the binoculars. There they were, Barry and Snart, conversing like it was no big deal what had just occurred between them. Barry let Snart walk away, as if he hadn't just performed a public sex act for a wanted criminal.
This was so much more than something in Barry's system. Joe had to figure out how to confront his son about this before it went any further.
Joe couldn't do it. He kept telling himself it was a fluke. A passing fancy. That once Snart actually committed another crime and Barry faced off against him, the allure of this whole illicit affair of theirs would wear off.
Then Barry was called to a heist. Called to stop Captain Cold. He radioed back in that he'd succeeded, heist foiled, but he'd lost track of Snart during the getaway and was going to try and tail him. He'd check in later if he found anything.
Joe heard everything up to that point, tuned in from his car's CB, something Cisco had setup for him. He couldn't listen in once Barry cut the connection, but he was out in the field, nowhere near the crime scene…when he was suddenly passed by a familiar red and yellow streak.
If Barry was tracking Snart, why the hell would he be down this part of town?
Joe had an ill feeling in his stomach, and decided to follow the lightning trail as best he could. Turned out he got lucky, because it was only a few blocks in the direction he'd seen Barry run that he found them.
Parked in his car, with just the right angle to see his way into the alley, Joe saw Barry pin Snart against a wall. His first thought was that Snart HAD made it this far from the crime scene even in so short a time, and Barry had simply caught him. But when Barry started frisking Snart, it wasn't for his gun.
Joe had to get out of there, couldn't drive away fast enough once Snart's pants came down. He checked in along his way home with Cisco to have him call if Barry reported bringing Snart in. But the call never came. Barry had Snart, red-handed, but had decided to fool around with him again instead of turning him over to the police.
Joe threw his car keys across the living room when he got home, so hard that they smacked with a metallic clang and jingled loudly as they hit the floor.
"Dad? You okay?"
"Iris?" Joe looked up as Iris came out of the kitchen, holding a pile of mail.
"I stopped by to pick up those letters that hadn't forwarded, maybe check and make sure you and Barry are actually keeping the fridge and pantry stocked with more than junk food—a test you failed by the way. What's going on?" She set the mail down as she approached Joe, patented concerned baby girl look on her face.
There was no way Joe could spill this secret of Barry's to Iris, furious as it made him, but he needed to get it off his chest somehow. He figured a few half-truths might do the trick.
"Barry's keeping something from me."
"Oh? How do you know?"
"Because I've caught him…doing something he wouldn't want me to know about. He doesn't know I've seen him, and he's definitely not offering up any information about it."
"What's he been doing?"
Joe gave her his 'not my place to say' expression.
"Fine," she conceded, hands held up in resignation. "But if it's something that makes you this upset, are you really surprised he's keeping it from you?"
Joe sighed, feeling a little of his blood pressure drop back down from where it had spiked. "I'm not just upset he's keeping secrets, Iris. He's being an idiot."
"So nothing new then," she smiled.
Joe had to fight off a smile of his own. It wasn't funny. It wasn't something he could calm down over. Fooling around with Snart was dangerous. Snart was dangerous.
"Dad, come on. After everything that's happened, all the secrecy around Barry being The Flash, you know he'll talk to you when the time is right. Can you give me any hints to better help you with this?"
Joe cringed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Okay," she raised an eyebrow at him, "but then have a little faith in Barry. I mean, how big is this? Is he in any immediate danger?"
"Not…technically. But it could head there fast."
"Is it bigger than him being The Flash, or just something you disapprove of?"
Both, Joe wanted to say, but he knew that was a stretch. If he chalked it up to being about Barry's sex life, it all seemed too silly to get so upset over. But Leonard Snart—why did it have to be him?
"Just afraid he's gonna get in too deep with something he shouldn't and get himself hurt."
Iris smiled at him even as she was shaking her head. "Give him time, Dad. If it's something important, he'll come clean with you eventually. If he doesn't, and it gets more serious, or more dangerous, whatever this is, then talk to me again and we can stage an intervention if we have to. If it gets to that, you have to promise me you'll fill me in on what this is about."
Joe had to smile in reply. His little girl sure was sharp—obstinate as all hell, but smart as a whip. "I promise. Now if you're gonna stop by just to pick up mail and lecture me about my grocery habits, you better be willing to take your old man out for a bite to eat."
Iris laughed. "Deal. But no Big Belly Burger."
Amazingly enough, after that the problem seemed to handle itself. Snart dropped off the map for a bit, then the whole mess with his father and sister happened, and he went to jail for his father's murder. If ever there was something to put a damper on…whatever Barry and Snart had been playing at, this was it. Joe didn't even mind that Barry wanted to see Snart in prison once he was locked away. Probably needed to say his piece, say his goodbyes to the whole thing. And good riddance. Joe never even needed to talk to Barry about it.
But then Snart was broken out. Snart was in Joe's home. And Barry's insistence that he really was a good person, that he might have turned out so differently if only he'd had someone like Joe to raise him instead of someone like Lewis, carried a whole new resonance.
Barry's belief was so heartfelt. If Snart could love his sister that much, he couldn't be all bad. If he could mourn over thinking Lewis had killed Barry when he shot him, it had to mean something, didn't it?
Barry had been so insistent, so certain, Joe couldn't bring himself to contradict him. Barry wasn't tempted by the dark side when he was with Snart. He honestly believed there was something good in Snart worth pursuing.
Maybe he was right about that, maybe he wasn't. Didn't matter. Snart didn't help Mardon and Jesse, gave Barry a head's up instead and made scarce. Joe could at least give the guy some credit for that, but he still thought good riddance that the tryst was over.
Until they called Snart into STAR Labs one day for help, and Joe saw him and Barry leave a supply closet together, with Barry's shirt on backwards.
Joe didn't let them see him. Noticed later that Jay and Caitlin seemed to share a knowing smirk. And damn it, Barry seemed so light and happy afterward, and Snart was there to help Team Flash for once instead of hinder.
So Joe let it go. Another quick romp after being apart for so long didn't mean this was turning into something serious. Barry just wanted to see some good in Snart. Joe couldn't grudge him that.
"So when did you and Cold start sucking each other's dicks?"
Joe stuttered to a stop before entering the cortex. He'd driven in just as Snart was driving away on his motorcycle, not too sad to see that he'd missed the former—though hardly reformed—thief. What he didn't expect to walk in on with Snart not in the building was further evidence of Barry's dirty little secret that obviously wasn't going away any time soon.
He flattened himself to the wall of the corridor as he listened in, waiting for Barry to stop choking on whatever he'd just sprayed all over the floor when Cisco said that.
"How do you—"
"I may have caught some of the show in the elevator."
"What?!"
"Okay, I caught all of it! I'm sorry! I got here right as you two…started in, and was so scarred for life, I didn't know how to interrupt and tell you to please stop making nasty in the elevator."
Barry groaned miserably. Joe wished he could groan too—he had not needed to hear that.
"What the hell, man? How long has this been going on? And who all knows? And why didn't you tell me?"
Joe took small solace in not being the only one Barry hadn't confided in. He was surprised to learn that the incident at the precinct had actually been the start of things with Snart. Not too many people knew about them, and the reason Barry wasn't sharing was because it was just sex.
"Just really, really awesome sex."
"Dude."
A pause, like Barry was giving Cisco some sort of telling look, which eventually led to Cisco sighing dramatically.
"It's not just sex," Cisco said.
"It's not just sex," Barry admitted. "But it's not NOT just sex? It's complicated. I mean it's Snart, he doesn't…he's really… We haven't talked about this pretty much at all. He wouldn't be interested in more."
"But you like him. And not just because of frequent orgasms."
"Frequent, awesome orgasms."
Cisco snorted.
Joe cringed.
"Yeah, I could tell from the show you gave me," Cisco said.
"How much did you watch?"
"It was like a train wreck, okay? I am aware I am the worst friend in history, just please try and remember the reasons you love me when you think back on this momentary weakness."
"Of you watching me have sex?" Somehow Barry sounded amused rather than offended. Joe was pretty sure he'd never had a friend he could be as close and open with as these two were.
"And when were you going to tell me you can vibrate like that?" Cisco jumped to accusatory.
"Oh my god, we are not talking about this! Besides, you know I can vibrate."
"Not in sexy situations!"
"So you want a play by play of everything I can use my powers for during sex?"
Cisco paused. "Would it be possible to have that conversation scientifically without it getting weird?"
"No."
"Yeah, you're probably right. But how else am I supposed to know if something like that could have practical application in a fight?"
"Pretty sure vibrating individual parts of my body wouldn't be useful in…well actually…"
Okay, Joe definitely needed to stop them, because they jumped into a full on geek out over how Barry could use his vibrations offensively in more situations, which normally wouldn't have bothered him—Barry's powers were a fascinating mystery. But now all he could think about was Barry using those same powers recreationally. On Snart.
He steeled himself, shook off his feelings of discomfort, and waited for a good moment to make his presence known. Part of Joe still felt the urge to confront Barry about all of this, especially since he'd finally admitted it was more than just sex, at least for him, if not for Snart.
Eventually, Joe thought. He would talk to Barry about this eventually. And if things actually kept escalating, surely Barry would confess everything to him first. Wouldn't he?
Joe was doing dishes when Barry came in. "So that's what happened to the last Santa mug," he said, as Barry placed the festive mug on the counter to be added to the dirty dishes. "I was finally getting ready to put everything away for the season. Can't let go of Christmas this year?"
Barry grinned boyishly, apparently embarrassed, since his cheeks flushed. "Oh, I just…really like those mugs, you know. Need help drying?"
"Please."
Barry rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a towel to dry and put dishes away while Joe washed. There wasn't much, just the few older or more delicate dishes that couldn't safely go in the washer, like the Santa mug. Barry dried at normal speed, since Joe couldn't speed up to match him if he went any faster.
It was nice. The sort of simple domestic companionship that Joe knew he'd miss someday when Barry moved out. He resigned himself to enjoy these moment as much as he could while they lasted.
"Hey, you seen the reindeer one?" Joe asked. "Couldn't find it when I gathered up the others."
Barry nearly dropped the large platter he'd been drying. "Uhh…no idea, Joe, sorry."
That was a blatant lie. Joe knew when Barry was lying. Kid never had been very good at it. "Barry…" but before Joe could think of how to press the issue, he turned and watched as Barry reached up to the tallest part of the cupboard where the platter was stored, hitching up his shirt slightly in the process. A red mark caught Joe's attention in the dip of Barry's right hip bone. Not a bruise, more like…
A hickey. On Barry's HIP. Which, given how quickly Barry healed, had to have been made within the last half hour.
"Yeah, Joe?" Barry asked when Joe didn't continue his question.
Joe blinked at Barry, who was trying to look innocent back at him as he picked up another dish to dry. Joe had a sneaky suspicion he knew exactly what had become of the reindeer mug, and he wanted absolutely no details about how it had come to change residences, or what Barry had done while he was there.
He decided he didn't want to know anything at the moment. "Nothin, Barr. Just keep drying."
A sort of bland acquiescence took over after that. Joe wasn't happy that his son was fooling around with Leonard Snart, but nothing bad ever came of it. Snart seemed to play for their side more and more, proving Barry's assurances that there was good in him, and Barry seemed honestly…happier.
If it was just sex, it was none of Joe's business, so long as Snart never took advantage of the situation or hurt Barry. If it was more, well…then Barry would tell him. And maybe, maybe the world wouldn't implode from hero and villain—anti-hero at best—finding dark corners to steal private moments in.
Keeping out of something important in his kids' lives was not an easy task for Joe West, however. So when he overheard a deep voice in Barry's bedroom one night, he stopped to listen, tensing at the thought of it actually being Snart.
But no, that wasn't Snart's voice.
"And despite the armor Snart tries to wear, when it comes to you…he's actually pretty easy to read."
That was Oliver Queen, talking ABOUT Snart. Now even the Green Arrow knew who Barry was sleeping with?
Joe listened in to the advice Oliver gave Barry, the insight, having also visited Snart that night, after catching the pair engaging in yet another public romp—honestly, how old was Snart that he was being as foolhardy as…well, a kid like Barry, having sex all over the city. Joe refused to be jealous…
But Oliver was implying that Barry…loved Snart. That Snart felt the same way. Part of Joe had seen this coming, or the whole affair would have crumbled a long time ago, but was Barry really in love? With Captain Cold?! The strange thing was, Joe couldn't even find it in him to be upset about it, because he'd had too much time to consider every consequence and why this could turn out badly, and none of that had come to pass. Snart wasn't a good element, but he wasn't the bad element Joe had assumed of him for so long either. Once again, Joe had been proven wrong, just like he'd been wrong about the Arrow.
And now the Arrow was convincing Barry to take a risk with Snart, without sugar coating anything. Supportive but still cautious. The way Joe wished he could be…if Barry actually told him about all this.
Joe got a little too lost in thought once Oliver left, contemplating how he could possibly bring this up to Barry after so long—
When Barry bolted out of his room, grinning goofily at his cell phone. "Joe!" He clutched the phone to his chest as if to hide it. "Uh…yeah? Did you need something?"
That smile. That unabashed bliss. Joe knew it only too well. But his all-in, heart on his sleeve son was still working on admitting the truth to himself. Joe could give him more time to be ready to talk to him about it.
"Just hittin' the hay, Barr. You have a good night."
"Thanks! Yeah." He really did look so happy, clinging to his cell phone and whatever message Snart had sent him. "You too."
Joe's patience started to wear out when Barry went off on a mission with that time traveling crew Snart was part of, and even though his smile was just as large and love struck when he returned, he didn't say a word.
"Anything you want to tell me, Barry?"
"Uhh…no?"
Joe raised an expectant eyebrow, but Barry just looked at him blankly.
Joe walked into the labs just as Barry zipped past him with a hasty, "Sorry, Joe, gotta run, new meta in the pipeline, Cisco can explain," as one giant ramble. Then he was gone.
"Where's he off to?" Joe asked Cisco, who had a screen up showing the new meta in lockdown, some fiery looking redhead—whoa, definitely fiery, Joe thought, as she hurled something like lava at the glass.
"Oh…uhh…" Cisco had that deer in headlights look when he glanced at Joe.
Joe sighed. "Hot date he doesn't want me to know about?"
"No?"
Cisco was a good friend.
Joe walked over casually to lean against the desk the young engineer was seated at. "For the record, and you don't hafta tell me anything, Cisco, I know you're loyal to Barry's interests here, but…am I the only person left he hasn't told about this mystery person he's been seeing, coz I know he's been seeing someone."
Cisco deflated but offered a hesitant, "I don't think Iris knows yet."
Joe highly doubted that, though maybe Barry hadn't expressly discussed it with her either, which made him feel marginally better.
He decided to ignore the issue for now, much to Cisco's relief, and chatted instead about the new meta and plans for getting her ready for transfer to Iron Heights, as well as a few other things Joe needed to discuss with Cisco about the taskforce before calling it a night.
It was maybe half an hour later when Cisco's phone beeped. "Uhh…about that earlier topic? Iris definitely knows. I better…" He gestured animatedly between himself, Joe, and his phone.
"Call Barry," Joe conceded, standing and moving to leave the cortex so Cisco could warn Barry privately, or whatever was going on. "Be nice if my son trusted me with this sorta thing."
Cisco pulled a pained face. "I'm sure he'll tell you eventually, Joe, it's just…a little messy right now. Good though! I think. I mean, it IS good, I swear, even I think they're kinda ridiculously adorable together. It's not…it's not as bad as you might think."
Joe decided to play it off like he didn't know who they were talking about. "I'll take your word for it, Cisco." Besides, he'd already started to agree with those sentiments a long time ago. He just wanted Barry to share that with him himself.
Barry never came home that night. Sent Joe a text saying he was staying at the labs to watch over Volcana, which Joe knew to be a barefaced lie. He was with Snart. First time that had ever happened—Barry spending the whole night with him—unless their time on the Waverider counted, which Joe suspected it didn't.
Something had obviously shifted between them. This was no longer speculation on a relationship. It was serious. Dead serious. Now Barry HAD to tell Joe.
But a few days went by, and still nothing. The final straw was when Joe caught Barry's smile brightening exponentially when his phone erupted with, "I've Got You Under My Skin."
"Who'd Cisco program that one for?" Joe asked, already confident in his guess as Barry fumbled to answer.
Barry definitely heard him, but played ignorant with a stuttered, "Uh…what, Joe? Sorry, I gotta take this. Hey!" he answered the call, blinding smile further lighting up his face as he hurried up the precinct stairs to his lab.
Joe didn't have to follow Barry to know he was talking to Snart, but he did anyway. Hung back at the door, listening in on Barry's hushed plans for the night. Plans he shouldn't be making in the precinct, if Joe could eavesdrop this easily.
"Oliver said no more date nights disguised as heists. They are too date nights and you know it!" Barry laughed. "Wait, really? That's actually a great idea. Okay, okay, I'm in. Gonna give me any hints?"
Joe peered around the corner as Barry laughed again. That smile was as adoring as ever. It was love all right, head over heels, everyone could see it, and everyone approved. Joe had seen the changes in Snart over the many months, as well as the changes—good changes—in Barry.
He understood why Barry hadn't told him, why he was the last to know—as far as Barry was aware anyway. Barry assumed there was no way that Joe could ever approve of his son dating a criminal. And the truth was, if Barry had told him about all of this in the beginning, Joe likely would have reacted just as Barry feared he would.
But this was a different world they lived in now. A complicated world of meta humans, and magic, and too many shades of grey. If Leonard Snart was what made Barry happy, then…that was good enough for Joe.
He had hoped he'd proven to Barry how much he had also grown and changed over the months. Hoped Barry would see that he could be supportive about this. Hoped Barry might have a little faith in him to understand.
So really, it was Barry's own fault that Joe had to get him back for still keeping this a secret from him.
He ducked down the stairs as Barry signed off on his call to Snart, hurrying to his desk to finish filing a few last minute cases for the day. Tonight, Joe had to be focused and at his best…if he was going to tail The Flash.
Following the fastest man alive was not an easy feat. Even if Joe had still been in his prime, he would have struggled. Thankfully, he was a very good detective, so tracking Barry didn't have to mean keeping up with him.
Barry told the team he was doing light patrolling that night and didn't require backup, which Joe had long since learned meant he planned to meet up with Snart at some point and didn't want anyone listening in. The others all clearly recognized that as well. Which meant Joe couldn't use any of Team Flash as a resource. He had to do things the old fashioned way.
He'd already overheard enough details from Barry's call that he knew where to start, at least the general neighborhood. And if it was a masked heist of some sort, then there weren't many options for places that had something worth stealing. One in particular stood out.
The largest diamond currently in North America was on display as part of a promotion to bring people in for engagement rings at one of the higher end jewelers in town. Joe had seen the ads all week, thinking the place foolish for tempting a city with so many famous criminals. Figured Snart would have to go for that prize before anybody else.
Once Joe narrowed down the locale, the rest was easy. He arrived early to stake the place out. Saw Snart show up and enter, no vehicle in sight, probably assuming he had a ride out of there once Barry arrived. Joe waited at the ready just in case the thief actually took off with the prize, but no, he never came out. He was waiting for Barry.
Soon enough, The Flash's lightning trail lit up the night. Joe saw Barry head in through the back of the jewelry store after Snart. Knowing his time was limited with the way these two spent their nights these days, Joe quickly jogged over and in through the same back door Barry had left open. He picked up on their voices immediately.
"You're late."
"You didn't specify a timeframe. Plus the only hint you gave me was the neighborhood and that it was something shiny."
"If I give you too many hints, Scarlet, you'll grow complacent. What good would you be to me then?" It was remarkable how affectionate Snart could sound while teasing Barry. "Still found your way here."
"But where's the diamond?"
"Like I told you, if I didn't steal it first, I know of several low level scumbags who've been talking up hitting this place soon. I'm doing the owners a favor."
"Then where did you put it?
"Now why would I tell you that?"
They shared a laugh and Joe heard the distinct sound of one of them getting knocked into a wall with a soft thud.
"Maybe I'll turn it over to you later, if you play nice," Snart said. "Wanted to see if you'd actually get here in time to stop me. You failed that part of the night's festivities I'm afraid."
"Yeah? How ya gonna punish me for it?" Barry purred.
"Get away from him, Snart!" Joe burst out of the back room of the jewelry store aiming his gun, to the sight of Snart's back as he pinned Barry to the wall beside the front counter.
Snart's head snapped up, but he didn't move from blocking Joe's view of Barry, though Joe definitely heard a sharp gasp from his son upon hearing his voice.
"I don't know how you got him pinned like that, you son of a bitch, but you better turn around and back away right now." Joe approached slowly, face hard and voice edged with anger as he stalked cautiously forward. He had the safety on, of course, but they didn't know that.
"I don't think you want me to do that, Detective," Snart's calm voice called back, as he slowly raised both hands into the air.
"And why not?"
"Because your son currently has his hand down my pants."
"Len!" Barry hissed.
"Jig's up, Barry," Snart said in a mildly bored tone that Joe knew to be more of a front than Snart would ever want him to know. "You gonna keep this from him forever?"
Finally, Snart backed away, turning to face Joe so that he and Barry stood side by side. Barry's cowl was back, his suit unzipped halfway, while Snart's pants were clearly undone though thankfully not down yet. Snart's face was a cold mask as he kept his hands raised, but Barry looked stricken, like he thought he needed to reach for the skies too.
Joe kept his gun pointed at Snart as he addressed Barry. "What did he do to you? Some meta trick? Mind control?"
"No, Joe…" Barry shook his head miserably, all the guilt of having kept this from Joe splayed across his features, which Joe took a moment to feel justified in. Barry zipped his suit back up, but Snart pointedly kept his pants undone, even after he lowered his hands in sync with Joe lowering his weapon.
"Then what the hell, Barry?" Joe barked. "You caught him stealing something, and you're rewarding him now with…just what is this?"
"It's not like that, Joe." Barry took a step away from the wall. "He's gonna give it back."
Snart looked like he was trying very valiantly not to roll his eyes.
"Give it back?" Joe stood tall as he let his disapproval radiate off of him. "He give back everything else he steal? He suddenly absolved of his crimes, and okay to do more, so long as he saves the day occasionally? I'm all for you having faith in the guy, Barry, wanting him to be better, hell I've seen he CAN be better. But this? You don't think he's using you?"
Joe darted his eyes to Snart, wondering what it would take for the man to defend this relationship. Because if he didn't step up to defend it…maybe he didn't deserve Barry. Joe's boy deserved someone who would fight tooth and nail to keep him in their life.
Barry being willing to defend Snart, that Joe expected. Barry would readily defend anyone he believed in, especially someone he loved, but that needed to go both ways.
"He's not using me," Barry stepped forward, fury and indignation plain on his face. "That isn't what this is. We've been seeing each other for months now, Joe, I just didn't know how to tell you—"
"Seeing each other?" Joe scoffed.
"Sleeping together in the beginning, but that's not all this is. Never was just that. We—"
"You really think he looks at you as more than something he can use to his advantage?" Joe pushed harder, glaring at Snart as distastefully as he could. "Like he's not biding his time with angles? Like you're more to him than just some rent boy he can—"
"Hey." There it was. A low growl. A clear challenge as Snart took a menacing step forward to shield Barry behind him. "You don't get to say that. You don't get to imply he's nothing but a piece of ass to me."
"Right," Joe sneered back. "Obviously, he's also an in with everyone who might run up against you, and lets you get away with whatever you want."
"He doesn't let me get away with anything. That's the point." Snart's voice almost rose, almost wavered, but he kept himself controlled as he faced Joe down, while Barry looked on with a bewildered expression of pride.
"He challenges me," Snart continued. "And not just with the foreplay you caught us at, Detective. I don't want Barry because of what he can do for me, I want him because of what he makes me." How much he was saying seemed to catch up with him at that, but he didn't let it spook him into stopping. "Not as good of a man as he thinks I am, fine, but better than I thought I could be. The only score I care about now is him. And it isn't just fucking, though I won't pretend I don't enjoy that part," he added with a challenging smirk, which quickly faltered as he finished, "it's about never wanting to let him down."
"Len?" Barry prompted softly, questioning these words that apparently hadn't been spoken openly between them before.
Snart looked sideways and down rather than directly at Barry beside him. Maybe in part to keep Joe in his sights; maybe to not have to look Barry in the eye as he said, "Even though I will. Let you down. Someday I will. Someday you might even hate me for it, Barry. But I'll still try. I'm still trying. So, West, you can shove your disapproval right up your ass," he rounded back on Joe. "We don't need your blessing."
Barry beamed beside Snart, and Joe could admit, a part of him cheered internally too. He'd hoped for this, for Barry. Had almost been certain this was what he'd encounter, given everything he knew, but he had to be sure. He had to see it for himself, and let them prove it to each other at the same time.
Barry stepped forward and slid his gloved hand into Snart's, the pair of them standing together in solidarity.
Joe couldn't keep his composure after that. "Nope," he said with a grin. "You don't need my blessing. But you can have it if it helps any."
"What?" Barry blinked at him.
Snart's gape was positively comical.
"I'd apologize for all that," Joe said, posture relaxing finally as he put away his gun and chuckled, "but you two been running round behind my back since that day in the precinct. You think I didn't see you there, Officer Snart?" he raised his eyebrows at the man pointedly. "Think I haven't seen way more than my fair share, including some of that rooftop nonsense?"
Now Barry's expression went comical, eyes practically bugging out of his head. Good.
"Everyone knows, Barr. Either from walking in on you two, or you actually owning up to them, but I get nothing? Known this whole time, just waiting for you to fess up and talk to me about it, but all you expected was this show I put on."
"Show?" Snart spat.
"I'll admit," Joe shrugged, "I mighta said some of that for real all those months ago if I'd spoken to you then. Know better now. Just had to be sure of one thing—that you'd fight for this if pressed and not back down. And you did. Guess you really are trying, Snart." Joe wasn't sure if his supportive father expression would work on someone nearly the same age as he was, but he offered it to Snart anyway.
Barry gave way to something like hysterical giggling as he clung to Snart's arm with both hands, needing a lifeline stronger than just clasped fingers. It was his laughter that finally brought Snart down from his tension, eased him out of his confrontational stance that had wanted to remain after Joe broke character. Soon enough, there was an ease to the man that Joe had only ever seen when he was in Barry's presence.
"Now can ya stop foolin' around all over the city?" Joe scolded. "If I ever catch another eyeful of somethin' I don't wanna see, I reserve the right to take all of this back."
Barry laughed again as he turned his face into Snart's shoulder to hide his blush. "The whole time? You knew the whole time? I can't believe you never said anything!"
Snart turned in toward Barry, chin nudging his head with gentle affection. Just a natural supportive motion that spoke so much about their comfort level, their ease with each other.
"Least someone in this family's good at keeping secrets," Joe shook his head, still smiling when Snart's eyes centered on him with strained relief and amazement. "Now I'll make scarce this time, but I mean it about all this dangerous fooling around all over the city nonsense. Behave yourself, Barry. Snart, don't give me any reasons to pull my gun on you and mean it. And both of you better come over for dinner tomorrow night."
That made Barry's head snap up. "For real?"
Joe had long since resigned himself to all of this once he realized Snart was in his son's life for good. As long as it kept being FOR GOOD, Joe couldn't see it as all that disastrous in the end. He nodded and made sure Snart was paying attention as he said, "You serious about Barry, you don't get out of family dinner. Got it?"
Snart huffed a laugh, his smile a little more genuine as he nodded.
Joe offered a wave before turning on his heel to head back out the way he'd come in, half wanting to pull Barry in for a hug, since he could see how much his overly physically affectionate son wanted to glomp him, but later. Besides, the pair was still a little too disheveled for Joe's liking to want to get in between them.
"Hey, West!" Snart called before Joe could get too far away. Joe turned back to see the thief—sometimes thief—grin wider. "My sister invited too?"
Barry still couldn't believe how well family dinner night went. Henry had even been in town to join them, something Barry had been dead set against meaning a meet-and-greet between fathers and boyfriend, until Joe's stunt at the jewelry store. But if Joe could be accepting of Len, Barry didn't doubt Henry would be too.
And he was. As welcoming as he was with anyone.
Lisa and Iris got along far too well. Barry also mildly worried over Len's interest in Wally's knowledge of cars and engineering. If he wasn't careful, his adopted brother might get recruited into the Rogues as a getaway driver.
There was something special about being able to invite Len over and not worry about Joe showing up and catching them. Joe supported them. Liked Len, even. Well enough, anyway. It made Barry want to have Len over more often, just so they could snuggle on the couch and watch Netflix like normal people once in a while. They couldn't save the world and face off as nemeses every night.
Another more intimate family dinner was planned, just Barry, Len, Iris, and Joe this time. Barry had the day off. Len didn't have other day plans. They'd decided to spend the afternoon leading up to dinner being wonderfully lazy together. Of course, since they still had a couple of hours before Iris and Joe came home, Barry liked the idea of being a little more...productive for a while.
"I know that look," Len said, arms wrapped around Barry as they finished another episode of Daredevil, which Len agreed was damn good writing, but said he still preferred his own superhero in red.
"I've always wanted to successfully have sex on this couch," Barry confessed with a teasing lilt.
"Successfully?"
"There have been a few botched attempts, yes."
"Well at least you admit you have a problem."
Barry smacked his chest lightly.
"What did you have in mind?" Len asked.
Barry untangled himself from Len's hold, sitting up fully on the sofa as Daredevil went back to the resting Netflix screen. "Wait one second," he said, which he meant literally, of course, slowing when he got back down the stairs after gathering certain supplies from his bedroom, so he could call out to Len and get him to look as he approached. "I thought we'd try something new."
"Oh?" Len said, peering over the back of the sofa at him, eyebrow raised as he took in the towel draped over Barry's arm, lube and condom in one hand, and a butt plug and large blue dildo in the other.
"I want you to ride me," Barry said as he prowled slowly closer, "while at the same time using this," he held up the dildo, "to fuck me."
Len's face went beautifully blank as he no doubt pictured the various ways that could work.
"Get undressed," Barry said. "You're getting stretched first."
Len visibly shivered, giving Barry that primal stare he always used when Barry was forceful with him. "Yes, sir."
They'd already closed the curtains for Netflix. Barry turned off the TV, set what they needed on the coffee table, spread the towel out over the sofa as Len got undressed, then pulled his own clothing off as he watched Len drop down onto the cushions again, arm thrown over the back of the couch, one leg propped up, so very much on display.
Barry crawled onto the sofa and planted himself between Len's legs to kiss him and touch every bare inch of skin he could reach. Tattoos and scars. The faintly raised skin of goosebumps. He let one hand hold Len's neck, kissing him deep, then bit lightly at his lower lip, as his other hand drifted down between their bodies and found Len's hardness. He stroked him, slowly, gently, his own erection siding along Len's thigh.
Len wrapped his arms around Barry's back to hold him closer, neck arching, with sharp panted breaths falling from his lips when Barry nipped at his Adam's apple.
"Lie back," Barry whispered.
Len shifted until his head was on the sofa cushions, legs spread and crooked up as Barry shimmied down between them. Barry licked Len's balls and languidly up his length, bobbed down on him once, twice, wanting to make sure Len was fully hard, then set to work on stretching him.
"How you envisioning this, kid?" Len asked, before sighing at the first press of Barry's well-lubed finger inside of him.
"I got it worked out. You'll just have to do as I tell you."
"Oh yeah?"
Barry twisted his finger deep inside Len, seeking out the sweet spot. He knew he found it when Len whimpered—nothing beat that sound. "You complaining?"
"Never," Len panted.
He was so easy to open up, relaxed and always so trusting of Barry. A second finger soon scissored inside, then a third to prep Len better for what came next. Barry reached for the plug.
"Gotta keep you open while you stretch me, don't we?"
Len bit his lip and spread his legs wider. They hadn't experimented much with toys, and only on Barry up 'til now, but the flush to Len's face showed his eagerness. Barry lubed up the plug, then fit it into place snugly. Len's hips gave an involuntary rock forward like he wished Barry was fucking him already.
"Soon," Barry said softly, climbing up Len's body to kiss him again—quick but deep, a smooth dart of their tongues tangling. Slowly, Barry started to turn them.
Len understood, shifted with him until they had swapped positions. He grunted at how the movement jostled the plug, making him bite his lip again and thrust against Barry, letting the slick heat of their cocks collide and slide past each other a few agonizingly sinful times. Len groaned as he pulled away, maintaining that remarkable self-control Barry was always so in awe of.
"Like the plug?" Barry asked with a coy smirk.
Len's hips kept up a subtle rocking motion that Barry knew was to feel the plug more acutely, as he clenched around it. "Gonna like fucking you with that monstrosity more," Len said, indicating the dildo.
It wasn't a monstrosity, at least not to Barry, since it looked about the same size as Len. It didn't remind him of his boyfriend only because of the color. But Len seemed to take it in stride how well-endowed he was.
Len's hands, his fingers, were like an artist's tools—so expressive when he spoke, so laser focused in every gesture. But the way they worked Barry open was the true testament to their skillset. Len tended to choke back most of his moans, not get too noisy, but Barry never held back. When Len's fingers stretched him, he let every curl and twist of those perfect digits inside of him rip vowels and curses from his lips.
Once Len had two fingers fervently rotating to strike Barry's prostate with every thrust, Barry started to lose his filter. "Fuck yeah, open me up, Lenny…I wanna bury myself inside you while you fuck me…make both of us scream til the neighbors come knocking."
"You keep it up with that mouth, they just might," Len chuckled, then chuckled again when Barry moaned at him spreading his lips around the head of his cock and bobbing down deep, deeper, and lifting back off with a pop. He slid his fingers out of Barry and reached for the dildo. "You gonna give me those orders, Scarlet?"
Barry's brain took a moment to reboot. "Y-Yeah…" He rocked his hips back to give Len better access. "Start fucking me with it first."
Even with liberal amounts of lube, the first stretch came with a slight burn, less pliant and forgiving than Len's actual cock. But Barry was so ready for this, and once the head was in, the heat of the initial stretch felt so good, he drew out a long "fffffffuck" in celebration.
Len let him relax around the size of the dildo before pressing in deeper, and when he did it was slow, tortuous teasing.
"You gonna take it all, Barry?" Len breathed huskily, already three-fourths of the way inside.
Barry forced his heavy-lidded eyes to open and focus on Len's flushed, smirking face. "You know I can."
Len pulled the dildo almost all of the way out, but when he slid it back in, he didn't stop until it was buried to the hilt. Barry choked out a broken moan. His hand shook as he reached to grip Len's arm, tugging insistently.
"Now…take out the plug and climb on. Got something better for you," he grinned.
Len rolled his eyes, entirely out of fondness. He reached back and grunted when he pulled the plug free, sighing in equal relief and disappointment, but the heat in his eyes as he set the plug aside said more than enough about how much he wanted to be filled with Barry instead. He crawled forward onto Barry's hips, rolled the condom down his length, and lubed him up generously. Legs straddling Barry and giving him the most tantalizing view, Len finally lifted his hips and sat back slowly, stretching open but so tight around Barry as he descended.
Barry brought trembling hands to Len's waist. The instant combination of sensations nearly shorted out his brain with the first press inside. The heat of Len, the fullness of the dildo in Barry, the sight of Len's stomach muscles clenching, hands braced on Barry's chest, arms straining, lips parted, plump and red from biting them. A vibrating shudder ran through Barry before Len had even finished seating himself.
Len moaned in the aftermath of it, pressing the rest of the way down almost too fast, too hard, making both of them moan louder. Barry reveled in the rare times he got Len to be really, really loud.
"Now…reach back for the dildo…and start to move," Barry said, holding Len's hips still so he could help rock him up and down if needed, and feel the ripple of Len's leg muscles as they moved.
Len's hand was steady as he reached back to grasp the end of the dildo, which without a helping hand had started to slip out. He pushed it back in, slowly, pulled it out more than halfway, then pushed it in again. Once he found a workable rhythm, his hips started to move.
"Ohfuckshitohmygodyesssss," Barry half mumbled, half moaned at the strange, wonderful sensation of fucking Len while being fucked. He had not thought this through. He was a quivering useless mass, barely able to move as Len did all the heavy lifting. Barry couldn't rock his hips up easily with Len sitting on them. Could barely do more than grip Len's hips and urge him to keep moving.
"Barry…" Len gasped, trying to lean forward for a kiss before realizing he couldn't do that and hang on to the dildo at the same time, so he just said, "vibrate."
It was more like giving over to his powers than telling them to turn on. Barry just had to let himself go, and every inch of him started to blur. Len actually cried out. Barry started to pant heavily, because with the dildo in him, it felt like THAT was vibrating, and LEN was vibrating, and everything around them was tingling and sparking and—
"Whoa!" Barry tried to reel himself back in when he saw the first static discharge of yellow.
"No," Len rode him harder, pumping the dildo faster in synced motion, "do that again."
"But my lightning—"
"With the lightning."
Oh. Oh wow.
Barry didn't have words, so he didn't try to say any. Instead he vibrated, blurred, and sparked like a thrumming, living machine. Every hair on Len's body, his arms most visibly, rose to attention as the jolts of electricity danced from Barry's skin to Len, like each little shock wanted to kiss Len's tattoos and worship his scars.
Barry had vibrated plenty, but never sparked like this, never communed so closely with the speed force while doing anything but running. And with Len riding him with such wanton abandon, head dropped back, eyes closed, mouth open wide as he moaned, and moaned; with the dildo pumping into Barry deeper, faster; with Len somehow caught up in it all with him, caught up in the speed force with him, Barry—
Came. Blindingly. All the sparks and vibrations increasing for one split second before they stopped altogether and he and Len both very nearly screamed. Barry felt limp and dazed as his body settled, but Len hadn't come yet, kept rocking atop him, arms shaking as he released the dildo and brought both palms to press against Barry's chest and anchor him.
"Barry…" Len panted, eyes blown black and hooded with lust, "touch me."
Barry gripped Len immediately, pumping his cock swift and firm, while focusing fresh vibrations into his hold. With a short cry, Len came in Barry's hand, his arms giving way as he collapsed forward onto Barry's chest. They shuddered together in the aftermath, their labored breaths surrounding them for a solid minute before either could move or speak.
"Brilliant idea, Scarlet…have to do that again sometime."
"Hell yes we will."
Len chuckled.
Barry moaned anew when Len carefully extracted the dildo. The towel was handy for cleanup, along with keeping the sofa clean, and once Barry had caught his breath, he made quick work putting everything away at Flash speed, leaving the toys in the upstairs bathroom sink where he washed them and left them to dry. He returned to find Len still naked and sprawled out over the sofa, which was just fine with Barry. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, and snuggled against his boyfriend.
"More Daredevil?"
Len looked closer to falling asleep, but he nodded with a lazy smile and drooping eyes.
Barry was just reaching for the remote…when the front door opened.
Joe tossed his keys onto the table by the door and was several steps into the living room before he caught sight of the pair on the couch, who both looked back at him with varied levels of startled.
Barry was on top of Snart, a blanket just barely covering them, but not enough of their upper halves for him to have any delusions about their current state of dress and what had been going on.
"Technically it's not what it looks like," Barry said, "anymore."
Joe glowered. "Please tell me you at least got your drawers on."
Barry and Snart looked at each other, pointedly avoiding looking back at him.
"Then something better be between your bare asses and my sofa!"
"I put a towel down!" Barry defended.
Joe threw up his hands because somehow that made it worse. "I don't wanna know. I really don't. Serves me right for coming home early apparently. I'm gonna take a shower." He turned to head up the stairs, tearing his eyes away from the sight of his son snuggled up naked with his boyfriend right out in the open. "By the time I get back, I expect you two decent and making dinner for my troubles."
"Yes, sir, Detective," Snart droned back.
"Sorry, Joe!" Barry called.
"Yeah, you better be," Joe grumbled. But he was smiling as he ascended the stairs, couldn't help it. He was still miffed about the sofa—on the damn sofa, did they have to?—but he couldn't bring himself to be all that upset when he saw on a daily basis how happy Snart made Barry.
Everyone deserved to have someone they could be annoyingly adorable and irresponsible with, though preferably not in Joe's living room next time. Barry really needed to find his own place.
Snart might not have been Joe's first choice for Barry, but he'd never seen anyone make the kid that happy in all the years he'd raised him. That alone deserved Joe's blessing, and kept the smile on his face as he shook his head at their antics.
The smile dropped a minute later when he went to take a shower and found Barry's sex toys in the sink.
TBC...