I am so very sorry that this took so long to get out. We have been packing for days and it just wasn't right that I let everyone else do the work while I write, so I had to steal away time and then...the unthinkable. Computer issues. Couldn't connect, couldn't pull up my writings...just lots of badness which made it harder to use my own time to get things written. So, Saturday we make the two day drive to Texas and with the help of a new lap top, I am hoping to get the next chapter up much faster. No guarantees though. Hopefully you are all still with me! Thanks for the continued support!
Barry walked down the street to the small diner that he'd agreed to meet Felicity and Oliver at. He was grateful that they'd decided to meet for breakfast since Leonard Snart absolutely hated being up before noon. Unless he was casing a place, planning a heist, or had something of extreme importance to get done, he was rarely up during the AM.
Having this moment alone was also what he knew his friends needed. It was hard enough trying to talk to Oliver about things he knew the older man disapproved of, but to have Len there antagonizing him? Yeah, that just wasn't going to work. By the end of the breakfast there'd be a fight, if not an arrest.
When he walked in, he immediately noticed Felicity and Oliver seated side by side in a corner booth at the back of the place. They waved him over and he couldn't help but see how relieved they were that he was alone. He wouldn't take it personally though, because he'd probably feel the same way if it were him in their shoes.
"Good morning, Barry." Felicity smiled pleasantly.
"Hey. How are you guys?" Barry asked somewhat awkwardly.
"We're fine." Oliver frowned. "Roy was injured. Apparently, that's what Malcolm was trying to tell Thea." He added after an elbow to the ribs from Felicity.
"What happened?" He asked with genuine concern.
"Motorcycle accident, but according to Laurel and Thea he really is doing fine." Felicity answered calmly. "We were ready to fly out, but he insists we finish our business here before we fly out to see him."
A middle aged woman with dark brown hair approached wearing a pale pink dress and a stained white apron over it. According to the name tag her name was Jenna. She quickly took their drink orders and disappeared.
Barry's forced smile fell as he realized he didn't know if he was even welcome in the city. He waited for Jenna to be out of hearing distance before he asked. "Do you still want my help with that business?"
He wasn't at all surprised when Oliver's blue eyes focused angrily on the table in front of him. The man's jaw tightened as he finally looked Barry in the eyes. "Your help, yes. Your two friends? No."
"Why would you think-
"If they steal a single thing from this city, Barry-
"Oliver!" Felicity snapped. "Will you stop?"
Barry ran his hands through his spiky brown hair and took a deep breath as his two friends began to 'quietly' bicker about the way Oliver was behaving and about how it was probably just a phase that Barry was going through. Something he needed to get out of his system and that's when he'd had enough. He slammed his hands down on the table.
"Stop!" Barry demanded and looked to both of his two friends. "Just stop, alright? Stop and listen to me. I am so tired of everyone acting as if I'm some child that needs to be taken care of. You all mean well and I appreciate it, but believe it or not I am an adult and I am fully capable of running my own life without any of your input.
"You guys are my friends and of course your opinions and thoughts matter to me, but you are not in charge of who I spend my time with in any capacity. If I want to date Len, that's my choice, it's my decision and if you have a problem with that, it's on you.
"Things between us have gotten pretty serious, to the point that I'm moving in with him when I get back to Central, so no, Felicity. This isn't a phase."
Jenna returned and dropped off everyone's coffee and a bowl full of flavored creamers. She looked at them all nervously. It was silly to think she hadn't been aware that the trio was arguing, but Barry was fairly certain that she hadn't caught anything too important. Friends arguing about lovers may not be a constant, but it was definitely a normal subject and to his immediate memory not one of them had said anything that could incriminate or identify themselves.
"Do you guys need another few minutes to decide?" She asked cautiously.
"No, I'll have a Denver omelet with lots of salsa and a side of sour cream." Felicity requested and handed over her menu.
Oliver handed his over as well. "I'll have the same but with no sour cream."
"I'll do the country fried steak breakfast, please." Barry added as she took his menu from him. They'd eaten here the last time he visited and he knew that they made large breakfast combos. He was trying to avoid eating too many of those nasty bars.
"But Barry, what about the criminal activities?" Felicity asked in a soft voice as the waitress walked away.
"Not to be rude, but Cisco and Len both pointed out that you in particular have no room to talk about dating criminals, Ollie." Barry sighed.
"I was trying to save Helena, I thought she could and would change. I was wrong, and if you think that Leonard Snart is going to become some kind of hero for you-
"No see that's where you're wrong about everything." Barry tried to smile. "I don't think I can change, Len. Nor do I want to. Whatever changes he makes will be his own, but I accept him, Ollie."
"And the lives he's taken?" Felicity asked.
"How'd you get over Oliver's past murders?" Barry retorted.
"That doesn't make it right!" Oliver snarled quietly as he ducked his head, his sharp blue eyes still centered and focused angrily. "He does not have your best interest at heart, Barry, how can he? You two want completely different things out of life. You want to help people and he wants to hurt people."
"Things aren't perfect, I know that and he knows that, but I've never felt more myself than when I am with him. He doesn't get angry if I defeat him, he doesn't get pissy and depressed if he loses and neither do I."
"Okay, but how can you put away thieves when you won't put your own boyfriend away?" Felicity countered. "I'm glad you met someone you can be happy with, but you can't possibly think that this is at all fair?"
Barry's brows furrowed as he looked away from his friends. "We're not trying to hurt you, Barry." Oliver spoke up, the anger fading from his voice. "But felicity's right. When you're putting away men and women for committing crimes that aren't even half as bad as the ones you let your boyfriend get away with, it's going to get to you."
He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't. "How do you look someone in the eyes and tell them that you are a fair, just hero when you don't even have the integrity to stand up to your boyfriend." Felicity sighed as she started to pour some of the containers of Irish Cream into her coffee.
"Do you think you can run around on patrol searching for criminals when you have a deadly repeat offender sleeping in your bed?" Oliver added.
Barry sat quietly as he stared down at the table, his shoulders sagging. How could he have not thought about that? Of all the things he'd gone over, of all the things his family had brought up? What was he going to do? He didn't know how long he sat like that, his mind focusing on the guilt he was already feeling over what his two friends had just brought up, but when he did finally look up four plates of food were being set down in front of them.
"Oh, no one ordered that." Felicity shook her head as the waitress sat a plate full of steak, eggs, and hash-browns down beside Barry's plate.
"Actually, I did." Barry jumped as he heard Mick behind him. As soon as the waitress moved, Mick sat in the booth beside Barry, forcing him to scoot over. "Figured I could be of some assistance to my new friend."
"You've gotta be kidding me." Oliver growled as he glared daggers at the pyro, though he didn't seem at all surprised to see him. Knowing Ollie, he'd already seen the man enter restaurant.
"Mick, please, I don't need your help."
"Nah, Kid, you just be quiet and eat your breakfast. I'll play nice." Mick promised. "Just here to talk and then I'm meeting back up with Snart when he gets his lazy ass outta bed."
The man didn't look near as bad as Barry usually saw. He was freshly showered, shaved and dressed nicely. He was wearing dark wash jeans, brown boots and a white long sleeved t-shirt with red, orange and yellow tribal art that looked a lot like fire running over the left side.
"Look, I heard what you had to say, been eaves dropping on you since the kid arrived." Mick informed them. Barry took a bite as wondered how he'd missed seeing Mick enter. "But let's be realistic here. How many thieves you put down a night Queen?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Oliver sneered.
"Everything. The only time any of you so-called 'heroes' get involved is when people are getting hurt. Other wise you leave it to the police, right?" Mick asked before shoveling a large bite of hash-browns into his mouth.
Since Oliver refused to answer, it was Felicity that spoke up. "Well, for the most part yes, but we have gotten involved if what they are stealing could cause serious harm to people as well."
"So look at it this way, Kid," Mick looked to Barry and offered as friendly a smile as he could manage. "If you spend your days and nights going after every single fucking criminal in Central and you'd work yourself to death."
"What?" Oliver scoffed. "That's not true."
"You sure about that pretty-boy?" Mick grumbled with a laugh. "Is your goal to protect people or to enforce the law?"
"Both." Oliver answered.
"Well it can't be both because if it was, you'd be tossing your own ass in jail." Mick pointed out. "You and all your friends are far worse criminals than we are."
"How do you figure?" Felicity asked with disbelief.
"You're the hacker right?"
"Well, yes, but-
"So you break more laws than your entire team, team Flash and the Rogues put together." Mick shrugged before he looked at Oliver. "You and the rest of your team break and enter on a regular basis, probably even use the same techniques that most of us Rogues do. You all beat the shit out of people on a near nightly basis whether they are armed or not and I'm fairly certain that most of your kills weren't justified based on the rules we follow."
"Rules?" Oliver asked through gritted teeth.
"Sure. We ain't allowed to kill unless it's life or death, and going to prison or jail don't count." Mick nodded and then slapped Barry heavily on the back. "If the Kid's goal is to put away every single criminal, then yeah. He's a hypocrite. But if his goal is to be a hero who protects the people of Central City, than he's got nothin' to sweat."
"By ignoring you and your friends he is being a hypocrite." Oliver insisted.
"You informed Star City PD that Malcolm Merlyn is alive? Dickhead murdered his own son, your best friend, yet I don't see you hauling him off to prison." Mick pointed out as he took a bite of his steak. "You told anyone that the thief and cop killer Roy Harper is hiding in Coast City?" He smirked as he swallowed. "Oh wait, what about Lian Yu? Anyone official know about Slade Wilson being locked up out there? How about the fact that you are part of the Russian Mafia? Why haven't you dragged that Huntress bitch to prison?"
"How does any that help Barry live with himself?" Felicity asked.
"Maybe if he had some decent friends who didn't try to guilt him into seeing things their way, he'd be able to live with himself just fine." Mick snapped. "But you're avoiding the questions, Queen."
"The decisions I make don't always make sense to outsiders, but in the end what I do is what's best for my city." Oliver answered firmly. "Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, Mr. Rory. I'd think a man like you would understand that concept."
"But you just proved his point." Barry smiled softly as he looked up from his plate of now half-eaten food. "You have worked with Malcolm in the past, you have done things you know aren't legally or even morally right, but you did it because in the end, it helped you reach your goals to protect more people."
"But that's not who you are." Felicity frowned.
"Not the same way as Ollie, no." Barry agreed. "But Mick's right. I love Len, and there's so much more going on than either of you know. Plus, Leonard keeps his team in line, and he always has. If he can't, he'll let me know."
"When he can't, I do it for him." Mick added, obviously thinking of Bivolo. "We may not be willing to change our profession, but," the larger man became very quiet for a moment. His large hazel green eyes were staring at him as if he'd just figured something out. "but he's still changing us."
Barry blushed at the sentiment, at the declaration. Mick Rory, the most violent, aggressive and potentially deadly man of the entire Rogues Gallery was looking at him like he was something more than his boss' boyfriend. He looked to him as if he were family, and for Mick Rory that was a big deal. After everything he'd learned about the older man, he was touched.
"Ollie," He looked to his friend. "You and Felicity are two of my closest friends and I don't want that to end, but I'm not going to walk away from my boyfriend and while I understand you are concerned, unless something really bad happens, I want this conversation to be put to rest."
"So that's it?" Oliver frowned. "You've said your piece and that's the end."
"You've said yours as well, Queen and he ain't changin' his mind." Mick rumbled. "No sense in beatin' a dead horse."
Barry watched the couple, waiting for them to make their decision as they all fell into a tense silence. Felicity was chewing on her bottom lip, staring at Rory as if he were some kind of puzzle while Oliver's gaze was focused but far away, like he was thinking back to something he'd rather not be. When he glanced at Mick, he was pleased that the man wasn't at all uncomfortable and getting back to his own breakfast.
Felicity finally sighed and nodded while Oliver looked to her, to Mick and then settled on Barry. He didn't look pleased, but he looked resigned. "Alright, Barry. You know how we feel, you know we're worried, but I hope that you know that we'll never turn our backs on you."
"So I can stay?" Barry asked.
"Of course!" Felicity gasped. "Why would you ever think we wouldn't want you around? Barry, we're just worried! Just like you were worried about me when Ollie and I started dating."
"Exactly." Oliver started but then his face screwed upward in confusion. "Wait, what? You were worried about me dating Felicity?"
Barry raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa, hey I mean, you gotta remember that you'd just told me that it was impossible for guys like us to... and you know I mean, you did kill people and you can kind of be a little bit...and...
"I think you should speed eat the rest of your breakfast before you manage to stick your entire foot in your mouth, Kid." Mick chuckled.
He happily took Mick's advice.
"Oh, wow." Felicity gasped as her eyes looked passed Mick and Barry. "He is not a morning person is he?"
With a confused frown, Barry and Mick turned to look behind them only to see Leonard walk in with a nasty scowl on his face. He was holding his cell phone in his hand in a tight, angry grip that made Barry wonder what his Rogues had pulled without him or Mick around to reign them in. Then again, he hadn't received any calls from Central, so maybe it had nothing to do with the Rogues.
Oh shit. If it wasn't the Rogues, was it the CCPD?
Mick was already getting out of the seat beside Barry and walking over to the waitress that had served them but never returned. After a few minutes of quiet talking and an exchange of at least a twenty, she nodded and took off to the other side of the diner while Barry stood up and greeted Leonard.
"Hey, Len." He kissed his cheek softly and took his free hand. "What are you doing up so early? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing to worry about, Dearest." Len sneered.
"Sit down, Snart, coffee's on it's way." Mick promised.
Barry moved back into the booth with Leonard taking the pyro's place. The waitress returned with a chair, a cup of coffee that was only half filled, the coffee carafe and another bowl of creamers. Mick waited for the waitress to take off before he pulled the seat up to the end of table and sat down. Leonard grabbed the cup and started dumping creamer after creamer into his coffee until it was filled.
"He doesn't cope well with mornings?" Oliver grinned spitefully.
"Not the mornings he expects to sleep in. When he plans on being awake or knows he has to be, he's a lot better about it." Barry answered. "Hardly any growling or glaring."
"That's only true for the guys he's sleeping with." Mick inserted
"Guys?" Barry glared playfully.
"Well, just you now." Mick amended.
"I'm sitting right here." Len growled.
"We figured it was safest to let you have your space." Felicity offered.
Len snorted and took a long drink from his half coffee, half creamer. He didn't offer anything else to say, but Barry didn't figure he would. He couldn't help but notice how often Len was checking his phone. It must have been the CCPD. He was half tempted to pull out his own cell and ask Joe or Eddie what the Hell was going on.
"So how long are you two in town for?" Oliver asked.
"Long as we need to be." Len answered in a clipped tone.
"What exactly do you need to be here for?" The archer pressed on, adding his own irritation to his voice.
"I'm sure if it's your business you'll find out." Len smirked.
"Len!" Barry snapped. "Drink your coffee and be nice."
"I don't do nice." He retorted but he did take another big swallow of his coffee. "Especially at eight in the fucking morning."
Barry watched as Felicity tried to hold back a giggle, but he knew she'd fail. She'd been grinning since the moment she spotted him walking into the diner and something about the thief not being a morning person was comical to her. He'd have to ask her if he managed to keep his boyfriend from making her an ice cube.
"Something funny, Ms. Smoak?" He growled.
Oliver tensed up beside her but that only made her laugh aloud. "I'm sorry, Mr. Snart, I just..." She covered her mouth but laughed again.
Everyone stared at her incredulously, except for Len of course. He was observing her coolly over the rim of his coffee cup. Barry had seen that look before. Most would describe glares as heated and Len was capable of such expressions, but this one wasn't a warm look at all. When Leonard was not amused, when he was calculating and angry, his expression was... well, it was cold.
He set down the coffee cup. "Let me guess." He started in that drawl that made Barry's stomach flip in both fear and excitement. It was after all, his Captain Cold voice. "Mr. Queen isn't much of a morning person either, especially after a night of crime-fighting or drinking. He tends to glare and growl at anyone who dares approach him until he's fully awake."
She nodded with a bold smile. "He also made that exact comment two weeks ago when Thea woke him up after a night just like the one you described."
"I did not!" Oliver's eyes widened.
"Oh yes you did." Felicity argued with a bright smile on her face. "Face it, Ollie, you're a total grouch in the mornings and it just made me realize how much you two have in common."
Mick scoffed, but Felicity shook her head and waved her hands around. "No, no seriously. It's true. Think about it. They plan everything to the most minute detail, they get all growly and pissy if something goes wrong, even if it was them that screwed up in the first place."
"They both go on and on and on about everyone having back up plans and contingencies in place." Barry grinned between a few bites of his own food which by now was nearly finished.
"Does Queen throw a tantrum when he misses his mark?" Mick asked curiously.
"Oh yeah." Felicity grinned. "Then he obsesses over it until he finally gets the target."
"Huh, must be some kind of type." Mick smirked.
Neither man seemed too pleased about the conversation but Leonard was already refilling his coffee. They all quieted as the waitress returned with a small plate of biscuits and gravy before she hastily left the area. It was when Leonard started to eat that Barry realized that the entire corner was being avoided by everyone.
As he took a quick look around he realized that everyone else was being seated in tables or boots on the other side of the diner and that there were two empty booths between themselves and the next couple. There was also no one in any of the tables across from them. There'd only been one other time he'd seen such a thing happen and that was when Leonard took him out to breakfast after an all-nighter a few weeks ago.
"What's wrong, Barry?" Oliver asked, noting the confusion on his face.
"He's just now noticed that there hasn't been any interruptions from the staff or other customers since the moment that Mick joined you three." Leonard answered without looking up from his breakfast.
"Hey!" Felicity's eyes widened. "I hadn't even noticed. Why is that?"
"Mick paid off the waitress, the hostess and the manager when he came in." Oliver answered. "Then when Len came in, he gave them further instructions and another pay off."
"So you did know that Mick was here." Barry confirmed.
"Yeah." Oliver nodded. "I figured your boyfriend sent him to spy on you."
"I don't spy." Mick snapped as Len looked up and glared at Oliver. "I protect."
"Protect?" Barry frowned as he narrowed his eyes on Len. "You're having Mick follow me around?"
Len shrugged. "Not for the reasons you think." His tone becoming far less Mick like the more he woke up and the more ate. "There's someone around that I don't want you facing alone."
"But I wasn't alone." Barry rolled his eyes. "Oliver and Felicity are right here."
"Queen isn't a match for him or his lackeys." Len shook his head before taking another bite of his food. "I had initially planned on leaving this morning, but after I found out he was around, I decided that we needed to be around until you head home."
"Who?" Felicity asked before Oliver or Len could get into a pissing match about who the archer was capable of defeating or protecting.
"Nope." Mick shook his head. "We don't speak of him. Now shut the fuck up Snart, before you call him down on us all."
"Calm down, Mick, he's not interested in us." Len smiled cruelly as he looked to Oliver, Felicity and then to Barry. "It's probably the 'heroe's he's stalking."
"You can't follow us all night, Len." Barry warned. "We have work to do tonight."
"Perhaps we can be of assistance." Len offered as he looked to Oliver. "After all, two of your team has run off to Coast City and the Spartan will probably hole himself up with his family while he decides whether or not Barry here can be trusted."
When Barry looked to Oliver he was surprised to see him looking Leonard and Mick over carefully, a small smile forming. "You know what, you really could be of use to us and you don't even have to pretend to be heroes."
"I'd never dream of it." Len grinned. "I figured you'd need some bait."
"It scares me how easily you come by information." Barry admitted.
"Me, too, Kid. Me, too." Mick frowned as he crossed his arms.
The night sky was nearly pitch black thanks to the new moon and the lack of any artificial lighting. Someone called Pied Piper had managed to hack into the power grid and shut down more than half the city. He knew it would take his fiance all of her self control not to fix any damage the Rogue had done. Plan or not, Felicity was not the kind of woman to be shown up, especially by a 'super' villain. Darkness however, was key to what they were setting up.
He moved quietly to the side of the roof of the large Museum, his bow and arrow at the ready as he watched the ground exits. If everything worked out the way that Captain Cold had planned, they'd be running outside in less than two minutes with a small stash of unique gemstones that were on loan. The gems weren't priceless, but they'd still fetch a decent profit from the right fence.
"I have visual confirmation, Boss." Pied Piper announced in a soft whisper.
Mick growled. "Well isn't that just fucking great?"
"Cool it, we're the bait remember?" Len snapped back at his partner. "Besides, after a few minutes they'll be too distracted to deal with us."
"And if they aren't?" Mick demanded.
"Just don't hit any of them. You know what happened last time." Piper smirked.
"Whoa, hang on!" Oliver frowned. "You know who they are?"
The sound of glass exploding came through the comms. No doubt the thieves had just busted into the casing and were grabbing their loot. "Did I fail to mention that, Arrow?" Leonard drawled arrogantly as the silent alarms were triggered. "Mick, you know what to do. Overwatch, if you'd be so kind?"
"Alarms have been disabled, but you should all know that someone is trying to hack into our systems." Felicity warned.
"They're trying to hack into STAR Labs as well." Cisco added.
"How are we looking, Piper?" Len asked calmly the sound of his cold gun coming to life.
"All clear on our end, Boss." Piper declared smugly.
For nearly five minutes there was no more sound. Oliver watched the exits, but he didn't see either man come out with the stolen goods. He felt that bit of anger starting to boil over as he began to wonder if Snart had planned something else altogether. Did they really know who these kids were? If he did, than it was more likely that he had planned to escape them without worrying about himself or The Flash.
"What's going on, Cold?" He demanded again but of course there was no response. "Flash, get your men under control, now!"
Static sounded through everyone's ear pieces, but after a few seconds a crisp masculine voice came through. "-headed down to the tunnels."
"Yeah right, Captain Cold ain't trudgin' through Star City shit just to get away from Robin Hood and his Merry Men."
Oliver's eyes widened as he realized that they were listening in on the young vigilantes. "Guys, this feels like a set up." The female announced. "We're in way over our heads with these two, not to mention coming up against Arrow and The Flash! We should head back and find out what he wants us to do."
"We are not at all in over our heads. Our training is far superior to any of their's except maybe the thieves." The first insisted.
"Fuck that, I'm taking that snow fairy out!"
"Knock it off!" Came the first male voice. "Get to down to the tunnels, now. Unless of course, you're afraid of the dark."
Oliver frowned as he listened closely to the arguing and waited for the second male to respond. He knew that all three teams weren't stupid enough to start speaking until Felicity, Piper or Cisco announced that it was okay. He still wondered where Barry was because the more he thought about it, the more he realized his silence in particular wasn't normal. Had he found Cold and decided to fool around again?
"I ain't afraid of nothin'. I'll show you who's afraid the dark." The younger man muttered under his breath. After a few seconds he heard the sound of the manhole being pulled up. "Ugh, fucking gross."
Knowing their plan and realizing that Cold and Heatwave were not about to burst through the front doors like they'd agreed upon, Oliver made his way into the museum. He just had to find the underground tunnels. He pulled out his phone as he ran, texting Felicity and asking for the location of the tunnels since he didn't want to break radio silence.
"Will you please watch the language?" The girl sighed irritably. "How a kid your age can have such a foul mouth..."
"Oh please, I'm out hear beating up thugs and murderers and you're worried about my potty mouth?" The attitude the kid spat out was so thick, Oliver could practically hear him roll his eyes. "Yep, shit. Just as I suspected."
"Quit exaggerating, Little Wing."
Overwatch: Access point is North West maintenance room. Leads to SC Maint. Tunnels.
"You know, I never saw James Bond in rats or shit, let alone rats and shit. Oh look, there's a rat riding on a piece of shit." The male, who Oliver was now suspecting to be much younger than the other two complained.
"Oh, Jeez. Now he's quoting movies!" The girl snickered.
"Seriously, Little Wing, knock it off. You fail this mission and B's gonna clip those wings." The older warned patiently.
"Pfft, we'll see about...Oh fuck me."
"You wish, Kid." Captain Cold's voice sounded next and Oliver could only assume that the boy had just run into the two thieves.
"Fuck you, Fag!" The younger bit out just as Oliver dropped into the tunnel. He didn't know what kind of a man Cold was when it came to name calling, but he had to get there before the man iced the kid.
"Nope, you're too young and honestly, I'm not really into that whole street-rat vibe you've got going on." The Captain taunted.
It shocked him that Cold was so patient with someone calling him names like that. He'd expected the man to be a lot more sensitive about that kind of language, that word in particular. While he wasn't gay, even he was offended by it. He wondered if Cold was just that good at keeping himself calm and collected.
"What the fuck did you call me?"
"You heard me. You're no bird, you're just a rat with wings." He snickered coldly.
"God, I can't wait for him to get a hold of you." Oliver came upon them much faster than he'd hoped for as he saw the younger male was actually taller than he expected. The boy was nearly as tall Leonard Snart, though he wasn't very brawny. Not yet, though he probably showed potential for it. He had black hair and was dressed in dark green pants, black boots and a black cape from the vantage point he had.
Mick was standing beside Cold and he looked nervous at the boy's comment, his eyes cutting to Leonard expectantly as his jaw tightened. "I ain't going to prison over him."
"Relax, Mick, we aren't going to prison."
"Wanna know why, Big Guy? Cause I'm gonna send you to the hospital first!"
"Little Wing, stand down!" The older voice insisted. "Wait for back up!"
Oliver's eyes widened as the kid shot himself forward, two items flying through the air. Mick cursed as he dropped his gun and grabbed his hand in pain, but Leonard deflected the boomerang (?) by moving his gun to protect his hand.
Oliver drew back his arrow, surprised that Leonard had yet to fire at the kid. Instead he dodged, weaved or rolled out of the way of the boy's attacks. The boy was well trained, there could be no doubt about that. Especially as he continually pressed the older thief back toward the wall, almost as if he believed that Captain Cold wouldn't lay a finger on him. He didn't even seem worried about the thief's partner.
Then again, Oliver realized as he shook his head, this must have been a part of Cold's plan. Mick was running down the tunnel with the stolen gems. He could get a shot off for sure but in the darkness of the tunnels, even with the generator lights running, he wasn't sure he could simply incapacitate him and he didn't kill criminals anymore. So he kept his sights on the younger boy that had all but taken Cold's head off with a nasty punch.
"How do you like me now, you fucking Freeze wanna be?"
"Careful kid, you're stepping out onto thin ice." Cold growled as he wiped the blood from his lip. His icy blue eyes moved from the boy and over to him."You gonna help me out here or what?"
The teenager turned and faced Oliver for the first time and he was irritated by how little he saw. The boy's eyes were well hidden by a mask similar to his own, but instead of having holes where the eyes were, there were white lenses over them. Based on the lower half of his face he guessed the boy was anywhere from thirteen to sixteen. Real ages were difficult to place as it was, but teenagers were even worse since there wasn't a set age for puberty to hit.
"Robin?" The girl's voice called out and Oliver knew she was climbing down in the tunnels since her voice was both in his ear and echoing off the walls.
"The archer's working with the thieves." The boy snarled angrily, his mouth twisting in disgust. "I'm surrounded."
A shadow moved and suddenly everything was pitch black. Oliver couldn't see a thing, but he did hear boots hitting the ground followed by the scuffling of three sets of footsteps, all converging on him. He replaced his arrow and bow, ready to fight hand to hand since he couldn't risk letting his arrows fly.
Where in the hell was Flash? He felt a fist strike his face, followed by a kick to the mid-section and then his back was on the ground from the sweeping of a third entity. Great, he was surrounded by all three of the little brats.
"Flash where are you!" He shouted angrily over the comms.
"Arrow?" Felicity frowned. "What's happening?"
"He's getting his ass taken down by three teenagers." Leonard answered from somewhere much further down the tunnel.
"Flash, seriously man, where are you?" Cisco called out.
"Help him, Cold!" Felicity ordered.
"Why are the enemies on our comms?" The girl demanded.
"Because we counter attacked and hacked in." Piper snickered.
"Let there be light." The lights flickered back to life, causing the three teenagers to cry out and cover their eyes, still clearly using night vision with those lenses. Captain Cold was about hundred yards away, standing beside the generators with a cocky smile on his face.
Oliver flipped back to his feet and took down the girl and the younger quickly, but the one in black and blue had pulled out two baton looking weapons and twirled them confidently. He moved forward and was surprised as a jolt of energy ripped through his body upon contact with the black sticks.
"Watch out for his stickweapons, they're quite shocking." Cold provided as if he hadn't just seen him take a few hits already.
"God, you're still as corny as ever." The youngest complained as he got back to his feet with a slight sway.
"You gonna keep standing there or are you gonna help me?" Oliver snapped as the girl got to her feet as well.
An odd groaning sound came from the comms with some muttering about 'where am I' and at once, Oliver knew it was Barry. Captain Cold stood straighter and pulled the gun from his holster, his eyes looking all around them. He had to admit he was pleased to see that the thief looked frightened and worried for the man he claimed to love.
"Whoa! It can't be!" They all heard Barry gasp as whatever grogginess he'd felt dissipated. "It's you! It's really you!" The younger man sounded giddy and entirely too excited. "Oh, wow! I didn't think you were real!"
The scowl on Captain Cold's face and the immediate settling of the three young vigilantes warned Oliver that he wasn't going to like the next few moments in this bizarre night. Cold put his weapon back in his holster as he walked toward him and the kids while they too, put away their batons, boomerangs and whatever the girl was holding in her hand.
"Shoulda known the kid would be a fan." Leonard frowned as he took his place by Oliver's side. "Nothing to do now but wait for him and his captor to get down here and sort this whole mess out."
"You're going to jail, Snart." Oliver hissed. "Mick took off with those jewels, don't think I didn't notice."
"Aww man, I knew I missed something." The teenage boy frowned as he looked toward the tunnel.
"Don't worry, I didn't." The man in a black body suit with a large blue bird over his chest smiled before ruffling the younger's hair. "He's tied up and waiting for us to pick him up."
"At least someone's paying attention." The girl announced.
"I didn't see you doing much." The boy argued.
"I was busy securing the perimeter." The girl retorted.
In the meantime, Oliver had been forced to remove his ear piece thanks to the squealing and fawning being done by Barry and Cisco over whoever this guy was that had captured the former. He was a little surprised that Captain Cold hadn't done the same. Instead, Snart was glaring at the floor angrily, his arms also crossed over his chest as he seemed to be listening intently to his boyfriend drooling over the leader of this group of child vigilantes.
"They're on their way down and your fiance says to put your earpiece back in or she'll give me permission to show how the cold shoulder really works." Snart smirked. "Mick, you good?"
"Yep, heading your way now." Mick confirmed once Oliver had his ear piece back in.
"Hey I thought you said you took care of him?" The girl asked the older boy.
"Unless you patted him down, you didn't take care of shit." The younger rolled his eyes.
"You know what, Robin, just knock it off and do as you're told for once." The black and blue man warned yet again.
"Will someone explain to me what the Hell is going on here?" Oliver all but shouted.
"I'd be happy to." He turned toward the newest voice and took a step back. The man was about his height but quite a bit more muscular. He was dressed all in black and had pointed horns on the top of his cowl. A long black cape flowed almost to the floor and a large bat-symbol was on his chest the same way it was on the girl's costume. Flash was standing by his side, still in costume, still bouncing about happily. "I sent Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing on a mission to help temper and train Robin.
"They were sent to this city because of your presence, not that they knew that. All three were being tested in this regard." He explained.
"What do you mean?" The one called Nightwing frowned.
"When entering a city where a vigilante resides, I was curious how you would react. As team leader it was up to you to either make contact or avoid contact with the Green Arrow and his crew." He explained calmly.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Oliver frowned.
"It's BATMAN!" Cisco shouted as The Flash literally vibrated. "The Batman! The caped crusader! The-
Leonard shook his head and glared as Mick finally approached, no bag of jewels or his heat-gun in hand. Neither thief looked pleased, but then he was sure he didn't look any better. Oliver was fuming and the more he watched Barry fawn over the man in the black, the angrier he got.
"It is such an honor to meet you, Mr. Batman." Barry grinned.
"I've seen your work," The masked man started. "and I'm very impressed considering the short amount of time you've been working at this. Your team works hard and well together and the results prove that. So long as you keep it up, I can't imagine Central City will ever be in any real long-term danger."
Oliver fists clenched as he swore he was just insulted. "And you're saying my team isn't as good as his?" He growled as he stepped closer.
The youngest boy, the one called Robin snickered only to be elbowed by Nightwing. Their leader looked him over for one long minute before he sighed, as if he was getting prepared to deliver some bad news.
"Mr. Queen, your team has had some extreme ups and downs. You have had great success and even greater failures. Your team doesn't trust or respect you enough to make you their leader. They're too selfish for the kind of work you are attempting to do."
"Excuse me!" Felicity gasped.
"I don't require your approval." Oliver snarled.
"You don't." Batman acknowledged. "You asked a question and I answered it. Your team has a lot of potential if and when they choose to trust you to take care of them, you'll stop seeing so many failures. Spartan, Speedy and Black Canary have absolutely no discipline and they rarely trust you in the field. I've heard for myself the constant disobedience of your crew with no punishment save the stink eye."
"How do you know all of this?" Felicity asked.
"I do my research." Batman answered. "Believe it or not I would hate to see this city fall, especially when you and your team should be more than capable of defending it."
"And you think Team Flash works better than Team Arrow?" Oliver asked.
"So far, yes. If the Rogues were to permanently move their base of operations to Star City your team would be immobilized and down for the count within three weeks." Batman shrugged.
"The Flash is a meta." Felicity argued.
"So?" All three of the side-kicks exclaimed at the same time. "None of us are metas and neither is B." Robin continued. "We face men like the Captain as well as metas like Flash on a nightly basis."
"For that matter we've faced Captain Cold on three different occasions." Nightwing pointed out.
"If you're so good than how is he not behind bars?" Felicity countered, still clearly offended.
"We lock 'em up, but we can't patrol the streets, take out the bad guys and guard them in their cells. The police have to earn their keep somehow and unfortunately, that sometimes means that men like Mr. Snart and Mr. Rory here are able to escape." Batgirl informed her. "Besides, he's usually pretty low on our priority list."
"Why's that?" Flash asked curiously.
"So long as thieves make it their MO to avoid hurting and killing innocent people including cops or security, we generally focus on those who are actually hurting the people of Gotham." Batman answered. "I may not like how Captain Cold operates, but he has yet to harm a single citizen, officer or security officer in Gotham. Eighty-seven point nine percent of the time his thefts are committed without anyone even being aware of it until the next business day."
Oliver tried to ignore the look of pride on Barry's face. He wanted to yell at him, at all of them and remind them that this wasn't a damned game. He wanted the Bat-freak out of his city along with his children, or siblings or whatever they were and he damned sure wanted Leonard Snart and Mick Rory locked up behind bars by the end of the night.
"So you just reward men who are good at being bad by ignoring them?" Felicity demanded on behalf of Team Arrow.
"No, Ms. Smoak, we simply prioritize murderers, rapists, batterers, dealers and dirty law enforcement over thieves." Batman corrected.
"Well, this has been a fun chat and all but-" Before Leonard could finish his sentence his phone began to ring. There were several snickers from the group as the song "Bad Boys" started playing. "Detective West, what could I possibly do for you now?" He asked somewhat angrily as he answered his phone.
Barry moved to his side, ignoring himself and the Gotham vigilantes. He placed his hand on his shoulder while Mick stood glaring at his boss with a mixture of rage and concern. Oliver wanted to know what was happening there and why on Earth Barry's adopted father would be calling Leonard at nearly one in the morning.
Leonard's free hand clenched in and out of a tight fists and his eyes narrowed harder at the wall. Only once did he looked to Barry, and there was something there that disturbed him if he was being honest. It was a look of fear combined with pain.
"That's goes far beyond what we agreed to." Leonard hissed. "We're talking at least six months undercover and I ain't-
Joe must have cut him off as the old thief fell silent again. "Len what's happening?" Barry asked worriedly.
"I want it in writing, Detective or it ain't happening. Same deal for Mick. I want everyone's signatures, too." There was a long pause and then Leonard's face turned red as he temporarily lost his patience. "If they don't extend the same offer to him than I'm out, Detective and you know who they'll ask for help from next and if you think that the Rogues and I can't go underground you're sorely mistaken.
"Only one reason the Rogues are so flashy and seeing how I already have his attention outside of the museums and banks, I'd say I could easily slip back into old habits." Another pause. "Fine."
He pocketed the phone and Oliver felt a little confused. "You're working with the police?" He asked.
"Watch it." Mick growled as he stepped forward.
"Mick." Leonard shook his head at him when the big man looked back. "That's really none of your business, Arrow, but should that rumor get out to anyone outside of those listening in and standing right here in this tunnel, you'll find yourselves in an icy grave. Got it Piper."
"Mums the word, Boss." Piper immediately answered.
"Len, what's going on?" Barry asked again and Oliver couldn't help but want to hear the answer to that question as well. How long had this been going on? Was that why they were dating? What was happening in Central City?
"We'll talk about it later." The older man insisted before looking to the man in black. "Are we done here?"
"Wow, how do you always get off with these vigilantes, Snart?" Felicity huffed.
Barry's eyes widened before he let out a choked giggle, while Leonard Snart looked both embarassed and uncomfortable. Mick looked angry on his friend's behalf while Piper and Cisco howled with laughter in their comms along with Robin. Oliver simply shook his head and tried not to notice how severe and unamused Batman appeared to be.
"That totally didn't come out right," Felicity sputtered and he knew his fiance was most likely blushing from head to toe and cringing. "I meant."
"It's okay, Overwatch." Barry continued to giggle. "I think we all knew how you really meant it."
"Let's go, Mick. Now." Leonard snarled and started to head deeper into the tunnel.
"Captain Cold," Oliver frowned as everyone fell silent as soon as Batman spoke up. The thief even stopped and turned to face him. "They say the best cops make even better criminals, but the opposite is just as true."
"I'll keep that in mind." The thief said with a roll of his blue eyes. "Don't be out all night playing, Flash."
"Yes, dear!" Barry called after him with a bright smile.
Deciding it was best to get down to brass tacks and try his best not to worry about the fact he'd just allowed two thieves to escape him, Oliver turned to Batman. "So how long am I to expect you and your team to be here in my city?"
The man's eyes gave nothing away since they too were covered by white lenses. It had a very...inhuman quality that was disturbing on many levels. He'd have to talk with Cisco about designing something similar for him. Not being able to read an opponent was very disconcerting and it was a hell of an advantage he'd like to have over his own enemies.
"We'll most likely be gone by tomorrow evening." He stated firmly. "It was not my intent for them to cause such a disruption but at least the rumors about you are founded."
"Rumors?" Oliver asked, not at all sure that was meant as a compliment.
"That you really are willing to do anything to achieve your goals." Batman answered. "You worked with two men you despised to make sure you lured out Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl. Your gamble paid off."
"Because he's a good leader." Felicity insisted.
"He has the potential to be." Batman disagreed yet again. "Come to Gotham anytime you'd like to humble yourself and take a few pointers from someone who has gone from a solo act to a team leader."
Barry nudged Oliver with a barely suppressed grin before offering his hand once more to Batman. "Seriously, it's been such an honor, but I really need to go find out what's happening with my uh, with uh, well you know."
"Keep up the good work, Flash." Batman nodded as he shook Barry's hand. "The same invitation applies to you as well, and sorry if I frightened you back there."
"Oh!" Barry blushed. "Please, feel free to sneak up on me anytime!" Oliver was actually starting to get embarrassed by the hero-worship that his friend was dishing out.
"I'm still on the comms, Flash!" Captain Cold snarled over everyone's earpieces.
Another but dark shade of red filled Barry's cheeks. "Right, anyhow, I'll see you tomorrow morning, Arrow and umm, yeah. Goodbye, Mr. Batman." And just like that the Flash sped out of the tunnel.
"Good luck to you, Green Arrow." Batman said sincerely. "Sorry for any trouble Robin caused."
Oliver couldn't help but notice how quickly the angry teenager deflated. His shoulders drooped and his head fell just a little. He wondered if the 'guru' of leadership realized just how often he and his partners undercut the youngest of their team. He may not have been perfect but he certainly did his best to make sure that everyone that worked with him felt valued and appreciated. Clearly that wasn't Batman's style.
"Just let me know the next time you or yours decide to work in my city." He ordered, refusing to be intimidated by the man.
"We will." The man called Nightwing smiled brightly, reminding him a lot of Barry Allen. "Sorry about the trouble we caused, but there's a lot of work to be done here. If you need me, let me know. I'm kind of freelance right now."
He gave him a curt nod, but refused to say anything else as the Batman led his three team members out of the tunnels. He sighed when he found himself following them so that he too could get out of the building and home. At least Felicity would be on his side, tonight. She was probably more insulted than he was by the things the 'Caped Crusader' had to say about him.
Leonard dropped into the chair irritably as he pulled out his ear piece and turned it off. Mick followed suit before taking a seat on the queen sized bed closest to Len's chair. The night hadn't gone near as bad as he expected and they had made off with the loot despite what Nightwing believed. He wasn't sure where they got a reputation for being bad thieves with so many of these vigilantes, but he'd have to rectify it soon.
It was like he told Joe over the phone, they only got caught because he was playing a game with Flash. If he really wanted to get away with his crimes, if it was truly necessary that he and his crew become ghosts, that was easily done. After all, he had taught Lisa and his sister still had a perfectly clean record.
If he was honest with himself, he'd always enjoyed the attention. Cops, other criminals, vigilantes, it didn't matter. So long as someone gave him the credit where credit was due. He spent too much time planning and perfecting his heists not to get a little but of notoriety.
"So what's wrong now?" Mick asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"They want us to get a confession from someone in Iron Heights. The guy's serving a life sentence so I have a bit of time to decide." Leonard rolled his eyes.
"Who's threatening the kid?" Mick asked and when he raised his eyebrow at the pyro the man huffed. "Oh please, Snart. If they weren't threatening Barry you wouldn't even consider this."
"Believe it or not, they aren't the ones threatening him and neither are the men requesting our help. They came to us because Barry Allen is being threatened."
"You mean Flash?" Mick frowned.
"No, I mean Barry Allen. The forensic scientist is the one being threatened." Leonard sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He paused as Barry flashed into the room. He looked up at his lover who was a mixture of concerned and excited, clearly having had a far better night than the Arrow or his crew. He stood from his chair and gently pulled him into his arms, feeling a little less nervous to know that he was safe and sound. "Good night, Scarlet?"
Barry tried to look remorseful with a cringe but that smile couldn't be stopped. "I know I should feel bad, I should feel absolutely terrible with the way he treated Ollie, but...
"You're floating on Cloud 9, Kid." Mick chuckled. "I'm sure there have been thieves equally starstruck upon meeting me or Len."
Leonard couldn't help but grin at the truth of that. He had in fact blown the minds of a few youthful thieves over the years, especially when he went into their cities and asked for their assistance with various tasks. Still, none had ever been as exuberant as Barry and he couldn't help but wonder if Barry was attracted to the man who was at least on the same side as him.
Barry pulled him into an unexpected kiss. "I know that look, Len." He explained. "You're getting jealous."
"He's always jealous." Mick snorted.
"Well he doesn't need to be. I'm not interested in him like that, he's just..." Barry tried to voice his thoughts but apparently couldn't put them to words. "He's not you."
Leonard rolled his eyes as he stepped away from Barry, not in the least bit satisfied with his boyfriend's pathetic attempt to console him. "If he'd made any kind of pass at you, you would have swooned." He snapped with more bitterness than he'd intended.
"I would not!" Barry exclaimed with a laugh. "Leonard Snart, I would think after all the battles you've won recently, you'd be just a bit more gracious."
"Battles? What battles?" Mick frowned.
"He's taken to calling any of our arguments or disagreements battles." Leonard smirked.
Again, his boyfriend laughed and this time Leonard felt a little better. He certainly didn't seem to find Batman or the Arrow so amusing. "Point being, you have nothing to worry about. I love you, Len, not Batman and not Ollie."
Once more Barry grabbed hold of him and pressed his lips to his own. It felt amazing to hear those words, to hear that he was loved. To know that he felt love for Barry? That almost felt better than being loved, something he never would have expected. It was scary as Hell being so invested in someone and yet, with Barry, even when it was difficult it was easy. God help the fool who attempted to bring any kind of harm to the man he loved.
"So what's going on?" Barry asked softly as he looked him in the eyes. "What do they want with you now?"
"Not sure yet. Got a lot to talk about with your dad when we get back to Central." Leonard opted to keep the information to himself until he knew more about the situation. If anyone told Barry that he was being threatened, he'd run all the way home and just make a mess of everything, possibly even give himself away. Plus, he wanted to have a plan first.
Barry's hazel eyes took him in suspiciously for a few seconds before they softened. He nodded his head, accepting what he had to say and not probing any further. "Well, I should actually get back to Oliver and make sure he's okay."
"Seriously? He's a big boy, can't his fiance take care of him?"
"Between you and Batman, Oliver was basically told that he's a terrible guardian of his city and he needs the support of his friends." The younger explained. "I don't stop you from running off to take care of your friends, so don't even try to give me crap about comforting mine."
Normally he would have argued, not because he was really upset about it, but because he actually enjoyed 'battling' with his boyfriend. He liked to argue, he liked to wrestle with him and he really enjoyed stealing from him. Which, if he were wearing something other than his Flash suit, he'd attempt before the kid ran off, but stealing his little insignia wasn't enough of a challenge and he could need it for all he knew.
"Fine, spend the night with your friends." Leonard sighed melodramatically as if he were making some great sacrifice.
Barry pecked his cheek and then his lips. "See you around, Mick."
"Flash." Mick nodded.
As soon as Barry was gone, Leonard returned to his seat and stared down at his hands. There might have been one thing he didn't like about being in love and it was some of the same reason he did like it. For years only Lisa and Mick had been such a concern in his life. What if something happened to the kid? What if he was kidnapped, killed, or injured? He killed his own father for threatening to kill his sister, what would he do if anyone actually made good on those threats?
"Get out of there." Mick said softly. "Only gonna stress yourself needlessly."
"Get out of where?" He asked.
"That space in your head where everything goes to shit." His friend answered with a rise a of his shoulders. "You go there when you plan on occasion but it's useful and you don't dwell. You just come out of it with what you need to know to help make your plans work. On occasion, you don't leave and it's usually when you're freakin' out about me or Lisa and now Barry."
He was definitely right about Mick. That bastard saw way more than people gave him credit for.
He flashed into his clothes before going into the living room where he knew Oliver was sitting in quiet contemplation. He'd been worried about his friend and he wasn't leaving until he spoke with him. Actually, he was shocked that Felicity wasn't up with him, but then she wasn't the night owl that Oliver always had been.
When he walked out, he thought for sure his friend would tell him to leave, so he prepared for the worst. Oliver's blue gaze fell on him thoughtfully and Barry couldn't help but note that even in his gray sweats and a black t-shirt, he still looked hard and dangerous. It was a trait he shared with Len, which Barry actually liked. The more similarities he found in his friend and his boyfriend, the easier it was to accept and understand their opinions of one another.
"I'm sorry about what happened back at the museum." He said quietly.
"Sorry about what, Barry? The fact that your boyfriend stole the very gems he swore not to? The fact that you drooled over a rival vigilante? How about that you allowed yourself to be captured which left me without back up?"
He took a deep breath and walked over to the couch that Ollie was lounging on. He sat on the opposite side of him and decided to let Oliver get his anger out, to let him vent so that they could get to the heart of the matter.
"I have never been so thoroughly disrespected in my own city, not even by the assholes I've thrown in prison! And what's worse, is your supposed to be not just my allie, but my friend!" Oliver snapped as he stood up. "This guy is changing you! He's making you someone you never would have become if not for him!"
Unable to let him badmouth Len, Barry stood and shook his head. "This has nothing to do with Leonard. This sucks, Ollie, I know it. It's happened to me before, too, but you have to work through it! Not against it."
"What do you mean it's happened to you before? When has anyone ever come into your city-
"And shot me in the back with two arrows?" Barry challenged as he cut him off. "Come into the city and basically told me that I wasn't doing anything right and that I needed to readjust how I work? Gee, Ollie, when did that happen to me? Who was the one who did it?"
Oliver opened his mouth to argue but nothing came out. Instead, Barry watched as his friend glared daggers at the floor. "Ollie, you're a hero, you're my hero." He admitted softly. "You inspired me to be all that I am and when you came and told me what I was doing wrong, I had a hard time at first. I admit it, I did. But it didn't make any of your critiques any less accurate."
With a heavy sigh, Oliver returned to the couch and shook his head. "Two men, two very different men on opposing sides basically walked into my city and told me I don't know how to lead." His blue eyes moved to him and Barry couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "What do you think? What am I doing wrong, Barry?"
He took a deep breath as he tried to sort what kind of situation this was. Was it the brutal honesty situation that could irrevocably damage their friendship? Was it the kind of situation where he sugar-coated and hoped for the best?
"I don't live here, Ollie. I don't work with your team nightly." He shrugged. "Out of the two of us, you're the only one who knows if Batman or Len's criticisms hold any water." When his friend didn't respond, he continued. "But, I also know that when we have talked, you've expressed a lot of disappointment and anger over the fact that your team doesn't follow orders the first time."
"So you do agree with them?"
"No, but I think you do." Barry tried again. "I think you agree with them and that's what making you so angry. You don't want it to be true, but you really don't want them to be right."
Oliver finally allowed a crooked smile to form over his face. "You know something, Barry? You're right. Worse, Snart's right. I don't have any control over my team because I am so busy trying to please them. I'm bending over backwards trying to give them an equal say and not step all over how they feel.
"If I saw you doing that with your team, I'd call you on it." He ran his hands over the top his short blonde hair. "You know, I think I started doubting myself so much that they started to follow my lead. How can they trust me when I don't trust myself?"
Barry chewed at his bottom lip as he nodded. "It does make sense, you know? I mean, attitude reflects leadership, right? The good things is that you're aware of it now and you can start working with the others to fix it. It doesn't have to stay this way."
Slowly, his friend's smile returned. "Thanks, Barry. It was...helpful."
"Yeah, you know you can ask for help anytime you want." Barry teased. "You don't have to wait for a super-villain and a superhero to gang up on you."
"I'll do my best." Oliver promised and Barry couldn't help but feel like he really meant it and that was probably more important for their futures than Oliver continuing to believe everything was fine. Now all he needed to do was prove to him that he and Len could make their relationship work, because really? Who wanted an 'I told you so' from the Arrow?
I'm really hard on Arrow, but that's as bad as it will get on my end, I promise. Things will start to look up for Team Arrow. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to point out any typos. I didn't really do a final read because I just wanted to get this posted for you guys before I move.