"Hold!" The leader calls once he spots Kristoff holding a gun to Barry's head.
"One move and kapow." Kristoff growls. John shifts to block Alla from view.
Barry groans in misery as Kristoff's rough hold breaks open several of the wounds littering his body. The next several hours blend together in Barry's mind. Somewhere along the way there was a shoot-out with one officer down, but still breathing, and all the Bratva members in the warehouse scattered out across the area dead. Barry remembers an ambulance screaming and people moving frantically around him. He remembers passing out and sleeping fitfully until pure oblivion takes over once he reaches the operating room.
When he wakes up, it's to a full room. Sebastian and Joe are huddled closest to him with the other Warblers, Hunter, and Oliver scattered around the large hospital room and spilling out into the hallway. Barry groans as he wakes up and immediately most of the room's other occupants are awake as well. Barry's mind is still fuzzy, a feeling that doesn't go away anytime soon. The group experiences collective relief at seeing Barry awake and if Sebastian doesn't let go of his brother for a long time, no one mentions it.
Eventually the nurses kick out most of the boys until only Sebastian and Joe were left. "You scared us real good, kid." Joe wearily tells Barry, squeezing his hand.
Barry weakly smiles, "'M sorry, didn' mean ta."
Joe strokes Barry's hair, "We know." A few moments of silence pass before Joe speaks again, taking in the sight of the twins cuddled as close together as the hospital bed allowed. "The officers have apprehended everyone. They are now working on making sure everything is safe for you and for the other students. That is, if you still wish to go back to Dalton."
"Ollie's there." Barry slurs, a stupid grin on his face, ""N Seb, 'n the 'blers."
Sebastian wetly laughs, "Yeah, the Warblers are there too and I'm wherever you are."
And that was that. A week later, when Barry is tucked away in his dorm room at Dalton, a protective detail stationed outside of Dalton and another officer patrolling the hallways at night Barry confesses everything in greater detail to his brother. "I told the police everything important." Barry whispers to Sebastian, who has a snake hold on his brother in imitation of cuddling. "But there are just some things I don't feel comfortable telling them. Maybe not even the therapist."
"You know you'll have to tell the therapist eventually." Sebastian smooths Barry's hair.
Barry nods sadly, "I know, but I'd rather tell you first."
"Thank you." Sebastian mumbles, "I've already told you how it felt to not know where you were. I can't imagine your pain."
Barry snuggles into Sebastian more, "Just cuddle."
Sebastian chuckles, "I suppose." A few minutes of silence pass, "Are you ready to start classes again? And to go to Warbler's practice?"
Barry shrugs, "I guess. The therapist says routine helps."
Sebastian nods, "She told me that too."
"Cuddling works better." Sebastian laughs at Barry's words, but doesn't disagree.
The twins quickly find that cuddling with the Warblers, in a large dogpile, works wonders. "BARRY!" The boys screech as Barry and Sebastian wander into the practice room later that day, before Barry returns to classes. Barry grins stupidly to himself as the boys keep wrapping their arms around each other, creating a human cocoon around the twins.
"Guys!" Barry laughs and Sebastian (no matter how much he later denies it) shrieks as they topple over and land in a giant pile on the ground. Despite the hazards cuddling presents, no one protests as they continue to start most of their meetings this way. Sebastian tolerates the shenanigans with an indulgent smile "Because it makes Barry happy, okay? So keep cuddling."
"Sebby, you're growing soft." Nick's grin doesn't falter as Sebastian pushes at his shoulder playfully.
"Shut up." Sebastian grumbles before moving off to cuddle with his twin on one of the large couches in the Warbler practice room.
The next day is Barry's first day back attending classes. Most of the students welcome him with welcome arms, however others aren't so welcoming. "Needed to get laid so bad you whore yourself out to anyone?" One kid with large buck teeth, a face full of pimples, and a small, rounded belly sneered.
Barry's face falls and he starts to shut down, something which the Warbler are quick to notice. Sebastian glares and moves towards the boy, but Nick and Jeff are quick to shove him back while Cisco and Thad team-up to verbally abuse the kid into submission. "Needed to get his ass kicked so bad you pick on Barry, who just got kidnapped by fucking insane mob members?" Thad glares him down. The kid scoffs and rolls his eyes.
Cisco glares at him icily and threatens, "I'll go get the secretary and she'll make sure you get kicked out if you don't back down and fuck off." Nick smirks at Cisco's cursing.
"Oh really, fatty?"
"Hey!" Barry cuts in, upset by the name calling, "My foster father's a cop and I bet he can find some charges to arrest you on."
The kid grimaces, but slurs, "Fuckin' loser."
"How about you beat it?" Oliver appears behind the kid, looming over him.
"Says wh-" The kid swallows as he turns around, uneasy now that the significantly larger Oliver has gotten in on the action. "You know what, why don't we all not hit each other and I'll scram?" He doesn't wait for a response and scampers off through the crowd of uniformed boys that had gathered as the confrontation continued.
Barry gives Oliver a tiny smile, "Thanks." He takes Sebastian's hand and hurries off towards their class, the other Warblers on their heels.
"Why don't you all beat it?" Oliver growls at the group of boys, who beat a hasty retreat, suddenly leaving the hall empty.
Hunter appears next to Oliver, "Trying to be a hero?"
"I'm hardly the hero type." Oliver scoffs and leaves Hunter behind as he too heads towards his class. Hunter rolls his eyes and walks in the opposite direction.
Later that week, Barry and Sebastian go back to lacrosse practice and Barry feels as if his life is slowly coming back together. "I hate the thought that I'll have to go to trial again soon."
"He deserves it for what he did to you."
"I'm not saying he doesn't, I just don't want to see the inside of the courthouse again."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sebastian confesses, setting aside his French homework. "Our lives have kinda gone to shit."
Barry rolls his eyes, "We have each other. And the Warblers."
"And Oliver." Sebastian teases.
Barry blushes, "Think he'll work the nerve to ask me out?"
"Who says you can't ask him out?" Sebastian shrugs, "You are not a shrinking violet, you're Barry fucking Allen and when you feel more recovered from all the shit you just went through, you march right up to Oliver Queen and you ask him out. If he turns you down, well fuck him because you're too good for him!"
Barry grins at his brother, "Thanks for the peptalk."
"Anytime. Now shut up, I need to conjugate these verbs." Sebastian promptly turns around on his bed, textbook dragging behind him, and starts scribbling on his notebook paper. Barry smiles to himself as he pulls his math homework closer.
Months pass and suddenly they only have a month before their school year is up. "I think I'm going to ask Oliver out." Barry confesses to Cisco during a Warbler movie night in Thad's room.
"What?" Cisco squawks, causing Nick and Thad to look at them, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Shhhhhh!" Barry quickly hushes him, slapping a hand over Cisco's mouth. "Seb thinks it's a good idea. I think he's alright with Oliver now because of how he helped during my kidnapping."
Cisco pushes Barry's hand off and looks intently at him, "Yeah, I guess he's cool."
"Yeah, isn't he though?" Jeff sounds like a preteen girl as he butts into the conversation, causing both boys to flail. "I think you should totes do it."
"Do what?" Nick asks, pausing the movie. All the Warblers turn to face the trio, Barry's face becoming progressively redder.
"Barry is planning on asking Oliver out." Jeff casually says, picking at his nails.
Barry's outraged "Jeff!" gets ignored in the commotion Jeff's announcement causes amongst the Warblers. Chaos reigns for a few minutes as they all yell at each other, trying to be heard. "GUYS!" Barry finally calls them to order, "If I promise to tell you how it goes when I've asked him out will you all shut up and go back to watching Johnny Depp?"
After they have all agreed, the movie has been turned back on, and Sebastian has flashed a smile at his brother, Cisco grins at Barry, "What are you going to do for the date?"
"I was thinking a movie in my dorm. I'm still not too comfortable going out much without you guys."
"Nothing to apologize for, some freaky shit has happened to you." Cisco musses Barry's hair and Barry allows him to snuggle into his side as they too go back to watching Johnny Depp parade around on screen.
"Thanks Cisco."
Cisco grins into Barry's side, "Anytime for my science bro." Barry laughs and the pair fall silent, enraptured by the movie's plot.
"So you ever gonna ask Allen out?" Hunter lazily drawls from his bed.
"Shut up." Oliver snaps, hunched over his homework, frantically scratching away.
"I'm just saying that-"
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Oliver growls, eyes flashing dangerously.
Hunter scoffs and turns to his own work, only too happy to answer the door when someone knocks. "Oh, Baaaaarry! What can I do for you?"
"Um," Barry looks at Hunter nervously, "I was hoping that I could talk to Oliver, if he was here."
Oliver is up in a flash and shoving Hunter away, "Hey."
"Hey." Barry smiles, nerves subsiding some now that he was standing in front of Oliver, "I was wondering if you were free this Saturday?"
"Yeah." Oliver nods, "I am."
"Would you want to watch a movie with me?"
Oliver can hardly contain his excitement. "Like a date?"
Barry blushes, "I was hoping for it to be a date. I'm not comfortable going outside of Dalton for it though, so I was going to kick Sebastian out and I thought we could watch the new Ryan Reynolds movie on my laptop…It sounds lame now that I've said it outloud."
Oliver shakes his head, "I want you to feel comfortable! I'd love to watch a movie with you."
Hunter laughs at the large amount of awkward coming from the pair, "Oh my god."
Oliver turns around long enough to snap out an irritated, "Shut up Hunter!" Hunter mockingly zips his lips as Oliver turns back to Barry, "Tell me the time and I'll be there."
"How about six? Right after dinner?" Barry scratches his neck and shuffles his feet.
Oliver grins, absolutely delighted, "Yes."
Barry grins back, "Awesome! I'll, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Oliver nods and the pair awkwardly part, Oliver back into his room and Barry down the hallway.
"The amount of awkward between the pair of you." Hunter giggles, dropping onto his bed and flailing about.
Oliver throws his pillow at him, earning an indignant cry from his roommate, and returns to his homework. "Asshole." Hunter laughs some more.
"So how did it go?" Sebastian asks as soon as Barry is in the door.
"He said yes!" Barry grins stupidly and collapses down onto his bed, "You have to go do something else after dinner tomorrow."
"Fiiiiiine." Sebastian dramatically wails, "I guess I'll go spend time with Niff."
Barry laughs, "Your sacrifice is much appreciated."
"For twue wuve." Sebastian says, face deadly serious.
"You'd make a horrible priest. Even worse than the guy in The Princess Bride."
"Nuh uh, I'd be the best priest ever." Sebastian smirks and recites, "Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam. And wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevah and evah… So tweasuwe youw wove." By the end of the speech, Barry is rolling on the floor in stitches and Sebastian isn't far behind.
"Oh my god." Barry wheezes out between laughs, "I can't believe you've got that entire thing memorized."
"If you tell that to anyone else I will end." Sebastian warns, a stupid grin on his face, "The Princess Bride is the best."
"Cross my heart!" Barry finally starts to calm down, only to start laughing again as Sebastian starts narrating another scene from the movie. "Your ears you keep and I'll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours…"
