The quiet and calm down here in the abandoned particle accelerator is a welcome change to how crazy the last couple of hours have been after Iris and Joe passed by and Lisa made true on her word to turn their little reunion into a pizza party.
Cisco pulled up some music, and while Caitlin complained that Barry still needed to rest and that there were some tests she had to perform before he could eat anything, she relented in the end when Lisa complained about her always being such a sourpuss.
It was a bit odd to see Lisa, Iris, and Joe interact with the two young scientists in such a familiar way and it quickly became apparent to Barry that these people knew each other quite well.
Well, nine months were a long time for people to get to know each other…
Barry frowns down into the darkness below the small platform he is currently sitting on.
None of the regular lights are on he has seen the last couple of times he has been down here before, just a handful of the emergency ones break the dark every few dozen feet giving the area around him a somewhat eerie glow. He can hardly make out anything outside any of the small beams of light below, but even though this place is cold and dark, he doesn't feel like getting up and leaving.
Here, in this broken dream of a better future, he can hide away and try not to think of what he's learned from Harrison, Cisco, and Caitlin after Lisa, Iris and Joe left shortly before ten tonight. They promised to come by tomorrow again and, if the tests should show no signs that there is something to worry, pick him up and get him home.
… or to Lisa's place as he no longer has an apartment.
He certainly can't hold it against his landlady. It's only natural that she would want to rent the place to someone who is actually able to pay for living there… or someone who actually does live there. Damn, this sucks.
Barry sighs, which sounds unusually loud in the silence around him, and rests his forehead against the railing of the platform. The cold is a nice change considering how unbearably warm he's been feeling since waking up. It's probably just another side-effect of what happened to him and likely is still happening to him, although it still has him worried. With his luck, he would develop a fixation with bright lights very soon…
Lisa would certainly find that hilarious considering how much she loves how unsettled he got after watching that old stupid horror flick…
At least not all is doom and gloom, though.
Joe told him that he still has a job which is incredibly reassuring to know. He wouldn't have expected the CCPD to keep his positon vacant for nearly a year though he is pretty sure that it is likely more due to them considering not to re-fill the post at all due to the numerous financial cuts the department has had to deal with over the last two years.
Having Joe and Iris around was a very nice experience in itself as they made it very clear how worried they were and how glad they are that he has woken up and is doing, at least seemingly, well again.
The silence around him is suddenly broken by the noise of the door behind him being opened. It's not one of the big electrical ones as the main current supply is either damaged or purposefully turned off around here, and while the area directly outside the particle accelerator is hardly lit either, the light coming from the hallway is still bright enough that it blinds him for a second.
"You've found yourself quite a cozy spot here. Very calm." Harrison's voice is low and warm and it eases some of Barry's tension away.
"S-sorry," he apologizes, more out of reflex than him being really worried that the other man could be annoyed about his little trip down here as he doesn't sound angry. Barry shifts his body a bit, so that he leans against one of the steel rods of the railing and is able to take a better look at the other man. "I c-couldn't sleep."
Harrison hums in understanding and walks over to him, letting the door close behind him as he does so. The room is shrouded in darkness once again.
Barry watches him quietly as he takes a seat next to him. He leaves enough space between them to not make him feel uncomfortable before he too lets his legs dangle over the side of the platform like Barry does with his own.
Harrison looks around the surrounding darkness for a long moment, and while Barry can't make his features out in the dim light very well, he doesn't doubt that he would see the same grim worried expression on Harrison's face that the other man has been sporting over the course of this afternoon and evening whenever he thought nobody was watching him.
They are currently the only ones still at S.T.A.R. labs. Caitlin and Cisco left shortly after the others did and the notion that nobody else is currently around is quite a bit odd because Barry has never been in this building with not at least a handful of scientists and security guards muddling around. It causes the place to feel much bigger and much emptier than before and he wonders whether this is the same for Harrison and the others and how daunting this has to be for them.
He can't say for sure, as he hasn't really caught up on much that has happened after that night the particle accelerator exploded, but he's pretty sure that Harrison isn't anybody's favorite person anymore - and probably, by association, neither are Cisco or Caitlin or anybody else that was involved in the particle accelerator. It is a troubling thought and causes a heavy worry to settle over him.
"Are y-you okay?" His voice sounds loud in the silence despite how subdued it really is. It seems to startle Harrison out of his thoughts and the other man turns his head to look at him.
There's a brief pause in which Barry can literally feel his eyes boring into him and it suddenly hits him how physically close they are and that they are the only two people present in at least a mile's radius.
"Yes," Harrison finally answers quietly. "As alright as one can be in this situation."
His words seem to hang in the air for a long moment afterwards, and Barry doesn't miss how weary he sounds.
"How are you?" The man next to him asks in return. "You had a lot to take in in just a couple of hours."
That certainly is an understatement.
Learning that he seems to have been altered on a molecular level due to black matter, electricity, and who knows what else, is pretty daunting thing to swallow, especially because no one can tell him what exactly he can expect from all these physiological changes—
"Your metabolism has sped up impressively, as has the regeneration time of your cells," Caitlin explained to him when he asked her about his missing scars a while after Lisa and the others had left. He didn't miss how pinched her mouth looked or the concerned expression that was in her eyes, and he was glad when she didn't ask about where he got them, even though it had obviously been on her mind. "You're like a real-life version of Wolverine, dude," Cisco piped in and either didn't notice or ignored the annoyed expression of his colleague. "We don't know how fast you can heal or the extent to which your new healing factors work, but it can very well be that you'll just re-grow your limbs in case you lose them."
The notion of losing his limbs certainly was and still is a bit unsettling and he only half-listened when Cisco went on about to talk about how his powers could be also similar to Heroes' Clair Bennet's in case he should lack any heightened senses…
"I'm… fine, I th-think," Barry replies somewhat hesitantly. "Just a bit overw-whelmed."
Harrison chuckles next to him. It's a deep and pleasant sound.
"Considering the circumstances, I would say that that's a perfectly normal reaction," he says with an audible smile in his voice, and Barry can't help but notice how nice it is to have a moment alone with Harrison after how crowded he's been all afternoon and evening.
"I c-could have it w-worse," he remarks with a faint smile. "I could have started to turn into a human-fly hybrid."
"You really don't like that movie, do you?" Harrison inquires, obviously amused by his aversion to that classic horror film.
"It's just g-gross," he points out, making a disgusted face. "Es-specially the sequel."
"Good thing then that no insects were close to you when-"
The other man breaks off abruptly, and before another silence could settle between them, probably a much less pleasant one, Barry interjects.
"It w-was an accident," he reminds him quietly. "You d-didn't mean to hurt anyb-body, Harrison."
"And I still ended up killing dozens of people and putting you in a coma for nearly a year." He sounds wary and guilty and Barry feels so bad for him because none of this was supposed to happen. The particle accelerator was meant to be a good thing, a great thing everybody could benefit from.
"You and the oth-thers w-worked so hard on th-this project f-for years, y-you did everything you c-could to make it s-safe."
"It clearly wasn't enough, though."
Barry isn't sure how to reply to that as he very much gets how Harrison feels. He too would be devastated if their roles were reversed. From what he's learned so far, the explosion of the accelerator was nothing short of a tragic accident and there is probably nothing he can say to make the other man feel any less guilty about it.
"I'm sorry." Harrison breaks the silence that has started to settle between them once more. "I don't mean to be so bitter, I know that it won't change a thing, and I know that I'm actually truly lucky in the end, no matter how undeserving I am of it."
Slowly, as if to give Barry time to pull away, he reaches for him and tentatively cups his neck before continuing in a very low but warm voice, "I could have lost you as well."
Barry blushes, feeling a faint tingling sensation where Harrison is touching him.
"I'm still here," he agrees just as quietly while his heart seems to hammer against his chest because he notices how the other man moves closer and starts to lean towards him. The hand on his neck urges him slightly on to do so as well and Barry realizes that he is going to be kissed –
The strangest sensation overcomes him then, and it feels like his whole body is shivering, like it is trembling really badly. For a split-second he actually thinks that it must be the platform, that it is maybe an earthquake, before he realizes that it is him, and before he can really think about it, he scrambles away from Harrison and onto his feet.
Then, he suddenly collides with the door behind them, hitting his back and his head hard enough on it that he cries out due to both the pain and the surprise.
From the spot he has just been sitting the exit isn't all that far away, but he still couldn't have stumbled back against it this quickly and that revelation freaks him out to no end. He can still remember Caitlin's words from earlier—that they couldn't be sure just now about the entirely of the effects the explosion would have on him and his body.
Harrison is on his side just a second later, but Barry pulls away when he tries to reach for him again.
"D-don't!" He is shaking again, trembling, not like a leaf but more like a whole goddamn tree during a magnitude ten earthquake. It causes his voice to sound alien, distorted, which only scares him even more because what the hell is happening to him?!
"Calm down, Barry," Harrison speaks in a calm voice and makes a shushing noise when Barry seems to grow even more agitated as soon as he realizes that he can't do so. "Just breathe, you're completely fine. Nothing is going to happen to you, you just need to relax."
Barry tries to pull back when Harrison reaches for him again to cup his neck, but the door is to his back, and he can't get any more distance between them.
"Don't!" he repeats, frustrated because he doesn't want to hurt him.
"Everything is alright," Harrison repeats in the same low and comforting voice, moving even closer as he does so, until their noses are nearly touching, until Barry can feel Harrison's breath on his skin. "You won't hurt me or anybody else. You're not a threat, Barry, you're just vibrating, nothing more."
Vibrating?!
What the hell…
Then Harrison leans a bit more in, so that his forehead is resting on Barry's, and he asks him to close his eyes and just to concentrate on breathing. "Listen to my breath, to how I breathe in and out, slow and deep. Can you do that for me?"
Barry makes a small scared noise which initially was supposed to be a protest but relents as there aren't many other options for him at hand. Besides, just having the other man this close makes him feel better already.
He tries to mimic Harrison's breathing which is way harder than it has any right to be, as it feels like something is pressing down on his chest, constricting his ribcage so much that it is hard to take anything but shallow breaths.
Over what feels like a small eternity but probably is nothing more than a few minutes, he starts to feel like there is just the two of them, like there is nothing else but them and the silent darkness around them, which becomes like a cocoon, shielding them from whatever lies outside this small refuge.
"Good." Harrison squeezes his neck slightly, and Barry can feel his warm breath against his lips. "Very good, you're doing great."
He realizes then that he has stopped trembling and that he feels utterly spent.
He also realizes how close he is to Harrison, and he can't help but tense up in response.
Harrison picks up on it of course, because this man is nothing if not observant, and let go of his neck. He steps back, giving him more space, which makes it a bit easier to breathe and causes Barry to feels a familiar sense of guilt nestle in his guts because he doesn't want to make him feel rejected, especially not after how he's just helped him…
"Are you feeling better?"
"Y-yes," Barry answers which isn't exactly the truth as he feels many things right now but better isn't exactly what he would call any of them. He doesn't want to worry Harrison any more than he has already, though. "C-can w-we go ups-stairs? I'm p-pretty exhausted."
"Of course," Harrison agrees readily and adds, because he doesn't seem to miss how heavily Barry is leaning against the door behind him now. "Do you think you can walk on your own or do you want me to help you?"
"I'm fine," Barry assures him with a tired but grateful smile.
The way back to the main lab where his bed is, takes quite a bit longer than it took him to get down here, as they have to use the stairs from the base level where the particle accelerator is to the third level above where the elevators start to work again.
Barry is so exhausted when they are finally in sight of the laboratory entrance that he nearly groans in relief. All his limbs feel like they are actually made of lead and he's hungry – really hungry. Whereas his appetite has been next to non-existent before when Lisa ordered the pizzas, he feels ravished right now and he wonders whether he could ask Harrison to get him something to eat—
His track of thoughts come to a sudden stop when he sees Lisa suddenly exiting the lab about ten feet in front of them. There is a deeply concerned frown on her face that lightens a bit as soon as her gaze falls on him.
"L-Lisa?" He utters in surprise as he hadn't expected to see his friend before tomorrow again. "What are y-you doing here?"
"Yes, Ms. Snart, that's quite a valid question, isn't it?" Harrison sounds slightly annoyed and meets the blond woman's dark look with a grim frown. "I've pointed out to you already a number of times that I don't take too kindly to you breaking into my facility after dark."
"Oh please." Lisa huffs, rolling her eyes. "Because you really believed that I would leave Barry alone in this creepy place all by himself after he's just woken up?"
"It's not creepy," Barry points out, but before he can say anything else two more people enter the hallway from the laboratory Lisa has just exited, and his worry about any possibly bad blood between his friend and Harrison is gone as soon as his gaze falls upon them.
"Len? M-Mick?" he asks and both surprise and joy flood him over seeing his friends - at least, until it hits him that they, two rather notorious criminals, have broken into Harrison's facility…
… now he feels like he's about to be sick.
"Wh-what are you d-doing here?" He hisses before he throws Harrison a worried glance.
"Nice to see you too, brat." Len gives him an amused smile before he struts over to them as if he hasn't gotten himself into a situation that could have really dire consequences for him and Mick.
"Y-you're n-not sup-posed to be here," Barry reminds him in exasperation, and he can't help but feel a familiar frustration overcome him due to how damn careless the other man can be at times.
"Don't worry." Len turns to face Harrison then and while the smile stays on this lips, the expression loses all of its warmth. It is replaced by something cold and hard as he goes on. "We've something of an understanding with Wells here."
"Not if you continue to break into S.T.A.R. laboratories like this," Harrison replies firmly. There is a note of anger to his words that is unusual for the otherwise mostly calm and collected man. "I told you that you've to stick to the rules for this little arrangement to work, Mr. Snart."
Len chuckles and aches an eyebrow. "You're in way less of a good mood than I would've expected, considering that Barry has finally woken up after being a coma for nearly a year. Which, as we both know, has been utterly due to your and your people's incompetence."
"Len!" Barry gives the other man a waring glare before he turns to Harrison who has visibly tensed up due to Len's words. His lips are pursed in obvious anger, and he looks ready to either kick the others out, call the cops on them, or maybe both. "P-please, th-they'll leave-"
"Like hell we will," Lisa interrupts him firmly, crossing her arms in front of her chest in a very familiar defiant manner. "He has no fucking right to kick us out."
"It's h-his p-property," Barry points out with growing exasperation because his friends are clearly taking this situation nor serious enough.
"It's public property," Len disagrees with a shrug and Barry decides then and there that he is going to start hitting his head against the wall any moment now if they insist on being so damn difficult on purpose.
Why can't they see what kind of trouble they are getting themselves into?!
"It's alright, Barry." Harrison's voice causes him to look back to the other man who still looks grim but no longer angry. "I suppose your friends do have a point." He turns to face Barry and gives him a faint smile. "And I'm quite certain that you would enjoy having them around for a bit as well."
Some of Barry's worry is replaced by surprise as he hasn't expected Harrison to react like this to having criminals breaking into his facility.
Then, Lisa's and Len's words from before come back to him and he can't believe that he hasn't picked up on this sooner. He frowns and looks between his friends and Harrison with a confused expression. "W-wait, you kn-know each other?"
When did that happen?
… ah, right, probably sometime during the last nine months during which he's been unconscious.
"Of course, our devotion to you has brought us together," Lisa tells him with an amused wink, before she steps closer to him and pulls him into another hug. "God, you've no idea how good it is to see you on your own two legs again, Bear."
After a moment, as the sudden contact has taken him by surprise, Barry returns the hug, glad to have his friend here as well.
It hits him how lucky he is to have them in his life, then. If he and Lisa hadn't met that night in the old trailer park, it's more than unlikely that they would never have ended up being friends, and he would never have met Len or Mick.
It's so odd how life works out sometimes…
"Wh-why is M-Mick here, then?" Barry quips up and glances over at the tall man, who has kept some distance between them.
"Asking myself the same question, bean-pole." Mick grunts, arms crossed in front of his broad chest and looking about uninviting to the world around him as ever, at least, until he cracks a smirk. "Good to know you didn't really turn into a vegetable, though."
Barry grins and turns to Lisa before he mock-whispers to her. "He really loves me."
"He adores you," the blond woman agrees readily, which causes him to chuckle.
It's so damn nice having them here. He's been so worried about them after he woke up due to learning what's happened to the Twins after the accelerator explosion and even with Lisa assuring him that everybody is doing well, he still had doubts about her just trying to not bother him with any more things to take in and worry about.
And seeing the relief in his friends' eyes, he doesn't need it spelled out to him to know that he is just as much of family to them as they are to him.
"Who wouldn't," Lisa goes on. "You're just adorable."
Barry protests when she actually pinches his cheek and pushes her hand away laughing. "D-don't, you're like those horrible old ladies all ch-children fear."
"You mean a witch?" Mick asks, looking quite pleased with himself when Lisa flips him off.
"Hardy-har, Mr. Ugly. At least nobody confuses me as an ogre." She glares at the tall man before she turns her attention back to Barry, frowning slightly. "You don't look so hot, though, Bear. Are you feeling alright?"
Her words give Barry pause as he realizes that meeting his friends has actually let him forget for a moment how weary he really feels.
"He just needs something to eat," Harrison informs her calmly before he meets Barry's slightly worried gaze with a tight but not unkind smile that alludes to the fact that he's probably still not all that happy about having Barry's friends here this late at night.
"You've eaten next to nothing before," Lisa chides. "Your blood sugar is probably down."
"Sorry," he murmurs and realizes that he really doesn't want to stand here in the hallway anymore as his legs start to feel like they won't bear his weight for much longer.
"Come." Harrison steps closer to him and takes one of his arms in a very tentative grip. "Let's get you to bed and worry about feeding you afterwards, alright?"
The touch is warm and surprisingly comforting, and Barry agrees with a nod, glad to have the other man at his side to help him.
The others follow as well, and it is an immense relief when Barry is able to get off his feet again just a few moments later. His head starts to spin as soon as it touches the pillow, though, and he has to close his eyes which only makes the sensation even worse.
"He doesn't look so good," Lisa remarks next to him with audible worry in her voice. He turns his face into the gentle touch when she cups his cheek. "Why the heck did you let him get up when he should clearly be resting?"
The sharp words are undoubtedly directed towards Harrison, and Barry wants to protest and explain that this was all his doing, but when he tries to say so only a soft groan escapes him.
He starts to feel sick, really sick…
Someone else touches his wrist, but as he tenses up in response, Len makes a low calming noise and asks him to stay relaxed.
"His blood pressure is low," the other man remarks after another moment.
Great…
Barry huffs in frustration, eyes still closed, and frowns when Lisa chuckles in return with her hand still on his cheek. "Poor baby, you're really never getting a break, do you?"
"'s not f-funny," he grumbles, making a small protesting noise when Len suddenly let go of his wrist. He immediately feels stupid for it, but he can't help but miss the comforting contact.
"It's alright, Barry." Harrison has taken up the spot next to him where Len had just been a minute ago and gives his arm a reassuring squeeze, before he takes hold of Barry's hand. "I'll give you an IV, you'll start to feel better very soon."
Barry shudders when something cool and wet touches the back of his hand. A second later the familiar stinging smell of sanitizer hits his nose.
He scrunches up his face, feeling incredibly sick all of a sudden and turns away to face Lisa who is still standing beside him.
"Shhh, you're not scared of needles all of a sudden, are you?" she jests. He says nothing, choosing instead to press his cheek more firmly against her warm soft palm.
He squeezes his eyes shut as the world spins around him, and if this wasn't going to stop soon, he would throw up for sure…
Then suddenly, there is the brief sharp stinging sensation when the needle of the IV pierces his skin which causes him to hiss in discomfort. Harrison makes a small soothing noise.
"All done," he tells Barry as he fixes the IV onto the back of his hand with some medical tape. "You'll feel much better in just a moment."
A familiar burning sensation spreads out from where the IV is fixed to his hand as the drip starts to work. He lets out a small groan, not so much due to the slight discomfort but due to relief as the spinning sensation has already started abates.
"You're as white as a sheet," Lisa says quietly a moment later and brushes her fingers through his hair. "You always have to be the center of attention, don't you?"
Barry chuckles, opening one eye slightly to peek up at her. It's good that he can actually focus on her without much trouble.
"He's always been a little drama queen," Mick remarks from somewhere above his head, and Barry cranes his neck to glance over to him. His friend gives him an amused smirk as he goes on. "You've really expected that would have changed all of a sudden?"
"Don't be an ass." Lisa gives her friend an annoyed frown before she looks back down to Barry and smiles. "You can be as much of a little drama queen as you want, Bear, you definitely have the right to whine after what happened to you."
"Don't encourage him." Len snorts, grinning when Barry shoots him a glare in reply.
"Stop being mean to him, both of you," Lisa orders sternly before she cracks a smile and winks down at him. "You know those two meatheads, just ignore them, that's what I usually do."
"You've really so little love left for your big brother, sis?" Len asks with a chuckle which gets him a clearly unimpressed look from Lisa.
"Maybe you'd get some more if you'd stop being such an annoying twerp all the time, Lenny," she replies, and Barry smiles as he listens to them start a very familiar banter. He moves his eyes from Len to Harrison who is standing next to them and watching the unexpected visitors with an expression Barry can't quite interpret.
A slight uneasiness overcomes him when he realizes that it is very possible and very likely that the other man still isn't exactly happy about this late night disturbance.
As if he'd felt his gaze, Harrison turns to him and meets his gaze. Just as suddenly, the somber and thoughtful expression is replaced by a warmer one.
"You want me to get you some of the left-overs from before?" he asks Barry with a kind smile. "I will order some more afterwards. Would you like to get something from Shalimar? You seemed fond of their Bhelpuri the last time we went there."
It takes Barry a moment to remember the Indian restaurant they've visited a couple of times so far. The last time was just a few days before the particle accelerator was supposed to be started…
"What's Bhelpuri?" Mick makes it sound like the name of the dish alone is gross which causes both Lisa and Barry to shoot the man an annoyed look.
"An Ind-dian restaurant we've been to b-before," Barry explains before returning his gaze to Harrison. "It's r-really good and I w-would l-love some B-Bhelpuri."
Some of the tension seems to leave the doctor at that, and Barry can't help but be pleased when Harrison reaches for his wrist to give it a gentle squeeze. "Good, I'll make sure to order enough that you'll get full."
It's a bit of a funny thing to say and it has Barry wondering how ravenous he must appear to the other man to make Harrison think he would need to order extra for him. Although, if he was completely honest, he genuinely feels as though he could eat at least two portions for sure. Just thinking of food makes his mouth water…
"C-could you maybe order a p-portion of V-Vada as w-well? And a K-Kulfi?" he adds just as the other man is about to turn away and leave the lab. Harrison seems amused by his request but not at all surprised.
"Of course," he assures him. "Just rest."
With that, Harrison leaves, and Barry doesn't miss the brief look he exchanges with Len before he disappears. It is tense, nearly hostile, and he suddenly worries all over again about his friends having turned up here unexpectedly in the middle of the night.
"Stop worrying your head off." Len's voice causes him to look back to his friend who retakes the spot to his right. "Wells won't sic the cops on us. He's had more than enough opportunities to do so far and he never has."
The brief exchange between Harrison and Len from before comes to his mind then and causes Barry to frown in confusion.
"Y-you've r-really been here before?" he asks quietly.
"Of course." Len chuckles and seems honestly bemused by his question. "You think we'd leave you in the hands of some crazy scientist who blew up nearly half of Central City without knowing what he's up to?" His friend meets his surprised expression with a smirk and aches an eyebrow. "You should know better by now, kid."
Barry smiles faintly and closes his eyes, knowing Len is right, he should have known better by now. Even with no blood relations between them, he is just as much family to them as they are to him and he wouldn't have been able to stay away from them either had their roles been reversed.
"You're so s-stupid," he mutters. "Do y-you even r-realize in what k-kind of trouble you c-could have gotten yourself int-to?"
A hand touches his wrist, just a bit above where the butterfly needle is connected to him, and he opens his eyes a crack to see Len who stands closer now with a relaxed and warm expression on his face he usually never displays with anybody other than Barry, Lisa, and Mick.
"You're one to talk, brat," his friend points out. "There's probably nothing more stupid than getting yourself struck by a bolt of lightning while at work."
"B-because th-that w-was my fault." Barry rolls his eyes but grins faintly, glad to have the other man at his side. "A-nd d-do I have t-to remind you that y-you g-get yourself k-killed nearly every t-time you p-pull one of your d-dumb jobs?"
"Comes with the business." Len shrugs, giving Barry's wrist a slight squeeze. "Not to mention, I'm probably the best in this field of work."
"My, how modest you are." Lisa snorts, shoots her brother an amused look.
"W-well, he d-does have M-Mick with him as w-well," Barry remarks and grins when Len frowns at him with a fake annoyed expression. "H-he's l-looking out for you, s-so d-don't be mean."
"You hear that, Snart? The kid got it right," Mick agrees readily with an amused smirk from where he is currently leaning against one of the consoles nearby.
"If by 'looking out for me' you really mean forcing me to keep an eye on this idiot to prevent him from burning down every building we enter, then sure, he's my damn guardian angel," Len replies drily, which causes Mick to bark a laugh and point out. "Your life would be so fuckin' boring without me, jackass, so keep your mouth shut."
"Let's just agree on the fact that you're both unreliable and reckless idiots, okay?" Lisa interrupts before her brother can make his retort. She turns to Barry and gives him a fond smile while brushing the hair from his forehead. "You're feeling better already, Bear?"
"Much," Barry agrees but doesn't point out that it is only partly due to the drip and mostly due to having them around. He knows how well saying something like that would go over with Len and Mick being there to hear it.
It is still true, though, and while he enjoyed having both Iris and Joe visit him earlier as well, there is a closeness and trust to the relationship he shares with these three that he's never been able to reach with anybody else.
"Your boyfriend is playing nice, it seems," Lisa remarks suddenly, and Barry isn't sure what to make of it. She notices his expression and studies him as she continues. "You do know that our dear Dr. Wells could have returned within a minute or so already, don't you?"
He frowns.
It takes him a moment to realize what she's getting at.
"Y-you kn-know about his… p-powers?" he asks hesitantly and can't help but grimace at wording it like that because while Cisco may have a point comparing Harrison's new abilities to those of people in comic books, it still seems odd to him to call them that.
"You mean his super speed?" Len looks down at him with a smile that seems more grim than amused.
"It's hard to miss something like that if you're here nearly every day," Lisa adds, her expression turns slightly amused. "And Cisco definitely talks a lot when he's nervous."
Barry isn't sure what she means, which causes Lisa to chuckle and throw a long lock of hair back over her shoulder before giving him a clearly exaggerated seductive look. Her voice is deep and sultry as she goes on. "Our dear little Cisco seems to have a fancy for older and gorgeous blond women, it seems."
"I can see old and blond," Mick remarks as he eyes Lisa, "but I've no idea what you mean by gor-"
"Shut your ugly trap!" Lisa glares at the other man. "You wouldn't know gorgeous if it would bite you in the ass!"
Mick chuckles, clearly not in the least bit insulted, while Lisa turns back to Barry, now with a slightly pinched expression on her face.
"Cisco finds me irresistible," she tells him firmly, crossing her arms. "Any men with taste does."
"Lisa," Barry nearly whines, because now he can imagine just too well what must have happened to get the young scientist to let this information slip. "Y-you can't d-do that. C-Cisco is a nice g-guy and my f-friend-"
"He's better kept it at ogling you," Len interrupts, glaring warningly at his sister. It appears that at least part of this information is new to the other man as well. It causes Lisa to roll her eyes and gives him a rather disbelieving look.
"What the heck do you think of me? Of course nothing happened! I'm happy with Roscoe, thank you very much!"
Barry knows that this is hardly the lesser of two evils for Len, and he isn't surprised when his friend makes a face as if he had just bitten into a rotten apple.
It's his own fault, though, he should have seen it coming, and Barry seriously can't understand how Len is still not able to make his peace with his sister's choice of a partner after all these years. Not that he doesn't understand Len's dislike for the other man.
"Oh, by the way." Lisa looks back down to him. "Roscoe sends his greetings as well and hopes that you'll get well soon."
Somehow, Barry very much doubts that seeing as Dillon has started to project his dislike for Len onto him as well over the last couple of years. He doesn't have the heart to point this out to Lisa and instead gives her a faint smile. "Th-thanks."
Len snorts, making it clear that he shares his opinion on that matter, but before Lisa has the opportunity to defend her boyfriend, they are re-joined by Harrison, holding a plate with four microwaved slices of pizza. The smell of it causes Barry's stomach to rumble embarrassingly loud.
His cheeks turn warm when Lisa chuckles and ruffles his hairs in a fond gesture.
"Aw, someone is really hungry," she coos, chuckling when Barry swaps her hand away. "See, I told you to eat more than the couple of bites you did before. If you had you listened to me, you wouldn't nearly have fainted."
"I d-didn't faint." Barry gives her a dark glare.
"But you nearly did," Lisa argues, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to him. "Does my delicate little flower need me to feed them or do you think you can hold the slices all on your own?"
Barry groans, growing even more mortified when he notices that Harrison actually seems amused by this.
"N-no, y-you can't f-find this funny, y-you're s-supposed to be on my t-team." He huffs in frustration.
"I didn't know that there are any teams," Harrison points out as he comes up to his side. The other man meets his gaze with a fond smile. "And don't ever worry about me not knowing how tough you really are."
These words cause a pleasant warmth to settle over Barry because he knows that Harrison really means it and he can't help but smile in response.
"God, you're so sappy." Lisa chuckles and smirks when Barry shoots her another glare. "I'm not saying he's wrong, though, am I?"
"You called me d-delicate," he points out still a bit miffed.
"Because you're my little brother, Bear," she explains with a roll of her eyes and an exasperated sigh. "You'll always be small and helpless to me, no matter what."
This causes him to pause and look at her in surprise.
Lisa hasn't called him her brother before, never directly at least, and while Barry knows how close they are, it's still odd how very much this touches something inside him, even though she probably is just trying to be funny now.
Family…
He swallows around the lump in his throat and watches how Lisa's amused expression changes when she picks up on how her choice of words have affected him. Her expression softens and for a moment she seems at a loss of what to say before she cups his left shoulder and laughs. "You're such a nitwit, Bear."
He chuckles as well and tries not to look at Len or anybody else as he averts his eyes, embarrassed but also happy.
This is nice, being surrounded by the people he loves, people he considers as his family and who actually return this sentiment.
Despite how unsettling and intimidating everything else in his life seems to be right now, he realizes that he still has this. Deep down he knows that things would turn out alright as long as he has them with him.
No matter what the future may hold for them, right now in this moment, Barry knows that together they are safe.