He should have expected it, and in a way he had, but not while enjoying some delicious fries smothered in bacon and cheese.

"Detective," he drawled as the man sat down on the opposite bench of the booth, scowl firmly in place. The dark eyes were hard and cold. "Here to enjoy an early dinner?"

West waved off the waitress, eyes never leaving him.

"Or is this the shovel talk?"

"You wish."

Len smirked at him.

"What the hell are you, Snart?" he demanded.

He shrugged lazily. "According to whom or what? Weren't you the one to put me in the meta wing of Iron Heights? I'm not a meta, Detective West," he pointed out.

"You claim you're a Guide?"

"I never did."

The detective leaned forward, voice as hard as his expression. "What do you have on Barry?" he hissed.

"Nothing, actually. It's more what his little meta Sentinel side has on me. Looks like we share something," he taunted. "His meta Sentinel likes me. A lot."

The older man froze. "You're not his Guide!" he growled, catching himself.

"No, I'm not. The Speed Force simply adores me."

"Cut the crap, Snart."

Len leaned back, letting the sarcastic mask slide off, studying the other man. This was Barry's foster father, the man who had taken him in and raised him. The man responsible for how Scarlet had turned out. Honorable, too good for this world, upstanding and so very much… Barry. Now his speedster. He had been his speedster ever since their first meeting, the moment he had that fascination rise.

"No, I'm not his Guide, Detective West," he said, voice serious. "He's in no need of one, self-contained as he is. What he needs is an anchor for the other crap that happened to him. Wells calls it a conduit. Ask him what it means."

"The shield. That's what he calls you. His protection. And that's you?" There was more than a little disbelief.

Len grinned. "Apparently. We've been testing the waters for a while now. Years, actually."

West's lips turned into thin lines. He was clearly turning the information over in his head, working through it, probably running it through his memories of their encounters.

"What's in it for you?" he demanded.

He smiled easily, but it still looked predatory. "Nothing."

"Like I would believe that."

"Then don't."

"You're a criminal and a liar and you hurt people, Snart. You hurt Barry plenty of times before. Plenty! You always have an angle, an agenda."

"There is none now."

"Hard to belief."

"I've been a good boy lately, Detective. Several timelines over. I played my part in saving the world, the universe, the whole concept of Time." He leaned forward, an edge creeping into his voice, each word hard and measured. "I am all that. The criminal. The liar. The bad element. But there is nothing in this for me but Barry. He is not my mark, Detective West. I won't hurt him. I have his trust, had it for a while now. Quite a while. It's something I value and protect. I keep his secrets and I keep him safe. I happen to like him. It's been a while since I could say that and it only took me dying and getting pieced back together again to find that purpose in my life." The last was said quite harshly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" West asked roughly, eyes wide at the open words.

"I'm not sure I can explain the whole concept of Time Masters and time travel to you before my fries are getting cold, but if you want, I'll give it a try," he drawled with a sharp smile.

"Time travel." West leaned back, expelling a breath. "I hate that crap."

"I lived that crap, Detective. Got me almost killed and spat out of the Time Stream in Central City. So here I am and I'm staying."

Len was surprised by his own words, by how much he meant them. He would stay. Nothing would or could get him to leave. West was still looking at him like he was a particularly interesting bug under a microscope.

"Barry likes you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Here comes the 'Don't hurt him or else' threat."

"Normally, yes. Barry is like a son to me. I raised that kid and I saw all his ups and downs. Getting hit by lightning wasn't the end of all the bad stuff that happened to him. You are part of that bad stuff, Snart. You tried to kill him."

"Tried being the key word. I never finished the job."

"Not for the lack of repetition."

He leaned forward, all bared teeth. "If I had wanted to kill The Flash, he would be dead. If he had wanted to take me down, he would have. I didn't; he didn't. That's our game. It's our deal."

"And what's your game now?"

"I'm done playing. It's not a game anymore. It's Barry. If you want me to call him my Sentinel, you'll wait until you're old and gray. I would do it if it would get the CCPD off his back, but it also would reveal him to your friends and colleagues as a Sentinel. I won't have that," he hissed, the protectiveness flaring with a vengeance. "We both know what happens when someone of the likes of Eilings gets wind of him. And he would. He will not be taken to become a killer!"

The detective stared at him, eyes wide, shock and surprise written on his features.

"I didn't think Wells was right about you," he finally said slowly. "Looks like he is. You really are protective."

Len fought to get his emotions under control again, staring defiantly at the older man. He checked his now cold fries. They looked disgusting and probably tasted just as badly. He pushed them away.

"You owe me dinner," he snarled, the roller-coaster of emotions still going strong.

"Suck it up."

"No invitation for a welcome to the family dinner?" he asked sardonically. "I'm disappointed." Because sarcasm helped deal with the roaring need to check if Barry was alright.

"If I see you in my home, I'll shoot you myself."

He chuckled. "Challenge accepted."

West sighed explosively. "You're not his Guide," he came back to the initial topic.

Snart leaned back, the smile cold and humorless. "No."

"You are his anchor, shield and conduit."

"You are very good at the whole summary thing, Detective."

Silence. West wasn't baited. He just looked at Len, long and hard, as if he was trying to get past his masks and defenses.

"He trusts you," West said slowly after a while as the cheese congealed even more on the stone-cold fries. "With more than I can understand, almost like you are his Guide, almost as if you are bonded."

"You make it sound so romantic."

The cop snorted. "Not something I want to think about happening between the two of you, but I'm quite aware of it. Barry invests everything into family and friends, into those he trusts. You are part of that investment now, Snart. Whatever that is, whatever the connection means, it's everything to him. Don't abuse it."

"Knew you had to put a warning in there somehow, Detective West. Don't worry. While his virtue isn't safe with me, his life is."

"Then let me put another warning out there, Snart: if you ever hurt or betray my son I will find you and I will end you."

Len met the cold, hard gaze of the other man, saw the truth in there.

"Detective," he said slowly, dropping all pretense and mockery, "should I ever hurt or betray Barry, you are very welcome to try. I'll promise you this, I will end it myself if that happens."

Joe blinked, looking a little stunned. There was no mistaking what Len had meant with his words. No mistake at all.

West caught himself and the scowl was back. "I'll be watching."

And with that he rose, digging ten dollars out of his pockets and dropping them onto the table, next to the inedible mess that had been such a delight twenty-four minutes and ten seconds ago.

Len snorted a little laugh as he watched him leave, then pocketed the bill.

He sought out Barry this time, driven to check on his speedster. While he had mostly been his cool, guarded and distanced self throughout the conversation-confrontation, now there was a churning, acidic burn deep inside. Len had given in to the protectiveness that had been rushing through him, snapping at West, reminding him that Barry's status as a meta Sentinel made him special and very interesting for the military. Especially the very black ops undercover military and various other organization.

His own words had started an emotional surge inside Snart and the need to know his speedster was safe was almost overpowering. He had never experienced anything like that before.

"Uh, hey, Len…? What…?"

Len didn't give him a chance. He pushed him hard against the wall and clashed their lips together in what could almost be called a desperate kiss. Barry didn't hesitate, fingers curling into his shirt and pulling him close, answering the kiss.

The Speed Force rose, dancing around them and suddenly they were in that place between dimensions, energy everywhere, lightning twisting in beautiful arcs. Len exhaled sharply, tension draining from his body. Somehow, this place had him more at ease than any of his many safehouses. He was in the middle of an endless, eternal and vast energy field and it felt… safe. Familiar.

"Len?"

He rested his head against Barry's, feeling undone and yet still so very much in control. Barry's fingers dragged through his short hair, the blunt pressure calming and reassuring. The Speed Force hummed around them and he felt its pull, but Len's whole body reacted accordingly and let it wash harmlessly everywhere. He had never lost control, never in his whole life, and Joe West's little talk wouldn't accomplish what even his father hadn't been able to do.

He caught Barry's lips again, softer this time, holding him close and reveling in the solid warmth of his speedster. It was a slow, gentle, loving kiss. Reassuring and filled with sensual warmth.

Barry was okay. Nothing had happened. He would make sure of that. No one of the likes of Eiling would get their claws in him.

"Not that I mind what just happened, but what happened?" Barry wanted to know, mumbling against his lips.

"Your father."

The younger man drew back sharply. "What?!"

"Foster father. He gave me the shovel talk. He hit a sore spot. Didn't know I had them anymore." He gave a derisive laugh. "Looks like I acquired a new one. You."

"Len, what happened?" Barry repeated sharply.

It was a little jarring as the speedster released his hold on time and speed, the world resuming its normal pace.

"Detective West decided to interrupt my lunch and interrogate me on the matter of, well, you, me and us."

The younger man's frown was almost adorable.

"It got intense. I might have been a bit… protective." Snart shrugged.

"You… what?"

"He questioned my intentions, I made my intentions very clear, and one thing led to another." Len smirked.

"Joe managed to rile you up? You?!" Barry laughed a little. "Wow… I mean, you were in his interrogation room more than once. You sat through I don't know how many of those interrogations and trials. And he got to you… because of… what?"

He snorted, almost angry at his loss of control. "Detective West knows you are special when it comes to your status as a Sentinel. He distrusts me, of course. I wouldn't have expected anything but that of him. Well, we got to the finer points of my not-bond with your meta Sentinel side."

"I know you're trying to make sense, but right now, you aren't. Joe knows I can't bond, sure. I also told him we're not magically bonded as Sentinel and Guide anyway. I know he went all protective father, with a healthy dose of angry cop. Something else happened."

Len met the green eyes and pulled Barry closer again, nipping at his lips. The affection he felt was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Being with Barry, just having him so close, so intimately close, did something to him that Leonard Snart couldn't put into words.

"The detective has some trouble processing my connection to you, as well as my loyalty due to this not-bond. I told him that I would openly and officially register as your Guide if I had to, but if I did, it would reveal your Sentinel status. People would ask when you came on-line. While there are a remote few cases of a Sentinel presenting in his mid-twenties, it's really rare. That would open up a whole new can of worms, and probably out your self-contained senses for all the world to know about eventually," Len's voice was almost monotone. His eyes were dark and filled with the anger that churned through him. "I might have mentioned who would have an interest in you then," he added, voice harsh, reflecting all that anger. "I gave him an idea where you might end up and who would try to control you."

Barry stared at him, mouth opening and closing, then he finally blurted, "You'd register…? But you're not… my, uhm, Guide. You'd fail every empathy test!"

Len stared at him. The man he admittedly felt more than mere affection for. The man who was such a contradiction, who was still so important to him.

"Are you even listening to the important stuff, Scarlet?" he asked with a long-suffering sigh.

Barry blinked. "Yeah, but…"

"While I'd like to keep our involvement as much under wraps as possible, Detective West needed to understand how far I will go to keep you safe, Barry Allen. He is your father. I am your shield and your conduit. Would I step out in the open, paint a target on my back by declaring myself a Guide to you, if that's what it takes to have Detective West understand how serious I am about you? Yes, Scarlet. I would. But I would very likely, well, definitely have to break my promise to you not to kill. Because people would be after you, Sentinel. The Flash. The meta. And I would take out every single one of them without a shred of regret." The words were icy cold, matter-of-fact, and without mercy.

Barry was clearly processing the words, understanding dawning on him. His eyes widened and he was suddenly a little paler. "The Troubleshooter stuff…"

Len grimaced. "Yes, the stuff." His eyes were just as cold now. "The stuff that would bring out the Eilings of this world. The stuff that would destroy you, Barry. It would break you." He felt his jaw clench hard enough to maybe break a molar.

"And he knows I'm The Flash," Barry said quietly. "He'd have a field day…"

"He knows?!"

"Uhm, yeah, Apparently he did some digging and found enough evidence… I'm useful to him, doing Flash stuff."

Len's fingers dug into his sides and his expression was murderous. "He won't have you."

"You freaked out," he murmured.

"I do not freak out."

Barry ran a hand over his back, lightning crackling around them for a brief second. "But you did."

Len's expression was schooled into cool, aloof distance. "That's your version of events that you weren't a part of." His lips twisted into the familiar mocking smile. "Oh, and I'm eternally uninvited from the West family home. Sounds like a challenge."

Barry smiled a little, then wrapped his arms around him and just held on.

"I'm one lucky meta Sentinel to have you as my not-Guide."

"Hm, and don't you ever forget about it, Scarlet," he murmured as he buried his face against the pale neck.

He wouldn't lose this. He couldn't. Not anymore. He had never asked for it, but now that he had his speedster, had Barry Allen, Leonard Snart wouldn't give him up.