Barry healed as quickly as usual with no scar or other kind of marks on his body. His suit was a total loss, which Cisco bemoaned loudly. The speedster had insisted to go home, not spend the rest of the recovery time as the last bruises healed at S.T.A.R. Labs. Len had watched the usual spiel of Caitlin insisting he stay and Barry arguing he was fine, leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, enjoying the show.

It ended with Barry leaving and Snart following him with a lazy salute directed at Caitlin.

"Just… keep an eye on him!" she called.

"You know I will."

"I am right here and an adult!" Barry shot back at both of them.

"Yes, dear," Len deadpanned in his best sarcastic manner.

If Caitlin nearly cracked a laugh at that, it would forever remain her secret.

While Len would have preferred one of his safehouses, the loft was okay, too.

"I'm perfectly fine," Barry murmured as they lay together, the TV running some game show neither man paid attention to. "I don't need a baby-sitter."

"Hm, I've been called worse," Len drawled.

It got him a glare.

"And while I know you heal perfectly well on your own, I like having you here," Snart added with a smirk.

"Uh-huh."

He carded his fingers through the head resting against his chest. Barry closed his eyes with a soft hum.

"This was bad," Len said after a while. "Very bad."

"I know," Barry murmured.

"Someone's hunting you, Scarlet."

Barry sat up, dislodging the hand. He met Len's. "I know," he repeated.

"If Mick hadn't been there, you might not be here," Len said, voice rougher now.

The younger man was silent for a moment. "Maybe," he finally said. "We don't know anything about the person behind the attacks. Maybe he has a failsafe to stop the person he sends after me from finishing me off."

"Not going to test that," Snart said coldly.

Barry breathed a little laugh. "No. No, not testing that. We also don't know if Wells' theory is correct that someone's trying to get me stronger."

"A lot it pointing toward it."

He let himself lean against his shield again. "Well, now I have a pyrokinetic bodyguard," he said with a smile. "Not something I would have ever thought I'd say. Mick Rory is my bodyguard."

"Sentinel instinct," Len replied softly, fingers running through Barry's already very tousled hair again. "His Sentinel side has gotten stronger. I think we have to blame Raymond for that."

Barry chuckled. "I don't blame him for anything."

Len felt the thrum of energy all around them, the Speed Force as always very present. It curled around him, dozens of tendrils snaking over his arms, around his torso, and then toward Barry. Barry raised his head, catching the lips and kissing him. It was quite explorative, almost getting really dirty, and Len heard himself groan softly, which resulted in his speedster laughing as they parted.

Barry's eyes were alight with humor and those deep, private emotions that had Snart want to be able to really bond, to be a Guide, to feel this.

"I know this is bad, Len," he said. "I know I'm a target, but I've been a target since the day I became The Flash. I was your target for a while."

"I never hunted you, Scarlet. I never tried to kill you."

"I know. I know it all and I accepted the dangers of this life when I donned the suit. We can get through this, too. I have an advantage now. The last time I didn't know I was being manipulated until it was almost too late. The last time it was a person I trusted who turned out to be a killer. The last time I was alone, with just Cisco and Caitlin to help me. And for the final confrontation I really was alone."

"Not this time," Len stated, voice icy and final.

"Not this time," he echoed.

Len kissed him hard, searching, needing to relay what he felt, what he could promise, what he would always be and do for Barry. The depth of his own emotions was almost taking his breath away.

"I'm your shield," he promised. "I will always be your shield and more." "I love you," he whispered, voice rough and slightly catching.

Mine. Won't let you go, won't let anyone take you.

Barry's fingers wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a soft kiss that was the complete opposite of before and still so much more meaningful.

"I love you," he replied. "Very, very much."

They did end up in bed after a while.

Still kissing but not frantically tearing off each other's clothes. Actually, there was no frenzy, just… a sudden peaceful calm, filled with even gentler explorations.

Life took over after the next morning. Barry insisted to go to work and not be late. He was okay, he could walk a straight line, he could do basic math, physics and chem stuff. He would even not speed all the way to the CCPD, which was always an empty promise, if Len insisted.

He had a day job to attend to. There was work piling on his desk and he crime didn't just take a hold because one Barry Allen couldn't come in because of some bruise or other.

"This wasn't a bruise," Len told him, voice flat.

"I know. And you know it's healed. Just like you know that I had worse and went to work the next day," Barry stated with a finality that just dared his partner and shield to continue arguing.

Snart wisely didn't, though his expression spoke lengths.

Barry was truly on time this morning, surprising not just his Captain but also everyone else, it seemed. He set to work and managed to put a decent dent into reports and particle analyses, until more evidence came in, nixing his plan to clear his work space till the evening.

The machines were still running all kinds of tests and he typed up his reports at Flash speed. At least his files were up to date when he left work an hour later than the end of his shift, and he felt extremely satisfied.

He found Len at one of the safehouses, following that instinct that had been there for so long, he didn't even give it a thought any longer. He simply knew where his shield was and Barry migrated there. He swung by a Mexican place and placed the tacos, burritos and nacho chips on the empty work bench next to where Len was tinkering with an electronic device. His laptop was open, showing video surveillance feeds from all over the city.

"You hacked the traffic control system?"

Len shot him a bland look. Barry grinned.

"Good show?" he teased.

"Riveting."

He lifted himself up to sit on the work bench, munching on food, watching Len work. Snart snacked on some chips and salsa and managed to rescue one burrito for himself, though Barry had packed a smaller bag for him just in case.

"Cisco's planning to sweep the city one grid square at a time," the speedster said after a while.

"He might have mentioned something."

"Which is why you're watching traffic cameras and working on some kind of locator," Barry stated with a fine smile.

"Keeps the boredom at bay."

"You could go on a job."

"Are you, Barry Allen, The Flash, suggesting I do criminally illegal things?" Len teased.

"You do them with or without that suggestion."

"True. But I am still amazed."

He leaned over and kissed him. "Glad I can still amaze you."

"You always do, Scarlet," he purred.

"Sweet talker."

Len nabbed a taco from Barry's plate and went back to work, the smile residing on his lips tell-tale.

Barry did some patrols a little later, following Cisco's grid plan, but there were no new breaches and everything was almost too quiet.

"Central City isn't known for a crime every night, Scarlet," Len told him with a verbal eyeroll. "Even us criminals need some rest. You also have your faithful police force who can earn their living once in a while."

Barry did roll his eyes as he headed back from the last grid. It was just past midnight and while it would be nice to have an early night, sleep more than four hours, even if he physically didn't have to, he was strangely disappointed by no action at all.

"Do-gooder," Len teased when he was finally at the safehouse and sprawled on the couch, complaining about the eventless night. "And you're an addict."

"What?"

"You want to fight crime and do good. It's an addiction. You're disappointed when no crime happens, which is something to be proud of, to enjoy, not to lament about." Len gave him a sarcastic grin. "Not to mention you will be on time for work tomorrow. Again."

"Oh, bite me."

It got Barry a low, almost purring chuckle. "Gladly. Repeatedly. And it will most definitely make you late for work."

"I can live with that," was the equally purring reply.

He surprisingly wasn't late the next morning. A little tired after just two hours of sleep, but he was at his desk, in his lab, at eight sharp.

Much to the visible surprise of one David Singh.

"Allen?"

"Yes?"

The man frowned, then shook his head. "I'd say you're early, but you might take that the wrong way."

Barry gave him a smile. "Should I try not to make it a habit?"

"Get to work," the captain just growled.

"Yes, sir."

The breaches continued, keeping them busy. All of them, as Ray and Mick now joined in the fun. Palmer was highly interested in the readings taken from the short moments a breach popped open and he was pouring over it all together with Cisco, barely coming up for air. Mick was just pissed at the intruders into what his Sentinel side saw as his territory, not to mention he had developed a protective streak a mile wide when it came to The Flash.

Sentinel instinct, Len had called it. Central City was Mick's chosen territory after all.

"He's really a lot more… intense. I mean, I'm a Sentinel and I get the protective stuff, but he's… more. In a better way," Barry commented as he stripped out of the Flash suit.

"Less insane and deranged?" Snart deadpanned.

Barry shrugged. Len was lounging against the wall, enjoying the show. They had just kicked another meta back through the breach she had come through, barely giving her enough time to really do a lot of damage. She had been a fire-starter and Mick had had a lot of fun using his own totem powers to keep her in place long enough for Ray to trigger the reverse portal.

"Getting brainwashed by a bunch of crooked Time Masters helped along, I guess," Len now remarked sardonically.

Barry grimaced. He knew all about that and it had shocked him.

"Looks like they knocked his brain back on," Snart continued. "I wouldn't go as far as thanking them, because they nearly succeeded in turning him into a ruthless assassin, but their meddling did some good after all. Not sure he would be so stable after coming on-line once again."

"Not to mention that he wouldn't have connected to Ray."

"Unless Raymond is a deranged empath with a hankering for some crazy, no." Len smirked. "And while he is a do-gooder and way too innocent sometimes, he has a good head on his shoulder. Guides don't just log onto some almost-feral, deranged Sentinel and bond."

"It would just create an unstable connection that would break the moment it's put under stress." Barry slipped on his sweatpants, then pulled the t-shirt over his torso. "But he's really, really focused. I know you don't just get handed powers and they magically work. You need to train, to find your limits, see what you can do on the big scale and how to handle it on a much smaller one, with precision and timing. He does that, Len. It's really amazing to watch. They work well together. And they kinda… fit… into our team."

The last was said with a small, almost teasing smile.

Len smirked and walked over to his Sentinel, pulling him close into a kiss. "You like teams, Scarlet."

"It's… easier to have back-up?"

Another kiss, longer and with a little more intention. "I think I can trust both of them not to leave us high and dry, or to sell us out."

At least not anymore. There had been very dark moments in his and Mick's partnership. There had been betrayal and pain. Len had come to accept that chapter of Mick Rory's life, the chapter where he had been off-line and suffering, trying to forget, trying to numb his brain.

Barry slipped a hand underneath Len's long-sleeve shirt, fingers splaying over warm skin. "I can trust them. Not to mention that their powers are amazing. And Mick saved my life back there."

He chuckled. "You're so easy, Scarlet."

"You would know," the younger man replied playfully.

"You want to do the sales pitch?" Snart teased. "Sell the whole idea of a new Team Flash, with added firepower?"

"There's nothing to sell. You heard Mick. He's hellbent on getting the puppet-master. He takes those Breacher attacks personally and I think he just loves using the totem's powers."

"He likes you."

Barry looked doubtful.

"He does, Scarlet. He really does." Len grinned. "And yes, he does get off on showing off."

The younger man grimaced.

"It's fire. He loves fire. The totem is a dream come true. He is fire now."

"And he doesn't get lost in the flames, or drawn to it," Barry added. "Best of both worlds."

"Seems like we both got lucky," Snart drawled.

The speedster grinned. "Is that flirty sex talk?"

He waggled his eyebrows. "It can be if you want it to be," he said playfully.

Barry laughed and kissed him. "That's an offer I cannot refuse."

He leaned in closer and captured Len's lips, who opened up under his gentle assault. He wrapped an arm around the younger man's waist, kissing him softly, and Barry was clearly enjoying the feel of them together. Their kisses continued, deep and loving and quite hot, but aside from a little caressing and stroking, neither initiated the next step.

It was like a low-key thrill, something to have and to hold and to enjoy, something no one else but him could ever feel this way. Nothing could ever compare to this amazing feeling of belonging, of having his Sentinel.

"You're heading somewhere with this?" Barry murmured.

"Hm, I don't know, Scarlet. Got any ideas?"

Len's hand was now in a more southern region and when it wrapped around Barry's growing dick, the speedster hummed in appreciation.

"Getting lots of ideas."

The hand started stroking. Slowly. Applying just a little more pressure each time.

"We might wanna start reviewing some of them," Len murmured, the light in his eyes promising a lot of good things.

"We might," was the playful reply.

Len was all for it.

Neither man could ignore Mick's blatant grin as Len and Barry joined the team a lot later. While scent wasn't one of Mick's enhanced senses, it didn't need a Sentinel to know that the two men had had some quality bonding time.

Rory held a beer out to his old partner and Len settled next to him, pleasantly spent and slightly sore, feeling almost mellow. Barry was talking to Wells and Caitlin. Ray and Cisco were in one of the other labs, doing whatever.

"He's good for you," Mick rumbled.

Snart raised his eyebrows as he sipped at the bottle.

"You've got something."

"Perceptive," he drawled.

Mick studied him. Len secretly marveled at the change in the other man, how he showed off his scars by only wearing a t-shirt and not covering his arms with an additional jacket. How he had lost the gloves that had been perpetually on his hands before. There was an ease to him, a looseness, and a deep confidence. The darkness was done, though it would never be forgotten.

"You ever gonna tell me just what this is?" Mick asked, voice rumbling, sounding almost disinterested.

Len wasn't fooled. His oldest friend had always been a lot more perceptive than others gave him credit for, and he wasn't some dumb brute. Had never been.

"It's not just up to me," he replied neutrally.

"Scarlet."

He nodded.

Mick studied him, then his eyes went over to where Barry was still talking with Caitlin. The younger man suddenly looked at them, a mild frown on his features, and Mick made a soft sound of surprise. Barry walked over and Len noticed the tension in his muscles.

"Dinner?" his speedster asked lightly, though his expression relayed that unabating tension.

"I could eat," Rory decided and stood up slowly. His eyes never left Barry, scanning him.

"Private," Len decided, voice hard. "No listeners."

"The old place?"

He smirked at Mick. "Grab your Guide. See you in an hour."

"Bring food," Mick only said as he turned and walked to the lab to do just that: grab Ray.

"Scarlet?"

Barry exhaled slowly. "I trust them. I really do."

"But it's a lot to reveal."

"A leap of faith. Like revealing my identity."

Len held the green eyes, not reaching out, not touching. "This is more. Barry Allen Forensics guy? Sure. The Flash? A bit more of a secret, but it was dealt with. The meta Sentinel? It's a secret I'm protecting with everything I have and can be," he swore. "This is us, Barry. And it's very, very private."

"They deserve to know; need to know. In case… well, something happens again. Something that sideswipes me or you. I mean…" He trailed off, unsure.

"I trust them," Len said, surprising himself with his words. "Both. Mick is my oldest friend and while he was off the rails for a while and a lose cannon, he is whole and stable now. He has a Guide. And while Raymond can leave the impression of an over-eager puppy, he is actually quite capable and trustworthy."

Barry was silent for a long three seconds, then smiled. "Pizza?"

He laughed softly, shaking his head in fond exasperation. "You can never go wrong with pizza."