Every so often his gaze slid to the clock, but the time went by both far too slowly and far too speedily for his liking. He wanted it done and he wanted it done now. But he also never wanted it done. Without realising it, Barry had slipped into faster and faster breathing, now bordering on hyperventilation. The world blurred around him as his chest tightened, and only his subconscious seemed to realise that his legs had buckled and he now sat on the cold concrete of his lab.
"Allen, I want you to go over the samples for – oh shit!" Footsteps echoed across the room and someone knelt down beside the CSI. Vaguely Barry listened as a comforting male voice murmured reassurances in his ear, telling him to breath. Telling him that everything would be okay.
Several minutes slipped by before Barry had slowed his breathing down and collected his thoughts. Nervously he lifted his head and looked straight into the concerned eyes of David Singh; his boss. A deep flush crawled up his neck, and Barry's eyes darted around the room in the hope of avoiding the humiliation of his boss seeing him break down.
"Barry, can you please look at me?" Though it was phrased as a question, Barry knew an order when he heard it. Tentatively, he looked into the Captain's eyes once more.
"Could you please tell me what got you in this state?" Barry was shocked to hear the gentle concern in the man's voice. He coughed nervously, running a shaking hand through his hair.
"I like men."
Barry looked shocked with himself and Singh guessed this was the first time he had admitted it out loud before. He couldn't help but swell with pride, just a little, that he was the person Barry ended up confiding this to. Then he shook himself. Now wasn't the time for pride; it was the time to give comfort and support.
"And you think that they would have issues with that?" He was curious in what the answer might be. Joe had never disrespected him for his sexuality, but had never exactly voiced support either. He just carried on as if nothing happened; something Singh had appreciated greatly at the time. But now as he looked at the terrified kid in front of him, who was nodding slightly to his question, he wondered if he had misjudged Joe.
"Well, yeah. Basically. Joe has said – that is to say, he doesn't –" Barry broke off, and a frustrated look drifted across his face.
"Barry, you can be honest with me. Whatever you have to say, I'm sure I have heard it before." Singh commented gently.
"Okay well he has made a lot of comments. Like he'll see two men holding hands on tv or something and he'll say 'that's disgusting', and he was pretty angry when the whole gay marriage thing succeeded. Or when I got bullied in high school and called gay, he interrogated me to make sure that I wasn't gay, then was all sympathetic when he had deemed me an 'innocent victim wrongly accused of being gay'. As if me being gay would suddenly justify them for beating me up! It's just stuff he says sometimes that really bugs me. Same with Iris. She used to make heaps of comments about gay kids at school and at uni. It was awful. Like I know lots of people have legit reasons to be worried about coming out, like getting beat up by their parents or disowned, but I'm just nervous about telling him."
Singh listened patiently, waiting for Barry to get it out of his system. He had to admit, he felt disappointed that that was how Joe felt. He liked the man, and didn't like the idea that the man may harbour some negative emotions about him for being gay.
"Barry, you need to know that you have every right to feel worried. It's a scary situation to be in. I was terrified. And you should have seen Rob. Shaking worse than you are."
Barry just nods half-heartedly, so Singh decides to push forward.
"And what about loving Iris?"
"Well Joe kept talking about how magical it would be for Iris and I to fall in love and live happily ever after. I figured I should go with that. The last two times I 'declared my love' was when he was getting suspicious about me never talking about girls."
David was stunned. He by no means believed homophobia to be over, but he thought that by now, people going to such extremes to hide their sexuality would be over.
''But when I told them''
Barry told but interrupted by a woman's voice.
''You fucking asshole''
Barry and Captain looked at each other before went down to lobby.
The moment Freya saw the detective, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up with anger. She could feelhimself scowling, and Joe's gaze zeroed straight in on Len with a glare of her own. They locked eyes. Then, the woman stomped right over to Joe and pointed a finger straight at his nose.
''I will tear you limb from limb ,and only then when you are a writhing mass of blood and flesh will I rip your heart out from your chest'' Thye woman said in a dead serious tone
''Auny..Barry trying to say but cut off from two voices.
''Shut up boy''Freya commanded the boy standing beside her but did not get the eyes of Joe standing in front of..
''You okay Freya? You look murderous''asked Joe with fear and her heart softened at the sight, but her gaze remained impassive.
''Why you were at my house this morning?'
"We miss Barry. He's caused enough heartache in the family with his stunt. Just tell him to admit he isn't gay, and this will all be over. Iris has been crying so much because of him." Joe looked tired, but Freya couldn't find it in her to feel much sympathy for his detective.
''What did you say ?''said Freya and Barry smirked at his foster father with a warred look because he did not know he was acting against the devil himself.
''I's this close to losing my shit. I will go and bring the boy with me and If you try to stop me , I will tear off a very important part of your anatomy," she pointed a finger at him, and all men's hands went up in mock surrender.
Joe thought she wouldn't do it? She would, it just depended on who she told.
He spoke like Nora...
His words escaped with a crash, like a wave held back by a dam for too long. They were rambling, rapid, and often confusing. He referenced books and movies, and spoke every thing that came to his mind at the moment it happened.
H moved like Nora...
He was a bit clumsy, and moved as if there was something about to explode from within him. He never stopped, even when he sat.
The woman tooks a sip from her drink and looked at the environment she was in. The woman was sitting in Saints and Sinners ,whiskey in had and pulling out her phone and placing it on the table in front of him and staring at it.
Following the discussion had with the boy Freya needs a distraction and what was better than a drink but memories struck her like a rock.
She never like Joseph West as he have been in love with Nora and has tried many times to make the claim her. Last time she had seen him it was at doctor's trial and said that Freya was not the right person for the child to grow up with because she has worked for many hours and not had a steady man in her life for the boy to grow up. Freya never forgive herself to lose that trial.
"It doesn't matter how hard you stare at that glass – it doesn't have the answers you're looking for."
When Leonard Snart walked into his favourite dive bar around midnight after a hard day casing the Central City Art Gallery for the fifth day in a row, he knew immediately that something was different.
No one knew the woman who was dressed in a black one-shoulder top that hugged her curves in all the right places with a little bit of her stomach showing. Boot cut jeans and boots. Her hair was in loose waves and hung perfectly around her face and past her shoulders. It was the smokey eye she had done that did him in; the make-up around her eyes caused them to pop with a life that would draw any man (and possibly woman) into her web. She was dressed like a predator and len found himself wanting to be her prey.
And after them ,looked to his sister who was wrinkling her nails but Len could see the pain in the eyes of the girl. Lisa is pining about Cisco from the Flash team but the young man did not call his sister after their last meeting at the funeral of Henry Allen. All of them went to the funeral to support Barry even after Iris and Joe West tried to persecute them but a death glance by Caitlin was the only thing that stopped them. The Rogues respected the team Flash as Caitlin had provided medical care to them some times and Barry saved Axel and Shawna from a crazy snark. They offered a peace agreement between them until they were caught the Zoom which was dangerous metahuman and put them at risk of their own city.
Snart walked to the woman and stands beside her saying.''"It doesn't matter how hard you stare at that glass – it doesn't have the answers you're looking for."
"Yeah, well, if you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears."
Leonard melted at the sound of her voice; like Marilyn, coated in with honey, whiskey, and steel. His eyes flickered over to Mick, who didn't seem affected. He grunted and grabbed her by the arm once more and pulled her close; her tiny frame flush against Mick's hulking exterior, for some reason, brewed such strong jealousy he felt heat prickle his scalp.
"Rough day?"
She sent him a tight-lipped smile. "Rough year."
He smirked at her. "What's your name?"
"Leonard Snart."
Freya was smart enough not to react. She liked the blunt guy and he would be a great friend to have in the area. She needed to play it cool and show that she could hang without being stupid.
"I'm Freya."
He took the hand she offered, shaking it.
"You're new in town," Snart observed astutely.
Freya sipped her drink and seeing no reason to lie answered, "I'm helping a friend"
Snart quirked his head in contemplation of the mysterious woman.
The woman laughed with the face of the man but she can not comment as her phone ringing.
''Aunt'' said a male voice.
''Barry'' said Freya with concern in her voice and did not care that showed weakness because the boy it was the only person in her life that he can make her smile and laugh and she does not even want to imagine what happens if her nephew get hurt but this moment knows who is responsible for the pain of her nephew.
Leonard raised his brow to listen to this name and believes it was a coincidence that Barry Allen and this woman to know each other.
''Gotta go''said the woman throwing 20 dollars in the table and going out of the bar.
Oh and Leonard?" Celestia finally glanced over her shoulder, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.
"Try not to look at my ass too much while I walk away."
Leonard just rolled his eyes as the door swung closed, and made a pointed attempt to look anywhere else until it had shut completely.
He will see her again.
"Barry, please! You're just confused. Maybe some metahuman has done this to you! Right, Cisco?'
Cisco did not look impressed, both with the question and being forced to involve himself with the situation. "Why yes, Iris. Now that you mention it, I do seem to recall a dangerous villain running around Central City, turning men gay." He shot a meaningful look at Barry, who just looked confused. "But we later found out that he's not a meta, he's just really hot. Well, hot isn't the right word to describe him, but you get my point."
Iris hissed in irritation while the others snorted. "Then Barry, you tell him to leave me alone! We're not connected to you anymore! You aren't welcome with us. Not until you show that you were making this whole 'being a queer' thing up!"
Iris spun on her healed and marched out the door. Eddie winced in sympathy. "Barry, I'm sorry, I tried to tell her not to come here. Don't listen to all that. I'll try to talk to her, get her to calm down. And, even though it isn't my business, good job on coming out." He squeezed Barry on the shoulder as he walked after Iris.
"So you're gay?"
Barry tensed, but nodded.
''So Barr, are you okay? Because it sorta sounded like they pulled a Rathaway on you." Cisco asked.
"Yeah, they did. It's alright though, I have somewhere to stay. I was going to stay in the Lab for a bit but then my Anut gave me a room at her place."
"You know, when Hartley came out, he slept in the lab too. Wells found him and let him stay with him. That was before all the mess between Wells and Hartley and just…everything. Anyway, on to other news. I have been reading news report after news report. 'The Flash saves young man from gay bashing, comes out as gay'. Any comments about what on earth happened on the way here?
With a wave, Barry left the lab.