After a long day of work, Barry decided to head over to Star Labs, where he hoped to find some peace and quiet while he worked on some of his unfinished case files. Of course, that wasn't the case.
"Action movies are so much better then Romance movies!" Cisco argued with Caitlyn.
"You have got to be joking, romance movies are wonderful! Why would I watch an action movie, when I practically live in one?" Caitlyn argued right back.
"Because they're awesome!"
"Childish, simply childish."
"What about you Barry, what's your favorite type of movie?" Cisco asked, directing the question to the young forensic scientist.
"Musicals." Barry answered without missing a beat, nor looking up from his work.
Silence was all that followed, before Cisco asked, his voice laced with doubt, "Seriously."
"What's wrong with musicals?" Barry inquired, finally looking up from his work.
"Nothing! It's just that we didn't really peg you for a fan of musicals." Caitlyn replied hastily, just as Cisco changed the subject.
"So anyways, the reason we were having this argument to begin with, was because I was trying to find out what movie to rent for the weekend. My evil cousin Danny is coming to town to visit, and there's no way I'm going to talk to him, so I need a way to distract him. Which brings me back to my predicament, what movie should I rent?" Cisco rambled.
"Why do you think Danny is evil?" Barry asked. He had mixed feelings about the term 'evil'. As a superhero, people who were evil were supposed to be locked up. But what made a person evil? After all, there was a point in time where all of Barry's now closest friends, associated his name with the term 'evil'.
"I don't think he's evil, I KNOW he's evil. He's a smug, good for nothing, narcissistic asshole, who thinks that whole world owes him just because he's alive. Hell, my brother is a modest saint compared to Danny." Cisco confessed.
"Ouch." Barry grimaced.
"I think you should talk to him." Caitlyn offered.
"No way in hell." Cisco declined.
"Listen to what I have to say. Take him out to a club and get him drunk, that way he won't be as bad as he usually is sober. And Barry and I could be there with you as back-up." Caitlyn explained.
"Dr. Caitlyn Snow, you are a genius!" Cisco exclaimed, before running out of the lobby.
Barry laughed at the entire exchange, finding humor in Cisco's reaction.
"Barry, Cisco wasn't lying about Danny being a bad guy. Be careful." Caitlyn warned.
Wiping a smile off his face, Barry answered seriously, "I've dealt with worse."
A few days later, Barry, Cisco, and Caitlyn found themselves in the same bar that they all frequented with Eddie and Iris a few months previous,
In a nervous tone, Cisco told them, "Ok, remember guys, don't take anything Danny says personally."
"It's fine Cisco, just try to take your own advice." Caitlyn replies.
"And I hate to ask you guys this, but can you guys not get drunk tonight? I need all the back-up I can get." Cisco asks.
While Caitlyn nods, Barry answered dejectedly, "It's not like I have much of a choice on that matter."
"Hey Cece." They hear a voice say behind them. Cisco visibly flinches at the awful nickname, before he gets out of his seat and turn to acknowledge his cousin, "Hey Danny. These are my friends, Barry and Caitlyn." Barry turned around to see a tall man, although only slightly shorter then Barry. He had long, dark brown hair, tan skin, and the darkest shade of brown Barry had ever seen as eyes. Barry supposed that most women, and frankly men, would find the man attractive.
"I would say it's a pleasure to meet you guys, but then I would actually be lying. I've never been one to get along with Cisco's friends, they're usually all nerds, and according to what I have heard about the two of you so far, I assume the same could be said for you." Danny says sitting down at the table.
Cisco and Caitlyn are both at a loss of words, until Barry easily responds, "Likewise, you're not exactly easy on the eyes."
Danny scoffs as he says, "Oh please, I'm gorgeous."
"You know, you shouldn't believe everything your mother tells you." Barry replies with a smirk.
"Just as you shouldn't believe that your shirt looks even mildly flattering on you."
"Oh, what a shame. My friend worked really hard on this design, but I'm totally sure he cares all about your input." Barry said sarcastically. He could only imagine what Kurt would do if he ever heard someone make fun of his designs. That thought alone was enough to make Barry force himself to stifle a laugh as he stared down Danny.
Amused, Danny got out of his seat, "I'm going to go get a drink." He said before walking away towards the bar.
Finally snapping out of it, Cisco exclaimed, "Dude that was amazing! How the hell did you leave my cousin speechless!"
"Easy. In order to beat an asshole, you just have to be the bigger asshole." Barry answered.
"Well who knew the sweet Barry Allen could be an asshole?" Caitlyn teased.
To himself, Barry whispered under his breath, "Oh not many, just the entire state of Ohio, and everyone in the country France."
"What was that Barry?" Caitlyn asked, believing she heard him say something.
"Oh nothing." Barry insisted as he took a drink from the glass of Courvoisier he purchased earlier in the evening.
Flashback; Paris
It was just another average summer morning in Paris. The weather had been great so far, and the streets were bubbling with the usual amount of tourists hoping to experience an amazing day in the City of Love. The locals however, were much more relaxed, as proved by one Sebastian Smythe as he sat at his usual table in the café La Merveille. He was trying to read up on some Organic Chemistry when his close friend and waitress Éclair brought him his usual order.
"You know, when I told you to put Courvoisier in your coffee, I didn't think I would turn you into an alcoholic." Éclair teased in her native tongue.
"Well don't worry, since I am not, nor do I ever plan to be, an alcoholic." Sebastian replied as he looked up from his textbook.
"You can deny all you want Bas, but you can't trick me, I'm far to clever for that."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," He tells her with a smirk, as he takes a sip out of his coffee.
As she catches eye of his book, she jokes, "You know, you might seem like a total badass, but when you are caught reading books like that it lets people know what a cute little nerd you really are."
Teasing her right back, Barry puts on a smirk and replies, "Well you only think that because you don't have enough brain cells to comprehend what this book is saying. Plus, nerdy is the new sexy."
Éclair shoves his shoulder playfully before she informs him rapidly in French, "Hey, you know that guy I've been talking too? Francois? Well, we've been on a few dates, and I actually like him. He's coming here soon so we can hang out after my shift. I plan on introducing the two of you, so please be on your best behavior Bas."
"I'm no pushover mon ami." He tells her somewhat seriously. After spending so much time being bullied, there was no way Barry was going to let anyone step all over him ever again. He made that mistake once, and it cost him dearly. It took him switching countries, transferring schools, and faking his name to get away. There was no way he was going to let his new life as Sebastian Smythe go to waste.
"I know Bas, trust me I know. But can you please dial back the sass, just a little bit, please? For me?" She pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
Finding himself cracking, he huffed out jokingly as he replied, "Yeah yeah yeah, sure thing. I'll be a good boy, unless he totally deserves it. But for the record, if he can't handle me, then he isn't man enough for you."
"And I love you all the more for caring." She tells him, as she kisses his cheek, and goes back to work.
At this point, Barry returned his attention back to his book, finding himself completely absorbed in the world of complex chemical equations.
Time flew by, but Barry was too preoccupied to notice. Pretty soon, he was once again joined at the table by Éclair, only this time she had someone with her, Francois he presumed. He was significantly shorter then Barry, however he was still slightly shorter then Éclair, but only barely. He had dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and a square jaw. He wore dark green jeans, a white V-neck with navy blue stripes, and a dark green scarf.
Knowing that Francois knew absolutely no English, he kept everything he said in French, and surprisingly polite tone, "Hey, nice to meet you."
"Sure, you too." Francois replied uninterested as he took a seat at Barry's table. Barry hid his disdain quite successfully from his friend.
"Ok, well I have to go finish work, but I'm off the clock soon, so hang out with Sebastian till then." Éclair said, before leaving the two men alone.
After a minute of awkward silence, Barry decided to break it, "So what do you like to do?"
"Please don't talk to me. Frankly, the only reason I'm here is to hook up with a hot girl, not to talk to a gay looking Broadway wannabe." Francois told him dismissively.
"First off, I'm definitely not gay, not that it would be any of your concern if I was anyways. Second, while I do love Broadway, my future is in the field of science. Third, if you think Éclair is going to give in that easily to you, then you are going to be disappointed. After all, it took me a month of constant friendship and charm to get her into my bed." Barry finished with a satisfied and devious smirk.
"You what?!" Francois screeched. In a fit of rage, he got off his chair, and stormed out of the café.
Éclair, hearing the commotion, came running out of the kitchen towards Barry, "What the hell Bas?! I left you two alone for 5 minutes! How did you already chase him away? I thought you promised to be nice!"
Barry shrugged and drank his coffee, "No no, I said I'd be nice as long as he doesn't deserve it, which he definitely did. Plus, it's not like I lied about anything, he's the one who couldn't handle the truth."
End of Flashback
By the time Danny came back, drink in hand, Cisco and Caitlyn had just gotten over their shock at Barry's 'dark side'.
"So tell me little cousin, what is there to do in Central City?" Danny asked condescendingly.
Barry faked innocence as he replied before Cisco had the chance to, "Well, I heard that there is a great train station not too far from here, one of the best in the country. I could take you if you wanted."
Danny glared at him, as Cisco tried to hide his laugh behind a drink, quite unsuccessfully however.
"Yeah whatever you say baby face. Cisco, lets leave, it's quite obvious we aren't wanted here." And with that Danny got up, and left the bar.
As soon as he was out of sight, both Cisco and Caitlyn began to laugh out loud. "Barry! That was amazing!" Caitlyn cried.
"Yeah, I have never seen my cousin so mad and humbled. He didn't even retort with an insult!" Cisco agreed.
"Yes, well I am quite clever is I do say so myself." Barry joked.
The smile was soon wiped out of Cisco's face as he said, "Well, I better go with my cousin. Thanks for everything guys, it should be a lot easier to deal with him after this massive blow to his ego." And with that, Cisco was off.
Turning to Barry, Caitlyn couldn't help but ask, "How did you know how to handle him so well?"
Barry shrugged and replied, "Let's just say I have experience in this particular field."