For the next few days, Barry just sat in his cell.
He slowly got hungry until he couldn't stand it anymore.
He was shivering.
By now, he was seeing stars. He was shocked and hurt that no one was noticing the agony he was in.
"Please," he begged quietly.
He was pretty sure he was delirious.
"Help me! Please! Joe! Iris! Cisco! Caitlin! I think I'm dying! Please! I'm so hungry!"
But, of course, they ignored his pleas.
The last thing he saw before blackness overtook him was the cell door.
...
"What the hell are you doing here?" Barry asked angrily.
Mick raised an eyebrow.
"Bad day?"
"How about none of your business?" Barry suggested sarcastically.
"Why are you even here?"
Damnit. Mick had really hoped that wouldn't come up.
To be honest, Mick didn't know the answer.
When Mick remained silent, Barry took it as something different.
"What? You think you can just spy on me?"
Mick saw the pure rage in his eyes.
He knew how dangerous anger could be if left unchecked.
And, if Mick was right, no one was checking it.
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I wasn't spying on you. I was coming back to grab my underwear."
It was true. Before he had left to follow Barry, he had taken a shower. He had left his underwear there so he would have an excuse to come back.
Barry deflated.
"Oh. Sorry," he said as he opened the door wider.
Mick walked in, barely able to keep a smile off his face.
He went into the bathroom and grabbed his underwear before coming back out into the living room.
"You can leave now," Barry said.
Mick raised an eyebrow. "What if I don't want to?"
He could see Barry snap.
"Get. Out!" he yelled angrily.
Mick shook his head.
Barry ran toward him, pure rage in his eyes.
"Get out," he said again, but Mick recognized the warning in his voice.
Mick shook his head again.
Then Barry hit him.
Actually hit him.
But Mick didn't move.
Mick was used to people hitting him. Lewis had, many times, along with several others. Some were random bar fights, others were guards as he was shoved into a jail cell. But if you compared Barry's punch at his chest to any of the above, it was rather painless.
When Barry saw that it hadn't had any effect on Mick, he was, if it was possible, even angrier.
He punched at him again with the same result.
He started to get into a pattern. He kept punching Mick over and over in the exact same spot. Soon, it took everything in Mick's power not to wince.
Suddenly, Barry stopped and fell, tears in his eyes.
Mick had fast reflexes, but he barely caught Barry.
As soon as he was in Mick's arms, Barry cried even louder.
Mick carried him to his bed and lay him down. Or, at least, he tried to. Barry had wrapped his arms around Mick's neck during their journey, making it impossible for Mick to put him down.
So, instead of doing that, he just sat down next to Barry.
As soon as they were both laying on the bed, Barry sobbed as quietly into Mick's shoulder as he could.
Mick just sat there so he wouldn't be in the way. Later, however, he started to rub Barry's back. At first, Barry just flinched, but he soon leaned into it, his sobs becoming louder.
Soon, he realized that the once shaking body was still and that the once loud cries were silent.
He looked at Barry's face and realized he was asleep.
He sighed deeply.
This was going to be even harder than he'd thought.
Damn his pride.
He would need some backup.
...
Barry didn't know why he did it. Why he broke down in front of one of Central's most wanted.
All he knew was that he missed Joe. Iris. Cisco. Caitlin. Henry. Nora.
And none of them were helping him anymore. Especially since two of them were dead.
Well, that wasn't helping him calm down. If anything, it just worked him up even more.
Then Mick decided to rub his back.
At first, it made him think too much of his mother, how she would do the same thing when he felt overwhelmed, but he slowly eased into it to the point that it felt safe and comforting.
Soon, the soft touch lulled him to sleep.
...
"Oh, Lenny!"
He heard a groan (maybe two) from the bedroom before a barely dressed Len came out.
"The hell are you doing here so early?"
Mick realized that he had never actually checked the time. Whoops.
Len must have recognized the look on his face because he snorted.
Mick winked.
"Why are you here at all, Mick? You don't apologize. And I ain't ready to help you with anything yet."
"Well, I need a few things."
...
"Lenny!" Mick shouted in hopes of snapping him out of whatever this was.
But Lenny just ignored him.
Len couldn't believe it.
Mick could beat up that guy so easily... what if he became that guy? What if one of the only people he trusted added scars to his collection?
He'd admit that the thought terrified him.
Suddenly, he was on his back.
He didn't even know how he had gotten there.
Mick was standing over him, fear in his eyes.
Wait, what?
There was fear in Mick's eyes.
But why? Did Mick actually care for him?
"Mick?" he tested. Mick nodded anxiously.
The weird thing was, no kids were around.
"I scared them away," Mick answered to his silent question as he held a hand out.
Len took it and Mick helped him up.
"Why?"
"Why what?" Mick asked as they walked back to the school to head home.
"Why did you stand up for me?"
Mick stared at him, the shock in his face obvious.
"Because you're my brother now. I'm going to protect you, no matter what. Even if we fight, I will be there when you need me."
Those words stuck with Len to this day.
...
Note: Yep! We're finally bringing CC into this! Yay!
I have decided that this will remain as Flashwave. Sorry.
Hope you enjoyed!
