Barry was struggling to fill his lungs and fighting nausea when he finally and triumphantly arrived back in the dirt parking lot of his current abode ahead of his running partner. When Snart had told him to put on his running shoes he had been secretly pleased. Running was something he could do and rarely did his flailing limbs cause any major problems. He probably would've been smiling or patting himself on the back if he wasn't so busy trying not to pass out.
Barry had always been a runner, but not always by choice. That was until when he was a freshman in high school and the track coach happened to catch a glimpse of him running through the parking lot from some of the jerks who had consistently bullied him his whole life. He was a lanky, geeky, rather soft spoken, science nerd, who lived in a foster home with the police detective who had arrested his father for his mother's murder, so that kind of thing had just become a way of life for him.
Not until the woman who coached the track team approached him the following day did he think it would amount to anything. Iris had been ecstatic for him and so had Joe, he'd even been pretty happy about it, even if he had to make certain conditions such as no hurdles, which made his new coach laugh at him. Unfortunately, the track team wasn't up there with the football team or anything, so he still got shoved into lockers and chased through the parking lot, but it had added to the academic scholarship he'd won and he'd been able to go to college on a full ride.
Even though he still ran as an adult, at least 4 miles a day, he'd been very much over confident in his own abilities. Snart looked as though he was a bit older than him, maybe mid to late thirties, so he was sure he'd have no trouble keeping up, especially because he felt so good after the first mile, then Snart, who seemed to be in amazing shape told him to drop and do 50.
Barry who'd heard him say something much similar earlier assumed he meant pushups and even though he was frowning on the inside wondering what he'd done wrong he complied. It made him feel better when he saw Snart do the same, but worse when he saw how much faster the other man was at them. It went on like that until they hit 4 and Snart motioned for Barry to follow him back the other way as Barry struggled through his last pushup. On the return journey they switched over to sit ups, which at first was better, then it wasn't.
Barry was sore, and he knew it was going to be difficult to move tomorrow, but he pushed himself beyond what he thought was possible. Even when Snart popped to his feet after completing his own sit ups on mile 7 and told Barry he had to catch and beat him before they got back or he would owe him another 50 of each Barry didn't give up. He banged out his sit ups as quickly as he could manage then took off at a dead sprint.
When he over took Snart in the final stretch he was proud of himself even if he was sure he was going to die when he was done. Barry wasn't sure if he was trying to impress Snart in some weird way, or trying to show the other man he was willing to give it his all and his efforts wouldn't be wasted nor was his faith misplaced. He figured it was probably a combination of all of them. He didn't exactly expect a pat on the back, okay, well maybe he hoped for one, but those hopes were immediately dashed when moments later Snart voice reached him as cold as ever even if it was a bit breathy as he approached.
"Head above your heart, Scarlet," the other man ordered in such a way Barry, who was hunched over with his hand on his knees complied readily.
Maybe too readily because he was suddenly struck with a dizzy spell. Barry was so busy blinking rapidly to clear his vision and concentrating on staying on his feet he didn't notice right away that Snart had dropped and begun doing pushups.
"What?" Snart questioned when Barry looked at him a little incredulously and maybe a bit awed for reasons he wasn't wholly sure of.
The question caused Barry to shake his head quickly as if to say nothing before averting his gaze glad his blush wouldn't show with his face already flushed from running. After Barry awkwardly pretended to study the trees and his shoes for a while the other man spoke again.
"One thing you'll learn about me, Scarlet, is I'll never tell you to do something I'm not willing to do myself."
Barry's head sort of snapped towards the other man. Not because he doubted his words, or because he was surprised to hear them, but because they sounded like some sort of promise. When he found Snart's eyes, who was now sitting with his elbows resting on his knees having finished his sit-ups looking up at Barry so intently a shiver ran up his spine, he saw it was more than that. It was an oath.
Normally Barry would have blushed and maybe started babbling before looking away, anywhere but at Snart, yet he didn't; he couldn't.
Once again icy blue bore into hazel and Barry could hardly breathe. He was no closer to reading the other man than he had been when he'd glared at him upon his arrival, but this time he felt… something. For a long moment it was as though the other man's soul had reached out to caress his own, and while he should have been freaking out, he was shocked he hadn't honestly, it somehow seemed to calm him.
Snart suddenly looked as though he wanted to say something else causing Barry's slowing heart rate to spike once again. Barry was certain he was going to, but much to his simultaneous disappointment and relief before he could a completely different voice spoke.
"You guys went running?" The brunette woman said sounding surprised, relieved and maybe a little irritated as Barry took an involuntary step away from Snart though he was already a good five feet away.
As Barry unnecessarily stepped away the other man sort of growled and turned his glare on the approaching group who had changed from what he assumed were their regular uniforms into their work out uniforms. Even in t-shirts, sort of short-shorts, awkward looking socks that were pulled well above their ankles, and what he thought were reflective belts strapped around their waists they looked intimidating. All of them, including the females, even if it was subtler, had muscles bulging from places Barry knew there were muscles but had never actually seen aside from in fitness magazines. Of course he would be saddled with the GQ version of a black ops team.
Barry folded his arms across his chest as though it would hide his lanky form and couldn't help the flush in his cheeks, which was from a combination of nerves, embarrassment, and the sudden discomfort he felt at being scanned head to toe by every single one of his new team members. Especially when the sneer on the brunette guy with glasses' face clearly stated he found Barry lacking in every way imaginable. Snart pushed to his feet giving the woman a wilted slightly annoyed look.
"We thought we were going to have to break the 'don't feed the alligator policy,'" the blonde guys said when they reached them much too cheerfully for Barry's liking, who started not only as his words and the way he said them, but at the arm suddenly so casually clamped around his shoulders.
"We mean you," the brunette guy who seemed to disliked him more than all the rest clarified smugly.
"Obviously your concerns were unwarranted," Snart replied coolly as his eyes quickly flashed to the man's arm around Barry then away again.
Barry would have sworn he saw the other man's jaw tick in irritation, but that absolutely could have been his imagination based off some sort of twisted wishful thinking. His heart sped up a bit at the thought none the less as well as the sudden feeling Snart had been talking about more than just the disposal of his body. Still, that certainly didn't stop his stomach from dropping at the realization they were most likely being completely serious. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling to have such conflicting thoughts and emotions rattling around inside him along with the unfamiliar arm wrapped around his shoulders in such a familiar seeming way, not to mention the way both brunettes, the guy with the glasses and the… possessive female's, eyes bore into him. Barry wanted nothing more in that moment to escape; just run away.
"You coming or not?" The burly man who had an affinity for explosives asked as the brunette woman pursed her lips then opened her mouth to speak again cutting her off.
"Can't," Snart replied and while there was still tension in his voice Barry thought he saw him relax just a bit.
"What about you kid?" the arm tightened around his shoulders as the man it belonged to question him with a mischievous glint in his eye. "You in, or did Captain Cold here already wear you out?"
Barry's eyes widened at the suggestiveness in the blonde's voice as he finished his question and regardless of how flushed he'd been from their run he knew his face was now what most would consider impossibly red. The guy with glasses huffed irritably, the brunette girl pursed her lips again, the dark skinned medic, who as far as he could tell was all business glared at the winking blonde, and the burly guy looked like he couldn't care less and just wanted to get going as Barry true to form began to stutter incoherently.
Automatically, though he wasn't sure why, he looked to Snart. Maybe because he thought he was some kind of ally or hoped anyway, but he only found the man unreadable as ever aside from the fact Barry could see he had absolutely no intentions of helping him with this one.
"I have stuff… science stuff," Barry finally managed after a few very uncomfortable moments causing the blonde to laugh rather loudly right in Barry's ear and him to jerk away.
"Biology stuff?"
"Chemistry stuff," Barry answered quickly without thinking just wanting to get away.
"Oh, chemistry is it?" Mark questioned gleefully.
"Mark," the medic lady warned.
"Shawna," Mark retorted in a similar though obviously mocking tone, still to Barry's relief the man let go of him.
With that everything else including Barry seemed to have been forgotten as far as Mark and Shawna were concerned and they promptly began to bicker and name call as they walked away. Barry wasn't so lucky when it came to the two brunettes. The guy glared at him as though he was calculating his chances of feeding him to the alligator without getting caught, and the girl, though her glare didn't seem as hate-filled was sort of more unsettling as it felt like she was accusing him of something and that something was not good. The burly guy was the only one who didn't seem bothered by any of it and after nodding to Snart ignored Barry completely ushering the others away. Barry watched them go.
As embarrassing as that encounter had been, it was almost nothing compared to how mortified Barry felt when Mark and Shawna's argument faded in the distance and he became fully aware of Snart's eyes on him. While Barry was positive Mark's teasing wasn't malicious, the guy struck him as the type that didn't take much seriously and constantly poked fun at everyone and everything, he couldn't help but wonder if his… crush, if that was even the right word, maybe infatuation, no reliance… on Snart was that obvious.
Barry was positive opening his mouth would only make things worse somehow and he really didn't want to see whatever it was he might find in the eyes he felt boring into his back, so he did the only thing he could and walked away.
He could feel Snart's eyes on him the entire 50 feet to the dilapidated building, which made it feel like 50 miles. Part of him seemed to be praying he would call after him, while the other part hoped he wouldn't. Which one was dominant changed with each step he took.
The scuffle of dirt and gravel as he pulled open the squeaky screen door had him hesitating, but when it abruptly stopped his heart sank in such a way that made him feel so… stupid and so utterly alone. Even with Mark's arm draped so casually across his shoulder and them acknowledging his presence, talking to him, well teasing him, he felt like an outsider, like no matter what he'd never fit in.
The sting in his eyes he'd all but forgotten during their run returned with a vengeance. It spurred him forward as he was unable to fight it this time.
His tears began to spill over and trickle down his cheeks as soon as the door slammed shut behind him. The strength and confidence he felt not 15 minutes ago after his triumph was gone and then some. Barry had never felt weaker in his entire life than he did in that moment as he rushed up to his bunk so he could shut the door and in turn everything else out: so he could fall apart in peace.
A/N: So it's still day one, and next Chapter is day 1 too, but in my experience day 1 is the most disorienting and emotional, therefore important to Barry's character development in certain ways. Len's as well to a lesser extent, well get to know him much better a little later on.
This one is a bit shorter because it was part of the last, so it might feel a little awkward, but we'll be back on track next chapter. As I said before this gonna be a long slow burn lol, so thanks for sticking with me!