Chapter Text
Barry wakes up with a gasp to the sound of rapidly beeping machinery and Lady Gaga.
There's a flurry of conversation including finding out he's been in a nine month coma and that he's in STAR freaking Labs and has been under the care of Harrison Freaking Wells that leaves him even more disoriented than the coma which he surprisingly doesn't feel any sort of lethargy from.
So, he leaves assuring them he feels fine, thanking them for saving his life, and in posession of a cool new STAR Labs sweatshirt.
He makes his way to Jittters where he hopes Iris still works, a pep in his step and urgency in his half jog. There's something buzzing beneath his skin that he can only attribute to being awake and aware after months of immobility.
But as he enters the coffee shop, he's not prepared to see Joe sitting with Sebastian, the two laughing together like they're old friends. Last time he saw the together in the same room, they had an explosive screaming match, as they often did with Sebastian feeling betrayed by the man when he didn't believe him about their dad and for keeping Barry from coming with him to France — even though Barry was the one who didn't want to leave Central City — and never seeing eye to eye on Joe on anything else since.
But here they are, talking over what looks like a case together as they both sip from their cups.
He's so distracted by them that he's almost forgotten why he came here.
"Oh my God!" Iris gasps. She runs to Barry and attacks him with a hug. "You're awake. Why didn't STAR Labs call us?"
"I just woke up," Barry says, his grin blinding.
"Should you even be on your feet?" Iris asks, pulling away.
Barry is then pulled into two pairs of arms.
"You're awake, you're okay, you're alive," Sebastian murmurs rapidly into Barry's shoulder as he clings onto him.
"Barry," Joe whispers, holding him close from the other side.
"Guys, guys, give him some space," Iris says. "He just woke up."
They pull away sheepishly, though not far, Joe's hand on Barry's shoulder and Sebastian steadying himself as he grips onto Barry's arm.
"Just woke up?" Sebastian asks. "Barry, you… you were in coma. What are you doing up? Let alone… I, how did you even get here?"
"I walked?"
"Walked?!" Sebastain repeats with alarm. "You walked from STAR Labs to here?"
"Well, I didn't exactly have my wallet on me to get a Uber," Barry shrugs.
"God, kid. You've given me more grey hairs than I can count," Joe says.
"I can't believe you're here. I can't believe you're okay."
"I'm okay, Seb."
"But you weren't," Sebastian snaps. "You were dead. You kept dying."
"But I'm not," Barry says. "I'm right here."
Suddenly, the world goes still, like it's been paused or put into slow motion and Barry looks around with confusion until it returns to normal speed.
"Did they at least check your vitals?" Sebastian asks. "Do you have to go back in for any routine check-ups?"
"Oh, c'mon, Sebasti-hen," he groans, the nickname from their childhood of Sebastian mother-henning him and Chris.
"Don't Sebasti-hen me," he smacks his arm lightly. "I have every reason to be worried."
"Let's get you to sit down," Joe says. "C'mon. I'll get you something to drink. Did they give you any sort of diet list?"
"No, they didn't really give me anything like that," Barry says slowly.
"Barry," Sebastian says, holding the word out. "Did you just leave before they could examine you?"
"…Maybe?"
Sebastian huffs. "That's it. We're going back to STAR Labs—"
"Sebastian—"
"You were in a coma, Barry!" Sebastian snaps. "Your heart kept stopping and they couldn't figure out why and I… can't," he chokes on a sob. "I can't lose anyone else, okay? First mom, and then Chris, and then you— I can't, okay? So we're going to go back and make sure you're fine and then we're gonna go back to Joe's place and just sit. Okay?"
Barry nods, guilt pooling in his chest. "Okay."
The STAR Labs staff is relieved to see him return and Dr. Snow is glad to be able to examine him now that he is awake. He's in top health, something that is apparently not as unheard of as it should be.
That's when they drop the unbelievable truth.
There are people with superpowers.
Like, actual superpowers.
Most people's powers, or as they call it, meta abilities are benign, barely strong enough to impact their day. Others are so powerful that they've had to reshape their entire lives around accomodating the changes.
Sebastian is the leading meta rights activist and advocate for meta legislation, collaborating with the CCPD to create protocol for fair arrest and incarceration of meta involved crimes.
This is apparently how he and Joe have become close during Barry's coma.
Once he's been double triple checked and gotten the okay from Dr. Snow and Dr. Wells, Sebastian and Barry head home while Joe heads back to the station to clear things up with Captain Singh about his sudden mid-day absence.
"Where's Chris?" Barry asks Sebastian who is preparing them lunch.
Sebastian stills. He clears his throat tightly. "I… I don't know."
"You don't know?" Barry asks. "He… he's a guidance counselor in Keystone. Where could he possibly go?"
"I don't know," Sebastian says. "We… about a month into your coma, Chris was… he wasn't well. He had gotten a healing ability but he could only heal himself, not you, and he was spiraling, blaming himself for things that absolutely weren't his fault. I could tell he was starting to hurt himself again but he wouldn't talk to me and I… I wasn't exactly in the best state of mind and we got into it. We really got into it. And then one day he just… he left. And we haven't talked since. He didn't return for the spring semester at his school, he didn't leave a note, didn't say anything and I… I don't know if he's out there still, I don't know if he's even alive, and it's been eating me up for months and I just wish I could know that he was—"
"Hey, hey," Barry says. "Just breathe."
"What if he's dead, Barry?" Sebastian chokes out, tears falling. "What if he died thinking you were never going to wake up? What if he died thinking that I hated him? What if he killed hims—" He stops on a sob.
Barry pulls his brother into a tight embrace and Sebastian falls apart.
"We'll find him," Barry whispers. "We'll find him and he'll know that I'm awake and that you don't hate him and, hey, we've gotten through enough together already. We can get through this."
Sebastian finally pulls himself together and they are able to eat the simple sandwiches that he was putting together.
"So," Barry says. "Tell me what I missed. I mean, you're like famous now?"
"No, I'm not," Sebastian laughs. "I was more famous in my teenage glee club than I am now."
"Well you're renowned. That's gotta mean something, right?"
"I guess," Sebastian says, shaking his head bashfully.
"But that's all work," Barry says. "Anything else happen?" Sebastian bites his lip and Barry lights up. "Is there a boy?" He holds out the 'o' teasingly and Sebastian bats him away.
"Maybe."
"That's a yes! Ah, that's absolutely a yes!"
"Oh my God, you're just a bad as Iris."
This makes Barry pause. Sebastian and Iris are friends? Something to look into later.
"Okay," Barry says. "Tell me everything."
"It's… it's complicated okay?" Sebastian sighs.
"Bad complicated or exciting complicated?"
"Complicated complicated." Sebastian picks at the crust on his sandwich. "His name's Len and I met him at work."
"Okay…?" Barry says. "And Iris is apparently dating Detective Pretty Boy. What's so bad about a workplace romance?"
"I met him at work," Sebastian says pointedly, "when I was representing him."
"…Oh." Barry's eyes are wide. "Was it… like, bad? What he did?"
"Armed robbery."
"Sebastian."
"I know."
"When I used to tease you about being into the boys that aren't good for you, I didn't think—"
"Shut up!" Sebastian sets down his plate. "And he… he is good for me."
Barry softens. "What's he like?"
"He… he's got a tough exterior. Snarky. A bit of a bitch."
"Sounds like someone I know."
Sebastian shoves him again. "But he's also… he cares. And when he cares about you, he'd do anything to protect you. He doesn't see how kind and good he is and… you know how awful I was growing up. He's not cruel. Not like I was. Sometimes I think I'm the one that doesn't deserve him."
Barry goes quiet. "He sounds really great."
"He is."
"Can I meet him?"
Sebastian's eyes go to his hands in his lap. "Maybe one day."
And that's enough for now.