Chapter Text
If someone had told Barry Allen that when he grew up he was going to get paid for getting beat up by other guys, he would have started charging his elementary school bullies; life has strange ways of putting us where we belong, oftentimes it can be one we don't even imagine.
Barry Allen was that kid who seems to be the bullies' golden dream: good in school, with loving parents and interests like theater and singing, all of which coupled with his strong drive to always do good and protect the innocent made him a target for bullying by some of his peers from his first day in preschool. It was common for him to come home with some visible bruise or bump, but his mother always took loving care of him and his father comforted him, the years went by but things never got better, sadly he ended up getting used to it. When he got to high school he joined the choir and drama club, the more credits for extracurricular activities the better, plus he enjoyed both activities.
His beloved hobbies led him to suffer more bullying, but luckily he had his best friend Iris, who did not hesitate to send to hell whoever bothered him or if necessary give a good hit, even when she started dating a boy named Eddie he also defended him, they shared some classes so they got along very well. One day when neither Eddie nor Iris were around, Tony Woodward took advantage and gave him the worst beating of his life so far; after the school principal only gave Tony a warning arguing that it was boys stuff his friends decided to take matters into their own hands.
"What do you mean, you're going to help me?" Barry asked Eddie cautiously.
"Come with me in the afternoon and you'll see." He smiles. "Don't be late.
"Me? Never." He scoffed.
A few minutes after the agreed time, Barry arrived running to the place Eddie indicated to him, he found him outside and was surprised to see what it was.
"A gym?"
"Yes."
"Hey, I don't know what you think we can do here that will help me... Did you bring me to meet guys? Because I already told Iris that I'm not interested in a relationship in-"
"I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself." Interrupts Eddie, he looks a bit confused, he knows Barry is gay, but they never talk so openly about it.
"Oh yes. What else are we going to do in this place?" He answers uncomfortably.
"Come on, let's go in."
The place is huge, the first thing Barry notices is that there is no the usual exercise equipment but two rings, one on each side of the gym, one is higher than the other, Eddie goes to the space closest to the door, where the ring is lower and there are some boxing bags.
"I have to tell you that Joe already tried this years ago and it didn't work."
"It was him and Iris who gave me the idea, they think that maybe you wouldn't feel so uncomfortable with me."
When Barry was eleven years old, Iris's father Joe tried to teach him how to box, but honestly Barry could never even land a decent punch, besides he didn't like the idea of trying to hit his friend even if it was just for educational purposes... or maybe he didn't like the idea of her hitting him either, she has an excellent right hook; with all his saintly patience Joe eventually gave in giving him the sage advice he follows to this day: If you find yourself in a fight against someone you're not going to be able to beat it's okay to run. Iris on the other hand is very capable of defending herself, practicing boxing regularly, at times she has even practiced with Eddie, Barry finds that very strange but they seem to like it, years later he would understand the reason for it himself, but for now…
"I guess it won't hurt to try, I can't look any worse than I already do, can I?" He says pointing to his still swollen nose.
"It's a start to make sure it doesn't happen again."
And from that day on, Barry went to train with Eddie twice a week, discovering that he was not so good at punching but he was good at dodging, he had great agility and a speed that his friend constantly praised. As was often the case, the brown haired guy was late for some sessions, so they had to stay after and they could watch the guys practicing wrestling at the other end of the gym, Eddie had explained to him that they used the place just for practice, as the only wrestling school in the state was a train ride away and very expensive; more than once Barry found himself watching in awe at the complex moves they performed, thinking how exciting and fun it would be to do those jumps from the top of the ropes.
One day after training with Eddie, he ran into a boy in the gym bathroom, he had long hair and looked like he had been run over by a train.
"This is the last time I let him use me as a human punching bag!"
"Are you all right?" asked Barry.
"Yeah, it's just that my cousin thought it would be a good idea to practice his DDT variations on me and it's no fun. It's not fun!"
The brown-haired guy looked at him confused for a moment but then assumed he was referring to some wrestling term the guys sometimes used that he didn't understand yet.
"I get it, funny it's not." He replies, trying to joke when he sees the Yoda t-shirt the boy is wearing.
"I knew it! You're one of mine, I knew it since the other time I came here you were wearing a Harry Potter t-shirt."
"What can I say? Hogwarts is my home." He replies smiling.
"Hopeless nerd, huh?"
"Proudly."
"I think we'll be good friends-"
"Barry, Barry Allen."
"Cisco Ramon. Tell me, Barry, what brings you here?" He asks curiously, as he is aware that neither of them would normally be in a place like this.
"Some idiots from my school beat me up."
"Tell me about it."
Just as Cisco said, they became good friends, despite attending different schools they got along well and liked hanging out together, as well as seeing each other at the gym, as Cisco accompanied his cousin, who wanted to be a professional wrestler and was striving to make it, working at two places to be able to pay for wrestling school. One afternoon after going to Barry's house to play video games, his friend asked
"You're in your school's drama club, right?"
"Yes, why?"
"René's going to kill me if I tell you, but it's for his own good: do you think you could teach him to act?"
"I wouldn't have a problem, but why does your cousin need me to teach him? "
"You know, wrestler stuff, they're teaching him how to talk in front of the microphone to do promos and I keep telling him he sounds like a robot or Google translator, plus he doesn't know how to improvise, that's not in the script and I don't want him to freeze in the middle of the ring because-"
"Wait." Barry interrupts. "What do you mean by script?"
"Oh wow, you didn't know that. Barry, I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but not everything in wrestling is real."
The brown-haired boy just tilts his head adorably to one side, then Cisco tells him about kayfabe and how an act is woven through the gimmicks of the wrestlers, telling stories through the fights, simplifying his explanation into something clear, understandable and incredible to Barry: every rivalry is an act, the wrestlers are actors playing their roles in front of fans in a ring instead of a stage and the fights are elaborate choreographies designed to be performed by experts. In this new light, Barry's interest in the spectacle of wrestling grew, finding himself that night in front of the television, watching with a critical eye the unfolding of the plots, which he would later follow faithfully week by week.
That's how his freshman year of high school ended, the summer passed uneventfully, hanging out with Iris or Cisco and still attending the gym to train with Eddie or learn some basic wrestling moves on the days Rene was feeling especially good-natured. Upon returning to school his peace didn't last long, as Tony Woodward was ready to make him miserable, new school year worse idiot.
"Hey, Allen." He said, stopping him in the middle of the hallway.
"What do you want, Tony?" He replied, no longer scared but tired.
"Nothing, I just came to say hello and remind you what a scumbag you are."
At that moment Tony tried to hit him, but Barry managed to dodge him, the onlookers who had gathered in the hallway (they always see but don't do anything) watched in astonishment.
"Don't be a coward, defend yourself!" He shoved him sharply.
The brown haired boy only took a deep breath, he was fed up, it was time to end this once and for all, he remembered Eddie's most recent lesson: You don't need to tire yourself out by hitting too much, one hit, just one but thrown correctly is enough . So he put on his guard, Tony just laughed.
"Try it if you want to, but don't forget, you were born to get hit."
That was it, Barry took a step back and then raised his arm, releasing the punch with full force into Tony's cheek, who ended up staggering and holding onto the lockers behind him; the crowd was split between muttering in disbelief and silent admiration, Barry just wanted to get out of there so that's what he did. Before long, his feat was already known to everyone in the school, Iris and Eddie looked at him with pride and from that day on, every time Tony Woodward and his goons encountered him in the halls they would put their heads down and quickly disappear.
That led him to a great period of peace during his second year of high school, he still went to the gym with Eddie, now more out of habit than necessity. He also had fun with Cisco and spent more and more time looking at the wrestling side of the gym, feeling a strange curiosity, almost as if it was calling him.
There are those who say that happiness doesn't last forever, unfortunately Barry could attest to that, for as he started his junior year of high school and seemingly had everything he wanted: good grades, friends and freedom from the jerks who picked on him, tragedy knocked on his door in the worst possible way. What should have been an ordinary day turned into a nightmare, when he learned that his mother had been seriously injured during a bank robbery while she was there, he barely had time to get to the hospital with his father so he could say goodbye.
Needless to say he was devastated, all his thoughts were dominated by sadness and anger, he was unable to think of anything other than the overwhelming pain of his loss and how much he wanted those responsible to pay, he wanted, wanted… He needed some way to get out of that dark place in his mind before he did something he might actually regret, so he got out of bed, he didn't use it more than a decorative object in his room lately anyway, he put on his headphones and went out into his empty neighborhood at that early morning hour and ran, slowly at first, then he gained speed and kept going. By the time the sun began to peek over the horizon, his whole body ached, he could barely breathe and his clothes were drenched in sweat, but for the first time in weeks he felt some peace.
He repeated his running routine for a couple of weeks, but it was ceasing to be as effective at quieting the thoughts swirling around in his head, so he thought of some other way and found himself directing his steps to the gym, today he wasn't accompanied by Eddie, but other guys already knew him, so they kindly helped him with a new routine, although he started with the lower weights, it was still quite strenuous and the simple exercises he convinced his friends to practice in the ring left him feeling pleasantly sore, that night when he got home, he threw himself into bed exhausted and was finally able to sleep for more than two hours.
Naturally his father noticed, even though work kept him out almost all day, he could see that Barry was barely sleeping and exercising enough for take a place in an Olympic selection, honestly he was worried, he tried several times to talk to him but he always avoided him, so he would have to corner him; it was not yet dawn but Henry Allen was waiting in front of the door until his son came down from his room, when he heard the small steps that tried to be stealthy he got ready
"Isn't it too early to run, Bear?"
Barry was surprised to find him there, but quickly pulled himself together and replied.
"You know what they say about getting up early." He made a grimace that pretended to be a smile.
"It's good that you want to keep fit but it's not just that. Is it?"
"I don't understand you."
"Son, don't think I don't see what you do: you get up before dawn to run God knows how many kilometers, you go to school and your clubs, then you spend the afternoon at the gym training to get here and lock yourself in your room to do homework. Do you eat or sleep?"
"Dad, I-" He doesn't need to answer, the dark circles under his eyes, his pale skin and how weak he looks speak for themselves.
"I know, but what would she say if she saw the way you're hurting yourself?"
Barry looks at him with tears in his eyes
"It's the only way, when I'm running or training I forget for a moment that she's gone, it's the only way I can take the pain, you can't take that away from me."
"And I'm not asking you to stop doing it, I'm just asking you to take care of yourself, I can't lose you too."
"I'm sorry, dad. I miss her so much. He hugs his father while crying
"So do I, son." They hug for another while, then he says. "So this is what you want?"
"Yes."
"Well, today I'm going to make an appointment for the nutritionist, you need to know what dietary changes you need now."
"Thank you, Dad."
"You're welcome, Bear" He tousles his hair lovingly. "Promise me you'll come talk to me next time, I'll always be there for you."
"I promise."
With better and healthy advice, Barry continued his training for the rest of the year. Then senior year came and when the date of college applications was approaching, he had already decided where he wanted to go: Pennsylvania, there besides the university where he wanted to study to become a forensic scientist, was Keystone City, his interest in the place was simple: Jay Garrick's wrestling school. Once he got over his grief, he began to think seriously about the future, over the years, wrestling became more of a passion in his life and the idea of going pro excited him, but realistically, very few ever really excelled, so he required a plan b, so he would go to college and become a CSI, in case wrestling failed.
When his acceptance letter arrived, he was excited, even more so because Cisco would also be attending the same college albeit in a different major, so with his father's blessing, he carried his bags to his friend's old car and they both wistfully watched their beloved Central City drive away and when the " You are leaving Missouri" sign appeared in front of them they knew the journey was just beginning and the future held something incredible in store for them.
Glossary
DDT: Is any move in which the wrestler falls down or backwards to drive a held opponent's head into the mat. Something like this:
