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“So, Leonard,” The figure across the room, shadowed by the dark corner she sat in, started, “it’s been a little over a year since you’ve started coming to see me for sessions. As always, I will remind you that I’m a medical doctor, not a psychologist, though I do have a minor in psychology. Regardless, nothing you say will be repeated outside of this room by me.”
Len nodded. He’d started seeing the doc not long after being promoted to second-in-command of the Secret Society. The thought had sickened him, even though he knew he had no choice but to accept it. That’s when he realized that, if he didn’t talk to someone, he was going to do something drastic—like shoot Lex Luthor in the face.
He trusted the doc. She knew Barry well, knew all of the ups and downs of their relationship. She even delivered Elise. She had no loyalty to Luthor, no loyalty to the JLA. The only people she was loyal to were those she loved.
Luckily for Len, Barry was one of those people.
“Is there anything you want to talk about?”
He sighed. Yes, and no. He wanted to talk about Barry, about how, since bringing him to The Island, he’d been almost mute. He didn’t sleep. He only ate enough to nourish the baby. Len kept his distance—he knew that it’d take a while for his Omega to adjust, but he wanted him to be happy.
It broke his heart that Barry was miserable.
“Maybe you want to talk about your children? I’ve heard intel that Vibe has disappeared from the JLA. Maybe to search for his lost lover? Maybe to protect the children?”
Len wasn’t angry at Cisco anymore. Not about Barry, and not about the kids. It’d been weeks since the incident, and he couldn’t bring himself to disagree with Cisco’s actions. If the roles had been reversed, he may have taken the same actions Cisco had.
And how could he hate Cisco for loving Barry and the kids? They were all beautiful, perfect creatures, who could melt even the coldest heart. Of course someone with as soft a heart as Cisco would easily dissolve under their love.
“Barry misses them,” he decided to begin with. “I see it in him every day. When he touches his stomach, sitting in the gazebo, staring off at the ocean, I know that he’s thinking about Elise and the twins. I miss them, but I can’t imagine what he’s feeling, what kind of torture that is for an Omega to be separated from his children.”
“Not far off from an Alpha being separated from his mate, I suppose,” the doc said. “You became somewhat unhinged without Barry around. Are you worried about that happening to Barry?”
Len shook his head. “I’m worried about depression. What’ll happen after he has this baby? Now that I’ve set my plan in motion, there’re going to be weeks when I’ll have to stay away from the Island, away from Barry. I didn’t plan for Barry to be pregnant—who is going to look out for him when I can’t?”
“You have Rogues,” she suggested. “People loyal to you, not Luthor. You have me.”
“Barry needs people who love him,” Len sighed. “More than just you and me. With this pregnancy…if he doesn’t, I’m afraid we’re going to lose both of them.”
Caitlin Snow—Ice Maiden—leaned forward, a lock of white hair falling in her face. “It sounds like you already know what you have to do.”
He did. He wasn’t going to like it, but he knew exactly what needed to happen.
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The Island was as peaceful as Len had remembered. He’d only been once, when he first started forming his splinter group. Immediately, he’d known it was the perfect place for his Omega and children. So, he and his followers made plans, and soon, the perfect home was built for his family.
He wasn’t allowed to visit it—Lex Luthor would’ve become suspicious about where he was disappearing to, and it all would’ve been for nothing—but his Rogues kept him informed on the progress, even as he continued his search for his family. It’d been hard work, keeping someone as clever and resourceful as Luthor in the dark, but now, standing on the back porch of his grand mansion, staring out at his Omega, sitting, as always, quietly in the gazebo, reading, he knew it was all worth it.
If only he had his children.
He could see the weight their absence had on Barry, as well. It’d been two and a half months since Cisco stole Michael, Joseph, and Elise. Since he brought Barry to the Island, he’d given him his space, allowed him to grieve and adjust on his own. He had his own room in the house, next door to Len’s so he was close, but far enough that Barry had privacy.
He’d never want Barry to think that he expected them to be intimate after all that happened. He meant what he said about wanting to change. He wanted Barry and the baby to survive and be happy. But he hadn’t seen that, yet. All he’d seen so far was his Omega in pain.
Len twisted the transport button in his hand. The meeting had been arranged an hour before, but Len was second guessing everything about his plan. What if they couldn’t reach an agreement? What if there was a fight? What if Len lost everything all over again?
With all his nerve, he pressed the button.
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The warehouse dimly lit and bare, but it served his purpose as well as anything else. He resisted the urge to snarl when the smell of another Alpha filled his nose.
“What do you want, Snart?”
He turned to see Cisco, dressed in full Vibe gear, staring at him with nothing but contempt.
Len couldn’t blame him, but he didn’t regret what he’d done, either. “Not a fight, Cisco. I’m unarmed.” He motioned down, showing his lack of cold gun. Cisco didn’t relax a centimeter.
“Like I’d ever trust you,” he snarled. “Where is Barry?”
“Safe. He’s on a secure, private island I set up just for him and our children. I would say that he’s happy, but I wouldn’t be here if he was.”
Cisco scoffed. “Being held prisoner will do that to you.”
“As always, Ramon, you’re missing the point,” Len drawled. “It isn’t his conditions making him unhappy. Barry is lonely—I’ve kept my distance, respectfully, knowing that it will take time for the two of us to work through our issues, but that leaves Barry with no one to spend his time with. He needs his children.”
Cisco’s eyes widened, like he couldn’t believe what Len was asking, what he wanted. “Hell, no. There’s no way I am giving those children to you.”
“I’m not expecting you to,” Len argued. “Look, Barry isn’t eating. As far as I can tell, he’s barely sleeping. It’s not good for him, and it’s not good for the baby. I know you love him—”
Cisco jerked, not expecting Len to be that honest, but he knew the truth. Barry wouldn’t have let any Alpha weave themselves so deeply into his life if he didn’t love them, and it was impossible not to fall in love with Barry.
“Yes, I know, wipe that surprised look off your face, Ramon. We are both in love with the same Omega, and we need to put aside our pettiness and think of him.”
“Then bring him home,” Cisco suggested. “I can protect him—I’ve been doing it for years.”
“Not against Lex Luthor and the Society, you can’t. Luthor wants Barry and our children so that he’ll have leverage over me. Neither of us wants that, but we also can’t have Barry falling into a depression. That could kill him and the baby. Luckily, I have a plan. One that involves you.”
A skeptical look crossed Cisco’s face, but Len knew he had him on the hook.
“I want you to bring the children here—alone, you and the kids only—tomorrow at 9am. If Barry sees his children, sees that they’re okay, and spends time with them, it’ll lift his spirits.”
Cisco raised an eyebrow. “So, what—you’ll bring Barry here for a playdate with his children, and that’s going to make everything okay?”
Len rolled his eyes. The conversation was becoming tedious, especially since they both knew Cisco would agree. “You get to spend time with the Omega you love, the one who is currently carrying your child, and he and I get to spend time with our children. Where is the downside, Ramon?”
“I’m sure there is one,” Cisco scoffed, but his stance relaxed. “How do I know you’ll keep your end of the deal?”
There it was. Len ran a hand over his shaved head. “I’m a man of my word, Ramon. I always have been. And I swear on the lives of my family that, if you bring the children here tomorrow, you will all be reunited with Barry, and he will be happy again.”
He didn’t dare tell Cisco the real plan. Firstly, he would never agree. Secondly, if he told anyone—anyone—Len’s true plan, it would find its way back to Luthor, and everything he’d worked for would come crashing down.
He could see the indecision behind Cisco’s eyes. He didn’t trust Len, and with good reason. Back in Barry’s kitchen, he would’ve murdered him without a second thought. He was surprised and angry then, letting his Alpha instincts overcome his rational mind. Now, to get what he wanted, every piece had to be put meticulously into place.
Cisco was a crucial one of those pieces.
Luckily, after a thoughtful pause, the other Alpha gave a small nod. “I’m not doing this for you, and I sure as hell don’t trust you—the second I smell a double cross, I will open a breach and drop you in the middle of an active volcano—but, the kids…they miss their dad, and it’s getting hard to explain why he’s not around. And…”
And he wanted to be around Barry again. To feel his child. To just be in proximity of it.
Len understood. He’d felt the same way during Barry’s other pregnancies. Finding out you’re having a child changes things. Before, he would’ve called in Oliver Queen, arrested him, and had him tortured for Barry’s location. But, things were different.
Like it or not, Cisco and Len were connected now.
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When he arrived back on the Island, Barry was standing at the front door, waiting for him.
“I was looking for you,” he explained, sadly, as Len climbed up the stairs towards him. “I wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner together tonight.”
Len’s heart broke when he finally stopped in front of his Omega. Barry was paler than ever. His eyes had heavy, black bags under them. His body was almost frail.
He reached out, slowly, to take Barry’s hand. “I would love to, Scarlet.”
A small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes stretched across Barry’s lips as Len pulled him by the hand back into the house.
Dinner wasn’t difficult—Len had planned ahead, after all, and made sure to stock enough food for a hungry speedster. He made two lasagnas—he knew Barry could eat a whole one by himself, and could probably finish Len’s while pregnant—and took a seat across from Barry.
“I have a surprise for you,” he announced halfway through their near-silent meal. Barry, who’d been moodily pushing around his food, glanced up.
“Oh?” he said, a spark of curiosity behind his eyes.
Len smiled, bright and genuinely. “I saw Ramon today, and made a deal with him. Tomorrow, we’re going to see our kids again, Scarlet.”
Barry’s entire demeanor changed. He perked up, his eyes brightened, and an excited smile stretched across his lips. “You did? When tomorrow? How did you arrange that? How did you get Cisco to agree to that? Are they all okay?”
Len laughed, pleased to see his Omega’s spirits raised. “Ramon says they’re fine. I explained that I think it would be in both his and my best interest that you were able to be with your children.” He reached across the table to take Barry’s hand in his. “You don’t look good, Barry. We all want you and that baby inside of you to be strong and healthy. It’s not my intention to make you miserable. I can’t take you back to the Justice League, but there is something I can do. I swear, you will be happy again.”
Despite himself, a blush appeared on Barry’s cheeks. It made Len’s stomach flip. “I love you,” he whispered. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but he felt it so much inside of him, it was like every bit of love he’d pushed down for the past five years was cartwheeling out of him. “God, you’re just…there are no words.”
He pressed a kiss to Barry’s knuckles, before withdrawing his hand. He was going to make things right. He was going to get his family back.
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Cisco was standing in the exact spot as before when Len transported into the warehouse. Both were alone, eyeing the other suspiciously.
“Where’s Barry?” Cisco demanded.
Len snorted. “Do you really think I’m going to bring him here before you bring the children here? What if Queen or one of the other Justice Losers are waiting to swoop in and take him?”
“How do I know the same isn’t going to happen with the kids?”
Len sighed. He was getting tired of the distrust. “I swear to you that I will not take the kids away from you, Ramon. I swear that you and the kids will see Barry, and I will not double cross you. If you don’t trust my word, we had no deal to start with.”
Cisco bit his lip, his eyes darting around the room, like he was searching for some sign that Len had gone back on his word. When he found none, he deflated and held a hand out to the side. A breach opened, and Joseph, Michael, and Elise all stepped out nervously.
Every bit of anger Len had in his body melted away. Elise ran to him, eyes wide with excitement. “Daddy! Daddy!”
Len laughed as she jumped into his arms. “Aww, Doodle Bug. I’ve missed you, and so has your dad. He’s missed his favorite heroes.”
He looked over at the twins, who were still leery of him. Understandable. He had a lot to make up for, which he would spend as much time as he could trying to mend.
“Okay,” Cisco spoke up. “Now, where’s Barry?”
Smiling, Len reached into his pocket and pulled out a transport device. “He’s on the other end of this. All I have to do is push the button.”
The distrust returned to Cisco’s face. “No. How do I know you won’t disappear when you push the button?”
All according to plan. With an exaggerated groan, Len rolled his eyes. “Here, then,” he held it out to the other Alpha. “You push it.”
For someone who distrusted Len, Ramon sure trusted that he had no ulterior motives. Len smothered his grin as Cisco pushed the button. For a second, nothing happened.
Then, a shock went through his body. It was a mild one, not terribly painful, but enough to knock him unconscious.
The kids all watched, slack-jawed and surprised, as Cisco crumbled to the floor.
Len chuckled. “Shawna! It’s time!”
The rogue appeared in behind the twins, who jumped.
“Take the kids back to the Island,” he asked, handing Elise over to Shawna. “I’ll take care of Ramon.”
She nodded, and the four disappeared before any of the kids could question it. Len knelt at Cisco’s side, brushing a piece of long hair away from his face. Then, he reached into his pockets, pulling out every piece of tech on him and crushing it.
He had plans for the other Alpha. And no one, not the Society and not the Justice League, could know about them.
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Cisco’s head was swimming when he came back to consciousness. His limbs were sore, and, for a split second, he couldn’t remember what happened.
Then, it hit him.
What an idiot! He scolded himself. How could he have trusted someone like Leonard Snart? He probably took the kids and locked Cisco in some bunker or dungeon to keep him from getting in their way. He groaned, forcing himself to wake up fully—and was surprised that his back was on something soft.
He shot up in bed, because yes, he was in a bed. A nice one, at that. The room was huge, though sparsely furnished, and his sheets were crisp and white, like they were brand new. There was a huge window to the right of the bed, looking out onto a rocky cliffside, the ocean just below it. He rose slowly from the bed, taking note that he wasn’t chained to it in any way. He expected the door to be locked, but was surprised yet again. The door swung open easily, revealing that he was in a mansion sized house, on what seemed like the third of five floors.
He crept quietly through across the floor, trying to find the stairs. When the door at the end of the hall opened, he froze in place.
“Cisco!”
He frowned when Lisa rushed forward to throw her arms around his neck. Lisa had gone missing around the same time that Snart joined the Society. Cisco had searched for her—at the time, he’d thought that one day, they would mate and be together forever—but he never found any trace. From the smell of her, Cisco could tell that she’d moved on, just like he had. A familiar scent clung to her clothes, but he couldn’t place it.
When she pulled back, she was grinning gleefully. “I’m so happy to see you. When Lenny said he was bringing you here, I almost didn’t believe it. It’s been too long.”
The mention of her brother put him back on edge. “Lisa, where am I? Where has your brother brought me?”
Lisa frowned, looking over Cisco like he’d lost his mind, before her confusion was replaced by annoyance. “Lenny!” she hissed. “That idiot didn’t talk to you, did he? He just dragged you along without any explanation.”
She took him by the hand and started dragging him down the hallway. “Well, I can tell you that you’re on the Island. It doesn’t have a name outside of that, because it’s so far off the radar that no one can find it. It’s protected by every bit of cloaking technology and magic imaginable, and no one comes or goes without Lenny’s consent. That includes your breaching powers, by the way.”
They came to a staircase, and Lisa pulled him downstairs. “You can transport anywhere on the Island, but you can’t leave or communicate with anyone outside the Island without permission. My brother will explain everything else.”
She finally stopped at the bottom of the stairs, which let out in the kitchen. Must have been the backstairs. She pointed towards a door. “Go through there, down the hall, and, when you come to the fancy double doors, just go right in. I’m sure with all his drama, he’s expecting you.”
Lisa turned to head back up the stairs, but paused first to peck his cheek. “It really is great seeing you again, Cisco. I hope that you listen to what Lenny has to say. I want us to be friends, again.”
With that, Lisa strolled back upstairs. Cisco watched, confused, until she disappeared from sight. Then, with a sigh, he followed her directions. He’d planned to barge in through the double doors Lisa told him about, asserting his new fearlessness towards Captain Cold, but, to his dismay, the doors were already open.
The room was a study. It was bigger than Cisco’s apartment, with bookshelves covering every wall, and two couches set in the center of the room, a few feet away from a heavy, mahogany desk, situated in front of one of three grand windows.
Snart stood behind it with his back to the door, his focus outside of the large window in front of him. Cisco considered blasting him right through the glass, but, somehow, he knew that wouldn’t help.
“Good to see you awake, Ramon,” the villain drawled without even turning around. Typical dramatic Snart.
“Where’s Barry?” He demanded. “Where are the children? What have you done with my family?!”
He expected a negative response—for Snart to round on him angrily and insist that they were ‘his family, and no one else’s!’. But, instead, Snart sent a small smile over his shoulder and nodded towards the window. “See for yourself.”
Cisco nearly ran for the window, desperate to see what Snart had planned for Barry and the kids. Were they chained up? Gated in? Snart always claimed to love them—and Barry always insisted he did—but his past actions proved otherwise. You don’t imprison people you love.
But, to his surprise, there was no horrible sight outside. It was a huge yard, with bright green grass and lots of space for a speedster to run. Barry was sitting in a gazebo a few yards from the house, Joseph in his lap, watching Michael and Elise run around, trying out their powers in a free environment. He’d never seen any of them so happy.
“I love my family, Ramon,” Snart whispered. “Everything I’ve ever done has been for them. I know I don’t always make the best decisions, but I want you to understand me. Then, I’m going to make a request that I hope you agree to.”
Cisco, confused and a little dumbstruck, nodded. Snart stepped away from the window and motioned for him to take a seat on one of the couches, while he sat in the armchair.
“You’re, of course, aware that, after Barry became pregnant with the twins, I made the decision to secretly join the Justice League.”
Cisco nodded again.
“Well, about two years after the twins were born, I was given a mission. The mission was to be top secret—only myself, Barry, Queen, and Mick were to know about it. We’d heard that Lex Luthor was planning on forming a society for the most dangerous supervillains the League had ever faced. My task was to infiltrate the society, report back my findings, and, if possible, bring them down from the inside.
“For the next year, it worked like a charm,” Snart continued. “I was accepted into the society, I leaked intel to Mick, who was my handler, and everything was going fine. Every now and then, I would even be able to come home to my beautiful Omega and two children. Then, I was called into Luthor’s office.
“He knew I was a double agent. He told me that he’d known since I joined, but I was ‘too valuable an asset to turn away’. He’d spent that whole year trying to find my weakness, so that he would have power over me, to force me to do his dirty work for real. And he found it. He knew the Flash’s secret identity, and he knew that we were mated.”
Len turned his head away, like he was living in that moment when Lex Luthor told him he had his heart. “He knew so much, Cisco. He even knew Barry was pregnant again—Barry hadn’t even told me yet. He told me that, unless I worked for him—really worked for him—he would take my family and feed them, one by one, to King Shark. I never gave a damn about the League, only Barry and my family, so I agreed. I betrayed the League, froze Mick’s leg off, and told Luthor how to break into Watchtower. Then, while he was distracted, I grabbed Barry and the kids and took them as far from Luthor as I could.
“I knew about an old bunker used by the Santini’s for hiding out from the police, so I smuggled them in. It wasn’t the best solution, but I’d rather all of them hate me than be dead. Luthor knew what I did, but he swore he wouldn’t look for them if I continued being a loyal Society member. I became a piss-poor father and an even worse Alpha, but my family stayed safe. Since that day, I planned for this.”
He motioned around him. “A secret place I could take my family, where Luthor would never be able to find them. When you and Queen found them and broke them out, I was furious. After all I’d done to protect them, you were advertising to Luthor where they were. It’s why I almost killed Queen that day, but Barry jumped in the way of my blast.”
He sighed, his attention going back to Cisco. “I suppose I should be grateful that you all hid Barry from me, got him to quit being the Flash and replaced him with his foster brother. Luthor spent years helping track Barry down, hoping to get his leverage back. As for me…well, I may have lost my mind a bit, spending almost five years away from my family, not knowing if they were okay. But, now, they’re here. They’re safe, and I want them to be happy, Cisco.”
Cisco understood that. After hearing what Len told him, he understood a lot of things. He knew about Len’s mission—Barry told him one night when they were cuddled together in bed, the Omega missing his mate—but he’d always assumed, like everyone else, that Len betrayed the League out of greed. To find out what Luthor had done changed his perspective ever so slightly of the man.
“That’s where you come in.” That sentence jerked Cisco back to attention. “Barry loves me, but he doesn’t trust me. I want what we used to have back, but I know things are different now. His heart doesn’t just belong to me anymore.”
He flicked a piece of lint of his black pants nervously. “Barry bore my children, and now he’s carrying yours. That connects us, whether either of us likes it or not. We can either fight it tooth and nail, or embrace it and move forward with our lives. I select the latter.”
Now, Cisco was really confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I want you to stay here, Cisco,” Len explained nonchalantly, like asking someone who he’d tried to kill only a few weeks ago to move in with him and his Omega was the most normal thing in the world. “You will be a part of your child’s life—raise it, love it, help it embrace its abilities once they develop—and you will be a part of Barry, Elise, and the twins’ lives. You will be a part of the family.”
Cisco raised an eyebrow, not knowing what to think. “You want another Alpha—one who is in love with your mate—living under your roof?”
Len gave a small shrug. “I need to stop controlling Barry’s life. He can have more than one Alpha if he chooses to mate with you. I won’t like it, but I won’t try to stop him, either. He deserves to be happy, after all he’s been through.”
He rose from his seat, and Cisco mirrored him. “I’ll understand if you don’t trust me, but remember this—this isn’t about you and me. This is about Barry, someone we both love. He’s safe here from Luthor, but I can’t always be here to make sure he’s safe. Without his powers, he and our children are vulnerable.”
“Then send him home,” Cisco suggested. “We can protect him at Watchtower. We can move him to another safehouse, somewhere Luthor can’t find him…”
“You don’t get it!” Len growled. “Luthor will find him! Do you know how close he was already? I’ve used every resource I could to make sure this island can never be found—technology, magic, you name it. There is no safer place on this planet!”
He wandered back over to the window, casting his gaze solemnly back out at his mate and children. “I can’t stay, Cisco. By now, Luthor is already wondering where I am. I can’t leave the Society now without raising suspicion, but I have a plan. In the meantime, someone needs to stay here, with Barry. Originally, I planned for one of my Rogues to stay—they’re loyal only to me and the family, and would protect Barry with their lives. But, now that I know there is someone else with just as much to lose as I, and just as much to gain, I am begging you—stay, protect him, love him. Be here when I can’t.”
Cisco recognized the desperation in Len’s voice. It was the same feeling that pushed Cisco to meet with him in the first place. He stepped over to stare over Len’s shoulder, his stomach flipping when he saw Joseph and Michael now play wrestling in the grass with Elise piggy-backing on Michael. Barry was laughing in that beautiful way that lit up his entire face, and Cisco knew he was a fool. A fool in love with another Alpha’s Omega, who couldn’t say no to anything that would make him happy.
He sighed deeply, his decision cementing in his mind.
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“Uncle Cisco!”
Barry’s attention snapped away from his children, over to the Alpha approaching across the lawn. He leapt to his feet and ran directly for Cisco, happier to see him than he’d ever felt before.
The Alpha wrapped his arms around Barry’s waist the second he was close enough and brought their lips together desperately and lovingly. Barry never wanted to let go—as much as he loved Len, he also loved Cisco, and the thought of being away from him and the children nearly killed him.
Cisco pulled back after a minute, resting their foreheads together with a content sigh. “Hey, Bare.”
Suddenly, a sour feeling washed over Barry. What did Cisco being on the Island mean? Where was Len? Was there going to be another fight? Would he be torn away, yet again, and forced into another safehouse?
“What’s happening?” he whispered, hoping the fear didn’t come through his voice.
A small smile pulled at Cisco’s lips. “Everything’s okay, Bare, I promise. Snar—Len is back at the house. He brought me here, so I can be here with you, and we can raise our baby.” He brought a hand down to touch Barry’s belly, which only had a small bump so far.
Barry knew there was more to everything, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. His family was all together, they were all safe, and, at the moment, he was happy.