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Leonard tentatively probes the bandage around his midriff, wincing at the sharp flash of pain every motion drives through his upper body, his muscles cramping in response. It's not how he imagined this day would go when he got up this morning, before the Flash tracked him down at his safe house to ask for help – as if their track record for team-ups wasn't a long history of disasters and disappointments for Team Flash.
Speaking of the Scarlet Speedster —
"Spying on me, Barry? My, my, where are your manners?"
He doesn't need to turn around to where Barry has been lingering in the doorway for the past few minutes to hear him shuffle into the room, awkward at being caught.
"I just came to check up on you."
"Keep an eye on me, you mean?" Leonard faces Barry, lip curling into a taunting smirk. "I get it. Can't let Captain Cold roam free at S.T.A.R. Labs."
Barry rolls his eyes, all fondness and good-natured humor that rubs Leonard the wrong way because he knows how to deal with mistrust. Concern is another matter entirely, however, and the way Barry measures him reeks of it.
"How are you?" Barry asks, confirming Leonard's suspicions. "Caitlin says you fractured two ribs."
He knew he shouldn't have allowed Snow to talk him into letting her have a look at his injuries. So much for doctor-patient confidentiality.
"Don't worry your pretty little head off, Barry. I've had worse." He scowls and narrows his eyes, unable to resist adding, "Some of it from you, unless I'm mistaken."
It's meant to sting, but he still finds himself regretting the harsh words as he watches Barry flinch and a guilty look settle on his face.
Oh, for fuck's sake! Kid needs to get himself a thicker skin. As tough as Barry is out there in his Flash suit, throwing himself head-first into danger even when he's outnumbered and overpowered, as easy is it to hurt him with a well-placed jibe. Leonard remembers Barry stretched out on the ground at Ferris Air after that botched meta transport, the disappointment and despair on his face as he'd stared up at Leonard.
"Given you worse, too, far as I remember."
It's meant to be an olive branch of sorts, in a backwards kind of way, but the reminder does nothing to chase that look off Barry's face.
He unhappily shrugs Leonard's reasoning off. "That's not the same thing. Going against each other, we both had an agenda. And we knew what we were risking for it. It's different when I ask for your help and you get hurt."
That's enough now, Leonard decides.
He squares his shoulders, pulling himself taller until he got that extra inch on Barry as he steps up to him, crowding into his personal space. "Spare me the guilt trip, Scarlet. I'm no hapless civilian who got caught in the crossfire. I knew what I was agreeing to when you asked for that little team-up. Now if you're saying you owe me because things didn't run quite as smoothly as you expected, I ain't gonna say no. But acting like I'm your responsibly is gonna get old real fast."
"I'm not—" Barry protests, but the unimpressed look Leonard sends him shuts him up before he can finish the denial. He ducks his head, his smile wry and self-conscious. "Okay, fine. I'm still sorry you got hurt, though."
"Of course you are."
Leonard's aiming for sharp annoyance, but it comes out all wrong, resigned and exasperated and incriminatingly fond.
They're still standing too close, and Leonard's tired and in pain, his defenses down, those impenetrable walls he can normally count on not holding up as well as they should. Barry's still smiling that soft smile of his, his hair's a tousled mess from when he pulled off the cowl of his suit and his cheeks are rosy and flushed. He makes Leonard want, fierce and with a ruthless pull he usually only allows himself to feel towards expensive objects he can steal.
He's always known that one day the Flash would be his downfall unless Leonard literally froze the problem before it came to that, but he'll be damned if today's gonna be that day.
He pulls himself together, as well as he can. "Well, Flash. I could say it's been fun but you know how much I hate to lie. Gotta be on my way. Find some ice to put on those ribs."
If the curl of his lips doesn't quite manage the mocking edge of his usual smirk, he's confident Barry won't be able to tell the difference.
"Do you want me to take you home?" Barry asks before Leonard can turn around and go.
He snorts. Of course, now Barry offers to give him a lift, as opposed to all those times when he flashed him to the outskirts of Central and left him there to find his own way back.
"Why? Wanna kiss it better?" he taunts.
What he expects is for Barry to laugh and shake his head and finally let Leonard leave in peace. But the grin he counted on doesn't come. Instead, Barry averts his eyes and the blush tinting his face darkens. He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck and bites his lip, an altogether too appealing picture of nervousness.
Cute. And a hell of a turn-on too, especially considering the implications of Barry's reaction.
Leonard can't resist the urge to reach out.
Barry jumps a little when Leonard's palm touches his cheek, but if he really didn't want the touch, he'd flash himself to the other side of the room before Leonard could do as much as take a breath. Besides, Barry kinda tipped his hand already.
He struggles to meet Leonard's eyes when Leonard rubs his thumb teasingly against Barry's lip. They're so close now that Leonard can see the tiny specs of brown in the green of Barry's eyes, and he watches them go wide as he leans in. It's obvious that Barry expects a kiss, so Leonard turns to the side before their lips can meet and lets his mouth brush against the shell of Barry's ear when he speaks.
"Why don't you hold that thought until I'm up for a little more strenuous activity again?"
The absolutely gobsmacked expression on Barry's face when he pulls back is more satisfying than icing the asshole meta who'd thrown him into a fucking truck had been, earlier today.
Barry only recovers his voice when Leonard is already halfway towards the exit.
"You're such a jerk," he calls out, but there's suppressed laughter in his tone.
Leonard turns on his heel to face him. "Don't sound so surprised, Barry. Been trying to tell you that from the start. Not my fault when you never listen."
Still, he's almost tempted to step back into the room and pull Barry into the kiss he's been denying him just now. But his self-restrained is bad enough to begin with where Barry's concerned and especially today, and he isn't sure if he could stop before things got too far, once he allows himself to have a taste.
He forces himself to keep walking backwards out of that door, making an effusive little gesture somewhere between a wave and a tip of his non-existing hat.
"Later, Flash," he drawls, a teasing kind of promise he has every intention of following through once he's properly healed.
The door swooshes shut between them, cutting off Barry's smile. Maybe today wasn't such a waste after all.
End.