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1.
The first time Barry kisses Lenny, it's an accident. Sort of. Kinda. Maybe? Barry isn't really sure.
Leonard Snart is smart, no matter how much it pains Barry to admit. He's clever and calculating and organized, has everything planned to the t. He brings a special kind of controlled chaos to everything he does, and Barry absolutely does not find that attractive. He doesn't. That would be weird and inappropriate. And Barry is a man of the law, of course.
He's strangely relieved when Snart escapes; he expected no less. Snart is too clever to allow himself to be captured, and that too for long.
What he doesn't expect is the way he catches Barry by surprise, the way Snart stalks towards him on the train, just before his friends show up. He's frozen - literally; the asshole froze him up again, even if he's thawing out quickly because of Cisco's fiddling with his suit - both in surprise and a little bit in anticipation, if he's going to be honest. Snart had an alluring presence.
And then Snart leans into Barry's space, sweeps his pretty eyes (what, Barry thinks blankly) over Barry's face, and then he's tilting his head and leaning even closer and then there are lips pressing against his and Barry's mind is eerily blank.
Because seriously, what?
Unconsciously, without even really knowing what he's doing, Barry leans into the kiss. Just a little, just enough, to feel that soft pressure on his lips.
And then just as quickly Snart is leaning away and smirking at him, looking somehow even more attractive if that was possible.
"Not bad," Snart says in that sardonic way of his, casual tone clashing with the way his eyes are intense on Barry's. "7 out of 10. Maybe next time you can even participate more actively."
Barry just swallows, thrown completely off kilter.
Snart steps away just as Caitlin, Cisco, and Felicity burst on the scene. Guns are waved threateningly and words are exchanged, Barry knows, but he couldn't tell you what they were because he was too busy being distracted by the feel of soft lips against his, the cool taste of Snart's breath sweeping across his palate.
But it's only when Snart is gone and his friends are crowding around him in concern that he thinks to ask Snart, too late, And why would I do that?
2.
When Snart comes back to Central City, he's not alone. He's bought a whole new bag of crazy with him, and not Snart's own brand of quiet crazy but actual crazy.
It's annoying, to say the least. Especially when Snart and Rory - or, as Cisco calls them, Captain Cold and Heatwave - kidnap Caitlin and demand Barry fight them out in the open. Nobody kidnaps the people he cares about and gets away with it.
Even if that somebody is a somebody Barry may have kissed. Accidentally.
Barry knows he shouldn't take the bait. Dr. Wells told him so, his own gut told him so. And yet he couldn't resist, flashing to the warehouse and whisking Snart away from his partner to somewhere no one could find them.
"Snart."
"Flash."
Barry pauses, weirdly perplexed. What exactly did he hope to gain from this meeting again? Snart doesn't even look mildly worried that he's out in the middle of nowhere, without at his friend, and basically at Barry's mercy right now.
But Snart doesn't look worried. Not even a little ruffled. Instead, he's smirking, as per usual.
The moment drags as they both look at each other appraisingly. And then Snart breaks it, saying, "Come back for more?"
Barry is immediately flustered, cheeks staining red. Snart doesn't even have to say anything more; he knows Barry knows what he's talking about.
Snart rolls his eyes then, apparently bored with him already. "What do you want, Flash? I have places to be, art to be stealing...people to be kidnapping."
The words snap Barry out of whatever trance Snart seems to have put him under. "Where is Caitlin, Snart?" he growls.
Snart tilts his head at him, ever present smirk curling his lips. "Now why would I tell you that? That's no fun."
Shit... "What do you want, Snart? There's no reason to hurt Caitlin."
"Simple. I want your identity. And I want Central City to know you're not the hero they're looking for."
Barry glares, speeding right up to Snart and grabbing him by his stupid parka. "One, you're not getting that. Two, this city is mine to protect, and I will protect it. If you think that - "
For a second Barry doesn't even know why his words have stopped, why he's suddenly unable to speak, and then it all comes in a rush as he realizes Snart is pressing his lips to his. Again.
Barry is frozen in indecision, has no idea what's happening or why it's happening at all, but then Snart is tilting his head and pressing more insistently against his lips, and Barry finds himself responding.
To Leonard Snart.
Snart breaks it all when his hands run up Barry's sides, a barely there touch that Barry feels to the core. Which would be okay, as far as letting dangerous criminals grope him is okay, but then Snart's hands are moving towards his head, towards his mask, and Barry's insides are freezing up (pun not intended). Barry flashes away from his arms, to a safe enough distance, away from Snart and his temptations. Barry is, embarrassingly, breathing hard, but whether it's from kissing Snart or from his anger, he couldn't tell.
"Wha-" Snart says, looking slightly confused, and breathing just as hard as Barry, he's satisfied to note. His arms are still in the air from where they had been moving towards Barry's mask, and he looks a little dumb, which makes Barry viciously, childishly, happy.
"You were trying to distract me!" Barry accuses, still somehow...hurt. Snart had tricked him.
"What?" Snart says again, narrowing his eyes at Barry in confusion, but after a moment the confusion clears and his eyes shutter. "Right. Distracting you. To get to your mask." His voice is flat and he looks annoyed. Which is...yeah, that makes no sense.
Why would Snart be annoyed with him? If anyone should be annoyed, it should be Barry.
Suddenly Barry feels very done with it all. He drags his hand over his mask, down to his chin. He puffs out a breath in annoyance, and then says, "Right." And then he's speeding Snart back to his partner, and runs as far away as he can before he has to turn back to face them again.
There might have been benefits to that whole Hercules vs. Hydra battle they forced him to fight, though. For one, the police are completely on the Flash's side now, as well as the whole of Central City's good citizens. And for another, Barry gets to see Snart and Rory put away, even if he knows it's only a temporary solution. Prison won't keep someone as smart as Snart for long.
Or to say, at all, because before he knows it Snart and Rory didn't even make it to the prison before they were broken out.
Criminals.
3.
It goes more or less to hell the next time he sees Snart.
Barry, feeling sick from going back in time and resulting not only in Cisco's brother's kidnapping, but Iris rejecting him and Snart finding out his identity, is so done with the day. He can only hope he doesn't go back in time again and have to relive all the humiliations once more.
But before he can drop into bed from exhaustion, he has one more thing to do...
He catches Snart just as he and his band of merry thieves are trying to rob a truck of its precious cargo. He snatches Snart away and takes them to the middle of a forest, stopping a safe distance away from him.
Snart is disoriented for a second, and then he's standing upright and tossing his motorcycle helmet aside. "Good to see you...Barry."
The way his name sounds coming from that mouth does not make his heart speed up. It doesn't.
Frustrated with himself, he pulls the mask back and looks at Snart. "We have to talk. I know Cisco told you who I am."
"Can't really blame the kid for giving you up. You or brother? Come on, I put him in a tight spot. The same kind I got you in right now. Can't really stop me now that I know who you are."
"I could speed you to my own private prison where you'll never see the light of day," Barry shoots back.
Snart tilts his head to the side and smirks. "Is that a promise, Barry?" he says, voice suddenly low and sultry and dripping in innuendo. Barry is confused, but only for a moment before he realizes what he said sounded vaguely pornographic. He can feel his blush crawling down from his cheeks to his chest.
Doing his best to ignore his blush, he says, "I can't let you keep hurting people and stealing things. It has to end."
Snart shrugs and says, of all things, "Don't want to." Like a child.
Patience snapping, feeling done with the longing swirling low in his gut, Barry speeds up to him and grabs him by the lapels. "Snart," he growls.
"Barry," he says softly, and honestly Barry should have been expecting what happens next - or maybe he had been hoping for it? - but he's still a little bit surprised when Snart brushes his lips against Barry's. Just a brush, a light touch, and it's clear he's leaving it up to Barry, letting him decide what he wants.
And Barry...Barry wants.
He presses back, his grip softening from tightly clenched to somewhat clingy. Before he knows what he's doing, his arms are slipping around Snart's neck and he's pressing his whole body against him.
Snart responds by curling his arms around Barry's waist, holding him tightly to himself, tongue slipping past Barry's lips to sweep across his palate. Snart moans softly into the kiss, the sound eagerly swallowed by Barry. He tilts his head, trying to get Snart to make those sounds again.
When he finally pulls away, it's obvious something has shifted between the two of them. Barry's face is flushed, skin tight and hot, heart thudding beneath his chest. His breathing is shallow and irregular, and Snart isn't doing any better. They stare at each other for a long minute, the moment drawn out as they catch their breaths, regulate their breathing to something approaching normal.
"You like it," Snart muses, his voice a combination of wonder, amusement, and...pleasure.
Barry takes a steadying breath, and, ignoring him, says, "If you don't hurt people, I won't take you in."
"Fine," Snart says, and he seems content to let the simmering tension between them lie. For now. He looks around pointedly. "I don't suppose you could give me a ride back?"
Barry just smirks, cocks his head to the side, and speeds away without a backward glance.
4.
When Barry realizes he may have a legitimate reason to seek out Snart, he tries to squash the hum of anticipation that simmers under his skin.
He makes his way to the bar he knows Snart is at, and when Snart notices his presence, he turns around and leans back against the bar, smirk already curling his lips.
Barry has to swallow. There's no denying it now; he's stupidly attracted to the older man.
"Barry." Snart's voice is soft and a little curious as he cocks his head. "What can I do for you? Or are you ready to take our...relationship...to the next level?"
It goes more or less downhill from there. Barry tries to make his case, and Snart refuses at first, but Barry hadn't been expecting him to make it easy.
He doesn't realize they'd been moving around as he argued with Snart until suddenly Snart has him shoved against a wall, in an alcove away from the prying eyes of the rest of the bar. Barry shuts up, realizing just how close they are. Snart's arms are once again around his waist, in a loose hold, and Barry finds his arms moving to rest on Snart's forearms, fingers curling around thick biceps. They're close enough that if he were to lean forward just an inch, they would be kissing.
Snart doesn't seem to be in a hurry to break the tense silence, his eyes instead roaming over Barry's face, to his lips and jaw before flicking up to his eyes. Barry knows his cheeks are red, Snart's eyes intense on his.
"What are we doing, Snart?" he says finally, breaking the silence. His voice is small and uncertain and he hates it, he hates feeling vulnerable.
Snart smiles, an actual smile, no smirk in sight. Barry has never seen him smile so softly; it transforms his whole face and the effect is hypnotizing, something tight and coiled unfurling inside him. "We're kissing, pretty boy," he says while leaning in.
His words have Barry blushing even harder. His fingers drag up Snart's arms as he tilts his head to the side and accepts his kiss, lips moving against the other's.
He doesn't know how long they kiss, only that he can feel the heat of Snart's body pressed against his, his hands at the small of his back, mouth humming appreciatively against Barry's. Barry feels a little bit drunk on the wet heat of his mouth, his lips soft and delicious. He swallows the sounds Snart makes, pressing insistently to draw more out.
Eventually Snart breaks the kiss, only to drag his lips along Barry's jaw and then wander down his throat. Barry lets out a sigh, his head falling back against the wall with a soft thud, exposing even more of his throat to Snart's questing lips. Snart hums in satisfaction and nips at his Adam's apple, and Barry's hands fly up to grip the back of Snart's head, moaning breathlessly.
"Snart," he pants, trying to draw him away.
Snart makes an annoyed sound and then licks the side of his neck.
Barry swallows, is tempted to let Snart keep his mouth on him forever, but.... "Snart," he says more persistently.
Snart sighs, lets his head fall against Barry's shoulder for a moment, and then lifts it to scowl at Barry, as if Barry took away a great treat from him. "What, Barry?"
And that, hearing his name like that, will never cease to send shivers through Barry's body. He tamps down on them though and says, quietly, "What are you doing?"
Snart considers him for a long moment. "I suppose there's no reason to mince my words. I'm attracted to you, Barry."
Oh. Barry swallows again, heart thudding so loudly he's sure Snart must hear it too.
"And I don't think I'm wrong in assuming you're attracted to me, too," he says, eyebrow rising in challenge, as if daring Barry to say he's wrong.
Barry does no such thing. His fingers fall to the nape of Snart's neck, rubbing idly at the warm skin there. "I, well yes I..." he trails off, unable to confirm what they both already know. "But...why?"
Snart shrugs nonchalantly. "Couldn't tell you."
Barry scowls, slightly perplexed.
Snart sighs, and then presses another kiss to his lips. "Just let it be."
Which isn't really a response at all, but if he was honest with himself, Barry couldn't have told anyone why he was attracted to the older man either. Oh there were the obvious reasons, the simple fact that Snart wasn't exactly rough on the eyes, or the fact that he exuded an aura that made people look. But Barry didn't have the same kind of presence, because while he knew he wasn't bad looking, there were tons of guys out there who were much better looking, hence why he was so confused about Snart's attraction.
But it didn't look like Snart was going to offer anything more, so Barry accepted his fate and sighed. After another moment of silence while they both sized the other up, Barry says, "Will you help?"
Snart takes a step back, taking precious warmth with him. "Fine. Just don't expect too much."
Barry feels gratified, relieved and a little more trusting of Snart.
It makes his betrayal even worse, but he should've seen that coming.
5.
And yet, despite all of Snart's posturing and sarcasm and coldness, Barry had always known there was some good in him, deep down.
Deep, deep, deep down.
Lisa Snart coming to them for help wasn't a small thing, Barry knew. His stomach dropped, heart twisting as Lisa told them her worries, because if Lisa was asking for help from the Flash, who was supposed to be Snart's enemy, then it had to be serious.
He speeds away in his suit as fast as he can, and the relief he feels at seeing Snart okay has him floored. Which isn't good, like at all, because maybe he was becoming a little too attached to one of his - no, the Flash's - enemies.
He speeds right up to Snart and shoves him against the wall, kissing him roughly. His heart is still pounding and maybe Snart sees something on his face, because after the initial back and forth, he doesn't say anything. He lets Barry kiss him, tugging him closer and wrapping his arms around him. Barry doesn't stop, shoving his tongue into Snart's mouth aggressively, clutching at his sides and licking his lips. He hears Snart's head thud against the wall from the force of Barry's kisses, but he can't make himself stop.
Eventually, though, Snart eases his mouth away, holding onto Barry's chin as he watches Barry breathe hard. "I'm fine, Barry."
"Lisa said-"
"Don't worry about what Lisa said. I'm fine."
"Then why are you-" But Snart cuts him off again.
"Go home, Barry. There's no one you can rescue here." And he gives Barry a gentle push. Barry steps back, half out of surprise and half out of indignation.
"Tell me what's going on. I can help you."
"It's not any of your business, Barry," Snart says, turning away from him and striding towards a desk strewn with papers.
And that, that hurt.
"How can you say that?" Barry grits out, voice tight. Snart doesn't turn around, but he does stop. "After everything that's happened between us?"
Snart is silent for a few moments, and then he turns around, looking at Barry appraisingly. Barry doesn't look away, and eventually Snart sighs. "Fine. But to make it clear, I didn't ask for your help."
Barry nods, too relieved to object.
True to his word, Snart does let him help, and even though there are a few bumps in the road, eventually they remove the bomb inside Lisa, and then Snart's father is dead.
Snart is sent to Iron Heights, but Barry knows it won't keep him for long. He considers moving him to Star Labs himself, but doesn't want anyone to think anything of it. To his relief, though, Joe brings it up himself, and Barry rests easy for a while, knowing Snart will be where Barry can keep an eye on him hopefully.
+1.
Zoom's attack leaves Barry shaken up, more so than he's been in a long, long time. Despite all his belief that he could beat Zoom, it became apparent to him very quickly that he couldn't.
That Zoom was too fast for him.
He can't move his legs, even though they're healing fast. Caitlin predicted he should be completely fine in a few days, but Barry knows it's not that simple. Physically, he might heal, but Barry knows his emotional state will take much longer to be whole.
As soon as the others leave after bidding him good night, Barry slumps against his bed, wrung out. He's still in the hospital bed they set out exactly for this purpose in Star Labs. Knowing Cisco though, he's probably going to spend the night here as well, just to keep an eye on him.
Barry knows the cameras are still on him, so he does his best not to break down sobbing. The tears still well up, of pain and humiliation and frustration, and he can't do anything about it but brush them off roughly.
The inability to feel anything below his waist is foreign and strange, and a little bit terrifying. Logically, Barry knows his super healing will fix his legs, but there's a tiny curl of doubt and fear in him that he'll never be able to walk again, no matter how he tries to squash it down.
He falls into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning before exhaustion more than anything takes him under. He dreams of lightening and a crack in his back, drowning in the sounds, and then there's a voice whispering his name.
Except it's not a dream, because a second later there's a hand on his shoulder and Barry is startled awake, disoriented. "Wha-?"
"Barry, it's me."
Barry rubs the sleep from his eyes and waits for his eyes to adjust, before realizing it's Snart looming over him. He jerks up, already reaching for him. "Snart what are you doing-" And then, as is frequently the case with Snart, he's abruptly cut off by a pair of lips, pressing against his desperately.
Barry doesn't hesitate or question him anymore, just wraps his arms around his neck and pulls him closer, seeking welcome comfort from an unexpected source.
And it is unexpected, although maybe it shouldn't have been. The last time he saw Snart, when he had come to Barry's house to warn him about the Trickster, Barry hadn't been able to do what he desperately wanted in front of Iris, and he hadn't seen him again.
But now here he was, kissing Barry and running his hands over him, but it doesn't feel sexual, rather almost as if he were checking for-
"Injuries," Barry mumbles out loud without meaning to.
"What?" Snart says, barely moving away enough to form the word.
"You're checking for injuries," Barry says again, almost in wonder.
Snart grunts, and then shoves his nose into Barry's throat, breathing him in. He's silent for a moment, and then admits, "I saw. What that psychopath did. On tv." His voice is tight, and now that Barry is looking, he can see that Snart's hands are shaking as they roam over Barry's body. "Are you-?"
"I'm fine," Barry says quickly, trying to reassure him. He's never seen the older man act anything but confident and snarky, and if he was honest with himself he was a little bit freaked out by Snart's obvious loss of control.
Snart just pulls back and scowls at him, looking almost angry. "Then why are you still in a hospital bed, Barry? I know you heal quickly, don't lie to me."
Barry blinks. "Uh..."
Snart glares harder, as if daring him to lie again. Barry sighs, runs a hand through his already messy hair. "Okay, I'm not fine, but I will be."
Snart seems to relax a bit at the admission, though he runs his eyes over Barry's sprawled form, as if he'll be able to glare his injuries into appearing before him. Barry huffs a laugh. "My legs," he says, gesturing half heartedly at them. "I can't- he broke my-" But Barry stops, unable to complete the sentence, as if saying it will make it somehow more realer than it already is.
Snart gets it anyway though, because he nods tightly, his eyes landing on Barry's useless legs. They don't say anything for a moment, and then Snart seems to snap to a decision. He comes around Barry's temporary bed, shrugging his parka off and tossing it on one of the chairs. It's only when Snart is toeing off his boots that Barry realizes something.
"You don't have your gun."
Snart pauses in the middle of taking off his second shoe, and then shrugs and continues. "Didn't really have time to stop for anything."
And it's those words, more than anything, that send something warm unfurling through him, like a drop of black ink spreading through water. Snart had broken into Star Labs, the base of his enemies, in such a hurry that he hadn't even bought his cold gun. He left himself defenseless in a place that was dangerous for him just to see if Barry was okay.
Barry swallows against the sudden lump in his throat. "You shouldn't...Cisco..."
"Hush, Barry," Snart says, finally straightening up and stepping closer to him. It should sound condescending, but it doesn't. He considers Barry for a moment, and then slides surprisingly gentle arms under Barry's lithe form, shifting him a little on the bed until there's space along his right side for another body.
Barry tries again. "Snart, please-"
This time Snart kisses his temple as he slides in after Barry, lifting the blankets over both of them and settling against his body. He's on his side, facing Barry, slipping one arm under him and laying the other atop his belly. "It's fine, Barry. Go back to sleep now."
And the gentleness of it all, of Snart's soft words and even softer kisses, has the dams behind his eyes breaking. The stress and pain and terror of the day finally catches up with him, and he can't stop it if he tried. His eyes well up as he turns his head to bury into Snart's neck, hand coming up to clutch at his shirt.
Snart just makes soothing sounds, fingers rubbing circles onto his hipbones as he lets Barry cry silently against his throat.
"He's faster than me," Barry gasps, breathless with tears.
"No one's faster than you." Snart says it with complete confidence, soft but still firm, as if it's the absolute truth.
But Barry doesn't have it in him to believe him, not after the beating he took tonight. "He is," Barry insists.
"For now," Snart hums, shifting to kiss his cheek. "You'll get faster."
Barry doesn't have anything to say to that, and luckily, Snart isn't expecting him to. "Go to sleep, Barry."
Barry sleeps, curling into him as much as his useless legs will allow. Snart can't be comfortable, but he doesn't complain, just pulls him tighter against him.
They must make quite the picture when the others walk in on them the next morning.
When Barry wakes up, it's to the warm expanse of Snart's skin, rough with stubble against his forehead, and the sound of fierce whispering behind him.
And then it all comes back to him, to exactly where he is and with whom, and he more or less freezes.
Maybe if he plays dead....
"I know you're awake, Bartholomew," says the unmistakable voice of one Joseph West. Detective Joseph West, who has also just used his full name, which annoys Barry to no end and Joe knows that, which means Barry is in, like, a lot of trouble.
So much for playing dead.
He looks up to see that Snart is awake and staring blankly over Barry's shoulder, no doubt at the spectators who have gathered to ogle at the circus Star Labs is about to become.
Barry resigns himself to his fate and twists around. Unfortunately, his squirming has him brushing against a particularly, ahem, hard part of Snart behind him, and Snart lets out a grunt, arms tightening around Barry. "Stop moving," he whispers fiercely in Barry's ear, and Barry throws him an apologetic look.
"Barry."
The tone has him snapping to face them again, and indeed they're all there, from Joe to Wells, all of them fanned out and staring at him. Joe's arms are crossed over his chest, his face blank and unreadable. Cisco's eyes are comically wide, and Barry would laugh if he wasn't suddenly terrified for his life.
"Um. Good morning?"
He can hear Snart rolling his eyes behind him, and digs an elbow into his ribs discreetly. Snart's grunt is pleasing.
"So! I have good news!" Barry says, painfully bright. "I can move my legs! A bit." And he moves his legs a bit to prove it. Nobody looks particularly pleased for him.
"Do you wanna tell us the bad news?" Joe says, and it's not a question.
"What bad news?" Barry says innocently, pretending there isn't another warm body laying on the bed behind him.
"Barry. Can you explain to me why there is a criminal in your bed and why you're allowing him there?"
At least it's Barry now and not Bartholomew.
Before Barry can open his mouth though, Snart butts him. "I came to fight him."
Everyone, including Barry, stares at him. He looks completely serious.
"You came to fight him." Joe's voice is flat. Everyone else seems to have lost their voices, even Cisco, who always has something to say. The situation is indeed dire.
"Yes. I saw that he was already knocked out."
"So you, what? Decided to cuddle him instead?"
"Yes." Snart's voice is completely serious, devoid of any hints of sarcasm or humor. Barry stares at him.
Well. He's completely useless.
Barry turns back to Joe, to try and salvage the situation. "Look, Joe. It's not what it looks like."
"Really, Barry? Because it looks like you kissed him back when he broke in last night." Joe looks scary mad.
"Oh. You saw that huh," Barry laughs nervously. Fucking cameras.
Joe finally sighs, shoulders slumping, but only for a moment. "You, get out of my son's bed," he orders Snart. Snart, for once, does as he's told without complaining. Barry tries very hard not to lean back against his warmth as he leaves the bed.
"And you," he rounds on Barry. Barry makes himself as small as possible. See? Totally harmless. "We're going to be having a long talk about keeping secrets."
Barry winces, but doesn't say anything. He probably deserves it.
When Snart has his parka and boots back on, he moves towards Barry again as if to kiss him goodbye, but before he reaches him Joe leaps forward between them. "I don't think so. Get out."
Snart scowls at him, and then glances once more at Barry. Barry gives him a small smile, and he nods before marching out.
When Joe and the rest round on him, Barry settles himself for a long day. He thinks of Snart's gentle kisses and words last night as they all take turns lecturing and ranting at him.
It could've been worse.