Work Text:
Parental Guidance
"How did we get in this situation?" Mick asked with a groan. He looked down at the pair of surprisingly strong and tiny arms clung to him.
"We didn't get hit by the new meta-human's wave of de-aging power," Len groaned as he tried to walk across the warehouse they were currently hiding in, only to have his leg snagged and clung to.
"Okay... how did we end up having to babysit Team Flash?" Mick asked as he raised his arm where a tiny, giggling Cisco hung off of him. "I'm not father material."
"Because anyone else would likely kill them. We get too much amusement out of going up against them. After all, it wouldn't be fun to rob places if they weren't there to stop us," Len replied as he looked down at young Barry who had managed to wrap himself around Len's left leg, sitting on the villain's foot.
"Wen!" Barry said as looked up, with bright green eyes and a huge smile, face partially pressed into Len's leg.
"Did you need something, little Flash?" Len asked as he tried to move his leg but failed as his knee twinged at the extra weight. "I can't really go anywhere with you clinging like a limpet."
"Limpet?" Barry asked, pulling his head back a bit so his words weren't muffled. "Wanna stay with you and Mick!"
"You're not going anywhere without us," Len soothed as he let his hand drifted down to pet Barry's fluffy hair. "Not until you're old enough to drive."
"That's forever!" Barry replied, voice slightly whinny even as he grinned and clutched Len's leg tighter, he lessened his grip a bit when he heard Len suck in a breath at the slight pain the motion caused, but Len merely carded a hand through his hair.
"So who the hell is working on getting them back to normal?" Mick asked, as he lifted Cisco again, much to the boy's squealing and giggling delight.
"Barry!" a slightly older; but still not old enough to drive, boy called, hands on his hips as he readjusted his glasses.
"Harry..." Len murmured in warning, he'd seen the young boy try and boss Barry around like he was still in charge of STAR Labs. Len felt Barry's arms tighten around his leg as he hid his face, smile gone from his face.
"We have to fix this!" Harry; Harrison Wells minus his wheelchair, huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked up at Len, a murderous glare on his face. "Now!"
"I'm sure we'll get this figured out. We need patience," Len countered as he leaned down to pull Barry off his leg and into his arms. The young Flash didn't want to move at first until he realized he could loop his arms around Len's neck, and did so quickly with his legs wrapped around the thief's waist. Len's knee didn't protest he went to go to the counter where he and Mick had snagged a few computers; courtesy of STAR Labs, and were using Cisco's system to track the meta in question.
"No! We need to do it now," Harry countered as he stomped a foot in irritation.
Len raised an eyebrow as he looked up from the computer. He looked over at Mick and gestured to Barry. Mick nodded and Len walked over. "Barry I need you to let go of me for a minute. Mick will hold you if you want. But Harry is in trouble and I think I'm going to need both hands for this."
Barry's eyes went wide as he bit his lip. He dutifully went over to cling to Mick, eyes not leaving Len as the older man walked away.
"Harry. You and I are going to have a little chat about attitude," Len gave a disapproving frown as he caught the young scientist by the back of the shirt before he could get away. Len quickly readjusted his grip so the other couldn't get away and sat on a nearby chair. In a quick series of movements he knocked Harry so the young man was sprawled across Len's lap. "And no one is too old for a spanking."
"You wouldn't dare!" Harry countered as he struggled under the careful hold Len had on him, pinning him with an arm across his back. Harry flailed, hands beating against Len's legs to no avail.
"I think ten sounds good, what do you think, Mick?" Len asked cordially as he deftly avoided any strikes aimed at his face.
"Sounds good to me," Mick replied with a shrug as he managed to get over to the computer for himself to look over the running simulation.
Len smirked and landed a quick; careful, set of five swats to Harry's backside. The young man in his lap yelped and flailed harder. "You know you're supposed to be polite. Just because you're in charge of STAR Labs as an adult doesn't mean you have to be rude."
"You suck!" Harry cried out as he took another swat to the butt. He growled and balled one hand into a fist and punched Len in the knee he'd complained about earlier; Len's left, as hard as he could. Which earned him a harder smack as Len had been in mid-strike, and an unceremonious dump onto the ground that had him crashing into the nearby table as Len's leg gave out and his whole body spasmed in pain.
"Damn it!" Len cursed as he clutched at his knee, which was already swelling. His eyes watered as he tried to hold in any other sounds and he kept himself from lashing out in case he accidentally hit Harry or any of the rest of Team Flash.
Barry was at Len's side almost instantly with a bag of ice; using his Speed Powers despite being reverted to a kid, and was holding the cold pack out, eyebrows drawn together in worry. "Are you okay, Len?"
"Ouch!" Harry groaned as he held his head from where he'd hit the table. "That hurt!"
"I will be, Barry ... that's very sweet of you. Thank you," Len replied through gritted teeth, eyes narrowed as he fought against the pain and took the ice-pack. Barry curled up against the chair and Len's good leg, a towel in hand to help hold the ice against the swelling joint.
"Harry is a jerk!" Barry announced with the confidence only a kid could have. He laid his head on Len's good leg, green eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry! This is my fault!"
Len shook his head as he managed to school his expression into a softer one. He petted the soft hair on Barry's head, soothing both of them. "You didn't punch me in the knee. Harry did that. And he's getting a time out as soon as Mick catches him. I'm not touching him again." Len knew how much the reverted Team Flash craved attention and affection from the two criminals and was prepared to make sure the punishment fit the crime.
Harry looked shocked from his place by the table, his blue eyes held the start of tears as he realized just what he'd done. He held his head and sniffled.
"Won't take me long," Mick growled as he set Cisco on the counter where the boy sat helpfully, eyes watching the computer screens as he chewed on a Twizzler. Mick stomped over, eyes shinning murderously.
"I'm sorry!" Harry whined as a tear fell from his eye. He started to stand as Mick made it over to him, but he was pulled up by his free arm unceremoniously. "I didn't mean it!"
Mick growled and gave the boy a shake; careful about how much force he used, just enough to get his attention. "You're going into a timeout. No one is going to talk to you. No one is going to even look at you. You'll have nothing to do but think about what you did. Just like solitary in prison."
Harry's eyes went wide with fear and sorry. "I'm sorry!"
"You punched Len on purpose. And you did it where you knew it'd hurt the most. That was calculated. 30 minutes in the box," Mick insisted as he dragged Harry over to the other side of the warehouse where he and Len had set up a small, soundproof room that Len used when he had migraines. It wasn't normally used to keep someone locked in, but it opened from the inside and Mick dragged a table full of various items that would make a racket if hit with him. He pushed Harry inside where a small bed sat with only a pillow and a blanket. There was a soft overhead light that shone dimly; to keep from irritating sensitive eyes, while the air conditioning in the little room kept it a nice 67 degrees.
"Please don't!" Harry begged. "I won't do it again."
"You're right," Mick agreed. "You won't do it again. You claustrophobic?"
Harry sniffled and shook his head as he realized he wasn't getting out of his punishment unless he lied, which he knew would make it worse.
"Good. You need something... you knock three times," Mick said, tone firm and unyielding. "You try and weasel out? I'm adding another thirty minutes. When I come to get you, you better have come up with an amazing apology for Len, got it?"
Harry hung his head and nodded.
"Good. Enjoy your stay in the time out corner," Mick replied as he shut the door without another word. He pulled the table so that it made plenty of noise but didn't block the door much. He was hoping his threat would be enough to keep the kid in. He didn't want to actually lock him in, but the door wouldn't open the whole way, it would go about half. Plenty for him to get out, but closed enough to make him think twice about leaving before his punishment time was up.
Mick headed back over to where Len was letting Barry help him hobble over to the couch so he could lay back. Mick stopped by their first aid kit and snagged a bottle. "Cisco, you wanna snag some water for Len for me?"
Cisco grinned as he hopped off the counter.
"I'm going to be okay, Barry," Len said soothingly as the boy made sure to help Len prop his leg up.
"It's all my fault!" Barry cried, tears streaking down his face as he took in shuddering breaths.
"It's not your fault," Len insisted. "Harry was misbehaving, and he decided to do what he knew he shouldn't do. If he had asked for a different punishment, I would have found one. I do find that spankings work well... They always worked on Lisa. She actually listens to me."
Barry sniffled as he moved to lay carefully on Len's chest, avoiding the hurt knee. "I'm still sorry."
"It's okay. And I'll be alright," Len replied as he looked up to see Mick with a bottle in hand as Cisco walked up with a glass of water and a straw. "And look, Mick and Cisco are going to make sure I can take something for the pain."
"I found a knee brace and a compression bandage!" tiny Caitlin announced as she walked over with her prizes. "When the swelling goes down a bit we can wrap the knee. And then you'll wear the brace for a few days while you heal, right?"
Len huffed out an exasperated sound but nodded as he took the pills Mick offered. He laid back with a soft groan, surprised when he felt a pillow under his head. He looked up at Barry who looked like he hadn't moved, Cisco grinned from up by Len's head where he'd moved after giving Mick the water.
"What we gonna do while we wait for Harry's punishment to be over?" Mick asked politely.
"We could watch something!" Cisco offered with a grin.
"No TV in here," Len replied with a frown. "Our last one ... had an accident." He managed to stop himself from admitting the accident was that it had been shot during an argument Len had with one of their last potential crew members. He hadn't shot the guy, but it had been a close thing. The guy hadn't been a good fit in any sense of the word. "Next idea?"
"Oh! You could tell us stories about Time Travel!" Barry asked with a wiggle. He paused, eyes wide as he thought he might have hurt Len.
"I'm fine, and Time Travel ..." Len offered as he saw the way Barry's little hands moved to try and soothe the perceived hurt. Len petted Barry's hair to soothe the boy. "I don't know if you guys are ready for that kind of story."
Mick chuckled as he moved to pick up the pillow Len's head was on. He plunked himself down on the couch, carefully to keep from jostling anyone, and let Len's pillowed head rest in his lap. Cisco and Caitlin saw an opportunity for cuddling and joined those on the couch. Caitlin settled down by Len's feet, eyes on the injured knee, while Cisco sat on the arm of the couch closest to Mick, leaning into the arsonist with a happy grin on his face.
"Is Harry locked in time out?" Barry asked as his bit his lip.
"No," Mick replied quickly. "He's just not supposed to leave until he's finished his punishment.
"But what about the table?" Cisco asked as he chewed on the candy in his mouth.
"That's a reminder. In case he decides to try and leave before one of us has told him he can go. The door will hit the table, rattle loudly, and hopefully he'll rethink his actions," Mick answered patiently. "More of a mental exercise than anything else."
"Oh! That makes sense," Barry offered with a wide grin. "And you guys wouldn't want to lock someone up because you've been locked up before, right?"
"Yep," Len answered this time with a knowing look. "Mick and I have spent more than our fair share of time in solitary. And usually for things we didn't start... that's why Harry is supposed to think about what he's done while he's in there. We want him to be better. And trust me, that room is comfy. Perfect for migraines."
"You get migraines?" Caitlin asked, eyes wide with worry. "That's not good! They can mean bad things!"
Len laughed her worry away. "It's okay. I know what causes them, most of the time. Bad air circulation..."
"We got that fixed in a hurry. Bad furnace," Mick added helpfully. "It had been pumping in CO2."
"Not enough sleep and working too many hours," Len added.
"Got you a better bed and we usually take a few day off after a job now," Mick said with a knowing grin.
"And eyestrain. I have glasses for when my eyes get tired, but I don't always remember them. Eyestrain can cause really bad migraines. But I'm doing better about remembering them," Len finished with a wave of his hand. "So, none of you need to worry about that."
"How much longer does Harry have to stay in timeout?" Barry asked, jumping topics.
"About ten minutes," Mick replied as he felt Cisco poking at some of the burn scars that were peeking out from his shirt. "Cisco, isn't not nice to poke people without permission. Most people hate having their scars prodded."
"Sorry!" Cisco said as he snatched his hand back. "They're just so cool looking. And they feel neat!"
"They're a reminder that you shouldn't play with fire," Mick admonished. "I was in and out of the hospital for six months getting them treated." There was deafening silence from the kids around them, each thinking about how much it must have hurt and how much it would have sucked to be stuck in the hospital for so long.
"That sucks!" Cisco announced as he leaned into hug Mick's arm, candy hanging from his mouth as he tried to comfort the older man.
"They look like third degree burns," Caitlin noted as she moved closer, hands carefully not touching, but close as she traced the scars with her eyes.
"They were. And they were more extensive, but when Lenny and I went time traveling we came across some people with very advanced medicines and they fixed some of my scars," Mick replied slowly as he edged around some of the parts of that time he'd rather forget. Kronos had been a bad spot in his life, but he'd managed to make it back to Len and that was what really mattered to him. He generally brushed off all other mentions of that time.
There was the faint sound of a knock from across the warehouse, hesitant and quiet.
"You have another two minutes, Harry," Mick called, voice carrying well through the open space.
"Can ... can I come out anyway?" Harry's voice came back, soft and trembling.
"What do you think, Len?" Mick asked, eyebrow raised at his partner.
"Sure. You can tell him his punishment is over, but only if he's really thought about it and if he's genuinely sorry," Len replied after a few moments of quiet thought.
"You can come out, and come over here," Mick called back with a knowing smile. He knew Len was a bit of a softy, and his just reinforced that idea. He watched as the door to Len's Migraine room opened slowly, it clanged against the table and he saw Harry's shadow jump at the sound before he came out of the room. the young man closed the door to the room with a quiet click as he moved slowly. "You okay, kiddo?" Mick called as he watched Harry's movements with a critical eye.
Harry sniffled and moved closer with a shrug.
"You should know how you're feeling," Mick countered as he noted the way the other kids watched as Harry made his way back to the group.
Harry gave another shrug as he sniffled, he moved to sit on the coffee table across from the couch with a shaky sigh.
"is there something that you wanted to say?" Mick asked, eyebrow raised at the quiet boy before him.
Harry bit his lip and pulled his glasses off to wipe them on his shirt in a nervous habit. He opened his mouth a few times, words caught in his throat as he looked on the verge of tears.
"You can say whatever you want. No one is actually locking you in anywhere," Len said softly, speaking to Harry for the first time since the incident. "I promise. Mick just wanted you to not be tempted to leave before your punishment was over."
"I know," Harry replied as he bobbed his head. He bit his lip again, uncertain in a way he'd never seemed as an adult. "I just ... I don't know what I can say... to make things better."
"Speak from your heart, kid," Mick growled low in his chest, as Cisco almost fell off the couch but was caught at the last second by Mick's strong arm.
"I'm sorry," harry said with conviction. "I mean... I know I shouldn't have taken advantage of your injury like that... and I didn't mean to hurt you... I should have taken my punishment for what it was. I way to reinforce proper behavior. I know that it didn't really hurt. Well, not until that last one," he gave Len a rueful smile as he shook his head at his own antics. "I deserved it. And I was just .. frustrated? I guess that's the best word for what I was feeling. I'm not used to being helpless like this."
"Everyone ends up feeling like that from time to time... it's all about how you deal with things like that," Len replied.
"Yeah. Some of us rob banks or light fires... others actually work to make themselves better," Mick added with a sardonic grin. "Thing is... me and Len would like to see you kids do better than we did at your age."
"Or any age for that matter, Mick," Len countered with a sigh.
"Or any age," Mick agreed. "So, are you sorry?"
"Yes!" Harry replied as he slid off the coffee table to lean in towards Len, he stopped as he noted the way Barry was laying on the thief, his hands trembled a bit. He remembered Len's decree that he wouldn't touch Harry again until his punishment was over.
Barry wordlessly climbed off of Len and sat on Mick's lap, eyes on Harry.
"Can I...?" Harry asked, tears in his eyes and threatening to spill at any moment.
Len held his arms open, inviting Harry to do whatever he wanted. He made a noise of surprise as the young man slammed into him, hugging him fiercely as his body was wracked with sobs. He kept repeating how sorry he was over and over. Len merely shushed him and petted Harry's hair as he pulled the boy to lay on him in an mirror of the way Barry had been laying on him before.
"We need a bigger couch," Mick grumbled as he felt the way Len was pushing against him with the added weight of Harry.
"Nah, we just need to avoid life-changing events," Len offered as an observation.
"You guys are the best!" Barry announced a she threw his lanky arms around Mick's neck, bumping into Cisco as he flopped partially onto Len.
"Thank you, Barry," Len said as he tried to keep Barry's knee from becoming one with his face. "But if you could save your enthusiasm for later. Maybe when you're not in danger of breaking something?"
"I'm sorry!" Barry repelled as he moved to a different position, more on Mick's lap, but ended up kneeing the older man in groin, making him groan in pain. "I'm sorry Mick!" Barry cried, tears in his eyes.
"Sit," Mick growled, as he clenched his teeth to keep from cursing. "You're fine. Just sit down and relax."
Barry sniffled and nodded, letting Mick maneuver him into a better position, away from delicate body parts. "Sorry..."
"It's okay," Mick assured his soon as he could get his breath back. He patted the young boy on the head and let his own fall back onto the back of the couch with a groan.
"We have got to get them back to normal..." Len sighed with a long suffering sigh.
"Being parents is hard work..." Mick agreed.
END