Chapter Text
"Hey Barr, it's been so long!"
Barry flinched as a large hand landed on his shoulder heavily. Hesitantly, he turned to look at who it was that had spoken. As he did, his stomach dropped. The voice was sickeningly familiar. When the man’s square jaw and piercing blue eyes came into focus, Barry’s fear were confirmed.
"Hey Oscar. Yeah, I guess it's been a while." Barry wished he never had to see Oscar again. Suddenly, all his Flash training, all his confidence ran out of him. He was just thin, fragile Barry Allen.
"Shame. Why don't you come with me and we can catch up again?" Oscar winked grotesquely. Barry’s stomach rolled in disgust.
"Sorry, I'm waiting for my date." Internally, Barry cursed himself. A date? Bullshit. Barry had an abysmal day at work and decided to spend his night at Saints and Sinners to forget about it, even if alcohol could no longer effect him.
"You really got someone else to deal with you?"
Teeth clenched, a simple answer seemed best. "Yep.”
"Ha! That's likely.” Oscar sneered cruelly. “Tell you what, I'll leave you alone if you show me your date. If not, you come with me."
"I don't want to go with you." Barry’s voice wavered pathetically.
Oscar fumed, looming over Barry’s slight form and tightening his grip on his shoulder so it was painful. "Do you think I give a shit about what you want? You're sexier than last time I saw you."
Barry was suddenly indescribably uncomfortable he was at how close the other man was standing to him. "That might have something to do with the fact that last time you saw me, I was on a stretcher in an ambulance because of you."
"Well you were an annoying shit. You deserved it. And I'm sure your date would agree with me. Sometimes you need a little smack to keep you in line. More than that, if necessary. Speaking of, this place is suspiciously missing your date. I'm starting to get impatient, Barry." The last few words sounded ore like growls than a sentence.
"Be patient! I was five minutes early."
Barry's heart climbed into his throat as he kept his gaze intently on the door. The next person who came through the door would just need to put up with him for a few minutes until he could get rid of Oscar. He couldn't leave with the man. If he did, he'd probably never be seen again. Or at the very least, he'd be spending the night recovering at STAR Labs. He prayed someone would walk through the door. Anyone.
Leonard Snart walked through the door. If Barry could do so without raising suspicion, he would've shouted every curse word he knew as loudly as possible. Instead, he put a wide grin on his face and shrugged off Oscar's hand, striding across the room. As he got closer to the figure now sitting at the bar, he tried to ignore the frantic beating of his heart against his ribs, and the feeling of eyes watching him intently from where he'd just been standing.
He was now standing behind Snart, who had yet to notice him. Sighing softly, he figured he should just commit himself now and deal with the consequences later. And with that final thought, Barry flung his arms around Leonard in an embrace, resting his head on the man's shoulder. To Snart's credit, he gave no outward show of alarm.
"Scarlet. You have approximately 10 seconds to explain why you are touching me."
"My ex is here and I couldn't get away from him, so I told him you were my date." Barry managed to choke the sentence out past gritted teeth.
"Didn't know you swung this way, Kid." Leonard snorted, amused.
"Well I do. Problem?"
"Well that'd be hypocritical of me. Now have a seat. I can feel your heartbeat and it’s making me stressed." Even though he kept a carefully neutral expression, Len was concerned with Barry’s behaviour. He kid was hard to scare.
Gratefully, Barry sunk into the stool next to Leonard's, willing his heart to calm slightly. No such luck.
"So, which one here is your ex?" Len tried to keep his voice conversational.
"Big guy by the jukebox. Looks kind of like a tank."
"Your ex is Oscar? What the actual fuck were you thinking, dating someone like that?"
Barry wasn’t sure if he should be concerned that Leonard knew his ex. And if he should be even more concerned by the fact that Snart seemed to deem Oscar a bad guy. But there was no point questioning that right now, so he shrugged. "I was eighteen and he seemed nice to start with."
"Allen, you and I are getting out of here and you're going to talk about this some more. Deal?"
Barry nodded slightly, and rose to his feet once more. Len followed suit, wrapping an arm around Barry's waist.
"What are you doing?" He squeaked. Snart smirked, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Well, we're on a date, aren't we?"
Barry was saved answering when a towering shadow blocked their path.
"No way. Barr, you really mean to tell me that you are dating Snart? You really think you're important enough for someone like him? Be realistic." Barry blushed at Oscar’s sarcastic taunts.
Len intervened before Barry even had time to think about responding. "And I suppose you think he ought to go with someone like you? I'm afraid that is impossible, as he is my boyfriend." His voice was like ice.
"Right, well if anyone is able to keep him in line, I'm sure you can. I must warn you though, he's a bit of a slut."
Barry stared intently at the ground, willing it to open up and swallow him, blushing even deeper with shame. Len was apoplectic when he caught Barry’s gleaming eyes. The kid was about to cry.
Suddenly, Oscar was spun around and was met with a mighty fist to his face. The man crumpled to the ground revealing Mick Rory standing over him, fists clenched and chest heaving.
“I thought the cutie could use a bit of help.” He grumbled by way of explanation.
Len subtly tightened his grip on Barry's waist. "Come on Kid, let's get you home."
Barry nodded numbly, and allowed Mick and Len to guide him to their car.