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Julian was overwhelmed by this case. Subconsciously, he’d known this for awhile, but admitting it to himself would mean admitting it to Barry Allen; since Allen never seemed to be bothered by anything, Julian tried - and succeeded - to keep the same facade. He’d always had a knack for masking his emotions.
Allen, as usual, had gone home for the night at five on the dot. Now that he was alone almost an hour later, Julian allowed his frustration to come forth somewhat. Panicking, his mother had always said, has never done anyone any good. In this situation, however, Julian thought it might do him good to have a moment’s rest from picking through his brain for what he might be missing. These husks, skins, whatever, were bound to drive Julian insane if he didn’t figure out what they were soon. His head felt like it was going to explode as he let it fall into his hands, shoulders crumpling from his usual ramrod straight posture. It lasted only moments.
“Looking a little flustered there, Julian.”
Julian immediately straightened himself up and cleared his throat. “What are you doing here, Allen? I thought you had that movie with your family.”
Allen shrugged. “Hasn’t started yet. But I could say the same to you. Did your plans with your girlfriend get cancelled, or?”
Julian ignored the question, rolling his eyes. Allen walked over to his mess of a desk and picked up a set of keys that he must have left there earlier, then sat down on the edge of his desk when he was done, long legs stretching out in front of him. “Seriously, though, are you okay?” he asked, hands tucking into his pockets.
Julian did his best to convey with his face that he was not impressed by the intrusion. “How many different ways do I need to tell you that we aren’t friends before you’ll understand?”
Allen, as usual, was not deterred.
“We don’t need to be friends for you to tell me something’s bothering you,” he stood up and walked to stand at the edge of Julian’s desk.
“I just can’t help but feel useless.” Julian said, keeping his composure as much as possible. He wouldn’t be letting Allen see another emotional breakdown. But it was better to give Allen what he wants than to be bugged all evening, he told himself. “I’m supposed to be good at this, aren’t I? But I’ve been here for weeks, examining the same evidence and making no progress. This is the only way I can help, and I’m barely helping.”
Barry frowned. “You are good at this, Julian. And you’re doing all you can.”
Julian, again, rolled his eyes. “I don’t need sympathy.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t need to be working alone all night, either.” Allen started to put the papers on Julian’s desk into the folder they had come from.
Julian made no move to stop him. “Well, what do you suggest? I’d rather be working alone than working with you here.”
“You’re an asshole, but you should come to the movie with me. Dinner at Joe’s house in about half an hour. You won’t have to be alone with me at all.”
“I have to figure this out, I--”
“Come on, you can’t stay here all night. You can even bring your girlfriend if she’s not busy.”
Julian was starting to notice a serious discrepancy between what he had told Barry in the past and what Barry was willing to believe, but he decided to point it out later, not wanting to spoil his chances of having a nice evening. “Alright, fine. I’ll go with you.”
Allen grinned in self-satisfaction, and Julian looked away so that he could avoid smiling back. “Really? That’s all I have to say to convince you?”
Julian stood up, reaching for his scarf. “I wouldn’t have agreed if there weren’t more agreeable people, such as Joe and Iris, going along. I still can’t stand you.”
“Okay, whatever, that’s good enough for me. I still don’t like you either.”
He finished putting away his files, and let out a sigh of relief to hopefully have the case off his mind for at least the next few hours. “Let’s go, before I change my mind.”