Chapter Text
“You need a friend!” Iris exclaimed as she put both hands on Barry's shoulders. Barry rolled his eyes and sighed.
“What have you done now?” he groaned. It was hard for him to be angry at Iris. She was his foster sister, after all. He knew she only wanted what was best for him. Barry was lonely, though he wouldn't admit it to her. Being one of the best, most sought after wedding planners in the city carried with it long hours and not too many chances to socialize. Iris looked downright giddy, though, which put him on high alert. She turned and squealed when there was a knock on the door. They were at Joe's house, where Barry still lived. Iris rushed over and opened the door. Apparently, she had roped Eddie, her fiance, into whatever she was up to. Iris turned to him and began making her case.
“So, I asked dad and he said it was fine. I know your birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to do something special. He wasn't quite ready yet, but he is now.” As Iris turned to Eddie, Barry noticed the big box with a ribbon around it and a bow on top he had carried in. Iris grabbed it from him and held it out to Barry. What he found suspicious were the holes that had been cut in the box. “Happy birthday!” she said happily. Barry tentatively took the box and thought he felt something moving. He raised a brow at Iris, but both her and Eddie said nothing, grins lighting up their faces. Barry set the box on the ground and pulled the top off. Staring back at him from inside the box was the fuzzy face of a golden retriever puppy, tongue lolling out the side of its mouth. Barry was startled out of his shock by the puppy leaping out of the box at him. He was knocked on his rear when the puppy settled on his chest and started licking his face excitedly. Barry laughed and pushed the dog down, trying to calm it. He looked up at Iris and Eddie, who were still grinning.
“Iris, I-” he started. “I can't accept this.” Iris' face fell into a stubborn look that she wore often.
“Yes, you can.” she said firmly. Barry winced.
“I'm not home enough to care for a dog.” he said. Iris crossed her arms.
“Dad said he'll help. He's already crate and house trained.” she argued.
“Yeah, but-”
“Bartholomew Henry Allen, if you don't shut up and accept the gift I gave you, I'll make you regret it!” she exclaimed. Barry sighed in defeat and looked at the puppy, petting him on the head. Iris crouched down so she was eye level with her brother. “Barry, you can't keep isolating yourself. You need a companion.” she said softly. Barry smiled at her.
“Thank you Iris. I love him.” he said sincerely, wrapping his arms around her neck.
~x~x~x~
Barry learned quickly that puppies were a handful. He would take Bolt, he was as fast as a lightening bolt, to work with him when he was just working out of his office. On one such day, Barry was working on his computer while Bolt lounged in his doggie bed. Bolt sat up and looked at the door, ears perked, letting Barry know he had a visitor. The door opened and a young woman walked in. She was wearing a nice dress, blonde hair wrapped in an up do, and her blue eyes surveyed the room. She looked stiff and rich, like most of his customers. Barry smiled and motioned to the empty seat in front of his desk. The woman eyed it before sitting, putting her purse on the floor beside her. She looked Barry up and down, eyeing him skeptically.
“You're younger than I thought you'd be.” she said primly. Barry laughed in what he hoped was a good-natured manner. He had heard that line far too often to truly be amused by it.
“I get that a lot.” he said. The woman raised a brow.
“How old are you?” she asked. Barry internally rolled his eyes. Externally, he kept the pleasant smile on his face.
“I'm twenty-five.” he answered. He already didn't like this woman.
“I'm Anya Bellows.” she said haughtily. “Mayor Tony Bellows' daughter.” It seemed she was sure to include her father's title in her introduction.
“Ms. Bellows, how may I help you?” he asked politely. He truly did enjoy making people's dreams come true on their special day, but certain people just grated on his nerves.
“I'm getting married and I was hoping you would plan my wedding.” she said. She reached for her purse and began pulling her wallet out. “I can pay you whatever you want.”
“We'll discuss payment later. What kind of wedding are you looking to have?” And so, Barry spent the next three hours of his life going over what Anya Bellows did and did not want at her wedding.
Barry let out a sigh of relief after Anya walked out the door. Bolt looked at him curiously and he just smiled at the puppy. He was glad that meeting was over. Barry relaxed back into his chair when his cell began to ring. Pulling it out, he looked at the caller ID to see that it was Joe.
“Hey.” he greeted, wondering why Joe was calling.
“Hey, Barr! How's your day going?”
“Well. I just got a new job!”
“That's great! Anyone I know?” Joe asked, always up for gossip on Barry's clients.
“Mayor Bellows' daughter.” Joe whistled in amazement.
“Nice job, son!” Barry grinned with pride, even though Joe couldn't see it. “Listen, are you free tomorrow night?” Barry's smile immediately fell.
“Why?” he asked cautiously.
“One of the other detectives' daughters would like to meet you. I told her you could meet her at Jitters tomorrow night.” Barry blew out a sigh.
“Joe.”
“Look, it's just one meeting. You can do that, right?” Barry began to get a little angry. Joe was always trying to do this, to set him up on dates with women. He still hadn't gotten around to telling Joe he wasn't interested because he was gay, for fear of his reaction, but this constant setting up of blind dates was ridiculous!
“I'm not interested, Joe.” he said simply.
“C'mon, Barr, it's just a meeting. You need more human interaction.” Joe pleaded.
“No, Joe. I'm fine.”
“Fine. Well, I've got to get back to work.” Barry could tell Joe was upset by his refusal. He felt bad, but he didn't want to waste all their time. Barry would find someone, and when he did, it would be magical.
~x~x~x~
It was early evening and Barry was heading home with Bolt on his leash. It wasn't that far from the center of the city to the suburb where he and Joe lived, so Barry just walked, not needing a car, no matter how much his family thought he did. As Barry was walking, something caught Bolt's attention and the pup jerked away from Barry, heading straight for the busy road. Barry yelled and immediately began running after Bolt. Just as he grabbed the dog, Barry looked up to see a car speeding towards him. The driver obviously wasn't paying attention and Barry closed his eyes as he froze, unable to move. There was a yell from somewhere to Barry's right and he was suddenly pushed from the road, a hard body landing on top of him. Pain bloomed throughout the back of his skull as his head made contact with the concrete of the sidewalk. People began forming a wide circle around the two men and puppy on the ground. Barry slowly opened his eyes and was immediately captivated by the icy blue eyes staring back at him.
“H-hi.” he said as he took in the chiseled features and salt and pepper hair of the man on top of him. Barry blushed, the man was gorgeous! All Barry could do was stare.
“You okay?” the man asked, his voice like velvet. Barry would never admit it if asked, but he definitely shivered before he could hold it back.
“Y-yeah. I think. You saved me.” The man just smiled and reached around Barry's head, feeling the back of it. Barry hissed in pain at the probing, already feeling a knot beginning to form. The man on top of him winced in sympathy when he felt the bump.
“Now, that's a goose egg.” he said. Barry just looked at him dumbly before a thought occurred to him.
“Why are you still on top of me?” he asked. The man on top of him laughed. It was a beautiful sound.
“I'm making sure you're okay. You don't seem to mind. I'm Len.” he said. Barry turned crimson once more at the implication.
“Barry.” he muttered. He felt wiggling on top of him and shot Len a strange look. Len shot him the same look, seemingly feeling the same sensation. Bolt's head popped out from between the two of them and he let out a happy-sounding bark. Len laughed again and raised one hand to pet the dog's head. He pushed himself up, off of Barry, and stood, holding a hand out to help the younger man up off the ground. Keeping a hand fisted in Bolt's leash, Barry took the hand and got up. Once he was standing, the world started spinning. Just before he blacked out, he felt strong arms catch him as he fell.
~x~x~x~
Barry groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His head was killing him. It took him a moment, but he finally registered tiny voices around him and small hands on his face. Blinking his eyes open, Barry saw kids gathered around him, some little and others older. Barry blinked for a moment, trying to remember where he was.
“Anna, leave his face alone!” one of the older kids, a girl with bright pink hair, hissed. The little girl that had her hand on his cheek jerked her hand back, pout on her face. Barry was silent, thinking for a moment. He remembered being saved from a car, but he didn't remember coming here, wherever here was. Finally, a familiar voice cut through the fog.
“Frankie, Axel, take the others back into the play room.” The kids grumbled, but did as Len said, trudging out of the room. With them gone, Barry could finally tell that he was on a couch in what looked like an office. There was a large desk on the back wall and, behind it, sat Len, a pair of black glasses perched on his nose. Barry slowly sat up, wincing as he went, and rubbed a hand over the back of his head. “Here.” Barry looked up and suddenly, Len was in front of him holding a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol. “Thought you might need this.” Barry took the proffered items with a smile.
“Thank you. Sorry, I didn't mean to pass out back there.” he said, embarrassed. Barry took the medication and handed the glass back to Len.
“It's fine.” Len assured. “That can happen when you have a mild concussion. You should be fine, though.” Barry looked around the room again.
“Where are we?” he asked. Len smiled.
“The local orphanage. Sorry about the reception you received. The kids have never seen a real, live damsel in distress before.”
“Hey!” Barry exclaimed, shooting a glare at the laughing man. “But, seriously, do you work here?”
“I do some work for the orphanage, helping the kids and such, but full-time, I'm a social worker for the state.”
“Wow.” was all Barry could say, amazed by Len's obvious selflessness. He shook himself from staring at the other man when he realized he hadn't seen Bolt yet. “Wait, where's my dog?” he asked, looking around.
“He is having the time of his life, I'm sure. He's in the play room with the kids. They don't get to see animals much, so I'm sure they're giving him all the belly rubs he can manage.” Barry smiled and the two just looked at each other for a moment before Len remembered something. He reached into his pocket, pulling Barry's phone out. “I called your emergency contact. She should be here soon.” Barry took the phone when Len handed it to him with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
“There was a passcode on this...” he said. Len smirked.
“Which was not that hard to figure out.” Barry just stared at Len, brows furrowed, for a moment before a thought hit him.
“Wait, Iris is on her way?!” Len looked worried that he had done the wrong thing for a moment. Barry buried his face in his hands. “She is never going to let me hear the end of this.” Len rolled his eyes before asking the question that had been on his mind since he had taken the other man's phone.
“She your girlfriend?” Barry's head popped up and he looked at Len in confusion.
“Goodness no! She's my foster sister.” Then he started laughing and Len looked completely taken with him. Suddenly, their reverie was broken.
“Bartholomew Henry Allen, get your skinny butt out here now!” came a shout from down the hall. Barry ducked his head and squeaked.
“Hide me!”