I've Got Soul but I'm Not a Soldier

Selfish

They don't tell Lisa what happened.

It just seems easier that way; she'd be furious and hunt down Oliver Queen, and cause a huge scene. It wouldn't be good for anyone. Despite his anger, Barry doesn't want Queen in trouble, especially if it puts his identity in jeopardy. And Len knows Lisa and how she will react, so they decide it's best to not tell her.

Keeping it from her is hard, though. Len tells her everything.

Thankfully, she's usually out with Cisco, so he doesn't have to worry about it too much.

Two days after the fact and Barry's still fuming over it.

Len's not happy about it, either, but he's not nearly as tense as the kid. He's thrumming with energy again, and when the kid says they're going to STAR Labs, Len doesn't argue. He drives them there, and the lab is empty.

He's beginning to wonder if Barry knows the lab is empty, and that's why he randomly decides to go to STAR Labs. Without Wells around, it's usually just Cisco lingering around anyway, and right now he's out with Len's sister.

Barry leads them through the halls and heads straight for the treadmill.

He doesn't ask Len to watch, but that's exactly what Len does.

After a while of running, Barry slows to a stop and looks over at him, panting, his hands on his knees as he hunches forward. He's covered in sweat, glistening in the light. "I needed that," he breathes.

"What's wrong with you, kid?" Len asks, frowning at him.

Barry waves him off dismissively.

"Scarlet."

Barry scowls. "That's not fair."

"What's not?"

"That tone," Barry says. "It's like truth serum."

"Good. I don't like being lied to, kid. Tell me what's up with you," Len says, approaching the treadmill. Barry sighs heavily, sitting on the edge of it, and Len joins him.

"I'm just angry," Barry says, shaking his head. "It's stupid. But it just made me have all this energy, and I needed to run. I feel better now."

"You need to run a lot," Len says.

"Yeah – crime's been low since the Singularity," Barry says with a shrug. "Usually I get to run a lot, through the city, but I just... I don't know. Lately, I don't want to."

And Len understands that. Maybe not completely, since he's not a speedster and he didn't enter a black hole to save the city, but he can understand that Barry is reluctant to run through the city when he doesn't have to. They never really talked about it very much, but Barry seemed to be getting better. But Len has definitely noticed he doesn't run as much as he used to; Len usually drives them everywhere on his motorcycle, and occasionally the kid comes here to lose some energy.

"Are you still..." Len pauses, trying to find his words, but it's a struggle because they try to stick in his throat. "Do you still think you might vanish into time again?"

Barry shrugs helplessly, gaze focused on the ground, shoulders drooping. "I don't know. It's stupid, I know. The only way I could go back in time like that was because of the particle accelerator working like it was supposed to, or something like that. I know the likelihood of it happening again when I'm running is very, very slim, but I still... worry."

Len takes in a slow breath, watching the kid. "I worry, too," he admits quietly.

Slowly, Barry lifts his gaze to focus on Len. "You... do? About what?"