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

MRIs and Dinner

"Oliver wants to go eat."

Len glances at the brunette speedster, who sits next to him on the couch. "No."

Barry scowls. "You don't get to say 'no', Len. He wants to apologize, and he's my friend."

How Barry can be friends with someone who literally shot him in the back with arrows, and kidnapped both of them, is a mystery to Len. Then again, how Barry can date and agree to marry someone who is a criminal and has kidnapped both of his friends at one point... yeah, that's a mystery, too.

Barry has been talking to Ollie. Len does not approve, but Barry is a grown man and can make his own decisions, within reason. Speaking on the phone is one thing; actually going to dinner with the vigilante is another matter entirely.

And Len will not stand for it, because it could be a trap.

He doesn't trust Ollie.

"No," he says again.

Barry's expression twists in irritation. He doesn't like having the kid annoyed with him. "We're going."

"We're not."

"Fine. Then I'm going."

"You're not," Len says simply.

Barry glares at him, but he looks too much like a puppy so it's not very effective. "You can't hate him forever, you know. He's my friend and a fellow vigilante."

Len's nose wrinkles. "You're nothing like him."

He doesn't appreciate the repeated comparisons of the two, because they are completely different. Barry Allen is nothing like Oliver Queen.

And it's going to stay that way.

"I don't see why we can't all go to dinner. Felicity will be there, too, and you like her just fine."

Len scowls. He doesn't like Felicity, she's just not exactly on his list, and Oliver's at the very top. Well, number two. His father holds the first slot. "Not happening, kid."

Barry growls in frustration. "Fine, then I'll leave you here. I don't need your permission."

If he didn't need Len's permission, though, he wouldn't be asking. And if he does try to go alone, Len will do something about it.

Barry's face softens. "Please, Len."

Ah, dammit.

Puppy eyes, and that please. Barry saves his 'pleases' for special occasions, as well as that kicked puppy look with the big Bambi eyes. And it's not fair. At all.

"Low blow," he mutters.

Barry smiles sheepishly. "So that's a yes to dinner?"

"I pick the place," Len sighs, shaking his head. "And we are sticking together all night. At the first sign of arrows, we're leaving."

Barry grins. "Thanks, Len."

Len rolls his eyes. "Has Caitlin called you yet?"

Caitlin got access to the MRI, but she's trying to schedule Barry's 'visit' for when there's very few people at Mercury Labs so the chances of people interrupting them is limited. That was yesterday; she said she'd call Barry, but to Len's knowledge, she hasn't yet. He grows tired of waiting. Patience might be Captain Cold's friend, but it is the enemy of Len Caldwell.

"Not yet," Barry says with a shrug. He's trying to look nonchalant, like he's not worried, but Len can see the slight crease in his brow, the way his gaze drops to the floor for just a second too long before he looks back up and smiles at Len. "I guess that means you'll just have to wear me out again."