Tiger Stripes and Lightening Strikes

32: Christmas

Unsurprisingly, Jitterz was deserted on Christmas Day. Sebastian spent most of the time filling stock and rearranging displays. Customers were few and far between. Eventually, he'd run out of things to do and found himself sitting in a seat and scrolling mindlessly through his phone. Frost formed curling spirals on the windows, snow dancing like a ribbon with elegant twirls and twists that brought gentle flurries down to settle on the pavement. A hot coffee gave off feint trails of steam from its dark and glossy surface.

The cafe was so quiet, that Sebastian jolted when the doorbell rang. His eyes flicked up, and he froze at the sight of his customer. The Not-Henry, but still quite possibly, Henry Allen strolled in. Sebastian began to get up to take his place at the till, but the older man lifted a hand to still him. "It's alright cub," he chuckled. "I'm only here to see you." Sebastian couldn't deny the warm buzz that flooded his system upon hearing those words and of all the nicknames he'd ever been given, it was the first he'd been called a cub.

Sebastian supposed this was confirmation that Not Henry was indeed Henry. It made sense. Henry Allen's body vanished and a few weeks later he comes strolling into a coffee shop. It made even more sense, when Sebastian realised that Chimeras could repair from almost any wound. What's to say the same process couldn't revive a dead body?

Henry dropped into the seat opposite him, flashing the boy a warm smile. "Merry Christmas," he chuckled.

Sebastian swallowed hard, sitting back in his chair. "Have I gone totally insane or... are you Henry Allen?" There was a timidness to his voice he wasn't quite used to. A tremble replaced his normal bounce. It made him curl in on himself just a fraction.

Henry's lips curled into a smile. The kind that felt like a warm hug. "That's me," he admitted. Sebastian blinked slowly. For the first time ever, his mind was truly blank. He didn't know what to say or do. What if he made a total fool of himself by saying something ridiculous? Then again, what if he was making a fool of himself by saying nothing at all. "I was brought back from the dead by the chimeras to use as an 'olive branch'."

"That's..." again, Sebastian struggled to think of a non-sarcastic approach. "Good, I suppose," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I mean good that you're alive but not good you were being used as a bargaining chip," he blurted.

"I understood," Henry chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes twinkled with delight as he stared at the boy closely. Sebastian was frozen stiff. Those eyes. Those were Barry's eyes. The unwavering stare or loyalty. The one that somehow made Sebastian feel as if they were giving him every scrap of their attention. As if there was nothing else on their mind but their conversation with him. It was a look that somehow promised everything would be okay. Unlike Barry however, Henry's stare seemed to be there permanently.

"You look just like your brother," he remarked.

"I get that a lot," Sebastian sent him a small smile, scratching at the back of his head. "I think just about everybody in this city has mistaken me for him at some point."

"I suppose you probably run into a lot of people whilst working in such a popular shop," Henry mused, casting his eyes around the empty building. "Sorry you were late for work," he hummed. "It was Joe and I that convinced Barry not to wake you up when you fell asleep last night."

"I didn't miss much," Sebastian snorted, motioning to the empty cafe around them.

"I guess we were just haunted by the insomniac baby we used to know," Henry told him softly.

Sebastian blinked slowly, shuffling in his seat. "I was an insomniac baby?" his voice hitched.

"I have performed five hour surgeries that were easier that putting you to bed as a child," Henry eye's glazed with a memory from the past, his lips twitching with the ghost of a smile. "Although the real difficulty came if you woke up during the night."