You're The Hero Now

Ch3. I'm listening

Barry looked like he was going to kill Julian if he didn't start talking any time soon. "I wasn't actually going to do anything, you do know that right?" Julian defended. Barry on the other hand was more than ready to send the blond shooting off the edge of the building. "I trust you Julian, I trust you to keep my secret, S.T.A.R labs' secret. We all trust you. If you ever do anything like that again...I don't even know what we'll do." A few minutes past of frustrating silence. "So I'm guessing you're not going to tell me. After all I've done for you, you still keep a secret from me...that I told you in the first place. Yes it sounds ridiculous, but that's what happens when you get drunk, you forget things." Julian exhaled angrily. "Now if you don't mind telling me where we are so I can go home." Barry grabbed the blond's arm, pulling him back towards him. "I'll tell you but you're not going to like it that I know. We can go somewhere else, it's a bit limited here." Julian nodded and signed in relief, he had finally won their little feud.

~*~

The two sat quietly on a small, wooden bench in the park. It was now early in the evening and the place was almost completely to themselves. "So?" Julian asked looking over to Barry, curiously. "Are you going to tell me? I've asked you plenty of times." Barry could sense that Julian was a very impatient person. To be fair the 'secret' was pretty big and one he probably shouldn't know. Barry moved so he could face Julian better, Julian did the same. "If you promise not to strangle me then I'll promise not to tell another living soul, okay?" Julian gulped, took a deal breath in and exhaled. "Okay, tell me." Several agonising minutes had past since they promised each other. "Okay. You...killed someone. A kid. You said it was for the best." Julian was tearing up. "It's okay Ju, it was the gang, wasn't it?" Barry soothed his words. Julian all of a sudden pushed away. "No, it wasn't actually. That's the reason I left England. What exactly do you know about it?" He stood and began to pace around. "You didn't mean to kill that kid, it was meant to be someone else. The kid dived in front and took the bullet. I'm sorry. Please stop pacing." The blond had blocked him out. How could he tell him all of that and not remember? He must have been completely, utterly wasted. But what was going to happen now? What was Barry going to do? Lock julian in one of the meta-human cells and leave him there to rot away? He was frightened, not like before, he was terrified. "Julian. Julian!" Barry shouted. The blond shook his head and faced the now standing young man. "You need to rest. I'll take you home, come on. We'll go human speed."
Julian nodded in agreement. Barry went to support Julian but his hand was batted away. "I don't want your help." He quickened his pace. Barry frowned and jogged a little to keep up with him. "I know this must be really hard for you but it might help if you tell someone." Julian stopped walking. Barry turned around and faced him, about half a metre between them. "Do you mean tell you? Tell you and then you'll finally have something to blackmail me with?" Julian closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. "Mr.Allen, if I tell you this, I'll have to tell you everything. I can't take that risk. If you know about my past, you'll know that I don't belong here...and I don't mean Central City." He continued to walk. This time at an even faster pace. The brunette followed after. "I would never blackmail you. And I think you do belong here, at S.T.A.R labs with Caitlin, Cisco and the others." They had entered the busy streets. The sky was dark but the lights of the city made up for it. "Julian, you belong here with me." The blond's heart broke a little. It had been such a long time since he felt this kind of affection. They were almost on the road Julian lived on when Barry noticed an out of control car speeding towards them. He hesitated before throwing himself at the other man, who was oblivious to the situation. They crashed to the ground as the crazy driver smashed the vehicle into a traffic light. "What the hell are-" Julian acknowledged the sudden swarm of people crowding them and the crashed car.  Barry got up off Julian and looked around at the incident. The blond watched Barry, shocked. "You saved my life." He said a little surprised. Barry held out his hand and helped Julian up. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I? I'm not going to let you get hit by a maniac."

~*~

They sat and waited until the police turned up. Barry saw Joe step out of one of the police cars and waved him over. Joe frowned and a concerned look washed over him. "Are you two okay? What happened here?" He asked worried. Julian still looked a little unsettled. Barry wrapped an arm around him and squeezed his shoulder. "He'll be fine." He smiled. Joe shrugged and pulled out a notebook and pen, ready to take notes. "Um, we were making our way back to Julian's apartment from the park when out of nowhere this car came speeding towards Julian. I quickly knocked him out of the way just in time. The car crashed into the traffic light behind us. Luckily there was no fatalities." Joe nodded and said a quick 'good bye' and a 'thank god you're both okay' before heading over to the other officers and shared the information he had just received. Barry turned to Julian. "Well it looks like Joe is working late tonight. Let's get going."

~*~

"Well today has been a bit different, hasn't it?" They both seemed to be in a better mood than earlier. Barry playfully poked Julian in the ribs. Julian smacked the pest's hand away before Barry could prod him again. "Mr. Allan, I'm trying to put away my new clothes. Do you mind not doing that?" He noticed Julian was wearing his red hoodie and smiled. Barry sat on the bed next to the shopping bags while Julian stood in front of the wardrobe folding clothes and neatly putting them away. Barry continued poking him. "Am I annoying you Ju? Am I annoying you?" He laughed in amusement. He was suddenly caught off guard when the other man turned around and tackled him. "You are annoying me. Behave or go home." Julian had pinned him on the bed and sat on top of his stomach. Barry grinned wildly. "But I don't want to behave, I do that all the time if you haven't noticed." Julian let go of Barry's wrists but he stayed sat on the brunette. "What are you suggesting Mr. Allen? We're not drinking again if that's what you're thinking." Barry sat up, placing his arms on the blond's waist. "What are you doing Barry?" Julian panicked slightly at the movement. Barry said nothing. "Barry?" As if it were instincts, Julian wrapped his arms around Barry's neck. "There's something about you that's not normal. You're different, unique." He stared deeply into Julian's grey eyes. Julian tried his best not to blush but his embarrassment got the better of him. "You're right, I'm not normal, I am different, all for the wrong reasons. There is nothing unique about me though. Excuse me." He untangled himself and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Barry huffed and dropped his body back on the bed. Julian rested his hands on the rim of the sink and glared at his reflection. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep this up for much longer. I have to tell him. I have to tell him before he finds out." He whispered to himself.