Work Text:
Somebody was in his museum. In his private rooms, no less.
Eobard pounced on the intruder, pinning them to the floor with a snarl-
Barry just looked up at him, exhausted.
Eobard helped him sit before moving back, and Barry only nodded and kept doing what he had been doing before.
His suit was torn, and gathered at his waist for now so Barry could get to a patch on his side where a bandage was already blood-soaked.
His fingers were trembling as he tried to loosen it.
“Let me,” Eobard said softly.
He approached slowly, no trace of lightning anywhere, hands raised.
Barry’s breath still hitched. He still watched with caution, but he didn’t protest and allowed Eobard easy access to his side.
The burn had clearly gone deep enough to bleed. Blood still smeared his chest around blackened skin.
In a blink Eobard grabbed some antiseptic cream. Speedsters might not have to worry about infections, but Barry looked exhausted enough Eobard didn’t want to test that.
At the very least it might feel better.
Barry hissed in pain as Eobard’s fingers touched. He was cold, not hot.
Freezing cold. Eobard could see the traces of blue in his lips now.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Barry said.
“Barry-”
“I can deal with them,” Barry said firmly. “I just needed somewhere to heal first.”
“So you came here?” Eobard asked. “Not to your wife? Is she your wife again yet?”
“She should be, next week,” Barry said. “They know who I am. They were prepared. If I went home, they’d find me, and I’d be putting Iris and Ace in danger. If I go to any of my family, I put them in danger, and I can’t do that. If I find any of the rest of the League, I risk their identities being discovered too. But no one can follow me here, and I knew I would be safe with you.”
“You trust me?” Eobard asked.
“No,” Barry said. “But you won’t kill me, and you won’t let anyone else hurt me.”
“Someone did hurt you,” Eobard said.
His thumb brushed under where the burn was slowly fading back into too pale skin.
“And I can handle it,” Barry said. “If I tell you who, you’ll only run in and try and kill them all, but they want speedsters, they have traps for speedsters, they’ll only capture you too.”
“You’re trying to protect me?” Eobard asked.
Barry smiled softly and closed his eyes.
“I have a bed,” Eobard said.
“You sleep?” Barry asked.
“Not often,” Eobard said. “But you do. You need rest, and it’s warm.”
Barry nodded and Eobard lifted him into his arms.
He took each step gingerly, holding Barry as steady and as gently as he could, yet he still caught Barry’s quiet hisses of pain.
There was more than the burn. Eobard was certain of that.
He laid Barry down softly, wincing at the scratchiness of the sheet and thin cover.
He rummaged for something to give Barry to wear and he pulled out the first warm thing his hand closed around.
And regretted it instantly as he realised what it was.
“I wondered where that went,” Barry said, taking his own hoodie and letting Eobard help him pull it over his head.
“You’re mad,” Eobard said.
“I might be later,” Barry said. “I’m too tired now.”
He laid down.
“And cold,” Barry said. “It’s so cold.”
“Can I take your boots off?” Eobard asked. “To make it more comfortable. For sleeping.”
Barry nodded, his eyes still closed, and Eobard gently eased his feet out the damaged gold boots.
They were bloody too. Healing, but the traces of injury still there.
His eyes landed on the missing toe.
“Barry,” he said.
“Accelerated healing doesn’t cover amputations,” Barry said. “Or removed kidneys. And it slows down when I’m cold. The colder I am, the slower I heal.”
Eobard almost trembled in rage as what Barry was trying to protect him from started to dawn on him fully.
Barry shivered again.
And Eobard hesitated, then laid down next to him.
“What are you doing?” Barry asked.
“It’s my bed,” Eobard said. “I don’t have anywhere else to sleep tonight.”
Barry raised an eyebrow.
“You’re too cold,” Eobard admitted. “I’m warm.”
He nodded and shuffled the covers to pull Eobard under them with him.
He snuggled into Eobard’s side.
“You are warm,” he said, seemingly oblivious to Eobard’s hiss as his ice-cold skin touched him. “So warm.”
Barry sounded so tired.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?” Eobard said. “Breaking into my home?”
“You live in what’s left of my lab,” Barry said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be who you wanted me to be. Maybe if I was a better hero, I would have been able to help you.”
“You’re perfect,” Eobard said.
“No, I’m not,” Barry said. “That’s the problem we’ve always had, Eobard.”
“You don’t call me that often,” Eobard said. “Why did you come here, Flash?”
“I told you,” Barry said. “I had nowhere else I could go.”
“You had plenty of places,” Eobard said. “But you came to me, and now you’re apologising to me. What are you planning, Barry?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Barry said.
“I could kill them for you,” Eobard said. “I could-”
“No,” Barry said firmly. “I just need somewhere to heal, then I will handle it.”
“Whoever these people are, they hurt you.” Eobard’s hand rested near Barry’s burnt side. “They tortured you. Tested your limits. You don’t want them going near your family or your friends. If I kill them, you can pretend your hands aren’t dirty.”
Barry sighed.
“Can you do something else for me?” he asked. “Something that doesn’t involve any murder.”
“You’re no fun, Care-Bear,” Eobard pouted, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.
“Can you lead Iris and Wally on a wild goose chase?” Barry ignored his comment. “Keep them distracted, and keep them away from looking for me?”
“I’m sure they’re already looking,” Eobard said.
“I know,” Barry said. “Please.”
Eobard nodded. Barry looked so sincere. So resigned.
“What you’re planning,” Eobard said. “You aren’t planning on coming back, are you?”
Barry didn’t say anything.
“I pulled you back from death once,” he said. “You think I would just let you-”
“Yes,” Barry said.
Eobard opened his mouth and Barry rested a finger on his lips first.
“I know you won’t want to,” Barry said. “I know. That’s why I need to ask you to. We had a good run, all of us, and there will be so much more running to do and I know you will all have such adventures that I would love to see, but if this goes how I hope it won't and think it will, I want you to let me rest.”
Eobard didn’t say anything. Couldn’t say anything.
“Please,” Barry said. “There’s still time to change your story, Eobard. I believe you can, you just need to let some things go this time. You need to let me go. Please.”
“Barry,” Eobard said.
“I’m tired,” Barry said. “I’m so tired.”
“You can sleep.” Eobard kissed the top of his head. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”
This was an easy problem to solve. Barry was in his bed. All Eobard had to do was find a way to keep him there, then he’d never be able to go do whatever this bad plan was and get himself killed. Eobard could trap him, he was Eobard Thawne, he’d thought of a thousand ways to trap the Flash.
He’d fallen asleep though. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually slept. And he hadn’t meant to, but Barry had looked so peaceful curled up into him, and Eobard hadn’t wanted to move and wake him up.
Barry shared his bed regularly, and between the Flash, the crime lab, and his nightmares, there were many things that would draw him from his bed during the night.
Eobard should have realised Barry would be well-practised enough to be able to slip out of bed without waking him.
All he’d left was a note with a date and Eobard didn’t know if that was the same date he was running to or if he’d been smart enough to give Eobard a few days to keep Iris and the rest of his family distracted.
He was Barry, of course he would think of that.
If time was still shifting then he wouldn’t be able to find out Barry’s future from the museum yet. All he had to go on was one date, the knowledge Barry was planning something incredibly, monumentally stupid, and whoever this villain was, they didn’t just have contingency plans for speedsters, they actively wanted them, and Barry was planning on running in by himself.
Eobard groaned.
He couldn’t call Barry an idiot for running in by himself and then go do exactly the same thing. Or he could, but Barry would never let him hear the end of it. Barry was never going to let him hear the end of any of this.
He could have torn his hair out for this. Fine, Barry wanted him to go find Iris and Wally West? Eobard could do that. He could get their attention easily, and they would have already started looking for Barry. They would know where to start. How to find him, and then Eobard could deal with whoever thought they could get away with hurting his Flash.
He would certainly not be letting anyone else kill his Barry. Eobard was going to be doing that himself if Barry was going to force him to go ask Wally West of all people for help.