IC CONTACT.

[atms]

Comments

audio. friday morning.

[advena]

( by the time friday rolls around, kara's still not sure whether barry will go on his billiards date-or-not-date with leonard snart. this version of leonard snart, anyway. but whether he goes or not, barry's still her best friend, and she's not going to let someone potentially hurt him without doing her very best to prevent it.

so, fade in on a ringing cuddlephone, leonard's number perhaps less than charitably demanded from mick, and an impatient kara danvers on the other line. )

[atms]

[ leonard pulls his phone out of his pocket and squints down at it, letting it ring almost until voicemail before picking up. ]

Yeah?

[advena]

( as soon as he picks up, kara's voice launches through the connection, overlapping his brief greeting in her urgency. )

Are you still going to play billiards with Barry today?

[atms]

[ he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. he can guess who this is, even if they've never talked before. ]

Not that it's any of your business, but yeah, I am.

[advena]

Barry's my best friend. When he tells me about something, it's my business.

( the sound of an exhale, carefully measured, before she continues. )

How much has he told you about the place we were before?

[atms]

Next to nothing. But I've been able to fill in some blanks.

[ and he hasn't outright asked barry about it either. ]

audio. /does more dumb things

[speedforcer]

[he isn't really thinking straight. that's his excuse. after everything that'd happened with the earthquake, with all the repair efforts he'd thrown himself head first in to, it'd taken practically collapsing before he was finally dragged away from the chaos and ordered in to a hospital bed.

which is where he still is, far too many bags of glucose later, and a headache that doesn't seem to want to shift.]

Hey, Len?

[his exhaustion is more than obvious in his voice, but it's the least of his worries right now. instead it's guilt that weighs heavily on him. all that time and he's only just gotten around to making this call.]

Are you guys okay? Did you all get out?

audio. /chinhands

[atms]

[ it's almost funny that barry's in the hospital, because that's where len is. for a completely different reason, but the point still stands. when he gets the message, he's in a waiting room, getting some grub and a drink out of a vending machine. ]

Yeah, we're good. [ he holds his phone between his ear and his shoulder, ignoring the little bits of chatter behind him and the occasional pa system announcement that the mic probably picks up. ] Far as I know, Mick never got trapped. I was out within twenty minutes.

[ he doesn't mention the sprained ankle. or what he's been doing in the days since the earthquake. ]

Let me guess--you've been working those fleet feet of yours off trying to help everybody.

[speedforcer]

[the background noises barely make any real impact on him at first. it's not until there's the all too familiar call on the pa system, something that's a repetition of words he's hearing ring out above him too, that realization sets in and any ease he may've felt at len's first words is wiped away completely.]

You're in the hospital? Why're you in the hospital? You said you were good.

[maybe he'll address the rest later. but right now, he has a much bigger concern to deal with.]

[atms]

[ he lets his forehead hit the glass on the front of the vending machine with a quiet thud. this is not a conversation he wants to have twice, but whatever higher powers there are in the world clearly hate him. ]

I'm not a patient. Chill.

[ there's a slight pause wherein he debates whether he should explain further. ] I have a particular set of skills that can come in handy around here during a crisis. [ is what he settles on eventually. let barry make of that what he will. ]

[speedforcer]

Okay. Alright.

[it's enough to have him slump back against his pillows again, relieved both at the fact that len's alright and the fact that he doesn't need to force himself to get up. (honestly, he probably wouldn't make it as far as the door right now if he tried.) there's a moment as he considers trying to push for more. to find out just what those skills are. but if len isn't freely offering that information, barry isn't about to push for it.

yet.]

I wanted to check in on you guys earlier, but I got...sidetracked.

[not that it's particularly surprising. there was an emergency taking place afterall.]

[atms]

Believe it or not, we are grown men. We can take care of ourselves.

[ amusement colors the light admonishment. this kid and his bleeding heart are going to be the death of him someday. but until then, leonard can't help but be quietly bemused and entertained by just how far barry pushes himself for no reason other than "he can, so why wouldn't he?"

though he doubts barry would put it that way. ]

Why are you in here? You didn't actually run a foot off, did you?

text. /aaand more bad choices

[speedforcer]

whereareyou?

[you know, at 1am when most normal people are fast asleep. too bad neither of them are anything close to normal.]

text. muahaha (8

[atms]

[ luckily, leonard is the definition of a night owl. though this text does have him squinting down at his phone in an odd mix of confusion and a hint of concern. the lack of spaces seems like a bad thing. ]

At home. Why?

i feel like i should apologize. but i won't.

[speedforcer]

[there's no response to the text. at least not by phone. instead, moments later, there's a knock on the door to leonard's apartment. he knows, really, that he shouldn't be there. that he shouldn't have sent the message in the first place. but he's never been the best at impulse control. especially since gaining his powers.

just don't question how he knows which warehouse is his. barry has his ways, and they may not necessarily be the most legal ones out there.]

never apologize for barry's wonderful and terrible life choices.

[atms]

[ when there's no text back within the first few seconds, he figures barry is probably zipping his way around the city until he finds len. why else would he have asked for a location? so the knock on the door is completely unsurprising and it only takes him a second to open it. ]

I'll take a box of Thin Mints and a box of Samoas.

just you wait!

[speedforcer]

[with his mind running a mile a minute, barry only catches up with the joke behind leonard's words in the seconds after he's dumping a handful of notes on the cash register for the boxes of cookies he's picking up from the closest grocery store. sure, they may not be girl scout cookies, but they're close and...an entirely pointless purchase. when he turns back up again, his embarrassment is all too clear, face red as he presses the boxes in to len's hands and stalks past him into his apartment.]

Sorry if I woke you up.

[pointedly keeping his back to len for the time being, barry uses the excuse of taking a look around his apartment to avoid his reaction. sure, a large part of that is genuine interest. but he doesn't really want to be the butt of len's jokes right now either. even if he does know that there wouldn't really be any harm meant by it.]

aaand now i have hamilton going through my head.

[atms]

[ well. if he wasn't concerned before, he sure is now. the sarcastic joke flying right over barry's head and into the land of "being taken seriously" is something he hasn't seen before. it makes him frown as he shuts the door and casually follows barry into his apartment. ]

If I'd been asleep, I probably wouldn't have texted you back.

[ depending on the context of said text, anyway. one that gave him a bad feeling? that might get him out of his cushy nest of blankets and pillows. the 1am text equivalent of shitposting? not so much.

keeping his eyes mostly on barry, len drops the cookies in his kitchen and then hooks his thumbs in the waistband of his sweats. ] You want to tell me what's eating you?

one day i'll stop spamming you

[speedforcer]

[when len gets home that night, he'll quickly discover something's off. there's a piece of paper stuck to the door to his bedroom, a messy scrawl on it that simply says:

"Sorry. I'll fix it in the morning.
-Barry"

nice and descriptive, right?

well, if he wants answers, all he has to do is head in to his bedroom. there, he'll find that he isn't alone. there's someone waiting for him. someone who very quickly perks up once the door is open.

make your decision now, mr snart. do you:

a) give the poor kitten the hug she so eagerly wants?
b) kick the tiny thing out into the cold? or
c) wake up a tired speedster to make them collect her?

the choice is yours.

ps: options b and c are the wrong ones.]

i hope not <3

[atms]

[ he sighs, picks up the cat, and brings her downstairs with him. what barry might not know is there's a few strays that hang around len's place that he feeds when they come a-calling, so he can give the tiny furball something to eat and a warm place to sleep. at least for tonight.

doesn't keep him from texting barry, though. ]

You could've at least left a litter box with her.

you may regret that

[speedforcer]

[he isn't sure whether it's a good thing or not that he's only just started to doze off by the time len's message arrives. he's at least alive enough to read it. but at the same time, he was about to fall asleep. life is hard.]

haave you seen rhe time??
nowhere sopen
besidse i jumped in to a pomd for her
thast should benough

never

[atms]

[ barry's a young twenty-something with superpowers. he can handle a little lack of sleep. ]

If she pees on my duvet, I'm making you take it to the cleaner's.
She got a name?

WE SHALL SEE

[speedforcer]

ithinik she's a strayu
sono name
andd no idea if s he's toilert trained

[all he knows is that she can't swim. oh, and that her claws are sharp when she's scared]

▸ SPECIAL DELIVERY!

[cuddlemods]

One morning, you'll awaken to find that an envelope addressed to you, adorned with the Official Seal of the City of Cadelle, has been slipped underneath your door. Inside, there's a note, which reads:

AN OFFICIAL NOTICE FROM CITY HALL:

On behalf of the city of Cadelle, we would like to thank you for your dedication to our mission of lighting up our city and our lives through the power of good deeds! ↑ and acts of physical intimacy!!! xoxo, Flora & Cornelius As a token of our gratitude, the city administration is pleased to extend to you your promised piece of the Energem, which may be redeemed in your home world upon your return. For assistance in arranging your return trip, or for alternative options should you wish to remain in the city a while longer, please visit the Volunteer Coordinator Office in City Hall. Thank you for your contributions. - Mayor Drake PLEASE NOTE: The office is open between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM daily, with a two hour lunch break between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM. Please do take care to arrive no less than 30 minutes prior to scheduled closures. You wouldn't like us when we're hangry.

look its been more than a month...

[speedforcer]

[a message gets sent in the late afternoon. or rather, a picture does, with no words attached to it. yes, there's a reason for it. but when has he ever made things easy?]