Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Barry Allen was doing his best to hurry.

Sometimes he wished he could just grab his Flash suit so that he could cut in line at Jitters. He used to speed through the shop and grab his coffee that way, but after multiple lectures from Caitlin, he was forced to stop.

He pouted about it for a bit until he realized it would keep his ego and patience in check.

Snart was just broken out of jail, and Mardon and the Trickster were on the loose. Patty was distraught about it for a reason unbeknownst to him.

He was too tired for this, honestly. He had just killed an immortal psychopath with Oliver, and Zoom was still out there, and it was almost Christmas, for Christ’s sake!

Cisco said he needed to come to S.T.A.R. Labs quick, but Barry needed his coffee fix. That’s the only way he could survive the day.

He entered Jitters and almost groaned as he saw the line. He just opened the door, and the line was right there! He let out a sigh and decided coffee was worth the wait. He glanced behind him and saw two more people walk. The line was already growing!

He sighed and pulled out his phone. He had to wait. He hoped Harry wouldn’t be in a pissy mood when he got there.

“Santana, I really don’t know why you’re complaining. This city is so refreshing compared to New York! I mean, look,” Rachel Berry said as she pointed to a group of teenagers laughing, “Everybody is so sweet, and not one person on the street has asked me to help them massage their Grandmother’s sore feet.”

Santana Lopez rolled her eyes, “Oh, come on Berry. The only reason you’re saying this is because of that little girl with no standards at the mall asked you for a picture and an autograph.”

Rachel huffed and said, “Okay, well, I don’t need you ruining my happy mood right now.” She glanced around.

Central City was lovely. Especially around this time of year. Most larger cities were probably wonderful around Christmas since the holiday season always brought a special feel to the environment.

And Rachel Berry enjoyed that feeling.  

She and Santana were walking the streets, trying to enjoy the season. At least, Rachel was. Santana was in one of her moods. The airport situation was difficult for both of them, so Rachel understood why.

Santana let out a noise of frustration, “God, where’s Lady Hummel and Quinn? I thought they wanted to meet for coffee!” She pulled out her phone.

Rachel clicked her tongue, “Uhm, I think— “

Too late. Santana was already dialing.

Rachel was almost 100% certain Kurt and Quinn wanted to meet at the coffee place instead of on the sidewalk of a random street but didn’t voice that thought.

Santana breathed a sigh. “Quinn, yeah, hello!? I thought you wanted to meet for coffee, where the hell are you?” Quinn must’ve said what Rachel thought because Santana’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Ugh, fine, whatever, just send me the address, would you?” Santana said abruptly, then hung up.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, pretending to be oblivious, “What? Are they almost here?”

Santana rolled her eyes, “Don’t play dumb, Berry, come on. And fast, I really don’t need my breasts freezing off before we get there.”

Rachel let out a small laugh as they walked.

Kurt Hummel was currently sitting alone at a table, waiting for Quinn to bring their coffees over. His eyes vaguely ran over the line and noted how long it was. It was nearly out the door. The line was so packed people were practically stepping on each other’s feet. It was still growing; he noted as two more people walked in.

‘Must be the Holiday rush.’  He thought.

Quinn was nearing the front, so it shouldn’t be too long.

Kurt frowned as he glanced at the T.V. above him and saw a news broadcast about a man named Leonard Snart, who was broken out of jail along with the Trickster? Interesting name.

As he watched, he learnt Mark Mardon, a man who could control the weather (‘yeah, wow’), had broken the both of them out of jail.

He knew this city was strange. It was full of people with superpowers. Sam Evans would’ve loved it.

The News anchor then went on about how this was all part of a plan to take The Flash down, supposedly. The city’s own superhero. He had his own drink too. That was what he and Quinn had ordered.

He was impressed by The Flash. The man could run faster than the speed of sound, and maybe even faster!

He was distracted by his phone buzzing. It was a text from Rachel; she and Santana were almost there.

Good. Kurt was ready to start planning this thing. It would be fun to catch up too, but the main priority was the fundraiser for Dalton Academy. It was terrible what happened. At least nobody was hurt.

He saw Quinn walking back and sat down across from him. She was not carrying their coffees. He looked at her, offended.

Quinn rolled her eyes, amused. “The barista said she would bring them over when they’re done, since we’re the closest table to the line.”  

Kurt leaned back and crossed his arms, “Ugh, okay, that’s nice of her, I guess.” He was getting a little cranky. It was almost 5:30 PM, and he hadn’t had a lick of coffee this morning.

She looked over his shoulder at something behind him. He frowned and turned around in his chair to see what she was looking at. He didn’t see anything.

“What?” He said, still turned around.

She sighed, “I thought I saw Santana,” he turned back around. “How much longer are they going to take?”

“Rachel said they're almost here. She also said Santana is a little cranky.” He responded.

“Because of what happened at the airport?”

Kurt’s eyebrows furrowed, “What happened at the airport?”

She sighed, “Well, their flight got delayed and someone stole Santana’s purse which had her plane ticket in it, so they had to walk all the way to the other side of the airport to complain and buy another.” She explained.

Kurt raised her eyebrows, “Wow. I’m surprised Rachel didn’t call to tell me about it.”

A barista suddenly came, with four coffees in tow, along with a cronut, “Here we are! Four Flash’s and one special Christmas cronut!”

Kurt smiled gratefully at her, “Thank you so much.”

Quinn said her thanks as well and gave the waitress another five dollars, which she humbly accepted.

Kurt raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his drink, “Someone’s in the giving spirit.”

Quinn rolled her eyes, “It’s called being polite, Kurt.” She said, putting her wallet back in her purse.

He looked at the cronut and raised an eyebrow. “For Santana,” She said, “I thought it would make her feel better.” She took a sip of her Flash

“Hmm, this is really good.” He nodded in agreement. It was pretty good.

“Can you believe this city has a superhero? That’s insane.” Quinn said, looking up at the T.V. monitor.

Kurt hummed in agreement taking another sip, looking up as well. “Yeah. Feels unreal.”

Santana let out a sigh of relief as she and Rachel approached the coffee place. She grabbed Rachel’s arm and started walking quicker.

Rachel yelped, “Hey, Santana, easy! We are right there!”

“Yeah, exactly, I’m trying to get inside before I freeze to death out here.” She responded.

She quickly ushered Rachel through the door. They almost immediately bumped into some girl at the very back of the line. Santana openly gaped.

“Ah great, just what we needed. Are we really just going to wait in this line?” Santana said, quite bitter.

Rachel was peering over her shoulder, “Oh, nope! I see Quinn and Kurt at that table. Come on.” Quinn saw them and smiled. Hummel turned around too and waved them over.

She grabbed her hand, and Santana roughly knocked into someone in the line, causing them to drop their phone, all because of the way Berry was manhandling her wrist.

She and Rachel quickly made their way to the table. Santana sat down beside Quinn, while Rachel sat down beside Hummel, sitting right across from her.

As Santana was taking off her thick jacket, she stopped mid-movement and outwardly gasped.

They all turned to look at her. Kurt’s eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

Santana sat there openly gaping, “Is that—? Oh my god.”

Kurt started to look a bit worried as he turned to Rachel. She was too busy looking around frantically, “What? Santana, what is it?” She said.

Santana turned to Quinn, mouth still open, “Is that a cronut I smell?”

Kurt let out a mumbled, “Oh my god,” and took a sip of his drink, while Rachel huffed, “Geez, Santana, I thought something was wrong.”

Quinn had a smug smile on her face and passed the plate over to her. “I thought it would make you feel better. Eat it, quick! Before it gets cold.” She said with a small laugh.

Santana smiled at her. This was the most grateful she had ever felt for Quinn’s existence. She took a bite, and it felt like heaven. She saw Quinn laugh from the corner of her eye.

Kurt quirked an eyebrow. Rachel suddenly gasped and turned to Kurt, “Oh! Did you already get our coffees?” 

He set a mug down in front of her and said in a sing-song voice, “Yes, ma’am.”

She rubbed her hands together and said, “Ooh, why the lightning bolt?”

Quinn answered, “For The Flash.”

Rachel raised her eyebrows and let out a small laugh, “Wow, they named a drink after this guy?”

Santana looked at her incredulously and answered while chewing, “Rachel are you kidding? He’s a goddamn superhero. Why are you surprised?”

Rachel was about to say something, but Kurt interrupted her, “Guys we can talk about The Flash later. Right now we are here to discuss the fundraiser.” He said firmly.

Barry sighed and glanced up from his phone at the number of people in front of him. He was about halfway through. He saw Cassie, Iris’ old co-worker, was the one taking orders. Maybe he could convince her to prioritize his order.

He knew it was wrong but had gotten about 20 texts from Cisco and Caitlin asking where he was, so he needed to hurry

He heard some woman who had just entered vocalize precisely how he felt, “Ah great, just what we needed. Are we really just going to wait in this line?”

‘For real, though.’  Barry thought.

He felt his phone buzzing in his hand and saw Cisco was calling him. He sighed and raised the phone to his ear.

He was about to say “Hello,” but someone harshly bumped into him, and he dropped his phone on the ground. Barry looked up in surprise and saw two women hastily walking towards a table. He was slightly offended they didn’t apologize but brushed that off and grabbed his phone from off the ground.

“Barry? Hey, Barry, you there?”

He put the phone up to his ear, “Yeah, yeah I’m here.”

“Where the hell are you? We’ve been texting you for the past 30 minutes, are you coming?”

He let out a small huff and said, “Yeah, I’m coming, I’m just grabbing some coffee.”

“Coffee? Barry, Captain Cold, Weather Wizard,  and, the Trickster are all on the loose, and you stopped for coffee?”

Barry paused. “I’ll get some for you and Caitlin too.”

He heard Cisco give a dramatic groan, “Okay, okay, whatever, Joe is on his way too, so grab something for him. Oh, and Harry! We don’t need him being a bigger dick than usual.”

Barry nodded and laughed lightly, “Yeah, yeah, okay. Anything else?”

“…get some of those cronuts too.”

Barry snorted. “Yeah, dude no problem.”

“See you soon, Bar.”

“Yup.” He hung up the phone.

He looked at the line in front of him. There was still a large group of people in front of him (about 6-7 people), but they all seemed to be together, so it would be his turn once they ordered.

He glanced at the T.V. monitor and saw the News anchor was still talking about the break-out at Iron Heights. He noticed it earlier but didn’t want to ponder on it.

This was big. Two dangerous criminals and Snart’s morally confusing ass are out of jail. He thought about going to Saints and Sinners to pry information out of Snart but wasn’t positive if he would be out in the open after just being broken out of jail.

He would probably call Patty and compare notes with her. She seemed determined about solving this case. He might check up on her though too, she seemed worried.

The group was done ordering, and it was Barry’s turn.

‘Hell yes.’

Cassie smiled at him, “Barry, hi!”

He returned the smile, “Hey, Cassie.”

“What would you like, today?”

“I will take three flashes, two cappuccinos, and six cronuts. All to-go please.” He decided to get an extra cronut for Patty too.

Cassie let out a small laugh, “Wow, okay, are we feeding a group, Barry, that’s a lot.”

He laughed too, but he was secretly hoping she would hurry the hell up, “Yeah, it’s for my friends at work.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Late shift?”

He nodded, “Uh, yeah, you could say that.”

She rang him up, “Okay, that’ll be $28.39*, please.”

He noted to himself to have Cisco and Cait pay him back. At least, Cisco. He’s the one who wanted the cronuts. He would honestly feel awkward asking Caitlin to pay him back. So, Cisco it was.

He paid, and Cassie informed him his order would be out in about 10 minutes. He nodded at her in thanks, then turned around and noted the table closest to the line, the one he usually sat at, was occupied with four people.

He was also pretty positive the woman stuffing her face with a cronut was the same woman who had bumped into him earlier.

He squeezed by behind the cronut woman and another pretty blonde’s chairs to sit on the couch next to it, but a voice stopped him.

“Sebastian!?”

Oh god. It had to be today, didn’t it?

Quinn and the others were discussing how they wanted to go about the fundraiser for Dalton Academy. They planned to have it here in Central City, and Rachel threw out the idea of a talent show. Kurt seemed on board with it, and Santana rolled her eyes and mocked the idea for a bit but was for it.

Quinn was excited to perform again. She did at Yale a bit, but it was very casual. No stakes. Just a tiny show some of her classmates decided to throw together. She was excited to perform with a purpose, again. She hadn’t had one since high school.

They were also trying to get in touch with some former Dalton boys and old New Direction members.

Kurt was saying, “Okay, we should all try to reach out to everyone and convince them to come to Central City. I’ll ask Blaine to get in touch with some old Warblers.”

Rachel nodded, “Yeah, I’m in touch with almost everyone, so it should be pretty easy to get everyone together.”

Quinn listened silently, an idea forming. She glanced at Santana and saw her trying to save her cronut. She was nodding along, though.

Quinn spoke up, “Is Blaine still in contact with Sebastian Smythe?”

Rachel snapped her head towards her in surprise, and Kurt gave her a look in disbelief, “You’re kidding, right?”

Santana looked at her, eyebrows furrowed, “Yeah, no she has to be, Hummel, or else I’m about to check her into a Mental Hospital.”

Quinn looked at Rachel, who had her eyebrows furrowed. “No, I think I know what you mean, Quinn.” Rachel said, nodding.

Santana and Kurt both looked to her, incredulously, “Rachel!” Kurt said.

He was about to say something else, but Quinn interrupted, “If I remember correctly, wasn’t his Dad some rich State’s Attorney? If we try to convince him to help support the fundraiser, it could go extremely well.” Quinn explained while Rachel nodded along.

Kurt sighed and rubbed his temples while Santana crossed her arms. Quinn raised her eyebrows, “Guys, we aren’t in high school anymore.”

Kurt rubbed his eyes, and Santana rolled her eyes and said, “That’s not it, Quinn.”

Quinn and Rachel both looked confused, “I don’t understand?”

“Tell them, Hummel,” Santana said as she continued to stuff her face with the cronut.

Kurt sighed, “Apparently, Sebastian fell off the face of the Earth after he graduated. Nobody knows where he is. He lost all contact, it’ll be a waste of energy trying to find him.”

Rachel frowned, “Oh. That’s unexpected.”

Quinn frowned as well. She didn’t say anything, though. How the hell did Sebastian Smythe disappear from the face of the Earth, and not one person knew where he was? Kurt looked like he was about to say something, but his eyes suddenly widened.

Precisely at that moment, Quinn felt someone trying to squeeze their way behind her and Santana’s seats. She briefly glanced and tried to move her chair forward to make it easier for them, but her eyes widened as well.

Santana froze and set her cronut down while Rachel’s jaw dropped slightly. Quinn knew they saw him as well. He’s not even 3 feet away from their table.  

“Sebastian!?” Kurt gasped.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Chapter Text

Santana Lopez could not believe her eyes.

Today was a whole load of suckass, wasn’t it? First, her flight got delayed, then some good-for-nothing hag stole her purse, which caused her and Rachel to walk across the Kennedy airport just to get another ticket.

Then, to make matters worse, once they arrived at Central City, Rachel insisted they do more walking. Quinn made things slightly better by buying her a cronut, which she still has one bite left on her plate.

And she was about to enjoy that last bite! But then, Sebastian freaking Smythe slithers his way behind her and Quinn’s chairs like it’s no big deal! The twink didn’t even acknowledge them until Lady Hummel said something.

Smythe dropped off the face of the Earth with no contact with anyone, and he just so happened to show up at the exact time and place the four of them were sitting at?

Nuh-uh, Santana Lopez and her notorious Mexican Third Eye do not believe in coincidences.

The twink turned around and looked at them in confusion. Santana noticed how he stumbled as he turned around.

‘Those years of prancing around in a little prissy uniform are failing you, huh, Smythe?’ Santana mused.

Rachel and Kurt were openly gaping at him, while Quinn’s eyebrows were so furrowed Santana thought they might stay that way.

Nobody said anything for a minute. Santana was still a bit shocked.

Weirdly enough, Smythe looked highly uncomfortable.

Rachel was the one to break the silence. “I—Oh my god, Sebastian?” She managed.

Smythe’s eyes widened, “Uhm, w-well, I-I don’t think— “

Kurt laughed humorlessly, cutting him off. Santana raised an eyebrow at his inability to form a coherent sentence. Time sucked away his smoothness, apparently.

Kurt shook his head in disbelief, “Wow, time really didn’t do you justice, huh, Sebastian?” Obviously, the bitterness from high school didn’t entirely leave him yet.

The twink looked a little offended, most likely thinking Hummel was talking about his appearance and not attitude. If Santana was honest, Smythe looked good. Hair was free of gel, slightly messy. His seemingly permanent smirk was gone from his face and instead replaced with…. well, he was currently opening and closing his mouth like an idiot, but she’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

She saw Quinn give Kurt a pointed look, which he gracefully ignored.

Smythe let out a small sigh, “Look, uh, there’s been a misunderstanding I—“

“A misunderstanding?” Santana said in disbelief.

His eyes snapped to her, face flushing red. “Uh, y-yeah?” He said as if it was a question.

Kurt gave her a “What the Fuck” look, and she agreed. He lost all swag.

Quinn shook her head and was about to say something, but Kurt beat her to it. “I’m sorry Sebastian, but are we making you nervous? Because that is quite a game-changer isn’t it?” He seemed to be enjoying mocking the shit out of the twink right now.

She couldn’t blame him; it was pretty fun watching the meerkat struggle for basic words. Especially after all those times, he was so quick to have a fresh comeback.

Smythe shook his head and glanced nervously around the place, “I—” He was interrupted again.

Rachel held out her hand. He surprisingly shut his mouth. She looked at him, and gave a small smile, “Look, Sebastian.” He closed his eyes briefly and looked at her, “I know, we all had our disagreements in high school,” She paused and looked around the table for support.

The only support she received was Kurt mumbling, “Disagreement is a light way of describing it,” as he took a sip of his coffee.

Santana wasn’t listening to this. She interrupted, “No, no. No need for apologies Rachel,” Rachel raised her eyebrows, “No, what we need is for this little twink to tell us exactly why he disappeared to God knows where, and suddenly reappeared at the very place we all so happen to be hosting our Fundraiser?” She said, looking at him straight on.

Kurt nodded and started gazing at him intently. Quinn and Rachel shared a glance but didn’t protest, though Quinn did look like she had something to say.

The twink blushed even harder and looked quite uncomfortable. Who knew Sebastian Smythe was capable of such a thing?

Smythe put his hands in his jacket pockets and shifted his weight to his other foot. Kurt raised an eyebrow and slightly smirked.

“I don’t really know how to say this, but I’m not Sebastian.” He said lamely.

Santana laughed openly and took a sip of her coffee. Kurt’s smirk grew wider, and he said, “You used to be a lot better at lying Sebastian. You couldn’t think of a better excuse?” 

Quinn and Rachel shared another glance, eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m not lying!” He said quickly.

Kurt shook his head, “And why should we believe you? You certainly look like Sebastian Smythe.” Again, he was clearly enjoying this.

He sighed and ran a hand across his face. “Sebastian is my twin.” He said flatly.

Wow. Was he really going for the twin excuse?

Rachel raised her eyebrows, “Twin?” Santana couldn’t tell if she believed the twink or not. Santana definitely didn’t.

Kurt scoffed, “Fine. Do you have your ID, ‘twin of Sebastian?’”

He sighed while reaching into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet.

While he was doing that, Quinn leaned towards them and said, quiet so he couldn’t hear, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I believe him.”

Santana raised her eyebrows incredulously at her and saw Kurt do the same. They both looked to Rachel for help, but she nodded in agreement. Santana looked to Kurt and saw his face was reflecting exactly how she felt.

Smythe pulled out an ID that said his name was Bartholomew Henry Allen.

Kurt snorted, “Bartholomew?”

Smythe flushed again. Santana grabbed the ID out of his hand, and it said he worked as a CSI for the Central City Police Department.

She almost believed his story. He acted nothing like the twink she knew in high school, and his facial expressions were all wrong. Also, he didn’t seem coordinated whatsoever, which was basically impossible for someone who performed competitively in Show Choir.  

Again, she almost bought this twin thing. Almost.

Smythe made an error. She smirked, “If you are really a twin, and that’s really your ID and not a fake one, then your last name wouldn’t be something completely different, Bartholomew.”

Quinn and Rachel looked over to see the ID, while Kurt looked smug.

“Oops, looks like there’s a whole in your story, Meerkat.” He said, mocking.

Smythe huffed and pulled out his phone. Santana raised an eyebrow.

He typed something and showed them. She leaned in to see what the hell he was trying to show them. It was a contact with the name “Sebastian Smythe.”

Santana frowned. Okay, there wasn’t really another reason why he would have his own name in his contact list. “Call it,” She said bluntly.

He looked surprised, “What?”

She rolled her eyes, “I said call the number, and prove to me you are who you say are.”

“Santana,” Quinn said lowly. She ignored her.

Kurt looked at him with a tilted head.

He looked conflicted but said, “Okay, alright.” 

Santana leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, waiting. Kurt did the same while Rachel and Quinn looked apprehensive.

He pressed call and raised the phone to his ear, and nervously bit his nails. See, Smythe would never do that. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen him look nearly this nervous before.

Kurt spoke up, “Put it on speaker.”

The twink, Santana wasn’t sure who he was anymore but was still probably a twink, sighed and put it on speaker.

It rang.

And rang.

And kept on ringing.

Rachel spoke up, “Well if he doesn’t answer—”

“Hey, it’s Sebastian, sorry I missed your call. Leave a message if it’s urgent.”

Kurt raised his eyebrows. Santana rubbed her lips together and glanced at the rest of them. Quinn looked up to the Smythe-look-alike and gave him a smile, “Well, I believe you, but— “

Kurt interrupted, “I will believe you, if you show us a picture.” Santana suspected he already believed him but just wanted additional clarification.

The twink looked to Rachel nervously, and she just flashed him a small smile. “Okay, hold on,” He said, scrolling through his phone.

“I don’t really have a recent one, but here’s one from when we were teenagers,” He showed them a picture of two teenage boys laughing at something. They both looked like Smythe but younger.

Kurt sighed and put his hands in his face. He looked back up and said, “I am so sorry, I really thought you were Sebastian. You guys are identical, it’s kinda scary.”

The Smythe twin smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, we used to get mixed up a lot when we were younger. Don’t worry about it.” He said, even though he looked like he was worried about it.

Santana stood up and reached out her hand, “Well, twink,” said twink raised an eyebrow, “looks like you were telling the truth. My name is Santana Lopez, and I apologize for slapping you.”

He looked confused and shook her hand, “Uh, hi. I don’t think you slapped me?”

“I did in my mind.” She said bluntly.

He nodded and quietly said, “Oh.”

Rachel then stood up and shook his hand, “Hi, I’m Rachel Berry, and again, we apologize for any hostility.” She said, looking at Kurt and Santana.

The Smythe-look-alike laughed nervously and shook her hand.

Quinn and Kurt were sharing glances that Santana didn’t have the care to analyze. Quinn stood up and said, “Hi, I’m Quinn Fabray, and the man who insulted you multiple times is Kurt Hummel.” She shook his hand, and Kurt stood up and did the same.

“Hi, I’m Barry Allen,” when he saw Santana’s quirked eyebrow, he continued, “Barry is short for Bartholomew, which is technically my name. But you all saw that on my ID, which by the way can I have back?”

Quinn laughed lightly at his rambling, picked up his ID lying on the table, and handed it to him. Santana now felt like an idiot for mistaking this awkward mess of a man for the slick Sebastian Smythe.

Kurt said, “Um, I’m still a little confused about your last name?”

“Yeah me too?” Rachel said.

“Uh, well that’s kind of a long—” Allen was interrupted by a barista approaching.

“Okay, Barry, here are your coffees, and this box has all your cronuts.” She handed him a container with six coffees and a box.

Damn, was he really eating all that?

He smiled at her, “Thanks Cassie.”

Cassie smiled back, “Have a good day, Bar. Oh, and tell Iris she can keep her set of keys. I won’t tell anyone.” She winked and walked away.

Allen laughed too, “Okay, thanks.”

Santana quirked an eyebrow, “Is that all for you?”

He looked to her and shook his head, “Uh, no it’s not. Speaking of I have to go to work, but, uhm, it was nice meeting you all!” He flashed a tight small and was about to walk away, but Rachel stopped him.

She stood up and said, “Wait! Uh, Barry?”

He turned to her. She continued, “Do you live here? Or are you just visiting?”

Santana rolled her eyes, “Rachel, he works for the city’s police department, I’m pretty sure he lives here.”

Rachel nodded, “Yeah, so that means you are familiar with the city right? And all tourist places and whatnot?

Oh god.

Kurt mumbled, “Rachel, what are you doing?”

Allen paused, “Uhm, yeah?”

She beamed at him, “Great! We are planning a Fundraiser, and we aren’t familiar with the city, obviously, so I was wondering if we could get together sometime, and you could show us around?” She said promptly.

Kurt looked a bit pale at that question and downed almost the rest of his coffee while shaking his head. Santana could tell Allen didn’t know what answer everyone was looking for by the way he was opening and closing his mouth.

Quinn raised an eyebrow and had a slight smile as she saw Allen look lost for words. Quinn was always charmed by the awkward, sweet boys.

“Uhm, I mean—well I could I guess fit it in my scheu—“

Rachel clapped, “Perfect! Thank you so much, uh, here, I’ll take your number.”

She pulled out her phone and looked at him, waiting for him to recite his number. Santana laughed openly as his eyes widened. “Oh, uh it’s 314-869-0129.*”

Quinn looked at her, and they both chuckled at his actions. Kurt suddenly seemed very interested in a particular spot on the table.

Rachel smiled, “Okay, thank you so much, Barry! I’ll give you a call.” She waved at him as he gave them a tight-lipped smile. He waved at them before turning and practically running out of the building.

She sat back down and smiled brightly, “Well now we have someone to help us plan our Fundraiser!” She pulled out her phone and started typing away.

Santana rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, and that person is Sebastian Smythe’s twin. Remind me to have the police on speed dial around him.”

Quinn laughed but looked vaguely offended. “I think he’s sweet.”

Kurt nodded, “Yeah, why couldn’t we have the privilege of meeting him in high school. I always knew Sebastian had to be an evil twin.”

Santana chuckled. Kurt continued, “It’s weird though.”

Quinn frowned, “That Sebastian has a twin? We didn’t know him that well. It’s not that surprising weren’t aware of something big in his life.” She took a sip of coffee.

Santana nodded and gracefully shoved the last bite of the cronut in her mouth, but Kurt shook his head. “No, not that. Well, yes that too, it’s strange, but I just meant they are literally identical. Like down to the freckle and mole. It’s weird seeing Sebastian’s face be all awkward and cutesy.”

Quinn nodded and took a sip of her drink, and let out a hum of agreement.

Rachel looked up from her phone, “Okay! I just spam emailed like 1,000 people and posted a statement to our Facebook wall, so we should start getting replies soon!”

Santana let out a dramatic sigh, “Let’s just pray and hope Smythe’s twin is as sweet as you think he is, Quinn, or else this whole thing will be a bigger pain in the ass then it already is.”

Chapter Text

To say Barry Allen was confused was an understatement.

First, he was mistaken for his twin, which hadn’t happened to him since he was 14. Then he was made fun of and mocked by a man, who Sebastian had probably picked on judging by his reaction to Barry being a stuttering mess. Next, the frightening Latina woman intimidated him too much to come up with a coherent response.

Then, when they were starting to believe him, she asked him to call Sebastian. He rarely called his brother. The last time he called him was to tell him their Dad was out of prison and told him where he was staying. He was low-key glad Sebastian hadn’t answered the phone. He would not have known what to say.

Barry was grateful the pretty blonde seemed understanding and believed him pretty quick. Same with the bold brunette. He couldn’t remember anyone’s name, which wasn’t really surprising considering how terrible he had always been with names.

However, he was most surprised when the brunette asked him to show them around for a Fundraiser. Barry really didn’t want to, but the way she asked made him feel obligated. He didn’t want to be rude, but more important things were going on that needed his attention.

He quickly glanced around, realizing he had been standing outside of Jitters like an idiot, wondering what the hell had just happened.

He made sure nobody was watching and sped off to S.T.A.R. Labs.

Once he got there, Cisco immediately ran from the monitors and snatched the box of cronuts from Barry’s hand, “Oh my god yesssssss! Come to papa!” Cisco basically yelled.

Barry laughed and walked over to Caitlin, who was by a monitor at the other side of the Cortex and handed her a Flash.

She thanked him then looked over his shoulder, “Cisco, don’t eat all the cronuts!” Caitlin said firmly.

Barry spun around to see Cisco slumped in his seat, stuffing his face with a cronut. He replied with a mouthful, “Hey, don’t disrupt my cronut munching time, Snow!” Barry and Caitlin shared an amused glance.

Cisco continued, whispering, “it’s a beautiful thing.”

Harry chose that moment to walk into the Cortex, “You know what else is a beautiful thing, Ramon? Finding Zoom.”

Caitlin glanced at Barry, then sighed, then quickly walked out of the Cortex and into the lab, most likely to avoid the upcoming argument that would inevitably happen.

Cisco was about to say something, but Barry interrupted him, “Cisco, do you have any trace to where Mardon, Snart, and the Trickster might be hiding?” 

Cisco was still staring at Harry, offended, and said, “I was going to check, but then Captain Ass-Hat over here decided now would be the perfect time to ruin the nice vibe we had going on.”

“Right, because ‘nice vibes’ are more important than doing your job.” Harry said irritably.

Barry sighed. They did not have time for this. “Guys! Focus, come on.”

Harry didn’t acknowledge he spoke but instead walked over to the other side of the Cortex and grabbed one of the coffees out of Barry’s hand. He didn’t even grab the one meant for him. He took a Flash when Barry purposefully ordered him and Jay cappuccinos. Jay may be the Flash on another earth, but he surprisingly didn’t enjoy the drink. And Harry, being Harry, openly shared his distaste for the drink, so Barry knew not to order him one.

Barry was going to tell Harry to give the Flash back, but Jay walked in.

“Hey, guys, sorry I’m a little late.” He said, nodding to them all.

Cisco and Barry were about to greet Jay back, but Caitlin, having heard Jay’s voice, walked into the Cortex and beat them to it. “Jay! Here, Barry got us all coffee and those amazing Christmas cronuts from Jitters.” She beamed at him, and grabbed another cup out of Barry’s hands, then handed it to Jay, who gratefully accepted.

Why don’t they just ask him to hand them what they need instead of snatching it from him unexpectedly? At least she picked up the right drink, unlike Harry.

Harry spoke up, “Speaking of Allen, this coffee, which by the way is terrible, is leaking from its side. Where are the napkins?”

Barry was about to speak, but Cisco snorted in his chair and said, “Your coffee tastes ‘terrible,’ because you’re drinking a Flash, which you so kindly shared your hatred for. Accompanied by some not very family friendly language.”

Barry saw Jay check his cup to make sure he wasn’t drinking a Flash. He knew it was just a drink, but that still kind of hurt.

Harry huffed, and Caitlin frowned, “Wait, Barry, why’d you get him a Flash?”

Barry got a little angry at that question because Harry was the one who snatched the wrong coffee from his hand!

He was going to say that but was interrupted once again by Harry, “Yes, Allen why did you give me a Flash? Did Garrick’s ego finally rub off on you, that you decided the only coffee everyone should drink from now on is one named after your Superhero alias?” He said in a bored voice, staring directly at Jay.

He wasn’t even looking at Barry when he insulted him!

Jay spoke up before Barry could, “Are you kidding, Harrison? Just because Barry ordered you the wrong drink,” Oh my god, Barry didn’t order him the wrong drink! “you, think it’s fair to bring me into this?” He said.

Barry tiredly thought how convenient it was he got coffee with everyone being bitter as hell today.

Caitlin looked like she wanted to say something, but Cisco piped up, “Yeah, Harry, what the hell? Don’t get mad at Jay because Barry ordered you the wrong drink.”

Barry just about lost his mind, “Oh my god! I did not order you the wrong drink!”

Harry raised an eyebrow, “Really? You didn’t order me the wrong drink?” He said in a rhetorical tone, but Barry nodded anyway, “Yeah!”

He hummed, “Okay then why am I drinking the wrong drink?” He then looked to Jay, “Great job, Garrick. He’s idiotically stubborn now. Wonder where that came from.”

Jay slammed his cup down, “You know what Harrison—?”

“Guys come on, it’s just coffee!” Caitlin said. Jay sighed and looked down, irritated.

“Yeah the wrong coffee.” Harry said, looking at Barry, annoyed. Barry wanted to throw lightning at his fucking face right now.

Cisco butted in, “Look Harry, forgive Barry for ordering you the wrong drink instead of being a dick—“

“Goddammit, I didn’t order you the wrong drink, Harry!” Barry yelled.

Harry scoffed, “Are you sure your back was the only thing Zoom broke? Seems to me he also broke your basic understanding of common sense.”

Jay snapped his head immediately at that statement and glared at Harry with so much fire that even Mick Rory would be afraid of it.

Barry’s nostrils flared and was ready to snap back, but Caitlin intervened, “Guys! This is beyond silly. We are here to figure out a way to stop Mardon and Snart.” She said flatly. 

“And the Trickster!” Cisco said with a mouthful of cronut.

She sighed. “Yes, and the Trickster.”

Harry huffed while Jay was still glaring at him. Barry rubbed his eyes, ‘What a perfect freaking day,’ he thought.

Rachel clapped her hands together, “Okay! So, we know what our Fundraiser is going to be, and we know who we want performing in it. And Kurt, you said, your Dad would be willing to help with designing the stage and all that,” Kurt nodded.

She smiled and set her phone down, “Fantastic! This is going to literally amazing! Finn, said he will be flying over from Lima in a couple of days, with Mr. Schue.”

Santana nodded, but Rachel didn’t think she was paying attention. Kurt was scrolling through his phone, most likely checking to see who had responded so far.

Rachel looked to Quinn, who was frowning, “What? Did we forget something?” She said as she started flipping through her notebook.

Quinn shared a look with Santana as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Uh, yeah.” She said.

Rachel was confused. They had gone through everything, hadn’t they? Unless Quinn was talking about the snacks and refreshments because they were going to discuss that later—

“Where are we going to have it?” Quinn asked.

Rachel blinked. Were they not paying attention?

She looked to Kurt, who was also looking confused. She gave a small laugh, “Guys! Are you serious?”

Santana cocked an eyebrow, “Rachel, you never once mentioned location in your long-ass 45 minute spiel.”

Rachel sighed and shook her head. “That’s what we have Barry for? Why did you think I asked him about giving us a tour of the city?”

At this, Kurt looked uneasy and shared a glance with Santana. “I honestly thought you wanted a genuine tour of the city, so I didn’t question it.” Kurt sighed.

Rachel shook her head. Quinn nodded slowly, “So, when are we planning on talking to Barry?”

“Uhm, maybe tomorrow? Or the day after. I’m just waiting to see how many people are coming before we pick a venue.”

Quinn nodded and took a sip of her Flash.

Kurt and Santana shared another glance. “Rachel,” Kurt started slowly.

She cocked an eyebrow, “What?”

“Are you sure we should trust him?” Kurt said with a grimace.

Quinn laughed slightly at that, “Why shouldn’t we, Kurt? Because he looks like someone who was an ass in high school?” Rachel agreed with Quinn. It was weird meeting him at first, but Rachel thought Barry seemed perfectly lovely. Again very strange. Like, it would take a lot of getting used to, but they were adults, so they could quickly get past it.

Santana sighed, “What if he tells his twin.”

Rachel honestly didn’t see a problem if Barry did tell Sebastian. He hadn’t done anything terrible to them in a very long time, even when the others were still in high school, and she was at N.Y.A.D.A.

Quinn seemed to share the same thought process, “So what?” 

Kurt winced. “I don’t want Sebastian to, I don’t know. I guess show up?”

Rachel sighed and busied herself with her notes. She wasn’t interested in the conversation but still listened in.

Quinn sighed, “Kurt, the Fundraiser is for his old school. He has every right to show up if he wants to. And who knows, he might not be interested and just donate money, or, Barry won’t even mention it to him.”

Santana scoffed, “Oh yeah, I’m sure he won’t mention to his brother a group of strangers harassed him thinking it was him.”

Rachel shook her head and decided to speak up, still looking at her notes, “They might not even be that close, Santana. He looked nervous when you told him to call Sebastian.”

Santana sighed, “Whatever. Just don’t expect me to enjoy Smythe’s identical twin who is literally the definition of awkward showing us around a town we have never been in.”

Kurt set his phone down next to her and said, “Yeah, you’re right Quinn. It’s going to be weird, but let’s all try to be civil, okay?” Rachel assumed he was staring at Santana when he said that, “Barry didn’t do anything, and he already seemed scared of just talking to you, Santana.” 

Santana must’ve rolled her eyes because Rachel heard no response.

Quinn spoke up, “Again, I think he’s sweet, so it shouldn’t be hard to get along.”

“If you start flirting with him, Quinn, I will literally slap you.” Santana said.

Rachel needed a nice long bath to wash off all the saltiness Santana had sprung upon her all day.

Chapter Text

Kurt Hummel was lying on the hotel bed.

Thinking.

About Barry Allen.

Not Barry Smythe.

And Sebastian wasn’t Sebastian Allen. What the hell?

Kurt would look it up but thought it would be better if he heard from Barry himself if he was alright with sharing. He doesn’t know much about him at all, but Barry seemed…nice.

It was weird. He looked exactly like Sebastian. Every tiny detail about their face was identical down to the freckle. The only difference was, well, their face. By that, Kurt meant their facial expressions.

Sebastian was smooth, smirky, confident, cocky, rude, and a terrible person. That was his attitude. He walked and talked like that. His vibe was like that. That was just how he was. Kurt didn’t know if he was still like that, but maybe he would find out.

Now, Barry was a different story. He was awkward as hell; he stuttered and blushed. That’s right. Blushed. Since they are literally identical, Kurt almost had a heart attack seeing Sebastian Smythe’s face blush. Barry also looked uncomfortable for 10,000% of their conversation.

Oh, yeah, he was also a decent human being. 

Barry was nice. Barry never tried stealing his boyfriend. Barry never almost blinded said boyfriend. Barry never blackmailed Finn with naked pictures. And Barry never  That was the biggest difference.

Again, very weird seeing someone who shared the same face as Sebastian Smythe be nice. Barry carried himself differently, too. Altogether, he just gave off dorky, awkward, and sweet vibes.

Definitely not Sebastian. Kurt felt really bad for insulting him. Especially since Barry didn’t seem to know how to react. Even though Barry said it was alright, Kurt would probably apologize again when he saw him next.

Which was probably going to be a day or two after Christmas. Rachel might’ve said she wanted to meet with him as soon as possible, but Kurt knew how much she loved the holiday season. Quinn and Santana were talking about going shopping tonight. Apparently, there were crazy Christmas sales.

Kurt felt too exhausted to do any more walking. And Rachel probably wanted to finish up some more fundraiser planning.

He heard Rachel drop something in the bathroom and let out a small yelp. Kurt looked in that direction, frowning, “You okay, Rachel?”

Her head peaked through from the bathroom, “Yeah! I just burnt my hand with my hair straightener.”

Kurt frowned. “Why are you straightening your hair?”

“I’m going shopping with Quinn and Santana.”

Kurt sat up straight. “What? Rachel!”

“What?” She came out of the bathroom wearing a cute red skirt with a black turtleneck, and her hair was straight. Yup, she was definitely going to leave him. 

“I thought you were going to stay here with me!”

Rachel laughed lightly and grabbed her purse. “Well, maybe some of us don’t want to spend our Christmas Eve inside a hotel, Kurt. It’s a new city, and we want to have fun conquering it.”

Only Rachel Berry would consider shopping in a new city on Christmas as “conquering.”

Kurt sighed and laid back down, “Ugh, fine. Leave me here then. All alone.”

Rachel shook her head at his dramatics. “You’re the one who didn’t want to come.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

After a few minutes of Rachel fixing her hair and grabbing her jacket, she and Kurt said their goodbyes, and he was left alone.

Instead of lying there, Kurt decided to turn on the TV. He didn’t want to get up and find the Television guide that every hotel seems to hide from their guests, so he just started clicking through the channels.

He found something interesting almost immediately. It happened to be the News. The Flash was fighting the Trickster and that Mardon fellow Kurt heard about on Jitters. It seemed to have already happened, based on how the News anchors were describing it. Wasn’t there another guy too? He looked to the ceiling, trying to remember. Snard? Smard? Starn?

He wasn’t sure—something along those lines.

The scene switched to The Flash standing with an interviewer outside, most likely in the same spot the fight occurred. Kurt knew what he looked like, but it was interesting seeing him just standing there like a normal person.

‘Well he is a normal person.’ Kurt thought. He was just a man with superspeed. He was just like him. And Blaine. And Sam. And even Sebastian Smythe and Barry Allen.

Kurt realized he hadn’t been paying attention to the interview when the News anchor started talking again. He turned off the TV had and rolled over, flat on his stomach.

He had a slight feeling Central City would take all of his energy and slap him silly with it.

Ringing. Ringing. Ringing.

Still ringing.

How long was this damn thing—

“Hey, it’s Sebastian, sorry I missed your call. Leave a message if it’s urgent.”

“Dammit, Sebastian!” Barry muttered.

He was at the West house for the Christmas party and decided to call his brother. With that run-in with Sebastian’s old…acquaintances (Barry wasn’t sure how to categorize them) and the Christmas season, he started thinking about family a lot.

Biological family, that was.

His father was free, living his life in peace. Barry was happy he was happy. Also a bit sad he was so far away, but still happy. He loved his dad so much. The perks of being a speedster, however, was that he could visit anytime he wanted.

He missed his mother every day. He had already dealt with it, though. He went back in time to try to save his mother, only for a future version of him to tell him not to. He comforted her instead. She spent her last few minutes talking with him, seeing what his future looked like. Knowing him, his dad, and Sebastian were safe. He knew she was at peace with that knowledge.

A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. His head snapped up, and he looked to see who it was.

There stood a young man with dark skin, looking quite nervous.

Barry didn’t even process what happened until he was standing alone in the middle of the kitchen.

The man at the door was Wally West. Joe and Iris went upstairs for a more private setting, and everyone else felt awkward and decided to leave. Patty decided to stay for a little and started to make hot chocolate.

‘Speaking of family, huh?’

The thought of Iris having a biological brother was weird. It made Barry think about his own.

Sebastian and Barry had an incredibly powerful bond up until they were 11. They were always together. They played together, had a lot of similar friends, tried the same sports, etc. Although, Sebastian enjoyed sports more than Barry did. The only sport Barry liked was track, but that wasn’t until he was in high school. Sebastian joined soccer and really enjoyed it. Barry hated it. He was still a science nerd at heart.

Even though they were also quite different, they still had their own secrets they kept from their parents, inside jokes, and a secret handshake.

Their parents nicknamed them the Tornado Twins because of how often they ran around the house like a tornado. That nickname stuck for a couple of years, and both he and Sebastian were quite fond of it.

Most importantly, though, they could read each other’s emotions like a children’s book. Sebastian always knew when Barry was happy, sad, excited, angry, tired, etc.  

They were incredibly close. That was until Eobard Thawne screwed everything up.

Thawne didn’t just kill his mother; he killed his relationship with his best friend.

Sebastian wasn’t home that night. He was with his friend’s family in a whole other city for a soccer game. He didn’t see what Barry saw. He didn’t see his father try saving their mom; he didn’t see the lightning.

He saw none of it.

When Sebastian first heard about the incident, he was conflicted. Barry had told him something completely different from what everyone else told him. Being a confused, scared 11-year-old who had just witnessed something impossible, Barry didn’t understand why Sebastian wasn’t quick to believe him.

It broke his heart.

To this day, Barry still didn’t know what exactly Sebastian thought for the first four years after their mom was murdered.

That was because of the Smythe family. They were a family who worked in law. They had heard about the case and had some influence on it too. They took Sebastian from him. Barry’s delusional brain was too harmful to Sebastian’s growth of mind and future adolescence. They adopted him, moved states, and then changed his last name to Smythe.

Eobard Thawne murdered Nora Allen that night. And Sebastian Allen died right along with her.

The Tornado Twins were dead too. Barry hated that nickname after that night. “Tornado” was a trigger word for him, and “twin” reminded him of what he didn’t have anymore.

Barry and Sebastian weren’t allowed any contact with one another until they were 15. Sebastian was so different. They talked, and even though Sebastian never outwardly said it, Barry knew he didn’t believe him. It was so heartbreaking, and Barry had another reason to cry. He had always hoped his brother believed him. They always believed in each other.

But he didn’t. Thawne had so much to pay for.

They didn’t get to see each other again until they were 17. They were seniors, and when they talked again, it was different. Sebastian was even more different than before. He was almost unrecognizable.

Almost.

They got into a huge argument that day. Sebastian held his tongue for six years and finally said those words Barry heard for so long. It was worse coming from his brother. The fight got a little physical when Barry roughly pushed him, and Sebastian retaliated.

Senior year was harder to push through after the final leaf on Barry’s family tree had officially fallen. What a picture-perfect family.

They saw each other at 22 when they both graduated college. It was Iris’s idea, and she and Joe set it up. It went better than both of their last meetings combined. It was the most awkward for sure, though.

They were both smart enough to ignore the giant elephant standing in the corner of the room, mocking them. They both apologized. A lot. And they sort of reconnected. Barry realized Sebastian was still a bit of an ass but had a little more filter than he used to. A little more. 

Things were never the same, though, from when they were little.

Thawne confessing and Barry having proof didn’t make them close again, either. Sebastian apologized and cried for not believing him, but there was still a crack in the teacup.

They called every once in a while, and Barry had seen Sebastian after four years when their dad was out of jail. It was a lovely night, but Sebastian lived in Seattle. He had a job and was busy.

It sucked.

Their relationship had always been tense after the night their mother was murdered, but they both tried.

Barry looked around from his spot in the kitchen and realized everything was the same. Patty was standing in the same place, taking out a box of new mini marshmallows Barry had bought after Snart’s had left that day.

He glanced at the clock, and no time had passed. He frowned. Did he just think…fast? Was this a speedster thing?

Barry sat down at the table and put his hands on his face. He realized he was crying and quickly wiped away the tears. Patty had turned around, setting their mugs on the table.

“Hey, you okay, Barry?” She asked softly.

Barry knew he wasn’t, so he saw no point in lying. He spent the rest of the night telling Patty all about his twin while she quietly listened and held his hand.

Central City. Will Schuester had never heard of it. Why had Rachel, Kurt, Santana, and Quinn chosen this place? It was probably Rachel if he was honest.

After doing a bit of research, he had learned it was a city filled with “meta-humans” and “The Flash.” He had heard of The Flash before, obviously. A man with insane superspeed! A real-life superhero? Yeah, that News travels quick.

He was currently sitting in the front seat in a taxi with Finn, who was sitting in the back. Will tried talking to the grumpy old driver, but he didn’t seem interested in engaging in conversation.

It was a lovely city.

Beautiful parks, cool-looking buildings, and apparently fantastic coffee. That was where he and Finn were on their way too. Rachel and Kurt wanted to meet at the park, but Santana and Quinn were craving coffee, so they decided to meet up at a popular Central City coffee place called Jitters.

They were going to meet up with someone they met to show them around town and brainstorm where they want the show to be. Will thought that was a bit odd. They just met him, yet he was willing to show them around town?

Either he was being friendly, or they paid him.

Finn spoke up, “Oh, Mr. Schue!”

Will turned around, “Yeah?”

Finn was staring at his phone, “Blaine and Sam just RSVP’d!”

Hell yeah. “Great, okay, that’s amazing. That’s good the more people the better.” He gave Finn a high-five.

“Have any former members of Dalton said anything yet?” Will asked. The fundraiser was for them, after all. If it were Will, he would definitely want to participate.

Finn scrolled through his phone, “Uhh, I don’t think so.”

Will sighed, “That’s okay. I’m sure someone will at one point.”

“Yeah. I hope more people from the Glee club will show up. Sam probably just wants to see The Flash. Fair enough, though.”

Fair enough, indeed.

The taxi stopped in the parking lot of Jitters. Finn got out of the car, but before Will could do anything, the grumpy old driver wordlessly held out his hand and gave Will a stern look.

Will quickly pulled out his wallet and gave the man a twenty-dollar bill. The driver grunted and took it.

“I need twenty more,” he grunted.

“What!?” Will choked.

The old guy huffed and said, “Ten for putting your heavy bags in the trunk, twenty for the ride, and ten more for taking your bags out of the trunk.”

“10 dollars for putting two bags and a backpack in a trunk!? And you’re not even taking the bags out of the trunk, he is!” He pointed to Finn, who was doing the man’s job for him.

The driver glared at him and said in a harsh tone, “Twenty more, or I’ll drive off with the rest of your bags.”

Will couldn’t believe this but didn’t want to argue, so he just sighed and gave him another twenty. It was his last one too!

The old driver snatched it from his hands and mentioned for him to get out.

Will quickly obliged and helped Finn get the last bag out of the trunk. The driver promptly pulled out of his parking spot and drove away, but not without lowering the window and flipping them off.

“Well, then.” Finn blinked, slightly offended.

Will sighed, “Whatever, let’s just go inside.”

Finn looked confused, “We’re going to go into a coffee shop with three bags of luggage?”

Will mentally cursed. He was tired and didn’t want to figure out another way, so he just said, “Yeah I guess, Finn. It’ll be fine as long as you don’t bump into anything.”

Finn was about to say something, but Will just walked towards the door. As he walked into the place, it looked like he came through the back door, but that didn’t really matter.

He quickly saw Santana and Quinn at a table sitting across from each other. Santana, who was sitting facing his direction, saw him and waved him over. Quinn turned around and did the same.

He felt Finn struggle to keep his balance behind him. As they not-so-gracefully made their way over the table, Will smelt something amazing.

“Is that a cronut I smell?” Finn said with a bright smile, “Didn’t know Blaine was here already?” He started looking around.

Quinn laughed while Santana rolled her eyes, “He’s not, it’s for Santana. She’s found a liking for them.”

Will laughed and sat down next to Santana while Finn sat down next to Quinn. They already had their coffees in front of them. It had lightning bolt art.

Finn said, “Is this a Flash?”

Quinn nodded and took a sip. Will did too. It was amazing. Now, he understood why Santana and Quinn were so adamant about meeting here.

“So, how are you guys! It’s been a while.” Finn said, smiling.

They engaged in small talk and laughed for a bit. Will realized how much he missed them. He tried not to get emotional. There was a whole other glee club waiting for him after Christmas break.

“So, where’s Rachel and Kurt?” Will asked as Quinn stood up to grab more napkins.

“They’re with the guy who’s going to show us around. Wait ‘til you see him.” Santana said the last sentence with a knowing smirk.

Will felt like he was missing something.

Finn frowned, “What?”

Santana shook her head, and Quinn sat back down.

“Oh, there they are! Prepare yourselves, boys.” Santana said. Will frowned and looked to Quinn; she wasn’t much help as she laughed along with Santana.

Now he was a little anxious. Who was this guy?

Finn looked at him and let out a muttered, “What is going on?”

Will just shook his head a bit wearily.

Rachel and Kurt were walking towards them with a smile and wave. He and Finn smiled and waved back. There was someone behind them, but both Rachel and Kurt blocked his face.

They all stood up, and they got closer, Will saw his face.

Was that…?

He knew Finn saw him too when he turned to him and said, “They can’t be serious?”

Will was a grown man and had been for a while. He tried not to hold childish grudges, but that didn’t stop him from being very surprised at the sight of Sebastian Smythe.

Chapter Text

Sebastian Smythe. Why was he here? Finn was a little angry. If it were about five years earlier, he would’ve thrown a punch at the guy.

He was more confused than angry, if he was honest. The guy did apologize and hadn’t gotten them into any trouble for a while. Although he did help steal their Nationals trophy when Finn was in charge of the Glee Club, but again, that was a while ago.

Finn still couldn’t help be a little irritated at seeing him after this long.

Rachel, quickly reading his facial expressions, held out her hands and was about to say something, but Finn didn’t let her.

“What the hell is he doing here?” He said a bit harsher than he intended.

He saw Santana snicker in the corner of his eyes. Quinn looked a bit nervous, and so did Smythe. Wait, why the hell was he nervous?

Kurt sighed, “Look, we don’t have time for this.” He turned to both him and Mr. Schue, “Guys meet Barry Allen, Sebastian Smythe’s twin.”

Finn was so confused. Twin? This was screwed up. Why didn’t anyone tell him; he would’ve at least been prepared! Wait…they didn’t even have the same last name! And how the hell did they not meet him in high school!

He felt a headache coming on. He looked at Mr. Schue and saw him opening and closing his mouth, eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t the only one confused.

He looked at the twin and saw how nervous he was. He was smiling slightly and gave them a tiny wave. Finn didn’t have any reason not to believe him. He didn’t act like Sebastian. Well, he didn’t act like Sebastian in high school.

Rachel and Kurt were giving him a look which he recognized immediately. ‘Go on, say something, Finn!’  He heard Rachel’s voice in his head.

Mr. Schue beat him to it. “Well, Barry, ” he stuck out his hand and offered a friendly smile, “Nice to meet you. I’m Will Schuester.”

Sebas—no, Barry, reached out to shake his hand and said, “Nice to meet you too, I’m Barry Allen.” He heard Quinn let out a small laugh, and Santana shook her head. Finn didn’t understand what that was in response to. *

Apparently, neither did Barry, but he did flush a little red. Wow. This was so weird. And awkward. This was weird and awkward.

He realized he was staring, and Rachel suddenly clapped her hands together and went, “This is Finn Hudson,” she said, gesturing to him, “he’s a little tired. You’ll have to excuse him.” She gave him a pointed look.

He was going to say something, but Santana rolled her eyes and set her cup down, “Okay, this is by far  the most awkward experience I’ve been cursed to see,” they all looked to her.

“So, Allen,” he looked at her. He seemed a bit scared. He shared a glance with Mr. Schue, who seemed to share the same thought, but he only shook his head. Quinn looked a little anxious at what Santana was about to say. Kurt and Rachel looked a bit apprehensive as well.

Santana continued, “Let’s hope you know this city as well as Rachel thinks you do, so none of us have to experience the pleasure of jumping on top of the nearest bus to get the hell away from you and all your nauseating awkwardness.” She flashed him a sweet, sardonic smile.

Silence. Finn looked at Kurt, who just sighed and put his hand to his forehead. Barry looked traumatized, and Mr. Schue, who probably noticed his discomfort, opened his mouth to say something but was cut off.

Quinn gave Santana a hard stare and said slowly, “Don’t worry, Barry. She was just kidding. We all trust you, don’t we guys?” She looked around the group.

Rachel nodded and smiled, “Of course.” Finn and Mr. Schue nodded at him as well.

Kurt tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it didn’t seem to calm Barry’s nerves.

Barry gave them an uncomfortable smile and then excused himself to the bathroom. He practically ran away from them. If Finn weren’t so used to Santana’s insults and sass, he would’ve probably run away scared for his life, too. A bit weird not seeing him fire back, just as brutal.

He had to remind himself this was a different person, no matter how familiar his face was. There was no difference! It was the exact same face! This was going to be complicated.

Kurt let a loud huff, “Great, Santana, way to scare him away. Poor guy couldn’t even get out a word.” Quinn and Rachel seemed to agree and gave her a look while Mr. Schue started rubbing his temples.

Santana crossed her arms, “I was just testing him. Don’t worry, I’ll dial back.”

Finn decided to say something, “Testing him?”

“Yeah. I am now 1,000% confident Mr. Nervous-Wreck isn’t anything like the twink we all knew and loved.” She said with a smirk.

Rachel turned to Kurt, shaking her head, and they started quietly discussing something. All the while, Quinn was still glaring at Santana, “Was our last meeting not enough confirmation, Santana? He seems really sweet; you don’t need to crush his soul every time you talk to him.” She said, slightly bitter.

“Didn’t I just say I’ll dial back? And not all of us can drool over him like you do, Quinn.” Santana replied flatly.

Finn raised his eyebrows. He was almost positive he was dreaming. He nudged Mr. Schue again, and this time succeeded at getting his attention. He looked at him, exasperated. Finn just mumbled, “Maybe we shouldn’t let them tear each other’s hair out?”

Mr. Schue sighed, “Santana, Quinn’s right. We just met him, and we really don’t want him thinking lowly of us,” she was about to say something, but Mr. Schue kept going, “I know who he looks like, but he’s a different man, and he seems nice, so— “

“Did nobody hear me, when I said I would dial it back?” Santana interrupted, looking a little annoyed.

Rachel glanced at Kurt and said, “This is silly, Santana said she would calm herself, okay? We all need to relax, and stay level-headed so we don’t give Barry a bad impression. He’s helping us, remember?”

Kurt was scanning around the room, avoiding eye contact. Quinn sighed and nodded, while Santana gave a slight tilt of the head in acknowledgement.

Mr. Schue gave a respectful nod, and Finn said, “Yeah, thanks Rachel.” She smiled happily at him.

He continued, “It’s a little weird, though.”

“Tell me about it,” Kurt mumbled and took a sip of his coffee. They were all situated at the long table, drinking their coffees and cronuts, waiting for Barry to return.

Barry was freaking the hell out for two reasons.

One, the Latina woman, whose name he believed to be Santana, made him hella nervous. He had no clue how to respond to her. He couldn’t tell if she was mean or that was just her nature.

She was probably expecting him to retaliate just like Sebastian would’ve, but Barry isn’t comfortable talking to someone he doesn’t know that well like that. And Barry wouldn’t be able to come up with anything good.

If Snart said something like that to him, he would know exactly how to respond. But she isn’t like Snart. This was probably a good thing, considering he’s a criminal.

Speaking of criminals, the second reason Barry was freaking the hell out is that there was a Metahuman attack. He felt the text from Cisco while he was being eaten alive by Santana and gave a lame bathroom excuse, so he could escape without looking suspicious.

They probably thought he was a wimp.

He realized he had actually walked to the men’s bathroom, so he snapped back into his senses and flashed to the S.T.A.R Labs cortex. He immediately saw Cisco eating a twizzler, watching some anime. He also was not looking panicked at all. He merely mumbled a “Hey,” at Barry and returned to his anime.

“Cisco! What is it? Where’s the metahuman attack?” Barry said frantically.

“Huh?” Cisco’s eyebrows furrowed.

Barry sighed impatiently. “The Metahuman, Cisco? Where’s the attack?”

Cisco tilted his head slightly in confusion and rolled his chair to another monitor. He started typing while Barry was impatiently waiting for him to say the location.

“Yeah,” Cisco said slowly, looking at him, brows still furrowed, “Barry there’s no attack…?”

“What?” Barry said, extremely confused. Cisco sent him a text? “But—Cisco your text—?”

“That was me, Allen.”  

Barry spun around to see Harry leaning smugly against the border frame of the lab, holding Cisco’s phone.

“Wha—Harry!?” Cisco hectically checked his pockets, “The hell!? Give me my phone!”

Harry chuckled and tossed it to Cisco carelessly. Cisco yelped, “Hey! Watch it, what if it hit the floor! You would’ve owed me a new phone, Harry!”

“If it would’ve hit the floor and cracked, Ramon, maybe you would spend less time watching some anime, while the rest of us are trying to figure out how to stop Zoom.” He said, pointedly staring.

Cisco gaped, “Attack on Titan isn’t just some anime, Harry—“

“Guys!” Barry yelled. He was not witnessing yet another argument between these two. Cisco turned to him as if he had forgotten Barry was there, and Harry smirked and crossed his arms.

“Harry, what the hell, there an emergency or not!?” Barry said, irritated.

“No, there isn’t—“

“The hell, Harry—?”

“Maybe now you’ll understand my frustration to not receiving the coffee I asked for, Allen.” He said flatly and walked away, leaving Barry spluttering.

“Dammit, I didn’t give you the wrong coffee, Harry!” Barry yelled back at him, but Harry disappeared.

He turned to Cisco with a helpless expression and let out a slight noise of frustration. Cisco just sighed and said, “Sorry, dude. Harry’s been in a weird mood lately,” he paused, “not that he isn’t always in a mood, but—“

Barry just put his face in his hands and looked up, “No, I get it. I noticed it too. He’s probably just getting more worried about his daughter.” He leaned against the consoles, and Cisco nodded.

Damn, he wasted all that energy for nothing. He sat down in the chair next to Cisco and started watching with him. Cisco handed him a twizzler, and he happily took it. Twizzlers were his favorite candy.

Barry and Cisco were carelessly giving commentary as they were watching. He had already seen the episode Cisco was on, but it was relaxing sitting there, doing simple things with his best friend.

They had been watching for about seven minutes when they both chuckled when one character awkwardly walked away from a conversation. 'That’s probably what I looked like at Jitters,’  Barry mused.

Wait. Jitters.

“Shit!” Cisco looked up, startled at his outburst, “I gotta go, see you later, Cisco!”

“Wait wher—?”

He sped off, leaving Cisco to bitterly mutter, “A whole year and still no damn paperweights!”

Quinn tapped her foot against the table while drinking her coffee. It’s been at least 10 minutes since Barry first went to the bathroom. Where the hell was he?

She would never admit it out loud, but Quinn couldn’t help but be charmed by Barry’s awkwardness. He was cute, sweet, and obviously a nervous wreck. He reminded her of Finn a little, and she found it somewhat easy to look past his face.

Sebastian never did anything to Quinn personally, and as a whole was just a minor inconvenience towards her. That was why she had suggested they reach out to him and get his father’s help.

“Okay, it’s been a while, maybe someone should check on him?” Rachel suggested.

Kurt nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ll go make sure he isn’t hiding from us in fear for his life.” He looked playfully and Santana, who just breathed a laugh.

Mr. Schue turned around and said, “No need for that, Kurt. He’s right there.”

Quinn looked over Mr. Schue’s shoulder and saw Barry walking towards them with a sheepish look on his face. She smiled sweetly at him, trying not to make him feel guilty.

“Are you okay, dude?” Finn asked.

Barry just nodded, “Uh, yeah, sorry it took so long. I was just—my girlfriend called, so…” he trailed off.

Quinn quirked an eyebrow, “Girlfriend?” She didn’t mean to say it in an accusatory tone. It just slipped out.

Santana gave her a knowing look which she humbly ignored. Rachel was also eyeing her from the corner of her eye.

Barry blushed a little, “Yeah, we work together, so she was just calling about a case.”

Quinn tried not to make him uncomfortable, so she just smiled and nodded. Kurt stood up and gestured with his head for everyone else to as well, but Santana opened her mouth.

'Oh, please ease up, Santana.’ Quinn pleaded in her head.

“So you are attracted to girls? Yet another difference between you and your twink of a brother.” She said, amused.

That was Santana dialing back, they all knew that, but Quinn just hoped Barry wouldn’t be offended. They all stole a glance at him to see his reaction.

He looked confused and let out an uneasy laugh, “Uh, I hope that wasn’t a homophobic comment.”

Kurt let out an amused huff, “No, don’t worry. If it was, Santana would be quite the hypocrite.” He said with a tilt of his head.

Barry looked relieved and glanced at Santana with a slight nod.  

Finn leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Do you think he knows what Sebastian did back in high school?”

She was wondering that too. Rachel, who was standing right next to Quinn, heard the comment and said quietly, “I don’t think so, judging by the way he’s been acting. And we shouldn’t tell him, unless he asks.”  

Quinn and Finn nodded.

She noticed Kurt and Barry were quietly talking, and Santana and Mr. Schue were on their phones. She frowned and look at Rachel. Shouldn’t they be finding a place to have their fundraiser?

Rachel spoke up, “Okay!” They all looked at her, and Santana put her phone away. “Barry borrowed his friend’s car, which can fit all of us, so we don’t have to walk in the cold. So, let’s get going, before it gets dark.”

She smiled gratefully at Barry and grabbed Finn’s arm, and, being the closest table to the door, swiftly walked out of it. They all started to follow in suit, and Quinn noticed Barry held the door for everyone. Santana nodded in thanks while Kurt and Mr. Schue vocalized their gratitude.

Quinn struggled to put on her jacket while holding her and Santana’s keys, her phone, Rachel’s large notebook, and coffee in one arm. Barry came over and wordlessly set the coffee and notebook down on the table.

She looked up gratefully at him. “Looks like you needed some help.” He said with a cute laugh.

“Yeah, I did, thank you.” She smiled. She could easily slip her arm through her jacket, only holding her phone and the keys.

“You ready?” Barry said, holding the door again.

She nodded and pulled her hair out of her jacket, “Yeah, thanks.”

He nodded at her, and they both made it out the door. As they were walking towards the parking lot, she said, “Sorry about Santana,” he looked at her, “she’s not trying to be mean. She doesn’t dislike you or anything.” Quinn tried reassuring him. It was true; Santana didn’t dislike him.

He shook his head and looked to his feet with a slight smile, “It’s okay. She didn’t hurt my feelings, she just…uh…” he seemed to struggle for the right words.

“Caught you off guard?” She supplied with a sweet smile.

He looked up at her again and replicated her smile, “Yeah,” he laughed.

She nodded, still smiling. The boys were in the car already, but Rachel and Santana were standing outside waiting for them. It wasn’t until they reached the car Quinn noticed she was blushing.

Barry smiled at them and sat down in the driver’s seat.

Rachel turned to giggle at her while Santana smiled, “Awww Quinny has a crush.”

Quinn laughed at them because it wasn’t a crush.

It wasn’t going to be. At least not yet. Barry had a girlfriend, and she respected that.

This might be a long ride. 

Chapter Text

Kurt was struggling to put his seatbelt on because of the way Rachel was digging her elbow in his ribs.

Even though he was the first one in the car, he still somehow wound up in the back. Rachel and Quinn squeezed in on either side of him, and he was stuck in the middle where Rachel could easily end his life with her bony ass elbows.

Mr. Schue sat in the front as Finn and Santana took the two seats in the middle row, with a space in the middle where Kurt could extend his legs.

“Hey, would you cut that out!” Kurt whisper-shouted to Rachel as she started squirming even more.

She huffed and whisper-shouted back, “I’m trying to look over Finn’s shoulder to see where we’re going!”

“Just tell him to lean over then!”

She sighed and stared at him for a bit. “Switch me places,” she said.

Kurt stared at her, “What?”

She had no patience for his confusion apparently, “Come on, Kurt! Scooch!”

He sighed, “Fine, just keep your elbows away from my ribs!”

After a few moments of struggle (and an accidental whack to Quinn’s face), they settled down. Rachel could’ve just said she wanted to sit in the middle so that she could see better!

He looked up and realized everyone was staring at them. “Are you two children done?” Santana asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Rachel smiled, “Yeah, we’re good!” She gave Barry a thumbs up. He gave her a small smile in return and started backing out of the parking spot.

“Okay,” Barry started. “So, what are we thinking?” 

Kurt saw everyone but Rachel frown or look confused. Barry was directly talking to him and Rachel; they had a small conversation about how they would do this outside of Jitters.

“Uhh,” Finn said, confused.

Rachel spoke up, “I don’t think we have much time to get out and explore the area, so we can just drive around it, and write down possible options as we go?”

Barry nodded, “Sounds good. Everyone okay with that?”

Mr. Schue looked back at everyone holding a thumbs up, and they all agreed. “Yeah, thanks, Barry.” He smiled.

Barry gave another nod with a small smile. “Uh, we can go to the Central City park first? Every once in a while they play movies, and it’s usually a nice environment. Even in this cold.”

Kurt and Rachel really wanted to meet at the park, but Santana and Quinn insisted on meeting at Jitters. He was all for going to the park first.

“Yeah! That sounds great, Barry.” Rachel assured.

Barry nodded and started driving. Kurt was sitting directly behind Santana and could practically hear a plot forming in her head. Oh no.

“So, Barry,” Santana started. Kurt saw Quinn and Finn give her a nervous glance. He glanced at her through the side-view mirror.

“Yeah?”

“You said you have a girlfriend, right?” Jesus, was she trying to embarrass Quinn? Or was she actually curious? Kurt couldn’t tell.

“I do, yeah.” He said, somewhat nervously.

“Where did you two meet?” Santana said. Kurt glanced at Rachel. They knew what Santana was doing. He could tell everyone else did, by the way they all visibly relaxed.

She was trying to make Barry feel less nervous around her. A pleasant conversation about his girlfriend could do that.

“Oh! Uh, we met at work.” Barry said easily.

“Where is it, you work?” Mr. Schue said from the front seat.

“The CCPD.” Barry replied.

Finn looked impressed, “Dude, you’re a cop? That’s cool!”

Kurt glanced at Rachel and saw her writing in her notebook. Again. How much could she possibly write in that notebook? He leaned over, but she waved him away. He mock gasped while she chuckled softly.

Rachel Berry rule #8,927: Never miss with her in planning mode.

Barry laughed a little, “Uh, no, actually. I’m a forensic scientist. CSI.”

 “That’s still very interesting, Barry,” Quinn started. “How does that work? Does the police department have a lab or…?” She trailed off.

After about five minutes of Quinn pretending to be intrigued and Santana rolling her eyes every once in a while, Kurt learned Barry was quite passionate about his job. He knew Sebastian was intelligent, but he never showed signs of being nerdy. Well, again, he didn’t know Sebastian that well, but he didn’t seem like the nerdy type.

Barry, on the other hand, seemed a little nerdy. Maybe it was the way he was talking about his job or the fact his job was related to science, but it was kind of cute.

“Do you anything about The Flash?”

Now that was a good question.

Finn asked the question, and Kurt could see him scrolling through a blog about The Flash on his phone. Kurt had read through it a couple of nights before. The blog was about a year old, and the author, Iris West, wasn’t active on it anymore. It was very intriguing seeing how The Flash suddenly appeared and started saving people while the city was still in doubt of the man being real. That was until he was revealed to the whole city by “Captain Cold” and “Heatwave.”

Quite incredible.

They were at a red light, and Barry cutely scrunched his nose at the question. Santana quirked an eyebrow, and Rachel even looked up from her notes.

“Well…” Barry started, unsure how to answer the question. “He, uh, first started saving people around last October. And, uh, he can run kinda fast.” He said the last part with a laugh.

They all laughed at that, and even Santana let out a chuckle.

“Do you know how he got his powers?” Mr. Schue asked.

“Well, there are multiple speculations,” Barry said slowly.

Kurt frowned. He wasn’t satisfied with that answer, and neither was Finn as he said, “What kinda speculations?”

Barry glanced at them through the rear-view mirror. He seemed to be struggling for an answer, “Uh well I—“

“Ooh! We’re here!” Rachel exclaimed.

“Wow.” Finn muttered, “This is a nice park.”

Indeed, it was. Even though it was Winter, people were still at the park, taking walks, enjoying the atmosphere. Through the window, Kurt could see a hot chocolate stand and desperately craved something hot.

“Uhh, I know we said we didn’t want to get out of the car, but I’m craving hot chocolate sooo….” He trailed off as Quinn, Rachel and Finn started moving to get out of the car.

Santana looked at them with wide eyes, “Wait until the car stops moving before you open the— Rachel, did you take my purse!?”

Will sighed as he watched everyone get out of the car; the hot chocolate stand wasn’t far away from the car, so he could see them perfectly. He loved them all to pieces, but sometimes their personalities clash so hard it felt exasperating. They had matured in the three years he hadn’t seen them but still can make him feel like an old grandfather who can’t handle babysitting his grandchildren.

He yelled at Finn to get him hot chocolate too and realized he should’ve asked Barry if he wanted any.

Barry Allen. So, so weird. Not him as a person, but his face. Will didn’t know much about Sebastian but remembered how tired and frustrated that kid made him feel. He was a mix of Santana and Sue; it was a little terrifying.

Will learned very quickly that Barry was nothing like Sebastian. He was friendly, calm, and didn’t retaliate against Santana’s brutal words.

“I should’ve given them my wallet,” Barry said sheepishly.

And Sebastian most likely wouldn’t have offered to pay for their hot chocolates.

He gave him a warm smile, “No, it’s okay, Barry. You’re already taking time out of your day to help us with the Fundraiser.”

Barry shook his head, “It’s nothing really.”

Will smiled at him and turned his head when he heard Santana’s laugh outside the car. She was holding three cups of hot chocolate. Everyone else was still at the stand; it looked like they were still ordering.

“You will not believe what Quinn just did!” Santana laughed as she entered the car.

Before either he and Barry could say something, she said, “She flirted her way into getting us half of our hot chocolates for free, and the poor soul is throwing in some other stuff!”

Barry looked a bit surprised and breathed a laugh while Will chuckled. He looked out the window and saw Quinn indeed talking to a man who she utterly hypnotized. Poor guy.

“Hey, Barry.” Barry turned to look at Santana. “Quinn got one for you, too.”

“Oh! She didn’t have to do that. I have money, so I could….” He trailed off as Santana gave him a look.

“Dude, she got managed to get hot chocolate for free. Take it, come on.” She said, amused.

He smiled at her and took it with a mumbled, “Thanks.”

The kid was blushing. How sweet.

“Oh!” Santana said suddenly.

They looked at her as she pulled something out of her purse (she most likely snatched it back from Rachel). It looked like a crumpled picture.

She had a small smile and handed it to Barry, face down, “Here.”

He took it from her, “What is it?” He said, confused.

“Unfold it and maybe you’ll find out.” Santana said, rolling her eyes.

Will curiously leaned towards Barry to look at the picture.

“Oh, wow.” Barry muttered.

Wow, indeed. How on earth did Santana dig that up?

Barry was staring at the picture in his hand.

It was weird. He was surprised when Santana handed it to him.

He’d never seen Sebastian like this before. In high school with his friends. Laughing.

Barry’s lips quirked up. It was nice seeing Sebastian smiling wide, enjoying himself in a circle of friends wearing the Dalton uniform. He was getting hugged from behind by a man with blonde hair, grinning as well. He suddenly felt a pang in his chest at the memory of him and Sebastian doing that together. And knowing he had missed seeing Sebastian like that. He wasn’t with him in high school. He didn’t get to see his highs and lows, see him fall in love for the first time, and see him be happy.

And Sebastian never saw him like that too.

‘God, you would think Sebastian died by the way I’m feeling.’ Barry thought.

At least he wasn’t crying. The two other people in the car would probably jump out the window at the sheer awkwardness.

He felt himself heating up. He glanced up and saw Will smiling lightly at him. He turned to Santana and softly said, “Thanks.”

She gave him a nod. “The least I can do for scaring you shitless just by talking.” She laughed, and he did too.

“Can I—um.” Barry stuttered.

She quirked an eyebrow. “Can I keep it?” He asked, a bit shyly.

Santana looked surprised and laughed. “Uh, yeah. I don’t need a picture of the twink. It’s yours, Allen.”

He smiled, “Thank you.”

“Okay, here they are.” Will said.

Quinn, Rachel, Finn, and Kurt all squeezed back into the car, laughing slightly at some joke they must’ve told while they were outside.

Rachel wheezed out, “Quinn I—oh my god I can’t breathe! That poor man! You are terrible!”

Quinn rolled her eyes, obviously not amused, “Okay, I just flirted lightly. You are all overreacting.”

Kurt was about to say something, but Barry interrupted, “Thank you for the hot chocolate, Quinn. I appreciate it.” He smiled at her.

Quinn smiled back, “You’re welcome.”

He needed to pay her back later. How much was hot chocolate? $5? This was from a random stand in a park, so it was probably cheaper. Right? Maybe $8? That seemed a bit expensive, didn’t it? Well, actually, he wasn’t sure how pricing—

He realized he had been staring into space when Rachel suddenly tapped his shoulder. He noticed she had swapped seats with Finn. He looked at her and noticed she wasn’t wearing the smile she usually was when talking to him. She wasn’t looking at him either.

“Is that Sebastian?”

Oh.

Kurt and Finn leaned over as well to get a look. He noticed Quinn trying to get a peak as well.

He stammered a bit, “Uh—yeah. Santana gave it to me.”

Barry saw Kurt not-so-subtlety give Santana a wide-eyed look. She just shrugged and said, “Dalton still has a website. After some minutes of digging, I found that.”

After every one, minus Quinn and Will, gave her a confused pointed look, she rolled her eyes and said, “I was being thoughtful. A rare occurrence but it happens.” She took a sip of her hot chocolate.

Barry was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Will patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Barry. I think everyone just feels a little awkward talking about your brother.”

Barry had meaning to ask about that. What the hell did Sebastian do? Did he even do something? Or was this a petty feud? Santana and Kurt seemed highly pissed off at him at Jitters when they first mistook him for Sebastian.

He heard Kurt mutter sarcastically, “Awkward. Yeah, that’s it.”

He outwardly frowned. This was killing him.

“Why are you all so peeved off at Sebastian?”

Silence.

One beat.

Two beats.

Three beats.

Finn, who had been quiet for a bit, said, “Well—I-I don’t think we’re peeved off at him— “

Rachel but in, “Yeah, it’s just some stupid high school drama. You know.” She said, a bit too perky.

He squinted, “Uh—“

“No no no.” Kurt said. “Guys, come on! If Barry wants to know what Sebastian did, then fine. We should tell him.” He said flatly.

Oh god. Sebastian did something. It couldn’t be that bad? It’s not like he would murder one of their friends. The bar was a little low at murder. Thinking about it, Barry thought the worst Sebastian would do was teepee their school or spread a nasty rumor. But rumors could hurt. Words could ruin someone’s life. Sebastian was smarter than that, though. Sebastian wouldn’t purposefully do that damage—

Quinn spoke up, “Uh, well. I think you can relax a bit, Barry. He didn’t murder anyone.” She said with a nervous laugh.

The bar was low for them too. He was trying to brace himself. Sebastian was his twin. He wouldn’t do anything extreme. And this was in high school. What could he have done?

Well, they did seem sort of upset over it. And they were his age.

“What did he do?” Barry started, “Did he hurt any of you?” He knew Sebastian wouldn’t have purposefully hurt them. He was just trying to get information.

He stared at them.

Santana coughed and looked at Rachel, prompting her. Will and Finn were avoiding eye contact. Quinn and Kurt looked awkward.

Oh god.

He did, didn’t he?

They wouldn’t be acting like this if Bas hadn’t—

“Not on purpose—well at least I don’t think it was on purpose—“Rachel started.

“What?” Kurt said in disbelief, “Of course it was on purpose Rachel, he was trying to cause damage—“

Permanent damage?

Finn spoke up, “Wait, I thought it was an accident though, like a really really bad accident—“

Really really bad?

Quinn interrupted, “Yeah, it seemed like his aim was just off, and didn’t mean to hit Blaine—“

Aim? Hit?

Did Sebastian fucking shoot at these people?

Barry was so lost. He watched the four of them talk over each other and growing frustrated while trying to figure out Sebastian’s motivations. He glanced at Santana and saw her calming drinking her hot chocolate.

She seemed to have an opinion on everything? Why didn't she have one on this?

He glanced at Will, who just shook his head, exasperated.

His neck was starting to ache because of how far he twisted it to talk to them. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to get more comfortable. He got out his phone and scrolled through his contacts.

He was debating if he should call Sebastian. That would be weird, right? Maybe shoot him a text? Ask him what the hell was going on? Not now, though. He couldn’t call him right now.

He glanced up to see Santana looking at him. When she noticed he caught her staring, she quirked an eyebrow and nodded to his phone screen. He realized he had Sebastian’s profile on display.

Did she want him to call him?

He looked at her with wide eyes, “I-I can’t call him!”

Everyone else was still in a heated discussion, so they weren’t able to hear him. She gave him an amused look. “Why not? Don’t you want answers?”

Was she testing him?

“Why can’t you give them to me?”

She took a sip, “I don’t know what the twink was trying to do. It wouldn’t be fair to explain the situation without knowing his side.”

She explained it so calmly he almost forgot how hostile she was when they first met. Almost forgot.

“Weren’t you the one who almost ripped my face in half at Jitters?”

She smirked, “Yes, it was. But I’m not Fievel’s brother. And also he dropped off the face of the earth after he graduated high school. The last time I saw him he was dancing with the rest of the Dalton gay-lords with his stupid smirky meerkat face at an incredibly overdramtic proposal.”

Barry briefly wondered how Santana was so quick to come up with nicknames. Fievel? Isn’t that from a Disney movie?

“Uh, well. I guess I’ll text him…. “

She looked satisfied, “Go head, then.”

He quickly typed, “We need to talk.”

That sounded a bit dramatic, but Barry needed Sebastian to know it was urgent.

Santana suddenly slapped Rachel’s arm, getting her attention, and when she had it, she whispered something in her ear.

Rachel looked at Barry and then spoke over the argument, “Guys! Hey, guys! Stop, stop, stop, listen to me.”

They stopped and looked at her a bit begrudgingly. “Barry shouldn’t find out from us.” She said flatly.

When Kurt was about to open his mouth, most likely to protest, she held out her hand and said, “No Kurt, he should find out from his brother. Family is supposed to be the voice of reason. So, Barry,” he looked at her, a bit nervously as she made him a bit nervous too, “I suggest you call Sebastian and talk to him, but obviously I can’t make you do anything—“

“Why don’t you invite Sebastian to the fundraiser?” Will cut in.

Uh, well.

Rachel beamed, “Yeah! That’s a great idea! The Fundraiser is for his school after all.”

Santana perked an eyebrow at her and let out a mumbled, “Oh, that would be fun.”

“Oh, yeah that’ll be lots of us. Chit chatting with Sebastian Smythe, that’s just what I need.” Kurt said sarcastically.

Barry knew Kurt probably had his reasons for being bitter towards his brother, but that didn’t stop Barry from being offended by his reaction.

“Wait, wasn’t he invited anyway?” Finn said, eyebrows furrowed.

Quinn frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Well, isn’t the Fundraiser for Dalton? All old Warbler members were invited.”

Kurt shook his head, “Nobody has had contact with Sebastian since he graduated. They wouldn’t have had a way to get in touch with him….”

Barry stopped listening. He had also been meaning to ask about the Fundraiser. Why did Dalton need a fundraiser? It was the most prestigious goddamn building he had ever seen in his life. It surely had money.

“Why does Dalton need a Fundraiser?” He asked, cutting off whatever Kurt was saying.

“How did you not hear?” Santana said after a few awkward seconds in silence.

He frowned, “Hear?”

Will sighed, “Barry. Dalton burned down a couple years ago, and the government did nothing with the land, so we decided to raise enough money ourselves. With a fundraiser.”

Dalton burned down. Holy shit. That was terrible. How did Sebastian not tell him about this? He must’ve known, right? He used to go to school there!

He didn’t have time to react as Rachel suddenly clapped her hands. “Okay! Now that we’ve had our break, we should start roaming the city once again! Whenever you’re ready Barry.”

Oh geez.

Barry needed a long nap.

Sebastian Smythe was sitting at his desk, tapping his fingers, staring at the clock.

He had five minutes until he was allowed to leave. Of course, today was the damn day he was requested to host the Shakespeare Literature Club.

Host wasn’t the right word. All he was doing was sitting at his desk while 5 freshmen and a sophomore were very passionately talking about…something.

Sebastian didn’t really know. He was just making sure they didn’t kill each other. Which, in his opinion, was stupid considering they were adults. Technically.

They didn’t need a babysitter.

And he was supposed to go out with his friends tonight! Consider that plan ruined.

He sighed and opened his phone. He didn’t have anything to do. The semester was over. No essays, projects, presentations, or anything to grade. He was bored.

He should’ve become a high school teacher. High school clubs don’t meet over break. But this was a university, so club captains got to decide whether or not they wanted to meet over the holiday.

And of course, the fucking Shakespeare Literature Club thought that was a wonderful idea!

Now, Sebastian might be an English and Literature professor, but that didn’t stop him from thinking this group of kids was nerdy as hell and wanting to leave.

One of the Freshmen, Roman, checked his watch and suddenly said, “Mr. Smythe? It’s time to go—“

Now, Sebastian was quite professional during school hours. Though, while giving lectures, he cracks a few jokes and tried to appear easy for his students to talk to.

However, that didn’t stop him from going, “Oh, hell yes!”

Roman laughed, surprised. The other kids laughed as well.

Sebastian didn’t care.

He just wanted to leave. “Okay, guys! Good work, you can all go home, and next time you have a club meeting, please have it at one of your houses.”

A girl, who wasn’t in any of Sebastian’s classes, frowned and said, “I thought you weren’t allowed to have any meetings without a teacher present?”

Freaking nerds.

“Well, who said the administration had to know?” He said with a wink and picked up his briefcase leaving the room of now laughing kids.

When he got in the car, he felt his phone buzz. He sighed quietly, thinking it was just one of his friends wondering where he was.

He grabbed his phone and looked to see who it was.

It was Barry.

Out of all people. It was Barry.

“We need to talk.”

Barry texting him always meant something was wrong. He only called or texted for emergencies. Sebastian didn’t want to panic. “We need to talk” can be a lot of things.

He shoved his phone in his pocket. Barry would’ve called if it was something urgent. He was going to have fun with his friends tonight and then worry about whatever the hell was going on in Central City later.

Central City.

It hit him. He knew what was happening.

The Dalton Academy Fundraiser. Yeah, he knew about that.

Everyone in Lima thought he dropped off the face of the earth after graduation. Maybe some thought he died. Perhaps some thought he moved away to Paris and found a lover. Changed his name, maybe.

Sebastian knew they tried to reach out to him. He ignored their attempts. He only stayed in touch with Jeff, Nick, and occasionally Hunter.

He didn’t want one of his students one day turning up with a handful of blackmail about his days as captain of the Warblers, demanding him to give them a better grade. He was always terrified of that possibility.

And he didn’t want to make it easier for them.

Jeff called him about a month and a half ago when the old New Direction members announced they were hosting the Fundraiser, asking if he was going to go. He said he didn’t know.

Then Nick called him about a month ago, telling him the Fundraiser was in Central City and asking if he would go. He said he didn’t know.

Even Hunter called him about a week ago, asking if he was going.

Sebastian said he didn’t know.

Now, Barry texted him. He probably ran into one of the old McKinley guys. They probably harassed him. Maybe Lopez scared the shit out of him if she was there.

Barry probably wanted to know if he was coming. Or maybe they told him what he did. He never told Barry. Sebastian didn’t need Barry to be disappointed in him.

He probably knew now.

His phone buzzed again. He quickly took it out and saw it was Jeff.

Oh god.

So many people were going to Central City. He scrolled through the names and saw so many New Direction and Warbler members. People from Vocal Adrenaline and other show choirs were coming too!

Goddammit.

He knew he had to go.

So many people were going to be asking about him, maybe making fun of him. Sebastian didn’t want people doing that when he wasn’t there to witness it.

He could already see himself, exasperated, talking with either Jeff or Nick or both, on the phone, telling him everything he missed.

No.

Sebastian had to do this. It was Winter break. He wasn’t skipping off work. He would get to see his brother and father, who had just recently gotten out of jail.

He didn’t have an excuse to avoid going, besides “I don’t want to.”

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Well.

It looked like Sebastian Smythe was going to Central City.

Chapter Text

“…historic landmarks, but that might not be the best place for a fundraiser, I suppose. Oh, and Barry! Maybe we could….”

God, Santana wanted to strangle Rachel right then and there. She hadn’t stopped talking for five whole minutes. She was pretty sure the Good Twin wasn’t paying attention to her anymore, as he was just nodding along with a friendly smile. 

Santana spent the car ride analyzing the subtle difference between Barry and the Evil Twin. Barry held himself awkwardly, while Sebastian had an air of confidence around him. Barry ran his hand through his hair about 7 million times per conversation, but Sebastian’s was too gelled back to do that.

Sebastian used to have a permanent smirk Barry was obviously incapable of making.

And Barry wasn’t a bitch like his twin and herself. 

He was cute and dorky. Quinn liked him. A lot. Maybe too much.

Santana didn’t necessarily freak out as much as the others did when they found out Sebastian Smythe had a twin. Sure, she was a bitch to him, but how could she not have been? They had the same exact face. 

She realized now that somehow they looked so different. It was the facial expressions, definitely. She knew that. 

After she almost made the Good Twin piss his pants, she spent all that night digging through the Dalton Academy website, trying to find a good picture of the twink who she oh-so loved.

From what she had gathered, she figured Barry and Sebastian hadn’t been together during their high school years. They would’ve known about Barry even if he went to another school nearby.  

Also, their last names were different. She wondered about that and figured she would ask Barry at some point.

“Wow! What is that!” Finn suddenly said.

Santana snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at what he was looking at from the window.

It was a very advanced-looking building. It was huge, rich, technical, and pretty damn cool. Santana wondered how they all felt sane living in freaking Ohio* for all those years when places like this existed. That’s probably why literally everyone had found their way to New York.

“That’s one hell of a building.” Kurt mumbled.

“Barry? Do you know what that is?” Quinn asked.

Santana glanced at him. He seemed a bit anxious to answer the question.

“Uh,” he started, “Yeah… that’s S.T.A.R Labs. It’s a research facility.”

Schue gaped, “That is one research facility. How many floors does it have?”

Barry said, “600 levels—” Holy shit “But, uh, S.T.A.R Labs isn’t the best place to have your fundraiser, so— “

Rachel gasped. Oh no, Allen just gave her an idea, didn’t he? “Barry! That’s a great idea!” She exclaimed.

“It’s really not— “

“No, imagine how many people it would attract! My god, and we could even fix those lights to shine in a certain way, and holy smokes this could be great!”

Rachel was practically vibrating when she clapped her hands excitedly. Santana had no clue as to why she was taking this fundraiser so personally. 

Quinn frowned, “Rachel, wouldn’t we need permission to do something like that? It’s a big facility, and I doubt they would let us host a fundraiser inside of it?”

How Rachel didn’t think of that was utterly lost on Santana.

“Well—” Rachel was cut off.

“Maybe we could go and ask?” Finn suggested.

Santana actually snorted, “Ah yes, I’m sure we could just waltz on in there and ask a bunch of working scientists if we could host a fundraiser for a school full of gay-lords that burned down almost seven years ago.”

Finn turned red, “It was just an idea.” He mumbled.

Barry kept quiet and was focusing his attention anywhere but them and S.T.A.R Labs. They were stopped at a red light, and S.T.A.R Labs was in perfect view, so she could tell he was struggling.

“Guys, I think it’ll be a little hard to get permission from an obviously well-respected scientific research facility.” Mr. Schue said flatly. 

In those two seconds of absolute silence, everyone could perfectly hear Barry’s small scoff. Interesting. 

“Woah wait Barry, why’d you scoff? Are we all just overthinking this and its actually super simple? Please tell me it’s super simple.” Rachel said. A little too passionate. 

God, Santana was craving a cronut. Maybe it would make her headache go away.

“Well, simple isn’t the word I’d use,” Barry said cautiously. 

“What word would you use then?” Kurt asked.

“…Not-a-good-idea?” Barry said weakly.

Finn looked confused and let out a mumbled, “That’s four words?”

“Guys, don’t stress about it. It was a bit of a stretch, anyways.” Schue said and gave Barry a reassuring smile.

Quinn sighed and said, “Yeah, and there was no way in hell they would let a couple of Millennials throw a fundraiser in a research facility.”

Santana frowned and looked at the building. Wait a minute—how did nobody else notice?

“Uh, if this ‘research facility’ is so advanced, why is it quite literally falling apart?”

Everyone, including Barry, snapped their heads towards the building. Santana would have laughed if the situation had been different. 

The building in question had broken bits, and part of the roof looked burned? Huh. 

Quite odd.

They all turned to Barry, perplexed. He looked a bit uncomfortable (‘Shocker’) but said, “Uh, well, you all heard about the Particle Accelerator, right?”

Yes. She did, actually. It was sort of a big deal. Even across the country, people were intrigued by this scientific breakthrough. Mainly because most people didn’t understand science, and the words the news outlets used seemed very impressive. 

Look, most of the population got a D- in Chemistry and Physics; everything seemed impressive.

The more Santana thought about it, the more she realized why the facility was important. S.T.A.R Labs built the Particle Accelerator. And-

“—and when it had turned on,” Barry was saying, “Things didn’t go exactly as planned, uh well, actually—” He got himself off. **

They all looked confused. Santana and Kurt raised an eyebrow. 

“You know what, never mind,” He continued, “Things didn’t go according to plan and it exploded—“cue another round of raised eyebrows and surprised expressions “— and released chemicals and shockwaves that were all believed to be theoretical, but obviously aren’t, and I can go into depth about what they were and what consequences they had—you know what? I’ll just explain this scientifically, that’ll be easier for me. So, in a synchrotron, particles such as electron and protons….”

Blah, blah, blah Santana understood none of it. Allen went on for about 15 minutes explaining nerdy science stuff, not one of them understood. 

Santana knew he was nerdy but damn. He was super smart too. Annoyingly so, especially since Quinn went as wide-eyed as one can get, and Santana was pretty positive this was turning her on.

Gross.

Kurt murmured, “Sebastian was smart, but he was not this smart. Also, the more time we spend with Barry, the more I want to see him and Sebastian in the same room.”

Santana could not agree more. They are polar opposites. 

And they don’t even seem close? 

Santana had no clue how those boys could ever get along.

Sebastian had no clue how he and Barry had ever gotten along.

They were so different. When they were younger, that didn’t really matter since they had been with each other since birth. 

After their Mother…no.

No.

Sebastian was not going to reminisce on his relationship with his brother or their dead Mother. Or his father, for that matter. The father he had hated for 15 long years.

Sebastian shook his head to clear his thoughts and gripped the wheel tighter. 

He was already in Central City and still hadn’t told Barry he was planning on coming. He didn’t anyone for that matter.

Well, he told his friends in Seattle, but that’s it. 

Sebastian sighed. His head was pounding because he was thinking too hard. He didn’t even know where he was going! He was just driving to clear his mind. 

That obviously didn’t work.

He bit his lip and looked outside, debating whether or not he should call. He decided to pull over into a parking lot of some bar and take out his phone. He scrolled until he saw Barry’s contact.

Sebastian knows he should, but was he going to….

No. He was not.

He aggressively pocketed his phone and got out of his car. He might as well get a drink; maybe it would help. Probably not, but it was worth a shot. Sebastian just wanted an excuse to drink.

He walked inside and immediately noticed how freezing it was. Who the hell ran this place? Obviously, someone who hadn’t heard of a goddamn heating system. 

It was winter and 31˚ outside, but somehow it felt colder inside a building! 

He shivered and rubbed his hands together while walking to a stool. He sat down and instantly laid his head in his arms.

God, he was exhausted.

Everything about the fundraiser, Dalton, McKinley, Barry—all of it: it was getting to him, and he was surprised he hadn’t broken down and malfunctioned. He had suppressed everything for ages.

But he still wasn’t ready to deal with his emotions.

“I meant it when I said these visits were getting old, Scarlet.”

Sebastian looked up, slightly startled, and was pleasantly surprised as he was greeted with the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen.

He was so distracted by the man’s eyes and realized he had been openly gaping.

‘Play it cool, Smythe!’

Wait—did the man just call him Scarlet? He wasn’t wearing a red shirt? 

“Uh—“

The man’s eyes were so piercing, Sebastian thought he might just self-destruct on the spot.

The man sat right next to him and motioned for the bartender to get them both drinks. What drinks? Sebastian didn’t know and didn’t care to know because he was too busy thinking about how the man had addressed him.  

Fucking Central City. Everyone was weird as hell.

This was going to be interesting.

Cisco Ramon was very screwed.

It was 4:57 PM, and Harry had told him to meet him at S.T.A.R Labs an hour and a half ago! It was freaking Sunday, by the way, but Harry was even more bitchy than usual, so Cisco feared for his life.

The weight of Zoom having Jesse was most likely gnawing at him even more, especially with the Christmas season. 

Harry had a fit yesterday and yelled at everyone, even Caitlin. Jay got the short end of the stick and decided to take a week to himself, away from all the craziness.

Cisco wished he could’ve gone with him.

“Dammit!” He muttered under his breath as he was stuck at yet another red light.

He sighed, glancing towards his right, and immediately paused. 

Was that….?

No…

Oh my god, it was! 

Cisco was not expecting Barry Allen, the fastest man alive, to be driving a car!

He didn’t care that he was openly gaping because what the hell!?

He just then realized he was driving Caitlin’s new car. Cisco was wondering why Caitlin was driving her old one yesterday. But that doesn’t explain why Barry was driving a car as if he didn’t have superhuman speed—!

Wait a minute…

“Who the hell are they?”

Cisco just realized the car was full of people he had never even seen before. What was Barry doing? Was he going to S.T.A.R Labs? It certainly looked like he was heading that way!

Barry chose then to glance at Cisco’s direction and immediately went wide-eyed.

Cisco made an incredulous gesture to the car and mouthed, “What are you doing?” 

He saw Barry sigh, and the man in the passenger’s seat glance in his direction, frowning. 

A couple of others in the car followed in suit, and Barry gave a sheepish expression and gestured towards S.T.A.R Labs. 

Was he insane!?

They couldn’t just let random people into the lab! They would see the Flash suit!

Cisco gave Barry the most “bruh” stare he could manage, but Barry just returned it with a pleading look.

Cisco sighed loudly and dramatically and nodded begrudgingly. 

The light turned green, and Cisco immediately pressed the gas, trying to beat Barry there so he could hide any Flash-related stuff. 

And hide Harry.

This was going to be interesting.

Chapter Text

Kurt Hummel frowned outwardly. 

Because what the hell?

Barry started gesturing his arms midway through explaining the science behind the Particle Accelerator. It’s not like Kurt was really following any of it, but Barry seemed to know what he was talking about, so it was pretty alarming when he suddenly cut himself off and began showing early symptoms of a seizure. 

“Wait, is he talking to someone?” Rachel said suddenly, and Kurt then realized to their left that a Latino man around their age was gesturing just as wildly as Barry. 

“Talking? Or doing their best mime impressions?” He responded. He glanced around the car, and Rachel was the only other person who seemed to notice this very normal exchange, as literally everyone else was on their phone.

Kurt nudged Finn, who was scrolling through Twitter. “What?” He said with furrowed eyebrows.

Rachel sighed and nodded in her head at Barry, and Finn confusedly looked his way and immediately frowned. There we go. He guessed it takes time to process things, especially when it comes to Finn. No offense Finn. 

“Hey Barry, is that your friend?” 

Alright, Finn isn't familiar with subtlety. Kurt heard a snort from his right and saw Santana enthusiastically watching the exchange while drinking her hot chocolate. 

Barry quickly glanced back at Finn and sighed. However, before addressing the ever-growing confused crowd (Quinn promptly realized what was going on), Barry gave one last gesture to his friend, and the light turned green. He quickly shook his head and bit his lip in concentration. 

“Who was that?” Santana said, and amusement has never been more evident in a person’s voice.

“Ah, yeah, he’s my friend,” Barry said as if he knew that didn’t really answer anything. Because that was one of the weirdest things Kurt had ever witnessed. He glanced at Rachel and saw she was scavenging away, once again, at her notes. He rolled his eyes because, honestly, how much else was there to do? He appreciated her dedication towards the Fundraiser and everything but Jesus Christ.

Quinn was suddenly very interested and asked, “Are we, by chance, heading in the direction of S.T.A.R Labs…” She dragged out the ‘s’ as she trailed off. 

Kurt quickly glanced out the window by Quinn, and it did, in fact, appear that Barry was heading that way. Yeah, okay, that was weird. He was heavily discouraging hosting the Fundraiser at S.T.A.R Labs, but suddenly, he was taking them directly to that place. Did he want Rachel to lose her mind? God, Kurt would kill for a goddamn Lima Bean coffee so he could find some sense of normal. He glanced at Rachel and then sighed while sinking into his seat. He closed his eyes. He could feel a headache slowly brewing and slowly began massaging his temples.

He heard Barry’s voice (still registers as Sebastian’s, literally how is their voice the exact same?) say, “Uhm,” He paused and sighed.

“Wait, so dude, that’s awesome. We can have the Fundraiser there?” Kurt could hear the smile in Finn’s voice as he said that. Oh no. Rachel was going to have a field day when she finally tuned back into reality. 

Her head snapped up quickly, and her face broke into a broad smile. 

Mr. Schue quickly chimed in, “Well, wait. Guys, I know how passionate some of us are about the Fundraiser,” He gave a small laugh.

It’s funny how he addressed all of them, not just Rachel, who looked like she was gifted a diamond ring. A shared glance with Santana said she shared similar thoughts. 

“But, a high-tech science whatever facility is not going to allow this,” He paused and significantly looked at Rachel, whose beaming expression didn’t falter. 

Mr. Schue then looked to Barry, most likely for some reassurance, and the other seemed perfectly content, avoiding all eye contact after providing a slight nod. Given all his awkwardness and blatant incoordination, Kurt tilted his head and silently mused if Barry would have excelled in show choir. His thoughts slowly drifted to visualizing both Barry and Sebastian talking. As he doesn’t have a twin, Kurt can’t say he completely grasps all the complexities of that type of relationship, but he can firmly state most twins talk to each other. Normally. However, a typical conversation between these twins seems unlikely.  

Now, he enjoys the Suite Life of Zack and Cody as much as the next person, but a dynamic similar to that in real life seems a bit problematic. He paused for a moment before glancing around and noting everyone seemed to embrace the quiet for a bit, even Rachel. In his peripheral, he saw Santana and Quinn engaging in some sort of non-verbal conversation, despite their positions. 

Maybe he was being unfair. It's obvious any previous disdainful feelings towards Sebastian haven’t left him with anything but bias. Opposite personalities getting along is quite common; not particularly a new concept. As he looked at Barry, he realized these thoughts originated from the fact that the guy didn’t seem very comfortable discussing his own twin. Not only that, he seemingly doesn’t know that much about Sebastian’s high school life. How often did they talk?  

Their relationship might be strained after all; it wasn’t his place to pry, but he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Wait, where are we going again?” Goddammit, Rachel.

He felt Quinn perk up at the question more than he saw her and noticed they were getting strangely closer to that research facility. 

Barry’s eyes flickered to them briefly before running a hand through his hair with a sigh. 

“Sorry, I just…my friend needs to talk about something important and well…” He didn’t finish his thought.  

Before Rachel could say anything, Finn said, “No worries man, we got time.” He said the words so casually Kurt noticed Barry relaxing slightly and returned that with an appreciative smile. 

“It’ll be quick, I promise. I don’t mean to waste any of your time,” Barry said with a nervous laugh. Kurt felt himself smile slightly at those words. What a goddamned people pleaser.

A laugh escaped Santana, and she said, “It’s not like we’re doing anything. You couldn’t waste our time even if your dorky little ass wanted to.” She sipped her hot chocolate and instantly reminded Kurt of his own, which he had accidentally ignored. 

Surprisingly, Barry snorted at her words and mumbled his thanks. 

With raised brows, Kurt mumbled to Rachel, “Someone’s getting more comfortable with Santana already. That’s new.”

She only hummed in response, although Quinn momentarily narrowed her eyes in Santana’s general vicinity, most likely under the impression she was scheming. However, she should know by now that Santana’s schemes were a bit more obvious. 

“Ow, Rachel. Chill, maybe?” His ribs could only handle so much pain.

God, Barry hopes one day he’ll live in peace. One day. One goddamn day, is that too optimistic?

His rambling about S.T.A.R Labs and the Particle Accelerator distracted him from the fact he was subconsciously driving towards the facility where Cisco would be waiting for him to provide an explanation Barry really didn’t want to give. Also, this tour he’s supposed to be giving probably lands on the top 10 worst tours list in history. Nobody seemed to mind, though, which, thank god. Slowly, they seemed to grasp that Barry and Sebastian were two vastly different people with vastly different personalities. 

With a glance towards S.T.A.R Labs, Barry noted they were close and would arrive as soon as he remembered which lanes led where…roads are so confusing. 

Suddenly, a loud ringing sound jolted Barry, along with everyone else, out of the silence. 

“INCOMING CALL FROM PATTY SPIVOT.”

Barry cringed and let out a breathy, “For real?”

“Who is Patty Spivot?” That came from Santana. He pleasantly noted her voice was slightly amused instead of judgmental. 

“Uhm,” he glanced at Will, who seemed engrossed in his phone. “That’s my girlfriend. She’s probably asking about a case,” He said the last part a bit more to himself than to Santana. 

She let out a high-pitched hum that Barry didn’t understand as he was too busy trying to decide whether he should answer Patty or not. If he hadn’t been so quick to connect his phone to Caitlin’s car, Barry would have answered in a heartbeat. However, with a car full of people he barely knows, it might seem a bit rude…?

“Oh, well, don’t let us intrude,” He glanced in the rearview and noticed Quinn, whose voice was laced with something he couldn’t quite decipher. That was followed by Santana’s snort, which only left Barry feeling more confused. 

But, if this was about a meta or maybe even Zoom…

Since the light was red, he turned apologetically toward them and said, “Sorry, it’ll only be a few minutes.” Kurt and Rachel gave him a polite look in return, while Quinn provided a tight-lipped smile. Santana was pointedly looking out of the window when Finn gave a reassuring, “Not a problem, man! We won’t make a sound, by the way.”

After giving them a thank you, he reached for his phone to call her back since he had taken too long to answer. As the light turned green, he quickly (without enhanced speed) found her contact and dialed her.

“Barry?”  

He sighed, “Hey Patty, everything good?” This was his attempt to seem as nonchalant as possible. 

“Well, not exactly.”  She didn’t really go into much detail, which was unusual for her.  

After a few moments, he said, “Is this about Mardon?” 

“No! No no, not about him.”  The change in her voice startled both Barry and a couple of the others. He briefly mused if lowering the volume would be wise.

She huffed shortly, “This is more so a Snart situation.” Goddammit. Of course, it was a Snart situation. The police hadn’t caught him. 

With a frustrated glance towards S.T.A.R Labs, Barry sighed and said, “Yeah. Right, so uh, is there a lead on him?” He had a place in mind, but he wasn’t quite sure if a visit to Saint and Sinners would fit into his already ambitious schedule. 

“Well, that’s the thing, Bar. The CCPD already scoped out all his known safehouses. And after everything that happened during Christmas, they think he fled.”  

He bit his lip and leaned back in his seat in thought.  

Briefly, he registered Finn whisper, “Who is Smard?”

“I heard about Smard on the news. He’s obviously a criminal,” Kurt whispered back. 

Santana chuckled, while Quinn replied, “It’s Snart not Smard, now shush!”  

His mind reeled back footage like a cassette tape as he clearly heard Snart’s slick voice. I love it here…this city is my home.

“No, he…no.” Someone snorted at his response, probably Santana. 

Snart may be a self-proclaimed liar, but Barry was pretty certain he didn’t lie about that. God, maybe a visit to Saint and Sinners was necessary after all; obviously, no care was given to Barry’s unpredictable schedule. 

“You don’t think he fled,” she said flatly; it wasn’t a question.  

“Patty, I highly doubt he would leave Central. Especially not this quietly and soon after he got broken out.” A few yelps sounded from the back when he turned a particularly sharp corner. He swiftly whispered a ‘My bad.’

“Hmm, yeah. You’re probably right, I’ll talk to Joe about what he thinks,”  a slight pause, “Are you dropping by the precinct again tonight?”

He let out a small laugh as he noted her slightly suggestive tone.

“I can’t tonight, but if you wanna run by Jitters tomorrow before work then…” He pitched his voice in teasing question as he trailed off. Her giggle sounded through the car, and he felt the edges of his lips quirk up. 

“Sure, thing,” she said with a slight laugh. "Ooh, hey, I’ll even buy you a cronut this time. They are really good”  The last part was almost sung.  

His attempt to stifle a laugh was futile, and they exchanged goodbyes before a glance in the rearview reminded him he wasn’t alone. Everyone looked amused, and he saw Santana waggling her eyebrows. 

She kicked his seat playfully and said, “Wanky.” 

Quinn quickly hissed, “Santana!”

Cisco never ran through S.T.A.R Labs quicker in his life. The number of times he stumbled in the parking lot was honestly embarrassing, but goddammit, Barry freaked him out even more than he already was. 

After zooming (pun!) through the cortex, Cisco practically jumped on the remote responsible for the suit display and aggressively clicked it while yelling, “Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon, you slow son of a bitch let’s go!”

The display didn’t waver, and he heard footsteps rapidly approaching behind him while still shouting at the damn thing. 

“HOLY SHIT. Bruh, you should be ASHAMED of yourself. You call this speed; you're literally The Flash! ” 

With a panicked noise, Cisco whipped around to see Harry’s livid face gazing directly at him. Before he even attempted to explain himself, Harry said, “Ramon, have you lost the ability the keep track of time? I said 3:30, do you even—?"

No, no, no. Not today, Satan, Cisco was too busy freaking out about Barry bringing random ass people to the lab, so he interrupted with extended hands, “WOAH, okay Harry, I’m sorry about my tardiness but we have another issue right now.”

“Another issu—?” Harry cut himself off before fixing Cisco with an annoyed look. “Is this issue more important than stopping Zoom?”

Oh my god, this guy.  

Cisco briefly glanced at the display again, then frustratingly said, “More important in this very moment because Barry is bringing random ass people here, and we need to hide—“ 

“Wait, what?” Harry said while Cisco threw his hands up and began rapidly clicking the remote again. 

“Ramon!”

“HEY, SO HARRY, I NEED YOU TO—“

“If you explain yourself like a—“ 

“MAYBE IF YOU LET ME FUCKING TALK FOR ONCE… HEY WHAT ARE YOU— ” Harry roughly snatched the display remote from his hands and launched it across the cortex; Cisco’s heart about collapsed as he cried out hysterically at Harry’s audacity.  

Holy shit, this is the day the Flash’s identity is revealed to the world. It’s happening today. God, Cisco thought maybe they had at least another three years or something. Hell, even Oliver freaking Queen is still in the clear!

He spun around to alarmingly face Harry, who angrily pointed a finger at him as if he wasn’t the one who thREW THE GODDAMN REM—

A gust of air whooshed in as Barry appeared in front of them. Cisco’s heart spiked as he stumbled back into the consoles, limbs flailing about.

“JESUS CHRIST, BARRY WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”

Harry immediately opened his mouth, “Allen you —“ 

“No wait, guys please I need to tell you about my twin really quick.”

"ABOUT YOUR FREAKING WHAT”

“Scarlet?” 

God, Sebastian’s silently cursing himself for the amount of sleep he allowed himself these past few days. His wit has seen finer days. 

‘Maybe ask a full question next time, dumbass.’

The man narrowed his eyes and quirked an eyebrow, “Not here on official business then, I presume?”

Damn, the man’s voice was enough to last Sebastian enough fantasies for a decade, but his confusion infiltrated any of those thoughts. He looked away, mainly because the man’s eyes felt too intense. What the fuck was he talking about? Sebastian mentally scanned his outfit to ensure he didn’t accidentally dress like a hooker or something, just in case the man was looking for services. The outfit passed his personal test, and he could feel his brows slowly furrowing even more. Official business? Was that some type of joke he didn’t understand? 

Then, against his will, he noticeably shivered because the bar was still fucking freezing, and the man’s presence was slightly intimidating. Jesus Christ, why is he acting like such a pussy.

Mr. Blue Eyes slowly smirked, “The cold’s still your enemy, kid?”

Sebastian utterly blanked. Were they role-playing, and Sebastian somehow didn’t get the goddamn memo? That’s sure as hell how it felt like. The universe undoubtedly hates him; no fucking way would he act this timid if he was in a normal state of mind. 

At his lack of response, he noted the man scanned his body briefly before landing those piercing ice eyes directly on his face. Suddenly, Sebastian tilted his head, gaze fixated on the other, as he pondered the likelihood of this man actually hitting on him. 

The bartender placed their drinks in front of them and promptly stalked away somewhere into the back. Sebastian noted this bar was mostly remote, and after scanning his drink, he looked back at the man with a sudden new interest. 

A smirk slowly worked its way onto Sebastian’s own face, “Always this quick to buy a guy a drink?” It was obviously not what Mr. Blue Eyes expected from him as he fleetingly looked surprised before releasing an amused chuckle. 

“Always this quick to accept a drink?” The man said before taking a swig at whatever he ordered for both Sebastian and himself. 

He huffed an amused breath in response. As the man focused on something else in the bar, Sebastian took this opportunity to scan him briefly; he was rugged but seemed like someone who wouldn’t show their face in a friendly environment. Sebastian allowed himself to wonder about the mysterious man’s history idly. 

Blue eyes fixated themselves back on Sebastian’s now openly playful expression.   

“I take it you’re not mad, then.”  

This time Sebastian attempted to school his confusion, but his mind still struggled to understand the words this guy was saying. He simply looked at the man with the same expression and took a sip of his drink, hoping his slightly impish expression would answer for him. Maybe Mr. Blue Eyes mistook Sebastian’s earlier confusion as anger? That, however, is a very bold assumption. Why the hell would he even be mad? It’s not like he knows the guy. 

Sebastian actually tried to use his personality. “Unless you’re the dick responsible for the icicles forming on my body, I don’t see why I have reason to be mad at you.” He quirked an eyebrow to enhance his expression.

The man’s smirk grew wider, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Someone’s in a joyous mood. Holiday season treat you well, Barry?”

No.  

No fucking way.

Whatever humorous expression Sebastian wore swiftly slid off his face, and his eyes widened a ridiculous amount. His body abruptly felt colder, with something not unlike dread filling his body in this already freezing building. God, no way Barry actually knew this guy. 

He was utterly aware that Mr. Blue Eyes frowned at his reaction and looked slightly baffled. Dammit, it all makes sense now. Whatever the hell this guy was saying would probably make sense to Barry. Meanwhile, Sebastian’s reactions were most likely miles away from how his brother would’ve reacted.  

“Kid, ar—“

“How do you know Barry?” He asked, somewhat accusingly. Was this man fucking his baby twin brother? That’s sure as hell what it sounds like. He always suspected Barry might swing both ways, but damn, this man doesn’t fit the persona he imagined him to fall for. 

The stunned look on the guy’s face was priceless. God, Sebastian wished he could have experienced this literally any other fucking time since his mind was too occupied with the endless void of unanswered questions to feel amused.  

Mr. Blue Eyes recovered from the shock quickly as he adopted a suspicious narrowed-eye gaze instead. “Who might you be, if not Barry?”

No, Sebastian was correct. This was fucking hilarious. 

He unexpectedly laughed loudly. Annoyed quickly flooded the other man’s face at Sebastian’s gall. With nothing but naked humor on his face, Sebastian brightly said, “God, this is too good,” before laughing once again.

The man fixed him with an unimpressed stare, “If you—“ 

“Barry doesn’t like to talk about me, I guess,” Sebastian quickly interrupted whatever empty threat the man was inevitably about to make. He leaned back in his chair, highly amused, a smirk fixed adequately on his face. 

At the man’s unwavering unimpressed gaze, Sebastian’s amusement and smirk only grew. God, this is the most fun he’s had in a long time. He leaned closer to the guy; the intimidation factor was lost on him now.  

He mockingly hummed in thought while his eyes flickered to the wall. “I couldn’t imagine why. I am the better twin after all.”

The incredulous look on the man’s face seemed like it wasn’t there often. Mr. Blue Eyes gazed at him for almost an excruciating amount of time, most likely fighting an internal battle on whether or not he should call bullshit.  

Piercing eyes flickered across his face and then slowly down the rest of him. Most likely, taking in his mannerisms, clothes, style, and other subtle differences. Sebastian allowed the man to scrutinize him however he seemed fit while he sat there watching him, silently soaking in as much serotonin as possible. 

Finally, the other met his eye-line again. “Twin?” That was only asked with a somewhat dubious quirked eyebrow. Sebastian knew the man believed him, obviously. If he was Barry’s fuckbuddy, there’s no way in hell he’d believe Sebastian was him in any capacity.   

“Mhm hmm. Older by a minute, too,” He winked with that last bit, then took another sip of his drink while Mr. Blue Eyes raised his eyebrows in either amusement or disbelief at Sebastian’s gall. 

“So,” Sebastian started, not wanting to give the man much time to process anything. He gracefully propped his elbow on the counter to comfortably rest his face in his hand while gazing at the man. He was fully aware of the fact he was being a dramatic bitch, but it was too much fun to stop. 

At the man’s slightly colder stare and raised eyebrow, Sebastian continued.

“How long have you been fucking my brother?”