Work Text:
If anyone were to ask him, Julian wouldn’t even be able to pinpoint the moment that he started suspecting that Barry was the Flash.
Maybe it was before they were together. His samples mysteriously being stolen, Barry always disappearing from work, the way that Barry seems to always vanish when the Flash is around and then reappearing when he’s gone. If that hadn’t been obvious enough, once they got together, Julian would’ve easily been able to work it out from the timing of their cancelled and abandoned dates that seem to always coincide with when the Flash was making news.
And, really, Barry’s a terrible liar.
Barry’s late for work, as usual, and Julian fights the urge to roll his eyes when he walks in the door, taking a seat at the desk opposite him.
“Hey.”
“And where were you this time, Allen?” He doesn’t even need to glance up from the report that he’s writing up to know that his boyfriend is clearly flustered.
“Um, I was stopping for coffee?”
It’s then that he raises his head, and Barry swallows visibly.
“Coffee,” he says flatly.
“Yeah?”
It’s not the worst lie he’s told. Barry does have a habit of guzzling more coffee than can be healthy for an individual human in the morning. Or, well… metahuman.
Which is still weird. He’s dating a metahuman. And said metahuman still hasn’t managed to work up the nerve to tell him what he is.
A quick google search tells Julian all he needs to know – that the Flash was caught in a scuffle this morning with what looked like a man who could turn into… smoke? One of the weirder cases they’ve had, that’s for sure.
“Is… everything okay?” Barry asks, and Julian realises he’s been silent for a little too long.
“You didn’t get me a coffee?” Julian asks.
“Oh! Uh- I did. I just- I left it- uh, with Joe. At his desk. I’ll just- I’ll go get it.”
Pressing his lips together, Julian tries not to laugh when Barry rushes to the door and fumbles with the handle, and the tell-tale whoosh that sounds just outside the lab when Barry’s out of sight makes him snort.
Still, when Barry returns with a fresh coffee from Jitters five minutes later (Julian gathers that he probably took his time on purpose as not to blow his cover), he can’t really find it in him to complain. Especially when he passes it over with a soft peck to the lips and a quiet apology.
***
One of the downsides of dating the Flash is that he can’t avoid getting mixed up in Barry’s business eventually, so he shouldn’t be surprised when he gets kidnapped.
Although, ‘kidnapped’ kind of makes it sound worse than it is, and it just so happens that the guy doing the kidnapping doesn’t actually know that he’s dating the Flash and just wanted him to wipe any trace of forensic evidence that he’d left at one of the less secure vaults at Central City Bank.
Julian, of course, had outright refused. He’d only just managed to speed dial Barry’s number before the phone was whipped from his hand, but the speedster was there within seconds regardless.
But now, after the kidnapper had been delivered into the hands of Iron Heights and the Flash had returned to the vault to make sure that Julian was, in fact, okay, Julian can’t stand pretending anymore.
“It’s just a bruise,” he tells the masked speedster quietly, as he reaches over to brush his thumb softly over the darkened patch of skin under Julian’s eye.
And, really, could Barry be more obvious right now?
“What?” he asks, voice vibrating in attempt to disguise himself, and Julian huffs.
“You’re an idiot,” he replies.
He does it without thinking – leans forward and captures Barry’s lips, hands splayed over the mask on Barry’s cheeks and tongues gliding together. All at once, Barry melts under his touch, his lips soft and insistent against Julian’s.
Barry sucks in a breath, takes a step back and looks at Julian through wide eyes, before the speedster disappears in a blur of air and lightning.
Well, at least it’s out in the open.
***
Or maybe not, because the next time that Julian sees Barry, he’s slumped at his desk.
Julian’s been trying to contact him all weekend – trying to make plans, to maybe talk out what his being the Flash means for them, but when Barry gazes up at him, it’s the expression of pain and heartbreak that he sees, and Julian’s shoulders sink as he makes his way over to Barry’s desk.
“You’re early. That’s got to be a first,” Julian tries for an air of lightness, but Barry just looks away.
“I guess.”
“Are you going to tell me why you’ve not been answering my calls?”
Barry taps his pen on his desk, apparently considering his answer, and Julian circles around to lean against the space at Barry’s side, watching him carefully.
“You kissed the Flash.”
“I… yes?”
The speedster lets out a trembled breath. “And you’re not even denying it? Aren’t you gonna even ask how I know?”
“How you- Allen, what are you talking about? You were there. Of course you know.”
Barry’s pupils dilate in the way that tells Julian that either he’s forming a lie in his head or he’s about to suggest that they go find somewhere quiet to work out the tension here, and Julian highly doubts it’s the latter.
“I wasn’t there.”
Julian’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, and then he realises it – Barry doesn’t know that Julian knows. Apparently his boyfriend is a bigger idiot than he thought he was. The corner of his lips twitches in amusement, because this is just too good.
“If you weren’t there, Barry, how did you know about it?”
Barry licks his lips, clearly struggling to find an answer before- “I- Joe saw you. He came to make sure that you were okay, and he saw you kissing the Flash.”
“And the fact that Joe West happened to be on patrol on the other side of the city that night didn’t stop him from getting back to the vault on time?”
“No, he was- he- why are you smiling?” Barry asks, and despite the ridiculousness of their situation right now, the cracks in his words and the hurt in his eyes brings a pang of guilt to Julian’s chest.
“Barry, you twat,” Julian says. Barry stiffens when Julian rests a hand over his cheek and strokes his cheekbone softly with his thumb. “That kiss was me trying to tell you that I knew you were the Flash.”
“I’m not the- wait, what?”
“Although honestly, I’m this close to dumping you right now,” Julian jokes, pinching a small space between his thumb and forefinger in front of Barry. “I thought you were supposed to be smart, Allen.”
Barry’s mouth flaps a little, before he manages to choke out “You knew?”
“You’re not as good at hiding it as you think you are. You thought I would cheat on you?”
It’s Barry’s turn to look guilty, and he lets out a shaky breath. “God, Julian, I’m- I’m so sorry.”
He supposes he should probably be mad, but he’s always had a weakness for Barry’s pleading eyes, and as a knot that he hadn’t even been aware of loosens in his chest, he lets out a broken laugh.
“What… what’s so funny?”
“You, Barry Allen. You’re ridiculous, impossible, infuriating and have the common sense of a toddler sometimes, and I still love you. How is this my life?”
Barry’s eyebrows raise. “You love me?”
“I’m really going to have to start deducting points for every time you miss something obvious, because-“
Julian doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, because Barry’s up off his seat in seconds, crashing their lips together – claiming, passionate, and a moan slips out between them. Julian’s not even sure if it came from him or Barry, but it doesn’t matter.
When they part, Barry presses his forehead against Julian’s, fingers tangling into his shirt. He’d complain about the wrinkles, except that his heart is pounding in his chest and the moment between them is so intense that he doesn’t want to ruin it.
“I love you, too, Jules,” Barry breathes, voice thick.
Julian melts a little at that confession, but he clears his throat, forcing himself to take a step back. “Now that we’ve got that established, we should probably get some work done.”
Barry chuckles, and the air around them feels lighter all of a sudden. “If I speed through the paperwork, do you think we can get away early?”
“Not a chance, Allen,” Julian huffs, crashing back down on his chair, but he offers Barry a fond smirk. “You’re going to need the extra time to try and come up with how you’re going to make this up to me tonight,” he adds with a suggestive note to his voice.
The pink flush that spreads over Barry’s cheeks is all he needs to get through the rest of his day.