Chapter Text
"You're a cop," The bartender said, slamming the glass he had been cleaning down on the bar. Barry had forgotten to take off his CCPD landyard before he left work, something the bartender had immediately seen when Lisa brought Barry up for introductions.
Barry jumped, his breath stuttering in his chest. He hadn't seen this man here before. Usually he came in during his lunch break, this was his first dinner visit to the bar restaurant. He had already talked to Lisa, his favorite waitress, and Mick the cook had made sure to meet the man that insisted his burgers where the best in Central City. It was hard to tell with the hulk of a man, but Barry was pretty sure Mick preened a little when he managed to stammer out a compliment.
"Um-"
"Checking up on the criminals? I don't need this from you," The man continued. The scary Lisa stood behind him and scolded the bartender.
"Lenny, chill. He's my best tipper!"
"He likes my cooking," Mick grunted from where he had stuck his head out of the kitchen. "Leave the runt alone, boss."
"He's a cop!" He, Lenny, replied. Barry took a deep breath.
"I'm not a cop, I'm a CSI," Barry cut Lenny off before he could talk, earning a giggle from Lisa. "And no, I'm not checking up on you. I don't know anything about you, I just want to go somewhere where nobody has any preformed expectations of what I'm supposed to be like. Is that too much to ask?!"
Barry hadn't realized he was almost shouting until the other patrons started murmuring after going silent. A small whine came from his feet. Lenny's face contorted in confusion.
Barry walked slowly into Rogues, the bar he had been frequenting more and more over the last few months after the big reveal that he worked for the cops. This time Iris had asked if she and Eddie could meet him there and see what was so special about the place that got Barry to spend his free time away from his apartment. She had seemed far too interested in asking about who he interacted with, and Eddie had promised to behave. He was, as always, running about fifteen minutes late and already completely dreading the time he would spend as a third wheel. Iris and Eddie always tried to make him feel included and he didn't always feel like he was intruding. But tonight he felt wrong. His skin felt tight and he was too hot, even in the AC of the bar.
Len, the bartender, looked up from the drink he was mixing to give a small nod to him, and Barry felt a blush rise on his cheeks. Len had the most piercing eyes Barry had ever had the pleasure of staring at awkwardly from a distance. For the number of times Barry had been to Rogues, he and Len had exchanged the fewest words, even Mick talked to him more if only to tease the skinny guy who was eating two burgers a night. Not that Barry necessarily minded. Len made him feel calm, a nice change from his sometimes overwhelmingly fast thoughts and Len never asked about his past.
At his feet, his five-year-old service dog stood patiently while Barry surveyed the tables and booths searching for Iris. Irwin, so named for his mixed Australian shepherd and Australian cattle dog heritage, had been with Barry for almost two years, the only solution that seemed to work for Barry's increasing anxiety. It had started to interfere with his work and Joe couldn't bear to watch his foster son suffer and possibly lose his job. Irwin was allowed in the station and stayed in a specific corner of Barry's lab unless Barry needed him to pull him out of an attack. Being the foster son of a cop and beloved by many of the older detectives, Barry knew the law down to the letter regarding service dogs and their rights.
He didn't see Iris or Eddie anywhere, and as he pulled out his phone to call it buzzed with a text.
Iris: Sorry we're late, eddie got called in when we were halfway there, had to turn around and drop him off. It's just me and u
Iris: Be there in fifteen minutes
Iris: Sorry
Barry replied with a smiley face and put his phone away. He looked back at the bar and saw that Len had a large group of customers ordering drinks so he took a seat at his favorite booth near the bar. Irwin laid down on the floor right next to his chair and observed the room. Lisa Snart, co-owner and Len's sister, sauntered over and set a water bottle down on the table with an orange soda. Barry pulled a small collapsible bowl from his messenger bag and set it on the ground to fill with the water. Irwin happily began to drink.
"On the house for my favorite patron," Lisa smiled innocently. "The soda however is a dollar fifty."
Barry smiled at the familiar joke. Lisa Snart placed the same water and orange soda on his table with the same joke every time he came in. Barry wasn't sure why Lisa had taken him under her wing as a friend. She had been wary at first of having a cop in her brother's bar until Barry pointed out he wasn't really a cop and he didn't really care about Len's past. Len had warmed considerably after that rather pointed discussion.
"Is Mick here tonight?" Barry asked softly. Lisa grinned and nodded, noting the way Barry's face lit up. "I told my sister that he makes the best burgers in the city. She doesn't believe me."
"Big Belly Burger hold-out?"
"Yeah," Barry checked his watch. "She should be here any minute. Do you want to meet her?"
"Sweetie, I wouldn't miss it," Lisa ruffled his hair and walked away to check on the other tables. It was still early enough that there were quite a few people ordering dinner instead of bar hopping. Irwin, having finished his water, was once again laying quietly at his feet. Barry pulled out his phone to mess around on he internet when he heard someone clear their throat. He ignored it, assuming it wasn't directed towards him until it happened again. He looked up, right into the face of a man who looked like he would be more comfortable in a Benz than a bar.
"Can I help you?" Barry asked politely. The man looked at Irwin pointedly. Irwin stared back, the overhead lighting glinting off the reflective edges of his service harness.
"Dogs aren't allowed," He sneered. Barry felt the familiar pull of an attack start to build on his already frayed nerves.
"He's a service dog," Barry replied evenly. "He's allowed anywhere I am."
"He's a filthy animal. People are eating here. Get rid of that mutt," The man pointed at Irwin. "Now."
"I-I have a right-" Barry was having a harder time controlling his voice. He had never been confronted so openly by a stranger, and in a place where he usually felt safe.
"I-I-I, what's wrong with you?" The man mocked. Barry felt his face flush hot. "You're not even blind."
"Well you're about to be," Lisa spoke from behind him. Barry relaxed minutely. He was going to be okay. "Sir, please return to your table."
"I'm not spending a dime here if that dog stays," The man said triumphantly, folding his arms in front of him. From the looks of his watch, clothing logos and shoes, he was a man used to getting his way.
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Lisa replied with a syrupy-sweet smile. He didn't seem to get the message.
"Look here, bitch-"
"That's no way to talk to a lady," A voice drawled. Len had come out from behind the bar. He flipped his towel over his shoulder and stood protectively in-between Lisa and the man. It wouldn't do to have his sister arrested for murder. In public.