Sealed away (the flash x glee crossover)

3

"Joe"

"What's up Bear. What is going on?" Joe could tell Barry was about to tell him something important that would, judging from experience, make his life a little more complicated than it already was.

Barry had just learned his brother's identity from Felicity for the first time, he was still standing in the middle of the street in Starling City, having called his dad the moment he left the bunker. Joe had fought so much for him, had worried with him more than anyone, it was only fair that he should know. Also, Barry was bursting to tell someone and Joe was the first person he thought of that was available. In this particular case, Barry had thought of calling Joe even before Iris.

"Joe, we found him"

"What?"

"Teddy. We found him."

------

They were sitting on the sofa in the West house. Barry was visibly disturbed, he had been in tears since the moment he had come through the front door and fallen right into his foster father's open arms. Barry had done his best to explain all the information he had just learned about his brother. 

Joe took all of this in while fighting with his own emotions. He hugged Barry once more. "I'm so glad he's okay. Bear, it is just like the captain promised. I know I should have trusted him from the start, but it's just such a relief to have confirmation." He smiled, tears in his eyes. Barry nodded.

Suddenly, Joe thought of something. "Wait, Barry. That information was classified. How exactly did you get it?"

Joe was a man of the law. Barry knew he wouldn't be happy about how he got the information. Especially after learning Mr. Smythe was an important attorney that you don't want to have on your bad side. "Oh, u-um, well.... you don't want to know."

"Barry? You didn't do something illegal, did you? Please tell me you didn't do something stupid!" He raised an eyebrow.

"Joe- I saw an opportunity and I took it. You would have done the same?"

Barry flinched under the scolding look of the older man, who then rather quickly resigned. "You know what - you're right. I really don't want to know. I can't change it now anyways. And I am glad that you told me about this, really. Thank you, for telling me. Just - remember you're not supposed to have this information, you're not supposed to know anything. Please be careful, okay?" Barry didn't even seem to listen to him.

His facial expression changed to worry. "I know what you want to do right now, son, I understand you want to go see him, but think about it. He doesn't know you. Officially, you don't have any connection. I know this is hard, but maybe it is for the best if it stays that way. Think about your life right now. Heck, think about any of our lives right now. Do you really want to force him into this? Don't do something stupid you'll regret later."

"Of course Joe, I won't."

A sceptical eyebrow was raised. "Promise?"

Barry had to swallow what he originally wanted to say. The next word didn't come easy over his lips: "Promise."

They knew where he was. They boy they had been missing for so long now. He could just speed over there, he could go and see him, right now! It tore him apart to be this close to meeting his brother again, and deciding every second of every minute to not do the thing he was longing to to. 

He couldn't risk it. Joe was right. Not with an enemy on his trail who was determined to take everything and everyone that he cared about away from him. Barry would never forgive himself if anything happened to his brother because of him. In a way, he was even thankful now, to Mr. Smythe, for keeping his brother so closed off. In doing so he had kept him safer than he could possibly have ever known.

Joe also made him promise not to tell Iris. As always, he believed it to be best if his baby girl was kept out of knowing and thus, out of trouble. This would prove to be easier than expected. Even though Iris could always see right through Barry, he didn't have to lie if the topic just never came up.  And it never did. He had a lot of practice in keeping it buried, after all, as he had done it in the past to avoid the pain of talking about it. He just kept on like this and she never suspected a thing.

After thinking about it for a while, Barry decided also not to tell Henry. He knew his father wouldn't approve of him initiating anything illegal, maybe even more than Joe. And there was just no point in telling him. As far as Henry Allen was concerned, his younger son was happy and well off in a loving home, he had always trusted the police captain on this. It was a nice thing to believe, and as it looked like, it was true. Barry didn't see why he should trouble him any more by telling him about the name change or making him a confidant in knowing about his (or Felicity's)illegal hacking of confidential police records or whatever else she did to obtain her infos. No, he decided, the best thing to protect his brother, was to keep things as they were for now and hope for an opportunity for change in the future, even though his heart ached every time he let himself think about it.