x_muses | [ Continued from wayswithwords ]

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[ Continued from wayswithwords ]

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These are things Barry hadn't considered would be an advantage with the powers he had. His immediate go-to had just been to want to help people, but maybe there were ways he could use it to make his own private life a little more interesting. He had spent so long existing to work and to seek justice for his dad's wrongly imprisonment, battling against people who didn't believe him when he said someone else killed his mom. Now everything had changed, and by chance, he had met Alex who had an understanding of the whole powers thing.

"Now I'm just wondering if I get drunk quicker than most too, because I feel like I've wiped out an entire JD factory," he mumbled and rubbed his eyes, trying to encourage the headache to go away. "Okay, I have a confession to make. My dating history is really abysmal, and not very experienced. Usually I let my work get in the way and it didn't last very long. Plus, I was in a coma for nine months so I'm a bit rusty on most things."

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"It's possible," Alex agreed, resting his cheek on Barry's shoulder. "Again, I think it's all down to your metabolism, which probably means you got drunk faster, but you'll sober up and be over your hangover faster, too. I mean, just a guess based on basic principles of anatomy and physiology, but it certainly makes sense. Besides, you had a ton of tequila shots... Body shots at that. That's about the last thing I remember aside from random flashes of us having sex." He wished he could remember that whole bit... for reasons, but that was one of those things that it was too late to change.

"That's okay... It doesn't bother me." There was a reassuring kiss to Barry's shoulder as they lay there together, and Alex pulled the blankets up just a little, because the room was chilly to him. "I've dated, but I only ever had one serious relationship. It ended badly. Not because of us, but because of things beyond our control. I was younger then and I didn't know how to step up my game to combat it. So we're both a little rusty. It doesn't stop me from at least wanting to try... That is, if you do, too."

Barry snickered, keeping his eyes closed because he would give anything to have an IV of whatever the hell necessary right now to get rid of the hangover and headache. "You could so get a job in the lab that's basically monitoring every move I make. Uh, not this, though. I was adamant I wanted the night off and left the suit back home." Which he was really glad of right about now, because that would have been completely embarrassing. Besides the fact he wasn't sure how they would react to him dating a member of the X-Men. He still wasn't up to speed on the superhero etiquette.

The room was ornate and classy, that made him wonder what the rest of the place was like because he had no recollection of actually getting here. He did remember meeting a bunch of people that knew how to have a good time. Who didn't need that once in awhile? "I don't see why we couldn't at least give it a go. I mean, bearing in mind, I'm still finding my feet with all this and what it's supposed to mean."

"I don't know what they'd really want a geophysicist for in a lab keeping track of a superhero," Alex said with a grin. "But if it meant I got to spend more time with you, I can't say I'd be bothered by giving it a try. Pretty sure Scott would kick my ass if I left the X-Men, though." He, too, was glad that Barry had left the suit out of the equation, as had Havok himself when they went on their date. "Honestly, that's probably a good thing, because I'm not entirely sure, as drunk as we were, that we could've gotten you out of that without hurting ourselves in a serious kind of way."

"I'm okay with that," he agreed, snuggling even closer to Barry to shield against the cold a little more. It was silly to already be thinking that he could really get used to this, but it was true. He was so comfortable with Barry already, all the awkwardness of their first meeting having been lost somewhere between There's a party going on at the X-Mansion if you'd like to come, and tequila body shots. "We can take our time with things... I mean... you know... aside from jumping into bed together for the first time, because it looks like we already blew by that milestone."

"It's not just for that. The guy tracking me, Harrison Wells, he designed and built the particle accelerator that caused all this. S.T.A.R Labs, don't know if you've heard of them. But in his disgraced state as a failed scientist or whatever, he's trying to dig deeper into what I am now. Which is lucky because I would be so up the proverbial shit creek without a paddle if it wasn't for those guys," Barry said wryly. "So, in a sense, us lot, the metahumans that came out of the explosion, some of us are out there causing geophysical reactions so maybe there is a job in it for you. Just kidding, though. You must be pretty damn good at what you do to be on the X-Men team."

He held up a finger where his hand was lying splayed against Alex's chest. "Just for the record, I don't usually do this sort of thing. In fact, I've pretty much never done it. In saying that, I really, really did need a healthy boost of relaxation therapy and statistics show this is right up there on the list. I'm pretty sure the hangover generally didn't come into the statistical surveying, though."

"S.T.A.R. Labs? Yeah, I've heard of them. I think everybody in the scientific community has. Especially mutants in the scientific community, because we know what reactions like that can cause. I mean, a lot of us were spawned because of the dawn of nuclear warfare back in World War II. The radiation it released caused a pretty serious lasting footprint on the world, and caused a lot of genetic mutations." He gave a sheepish smile at that and nodded. "I'm an epic nerd, actually. I haven't ever really been a hugely social person, as weird as that sounds. I mean, just within the team. So it's been easy to focus on science and studying and stuff... But also kind of boring. I'm good at my job, and I'm proud of that, but I don't want it to be the only defining thing about me."

Alex's own fingers curled around Barry's, enjoying the warmth against his chest before he spoke. "I don't, either. I mean, I'm usually working all the time, but... But I don't really regret it. I just regret that I don't remember, because I'm 100% sure I had a great time. But yeah... If we're going to be a couple, I'd really like to be not-hungover the next time I wake up naked with you."

"I was a science nut. Followed their work so much, and then all of a sudden, I'm their guinea pig. It's been overwhelming, but I tolerated it all. They help me help people. But I was definitely overdue for a night off. I don't know how anyone can do that day in, day out, without a bit of a timeout to just be a normal, boring person and switch off for a little while. Do you ever have days like that?" Barry asked, because he had subconsciously, along the way, adopted Alex as sort of his case study to compare his own experiences with it. They had talked a lot at the bar before Barry accompanied Alex back here, and it was the first time Barry had truly talked about how he was feeling. He just offloaded and Alex listened, sharing his own experiences. It was more than Barry had talked to anyone in a long time about something not work-related.

The interesting part was that the people that knew Barry probably hadn't pre-empted that he could spend a night with a guy. His sexuality had never been a big topic of interest, he just knew how he felt, and it was an attraction to both sexes. He hadn't had a relationship with a guy, though, and maybe there was even a chance that was why things didn't work out with the women he had dated. He was willing to test the theory, though. He just wasn't sure he wanted to drag Alex into his new world for fear Harrison, Cisco and Caitlin would want to use him as a guinea pig to try to scientifically prove his attraction to a mutant was due to the lightning too. That was what he did not want. At all. There was no way he was going to let his own personal feelings be passed off as a scientific anomaly. "I didn't meet your brother. Is he going to be cool with all this?"

"It's so incredibly awesome to me that you love science, too," Alex gushed. "I mean, a lot of the X-Men are into science, but I've never dated anyone who was. It's just... It's really cool that we have so many things in common that we can talk about. You're right, though. Saving lives, helping people, having superpowers? It takes it out of you, and it does make you long for a chance to just be normal. I mean, that's part of why I decided I wanted to just go out and have a drink with someone. Well, that and the fact that it took exactly 2 seconds for me to realize I really liked you and wanted to get to know you better." Alex gave Barry a warm smile and shifted a little in the bed so that he could give him a kiss on the cheek. He hadn't felt this way in a really long time... probably not since things had ended with Lorna. But he was falling hard and fast here, and there was no question about that.

"My brother?" Alex asked, his face lighting up with a happy smile. For all the time in the past that he and Scott had been separated, they had become extremely close in the years since they'd found each other. There was still a part of Alex that felt like a little kid who loved his big brother when it came down to Scott. He was extremely proud of him and looked up to him as any younger sibling would to an older sibling, so long as there was a good relationship between the two. "Scott'll probably feel weird about it at first, just because it's been a long time since I dated and the last time nearly got me killed. He'll just want to know you're not going to hurt me... And he may issue some threats in the beginning. He won't hurt you. He'll say he will, but he won't. He's a good guy. Just super over-protective of me. But once he gets to know you, he'll like you. Honestly, he'll probably like you as soon as you meet, he just won't want to admit it right away."

Barry had put a hand up to his face, rubbing at his eyes with a little mumble moan of pain. In the past, whenever he drank, his hangovers would be infamous. There was one particular episode Joe would never let him forget where he threw up so extensively down the stairs, they had to get new carpet. He was feeling more than a little fragile right now, and he it was feeling more and more appealing to just bury himself back under the covers and sleep it off right here with Alex. "I was always just the socially awkward loner. Which was okay, because I didn't really know how to be anyone else. Ironically, science suddenly makes even less sense to me now than it ever did. It's so far outwith my realm of understanding with all this, that it took days for my head to stop hurting every time I tried to reason it out."

Now he was just nervous about meeting Alex's brother. Nervous, or nauseous. It was a fine line between the too in the midst of a hangover. "There's still a chance he might not like me, though, right? Is he going to hate the whole... powers thing? I mean, I would never hurt you with them. Or even hurt you in general. That's not the sort of person I am, I don't want to hurt anyone. Quite the opposite. I just don't want anyone here to think I'm trying to, well, hone in on their mutant territory trying to wave my metahuman flag or anything."

"Do you want some aspirin or something?" Alex asked. "Or does the whole super fast metabolism bit mean that meds don't last long enough in your system to make a difference? There's always water at least if you want that. I think the main thing is that we get water into us and rest. You don't need to go anywhere, just so you know. You can stay as long as you want. I thought maybe after we sobered up a little and didn't feel like being sick, I could make us some breakfast. I'm a decent cook. Not the greatest one ever in all the world, but I'll do in a pinch. But at the moment, I can't really think about food. I'll be sick, and that's not a sexy look." He snuggled his nose in at Barry's shoulder again with a smile. "I don't really find you socially awkward. We talked pretty comfortably almost from the very start. But it's true. The whole scientific side of metahumans and mutants... It's fascinating, but it doesn't make much sense."

"He'll like you," Alex assured him, his hand still lightly resting on Barry's hip and his thumb gently rubbing circles there to try and calm him a little. "He's just going to have to get used to it. Scott's not the enemy or anything. He's a good guy, he's just really protective of me. I think he doubles up on protectiveness because we missed most of the time we should've had together when we were kids. He won't hate your powers, babe. That would make him a hypocrite in a serious way. Nobody's going to think that about you, babe. I promise. In fact, Rahne was the first one to tell me I should definitely go out with you, and she knew that you were a metahuman. You're really special, and when Scott sees that, he's going to like you a lot. Just give him time to adjust. He won't hate you. He'll just worry about me for a little while."

"That involves moving, right? No. No aspirin. Not moving," was the stubborn mumbled, and Barry did, indeed, proceed to just lie there and forget the rest of the world existed. These were his days off work and he told the guys at the lab that he was off the clock because he had to 'meet a friend'. Though, the smirk that both Caitlin and Cisco gave him told him they knew exactly what he was up to. He told them he only wanted to be interrupted in the case of a disaster of mass destruction, and even then, the X-Men would probably be involved anyway. "You cook? Seriously? I'm okay. More just a mac-n-cheese or scrambled eggs dude, though. Or takeout. I have a terrible takeout addiction, especially pizza."

This did placate him, because he trusted Alex's word. He couldn't believe he had met someone he clicked so easily with. He had always been a nice, easygoing guy, but anything beyond friendly chat, he usually got awkward and he was terrible at flirting. "So you guys are really close now? I think that's awesome. You have to cherish the people in your life while you still have them. Rahne, she's the Scottish one, right? See, I do remember a bit. So, Scott's a mutant too. What powers does he have?"

"Okay, no moving," Alex agreed, shaking his head just a little in amusement. "I can deal with that. You're a good cuddler, you know... Even though you're hungover. You're warm." And right now, Alex was definitely burrowing into the blankets and snuggling closer to Barry. He grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I cook. Like I said, I'm not going to be a five star chef anytime soon, but I like to cook. It's fun. Sometimes I make dinner for everybody just for fun." He laughed just a little. "I can make you packed lunches sometimes," he teased playfully. "You just need a lunch compartment in your suit." Looking up at Barry's face from his spot at his shoulder, Alex asked softly, "Is it really weird if I ask you to be my boyfriend while we're naked cuddling and hungover?"

"Oh, yeah. We're definitely close. Scott went through some serious hell, and it made us closer than ever. "Yep, you do remember. She's Scottish, and she turns into a werewolf, which is kind of cool. Yeah, Scott's powers are this beam that comes from his eyes... It's concussive and... Well, it's kinda hard to explain completely, but he can't control it, so he has to wear these special glasses to keep from using it when he doesn't mean to. It's cool, though, because I'm immune to his power. So even if something bad happened, I could stand right in front of him and he can't blast me. I just absorb it."

"Hm," Barry murmured in reply to the observation about his cuddling skills, though he was caught up in a groggy yawn before he continued to reply. "Never cuddled with anyone. Save for Iris when we were kids and watched scary movies under a blanket because we weren't really allowed to watch them. Scared ourselves shitless. Pretty sure none of that actually counts in reference to what you're talking about. Is it sad that I admit the only home-cooked meals I have is when I go for dinner back home?" The banter tapered off then, though, when Alex continued his own morning-after murmured thoughts. This was uncharted waters for Barry, if he was entirely honest. He was an honest guy, though (at least, as honest as one could be masquerading as a superhero under the guise of being a lowly forensic scientist), and he gave it the thought it deserved while he lay there quietly. "It wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've experienced in my life," he finally replied teasingly.

He made another sound of confirmation that he was listening to Alex talk. "Better than a beam of light from your ass, I suppose," he reasoned. "That would be an awkward superpower, if ever there was one. Or imagine if your superpower wasn't to run really fast, but to come really fast," he added with a snicker. He had always been able to laugh at himself. Maybe that was a characteristic of any good nerd. "Is he immune to you?"

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[ Continued from wayswithwords ]

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