The Great Escapes

[run_barry]

Since Yamato offered to come to Central City and help with the epidemic crisis, things have been crazy, but handling them has been a whole lot easier now that Barry isn't operating alone.

He even got some rest in, on Yamato's orders, and they've got a bit of down time as far as emergencies in the city go so they're using it to work on other problems.

While Yamato recalibrates the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to track the new meta they suspect is behind a whole bunch of the crime, and a death-trap or two set for Barry, Barry is getting his science nerd-amateur virologist on, trying to find a cure to the bug that has so much of the City down; including his team.

Sitting at a desk in the Cortex, Barry works away with a microscope taking notes on a tablet. Beside him are several boxes of chicken nuggets which he's working through, with a few empty ones already in the waste bin nearby.

In the middle of the space on the floor GP the porg is munching on shrimp treats while bopping around an inflatable S.T.A.R. Labs beach ball.

Comments

[angry_friendship_wolf]

It's not that what Barry's saying doesn't make sense. It does, Yamato knows it does, but it doesn't feel that way, somehow.

"Don't say that. If you'd done things differently, it could've ended just as badly, or worse. You did more than anyone could ask of you," he says, shaking his head. "But I should've known he'd try to get into our systems, I just -- didn't think he'd be able to trace us back here, I didn't think he'd even realise we were scanning for him. And I should've known he'd try to pull that stunt with the traffic, but I didn't think he'd go that far."

He grimaces a little. "I can't help but think that I just made things worse. You might not think so, but you don't have an accusatory bone in your whole body, of course you don't think so. At the very least, we both know you'd never say it."

[run_barry]

"Wow Yamato, I didn't know psychic was something you could do," he replies, prickled a touch by that last part from Yamato because it implies Barry somehow can't be objective about the situation, even though clearly Yamato did nothing wrong.

"How were you supposed to know all that? I didn't. I trusted the systems here in the Cortex to be pretty well safe-guarded against stuff like that, and even with the guy shooting at me all day and trying to pull a SAW on me in that basement I didn't see him risking other people just to let two of his guys get away."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato's a little taken aback by Barry's remark, partly because he didn't expect it and partly because it pushes him rather abruptly into admitting to himself that he was maybe being an asshole by saying that.

"Am I wrong?" He fires back, detached expression breaking into a scowl. He forces himself to relent after a moment, looking to one side and blowing out a frustrated breath. "Sorry. It was a dickish thing for me to say. I just meant ..." He doesn't know exactly what he meant, so he just gives a terse shrug.

He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck and shutting his eye. "You're right. I know you're right," he says. "But it doesn't feel that way. And I hate that you got hurt."

[run_barry]

Barry waits for Yamato to finish that sentence, and when he doesn't Barry makes a sound that's both annoyed and disappointed.

"Whatever," he replies in the space after Yamato trails off.

Standing, Barry cradles his forearm to keep the rest from jostling. The room tilts a little, but he keeps himself upright and straight.

"You know what I don't hate? Not being dead," he counters. "The bank, the cash office, and the basement? I wouldn't have gotten out of any of those situations without your help."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato can't quite suppress a grimace at that noise and the reply that comes after it, looking mostly at the floor and only just slightly at Barry, out of the corner of his eye.

"Give yourself some more credit," he says, tone going gruff again. "You'd have figured something out."

His gaze flicks up to Barry's arm, just for a few seconds. A little more gently: "Do you need painkillers? Or -- would they even work, if you did?"

[run_barry]

Barry has doubts about that, but doesn't comment.

Instead he shakes his head to Yamato's offer.

"No, I metabolize them out too quickly," he says, his own tone not softening much. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up, grab a shirt. Cisco has another suit around here so I'll find that. Gonna need it when we go after this guy."

With that Barry exits, still holding his arm he speeds off to other parts of the compound to change and maybe give himself and Yamato a minute or two.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato rubs both hands through his hair, entirely unsure as to whether he wants to hit something or just isolate himself somewhere, but since neither of those are options right now, he just sort of paces irritably, keeping one eye on the Cortex's main display.

[run_barry]

When Barry finally returns all the blood has been cleaned up and he has on a t-shirt and sweats. His arm not ready yet to try and pull on the tight clothing, he's carrying another suit; depositing it on the chair he was working from at the microscope earlier.

Picking up the bloody jacket he had been wearing, he frowns at it while examining the damage and the mess.

"Cisco is gonna be pissed," he murmurs.

Dropping the suit out of the way to be dealt with later, he finally looks at Yamato.

"Anymore of those juices left?" he asks.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"He takes a few days off and we manage to destroy his robot, his laser sword thingy, and one of his suits," Yamato says, just a touch wryly, although he doesn't look at Barry as he says it. "We're kind of wrecking all his stuff."

He jerks his chin towards the rucksack by the chair, pausing in his pacing. "We've got seven left. Help yourself. Take a meal bar while you're at it."

He's stopped moving now, but he's still not looking at Barry, and his entire body is tensed up, with one heel tapping against the floor as though he's barely keeping himself still.

[run_barry]

"At least we've taken care of his porg," he replies, then pauses. "Right? GP is still around?"

Walking over to the bag, Barry pulls out a bottle and a bar. Opening the bottle, Barry watches Yamato for a moment before asking, "Everything alright?"

Obviously not, which makes him worried.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Yeah, he was nosing around at the robot a while ago. He seems pretty content."

He does look at Barry after that next question, just for a moment out of the corner of his eye. "I should be asking you that. You've got a hole in your arm, after all."

Turning back towards the wall, he makes a frustrated noise, scuffing his foot against the floor, and just slightly shifting his weight from foot to foot. He's a bit of a nervous ball of energy right now.

[run_barry]

Barry nods, glad for that at least.

Glancing at his arm, the bandage visible just beneath his shirt sleeve, he shrugs his other shoulder.

"It's fine. Still hurts, but with the bullet out now it's started healing."

Tugging his sleeve down, he looks back over at Yamato again.

"Still wondering about you, though," he says. "What's up?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato's mouth twists into a grimace, but he's at least happy that the wound is healing.

"I'm just frustrated. And angry at myself," he sighs, turning towards Barry a little and arching an eyebrow. "And I figured I'd pissed you off."

[run_barry]

Mindful of what Yamato said before, Barry hesitates instead of giving a quick denial.

Considering the situation and his feelings on it, Barry finally shakes his head.

"No. I mean, I'm frustrated and mad, too, but that's not aimed at you. Mostly."

A beat, and he admits, "People have been ragging on me for being a nice guy my whole life, and I let it go. Never let it change who I am. But when a friend throws it in my face like it's a bad thing? I don't appreciate that."

Even in those times when maybe they're right.

In this situation though, Barry is still convinced the things that happened weren't Yamato's fault. Barry just has no idea how to make Yamato see it that way.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I -- ..." Yamato shuts his eyes for a moment, then turns to face Barry more directly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said it. And I didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't trust you or your judgement. Or, no, I guess I did, but I was just lashing out. I do trust you. Even if, I admit, sometimes I struggle to read you."

He pauses, scraping a hand across the back of his neck.

"Hey, if you want to make yourself feel better by punching me in the jaw, that might even convince me you're not a nice guy. Win-win, right?"

He's joking, mostly.

[run_barry]

Barry cants his head a little, squinting at Yamato a bit puzzled.

"I never really thought of myself as that hard to read." But then, maybe there are some things he doesn't say, or holds in, or doesn't act upon.

Surprised at the thought, Barry shakes his head to push it aside for now and refocuses on Yamato.

"But I am a nice guy," he says. "And punching you would definitely not make me feel better. Catching Camera Commander though, would."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Not just him," Yamato says, scowling a little. "We lost those two escapees, too. We have to get them back."

That they escaped is something of an injury to Yamato's pride, not to mention something he feels compelled to atone for, and both show in his tone.

[run_barry]

"They're bound to be with him," Barry says, the ire he feels about having lost them turning into resolve. "If we find him we may even locate some of the stuff they got away with from the heists."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"We're tracking him now, at least," Yamato says. "I don't know if he's figured out that we are, but it's safe to say he knows it's a possibility. But the satellite's got enough of a good look at the signal he gives off and the dark matter signature that goes with it that it can track him even through the ambient radio noise of the city now."

He pauses, rubbing a hand through his hair. "I can look over the place he's in and come up with a plan of attack," he says. "I mean, if you trust me to."

[run_barry]

Barry's chin lifts, and he's ready to go again, trying to convince Yamato again that it wasn't his fault and that Barry is glad to have his help.

Rather than run that path again, Barry gives Yamato a serious look and says simply, "Do it."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato grins at that, taking a few steps forward and reaching to grasp Barry's shoulder, and then pausing just before he does, because that's the shoulder attached to Barry's injured arm, and very carefully squeezing his other shoulder instead.

"Well, you're in charge. If you trust me with this, guess I have no choice but to defer to your judgement, right?" He remarks, wryly. "It'll take a while, but I'll figure out a plan. And, er. Thanks."

[run_barry]

Feeling like he's finally said the right thing, Barry's serious expression breaks slightly for a smile.

"Of course I do," he says about trusting Yamato. "You work on that, I'm gonna cram some calories and then check in and make sure CCPD picked up the guys we left for them."

Barry did sort of leave all the escapees scattered around the place.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Make sure you get an actual meal," Yamato says, and the grin is completely gone and he's back to gruffness, but it is at least his usual brand of vaguely amicable, somewhat overprotective gruffness. "And if a supervillain turns up and you have to punch them, use the arm that doesn't have a hole in it."

[run_barry]

"I will," he promises, bemused by the shift in demeanor but glad that they're back on track again.

"And I won't," he adds about his arm, letting out a chuckle before he makes a speedy exit.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato settles back at the console, starting work bringing up aerial photographs, blueprints, and camera footage of the area the satellite has tracked the Commander to. His head still feels a little bit like it's got a swarm of enraged bees rattling around it, but focusing his attention on work helps ease that some.