it wasnât that liam wasnât happy to see barry â of course he was, they had spent inseparable days together when they were younger that he couldnât imagine trading anything for. but it wasnât exactly the setting for him to show his excitement either. and as soon as barry turns around to show off the back of his jacket â CSIâ liam can feel the drop in his stomach like he just topped the hill of the steepest roller-coaster and is on his way down. Â
the thing was, this is who barry was supposed to beâŚand this was who liam was supposed to be. theyâre both exactly where they were always going to end up. the unlikeliest pair of friends from the beginning who never seemed to see any of that. and then life happened and here they were. liam wouldnât use the word fate, but it almost feels like a fateful slap in the face to be sitting opposite barry in this manner.
liamâs still quiet for a moment, letting everything just settle. he saw ma, thatâs good - sheâs always wondered about barry. thereâs probably an odd calmness to liam, almost a staleness to his personality that wasnât him.  â iâm happy for you⌠â was he? yes, but worried too. Â
barry wasâŚwell, he was always good, and liam can see that absolutely nothing has changed about that. heâs glad though, it wouldnât be right if it had â thatâs who barry was. Â
and liam was mostly the exact opposite. he wasnât good. at least not anymore. barry still knew a child who hadnât existed in a very long time. there were things that liam had doneâŚhad been involved in, that would make barry turn his back and never think twice about liam again.
the quiet sits around them with just a lull of voices in the distance until liam speaks up again.  â thanks for goinâ tâsee ma, i know she probably talked yâear off. but⌠â a beat, a breath. â go ahead and ask what everyone else does â â Â
did you do it? whyâd you do it? did you love him? was it all premeditated? Â
heâs already heard it all now.
the question, right. the one everyone always asks, except barry allen because if there is something he knows about liam, something that has never waivered even after all these years apart and their lives going in two different directions...
it's that liam wouldn't hurt someone he truly loved, not like that, not so brutally with such disdain poured into the act. it didn't make any sense.
"what, if you did it? i know you didn't do it," his voice is as sure as the sky is blue. barry doesn't even hesitate to say it.
he pauses, licks his bottom lip and shakes his head, "man and it's fucked up anyone thinks you did. i get it, i've read your files, liam."
quieter still, barry leans is, "i'm assigned to your case. i'm running the labs. actually, uh, before we go, i really need you to do me a favor and let me get a swab of your dna. i know they already have it but i told someone we lost it and needed a new one."