You are not the father AU - ColdFlash
Found on the following AU prompt list.
-----
Barry felt like his stomach had dropped below sea level, especially at finally seeing her—through the glass of the nursery, wrapped in pink.
He didn’t even know why he’d come here.
Well, he knew, but it just made the weight of the folded-up papers in his pocket feel like a brick.
“You look about as devastated as I feel,” a low voice said, another man taking the seat on the bench beside Barry, though he hadn’t been aware of his surroundings enough to see him coming.
The guy made Barry immediately self-conscious of his own appearance, because he looked like a model or actor, complete with chiseled features, slick dark clothes, and he smelled amazing.
Comparably, Barry probably looked like a schlub, having grabbed a ratty old hoodie on his way out the door.
“D-devastated?” Barry repeated, trying to recall what the man had said.
He gestured through the glass, as a nurse came in to set a blue-wrapped bundle in the bassinet beside the one Barry had been staring at. “I’m the father.”
“Oh.” Barry turned to stare forward again. “I’m not.”
He felt the weight of the man’s eyes on the side of his face—brilliant blue and piercing. It was easier to keep staring forward, as he limply lifted a hand toward the pink bundle.
“My ex-wife’s. Almost ex. She thinks ex, but I… I’ve been awful, and I never finished signing the papers. She was four months along before she told me the baby wasn’t mine. I guess I just needed to see it—her—in order to let this go.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the final divorce papers to stare at them instead.
“You brought the papers with you? Maybe you’re more devastated than I am.”
Barry sniffed, shaking himself from his reverie. “Sorry. But wait. Why are you devastated? Not ready to be a dad?”
“Hardly.” The man snorted. “I didn’t get the luxury of four months. My ex—long past ex—called me a few hours ago. Then I got here, and she split.”
“She left her baby?!” Barry cried, echoing through a thankfully empty hall.
“We broke up for many reasons, but her being less than responsible for her actions played its role.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to take it—him. But I have no idea what I’m going to do afterward. I’m not generally family friendly.”
Barry laughed. The guy seemed friendly enough, but then, he also had an edge about him that seemed to seep out of his dark coat. “You’re here. You’re going to take him home with you. That’s a good start. I couldn’t wait to be a dad. I’d always wanted a family. I guess I wanted it so badly, I didn’t realize how one-sided my marriage was until it was over. Now, I have to let her go. Both of them go…”
After taking a deep breath, Barry started patting himself down for a pen. He could have sworn he’d brought one along with the papers.
A very nice and expensive pen was thrust in front of his face. He took it, noticing the lettering on the side that said Snart Enterprises. “Thanks.” He signed the papers quickly—messily—but legible. “Snart, huh? You work for them? It’s like a really big player in imports or something, right?”
“Or something.” The man held out an empty hand after Barry passed him back the pen. “Leonard Snart, but you can call me Len.”
“You’re Snart?” Barry gasped, even as he accepted the gesture. “You’re like… a millionaire.”
“With a ‘B’, actually.” Len grinned, making him look even more handsome, his hand warm and solid in Barry’s grasp. “And you are…?”
“B. I mean, Barry! Sorry. I’m a mess on a good day, and you’re like… huge deal high society, while I’m trying to finish grad school, totally broke and jobless and… divorced,” he finished sourly, turning back to look at that pink bundle again. “Just what I wanted on my resume before thirty…”
Len snorted again. “If it makes you feel better, I didn’t just walk into my life. And while I can more than provide for that child, money and possessions don’t make up for time I don’t have to spare or how I am definitely doomed to be terrible at this.” He still looked handsome wearing a grimace, because his eyes said he didn’t want that to be true.
“Sounds like you just need to allow yourself a little leeway. Take the time you need from being a busy billionaire to also be a dad. You can do both. Though maybe also get a nanny.” Barry snickered.
“That an offer?”
“Huh?” Barry figured he was joking, but Len turned toward him, looking very serious.
“You said you were broke, jobless, and love kids, right?”
“Y-yeah but—”
“Any experience?”
“You just met me!”
“I run a multi-billion-dollar corporation, Barry. Anyone I’d hire I’d have only just met. And the last thing I need right now is to subject myself to a string of interviews. Experience?” he asked again.
“With kids? I mean, sure, I used to babysit when I was younger, but—”
“You’re hired.” Len stood abruptly, completely at ease offering a stranger to come into his home and take care of his newborn son. “There’s a coffee shop down one floor. I have a lot of paperwork to get through, and you have something to mail.” He pointed at the divorce papers still clasped in Barry’s hands. “Let me buy you a cup, and we’ll talk terms. Agreed?”
This was not how Barry had planned for his day to end.
But then, several months ago, this wasn’t how he’d planned for his marriage to end either, or where his new life might lead him.
Working as a nanny for a billionaire wasn’t the worst detour.
He stood too. He wished that baby girl well—and her mother. He really did.
“Okay,” Barry said, following Len down the hall, “but I am half-convinced you’re crazy.”
Len flashed his dazzling movie star smile. “Then you already know me better than you think.”
