Listen I know I just reblogged this but I immediately rushed to tell @chronicdelusionist about this and together we came up with some additions I’d like to submit for approval:
First off, by an assumption that immediately should be retroactively made correct, it’s not just any old cafe that Len buys: It’s Jitters. This shit’s PERSONAL.
Barry like “that’s. That’s my cafe. What the fuck, Len, you can’t just buy out my cafe” and Len’s like “Funny, when I bought the deed I didn’t see you listed as the owner” and Barry is fuming like “I have been coming here for YEARS, my tips helped pay for Iris’ textbooks all throughout college” and Len’s like “and now your tips help pay for Lisa’s latest shopping spree”.
This is also why Singh sends Barry in, because he’s a regular anyway, right? Barry can’t tell him he has personal beef with the owner and he has to acknowledge the sheer lack of risk involved with him investigating.
Len is an infuriatingly good boss, according to Iris. Literally overnight the baristas’ wages went from tipped minimum wage to like, actually livable wage, plus tips. This could in fact be part of the money laundering but literally no one is ratting Len out now that they have the best fucking part time job they’ve ever worked (as was his plan all along)
Lisa and Mick treat this whole thing as like, you know, just a crime front, but Len takes things hella seriously. He balances the budget, he pours over spreadsheets, he monitors supply and demand, he consults marketing experts and coffee snobs.
He also takes out the competition, by any means necessary. “What can I say, Barry? I’m a fan of iced coffee, and that chain? Let’s just say it was an insult to the name ‘Cold’.” [Internal screaming from Barry]
Iris sees all these tropes taking place, doesn’t realize they’re carefully orchestrated to drive Barry insane, and instead joins the crowd of regulars/employees trying to get them together. “I’m so excited and happy for you, Barr. I mean, it feels like a lot of the time I was the ‘wild child’, y'know? But now you’re the one keeping secrets from Joe and I’m in the loop, heh heh. Don’t worry I won’t tell Dad :)” and Barry is like “Iris I can’t date Leonard Snart he’s a felon” and she’s like “yeah but doesn’t that kind of make it exciting?”
Caitlin and Cisco tentatively broaching the subject after the latest long rant from Barry like “I know this is really frustrating, but like… surely running a coffee shop is better for everyone than, you know… kidnapping people?” And Barry looks at them like 😐
Basically I am down for the AU that is carefully designed to cause the most amount of suffering for Barry Allen possible (no this is not Eobard Thawne’s alt).