The Sky Was Blue

 

Berenice “Barry” Allen was no stranger to romance, even if it was rare for her, but this was…ridiculous.

 

“Oliver Queen, you and Felicity are totally deflecting,” Barry told the billionaire dryly.

 

The handsome blond gave a slight uplift of his mouth, not enough to qualify for a smile but enough to be something. And it was a very hard-earned ‘something’ thank you very much, considering how initially aggressive he had been towards her in the beginning.

“What? I can’t think you are pretty?” he asked her in amusement. “And if Felicity thinks so too, then we’re right and you shouldn’t be so misgiven about it.”

 

“You two have feelings for each other,” Barry declared. “And you two keep dancing around each other.”

 

“She danced with you and said she liked you at the Queen Consolidation function,” Oliver pointed out, taking a sip of his wine.

 

She gave him a sour look.

 

“And I like you,” Oliver admitted. “You’re spunky and determined. You’re also funny and witty, intelligent and clear-headed, but still emotional and sweet.”

 

If that didn’t get Barry red in the face…

 

“You get along with the others and fit in well with the group,” Oliver mused. “You know…you could stay here. With us.” He leaned in closer, speaking in a whisper. “The Arrow could use someone like you. And the others love having you around. What do you say, Barry?”

 

Barry could only look at him in dumbfounded shock. Never in a million years would she have expected Oliver to offer something like this, and she could admit the offer was tempting.

 

“And if it’s about your job –the one you might lose if you don’t get back to Central City, I’m sure I can get you transferred here, or hired if you end up losing your job before I can get that transfer,” Oliver went another step further.

 

While Barry almost felt like gaping, she kept herself together. “I really appreciate the offer, Oliver,” she said shyly. “And I would love to accept it any other time. I just don’t think I’m ready to leave my family and Central City yet. Maybe…maybe later on, if the offer’s still open, I wouldn’t mind thinking about it again. But right now, I’m not comfortable staying too far from my family.”

 

He nodded, smiling grimly at her. “Offer’s always open to you, Barry. Whenever you feel ready, there’s always room for you with the group.”

 

Barry gave him a lighter grin, and the two of them switched topic and continued their dinner.

 

Not too long after, Oliver personally took her to the train station and dropped her off, making sure she got on safely and waited until the train took off. From there, she dozed off and wondered how she was going to explain this away to Joe…

 

Unfortunately, the ride wasn’t long enough in her eyes, and by the time she was back in Central City, she saw it was starting to become morning with the vestiges of orange light creeping into the cabin she was staying in. She got a call around the time the train finally stopped (just after she finally turned her phone on), and she looked at her phone in dread, seeing who was calling.

 

“Hey, Joe…” she answered in a halfhearted tone.

 

“Don’t ‘Hey, Joe’ me, Barry! What were you thinking?” her guardian’s voice sounded loudly from the other side.

 

She winced. “Um…I was looking into a lead…”

 

“A lead? What in the world are you talking about? You’re CSI and there wasn’t a case you needed to be on, especially with a detective to partner with!” Ohh, he sounded really aggravated. This was not looking good for her at all.

 

“Ahaha, it’s quite the story actually –”

 

“Barry,” Joe said warningly.

 

Barry sighed. “Okay, okay. I was looking into a lead about one of those ‘impossible phenomena’ cases I like looking into. It was important.”

 

“To who?” Joe barked out.

 

“To me,” she pursed her lips. “I needed to look into it. I just…needed to.”

 

Joe let out a breath, still sounding aggravated. “Okay, fine. I won’t push it,” he reluctantly said. “Where are you right now?”

 

“I’m leaving the train station,” she noticed. “Why?”

 

“Head straight to the station. You’ve got work to do, remember? Plus, Singh wants to see you.”

 

Oh, that did not bode well for her. At all.

 

“I’ll tell him I needed you to get something for me,” he tried to be helpful, softening a bit. It always was hard to stay upset at Barry.

 

“It’s alright,” Barry grumbled. “I got him. Don’t worry about it, Joe.”

 

Then again, she felt really confident about that this time.

 

So when she walked into the station that morning, it was only starting to get busy. She saw Joe, who gave her a look but gestured towards Captain Singh’s office with his head. Giving him a feeble smile, Barry braced herself before she stalked forward and entered the Captain’s office, knowing she was going to get a lecture.

 

She wasn’t wrong about that. Her ears were still ringing after. She grimaced, though she cowered back at Singh’s glower.

 

“So what do you have to say for yourself, Allen?” he demanded.

 

“Nothing,” she mumbled. But then she straightened up and shook her phone. “Though I do have a very nice close up of The Arrow that you and your boyfriend can have,” she smiled widely.

 

Singh paused and looked at her in consideration. “You know, bribery’s illegal…”

 

She inwardly smirked smugly. “Bribery? Who said anything about bribery? I mean, I also have great shots of Oliver Queen, since I got to meet him and all...”

 

Singh rolled his eyes. “Oh, fine. You’re off the hook. Just head up to your lab and get straight into work, you felon. Now give me those pictures. Rob’ll enjoy them too, probably get me points to make up for working so much,” he muttered that last part.

 

Effectively succeeding, Barry used her phone to send the pictures (minus some selfies she took with Oliver and the gang, and of which others were taken by someone else for her). Singh grinned, satisfied as he shifted through the pictures on his email.

 

“Excellent, Allen,” Singh approved. “Maybe I should send you over to Gotham, see if your luck can get some good shots of Bruce Wayne.”

 

Barry just kept grinning, though secretly she wouldn’t mind that. There was a whole lot of strangeness going on over there, though she knew the city was extremely one of (if not the most) dangerous cities in the world. She supposed Gotham was lucky to have Batman, even though she heard that he was even worse than The Arrow…

 

“By the way, while you were gone, we got a new transfer. Actually, he’s been here at least a week and a half, but you’re always holed up in your lab,” Singh snorted. “Some of the guys mentioned you, so he’s been asking about you. Just a heads up, in case you run into him or something.”

 

Barry nodded absentmindedly, waving as she left. She greeted a few of the others, most specifically Detective Chyre, who she knew through Joe.

 

“Hey, you. Get the third degree from Joe and Singh?” Chyre snickered, though he gave a sympathetic look.

 

“Joe, sort of but only temporarily,” she grinned. “Singh…nah. I buttered him up with photos I shot of The Arrow and Oliver Queen.”

 

Chyre chuckled at that, reaching over and ruffling her hair. “Good on you. I’ll let you get to work, while I search for that partner of mine. Your foster dad’s been driving me crazy while you were off in Starling City.”

 

She ducked away from his hand, sticking out her tongue. “See you later, Fred! Don’t strangle Joe!”

 

Barry headed towards the stairs, about to head up into her lab, when she was stopped by a very handsome man, blond hair and green-blue eyes that worked well with the nice smile he had on, and who had put his hand on her shoulder.

 

“Sorry, Miss. But no civilians are allowed in this area,” even though he sounded charming as well, Barry could feel herself bristling.

 

There was chuckling and snickers around them, and Barry felt her face heat up and was probably very red. She scowled heavily at the stranger, who looked confused at the reactions of his new colleagues.

 

“I do work here,” Barry glared. “So please move aside. You’re blocking the way to my work area.”

 

She pushed him aside, and she admitted she was probably rougher than she should have been, but she was irritated and embarrassed. She was probably stomping up the stairs too.

 

Barry really hated the fact she had such a baby face.

 

~*~*~

 

She was looking through a microscope when she was interrupted by a knock on her wall. She reluctantly peeled away from the microscope and looked up, seeing the man from earlier and who she could guess was the new transfer that Singh had told her about. Immediately, her lips turned into a frown.

 

“Yes? Is there something I can do for you?” she asked sharply, causing a wince from the man, that she saw easily.

 

He held up a familiar cup from a familiar coffee place. “Chocolate mocha latte? I heard it was your favorite.”

 

After observing him intently for a few more tense moments, she held out her hand and twitched her fingers. He strode forward and she had to again admire his handsomely cut face and noted additionally that he had a lean body.

 

“Hi,” he said nervously. “Can we start over? I’m Eddie. Er, Detective Eddie Thawne, newly transferred from Keystone. You’re Barry Allen, right?”

 

Feeling self-conscious now, Barry jerked her head into a nod. “I am. Um, it’s nice meeting you, Detective Thawne. Thank you for the drink, but I do have to get back to work now.”

 

“Ah, right,” Eddie, as she couldn’t help calling him in her head, gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry for interrupting your work. And sorry about earlier! I just hadn’t met you until now, and I didn’t know what you looked like, despite everyone else telling me about you.”

 

Not knowing that everyone had, Barry could feel herself get embarrassed again. “It’s really alright, I suppose. It’s my fault too –Captain Singh told me you’ve been here awhile and I’ve been holed up in here to really notice or pay attention to anything outside of my lab.”

 

He flashed her another smile that made her blush faintly. “I completely understand, Barry. Allen. Er, Barry Allen. Actually, what do you want me to call you?”

 

This time her faint blush grew darker and she was sure he could see it. “Barry is fine,” she blurted out, before mentally face palming.

 

What, no! She should’ve said Allen! Everyone at work called her that, minus Joe and Chyre –Joe was her foster father and Chyre was his partner, who knew him and her for a long time now, so they didn’t really count.

 

But then he gave another one of those lovely smiles of his again, and she shut her brain up.

 

“Okay, Barry. It was great finally meeting you, though not at first. Well that was my fault, not yours! Not that it wasn’t lovely meeting you at all –that meeting was just horrible. But I finally got to see you. Not that I had been expecting to meet you right away –um, yeah. I’m just going to shut up now,” he rambled, before cutting himself off. “I’ll just leave you to your work now. See you later then, Barry!”

 

He practically turned tail and ran off. She blinked, but she couldn’t help smiling and giggling to herself slightly.

 

Eddie Thawne was funny. And cute. Really cute.

 

~*~*~

 

Eddie couldn’t help but want to slam his head against something. That was horrible. Completely horrible.

 

First he embarrassed himself in front of his colleagues. Worse that he had embarrassed himself in front of the pretty girl he saw, who he had also embarrassed. And he’d also embarrassed the notorious Barry Allen, after finding out and figuring who the pretty girl was, and who he had been looking forward to meeting and introducing himself to.

 

Second, his apology had gone so well…up until he started rambling like an idiot at the end. He was disappointed that his lasting first impression on her had probably been of an idiot.

 

Truth was, in the time he’d been in Central City, a lot of his co-workers had talked about the young girl who served as a brilliant CSI in their police department. Despite being young, she was extremely intelligent and one of the best, if not their best. She was also, as they had teased, a baby-faced adult. Despite being 24, she still looked as young as somewhere in her teens and didn’t look like she worked as a CSI for the police. She was also habitually late to everything, tended to daydream at times, and adored Lord of the Rings and other geeky paraphernalia. She also had a blog about strange phenomena, things the complete opposite of science and seemingly unlike her, what with her chosen career.

 

Eddie had looked forward to meeting the unusual but very interesting young woman. Somehow, though, he just never managed to run across her. And then there was today.

 

He’d been close to the stairs when he caught sight of a pretty brunette heading up them, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and looking too casual to belong there. She looked really young, but he could also see that she had pretty hazel eyes that went well on her oval-shaped face. Despite ‘knowing’ she was a civilian and that she shouldn’t be in that area, he couldn’t help but want to approach her for more personal reasons, given that he could admit he was attracted from the get go.

 

And then he had found out that she was the Barry Allen he’d looked so forward to meeting (and who he didn’t expected to look like this), who he had just embarrassed in front of the entire station, and had accidentally exacerbated her “fresh face” problem at work. Way to go, Eddie. Good job.

 

Not only was she someone he’d been impressed and intrigued by through stories alone, he now had a face to match the character who he had heard so much about. And it was a “face” that he admitted was really pretty and all in all, Barry had been someone he was immediately attracted to. To be honest, probably even before he’d come face to face with her.

 

But then he blew it and now he felt so, so, so stupid –

 

“How’d it go? Well, by the look on your face, not so well,” Chyre shook his head, clapping his shoulder in sympathy.

 

“Oh my God, I looked like such an idiot, and I made an ass of myself. Again,” Eddie started remembering his embarrassing exit and groaned. “She probably thinks I’m just a muscle-head cop.”

 

“A muscle-head, pretty boy cop,” Chyre quipped, earning a glare from the blond. “Don’t worry about it, kid,” he added, grinning. “Barry won’t hold it against you, and will probably even forget about it come same time tomorrow.”

 

Eddie hoped so. For some reason, he really felt awful with the thought that she might brush him off and think he was just some pretty, empty-headed cop.

 

~*~*~

 

As the week went by, Eddie came to work, bearing gifts for the young CSI. He got himself a regular coffee, and brought along her usual latte and a blueberry muffin (Singh, actually, was the one to clue him in of what were her favorite pastries and stuff –apparently anything with blueberry is a go). Though she looked confused, she accepted them with a small smile and he managed to initiate some small talk before she and him had to get back to work. Things seem to look up for him, after that disastrous first meeting and first impression of himself.

 

“So…” he heard Chyre mutter to him from where the man sat at his desk. Eddie’s own desk needed some minor organization, so he should get to work on that now… “You, uh, go to see Barry a lot, huh?”

 

Eddie turned to him in confusion. “Yes, I guess. Is something wrong? I didn’t think that would be a problem.”

 

Chyre coughed slightly, glancing at Joe West for some reason. But the African American man was busy shifting through some papers.

 

“You like her, don’t you?” the older man asked him frankly. Eddie’s answering face said it all. “Look, you seem like a good kid,” Chyre started out. “Just…try not to get too close to Barry. Or at least don’t make it obvious to Joe about it.”

 

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s West have to do with anything?”

 

“Everything,” Chyre told him dryly. “He’s just the man who raised her after all.”

 

Eddie’s head sharply turned towards Joe, who he watched warily and tried to stamp down on the alarm he began to feel. But, as he glanced at the stairs, Eddie couldn’t help but feel this was worth facing the wrath of a cop father.

 

“Yeah, well, I’m good,” Eddie said sincerely. “Barry’s a sweet girl. I like her.”

 

Chyre chortled lowly. “Yeah, she’s sweet as berries!”

 

Eddie scrunched up his nose. “Ugh, don’t say that. She hates puns on her name.”

 

Chyre gave him a look of amusement, finding it funny how he already knew something like that about Barry.

 

“Yeah, you’ll do alright, kid. Just watch out for Joe and good luck with dealing with him and Barry’s obliviousness and social ineptness. You’re gonna need it.”

 

Chyre went back to work on the papers he’d been working on, while Eddie couldn’t help glancing back at the stairs. He excused himself, ignoring Chyre’s quick knowing glance at him, and headed towards them.

 

If he was being honest, Barry Allen wasn’t his usual type. But there was just something about her that drew him to her, and that he seemed to really like. And, well, he found that he liked and connected with her, much more than he ever had with anyone else, including the women he thought of as his type and had dated.

 

And as he heard the quiet voice of Enya in May It Be, a smile tugged at his lips as he recognized the familiar soundtrack playing in the background. He entered the lab, not surprised to see Barry humming along as she continued to write on a piece of paper.

 

“So, I’m guessing you’re looking forward to the second Hobbit movie?”

 

He nearly laughed as she practically jumped in her seat, though he held it in at her glare. But it melted off her face in favor of a blush, which he liked much better. She tucked in a stray strand of hair behind her ear, though he wished he could have done it.

 

“I am,” she had a small smile playing on her lips. “I’m rereading the book right now for it. Dorky, I know.”

 

“Not at all,” Eddie said as he came closer. “Sometimes it’s good to refresh your memory or to just enjoy a favorite novel.”

 

Her beaming face made him feel butterflies in his stomach.

 

“I’ve only seen the movies, though I should start reading the books if you seem to like them so much that you reread them often. They must be good,” he mused aloud. He flashed her a smile. “But we’ll have to watch the second Hobbit film together. If you don’t mind, that is.”

 

Barry’s small smile turned shy. “That would be nice.”

 

Ah well. Joe West will just have to get used to him being around, because there’s no way he could stay away now.

 

~*~*~

 

Eddie was invited along to go with Joe and Chyre to a robbery site. Apparently, as he listened attentively, the teller identified Clyde Mardon and he heard Chyre express his exasperation that the Mardon brothers were back. He’d heard of them, even back in Keystone.

 

Just then Singh came over and asked them for specifics. Joe was quick to report, but even Eddie had to wince when Singh asked about CSI going over the site. Barry, as he learned, really was tardy-prone and nothing could cure her of it.

 

“Uh, no,” Joe reluctantly answered the Captain, and they saw Singh exasperatedly look up.

 

“Where’s Allen?” he grumbled. The Captain frowned at Joe. “You can’t keep covering for her. If she doesn’t show up now, we’re going to have to carry on this investigation without her –”

 

“CSI, COMING THROUGH!” they heard a familiar voice holler, and they saw a winded Barry pushing through the crowd and stumble towards them, lugging her CSI kit with her.

 

“Late. Again, Allen. What’s your excuse this time? It better be better than the last one, considering you said you had car trouble and we all know you don’t own a car,” Singh gave Barry a glare.

 

“She was running an errand for me,” Joe interrupted, giving Barry a look.

 

Barry opened her mouth, looking at Joe hesitantly. “Yeeesss,” she stretched out, before fumbling into her pockets and pulled out a half-finished chocolate bar. “Um, I had a few bites.”

 

Eddie couldn’t help the odd noise he made in his throat. It was so obvious, but thankfully Singh let it go and Joe gestured over to the bordered off tire tracks, which Barry was quick to scurry over to. He watched as Barry lay on her front on the ground, looking over the tracks in concentration. He was curious as to what Barry was doing and thinking, and wanted to see how she worked, especially outside of her lab.

 

“Getaway car’s a Mustang Shelby GT500,” Barry stated as fact, getting up from the ground. Eddie’s eyebrows flew up, wondering how she knew that and was so sure. “Shelby’s have a rear super-wide tire specific to that model, 12 inches with an asymmetrical tread.”

 

Oh, he was impressed. Really impressed. And that she seem to really know her cars was really cool.

 

“And there’s something else,” she continued, heading over to them. She headed over to Chyre and was about to pluck out his pen, when Eddie held out his.

 

“Here, you can use mine,” he gave her a quick smile.

 

She gave a quirky grin before she headed back to the tire tracks and bent down, using the pen to pick at something on the ground and dig it up. She sniffed at it before recoiling slightly.

 

“Fecal excrement. Animal, I’d guess.”

 

“Good thing she didn’t use my pen,” Chyre grumbled. “My dad gave it to me before he died.”

 

Eddie just hid his wince, glad it was just a cheap pen that had come in a pack.

 

~*~*~

 

Barry was working hard to process everything, a little bummed that she was probably going to miss the particle accelerator unveiling. But work was work, and she had to do her job.

 

With good timing, Iris –her best friend and foster sister –came into the lab.

 

“I’m ready to go, Berrykins! Let’s go see the atom smasher smashing!”

 

“Iris,” Barry groaned. “You know I hate the fruit puns on my name.” It was why when she had her name shortened, she was sure to make the ‘e’ be an ‘a’ so it wouldn’t be ‘Berry’ with an e. “And I have to process some evidence for Joe. Robbery went down, seems urgent that the culprits get caught.”

 

Iris frowned. “I know this really meant a lot to you. Wasn’t it your nerdy little dream to see this thing?” she teased Barry.

 

Barry shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “Well, you know –Hey! Those are my fries!”

 

Iris snickered, sneaking another one into her mouth. “I want to graduate like now. This dissertation is driving me up the wall and ruining my figure.”

 

Barry scoffed. “You look as amazing as ever, Iris.”

 

“What’s so great about this particle accelerator anyway?” Iris asked, and regretted it immediately as Barry went off. She just let her go on though. She was cute when she was like this.

 

Barry though, knew she had geeked out on Iris and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

 

“You need to get laid,” Iris raised an eyebrow, and stuffed another fry into her mouth. Barry snatched them away and put it at a distance from the other girl. “Or at least a boyfriend. How about Detective Pretty Boy?”

 

“Detective Pretty Boy?” Barry echoed in confusion.

 

“Yeah, that’s what Dad calls him. Can’t remember his name,” Iris shrugged.

 

Barry thought about it. There was one person she could think fit that description, and not just because she thought he was. Nope. Besides, there were a few other officers who’d said that nickname…

 

“Er, Eddie? I think Joe might be talking about Detective Eddie Thawne.”

 

Iris wagged her eyebrows. “Eddie, huh? Already on first name basis with the guy?”

 

“W-what? It doesn’t mean anything!” she replied shrilly.

 

“Mean what? What doesn’t mean anything?” Joe asked, entering the room.

 

“Nothing!” Barry practically screamed, her face turning red as Iris snickered again.

 

There was a ping! from her computer and Barry went to it, grinning as she got the results. She basically explained what she’d thought and had also found out, and Joe happily let her go with Iris to STAR Labs while he went to go follow the lead she’d provided.

 

~*~*~

 

If Barry was practically vibrating in excitement, it wasn’t like she could help it. She was extremely excited being there and getting to see the particle accelerator. And then there was Dr. Wells, whom she idolized and had always wanted to meet –well, she wasn’t going to meet him, but she was at least going to see him up close.

 

“So…talk to me about boys,” Iris laughed lightly, linking her arm around one of Barry’s. “Like that Detective Pretty Boy you seem so…flustered about.”

 

“I’m not flustered,” Barry griped. “Eddie doesn’t…fluster me. I mean, he’s nice. And sweet. And he likes to bring me my favorite Jitters drink and whatever blueberry confection is there.”

 

“Aw,” Iris smiled widely. “My sweet, little Blue Barry is growing up ~”

 

Barry rolled her eyes, swatting at Iris’ head. Iris giggled, dodging but still not letting go of Barry. Still, she smiled a little sadly and leaned into her, causing Barry to get uneasy.

 

“But seriously. Don’t be so afraid, Barry. You should get out there. I just want to see you happy, and I want nothing more than for you to find someone to make you happy and smile. You deserve that,” Iris squeezed Barry’s arm.

 

Barry smiled awkwardly, though she felt touched. “Thanks, Iris. You’re the best.”

 

“You know I am,” the other female winked at her. “Now come on. It’s starting!”

 

And then Barry was watching Dr. Wells come onto the stage, and Barry felt her breath catch in her throat. He was right there, in front of her, and if she had a starstruck expression on her face, she couldn’t help it. This was Harrison Wells, someone who she had admired greatly for the longest time. It was just as much a dream come true to be this close to him, as it was being there and seeing the particle accelerator.

 

“Your expression is so dreamy right now,” Iris deadpanned, poking Barry’s cheek. “You obviously have a crush on the guy.”

 

“So?” Barry hummed, rather dazed. “It’s a celebrity crush. Those are normal. Everyone has those.”

 

Iris snorted, but she wasn’t paid any attention to, especially as Dr. Wells began to speak. And he had such a lovely voice too. Very smooth, very articulate…Hell, if Intelligence had a voice, it would be his…

 

For a moment, his eyes (so wonderfully blue) connected with hers, and she could’ve sworn she felt a jolt lightning running through her. And she was so sure he was looking at her, despite the fact it was more probable that his gaze was just directed at the crowd. Yet, somehow it felt magical all the same…

 

And then some jerk pushed passed Iris and her, taking Iris’ bag.

 

Cursing under her breath, she didn’t think twice before running after him, especially after Iris exclaiming in dismay about how her dissertation was in it. So Barry chased after the thief, before realizing that she was missing the rest of Dr. Wells’ speech and the event because of this. So alongside her upset for Iris and theft of her belongings…

 

“How dare you! You ruined my night, you jerk!” she screeched, and pushed her legs to move faster to catch the guy.

 

Seeing that, the guy also desperately ran faster. At around a corner, unfortunately, Barry ran into him and got a face full of Iris’ bag as the thief hit her with it. She didn’t let that deter her, still keeping in mind that she missed out on Dr. Wells’ speech, and got back up, only for the thief to panic and hit her in the stomach with the bag. He ran off and Barry struggled to get back on her feet, deciding she needed to take a shortcut. He was not getting away, especially after what he did.

 

When was she ever going to see Dr. Wells deliver another speech in person ever again?

 

Meanwhile, the thief had managed to find a dead end, though it was with a fence that he could climb over. Which he did quickly, only to run into a blond cop and he had to concede defeat. Then he heard –

 

“GO TO HELL, YOU BASTARD!” before he was tackled from the side and landed on the asphalt violently.

 

Eddie Thawne was the detective arresting him, only to be blindsided by this new turn of events, gaping more so when he realized the attacker was none other than Barry Allen.

 

“Barry?”

 

She looked up from the rather vicious glare she was giving the thief, finally noticing him. She blushed and waved slightly, aware that she was still lying somewhat on top of the thief.

 

“E-Eddie?”

 

“Fuck you, guys,” the thief groaned, trying to lift his head once before giving up.

 

He was ignored while Eddie and Barry looked at each other awkwardly.

 

“Haha, funny meeting you here,” Barry laughed uncomfortably.

 

“Is this a dream?” Eddie asked, confused as hell.

 

“Nope. Hurts too much,” the thief interjected grumpily.

 

Barry shrugged.

 

“He ruined my night and made me miss Dr. Wells’ speech,” she harshly patted the guy’s chest.

 

As if that explained everything.

 

“I’m…sorry,” the thief groaned again. “Really, I am.”

 

When Barry glared down at the man again, Eddie thought it was probably time to save the thief before Barry decided to murder him and make Eddie an accomplice by helping her hide the body.

 

~*~*~

 

“You’ll get your bag back after, you know, it processes through evidence and all,” Barry said as she held a napkin to her nose.

 

“Thanks, Blue Barry,” Iris hugged her. “You really didn’t have to. Although…I heard about what happened. Poor guy.”

 

“He deserved it,” Barry muttered, pouting a little.

 

Iris laughed at her pout. “Yeah, sure. Anyway…so that’s Detective Pretty Boy?” She whistled. “Nice. He is pretty. A little weird with the whole ‘counting arrests’ thing and being strange about being this proud over catching a mugger, but whatever. Whatever floats your boat. Plus, he was oh so worried about you,” Iris grinned like a cat with a canary. “When he heard you were all hurt and all. Rushed to get you a napkin since your nose started to bleed, and wanted to get you ice for your stomach.”

 

Barry grunted. “He’s just being nice. As for being all proud and all, Eddie’s just overly eager on the job. Especially with the ‘counting arrests.’ It’s a ‘one more number for the law, and not another miss.’”

 

“Aw, already defending him –”

 

“Hello, Ladies,” Eddie came over, smiling warmly. He turned to Barry. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t need an EMT or anything?”

 

Barry’s face flushed red, more so since she knew Iris was watching the whole thing and probably grinning weirdly.

 

“I-I’m fine, Eddie, thanks,” Barry stuttered. “I’m just going to go to my lab now! Things to do, evidence to pour over! You know, the usual!”

 

Barry practically ran away.

 

At the point where she finally reached her stairs, she looked back and saw Eddie still watching. He gave a smile and a wave, with Iris still next to him and watching him and then her in amusement. Barry waved quickly and rushed away again.

 

Once in her lab, she got to work on some minor things that weren’t really needed to be done so soon. After a while, she noticed there was a storm building. She frowned but ignored it, turning on the TV to have some background noise.

 

She sighed unhappily when she noticed that the STAR Labs particle accelerator event was on right then, and she wished she was still there and wasn’t missing it right now. But then the news was talking about the particle accelerator becoming unstable and she worried, and she looked outside to see a horrible lightshow as the storm grew furious. A split second as the storm raged above her and she tried her best to get to the chains that would close her ceiling windows, and she turned slightly to see the liquid in some of her test tubes float into the air.

 

The glass above her shattered, lightning came, and she saw nothing but light before she saw nothing at all.