Changes Are Coming

By: Riley

Summary- Barry reflects on his relationship with his parents, with his fiance, and with his future step-son, wondering what the future has in store for a speedster who can't seem to go a day without getting in some sort of trouble. Deleted scene from Friction.

Barry yawned, rubbing a hand through his hair as he noisily clomped down the steps from his bedroom to the kitchen. He stopped just beside the counter lifting an eyebrow in surprise when he saw Brady slumped over the counter, arms crossed, chin resting against the granite top while Cadence stood at the oven, looking through the glass window on the front at the food bubbling inside.

That wasn't too out of the ordinary. Anytime he was in the apartment they were usually in the kitchen, snacking on something. His metabolism as a speedster, Cadence's literal burning of calories, and Brady's simply growing older mean they spent a lot on food and went through a lot of it within one week alone. It was the look on her face when she spotted him that made him stop.

A 'hold on a minute' look. She needed him to hear something if she didn't alert Brady to him being there as well.

"Just needs a few more minutes," Cadence said, turning to her son, folding her arms over her chest.

Brady shrugged, still resting his chin atop the counter. "No problem, I can totally wait to eat…" He squinted his eyes, gazing at whatever the brown lump in orange sauce was that bubbled within the oven. "Whatever you call it."

"It doesn't have an official name," Cadence said with a smile. "Just a recipe I found online that I wanted to try."

Brady snorted, sitting upright. "Well, since it looks like something a volcano spit up, why don't we call it a lava loaf?" He teased.

Cadence's smile widened. Her gaze flickered to Barry before focusing on her son once more. Barry tilted his head to the side, wondering why he was still waiting there. She lowered her chin, pressing her palms against the counter. She looked at her son for a long moment then said, "Umm, bud, there's something I've been meaning to talk with you-to you-and me—about," she said.

Barry felt himself start to smile. How many times had she made fun of him for his stammering when he was nervous. Now it seemed to rub off on her. For the fire meta who was usually nothing short of calm, cool, and collected, even within the most harrowing situations. It was nice to see her start to falter a little bit. Plus, it was something he could keep in mind if he ever wanted to tease her about something. Still, it wasn't until Barry noticed her start to spin her engagement ring around her finger that Barry understood what was happening.

"Mom, you're stammering," Brady said. He tilted his head, fringe falling into his face. "What's up? Mom's don't stammer unless they have something on their minds."

"Mm, is that so?" Cadence lifted an eyebrow.

"That's how it usually is, yeah," Brady replied. "The last time you stammered, it was when you were trying to tell me that we might've had to move back to Metropolis." He stared his mother down, who appeared equally amused and serious. "And I know how you feel about that."

"Bud, listen to me." Cadence framed her son's face in her hands, holding him still. Brady's eyes widened in surprise, noticing how serious she was. "This is serious, okay?" Brady nodded. Cadence tapped her fingers along the sides of Brady's face, making him laugh.

For a moment, Barry was transported back to when he was a child. When his mother would take days off work when he was sick to sit with him. Even as he grew older and didn't need to be watched as often, Nora Allen would do nothing but dote on her son when he wasn't feeling 100%. The amount of times that Barry found a warm plate of breakfast waiting for him when he woke up, the amount of times she'd sit on the couch with him and watch his favorite musicals over and over with no complaints while running her fingers through his hair.

There were times Barry heard his parents argue, with Henry accusing Nora of coddling their son. But Nora would never back down. She'd say, with quiet determination, "I'm not coddling him, I'm loving him." And his father would back off before the argument would come up again. Nevertheless, Barry enjoyed those times with his mother where it was just the two of them, just as he enjoyed the times when it was just him and his father. But after a certain amount of time he found that it wasn't as easy for him to cuddle up with his father.

It just didn't feel right.

Barry tilted his head, watching Brady. The young boy was going to be a teenager soon and already rejected his mother's attempts to kiss or hug him when he didn't feel in the mood. Barry wondered if Cadence ever felt upset by it or hurt. Growing up with Joe, hugs were always welcome, and Barry didn't every shy away from it. He needed it, honestly. Needed someone to be on his side. Barry really had been that for Brady, as the young boy hadn't known the identity of his birth father until the past year and latched onto Barry as soon as meeting him.

Barry smiled to himself, remembering how Brady had looked at him and, without abandon, started asking him questions and saying how cool it was what he could do as the Flash. (To the point that Barry was sure Cadence was jealous of the attention Brady gave him). The two were as thick as thieves from the beginning, it was, honestly, quiet hard not to become protective of Brady. It had thrown him for a loop when he started to think of him like a son.

Maybe it was the times he watched him slowly become integrated into Team Flash, working on his own powers. He remembered the sense of fear that immediately shot through him when he first heard of Brady developing his powers of phasing. It wasn't too long before or after that his school became a target of metas and lockdowns. Enough so that he could barely go a day without scrolling through his news feed, listening to police scanners, and asked around at the CCPD if anything had been going on.

Maybe, subconsciously, he'd always felt that way. He didn't feel much like an older brother to Brady, had felt a bit more worried to be a friend. Or maybe he'd been projecting his want for his parents onto a little boy who deserved to have both of them?

"How would you feel if Barry and I got married?"

Barry snapped to attention, waiting for Brady's response. He'd been excited when Barry first brought up proposing to his mom, but that was an entirely other thing than when it finally happened. Things became real then. Barry would actually be a permanent fixture in Brady's life, just as Brady and Cadence could be in his. He'd have to think about their safety in and out of the field at every turn when before it was more of a passing thought. They can take care of themselves, he'd always reason. But could they? Really?

Could he really sit back and watch as they got into trouble and got hurt and cried out when an enemy overpowered them and pretended that they were nothing more than his partner and a teammate so that their identities weren't revealed?

Barry held his breath. His fingertips twitched, itched with wondering what was going to happen next. Wondering what Brady was going to say. He looked at Cadence once more, who glanced back at him. She had the same expression of apprehension on her face. Maybe had the same thoughts. It was kismet, he found, that their powers worked together as well as their personalities did.

It was one thing to talk about getting married, to ask his opinion of it in the first place. It was an entire other thing to have it happen for real. He still needed to tell the others, needed to tell Caitlin and Cisco, needed to tell Joe and Iris. Especially Joe and Iris. It was a big thing; and he hadn't thought to tell in the first place because…well, because he knew they'd talk him out of it. He knew they'd think he was rushing into things, that he was trying to fill a void of some sort. Would make him question everything he was working toward.

Barry'd made that mistake before, now he knew it was the right time. They'd worked out their problems, talked about everything that had been bothering them. About their lack of communication. About how hurt he'd been when she said no. About why she'd said no. About everything and now that they were on the same page there…they needed to be on the same page with everything else. And Barry knew how hard it could be, having a new father figure in his life.

"He's not going to be your babysitter, bud," Cadence explained as Brady still didn't respond. "He's not just going to be your friend, either. He's going to be your step-dad. And with everything that comes along with it. And you'll be his son."

"Are we changing our last name?"

Barry smiled. He wasn't surprised it was the first thing Brady would ask about. Nothing having to do with any of the usual worries a kid would have—being forgotten, disciplined, having to share his mom with someone else. Things he would've been worried about—and worried that Brady would feel—had he been in the same situation.

"I haven't decided yet, really," Cadence said. "I kind of like my last name."

"Me too." Brady paused. "Maybe Barry can take ours," he suggested, drawing circles on the counter top with his fingertip.

Cadence smiled to herself. "Barry Nash?" She mulled it over. "It doesn't sound too bad."

"Or Nash-Allen," Brady suggested. "If you want to hyphenate. Maybe push the names together like those super couple names? Nallen?" He made a face then bobbed his head back and forth. "I think it'll grow on me." Cadence laughed. "Do I get to keep my real dad, too?"

"That's usually how it works, bud, yeah, Ryder's not going anywhere."

That was another thing Barry wanted to make sure of, that Ryder didn't think he was trying to take his place. He absolutely hated Joe when he first moved in with the Wests. Hated how Joe was doing his best to take that role in his life when Barry already had a father. He hadn't been murdered by the Man In Yellow, he was just falsely accused. It took Barry time to understand that Joe was working to give him some sort of stability.

Brady, however, was younger than he was. And while Brady had been flung into the world of metahumans in a much more rapid pace than Barry had, he still managed to take everything in stride with a sarcastic remark and curiosity. Though, deep inside, Barry knew he was just as sensitive as Barry had been when he was young.

"Mom, it's great!" Even though Barry could only see half of Brady's face, he saw the young boy was smiling. "You know I think Barry's the best and I'm glad he finally asked. Do you know how long I had to keep that a secret?" Cadence laughed and gave a peaceful smile. Positively beamed at the turn of events. Brady leaned forward and gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek. "And I appreciate you asking me what I think. I mean, how many moms would do that."

Cadence turned to the oven and took out whatever it was that they were having for dinner that day. "Well, your opinion is important to me."

Brady's eyes flickered toward the food in the pan, upper lip curling. "In that case, my opinion is we should toss that lava loaf and cook us up some cheeseburgers." His hopeful smile turned to a disappointed frown when Cadence dropped the pan to the stove top then grabbed dishes from the cabinet.

"Nice try, bud," she said.

"Well, can I least tell Barry I know he's behind me?" Brady asked. He whirled around on the stool and smirked, the side of his mouth turning up. Barry stared at him, stunned. It was funny how Brady's smirk was nearly identical to his mother's mischievous smile. "For someone so smart, you'd think you'd know how to keep me from seeing your reflection."

Barry smiled, laughed, and walked up behind Brady, ruffling his hair. Brady ducked his head away, smoothing his hair back down. "You know this was an ambush, right?"

"I figured that out when I first heard you come down the stairs and didn't zoom in for something to eat," Brady said. He then nodded to his mom. "Plus, you've been wearing that ring for days now, I was just waiting for you to say something."

"Well." Barry licked his lips. "Is…are you…do you have anything else to say?"

Brady smiled. "Finally."

The End