Howdy ya'll. How ya' doin'? Whoa, that was seriously Southern, lol. Anyway, I thought I'd do this in honor of Mother's Day and our favorite superhero family (or, well, at least one of them ;P) and thus the result was this. This is yet again, another before powers fic, and I really hope ya' guys all like it. But before you read it, I just want to say a little something about the reason of why I write it.
So, I know that Mother's Day can be really hard for some people. Not all of us have mothers, due to various reasons, and sometimes some of us do, and well, they just might not be the greatest, so it makes the holiday really tough. Especially because so many people are celebrating it, and just constantly reminding us of what we've got or haven't got, and it's just really hard. So this is dedicated to all of those people, and to all of the single parents out there, and really just any mother figure in our lives. We cherish you, and we hope you know how appreciated you are.
That's about it. I just really want people to know that they're not alone; others are struggling, too, and no matter your predicament, don't feel guilty over how you feel. Any pain you feel is important, and don't undermine it. Because you are important.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of this.
Joe always dreaded this time of year.
There were always certain times of the year that seemed to be the hardest for both Barry and Iris. For Barry, the main times were Christmas, his birthday, the anniversary of his mother's death, his parent's anniversary and birthdays, and the one they were currently dealing with: Mother's Day.
The same went for Iris on Mother's Day.
It always seemed to remind them of what they didn't have.
They had been at this for almost two years now; Mother's Day would come around, and Joe would do everything he could to help Barry and Iris feel better, but nothing would work. And try as he might to fill that void, Joe couldn't replace their mothers. He was a single parent trying to raise not only his child, but the son of a murderer.
And he did not regret for even one moment, taking Barry in.
He would never regret it.
But that didn't mean that it didn't bother him that he couldn't take those sullen looks off of their faces and replace them with smiles. So that was why he sighed as he grabbed a shirt from his closet and slid it on over his arms. Today was Mother's Day, and he had decided to take the day off to try and take Barry and Iris's mind off of the fact that neither had their mother anymore.
Joe had spent the better part of the evening prior trying to think of ways to distract them without making it worse. The park was out of the question; he had made that mistake last year.
Basically, other families had decided to go to the park to celebrate Mother's Day. So, Joe had inevitably made the entire situation worse; especially since it was the first Mother's Day that Barry had gone through without his mom. Joe rubbed a hand over his face as he reached for the door knob with his other hand and twisted it until the door opened.
It was a little after seven o'clock in the morning, and considering it was Sunday, he figured that he should have plenty of time to fix breakfast and plan something fun for the day before either of them even woke up.
Especially, considering that the night before Joe had woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of Barry having a nightmare; which had cost all of them to lose some sleep that night. He sighed again as he headed down the steps and towards the kitchen; not expecting the sight that greeted him when he entered the room.
Iris and Barry stood by the stove, visibly arguing about something and undoubtedly not yet noticing his presence in the room. Only then did he notice the slightly pungent smell in the room and slight haze of smoke filling it as well.
"I don't care; it still tastes good." Iris defended as she placed her hands on her hips with a glare settling onto her opponent.
"On what universe?" Barry replied with, causing her to scoff in annoyance and turn her head to the side; suddenly noticing Joe. Her eyes widened almost comically, and Barry frowned, glancing towards where her gaze led, his eyes widening as well, for a split second, before a bright smile lit up both of their faces.
"Dad!" Iris exclaimed, rushing towards him and embracing him. Barry trailed behind, looking enthusiastic but unsure on whether or not to give Joe a hug. Joe smiled, although it was laced with a small frown, wrapping his arms around Iris until she pulled away with an even bigger smile than before. "Happy Mother's Day, dad!" She said, practically beaming with joy as she moved next to Barry.
"What...what is all of this?" He asked, a smile still on his face as he now took in more of his surroundings. Two cards in envelopes laid on the table, next to each other, while the table was also set with a slightly faded white table cloth-he had forgotten they even had that old thing-with a plate of what appeared to be slightly burned pancakes siting in the middle of it.
"It's Mother's Day, so we decided to celebrate you." Iris started to explain.
"Yeah, and we decided to call it Parent's Day, considering you take care of us just like a father or mother would." Barry finished, a shy smile tugging at his lips, and Joe couldn't even try to stop the large grin that spread onto his face.
"You two sure are something," He declared, ignoring the prick of tears against his eyes as he bent down and pulled both of them in for a tight hug; relishing in the moment. As they both pulled away, they both looked at him with a hopeful smile.
"So you like it?" Iris asked and Joe laughed.
"I love it." He declared, ruffling her hair, to which she pulled away with an annoyed look.
"Dad. That's something you're supposed to do to a boy," She declared and he chuckled.
"Alright, then," Joe said, turning to ruffle Barry's hair before the boy quickly pulled away, but not fast enough.
"Joe," Barry said, sounding annoyed, although the smile on his face gave away what he truly felt. Joe chuckled lightly, standing back to his full height and gesturing towards the meal on the table.
"What's this?"
"Pancakes that Iris burnt." Barry said and Iris glared at him heatlessly.
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have had to have burn these if it weren't for you spilling the first batch of batter on the floor." Iris defended, and Joe looked at Barry, whose cheeks turned bright red and he looked down.
"Sorry," Barry said, and Joe sighed in fond amusement, before patting his shoulder and sitting down at the table.
"As long as you cleaned it up, I don't mind." Joe said, and at that Barry's face lightened back up as he took a seat at the table along with Iris.
"Well, at least I didn't drop the second batch of pancakes on the floor like someone," Barry said, sending a glance at Iris whose face portrayed a look of betrayal.
"Hey, I thought we agreed on not telling him about those."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have had to have if you hadn't mentioned that about the first batch." Barry defended, and Joe shook his head with a smile of fond exasperation.
"Alright, you two, that's enough." Joe said, efficiently stopping the both of them. Iris simply set one last glare in Barry's direction, to which he responded with a small eye roll, but Joe knew that there was no heat in either exchange.
"You get the first one, dad," Iris said, to which he complied, hiding a slight grimace at the blackened side of the pancake. What exactly had happened while he had been asleep?
"So, how many batches, exactly, did you make?" He questioned, and Barry must have caught on to what Joe meant by that, because he spoke up first.
"Don't worry, we threw the second batch away, but we sort of got...distracted...when this one was cooking." Barry explained sheepishly, not quite meeting Joe's eyes.
"What he means by that, is that we overflowed your coffee pot." Iris said, and Joe's eyes widened, glancing over to his coffee pot that was now in the sink. "But, we did manage to salvage a cup of it," Iris said, and a small, sheepish smile filled both of their faces as Joe glanced towards the mug in front of him filled to the brim with black coffee.
"See? A cup of joe for Joe..." Iris said, a slight grimace/smile on her face and Joe found himself chuckling while simultaneously shaking his head.
"It's the thought that counts, right?" Barry asked, and Joe grinned as he looked at the both of them.
"I love you guys," He declared, and watched as those bright smiles returned to their faces.
"We love you, too, dad." Iris stated joyfully, and Barry nodded in reply. Barry and Iris each took turns taking pancakes from the stack; light teasing being thrown back and forth between them as they did so.
Half of it Joe didn't understand, but he supposed that he just would have had to have been there when they were making the pancakes. He was pleasantly surprised by the taste; not that he had been expecting them to taste bad, but the way they were black on one side, he was a little unsure.
The entire meal consisted of Iris talking excitedly about something at school, Barry casually eating his meal, chiming in with Iris every once in a while, and Joe trying to keep up with the both of them. Once the meal was finished, Joe stood up to start taking care of the dishes, but was stopped by both Barry and Iris.
"Uh-uh, dad, we're going to do that while you just sit there and rest. You do so much work all of the time, and I feel like we don't say it enough, but thank you." Iris said, and Joe felt his heart twist in bittersweetness.
"It really means a lot. And we know that it can't be easy having to be both parents for us, but...you do a really good job." Barry said quietly, another shy smile playing with his lips. Ignoring the tears that stung his eyes once more, he motioned for them to come closer as he spoke.
"Oh, get over here, you two." Joe said, and they both laughed as they hugged him. They pulled away a few moments later, and Joe wished for a split second that it didn't have to end, before Iris suddenly spoke.
"Oh! You've got to open your cards!" Iris exclaimed, and Joe chuckled at her enthusiasm. Joe reached over to grab the envelopes, somehow missing the silent exchange between the two of them, but not quite noticing Barry leave the room, only to return a few moments later holding a small paper-wrapped box in his hands.
"Happy Parent's Day, Joe..." Barry said holding out the small box in his hands for Joe to take. Joe reached to take it, shaking his head lightly in fondness.
"You guys," He said, and no, his voice did not crack. But judging by the happy look Barry and Iris exchanged, he knew that they had noticed it. He opened Iris's card first, smiling at the homemade card, before opening it up and reading it.
Dear dad, I know that you do a lot of work for us, and we don't thank you enough, so; thank you. You're the best parent I could ever ask for, and I really appreciate you. Love you and happy Parent's Day! :)
Love, Iris.
By the time Joe finished, there was no denying the tears in his eyes. He looked up, meeting Iris's joyful eyes, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer; kissing her on the forehead before letting you go.
"I love you, baby girl," He declared, and she beamed in reply as she pulled back. Barry handed Joe the next card, and yes, Joe noticed the slightly worried look that filled Barry's eyes. Joe took it with a small smile, opening the envelope to a very cleanly made card.
Dear Joe; I know that you aren't my real father, but in the time since you have taken me in, you have made me feel as if you were. I know that we disagree often, and sometimes that causes quite a rift between us, but I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. Without you taking me in, my life would be so much different, and I know that it wouldn't be anywhere as good. So thank you, and happy Parent's Day.
Sincerely, Barry.
This time, Joe couldn't help the watery smile that tugged at his lips, or the way tears filled his eyes even more. Barry looked on hopefully, and Joe didn't waste even a moment before he was pulling Barry into a hug. "I love you, kid," Joe said, and he felt Barry's arm wrap around him briefly, before he pulled away with just a hint of tears in his eyes.
"I love you, too, Joe." Barry said, a smile lighting up his face. Iris then handed him the present again, and they both watched as he opened it up; a smile on their faces as they waited anxiously. As soon as Joe opened up the box, he couldn't help the smile that spread onto his face; somehow enlarging the one that was already there.
"I love it." He declared, pulling out the brown leather wallet, that had his name engraved on the bottom right.
"The other day you were talking about how you needed a new one, so we thought..." Iris trailed off, gesturing towards the wallet. Joe smiled.
"You two are the best kids ever," Joe stated, pulling them both in for one more long hug, before releasing them. He wasn't sure what was said next, only that Iris and Barry started lightly arguing on who would do the dishes, and who would dry them, resulting with them each taking turns about halfway through, and Iris splashing Barry with dish water, and then Barry returning the favor.
Joe laughed at their antics, before announcing that they would be heading to the skating rink once they were done.
This...this was not how he had expected the day to go. But he wouldn't have had it change in any way. Even though they had been brought together in the most tragic of ways, he wouldn't trade it for anything. These kids were his life.
And today showed him that he was their's.
I really hope that you liked this. This week was really tough for me, and while I won't go into detail, let's just say that not being alone helps me to feel better about everything. And if you ever need to talk, I'm willing to be that person for you to talk to, or to be the shoulder you lean on. I will always listen and I won't judge, so don't worry about that. Just know that I am here.
Until next time when we meet. :)