It was a pretty dead night for a Friday. Apart from the two guys sitting on the bar stalls, staring into their drinks, and the group of girls in the corner messing about and drinking and giggling ,probably playing truth or dare because Caitlin saw one girl make out with the other not more than a few minutes ago - the place was quiet. It was only 8pm so it was possible that the place could suddenly fill up because no one was going to give away a chance to drink on happy hours,although,She was praying it wouldn't so She could go home early.
She was in charge tonight as the other bartender ,Alex , was away for the weekend with his boyfriend.
As she stood behind the bar, absentmindedly wiping over beer glasses, her attention was drawn to the door as it swung open and it looked like an entire truck of old men.
Veterans.
Great.
She won't be going home anytime soon,not with a bunch of ex marines calling in whiskers upon whiskeys and drowning in stories of the old daysZ
They stumbled in and made their way over to the tables next to the group of guys in the back.
Making themselves quite comfortable round three large eight westerns ,each one began giving the poor waiter ,Sarah ,a hundred and one items to go.
Caitlin sighed and opened four bottles of Jack and began pouring them out onto pint glasses arranged neatly on trays.
"Six rounds ,two Balkans and around thousand shots of whiskey"
"Two glasses of Balkan or…"
"Bottles.they're gonna down our stock" Sarah sighed and propped up onto the counter ,picking up two bottles of Balkan from the shelf and a bucket of ice.
"At least these men pay" Sarah sighed in a half smile half irritated manner.
~Somewhere else-
It has been three days since Barry's rescue from the speedforce and the revelation that 'Samuroid' was a robot.
It had also been three days since Barry decided he and Iris weren't a thing anymore
He wanted to be that guy. Her guy.
He wanted the pain to just go away, but that was how this whole mess started, wasn't it?
He wanted to be there for every kiss, every secret smile, and every tear. For every time she would bite her lip in concentration, or every time her eyes would sparkle when she found a key piece of evidence. He wanted to joke with her on cases they'd work and for that newfound awkwardness between them to disappear. He wanted to be in the same room with her again, without feeling like he was waiting for the floor to shallow him whole. He wanted that forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve.
He wanted to take her out for beer and pizza, or maybe wine and French cuisine. Whatever she wanted. He probably wouldn't even complain too much about pulling that one suit he has out from the back of the closet to go to the opera with her, especially if it meant she was with him again.
He wished they were spending their days off together again. He wanted to watch her yell at the football referees or cheer along with her favorite baseball team (even if she did prefer the Braves to the Mets). He wanted to cook her omelets and teach her how to make a really good eggplant parmesan. He could see them drying dishes together in the kitchen while talking about anything and everything. He wanted to be the guy she could share that stuff with.
But it just didn't make him happy seeing things like that anymore.Maybe Iris was destined for Eddie and Mahbe he was destined for someone else
He entered the musty pub and inhaled deeply through my nose. The smell wasn't exactly pleasant, but familiar and comforting. It smelled stale and sour, underlined by the ancient dusty smell of stone and wood. It was time to unwind.
He walked forward ,letting the door shut behind him.He looked around for the counter and a certain woman standing behind it.
She worked alone, her thin body slumped against the counter ,holding a curio and pouring the drink into pint glasses.She stared straight into her glasses ,mindlessly swirling the ice in circles around the last few sips of dark amber liquid she held in her other hand ,taking sips occasionally.Her face was hidden by a curtain of brown bushy hair, but he did not need to see her face to see the girl was in fact his very own ,Caitlin Snow
His lips turned up seeing the beautiful brunette working her way with bottles of vodka
"Seeing your work Cisco approved ,Hey Caitlin"
Caitlin looked up and grinned at her speedster friend
"Hey Barry ,what an I get you"
" a Diet Coke"She bent down and took a Diet Coke out of the chiller ,throwing it up for Barry to catch
"Anything else?" She asked,leaning on the counter
"Yeah ,your recipe to get a speedster drunk"
Caitlin furrowed her brows and gave a funny smile.She began pouring out some vodka
"You want to drink ?"
"B-but I've never really drank anything before that got me truly drunk for more than a few seconds." He protested, it was pretty much the truth since Je rarely got drunk.
Caitlin handed Barry the drink and watched him throw it back
Barry downed the last of his vodka and tipped his head back, feeling a little better having his parched throats replenished with a cold drink.
"Gimme another one," he mumbled to the bartender.
She raised her eyebrows dubiously, but did as he asked. While he waited Barry looked around humming along with the song that was playing on the radio.
He look around to see various people sitting at their tables either passed out, drinking or nursing a drink while there were very few people at the bar who were actually sitting alone.He immediately recognised the black cloak and beret of another of man ,a veteran ,with a scar.In closer inspection he realised the table was filled with veterans ,holding a heavy drink in each hand.
Hearing a clink ,he looked back at Caitlin
"This ,is a mix of the strongest alcohol here…aannnd I know a way to get you drunk"
"Really ?"
He asked in fake belief
"Yeah ,but I'm gonna need a reason"
Barry threw back the ice cold drink and relished in its rich bitter taste
"For what"
"For getting drunk"
"After all that's happened lately I really need to get drunk and forget all about the shit that's happened. At least for awhile." He replied and looked down at his glass wide-eye ,letting out huff in exasperation
"This is good!"
Sarah came scuttling back and plopped on the stool next to Barry,reaching over for a beer.
"Hello, Mr.anonymous. Alone tonight?" She asked, obviously searching for a guy to tease
"Just him today, Sarah . And I think Tou need to serve table six another bottle of Balkan ,no more beer for you tonight" Caitlin snatched Sarah's half emptied bottle of beer and put it under the counter
"Will do Captain Caity" Sarah threw her towel over her shoulder and gave Barry a check out
"It's hard to drown your sorrows in an empty glass," She replied and carried the tray away
"C'mon Barry ,lighten up."
Caitlin out a hand on his shoulder and gave him a jostle
"I promise I'll get you drunk by midnight"
"Maybe you need a another drink"
She passed him another strong blend on the rocks
"I don't know," he sighed. The truth was he knew.All he wanted was to forget his worries so he tipped the drink back.
"Maybe you need a woman," she relied
"I don't think so," he replied resolutely. He wasn't having this talk right now ! Not in a shady bar in the middle of central city surrounded by drunken people , smokers and other… well, people in general.
"C'mon ,Oh! Maybe you need a man" She wriggled her eyebrows and Barry choked on his drink.
He wiped his mouth and handed the glass back to Caitlin.
Shaking his head and smiling
"I certainly do NOT need a man,Caitlin"
"Then what do you need ,and don't say it's to get drunk cuz I already gave you my word that by the end of this night ,I will get you drunk"
"How ?"
Caitlin raised her right brow up and gave Barry
The look
"What ?"
What will you do if I tell you ,I have this" Caitlin fished out two vials filled with a blue liquid from the chiller
"I call this Liquid Hangover"
She cautiously kept the vial in front of him.
Barry picked the vial and began examining
"I actually made it for myself ,cuz I can't get drunk either.I have another one here ,you can have that one.For this one night ,this'll block our genes and let us do anything humane"
"So this'll get us drunk"
"I bet you it will.Just a sec"
She waved to Sarah who was seeing the veterans out.
"I'm clocking out"
Sarah nodded and took over Caitlin's place behind the bar.The crowd had dissipated with only a few customers so she could manage on her own.
"I want , spyritus Rectufikowany,a round of that"
Sarah gasped
"I'm not serving you the death drink ,meat or not Im not gonna let you die to that spirit"
Caitlin sighed and pooped the cap of the vial.She pulled a note from her pocket And slid it on the counter
"I need a break,I promise ,we'll be safe."
Sarah sighed and went to the back and grabbed the rectified spirit.She poured it into two glasses.
Barry was busy examining the vial to have noticed what Caitlin ordered.He popped the cap and they hooked arms
"To getting drunk"Barry saluted
"To taking risks " Caitlin clinked her vial to his and they both tipped the blue liquid.
Whoozy and tipsy ,Barry grinned ear to ear
Caitlin handed him the rectified drink and clinked
"To being free