pre-relationship Barry/Eddie, 1355 words, pg-rated
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If You Want A Storm Come Dance With Me
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"Hello," a cute voice sings from the doorway, and the half turn of his chair brings him eye to eye with a young girl, mysteriously appeared in his lab like a tiny genie out of a bottle.
His eyes skip back and forth across the breadth of the room before he manages a curious yet hesitant, "Hi," directed at his small guest, wandered in here all alone. She can't be more than six or seven, her frail blonde hair cascading down in curls, a blue headband keeping it from falling into her eyes, and he can't help but wonder how she found her way up here.
"Are you a police officer too?" The girl swivels her body in semicircles, shiny black shoes rooted firmly to the ground, big blue eyes trained on him, the fabric of her dress too thick to sway along with the movement.
"No, I'm not," he hears the sound of his own voice, though his thoughts race a million miles an hour. Where did this girl come from? Do her parents know that she's here? Are they downstairs? He's so taken with his own thoughts he scarcely considers actually looking for her parents. "I'm a CSI."
The little girl's nose crinkles. "What's that?"
"I uhm–" He frowns, and watches the girl unearth an asthma inhaler from behind her back– she puts it to her lips and takes a deep breath, her small shoulders rising and falling. "I do a lot of boring sciency stuff that helps the police catch bad guys."
"Science isn't boring." The girl shakes her head vehemently. "I'm good at science."
A smile skips past his lips, oddly taken with this charming girl.
"Can I see?" the girl asks, folding her arms neatly behind her back again.
"Are you supposed to be up here? Where's your mom and dad?"
"My mommy died when I was a baby," the girl answers, her tone almost matter-of-fact, like it happened so long ago the loss never managed to leave a permanent mark. It's a trait worthy of envy.
"I'm Barry," he says, his worries thawed with empathy; it's a small precinct, but his lab is probably the safest place for a kid to be – someone will come looking for her sooner or later.
The little girl smiles cutely, dimples in her cheeks. "I'm Eva."
"How would you like to analyze some dirt with me, Eva?"
Eva nods as passionately as she'd previously shook her head and marches over at an even stride; she struggles into a chair he finds in a corner of the lab, propped up on his jacket and a stray pillow he kept around for all-nighters – soon she turns all wide-eyed and exciteful squeals over learning how to operate the mass spectrometer, and claps her hands once the machine spits out the results.
They're at it for close to half an hour; he finds a juice box and some cookies in his locker for her to enjoy, swinging her legs back and forth because they don't quite touch the ground.
"Eva?" a familiar voice travels across the room, the hasty tap of footsteps on the floor outside. He'd know that voice anywhere. "Eva!" the voice sounds again, before none other than Detective Eddie Thawne makes his way into his lab, a bit worse for wear. His eyes widen at the sight of the precinct's golden boy, a button or two loosened on his shirt, lacking his usually pristine vest and jacket.
"Oh, thank God," the blond breathes, and hurries over to crouch by Eva's side, his blue eyes– his matching blue eyes riddled with concern. "I told you to stay at my desk."
He rises from his chair as Eva places both her hands on Eddie's face. "But your desk is boring, daddy. You don't even have any magic markers."
His heart starts; Eddie Thawne is a father? Never in a million years would he have pegged Eddie as a parent, his life seemed too organized and –for lack of any other word– too pristine to accommodate anything as messy as a child. Did Joe know about this? Does anyone know about this? Last time he checked, and he's checked quite a few times, there weren't any personal items on Eddie's desk, or taped to the inside of his locker, unlike most people here. Eddie struck him as kind and courteous, if not too eager to prove himself in his new job, but a good man nonetheless; most of their interactions so far had been professional, even though there was little reason for them to be anything but. Eddie simply didn't seem like the kind of person who had room in his life for a daughter, however cute she might be.
But he thinks he wouldn't be half that interested in figuring out Detective Eddie Thawne if he wasn't so intrigued by the handsome detective. He'd caught the other man staring at him more than once, and while their conversations remained professional, impersonal almost, he couldn't help but appreciate how Eddie had few issues with invading his personal space, hovering over him when he read results off the computer, or a friendly pat on the back when they walked-and-talked. Eddie Thawne wasn't so much a mystery as he was a riddle he couldn't wait to solve.
"I know, sweetie, I'm sorry." Eddie grabs hold of his daughter's hands. "But I have to know I can trust you, okay? Don't ever run off without saying."
"Okay, daddy." Eva jumps out of her chair and into her dad's arms, wrapping hers tightly around his neck as Eddie rises from the ground.
"Hey, Allen."
Their eyes finally meet in the room turned a whole lot smaller; there was something about the way Eddie always called his name that pulled him closer, the two syllables sounding more familiar than they should rolling off Eddie's lips, but a nice thing to hear nonetheless. Eddie also struck him as the kind of man few ever disliked. And if he thought he wasn't warm before, watching his eyes alight with love for his daughter definitely proved it now.
"Daddy, this is my new friend, Barry!" Eva calls loudly. "He showed me how to use the massive spectometer."
Eddie laughs fondly. "Did he?"
"She said she liked science." His face falls, aware now that he'd kept Eddie's daughter hostage while she should have been downstairs at his desk, waiting for her father to finish whatever he needed to. He should have gone looking for someone. "I hope that's okay."
"Of course." Eddie nods, as fondly as he'd spoken to Eva a few seconds before, and his cheeks heat by a few noticeable degrees. So yes, Eddie Thawne might have had a noticeable effect on him the moment they'd met a few weeks ago. "I had no idea you were good with kids."
"Neither did I, to be honest." He scratches the back of his head, uncomfortable underneath Eddie's gaze with Eva there with them. Flirting with a colleague was one thing; flirting with him in front of his daughter was a line he won't cross.
Eddie bounces Eva in his arms. "What do you say we grab some dinner, kiddo?"
"Nuggets!"
"Nuggets it is," Eddie concludes, and nods, soon finding his eyes again. "Thanks for watching her, Barry."
The sound of his first name seems foreign on Eddie's tongue, but he wouldn't mind hearing it more often. He's not sure he should get involved any more than he has so far, though – it's one thing to go against the rules and want to date someone he works with; getting involved with a single dad, if Eddie's even single at all, that might be too far outside his comfort zone.
He grins crookedly, digging his hands into his pockets. "Not a problem."
Eddie turns and heads for the door again, Eva waving at him over her father's shoulder. "Bye, Barry."
He waves back and waits for Eddie to disappear before sinking down in his chair again, and he can't decide if his daytime fantasies of a half-naked Eddie Thawne have been ruined or improved.
It doesn't take him long to decide on the latter.
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fin
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