CHAPTER TEN

Sophia and Barry walked back into Star Labs, after they had made a quick pit stop at his place to get a change of clothes seeing as though his shirt had a massive hole in it, with blood stains as matching accessories.

Barry winced the whole car ride over, complaining about how his shoulder hurt. Sophia sighed deeply, unsure of what she could do to help. His body would heal naturally within the next hour or two, and it'd be like nothing happened… but at this current moment Barry was actually an insufferable whiner. He spoke about Oliver, and how his tactics were brutal, and his opinion in regards to a plan, too headstrong. Sophia agreed, but stayed silent as he ranted on. She felt as though this was the longest she had ever heard Barry speak. She wondered if Barry was jealous of Oliver… of his experience… of his success… whatever it was, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that Oliver was a good person, who just came across in the worst way possible. She got a strong "I don't need anyone" vibe off him, and she hoped that he didn't rub off on Barry that way. Sophia then paused Barry in his long rant, asking him if he wanted to go home for a change of clothes and he agreed, nodding his head lightly before sinking back into the comfortable leather of her car, and closing his eyes, trying to relax.

As soon as they walked into the cortex, Joe had dragged Barry over to discuss something privately, and Caitlin called Sophia to check some scans out, needing a second medical opinion. They gave each other a smile goodbye before moving their separate ways.

Sophia walked over to Caitlin and Felicity as they discussed their theories on what the meta-human's powers were, and how they caused the mass panic and anger. Most of them agreed that the colour of Bivolo's eyes were the most plausible explanation.

"Have you heard of colour psychology?"

"The theory that changes in the colour spectrum can affect emotion…" Sophia answered, hoping that was what Caitlin was referring to.

"Yes, I was thinking that if Bivolo uses colour to induce the temporary psychosis, maybe we can use light and colour to reverse it." Caitlin explained, both Felicity and Sophia agreeing with her.

"Sounds like we should give it a try."

"Miss Smoak, a word, if you please," Dr. Wells called Felicity over, leaving Caitlin and Sophia to work on this theory.

"So how would we get this to work?"

"Well, Cisco said he could use some strobe lighting we have in storage to create the lights and colours opposite to that of Bivolo's to reverse the process," Caitlin said, as they looked up the sort of equipment they would need.

"We have all of this at Star Labs?" Sophia questioned, it was a lot of lighting, but then again this use to be a multi-million dollar corporation and avenue into scientific research, so they had all kinds of whacky technology and spare parts laying around. She wouldn't be surprised if they had a prototype time machine sitting in their basement.

"Yeah, Cisco's actually building it as we speak."

The two girls continued to work on the stuff, Sophia taking control over Cisco's job for the moment. Felicity and Barry both made it back into the room, chatting as she did so.

"How'd it go with Oliver?"

"You know, to be honest, not exactly the partnership I thought it would be," Barry admitted, wincing at the memory of getting shot with arrows.

"Oh, did he really do the thing with the arrows?" Felicity asked, surprised Oliver went through with it.

"You knew he was going to shoot me?" Barry accused Felicity, with wide eyes.

"Whoa, it is practically impossible to tell when Oliver's making a joke," Felicity defended. It was in that moment that the computer made a ping noise, alerting them that something had come up.

"Hey, we just got a ping from the facial recognition software on Bivolo, or according to Cisco, Prism." Sophia said, as she continued typing on the computer, trying to get a map up.

"Since when do we have facial recognition software?" Barry asked, peering over Sophia's shoulder as she typed away.

"Happy Hanukkah," Felicity said in a sing-song voice. Man this would have helped that one time that guys face was burnt off Sophia thought. Thank god for Felicity Smoak.

"Where can I find him?"

"Traffic cameras just caught him entering a residence at 168 Jarvis." Sophia announced, as she stepped back from the computer. She wanted to go with, and help Barry, knowing him well enough to figure that he wouldn't call Oliver.

"We should let the Arrow know," Felicity said quickly, pulling her phone out to call him.

"I can handle this solo, I've done this before." Barry said, as he moved to grab his gear.

"Barry, I really think you need to wait-," Felicity called out, only to be cut off by Barry.

"Felicity, I don't need his help." And with that Barry was gone in a flash, his red suit disappearing from the manikin that held it. Sophia glowered at the empty display, a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. They had never gone up against someone like this before, and she was worried that Barry would get whammied. He was being irrational and cocky to begin with today, and she knew that sometimes he ran into things head on, rather than taking a step back to look at the bigger picture, which sometimes was his downfall. She just prayed that he would come back in one piece, even if he didn't capture Bivolo.

It wasn't long til Barry was back in the room, and Caitlin was examining him. He had cornered Bivolo, but wasn't able to capture him, and he got away. Barry was now sitting on the bed, clenching his jaw in frustration at the obvious failure. Caitlin insisted that she do a check-up, worried that Bivolo's powers could have affected Barry.

"No signs of macular damage, your retina and cornea seem unaffected," Caitlin evaluated as she shone a light in his eye, looking for any signs of him being whammied. He seemed to be perfectly normal, and he wasn't exhibiting any noticeable signs of aggression as of yet.

"I told you, I'm fine," Barry said, in a strained voice, causing Sophia to eye him cautiously. There was something about the tone that he used that didn't sit well with her. Barry wasn't usually an angry person, but when he was, it was easy to tell by the way he spoke.

"You said Bivolo whammied you," Sophia stated, and Cisco cut her off. "No desire to go MMA on any of us?" He asked, curiously.

"No." He looked annoyed, and Sophia wondered if that was just Barry fed up with the day's loss or if he was actually affected by Bivolo. "Yeah, I mean, something weird happened- with his eyes for a sec."

"Weird thing?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah, everything went red," Barry described.

"You were right," Felicity, said to Caitlin. "That's how he's controlling them."

"Okay, next thing you know, Bivolo was gone. Look, obviously his powers didn't work on me, so-?"

"So, what? Everything's fine now? It wasn't the smartest thing to go out there alone, you're taking too many unnecessary risks," Sophia berated Barry. "If you didn't want to call the Arrow, you could have taken me," She continued. Even though he managed to escape this time, who knows what could have happened. He was acting reckless, and she wanted to know why. Was he jealous of Oliver? Or did he just dislike asking for help?

"Ha- so what? You could make a bubble and capture Bivolo," Barry scoffed, pushing past Sophia's shoulder harshly. She looked at him with wide eyes, astonished that he would have made such a comment. Yes, she had only been in the hero business for a few weeks at most, but she had the ability to help more than any of the cops could have, and it was clear that Barry couldn't take this guy down on his own. His harsh words sent a pang through her chest, and she was sure that he was under Bivolo's influence.

"Actually, yeah, at least then we would have caught him," She threw back at him as she turned around to face him, and Barry's eyes flashed red, causing her to take a step back as his tall posture cowered over her threateningly.

"I don't need anyone's help, especially yours," Barry shouted, his voice booming throughout the room. Everyone turned to look at the fight in shock that he had exploded like that. He was so whammied. "You couldn't even manage to help your friend Anna, how the hell could you expect to help me or any of us for that matter."

Low blow Allen. Sophia honestly didn't know what to say to that. Her face contorted from anger to being ashamed within seconds. She gave a weak smile, and she could feel the tears of frustration beginning to form. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, and she ignored their stares.

"Whatever you say Allen," Sophia said with a clenched jaw, as she shoved past Barry, leaving the room in a hurry. She made her way up to the rooftop of Star Labs where she sat, her legs dangling off the edge of the building as she tried to cool down, and remind herself that Barry was whammied, and that he wouldn't have yelled at her like that if he wasn't. She tried hard not to cry, but the more she thought about what he said, the more she realised it was true.

No matter how much she wanted those words to disappear, and for them to have never been spoken, she realised that she had failed her friend. She hadn't been able to help Anna. But she swore that she would do anything and everything in her power to help Barry, and to help their team. She wiped away the few stray tears that had landed on her face with the back of her hand, and stared off into the night sky. Sophia didn't like to cry. She thought of herself as a strong person, and she always thought that she wouldn't waste her tears on helpless situations, but save them for a rainy day. She wasn't sure how long she had been up there until Caitlin called her down, announcing that there was a breakthrough with Bivolo.

She made her way down there, walking in the room with a deadpan expression. She was not in the mood for this right now. She really wanted to hit something… or someone. Which felt weird considering she was usually a pretty calm person. She wondered if this was her powers having an effect on her emotions, but figured it was probably just because she was arguing with Barry, something that didn't happen too often, probably why it was hitting her that much harder.

"It's possible that his body is fighting off the effect- so it's hitting him slower," Caitlin explained as she walked through the doors, taking a seat.

"When it comes to rage, that is not a good thing. The longer you suppress your emotions, the bigger the explosion," Dr. Wells said with a worried expression. If Barry's anger kept growing, it would be hard to catch him.

"Considering what he can do, how do we even stop him?" Felicity asked.

"A cold-gun would come in real handy right about now," Cisco commented, and Caitlin glared at him. "Hey, I'm just sayin'."

"None of us can stop Barry," Caitlin reminded everyone. They knew first-hand how fast Barry was, and how smart he was. There was no way this was going to be easy, if at all possible.

"No," Sophia said, "None of you can," she pointed out.

"Are you volunteering Miss Lang?" Dr. Wells asked, curious as to where this was going.

"Yes. I am. But I think I'll need some help," Sophia said, determined to get Barry back to normal. Yes she was pissed off, she was hurt, but there was one thing that she always knew. She would never ever leave Barry behind.

"I think it's time you call back Oliver Queen, we're gonna need The Arrow's help," Dr. Wells said, much to everyone's surprise.

Sophia looked over at Felicity who gave her a pointed look "What I didn't say anything," Sophia mumbled.

"I was going to show you later once I had properly finished it, but this is just the prototype," Cisco explained as he lead Sophia through the maze of halls at Star Labs, to the engineering room where he had been working on a new suit for her.

"You better like this," Cisco said, pulling off the white sheet that was draped over the manikin, revealing a magnificent blue super-suit. It was a dark navy one-piece, with lighter hints of a sapphire blue embedded into the pattern of the uniform. Similar in style to Barry's minus the hood and no symbol on the chest. Sophia stood there in awe for a moment, taking it all in. Excitement was building up inside of her and she jumped on Cisco, giving him the tightest hug as she squealed in delight. "I'm guessing that means you like it."

"It's amazing," Sophia breathed out, as she touched the smooth leather. She swore she almost swooned when she touched the fabric. It was perfect, there was no other way to describe it. Not wanting to waste a second she grabbed the suit with permission from Cisco, and went to get changed. It was a streamline fit, and though she found it a bit snug, it was quite flattering. Thank you Cisco. The thing she decided she loved the most about it were the gloves, that Cisco explained would be able to discharge her energy blasts much more effectively, to hit the target. Cisco also gave her an earpiece, and her mask. She placed the earpiece in her ear, cringing when Cisco yelled 'testing one, two, three' because the genius had left the volume on high. She opened the lid of the box, looking at the eye mask in awe. It was beautifully crafted, a bold blue that would definitely standout. The material felt soft, yet firm and she couldn't wait to put it on.

They made their way back into the cortex, the others staring in awe, as Sapphire entered in her suit.

"Wow," Felicity breathed out, "So cool."

"Oliver's outside, ready to pick you up," Caitlin mentioned as she came back in. Sophia nodded, pulling out her hair tie, and leaving her hair to flow down in waves. She grabbed her mask, and zipped up the matching boots to her suit before heading outside to find The Arrow on his motorbike, bow and all.

"Let's go," The Arrow said, his deep voice sounding vastly different to his normal one-but Sophia figured that was the point. Sophia placed the navy mask on her face, covering her eyes as she sat on the bike, behind The Arrow, wrapping her arms around his waist as they moved forward.

"Any leads on Barry's location?" Sophia asked, the team back at Star Labs as they zipped in and out of traffic through the dark streets of Central City.

"I have him, facial recognition picked him up on a traffic camera downtown." Cisco called out through the ear piece and she nodded, The Arrow having heard it as well, pressed down on the accelerator faster, as more commotion came through the line. Barry was now on the loose after Eddie, and they were rushing to get there in time before Barry did something he regretted. Sophia asked for updates on the situation, and apparently Barry had stopped Iris's car in the middle of the road. Eddie had then gotten out, with his gun, ready to protect themselves from The Flash when Barry ran at him with full force, attacking him. Judging from what she heard Cisco say, she figured that Barry was letting out his anger on Eddie for trying to get a team together to hunt The Flash down.

They got there just in time, Oliver shooting an arrow at Barry as they lured him into the corner of an alleyway, leaving Eddie and Iris safe… for now.

"Jump," The Arrow yelled, as they crashed into Barry who had sped over to them, standing in their way. Sophia jumped, her flight automatically, keeping her from crashing on the ground. A second later, both feet were firmly planted on the ground as Barry and Oliver fought hand to hand. Oliver was losing at this point, and Sophia threw a blast of energy at Barry, pushing him back into the wall across the alleyway. She didn't even have to tell Oliver, and he had already shot the tranquilizer at Barry. They both took a deep breath, hoping that it was over as Barry lay on the ground panting.

"Should be hitting you any time now," Oliver's gruff voice came out, and Barry groaned in pain, his eyes glowing scarlet as he stood back up off the ground, shaking the drug off at inhumane speeds. He moved his body so fast, that the drug had been shaken out of his system, floating off him like a cloud of purple dust. Sophia's heart pounded in her chest nervously as she watched Barry, his anger growing by the minute.

"We're not done! Is that all you got?" Barry roared, and Sophia moved on her feet quickly. She threw a blast of energy, hitting him right in the abdomen, sending him off balance for a second, giving her enough time to run up and kick him right behind his knee, sending him sprawling to the ground. He had gotten back up quickly enough and grabbed Sophia by her shoulders, running her back into the wall behind her. She groaned as her back made harsh contact with the solid bricks, the pain increasing when he squeezed down on her shoulders.

"Sorry, I have to do this." She threw both of her hands against his chest, the energy pushing him back away from her in an instant, leaving him skidding on one knee, and his hands out in front of him as he tried to balance the fall. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Oliver move forward as Barry got up, but Sophia told him to stay. She punched Barry in the jaw, catching him off guard and immediately she created a bubble-like shield around him, keeping him from going anywhere. Barry pounded his fists on the shield, not being able to break through. His eyes were still red and the longer she looked at his face, the angrier he seemed to get. She had to admit that it felt good getting her anger out.

"Now, Joe!" Sophia yelled, and a van came barrelling down the side of the alley within a second. The doors were pushed wide open, and the lights turned on, as Sophia forced Barry in the direction of the van. Barry looked at the lights, dazed as the effects started to reverse themselves. When Barry started to slump against the inside of the shield, Sophia let it go, rushing over to catch him before he fell, placing one arm around him, as Oliver supported the other side.

"Barry, you okay?" She asked, placing her fingers under his neck as she tried to feel for a pulse. He responded a second later, relieving her of her worry.

"Oh this is going to be a special kind of hangover," Barry groaned, his head pounding as he tried to get his legs moving again. Oliver smirked, shaking his head in mirth as they helped Barry into the van.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll sober up soon," Sophia chuckled, as they climbed in the van and went back to Star Labs. Oliver went to salvage what was left of his bike, finding it to be perfectly well, and decided to meet them there. Sophia and Barry sat in the back of the van, the others in the front seat, driving. She leaned against the seat, taking in a deep breath.

Barry didn't know what to say. Should he apologise first? Should he ask if she wasn't hurt after all, he had pushed her against that wall pretty hard? Should he mention the fact that his vision was still hazy and he was sure that he was seeing two of Sophia at this very moment? Or should he say something about the suit that she was wearing, and how it made his heart skip a beat when he realised that she had come back for him even after he was so god damn awful? He didn't know, so he just let his lips do the talking, and didn't register the first few words that fell out of his mouth.

"Nice suit." Was the first thing that he had said, and he wanted to regret it, but after seeing the small blush that adorned Sophia's cheeks he knew that he didn't, not one bit.

"Thanks," She said, smiling shyly. She took off her mask, holding it in her hand. "Cisco made it for me, still a prototype…but I like it."

"It looks good," Barry murmured as he looked her up and down, admiring the way the suit complimented her body. He blinked multiple times, trying to get rid of any thoughts about that at least for now. He didn't know how to even begin to apologise. He remembered every moment, every fight he had that day and he had a long list of people he needed to apologise to. Sophia looked down, focusing on the mask in her hand as she saw Barry starring at her.

"I'm sorry," He breathed out. He figured that was the best way to start.

"There's no need to apologise." The words trailed out of her mouth softly, "It wasn't your fault… plus, it was kind of true."

"What?" He was sure that her words had sobered him up.

"What you said, a-about Anna. I couldn't help her," she admitted with a heavy sigh, "But I swear, I'm going to try, I'm going to do my best to help you all," she said, looking down in embarrassment as her eyes teared up. Barry's heart clenched up in guilt as he saw her posture fall, and the tears springing from her eyes. He wish he could go back and change what happened, but he knew that was impossible.

"Hey, no, it's not true. You did everything that you could, you've always been there for me, and for her. I-I was angry, there was a part of me that enjoyed being angry at you, at everyone, and I'm so sorry. I never meant to say those things, please forgive me Sophia," Barry said, sitting forward, reaching out for her hand. She grasped his hand, squeezing it slightly. She looked up and gave him a weak smile.

"I forgive you."

"My identity is a closely-guarded secret known only to a few, and if it were to get out, will endanger my family, my friends and it would embolden my enemies to retaliate at me through them," Oliver spoke sternly to the team, basically telling them to keep their traps shut.

"What Oliver is trying to say is that he had a lovely time working with you and getting to know each of you, and he can't wait to do it again, soon." Felicity took over, basically sweeting everything Oliver had said. Sophia chuckled, smiling at how adorable the two fit together.

"Right."

"You know, it didn't sound like that's what he was saying," Cisco mumbled, causing a few of them to laugh.

"I may not agree with your methods, but- Thank you," Joe said, shaking Oliver's hand causing Barry to don a smug smile. Joe had claimed that he would never thank The Arrow but here he was doing exactly that.

The girls moved to the other side of the room, having a small conversation as Oliver spoke to Dr. Wells.

"Hey, if I had a DNA sample I was unable to fully break down, do you think you could isolate the genetic markers for me?" Felicity asked. She felt nervous asking for this favour. Not because she didn't think that Caitlin would do it, but nervous of what it might bring. She wasn't sure that she was ready to face the facts, and discover who the real killer responsible for Sara's death was, but she knew that it had to be done, and that if they wanted to catch this person, it needed to be now and not later.

"Sure, what's the sample from?" Caitlin asked with a smile.

"The Canary's murder."

"Of course," Caitlin replied sweetly, her face softening at Felicity's words. Sophia then moved in, pulling Felicity in for a hug.

"How about a coffee for the road?" Sophia suggested, and Felicity nodded. Once Oliver was ready, they all moved out to Jitters, meeting Barry there as Team Arrow made their final stop before heading back to Starling City. Felicity and Sophia stood at the counter, waiting for Iris to bring their drinks, as they chatted, whilst Barry and Oliver talked it out privately at a table.

"Um, so listen I'm really sorry for what I said in the field, and then last night in the street. I wish I could say it was all because of whatever Bivolo did to me, but I guess I had more feelings bottled up than I thought," Barry apologised, and Oliver nodded, accepting his apology.

"You can always talk to me," Oliver offered.

"Yeah, thank you." Barry said, taking a deep breath before continuing, "And you were right, I still have a lot to learn," Barry chuckled.

"There's one more thing, and you're not going to like it." Oliver stated carefully. He felt that he should tell Barry, save him from the heartbreak. He saw the way that Barry looked at Sophia, it was the same way he looked at Felicity, and he knew that he owed it to Barry to be honest with him.

"Does it involve you shooting me in the back?" Barry joked.

"No, no the heart." Oliver said softly and Barry's brow furrowed in confusion.

"That's not going to work out for you," Oliver said, pointing his head in Sophia's general direction. "You need to let her go, for both of your sakes." Barry turned his head to look at Sophia laughing with Felicity as they hugged each other goodbye. He felt his heart drop at Oliver's words. He had just realised how he felt about her, he couldn't let it go now… he couldn't let her go.

"Guys like us don't get the girl."

The conversation ended there, as they greeted each other goodbye, Oliver leaving Jitters with Felicity in tow. Sophia walked up to Barry's table, taking the seat opposite from him, a beaming smile on her face.

"So I was thinking, as a 'Welcome back sane Barry Allen' we'd grab some take-out for the team, and celebrate the victory at Star Labs, after all last night was also my debut as a superhero," Sophia said grinning, and Barry just nodded yes, too caught up in his thoughts about what Oliver just said. He's right, it might put her in more danger, a part of him thought, and the other half was trying to think about it logically. But she's a meta-human as well, she's like me now, she's going to be in danger all the time… and she can take care of herself. Just ask her out… take a chance.

"Barry?" Sophia asked, clicking her fingers in front of his face to break him out of his trance like state. "Not still whammied are you?" She asked, "I don't want to have to take you out again," She teased, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. If she was being truthful, after she arrived home last night, she felt giddy on the high from all the adrenaline that had been running through her veins. Even though it was tough fighting Barry, she had to admit that it did feel good to win, especially when they locked up Bivolo late that night.

"Go out with me." Barry blurted out, causing Sophia to look at him with wide eyes her smile dropping immediately. His heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for her response.

"S-Sorry what?" What?!

"On a date. W-with me." Barry said, gulping as he waited for her response. "Let me rephrase that again. Would you like to go out on a date with me?" Barry said clearer this time, gaining more confidence. He was tired of being told how to feel by everyone around him, he just wanted to do what made him happy.

"A-are you sure you have the right person?" Sophia fake laughed, as her insides turned to mush at the very idea of going out with Barry on a date. "I thought you-," but before she could finish her sentence he cut her off.

"I'm serious."

"…" She was silent for at least a minute, not believing that those words were coming out of his mouth. Am I hallucinating or something?

"I-I mean it's okay if you don't want to I-," Barry started mumbling out nervously, which seemed to snap her out of her thoughts.

"N-No. I-I mean, yes, ugh," She blabbered, "What I mean is, that I'd love to," She said slowly, getting the words out. Barry's face lit up, immediately, and she blushed at all the attention. "I just was not expecting that… at all," Sophia admitted, gnawing on her lip due to her nerves.

"Believe me, I-I wasn't either." Barry confessed. "I've been wanting to, for a while, and there's no time like the present," Barry proclaimed, and Sophia's cheeks donned a deep scarlet, making his grin even larger.

"So…" she slowly started off, brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear. "When shall this date take place?" She asked, a contagious smile on her face.

"Tonight," Barry sated. With their busy lives, who knows when they'd find another day where they were free of their superhero work, and their normal life of work?

"Tonight?" She asked with a slightly panicked voice. "Isn't that um… a bit fast?"

"Fast is kinda what I do," Barry whispered leaning over, and she snorted, bringing both of her hands up to cover her mouth as she continued to laugh. "Wow, that sounded way cooler in my head."

"I'll set up the movie at my place and you get food."

"Your wish is my command," Barry said smiling at her, and they just stared at each other for a while, revelling in the fact that this was actually going to happen after all this time.

"Maybe we should get going," Sophia suggested sheepishly, and he nodded, the smile still glued to his face.

"Yeah."

And so Barry dropped Sophia off at her apartment, saying he would be back at 7, which was only in a few hours. So she spent the rest of the afternoon playing around with her cat who she had neglected for the last few days, leaving her with the neighbour next door when she was at work. The rest of the time was spent cleaning her apartment, and making sure that she didn't have day old coffee mugs laying around, or dirty washing for that matter. She finished this around 6pm, and then decided to take a shower, wanting to be fresh for her first date with Barry. Oh my god was a repetitive thought that ran through her head all afternoon, and well into the night.

She walked out of her shower, the fog misting up the mirror. She ran her hand over the mirror, wiping away the excess steam. She looked at herself with calculating eyes as though she was inspecting herself. No judging she warned herself. This was going to be a great night, she felt giddy at the prospect of spending it with Barry, and not just as friends.

She went into her room, picking out a nice shirt, and jeans, changing as fast as she could. She had taken way too long in the shower, losing track of time. He would be there in the next ten minutes.

After making sure she didn't look like a hot mess, she moved into her lounge area, setting up the couch with pillows, and some blankets. She moved the coffee table forward, placing some snacks there, not to many since Barry was grabbing take-out and she put the DVD in, waiting for him to arrive. Seconds later, he came whooshing in, taking his seat next to her on the couch and giving her a fright.

"Oh my-," She breathed out. "You think after a while, I'd get used to it," She remarked, and Barry laughed, and he couldn't get the thought that she looked absolutely adorable out of his head. The more he stared at her the more he realised how stupid he was for leaving this on hold for so long.

"So what goodies did you bring?" She asked peering into the various bags he had placed on her coffee table, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Well, I got us some Thai food, four different types of sushi-," Barry babbled on, listing the various food he brought. She looked over at him as he continued to talk, an excited grin plastered on his face. She wished she could just take a photo of this moment, and store it away in a safe place for a rainy day. She couldn't remember the last time she was this happy since the particle accelerator explosion.

"Uh, I don't think I can eat that much food Barry," She teased, "Otherwise I might get a food baby," She motioned to her stomach, that was actually quite flat, and taut due to her spending her free time in the gym and training. He rolled his eyes, moving closer to her and placing his hand on her stomach, causing butterflies to erupt. Her breath hitched in her throat, and one corner of his mouth turned up in a grin as he noticed her reaction.

"I think you're pretty good," He whispered, before leaning back and shrugging. "Besides, that means more food for me, god knows I need it."

"So what are we watching?" Barry asked casually, as he opened up the sushi, passing it to Sophia, to which she smiled gratefully squeezing a decent amount of wasabi on top, gaining a wide eye look from Barry.

"Star Wars. To be specific, Episode 4, A New Hope," Sophia announced, with a grin and chewie her cat decided to climb the edge of the sofa, jumping on her shoulder, and curling herself around the back of her neck, snuggling her head into Sophia's neck. "Chewie, I'm trying to eat." And the cat purred, moving to sit by her feet instead.

"Does this mean you're going to be ogling Han Solo the whole time?" Barry asked with a sigh, remembering the last time they had all watched Star Wars together.

"I can't help that fact that Harrison Ford is so handsome," She teased, winking, knowing it would rile Barry up. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone to ogle as well, you know like, maybe Darth Vader." Barry stuck out his tongue, and she laughed at him, reaching over the table to grab the remote, and her finger was hovering over the button, ready to press play. She looked back at him to see that he had a pout on his face at her comment, and she shook her head with mirth.

"Don't worry, Han Solo has nothing on you," She murmured, scooting over on the couch and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek, her lips lingering on his skin for a second too long. With a cheeky glint in her eye, she leaned back on the couch, remaining close, feeling smug at the reaction she gained.

"Just play the movie Lang," Barry said, hoping that the dimmed lighting would disguise the blush on his cheeks.

"Your wish is my command Allen." And with that she pressed play. And so started their movie, their date, and unknowingly, a relationship that would only get better from this moment onward.

A/N –

So, they have officially gone out on their first date! Since it was so spur of the moment and they were tired from their hard work as superheroes, it was just a casual dinner/movie but at home instead. I just thought it was nicer for them… so yeah, you'll start to see some more romance from here on out, because things are starting to get serious.

So, it was Sophia's official debut as a superhero. Be excited to see some more action in regards to that, and soon! Coming at you with the next chapter is Sapphire, Central City's new knight in shining armour, ready to save the day… because let's be real, we can't let the boys have all the fun now can we?

I was absolutely stunned at the reviews for the last chapter. Your kind words really made me smile, and I replied to everyone that I could via PM.

Replies:

Ms. O'Leary: THANK YOU SO MUCH. Your review nearly made me cry happy tears! I've pre-prepared quite a bit of this story, so it's been easy to update, but now I'm falling behind on chapters, so I need to get this writing machine going again. I'm glad that you see that in her. I really tried my best to make her independent and compassionate, and always willing to help her friends and others even if it wasn't in her power to do so. Yeah, a part of Barry's heart will always belong to Iris, but now he's realising that their relationship won't go further, with her being with Eddie and all. He's come to terms with the fact that he likes Sophia, and he wants to take a chance on her and see where this relationship could go. The fact that she knows about his powers, and is a meta like him pushes him to make the decision and just ask her out. You have literally been the only person so far to mention that little fact, and I'm so glad that you are catching onto things… in a future chapter you'll see why… she's definitely connected to Lana Lang from Kansas, but keep in mind that Lana's probably in her early 30s when this story is set, whereas Sophia is 24. Thank you for your kind words, and I'm so sorry this response is so long, but I just got excited. Hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the previous ones.

Guest 1: Thank you! Hope you loved part 2!

Guest 2: Thank you! Glad you liked the way she was incorporated into the chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one just as much. Everyone seemed to be eager to see angry Barry!

AvengerFrost: YES, that was actually my favourite part as well. I wanted to add in some humour somewhere, and I thought it would be hilarious to add that little bit in. Glad that you liked it.

Disclaimer: Sorry for all the star wars references, I just can't help myself. Also there is a disclaimer on the first chapter of this story that is in regards to the whole fic. #lazylucy over here.

Expect the next chapter around the 23rd of Jan.

Thanks for the follows/favourties/reviews. Love you guys.

Heroherondaletotherescue. x