Chapter 14: Romantic Interlude Part Two
A/N: Sorry guys! Exams sucked, and I had to/am retake(ing) physics. That started about two and a half weeks ago. On the good news side I'm in a research position and just started that recently. I also got to see to see my older sister graduate from her college a while back and I'm officially done with my freshman year of college! Woo!
I will try to work on this story as much as I can over the summer, but any reviews, or comments will definitely help me keep going. Updates will hopefully be weekly, but please forgive me if I cannot fulfill that.
Fun fact(s): I binge-watched Supergirl recently, and I truly adore Melissa Benoist. Though I do dislike cliffhangers but what can I do. Also the Flash episode Rupture almost broke my heart at the end. And the Finale was super awesome.
And Thanks to you all for 11K+ views and 105 Followers on the story! I love you guys!
Anywho – I've made y'all wait long enough, so here we go – enjoy and thanks for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting!
HICKORY TAVERN | November 4th, 2014 | (A/N: restaurant name – chain in Charlotte, NC)
Barry slowly blinked in surprise as he stared at his date for the evening. One for the fact that she was in her full attire as Air, a second one for the fact that they were in a crowded sit down restaurant, a third for the fact that everybody else there was staring the hero in confusion, and the fourth and final reason – that the woman being stared at was daring anybody to look at her funny again with just her tinted goggles.
Barry blanched, before turning to the woman, "What about takeout instead?" he asked, but the woman in white shook her head 'no' firmly. She wasn't going to allow any silliness to change how this date was supposed to go. Air took a seat in one of the booths instead, Barry sliding in on the opposite side.
A waitress came and took their order, before returning promptly with their food, it was so fast, that Barry found himself in surprise, before he watched as the woman opposite him laughed softly at his expression.
"Wha?" Barry questioned, before he shoved a fry in his mouth.
"Nothing, you just remind me of a friend of mine." Air replied, her head tilting slightly before she reached out and stole one of the fries from his basket, before biting into it triumphantly.
Barry snorted, before explaining, "And now you remind me of my best friend since childhood," Barry laughed, thinking of Ally's similar play so long ago. Barry grinned at the woman, as she tilted her head, before he used his super speed to deftly steal one of her fries, before eating it.
They exchanged bites of food in this manner until one of the times Barry reached out for her food, he found himself gripped on both shoulders and being shaken awake to the sound of a familiar voice calling out his name.
BARRY ALLEN'S APARTMENT | November 4th, 2014 | 8:35 am
Ally had been sent by Joe that morning to fetch her habitually late partner, only to find him mumbling things in his sleep.
Ally smiled to herself, it was so much easier to watch him sleep now, knowing that if she wanted to she could wake him up, as opposed to him being in a coma. Ally shook her head, ridding her mind of the memories of his prone form.
Those times were some of the worst in her life, right next to when her parents died – and the fact that their graves were empty as their bodies had seemingly been destroyed by the explosion. And next to whenever she and Barry had fought, when he ignored her for a summer (which Ally had, admittedly left unaddressed to this day), and then there was the party three years ago, when –
Ally shook her head again, reminding herself why she was in Barry's apartment. After doing so, Ally called Barry's name out a couple times, before she realized that wasn't cutting it. Instead, she leaned over the sleeping speedster and gripped his forearms before shaking him lightly.
Barry shot up, and in doing so he banged into his partner's head with more force than either of them were expecting.
Ally recoiled and fell backwards with a yelp as she slipped on one of the article prints that Barry had scattered around his floor.
Barry barely registered the noise before he had already sped out of his bed and caught her before she could hit the ground. "Al?" Barry questioned, groggily rubbing at his forehead.
"Yup," Ally confirmed, as Barry subconsciously tightened his grip on her, "Your head is as hard as ever." She snickered to herself, and Barry's mouth fell open in shock at her words.
"Hey!" Barry yelped, "You're one to talk, Roberts." Barry grinned to himself, "Especially considering the fact that I'm the one who just caught you." Barry smirked, before letting her slip slightly in his arms before catching her easily.
Ally shifted out of his grasp and onto her feet slowly, before sticking her tongue out at him.
"Oh, real mature." Barry teased, and Ally's eyes flashed mischievously down his form before she shot back,
"Says the man in the SpongeBob SquarePants Boxers." Ally laughed as Barry blushed before speeding around and out of the room to change into actual work clothes. "I like them, Bare." Ally laughed, as he skidded to a stop in front of her.
Barry smiled at his friend, before he reached out and fixed a small lock of her hair that had come out of her loose bun. Barry grinned grimly to himself, reminding himself that she was now further off limits, seeing as she was, seemingly, dating Josh.
Barry shook his head, laughing to himself, before reminding the blonde, "Of course you do." He smiled, "You're the one that got them for me." Barry stuck his tongue out at her.
"Seeing as you've reminded me about maturity," Ally snickered, before grinning up at her best friend, "How about we skip to a piece of that, the whole being punctual part." She gestured with her hands while watching, with mirth, as Barry's smiling eyes turned to those of fear.
"Singh's gonna kill me— us," Barry groaned, before he realized, "It's 8:50, which means that we still have 10 minutes till work starts." He grinned looking to his friend, who had turned to glance at his bedside clock.
Barry smirked, before he took off, whisking his best friend and her tote bag into his arms before hurtling towards the precinct.
"Barry! You did this last time!" Ally's protests were in vain as she found herself starting to press back into Barry's chest as he ran.
Barry, unconsciously, took notice, and smiled softly at the feeling it sent through his whole being, before whooping with glee as they hurtled through traffic.
They stopped outside of the precinct, and Barry let Ally down onto her feet, barely dodging the swat she tried to catch his shoulder with.
"Bare, what did I tell you about grabbing me without warning?" Ally questioned, watching her friend in slight annoyance.
"Not to do it," Barry grinned at her apologetically, "But hey—" He added, "We're not late," he announced, making her snicker before she shook her head at him, muttering something along the lines of "for once…" as the pair headed for their lab.
ALLY'S APARTMENT | | 5:50pm
After Ally got home from work, she immediately slung her body onto the couch in the apartment after tossing her tote bag to the ground. Work had been worse than she thought it would, caused by two factors.
The first was that Ally had spent the majority of the work day debating on whether or not to admit how she spent her nights to Barry. She had eventually just left abruptly in order to needle Josh for his advice – which had been basically 'your choice but think about it'.
The other reason was the fact that Barry had been staring vacantly during work, seemingly thinking about Ally's own alter-ego and his date for the same evening. Barry didn't seem to really take notice, which only fueled Ally's turmoil.
Chelsea and Libby had got home and took a few moments to take in the sight of Ally who was laying on the couch, rotating between staring vacantly at the ceiling, muttering to herself in tongues and getting up and laying back down nervously. The pair of roommates shared a look before Libby stepped up behind the couch and half-shouted, "Alexa!"
The blonde launched into the air with a yelp, her head barely missing hitting the ceiling before she floated back down to land on her feet in front of the couch. The woman turned around to fix her adopted sister and roommate with glares.
The pair only laughed, before both walked around opposite ends of the couch to pull the other woman down to sit, as they sat down next to their friend, as her head dropped to land in her hands.
"Al?" Chelsea questioned, scooting closer to her best friend since her freshman year of college. "What's wrong?"
Ally shook her head, refusing to look up.
"Ally…" Libby whined, peering down at her sister's face. "Is this about Barry?" she questioned, and got a drawn out moan in return. "C'mon Al. talk to us." Libby pleaded, and Ally's head rose to face her.
"I can't do this Lib. I'm lying to him!" Ally groaned, "I need to tell him that I'm her, before he gets too attached!"
"Then tell him," Chelsea spoke, smiling gently at her friend.
"I can't!" Ally wailed. "If I tell him now, he'll never forgive me," She scoffed, as her eyes began to water, "I just got him back a month ago," She let a couple tears fall as she sniffled a little. "I can't lose him. And I will if I tell him because he will try to stop me from being Air, and I can't agree with that."
"For now, Al." Libby started, rubbing her sister's back slowly. "Focus on being Air, and doing what you want."
"When the time is right, you'll know." Chelsea nodded.
"You're right." Ally agreed. "He has to her it from me though." Ally reminded herself. "I can't let him find out from anyone or anything else." Ally muttered, barely loud enough for either other girl to hear.
"So." Chelsea began, nudging the youngest of their trio.
"We get to do your makeup and everything?" Libby sing-songed.
"Sure." Ally sighed.
Forty minutes, one black wig, two grey-hazel colored contacts, one contouring palette and a makeup sponge and a borrowed outfit later—
Ally was ready. Nervous and scared, but ready. She glanced at her reflection, surprised to see that the dark haired woman staring back at her did the same. Looking down at herself, she recognized the black pants from Chelsea's collection and the purple and silver top from Libby's younger years. The jacket was from her original Air ensemble.
Ally left the bathroom, and stepped out to face her friends, who clapped in admiration of their handiwork.
Ally gave them a tiny little bow before heading out, grabbing a dark tote that she had stowed her crime fighting stuff into. She gave Chelsea and Libby one last wave before taking off into the sky as they hugged each other to their sides in mock pride.
CENTRAL CITY PARK | | 9:15 pm
Ally had picked up a few large pizzas for them to share, and was sitting on a swing in the park, holding the warm boxes and her tote on her lap as she resisted the urge to tap her foot impatiently.
Barry skidded to a stop in front of the woman, taking in the features of her face and trying to place them, before flinching at the glare on her face. "What?" He questioned, glancing down to make sure he was fully, ahem, appropriately clothed – which he was, in a pair of skinny jeans and his typical sweater and shirt combination.
"You're the fastest man alive—" Ally began, her voice deepened to Air's tone as she spoke, she had been practicing using the molecules in the air to disrupt her own voice. Barry grinned at her statement, "And you're late." Ally deadpanned, making Barry's grin fall slightly before he walked towards her, holding a hand out.
"C'mon." Barry spoke, prompting the woman, whom he did not recognize, to gather her stuff before she took a hold of his hand. He led Air towards the pond, where he had managed to set up a large blanket, two handfuls of pillows and some candles. He took a glance back and smiled as he caught the surprise in Air's eyes as she smiled.
"You were still late." Ally smirked, before smiling once more, as she set her stuff down, opening the top box to reveal to Barry his favorite – Peperoni, Olives and Jalapeno pizza as she told him, "I guess I can forgive you."
Barry held himself back from digging into their dinner as he eyeballed the woman who he knew nothing about, who seemed to know him intimately. He opened his mouth to voice this but was met with a slice of pizza being handed to him, the look that accompanied it plainly told him not to ask.
They ate silently, as Barry finished off a whole pie and Ally finished a quarter of a plain cheese pizza. Barry looked up from the now empty cardboard box to watch the woman finish her pizza, and found himself grinning as he noticed that she ate pizza like Ally. Barry shook his head, before smiling as Air looked at him curiously.
"It's different." Barry spoke, "I can actually see your expressions now." He explained, grinning grimly to himself. "I just don't get why you can't just tell me who you are, Air." Barry sighed, frustrated.
"I can't." Air's deep voice spoke deeply, before she glanced away to avoid Barry's questioning gaze.
"Why not." Barry demanded, the crack in his voice making Air flinch.
"I can't." Ally's voice slipped out of her throat before she could stop it, and she shut her eyes, praying to anybody that Barry wouldn't recognize it.
"Just tell –" Barry had started, only to be cut off by the sound of a beeping coming from Air's tote. Barry could only watch as his fellow crime fighter snatched it up instantly, answering the call easily.
"Cisco." Air greeted, her voice deep once more. She looked over to Barry who gave her a questioning look.
"Code 105." Cisco had shouted, Barry's ears able to pick up the sound.
"Isn't that a cat in a tree?" Air questioned bluntly, making Barry grin.
"Wait, wait no. I meant a code 115—"
Cisco was cut off as Barry took the phone from air, putting on speaker before asking, "City wide blackout?"
Air snickered, as on the other end there was an exasperated groan.
"I meant an 18—" Cisco began,
"Cisco." Air's deep voice started, stopping Cisco from continuing. "Just tell us what it is."
"Alright, alright, ruin my fun why don't you." Cisco grumbled, making Barry laugh as Air's eyebrow rose.
"Hey, you're the one cutting into my d—" Air's, and Barry's, face heated up before she coughed, "hanging out time with Red." She finished, as laughter echoed from Cisco's end. "Han." Air's voice stated threatingly, easily ceasing Cisco's peals of laughter, as Barry gave her a curious look.
"Robbery – Bates and Collins." Cisco got out, and Air and Barry took off into the public restrooms, before flying/running out of them in costume as they headed towards the crime scene.
"Code 211 by the way." Air snickered over the comms as she and Barry came towards the perpetrators.
BATES & COLLINS | | 9:40 pm
Air ducked underneath a man's kick as she lunged out to grab the bag on his shoulder, to pull him to the ground, as Barry danced around their cyclist with the gun before dropping the cases of bullets in front of the panicked biker.
Air looked up as she caught sound of a thud behind her, Barry had punched the third man who was laying on the floor with a knife clutched in his hand. "Not bad, Red." Air complimented, before she blew a gust of wind that knocked the cyclist and his bike over before he could jet away. She winked at the speedster, who grinned before taking off, taking the stolen cash back into the shop it had come out of.
Barry skidded to a stop before grinning at Air and offering, "Race you back."
Air laughed gleefully, as she took off into the night sky and she raced with the red streak all the way back to the park.
CENTRAL CITY PARK | | 10:05 pm
Ally landed softly in front of the blanket, keeping contact with the floor for a mere 2 minutes before yelping as a force, Barry— she knew—, barreled into her and sent both of them tumbling into the water.
Barry shook his head out, looking around the surprisingly deep pound for his partner, who was nowhere to be found. He turned around to the blanket only to be hit by a large wall of wind that sent him flying back into the water with a splash. Barry looked upwards in time to catch Air's bell-like laughter, and found himself smiling before he got out of the water, shaking himself out, before feeling burst of warm air hit his clothes as he found his clothes getting drier.
Ally grinned at Barry as she landed, having already made sure the wig was secure and that the contour makeup Libby and Chelsea and put on her stayed put.
Barry and Air changed out of their suits before going back to sit on the blanket, Barry making quick work of another pizza as Air watched him in amusement.
"Wha—" Barry asked, a slice of pizza hanging mid bite before he finished it, before looking to the woman, who had been watching him.
"Nothing, nothing." Air explained hurriedly, before blanching at his intrigued look, "You remind me of an old friend of mine, that's all." Ally grinned, grimacing inwardly at the fact that he was the same man as her 'old friend'.
Barry nodded slowly, as Harrison's words about trying to get to know her came back to him. "Can you tell me about yourself?" He spoke, looking up when she was silent to catch the frozen look she wore. "You know everything about me, don't you?" Barry explained, "You knew my favorite pizza toppings without having to ask, and about the whole crush on my best friend thing. I just want to get to know you." Barry finished, watching her carefully. "21 questions?" He offered, watching her shake her head before he added, "If you want to skip a question you can."
Ally contemplated this, before nodding in agreement.
"How'd you get your abilities?" Was Barry's first question, making Ally give him a hard look. Barry gave her a prompting look and Air began to tell him,
"I was caught in the storm, got hit by the accelerator's energy wave and a strike of lightning." Air began, making Barry try to get her to give him more details. "That's all you get Allen." Air claimed, making him pout at her. "You're a CSI." Air deadpanned, making Barry grin.
"Alright alright, next quest—"
Barry was cut off as Air smirked before saying, "What I don't get to ask any of my own?" She questioned.
"You just did." Barry laughed to himself, in spite of the now glowering vigilante, who was slowly allowing her shoulders to quake as she laughed.
"Alright." Air agreed.
"Hmmmmm… How old are you?" Barry asked, dodging a swat from the woman as she laughed harder.
"Did no one ever teach you not to ask a Lady her age?" Air laughed, wiping at her eyes, as Barry glared in amusement at her. Ally let her laughter subside before she answered, "I'm in my 20's."
"Is your hair actually black?" Barry asked next,
"Maybe, maybe not," Air grinned.
"Eyes actually Hazel?" Barry questioned.
Air merely lifted an eyebrow at him.
"Where were you born?"
"In a hospital." Air deadpanned, Barry's glare only making her grin grow, before she hummed, "CSI."
"Do you run around in spandex with any other guy?" Barry questioned, as Air lifted a forgotten glass of whatever they had been drinking up to her lips. He grinned, as she spat most of a sip.
"No." Air coughed.
"Favorite thing to drink?" Barry asked, making Ally shake her head at him. "Seriously, you can't answer that?" He questioned.
"Sorry." Air's smile was sad, and Barry noticed it this time.
"It's alright." Barry offered, before he scooted himself to her side of the blanket, laying his head down onto the blanket as he looked up to the stars. "Favorite constellation?" Barry asked.
"The dove." Air responded, laying back before looking at her companion's blank face, before taking his hand in hers and using their hands to trace the shape where it had appeared.
"Why?" Barry questioned.
"My mother used to take me outside to watch the stars, that one was the first she ever showed to me." Air explained, her tongue loosened slightly, as Barry's mouth fell slightly in surprise at the fact she was sharing a detail. "She passed away a long time ago." Air left their hands intertwined as she and Barry turned to face each other.
"I'm sorry." Barry apologized.
"It's not your fault." Air admonished, before rolling onto her back and looking up at the four bright stars instead. "Besides, I wouldn't be here otherwise." She shared, smiling despite the buildup of tears behind her eyes, and Barry's eyes softened at the detail.
They laid there for a while, longer, pointing out and up at shapes in the sky, their hands still held together like a tethering point as Barry observed the woman who was his partner as she laughed at his stories and his jokes, albeit politely.
It wasn't until after one in the morning that they got up, heading their separate ways after a long night of spending time together.
ALLY'S APARTMENT | November 5th, 2014 | 1:55 am
As soon as Ally shut the balcony's door behind her she regretted it. Libby and Chelsea came rushing out, pleading and begging for details which Ally held in, save for one. She had fun.
Ally had had one of the best nights of her life. Barry had been interested in her, but at the same time she was conflicted by the fact that Air wasn't herself. She didn't want to talk the night over with anybody. Instead she shut herself into her room, before curling up on the bed and groaning at the thought of what would happen if Barry found out what both she and 'Air' had been hiding from him.
Ally allowed herself to get ready for bed before she once more sank into the bed, cursing herself for being, and falling in love with her longtime best friend, as well as for not being strong enough to tell him her feelings or her new identity as Air. She already knew that everything would soon blow up in her face, in the most literal of ways.
A/N: Once again, I'm so sorry it took so long for this update, I honestly did not want to go over a month with ought and update. I will probably be going back and combing through past chapters before I dig back into the show itself to write the next chapter. I think I have everything planned out, and I hope you all will like how I see this story going from here out.
Thanks for Reading! Please let me know what you think, and or if I left any silly errors in here
Lots of Love,
Star
Replies to Reviews:
Cleo9427:
You really have no idea how much that means to me. I enjoy my two stubborn metas. Thanks for the review!
GhostofaGirl03:
Thank you! Sorry it was so late. Thanks, but physics is not my thing. Hope your testing went well, and Thanks! Hope you enjoy this one!
Highlander348:
Sorry I made you wait this long, hope you like it! It would have been fun, but it gets to a point where me trying to have Ally keeping the secret detracts from how I kind of seeing this story go. I think where I will have the reveal makes the most sense in my mind. And maybe I'll make more than one, but I really enjoyed the idea of having Ally basically show Barry who she was, and then have Barry go back in time and have to deal with the fact that she hadn't told him and all that wibbley wobley timey wimey stuff.
Guest:
Thank youuuuuuuu! 3 Sorry it took longer than I planned.
Guest:
Barry will know within the next couple episodes of Flash (episodes 5 through 8). And his reaction will really fun for me to write, but his full reaction will probably culminate especially during episode eight, when his mind gets warped and he really gets the fact that literally everyone but Iris and himself knew. Which is another part that will be fun for me Hope you enjoy!
Abbyjoy7:
Thanks! And IT has been and I'm sorrrrrrryyyyyy. Haha feel free to pm me if you need ideas for her, I've been playing with a few ideas for how Ally will be involved in season two, if I can get there at somepoint. Especially because of that finale though. Hope you enjoy!
Hey, somebody is reading this! Yay! Footnote for the WIN!
Sorry, I'm even sillier when it gets late. :3
You're awesome, Love you.
Thanks for Reading!