It had been a few months since they took care of the rogue vampires and Barry couldn't be happier with how things turned out. Sif had stayed in Central City, for the most part, even going so far as to buy a house relatively close to Campus. She had gotten into the habit of waiting for him after his classes whenever she was in town and they did a lot of things together. Barry showed her around town. His friends had barely believed him when he told them about Sif. They had seen him leave with her and annoyed him for most of the day until he had gotten fed up with their questioning.
Barry fell down on the couch next to Sif, feeling more than a little exhausted "I hate my life," he groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes.
"Why do you smell like fire?" Sif asked, glancing over at him.
"Some idiot thought it was a good idea to try and burn down the dorms," Barry explained "They are uninhabitable for a while which means I'm going to have to move back in with Joe."
Sif got up from the couch and walked over to a dresser. She threw a pair of keys at Barry "Here."
The keys bounced off his chest as he blinked "What…?"
"From what you told me, Joe lives further away than I do, right?" Sif questioned, waiting for Barry to nod before she continued. She shrugged "There is your solution. I have enough space as it is. You're welcome to stay here."
"But this is your house," Barry protested, trying to hand back the keys.
Sif nodded "Exactly. So, it's my decision when I ask you to stay," she pointed out "I really don't mind." She shot him a grin "Unless you want to move back home. Then that's totally fine with me."
"No," Barry said quickly, blushing when it came out faster than he expected "I mean… If you sure that you won't mind."
"I don't."
"Then I'd love to stay here," Barry smiled "Although I don't have any of my stuff. They won't let us in for another few days."
Sif shrugged "I think I have some clothes that could fit you," she murmured "They belonged to one of my brothers."
Barry shook his head "I couldn't… I'm going to grab some stuff from Joe's."
"Okay," Sif hummed "You're welcome to choose a room." She glanced down at her phone "Listen, I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so you can take the car if you want. Make yourself at home and try not to burn down the house."
"Yes, mother," Barry snorted, shaking his head. Ever since the two of them had become friends, Sif allowed him to crash at hers and take her car when he needed it. The only thing that he wasn't allowed to touch without her being present was her bike. Not that he minded. It felt awesome to ride her bike with her. The thought alone caused him to blush. He couldn't deny that Sif was beautiful and despite the fact that she could be cold sometimes, he was starting to feel more than friendship for her the more time they spent together.
Sif threw a pillow at his head and put her hands on her hips mock sternly "Make sure you eat, young man. And don't you dare forget to clean."
Barry burst out laughing at her and almost fell off the couch "Please just go."
"Fine, fine," Sif sighed "I can see when I'm not wanted."
"I'll see you," Barry waved, watching her leave with a small smile on his face.
"I'm home," Barry called out, closing the door behind him. He was exhausted. It was the end of the summer semester and his professors loved throwing them into the deep end when it came to exams.
Sif glanced over her shoulder before turning back to the stove "Kitchen."
Barry followed her voice, leaning against the doorway "Hey." He noticed the smell that was wafting in the air and sniffed "What are you making?"
"Bœuf Bourguignon," Sif said "I haven't actually made it in a while but… I think it should still be good."
"French?"
"Hm," she nodded "Honestly, I might have been born here but if I go by the last centuries, I spent most of my time in France."
Barry tilted his head "Out of curiosity… Do you have a French passport?"
"And a visa," Sif said "Going by anyone's definition, I'm French."
"Huh," Barry blinked "Good to know." He snuck forward, reaching out with a spoon he had snatched.
Sif slapped his hand away, causing him to pout. She rolled her eyes "I'm done in five minutes. I'm sure you can wait that long?"
"But I'm hungry," he shot back, shooting her his best puppy eyes.
"Not going to work," she smirked "Get the bread and set the table, will you?"
Barry huffed and slinked over to the cabinet "Fine." He shot her a mock sad look "You're mean."
"I know," Sif shrugged "How was your exam, by the way."
"Urgh," Barry groaned "Don't remind me."
Sif snorted "That good, then?"
Barry slumped down on his chair "Yes. No. I don't know," he mumbled "My brain feels fuzzy. Is that normal?"
"Drama queen," Sif shook her head, putting the food on the table "Enjoy."
"Oh, food," Barry exclaimed, reaching out to put as much on the plate as possible. Sif didn't cook often but when she did, it was amazing. She was best with French and European cuisine but she was pretty good at grilling too. It was a little sad that he couldn't taste her cooking more than once every month but who was he to argue? She was still cooking way better than anything he could manage "Holy shit," he mumbled around a full mouth "I think I love you, Sif. If not for the food alone."
"Good to know," she rolled her eyes.
"Come on, please?" Barry begged, widening his eyes pleadingly "It will be fun. I promise."
Sif crossed her arms "That's what you said the last time when you dragged me to that weird game of yours. News flash, Barry. It was boring and I have no idea what the hell happened.
"'Weird game'?" Barry echoed in disbelief "Weird game? You dare call D&D a weird game?"
"I have no idea what it's about," Sif exclaimed "It's not like you didn't get lost in your nerdiness and forgot that I was there as soon as the game started."
Barry opened and closed his mouth "How… I did not forget about you."
"Oh yeah?" Sif asked "You didn't even notice that I left about an hour in and came back around midnight."
"Wait, you left?" Barry blinked.
Sif gestured at him "See? You didn't notice anything."
"Okay, okay," he huffed "Point taken. But please. This will be fun. I promise."
"Alright," Sif sighed "What is it?"
Barry held out a controller for her to take "Ever placed Mario Kart?"
Sif looked from Barry to the controller and over to the TV "I don't even…"
"Blasphemy," he gasped "Please tell me you at least know Mario."
"That Italian dude with the red cap?" Sif frowned.
Barry threw up his hands half relieved and half exasperated "Thank you, God. Yes. That Italian dude."
"Okay."
"How are you so in tune with the world and yet so out of tune?" Barry shook his head "It's ridiculous."
Sif shrugged "Maybe I was busy? Video games haven't been around that long yet."
"Still," he mumbled "Oh well. Now that you have me, I can introduce you to everything you didn't know and probably don't want to."
"Joy," Sif deadpanned, looking at the controller again "So how does this work?"
Barry scooted a bit closer to Sif and explained which button did what and how she could control the car. Once she got it, he started the first game.
Half an hour later, Barry was ready to throw down the controller "How are you that good? You didn't even know the game before…"
Sif shrugged "It's not like it's rocket science."
"But… But… I'm the Mario Kart champion," Barry spluttered, cursing when he was pushed off the Rainbow road again.
"I can see that," Sif shot back in amusement, ending the race in first place. Again.
"Okay," Barry huffed, grabbing the controller from her "Enough of that. Movie or another game?"
Sif hummed "How about we watch a movie and maybe later?"
Barry looked at her and smirked lightly "I think I have the perfect movie for this."
"And all of a sudden I'm afraid," Sif said, looking at him in trepidation "What is it?"
"You'll see." Barry put in the movie, making sure that Sif didn't see the case. He had borrowed the movie from Iris earlier this week, telling her that he heard the movie was good. She had bought it as soon as it has gotten out last month, so it wasn't like she needed to watch it anytime soon. Although she had been surprised because Barry had vehemently refused to read the book after the first chapter.
Barry leaned back and hand to stop the groan from escaping his mouth. Why did he think this was a good idea again? He was bored out of his mind and he was sure that the movie wasn't even close to being done. A quick glance to Sif showed her watching the screen intently. Please, don't let her be one of those who actually enjoyed bad vampire movies. He didn't have to wait long for an answer.
Edward turned around with an open shirt "This is what I am," he said, his skin sparkling in the sunlight.
Sif stared at the screen with an open mouth, her face the perfect image of shock and disgust "What the bloody hell...?"
Barry snorted at her expression, trying to stop the relief from showing. She had been way too interested in the movie, although now that he thought about it, that could have been for different reasons "You don't secretly sparkle, do you?"
"Fuck you, Barry," she grumbled "What is this shit?"
"Twilight," he shrugged, grin still on his face "Iris likes it."
Sif shivered "How can anyone…? No. Just no. I'll do anything you want but please don't make me watch this crap."
"Oh, come on," he teased "Don't you want to watch some more sparkling vampires?"
"Barry, this is the real world," Sif pointed out, throwing the TV a look that would have made it burst into flames if she still had her magic "Vampires burn in the sun. They don't… sparkle like undead disco balls."
Barry snorted "I have to remember that one."
"I'm serious," she gestured "Also, it wasn't like you enjoyed it anyway. You were almost asleep the whole time."
"You noticed that?" he asked sheepishly.
"I would have to be blind not to notice," she grinned "You were practically snoring."
Barry held up his hands "Alright, alright. How about another game?"
"Can I just watch you?" Sif asked "If you don't mind that is."
"Not at all," Barry smiled "How about… Assassin's Creed. It's pretty interesting and the history is as accurate as it goes."
Sif perked up "Sure. Sounds interesting."
It was a hot day. One of the hottest days this summer and Barry was sweating all over the place "How do you do it?" he asked, looking at Sif who looked as if she wasn't affected by the heat at all.
"What?" she asked, looking up from her book.
"How aren't you melting?" Barry asked.
Sif raised an eyebrow "It's not that bad."
"Not that…" Barry broke off "Okay, that's it. Get your swim stuff. We're going to the beach."
"Bossy," Sif told him "Also, I don't have swim stuff."
Barry blinked "What? Why not?"
"Because I don't go swimming?" Sif shrugged.
"But you've been to the beach, right?"
Sif shot him a look "Of course, I've been at the beach. I'm over a thousand years old."
"Okay, let me rephrase that. Have you ever been to the beach for fun? Sunbathing, relaxing, having fun?"
"Nope," Sif shook her head "Not that I remember, at least."
Barry dropped his head back "How did you survive? Your life sounds boring."
"Shut up," Sif grumbled.
"I'm serious," Barry shot back before getting up "I'm grabbing us some stuff and then we're going to buy you a bathing suit. And then we're going to the beach."
Sif sighed "Just take a shower or something. It's way easier than doing all that crap just for a beach."
"No way," Barry exclaimed "We're going. Come on."
He didn't think this through. He didn't think this through at all. Barry was sitting in one of the chairs by the changing rooms, trying to force down the redness in his cheeks. It was almost embarrassing how red he was. Stupid mirror.
"Hm," Sif sighed from inside the changing room. She was examining herself in the mirror critically before shaking her head. The white didn't work with her skin tone at all. It might also be because she preferred darker colours "I don't think I like it." She pulled it off, putting it into the discard pile. There was one left and so far there were two bathing suits that she actually liked the look of.
Barry looked up when Sif stepped out a few minutes later, his jaw-dropping "Woah," he breathed.
"How is this?" she asked, turning to look into the mirror. The bikini was a dark blue with two straps going around her ribs just a bit underneath her breasts "Barry?"
"Oh, erm…" Barry flushed even more "I… Good."
"You… Good?" Sif repeated, suppressing the laughter "Really?"
Barry nodded "Yeah."
"I like this one," she nodded, studying herself again "I really like it."
"Oh, thank God," he mumbled. Barry wasn't sure how much more he could have taken of Sif modelling bikinis. It was hard enough with her normal clothes but this… He already knew she looked good but Sif in a bathing suit was a whole different story.
They got to the beach to find it more than a little crowded. Lots of families with children and even more teenagers and young adults were milling around, going from sunbathing to the water and back. After looking around a little while, they found a free spot to put their towel down.
Barry immediately pulled out the sunscreen, already feeling his skin burn in the hot sun.
"Need me to do your back?" Sif asked, pulling the sunglasses off her face before squinting at the boy next to her.
"Yeah," he nodded, handing her the bottle. He stiffened in surprise when he felt her hands on his back only a moment later.
"Barry, are you alright?" Sif asked, trying to keep her voice even to hide her amusement. Really, over the past month, she had managed to make Barry blush more and more. It was kind of endearing how bad he was at hiding his crush. She knew that while she wasn't the first person he had a crush on, he never had a girlfriend before. Over the past six months, they had talked a lot about Barry and his unrequited crush on Iris. She told him about one or two of the men she was with, although she never went into detail. Most of the people she slept with, she didn't care about. Not in the sense of love, anyway "I can see you turning red from back here.
Barry blushed even more "Shut up," he hissed, cursing when his voice came out squeaky.
"Okay, okay," she snorted, finishing up "All done."
"Thanks," he told her, watching as she pulled off her shirt and shorts to lay down on the towel "Don't you need some too?"
Sif raised her hand, wiggling around her pointer finger "I don't burn. Literally. I can't even tan anymore. The sun is just… there."
"Huh," Barry mumbled, flopping down. He blinked against the sun for a few moments before closing his eyes with a sigh "That's so unfair."
"How can you not care?" Barry burst out after a while.
Sif was lying on the towel next to him, seemingly completely relaxed as the sun shone down on them "Hm?"
"I don't like the way these guys are staring at you," he muttered, shooting a glare at a group of guys who had been eyeing Sif for way too long.
"Let them," she shrugged, not even opening her eyes to look over to them "Ignore it, Barry."
Barry grumbled and laid back "I don't like it."
Sif glanced over at him with a smirk. She loved to tease him about his crush on her. Not that she minded, she was coming to really like the boy, no matter how nerdy he actually was "Why? Jealous?"
"What?" Barry spluttered. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment "No. I just…"
Sif raised her eyebrow "What do you want me to do about them, then? Rip their eyes out? Might I remind you that it was your idea to come here?" She paused before sighing "They're just looking. As long as they don't actually talk to me, I don't care. And neither should you."
"But…"
"Just relax and enjoy the sun," Sif mumbled "That's why we're here, right?"
Barry nodded and flopped down again "I still can't believe that you've never been to the beach just for fun."
"Eh," she shrugged "My siblings weren't really into the whole relaxing thing and alone this is kind of boring."
"True," Barry agreed before they fell quiet again, just enjoying the sun while being so close to each other.
The peace and quiet didn't last though because not even ten minutes later, a shadow fell over Sif, causing her to open her eyes reluctantly. A guy was standing in front of her, smiling nervously "Yeah?"
"Hey, I… Erm, I saw you over here and I thought I would come and talk," the guy started.
Sif blinked once, immediately dismissing him "I'm not interested."
The guy didn't move though "At least tell me your name. I'm Chase."
"She said that she isn't interested," Barry cut in, getting annoyed. He knew as soon as he had seen Sif in the bikini that it had been a mistake on his part. Not that he didn't like looking at her… The thought caused him to blush a bright red, his eyes wandering to his friend for a moment before narrowing back on the guy in front of them.
"Stay out of this, loser," Chase shot back "Come on, baby. I'm so much better than… that nerd."
Sif narrowed her eyes "I think I can decide that for myself, don't you?
Barry choked back a laugh at her reply, causing Chase to glare "I'll show you what's funny," he hissed "You and your slut of a girlfriend."
"What did you just call her?" Barry asked lowly.
Sif stood up and grabbed Barry's arm before he could throw himself at the bigger guy "Leave it, Barry. He's not worth it."
"Yeah, leave it, Barry," Chase taunted.
Sif closed her eyes and inhaled "Okay, this is starting to get on my nerves…"
Barry shrugged, gesturing when a grin stole its way across his face. He had known Sif long enough to know what she was about to do "Go for it."
Sif took a couple of controlled steps towards Chase, tilting her head to the side. He froze, unsure of what to do now that the girl actually seemed interested. Sif glanced over his shoulder to the group of guys Chase had been with before she leaned up and whispered something into his ear. When she stepped back, she held out her hand "I want to go for a swim," Sif decided "Want to come with me, Barry?"
Barry's face lit up, sending a smug smirk to Chase who was blinking rapidly "Sure."
"Great," Sif nodded.
"So… Swimming?" Barry asked once they reached the cool water.
Sif gestured "After you."
As soon as Barry stepped into the water, he recoiled back "Oh, that's cold."
"Scared?" Sif taunted, walking past him before diving underwater as soon as she was at chest height. She turned back to see Barry watching her "Come on. I thought you wanted to swim."
"Did I?" Barry mumbled under his breath. He shook his head and made his way towards Sif, shivering all the way. Just before he reached her, a splash of water hit his face "What was that for?"
Sif shrugged "You were being too slow."
"I'll show you slow," Barry huffed, reaching out to try and grab Sif.
She stuck out her tongue as she slipped away "Catch me if you can," she taunted.
The two messed around for a while with Barry trying to catch Sif while she continued to splash him with water every now and again. Barry spluttered through a mouth of seawater and sighed "Okay, okay. I give."
"You held out longer than I thought you would," Sif told him with a small grin, waiting for him to catch up to her "Thanks, by the way."
Barry tilted his head in confusion "For what?"
"For today," she replied, moving a bit closer to him again. They were a couple of inches apart by now but neither felt like moving away "I haven't had this much fun in a while, so… Thanks."
"You're welcome," Barry breathed, his eyes going from Sif's lips to her eyes and back. He swallowed nervously before leaning down a bit, brushing their lips together.
Sif barely had enough time to blink before he pulled back again. When he opened his mouth to apologise, she shook her head, reaching out to pull herself up "Don't be stupid," she mumbled, pressing their lips together again.
