FIRST MEETINGS AND LATE NIGHT DATES

PART-1

[Barry's POV]

He almost ran into his room and got dressed as fast as he could without using his powers, of course.

"Oh, man. How could I forget?", he asked himself in a fit of frustration.

He then picked up his phone and speed-dialed her, fully expecting..well, does it really need to be said?

"Hey, Lin. Before you say anything, look, I am so sorry, alright? I am just on my way-"

"No, of course not, I didn't forget."

"I didn't. I know it was my idea. And yes, I promised- But-"

"I didn't forget, Linda. Lin? You there? Hello?"

And after a minute of pause on both sides,"Okay, I did.." a defeated Barry conceded.

"5 minutes?... No, no. I will be there. Don't you worry", he said assuring her and with that, she disconnected the call.

"Crap.."

Now, let this be known that there was no way in hell or heaven or any other physical realm, that a mere mortal human could reach all the way to Petersburg in 5 minutes and..counting.

But Barry wasn't a mere mortal, no matter how much he refused it and since he was already 25 minutes late especially after that call; despite not wanting to, Barry tapped into the Speed Force and thus, for the first time in maybe a year, he ran through the traffic and the lights, to reach the backside of the restaurant in Petersburg within seconds.

After looking around if anybody saw him and correcting his hair, he took a deep breath and headed to walk through the front door.

But as soon as he opened the door, he remembered, "the gift..! damn it." He walked back and when assured he was alone, he ran 5 miles to the east headed to retrieve her gift. He knew she would love it. But at this point, he was loving something else entirely. Running. Barry had forgotten how it felt. The speed, the electricity, the wind on his face and the lightning...oh, the lightning. But he was careful to not overdo it and reminded himself that this was just a one-time thing and if it weren't for Kara, constantly nagging him and taking him all over the city, he wouldn't have forgotten the date in the first place.

The run filled him up with adrenaline nonetheless and it was like an old song you get bored and tired of from listening but then you pick it up after an year or so, and bam! it's like a whole new experience altogether.

But at the same time, he ensured that he didn't run to his full potential. Otherwise, 'it' could happen again. And no way was he ever gonna live through that again.

Finally, the shop arrived and he put those thoughts aside. He knew she would absolutely love what he had gotten for her 3 days earlier. You could sense watching his face that he was happy. Despite everything that had happened, this at least was not a lie. It never was.

The news of "A test pilot has gone missing during Ferris Air's - " echoed in the background of the restaurant, from the manager's television. "In other news, on the daily 10'o clock special, following the death of it's beloved vigilante, Starling City is in mourning and the mayor has promised a proper burial and a posthumous medal of-"

Barry being Barry, phased everyone and everything out once he saw Linda sitting on the corner table, who looked like an angel sent from heaven as..as his reward. She was wearing a long white gown with her hair let loose, yet elegant, and falling over her shoulders. The only things missing were a tiara, a set of wings and a smile as she looked depressingly at her date's empty seat. The fact that it was so uncharacteristic of her to a) wait for anyone, let alone for someone who just stood her up and b) wear something that he suggested (who's so good at fashion by the way, NOT!), showed him what he already knew- how much this meant to her. And seeing how her being sad affected him, made him realize how much it meant to him. Not that he didn't know earlier.

So, without any more wait, he started walking towards her, the girl he knew was worth it all.

Meanwhile, somewhere near the outskirts of Central City

[Thawne's POV]

"What's the issue, Gideon? Why is it taking this much time?"

"My apologies, Professor Thawne, I was hacking into this Earth's NSA databases, looking for abnormalities and then narrowing them down to the ones with speed force signatures."

"Alright", he replied with a long pause. "And...? Any luck?"

"There is currently only one known speedster on this Earth, who goes by the alias of the Flash."

"And where is our..beloved Scarlet Speedster?", he asked quite melodiously.

"Keystone City, Professor Thawne."

"Thank you Gideon. I'll take it from here", he replied. "I've found you, Flash...(voice distorting) I've found you", he said with a vicious smile.

KEYSTONE CITY

The Flash was inside a cemetery, sitting near someone's resting place, talking with someone he loved very much. He was laughing, crying and missing her, all at the same time.

And Eobard was watching all of this from a reasonable distance afar.

The Flash felt a vibration on his phone but he switched it off without giving it a second look, no wanting anyone to disturb them. But no such luck was to be found as eventually a distorted voice echoed in the background.

"Well, well, well..what do we have here? You developed feelings on this Earth, Barry? I guess some people never learn. And they are called idiots by the way, if you were wondering", he grinned.

But his smirk was short-lived as he soon heard a voice from his behind, with a finger tapping on his shoulders repeatedly, "who's Barry?"

Perplexed, Eobard burst into anger and ran away from the cemetery, knowing his foe would follow him. They both ran, going past cars, people and buildings trying to outrun each other but neither reaching the mark required and eventually they stopped on a lonely road where not a sound could be heard.

"A speed mirage? uh, Flash? Impressive. And I must say, I dig the new costume", he added.

"Do I know you, Mister.. Man in the Yellow?"

"Do you not remember what I did to your mother?", he remarked with a familiar laugh.

"Uh...hey buddy.. I think you've mistook me for someone else. I don't know any Barry and I am pretty much certain that you didn't do anything to my mother; and that's because you wouldn't be breathing today, if you did.

Eobard was truly disappointed, "that means you are not who I am looking for."

"And..who are you looking for now?"

"That is..privileged information, certainly not for the likes of you. Go away before I kill you out of fun. And now, that will be fun."

"Ooh..such swag. What's your damage, man?"

"Swag? Damage?" he laughed. "You seem even more dumber than he was. And here am I..who didn't think that was possible. So, congratulations on that."

"Be as it may, I too have some privileged information."

"Oh, really? Please, do enlighten me."

The Flash's comical speech and tone that had so far characterized this conversation were long gone. His eyes and his voice became grim before he added, "I know the darkest secrets of the Speed Force...in a way no one knows. No one can know nor they ever will."

At this point electricity started emerging and vibrating from the other Flash's body and the lamp posts nearby on the street started misbehaving. "I can manipulate the Speed Force, use it to create energy out of nothing. I can travel to any dimension I desire. I can change the course of the universe and use the Speed force to do things, your mind couldn't even comprehend in a thousand years. And all of that was taught to me by a literal God of Speed himself."

Eobard was shocked and genuinely impressed at what he was hearing, which was a rarity for him. He wondered at what dark secrets of the Speed Force this Flash knew, that he didn't.

"Well, would you like to share that knowledge?", he asked mockingly in frustration.

He paused for a minute and started walking in Thawne's direction and didn't stop until they were both standing up close and the anger in Eobard's eyes didn't reach new highs.

"Fooled ya!", he said with a bright grin and sped across the city, and with that head start, Eobard couldn't even get close to him, leaving him even more angry, embarrassed and swearing on the streets of National City.

"Gideon, track him. I'll deal with him after I'm done with the other one." It was then that he had a thought to run back to the cemetery to see who was this beloved person for whom this arrogant brat was crying for. "This would be very interesting."

TO BE CONTINUED..

Author's notes:

Hey guys! Hopefully that was a fun read, as I very much enjoyed writing that. Do comment your theories, or reviews. Reading them is always a lot of fun for me. Excited where this goes.

Also, note that this is a re-post of a previously deleted story. Earlier, part 1 and part 2 were one full chapter, but as I've found on my other stories, people really prefer shorter, crisper chapters, hence the division. Part-2 will be out ASAP. Subscribe for the notification.

You can also check my other story which is a 13-part story about Thea Queen becoming the Dark Archer in a timeline where Deathstroke kills Oliver and well, trying to take revenge and find some love along the way...Also, if possible, follow me on Instagram 414karan as well as this story!

Thanks for reading guys and girls. Stay safe and cheers!