FIRST MEETINGS AND LATE NIGHT DATES

PART-2

[Linda's POV]

Linda had a very busy day. The first day of a big promotion, shouldn't be anything less, right? But she could only get through the day thinking about this date and how much fun it was all going to be with him. After all, it was Barry who suggested that they should celebrate her success and she too, looked for every excuse to be with him.

So, in anticipation of a hot..hot date, she stood in a towel, freshly wet from her shower, in front of the mirror, looking at her final 2 picks for the night. It was either a whitish gown, which she hated because it looked like a wedding dress..and because she was in no hurry but Barry liked or..a high-low dress that she loved but Barry was not much a fan of. As they say- "choices".

Such were her fantasies for tonight that she couldn't say them aloud for uh.. Any-way, she hadn't gotten a proper time with him for two to three weeks now and so fantasies were rightly up in the air. But alas, fantasies in the end are just that- fantasies. At least in the real life as it was now 9:40 and Barry was late as hell.

"I dressed for you, Bar. Where the hell are you?", she asked the empty seat while staring at her half-empty glass of red wine. Maybe it was the effect of the wine combined with the endless wait that she eventually got tumbled down a maroon faced memory lane.

Linda still vividly remembered the day that she met Barry.

It was just another day for her. Waking up, getting ready for work with a desire of success in her heart. But there he was, just standing in front of her, talking to a colleague of hers. Back when he was such a dork. Not that he isn't one now. But back then, it was just a whole new level. Still, when Linda saw him, she couldn't help but feel..well, something for him. So, she decided to go and talk to him the moment he was alone and seeing her chance a minute later, as the mutual friend left for..well, who in the actual hell cared, she made a move.

"Hi there."

"Hey...", came the reply as Barry turned back and took a pause, "...there." Now, Linda's theory to this day is that the pause was actually him being stunned by the charms and beauty of the gorgeous reporter. But she was never able to confirm any of this. Anyway, he continued after mustering a bit of confidence, "Do we know each other?"

"We can", she said with flirtatious smile.

Barry gave back a dorky one and stammered a bit to form the following sentence with a shake of his head, "Well...yeah.. actually...uh.. listen.. uh...wait, let me start again."

Linda couldn't help but smile. So, she thought- "let's give him another chance even though he couldn't handle 2 flirtatious words."

"Hi, I am Barry. Barry Allen. I am a friend of Iri-"

"I am Linda. Though, my close friends call me Lin."

"That's a very nice name, Miss Park."

"Barry's not so bad, either."

"Well, you clearly don't know my full name", he laughed.

"Well, then let's keep it a surprise for the time being. I like an element of surprise."

"Yeah...it's better that way", he replied with a laugh thinking of his full name, Bartholomew Henry Barry Allen..."Yup, definitely better.."

And after a bit of small talk, she headed the conversation to the obvious direction, "So.."

"So...?", he paused, with his eyes looking to hers for answers.

"Oh boy, you suck at this."

"Yeah, I kinda do."

"Ok, then let me make it easier for you."

"Okay...?"

"You got a girlfriend?"

"Well, not exa-"

"Good, then here's my number", she said while taking a page out of her notepad. "Now, what you do with it, is entirely up to you.." She winked at him as she left and with that she swirled around and walked back to her workplace while looking back just the one time, leaving Barry in a state of excitement or...confusion? Linda could never figure out.

But hey..he never called. So, she never bothered much. Though her pride was hurt but she never thought of him again, until that one fateful night in Starling City when-

But before she could travel back in time even further, a sudden vibration on her phone stopped her trip down the memory lane. And of course, it had to be Barry. Boy, was he in for a world of pain!

As soon as she picked his call, Barry started mumbling apologies and some other stuff but Linda was mad now. "Barry, did you forget?" Of course, he said no.

"Barry! It was your idea and you promised we would celebrate, how could you forget?", she asked again. Nothing changed.

"Barry...!" She was persistent. But, well, so was he.

So, Linda decided to just stay quiet and say nothing. Torture, they say, has many forms. And after a couple of minutes, he replied, "Okay, I did. But I am on my way now."

"That's better. And now, you better be here within 5 minutes or else, I am leaving." He protested. "Is that a problem?" Guess what the reply was. And with that, she cut the call. Though, she knew that these were feign threats, at worst, as she was not leaving until it was with him. After all, it was Barry.

For the last year or two, it always was Barry.

[The Flash's POV]

S.T.A.R. Labs, Keystone City

"Hey guys!", cheered the fastest man alive, as he entered, nay sped, through the familiar doors of S.T.A.R. Labs. "You won't believe who I just ran into."

The cheering had no effect on the depressed faces of the team.

"Where were you?", one of them asked.

"...just roaming around, trying to help people. What happe- did something happen?"

"We called you. But hey, I mean you are so busy and you're so important..I just hope, we didn't disturb you."

"What happened guys? Tell me now, maybe I can help."

"Oh, so now you wanna help. You wanna know what happened? Well, you can see for yourself", he said while picking up the remote from the table and switching on the news.

Within the next few minutes, everything became clear. Crystal clear.

"Starling City is in shambles as the man known as the Hood or the Arrow was killed in action a few minutes ago fighting a previously unsighted meta-human. Starling, which had previously issued an arrest warrant for the capture of the masked vigilante, on at least 4 different occasions, seems to have a change of heart as people in thousands of numbers have gotten together to mourn the loss of the man who they are now hailing as the savior of Starling City. The body was taken from the scene by his team of outlaws and his identity still remains a mystery at large but an on-site mobile camera footage seemingly confirms that the vigilante did indeed receive the fatal blow and there is no way that he could have survi-"

"I am sorry, guys. I.. I didn't know", he said, while turning it off. "If I had, you know I would have raced over to Starling in a heart beat. Oh, God. How did this happen? Not Oliver. Not-"

"Yeah, well, you should be", he replied. "He was our friend and you-", he couldn't even find the strength to complete the sentence and walked away. So did the rest of the team. "Guys... come on.." is all he could say but it was to no avail.

And all he could do was to curse himself and his carefree nature. He didn't bother to pick up the phone as he didn't want anyone bothering him during his time with her. Brain fade wasn't an excuse. "He was not in a right place emotionally" wasn't an excuse. Not anymore. But what could he do now, except mourn for not even the fastest man alive, could change it.

It was then, when his team had left and he was all alone sulking, that an idea popped into his head. " ...or could I? Of course, I can. I can change it. I'll just go back in time and correct it. Ok, now, how the hell do I actually do that? Gideon has not been able to help and he never taught me but maybe...maybe.. of course...the other speedster. Maybe he can help. Maybe I can save her as well. I've..I've..got to find him, I've got to find him, yes...okay" he paused, "whew! this is really overwhelming and I haven't even started yet."

He took a pause and upon reflecting in his heart about why he had to succeed, about the consequences if he's not, he ran out of Star Labs with a sense of enthusiasm he hadn't felt since he lost her. But before he could correct anything, he decided to first meet an old friend and then find the man in the yellow. "This is...my chance...make it count..Wally."

The date

10.05 pm

He called her out, "Hey Lin!" which startled her as he literally came out of nowhere, causing her to drop a glass of very expensive red wine.

"Hey, Barry", she said while looking at the broken glass and spilled wine. "At least the bottle is still fine", she replied with a smile, which lit up the dampened situation.

"Yeah.. nothing I am doing today is working out, it seems."

"Now, on that I agree with you. But hey, the hug in the morning worked out pretty good."

"Oh, yeah? Well, then.." He held his hand out, which she gladly accepted and stood up to be in his arms.

He put a arm on her waist and pushed himself towards her and gradually, his lips met hers and well..

"How was that?", he asked breaking the kiss.

"Well, better than the hug, certainly..", she said with a cute little smile.

"Wait till you see what I brought for you."

"Oh, yeah? Flowers, date night, kisses, and now a gift. Someone's in a good mood."

"..you are my mood. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hopefully, we don't have to ever find out."

Barry, while helping her to the chair affirmed, "hopefully."

"By the way, I am still mad, you know. How could you forget?"

"Yeah.. I was kinda hoping you'd let it slide", he joked while helping himself to his chair, still holding her hand.

Linda, tilted her neck as if stating something obvious.

"What? I said - hoping", he said defending himself. To which, she could only roll back her eyes.

"Well, okay, what can I do now to make it up to you?"

"Wellll... ", she replied, almost singing the word. And Barry Allen, the fastest man alive at one time in his life, looked in horror as to what was in store for him. "This may have been a mistake." Damn right, it was.

The cemetery,

Central City

The Reverse Flash, infuriated and by now, even more curious, reached the cemetery. He started walking, instead of running towards the grave; slowly, very slowly, in an attempt to savor the moment and just hoping it would be someone the Flash loved..really loved, and when he did reach there, all he could do was chuckle, followed by a laugh which would have spooked the dead around him and he finally remarked at the lonely gravestone..."oh Miss West. You just made my day.."

Author's notes:

That ending tho...

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