It'd been admittedly a while since Belén visited her sister in jail. Every day had just brought on something new they needed to solve. And now it actually made Belén feel a little guilty she neglected to visit Maritza. How times changed. Months ago she didn't dream of visiting Maritza unless she absolutely needed to.

Maritza could say the same thing. She was so grateful that Belén had begun to visit her more often out of her own accord than out of business. She didn't deserve it, but Maritza felt lonely. She needed her family, her son. "I love the ring," she told Belén who immediately blushed. Maritza could see it even through the glass that kept them divided. "It's so you."

"Yeah," Belén gazed at her rose-gold promise ring sitting on her finger. "I love it. I never actually thought of having one but...when Barry gave it to me I just...I couldn't say 'no'. I didn't want to say 'no'."

"Yeah, I get the feeling," Maritza wouldn't say it but she thought of her late husband. She was glad Belén was finally experiencing a love like that. "I'm glad that you and Barry are good, really good. And I'm also really happy that you and Mom are patching things up."

"I know, still can't believe that one," Belén laughed quietly. "I mean...for the first time in my life I feel like I have a mom. She's there - she's trying to be there. I'm grateful for that."

"The family's finally together," Maritza's smile was a sad one and they both knew why.

"Mar..."

"No, don't even say it," Maritza shook her head. "I don't deserve sympathy. I came to terms with that a long time ago. If I could turn back time, I would've never done what I did. Hell, I would give anything to never have gotten these powers."

"Your powers aren't bad, Maritza. It's how you use them," Belén gently said. She would be lying if she said she wasn't still a bit angry with Maritza for everything she did last year...but a part of her missed her sister. She'd finally healed a good part and now that everything was said and done, Maritza was in jail and away from them.

"I chose to use them terribly," Maritza sighed. "I really wish I could give them back, you know? Even if I used them in a good way...I just don't want them."

Belén wouldn't push that subject. She thoughts, perhaps, that years later Maritza would maybe reconsider her stance on her abilities. For now, Maritza was still in the grieving stage. It would probably be a long stage.

"So tell me about this Shivhan girl," Maritza said after a moment she used to straighten herself up.

"Black Orchid?" Belén smiled. "She's super cool - kind of like, the tough bad girl."

"Next to you?" there, Maritza had to genuinely laugh. "That oughta be a sight to see."

"She's pretty cool, trust me. She's been helping me access the Green - well, trying to anyways."

"Still no luck getting into that place, then?"

Belén shook her head. "No, and I'm getting impatient. I need to defeat Datura and Poison Ivy before they really hurt someone."

"I gotta say, Belén," Maritza bit her lower lip as she considered her next words, "This whole thing with those metas...you can't let it consume you."

"What?"

"You can't let it consume you, because that's how it starts." Maritza made a pass at herself to remind Belén how it was she ended up in jail. "When my husband died, I let that grief consume me in the worst way."

"Yeah, but Datura is the evil one. I'm just trying to survive!"

"Still, Belén, you can't let your life be governed by these women. Datura is getting to you and that's how she'll win."

"it's just frustrating, alright?" Belén sighed in annoyance. Everything Maritza was saying was true, but it didn't make it easier for Belén to stop acting that way. "She always wins me no matter what I do. I don't know what the hell her problem is but if I could get one answer from her it'd be why she hates me so much. Why me?"

"Well, why does Zoom hate Barry?"

"Because he's a psychopathic speedster hell bent on being number 1?"

Maritza's eyebrows raised as her eyes flickered to the side. "Good point but there could be something else."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't say much about Zoom because even you guys don't know much about him but Datura...? She's made herself pretty known by now. I've seen the reports - how she attacks you so...aggressively? So...personal."

Belén stared blankly at her sister.

"I mean, don't you get the feeling like there's an underlying, personal reason why Datura is hunting you of all people?"

"I don't know," Belén shrugged. "She just hates me."

"Yeah but there's a difference between hating you because you're standing in someone's way and hating you because you're you. Like Zoom, he's attacked Barry because Barry's in his way to being number 1 but when Thawne attacked Barry...that was on a whole other level of evil. That's the level Datura seems to be on."

"But I don't get it, what could I have done to her?" Belén shook her head. "Thawne knew everything about Barry, like they'd lived together but Datura's from another world."

"Maybe she knew the other you on that world," Maritza's suggestion froze Belén in her seat. "Earth 2? What if Datura knew the you from that world and that you pissed her off?"

"I mean...I guess it's a possibility?" Belén scratched the top of her head. "But how would I know? Harry doesn't know anything about the Earth 2 me and if I ask him he'll just scream my head off because I'm focusing on the wrong thing."

"Well you don't need to know what Earth 2 you did, you just need to be more cautious. If Datura is that type of angry with you...she'll kill you without a second thought."

Belén nodded. "I know," she said quietly.

Maritza watched her sister grow paler as she probably thought of the many ways Datura could murder her. "Belén," she said after a moment. "Go home."

Belén's eyebrows knitted together. "What?"

Maritza sighed and leaned forwards in her seat. "Go home, Belén. Go see Barry, or Mom...take a break."

"A...break?"

"Yes. You need a break from all this metahuman crap."

"I can't just take a break, Mar-"

"-oh yes you can because you have a team that'll substitute for you in the meantime. I know what I'm saying, Belén. Take a break for one night and just let you head clear up. I bet that accessing the Green might get easier if you do this."

Belén bit on her bottom lip. Taking a break, even a short one, did sound pretty good. "Well...my friends are having their wedding this weekend. I'm a maid of honor but I told Barry I might cancel it-"

"-don't you dare, Annah-Belén!" Maritza pointed a finger at her sister, tapping her nail against the glass wall. "Go and have fun! Dance a little! I know you love doing that."

A small smile appeared on Belén's face. "Yeah...maybe you're right."

"I am," Maritza matched Belén's smile with her own. "Have some fun, Belén. You deserve it."

~ 0 ~

A small, silver device was being put together by Harry in the work room. It was late, it was a weekday, and it was the perfect moment to work on such a device if the idea was to not get caught.

"Journal entry 1-14: Turtle's brain. So, what I learned from Turtle's brain matter and the Reverse-Flash, as it turns out, has allowed me to complete a device that when installed inside The Flash's suit, will let me harness his speed, so that the next time he taps into the Speed Force…" but Harry trailed off, finding it difficult to say out loud just what he was planning on doing.

"So you could begin collection," a different voice finished for him. No longer did he startle from Datura's unannounced visits. He was sure it had to do with the same cellphone she'd given him a couple days ago.

"You know one of these days you will get caught," Harry warned but there was no concern behind it. "Wouldn't be the worst thing…" he added in a low mumble.

Datura rolled her eyes as she came in. "I do my research. I know there's no one here. Update."

It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. She'd taken much more care in this project than a normal villain would have. "On its way," he sarcastically waved the device."

She immediately grinned at the sight. "Excellent. So close…" she whispered. Her eyes roamed the room and suddenly her grin was gone. "One more thing, my doppleganger. What's her status? Did she get into the Green already?"

"...no."

"Good," Datura smirked, but Harry swore he'd seen a bit of a relief before that. A very brief one but there nonetheless. "We'll be seeing each other, then." As she left, she heard Harry mumble 'unfortunately' which only made her smirk. She loved when she held the power.

Still, that brief relief Harry had seen made its presence even when Datura had returned to Earth 2.

In her own greenhouse, the one she shared with Poison Ivy, she couldn't focus on her plants. When Poison Ivy returned from her own tasks, as given by Zoom, she'd found Datura about to leave.

"Where the hell are you going?" the ginger stopped her with one look.

"I'm...I was going out..."

"Where?"

"Out." Datura moved around the ginger but was promptly yanked back. "Hey!"

"You never just 'go out' into the city. Where were you really going?" Poison Ivy searched for the answer in Datura's face until she got it. "Oh," she let Datura's arm go, "I get it. You were going to see him."

"Never," Datura instantly said and turned away from her partner in crime. "You know I would never do that."

"But you've done it before," Poison Ivy's knowledge of her secret whereabouts pulled Datura around. The ginger smirked, though it dropped within the second to be replaced with a scolding look. "In secret, and from a distance, but stupid nonetheless."

Datura pursed her lips together. There were a range of words she wanted to say but she dared not. She knew Poison Ivy was right. But that was how things went sometimes - she was too much of her old self to think logically. "...I wasn't going there..."

"You're damn right you weren't," Poison Ivy snapped. "Because right now you focus on your survival. And even then, even afterwards, you never go near him. That life is over, do you understand?"

Datura gave a nod of her head. "I know that."

Poison Ivy dropped her firm expression and gave her friend a sharp look. "I know seeing your doppelganger must be causing all these...things to resurface but you have to remember who you are. And I'm only so persistent right now because of what's happening to you. All those metas inside your head, you can't afford to have an identity crisis. They can take you over if you slip."

Datura nodded again. She was completely right. "I know. I need a cure. With it, I'll finally have the reigns to all these powers and, more importantly, I won't die!"

"And we'll get it," Poison Ivy put her hands on Datura's shoulders, looking as certain as possible. "You and I, we'll get it because we always get what we want."

Datura turned away from Poison Ivy and walked up to a table sprawled with single flowers. She'd been picking at them for a while. "She's trying to get into the Green. And she's been trying for a while now so...anytime now, she might actually get in." Behind her, Poison Ivy huffed at the mention of the horrid place. Datura turned sideways and saw the ginger fold her arms over her chest. "Tell me about it - the Green? I want to know about it."

"No, you don't," Poison Ivy dismissively said. "It's not a place for people like us."

"You mean criminals?" Datura then turned completely to face her friend. She knew well enough that Poison Ivy once had access to the Green but was kicked out once she turned evil. "C'mon, Pamela," she sighed, "I never got to see that place and I never will. You saw it, though. You know what it is, what it can do...please tell me about it?"

Poison Ivy groaned and dropped her arms to her sides. "It's the motherland of botanical metahumans. It's a forest, basically, where we can train, meditate, meet with other metahumans like us. But it's only for metas who don't abuse their power."

"In other words, no criminals," Datura nodded. "Like us. Even if I tried my hardest, the Green would never let me in...would it?"

Poison Ivy shook her head. "The Green is a sentient place. It knows who we are and what we do. It kicked me out when I started...branching out. It didn't want me, so it cut me off. Haven't been back there in years."

"But now Belén is trying to get in and that Black Orchid girl is helping her do it," Datura drew in a deep breath. "And if she gets in...she might actually get stronger."

"Yeah, but it's not going to help her at all. She can train all she wants but the truth is, logically speaking, you are the stronger one," Poison Ivy pointed at her, smiling with nothing but pride, "You have countless powers at your disposal. The Green won't do anything for her."

"Mhm," Datura passed a hand through her dark curls. "It's just...that doppelganger...I have the better powers, I have the strength, I have lackeys at my disposal...and yet she's the one who looks so much...happier." She gritted her teeth together and despite not seeing herself, she knew her eyes were flashing radiant colors. "I was on Earth 1 right now-" she plainly ignored Poison Ivy's disapproving glare, "-and do you know what she was doing? She went to therapy and then she comes out with this big grin on her face like she has no problems in her life. How is that fair!?"

"Snap out of it!" Poison Ivy practically shouted, startling the latter. The colors faded from Datura's eyes in seconds. "You are never to compare yourself to that one! Your lives may have started out the same but you are better! This petty jealousy of yours is what's going to bring you down! You care Datura, and you shouldn't! Once you start to care, then you start to get feelings again and those feelings were supposed to die the moment you turned into Datura. Do not ever make that mistake again."

Datura nodded again but she turned away. "I...I need to go train."

Poison Ivy watched her head for one of the connecting rooms. She knew this 'tough love' thing was always hard on Datura, but it was the only way to remind her that they were above everyone. Datura always, at some point, had the annoying habit of becoming...like her old self. It was brief, but even that was something Poison Ivy wouldn't tolerate. She would always be there to remind Datura and reel her back to where she belonged.

~ 0 ~

The last week had been a troublesome one.

With the Turtle in their possession, the team figured defeating Zoom would then be easier...until they found the Turtle dead in the pipeline. With that plan gone, it was back to zero on the plans against Zoom. And if that wasn't enough, the Reverse-Flash briefly showing up to resurface old memories was the icing on top of their problems. The good thing was that he was gone - at least in their timelines - for good. For a while, the team was left to just...live their lives as normally as possible.

Thankfully, for Barry, he had a little help from his girlfriend.

Dressed in her scarlet red, off-the-shoulder, satin gown, Belén walked down the aisle with the other maids of honors. She was radiant - at least in Barry's mind - in the gown. She passed by him and winked but managed to keep a straight face afterwards. She would never hear the end of it from her friend - the bride - if she ruined her 'perfect wedding day'. Selena was a bit special when it came to events.

The wedding was a perfectly normal one, thank God. Barry couldn't remember when was the last time he did something normal like this. Granted none of his friends were married yet but that wasn't the point. The point was doing something normal and just having fun like any 26 year old would.

That just didn't exactly include dancing.

Belén sported a couple laughs here and there while she tried to get Barry to follow the rhythm of the dance. The reception was in full party mode and it was there that Barry discovered how good of a dancer Belén was even if she was away from her aerial silks. And her most preferred music?

That was something new for Barry too.

"Ooh, so you're a rock n' roll kind of girl," Barry stopped for a moment to watch Belén do her own little dance. The song was currently Jailhouse Rock and he could not - for the life of him - find his rhythm.

Belén did. Her red gown swished with her as she danced coolly to the song. "And you've got two left feet!" she replied. "Ha!"

When the song switched to Rockin Robin, Barry was ready to quit.

"C'mon!" Belén laughed as she reached for his hands to keep him on the dance floor.

"I don't - I think this is your turf, Belén!" Barry tried pulling away but she wouldn't let go. She used her grip on his wrists to pull herself closer to him instead. She bit her her lower lip in a teasing way and continued to swish to the music.

It was a long time before Barry was finally able to take her away from the dance floor. And when he did manage to, Belén warned him she'd be back in 10 minutes tops.

"How about we get you something to drink before you de-hydrate?" he couldn't help laugh too. It was just such a lively atmosphere - it was crazy how he forgot how these things could be so...normal.

"Hey Belén!" another maid of honor was calling to them. "Selena's going to throw her bouquet in 15 minutes! Are you ready?"

"She needs to take a break first," Barry said just as Belén opened her mouth. She quickly shut it and threw him a mock glare. "You've been dancing nonstop for the past hour!"

Belén rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him. "Why don't you go get us those drinks, then?"

"When I come back, will you still be here?"

"...maybe," she shrugged.

The other maid of honor laughed at the pair while they went back and forth. "You guys are so funny."

"Thanks, Rebecca, but to be honest...he's so overbearing," Belén dramatically sighed.

Barry's expression quickly morphed into incredulity. "Excuse me?"

Belén quickly smiled at him. "Love you."

"You know she's only joking, right?" Rebecca knowingly smiled at Barry. "Back when we were doing our show for the Azalea tribute, she looked miserable. We knew she had some guy she was pining over."

"You can go now," Belén pointed at Rebecca. "And for the record I was not pining, I was..." Her nose crinkled when she realized that was probably the best way to describe how she'd felt those 6 months when she and Barry broke up.

"Worst mistake of my life," Barry's voice had gone soft. He reached for Belén's hand, the one that proudly showed off her promise ring. "Glad she took me back, though." Belén met his glance with a blushed smile, even more so when he kissed her cheek. "You still want a drink?" she nodded. "I'll be back in a minute."

Belén watched him go with a dreamy smile until Rebecca cleared her throat. "I'm glad to see you're doing better, Belén," she was obviously looking the ombre-blonde over. "You look nothing like the empty shell we had months ago."

"Gee, thanks, Becks," Belén playfully rolled her eyes. "You really wanted to embarrass me tonight." Rebecca laughed.

Barry returned only a few seconds later with three drinks in his hands, something he miraculously balanced without spilling.

"Thank you," Rebecca graciously accepted the glass meant for her. "So Belén, the others and I were talking about when you might want to come back to the team? It's been a while - I mean-" she quickly cut herself off for the last time Belén had done aerial dancing was when she was shot in front of a whole crowd. "I know it was hard...with what happened..."

"You mean getting shot?" Belén assumed where Rebecca's thoughts had gone off to and offered her blonde friend a kind smile. "It's okay, Becks. You can say that openly."

"I know, I..." Rebecca thought it was best to leave that matter behind and move onto what she'd been wanting to say, "It's just been a while and the team really misses you. We're not doing a show anytime soon but we're always practicing."

Belén nodded and exchanged a quick glance with Barry, the latter already giving her a sympathetic look. She knew what he meant. With all their problems, she needed to drop aerial dancing for the moment. "I'd love to but...there's just a lot of things going on right now and...I need to solve those first before I can do aerial dancing again."

"What kind of things?" Rebecca's dark eyes flickered between the two metas, curious of course.

"Just...things..." Belén left it at that. "But as soon as they're done with, I'll be back."

Rebecca nodded, but it was clear she was still very curious of what was keeping Belén away from them. "Okay, well...the bouquet..." she jerked a thumb over her shoulder, backtracking as she reminded Belén, "Ten minutes!"

"Yeah," Belén nodded that she would be there soon.

"You didn't have to say no," Barry said as soon as it was just them two again.

Belén turned for their table with a sigh. "Yeah, I did. I don't have the time to do that when I have Datura hunting me. Plus," she took her seat with a plop and planted her glass on the table, "What if I do go back and then Datura decides to attack me there? The team could get hurt and Datura could expose me as the Azalea. I just can't risk that."

Barry sighed. He would like to argue but...she made sense. "Bells, I'm sorry."

"No," Belén waved a hand at him. "None of that stuff. I don't want to think about metahumans and hunting and...anything that's not happy." She reached for one of his hands and flashed him a big smile. "We're having fun here, right?"

"Of course! I haven't been to a wedding in ages," Barry looked around at the lively party. It was just so refreshing.

"Yeah," Belén agreed. "I'm glad we came. It's good to distract ourselves - I mean, we are young, right? We deserve to party." Barry laughed. "What!?"

He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Nothing, you want to go dance a little bit before the bouquet is thrown?"

Belén beamed at the idea. "Hell yeah!" she drowned the remainder of her drink - which was considerably a lot and therefore left Barry a little stunned she had that speed down. "C'mon!" she yanked him out of his chair and ran them to the dance floor.

~ 0 ~

It was dead quiet in Belén's apartment late at night until a certain speedster rushed in with a girl in a red dress. Both were laughing after a fun night.

The moment Barry put Belén down in the living room, she gasped. "We forgot the cake. I loved that cake!"

Barry playfully rolled his eyes and sped out of the apartment. A minute later he zipped into the kitchen then returned to the living room. "Grabbed and placed in your fridge. Better?"

Belén happily nodded her head. "Thank you!" She plopped down on the couch and reached down to her feet to take off her heeled shoes. "I tell you, heels make you feel powerful but they hurt so much afterwards."

"Then why wear them?" Barry smiled at her struggling face. He walked over and bent down in front of her. He took over and unhooked her left shoe.

"Did...did you not just hear me? I feel powerful," she gave him a dead serious look. He rolled his eyes and chucked the shoe to the side. "It's all easy for men. All you have to do is wear a sharp suit and comb your hair. That's it. Injustice."

Barry successfully took off her right shoe and then threw it in the same direction the left shoe landed in. "I'm so sorry."

"You should be," she said automatically. "Although..." she looked him over with a degree of interest, "...you do look kind of nice."

"Nice is all I get?"

"Fine, you look hot. Come here," she grabbed him by the edges of his bow tie and pulled him to her for a kiss.

Barry pressed a hand to the couch to support him as he climbed on, over her. "It's...kinda late..." he managed to say in-between kisses.

"So?" she pushed him up the necessary amount just to speak. "You're staying over, didn't you get the memo?"

"There was a memo?"

She smirked. "You take your girlfriend to a wedding, you're dressed like this-" she reached for his bowtie again and untied it, "-and I'm dressed like this?" she made a gesture at her scarlet dress. "What did you think was going to happen?"

She got him there. Fortunately, Barry caught on fast. He reached down to stroke her ankle and then dragged his fingers up along her leg, slipping underneath her dress in the process. "You're right," he smirked.

The roguish look on Belén's face was just begging for Barry to keep going. "Thought you'd see it my way."

~0~

Shivhan impatiently tapped her foot against the greenhouse's hardwood floor. A noise akin to annoyance slipped through her lips when Belén finally walked into the room. "There you are! You're late!"

"Am I?" Belén pulled her phone out of her back pocket and saw the time. "I'm like 30 minutes late, not that big of a deal."

"It is when you have Datura on your ass. Remember her?"

Belén rolled her eyes. "How could I forget the woman who's been hunting me down? You know," she kicked off her shoes and stepped into one of the areas where there was sand instead of hardwood, "My sister advised me a couple days ago to take a break from metahuman things and honestly...it was such good advice."

"Well you can't stay on vacation forever," Shivhan watched Belén take a seat on the sand, cross-legged, and assume the zen position.

"I know, but it definitely helped me," Belén happily closed her eyes and took in a breath. Shivhan did have to admit that this was the first time Belén easily found her meditation spot.

"Okay," Shivhan squatted down in front of the ombre-blonde, "So basically the botanical metahumans I met up with in the Green all hate Poison Ivy and Datura so they are more than happy helping you take them down."

"How do they know them?" Belén cracked open one eye. "I thought you said the Green doesn't tolerate botanical metahumans who abuse their powers."

"Yeah," Shivhan nodded her head. "But Poison Ivy didn't always start out evil. She became evil over time meaning she did, at one point, have access to the Green."

"And Datura?"

"She could've if Poison Ivy hadn't corrupted her."

A loud, probably unladylike, snort erupted from Belén's mouth. Her eyes snapped open. "Oh please. Nobody makes someone evil - you choose to become evil."

"Actually," Shivhan bobbed her head, but Belén cut her off sharply.

"Oh no. You are not going to tell me that Datura had some sob story that made her what she is."

"Not like that," Shivhan sighed and dropped her bottom to the floor and awkwardly crossed her legs. "I talked to the metas and some of them were from Earth 2. Datura started out as a pure botanical metahuman until her siphoning kicked in. That wasn't a choice. And that's where Poison Ivy came in."

"They got together because they're the same horrible people," Belén frowned heavily.

"Whatever the case was, Datura could've had an honest shot at being a good person."

"But she didn't," Belén gritted her teeth together. "Did these metas happen to say something useful?"

"Yeah, actually, apart from the fact you have their undivided help and attention-" Shivhan made sure to repeat that in case Belén wanted to get snappy again, "-they believe the reason you can't get into the Green right now is because you're not doing it for the right reason."

"Excuse me?" Belén raised an eyebrow at the woman. "Not doing it for the right - what!? What does that even mean!?"

"Remember how I said the Green is a sentient place? A sentient being?"

Belén nodded.

"It feels you, Belén, wanting to get in. But it also feels that you're not trying to get in for the right reason."

"What reason would that be?"

"You just want to win against Datura."

Belén blinked, and before Shivhan would even say that it was wrong, Belén went ahead and excaimed, "Well of course I want to win! I want to defeat her! What else am I supposed to do against her?"

"But that's the thing - the Green is this annoying place, to be honest, and it really values the right and wrong morals."

"Now this definitely feels like how the Speedforce annoys Barry with this crap," Belén groaned. "So then what? Am I not supposed to want to defeat Datura? She's hurt a lot of people and it's only fair that she gets taken down."

"I know," Shivhan nodded, fully agreeing with Belén's perspective. "Believe me, I want to defeat Datura as much as you do."

"So then why won't the Green let me do it!?" Belén practically shouted in Shivhan's face, not that she meant to but she was just upset.

"I don't know, I mean..." Shivhan raked a hand through her long dark hair. "The other metas think the Green might be seeing it as a way for you to fall into that dark path that Datura did. You know, like, if you only want access to the Green - a place meant for peacefulness - because you want to beat some person, it can pave the way to a road of selfishness. You'd be doing things for the wrong reason."

"So then what am I supposed to do?" frowned Belén. "Let Datura keep kicking my ass? Let her kill me? Is that what the Green wants?"

"The Green is something difficult to understand but it does usually look out for us."

Belén exhaled a shaky breath, suddenly wishing she was back in her blissful vacation bubble. "What do I do now?"

"Well..." Shivhan tilted her head to the side and thought for a moment, "...maybe that whole vacation thing you were talking about? Keep at it. Figure out a better reason why you need to get into the Green."

"But I..." Belén rubbed her face in exasperation. "I just want to defeat her so she won't hurt people! Isn't that a good enough reason!?"

Shivhan could only shrug. The Green sure did work in mysterious way.

~ 0 ~

Nowadays, it wasn't that out of place for Iris to notice Belén wasn't 100% into her job. She felt for her friend, honestly. If it wasn't her mother one day, it was Datura the next day and then throw in their usual metahumans and regular criminals...it had to be difficult remembering she was one woman. And since Belén was forgetting that, Iris would take it upon herself to remind Belén of the good things she had going right now.

"Hey!" Iris stopped by Belén's desk with a wide smile on her face, something Belén didn't see as her gaze was glued to her computer screen.

"Hey," the ombre-blonde murmured.

"I just finished talking to the editor, Scott, and he told me he's running your piece on the Black Orchid article you wrote up."

That definitely seemed to pull Belén out of whatever trance was keeping her silent and reclusive that afternoon. "He is?" she looked at Iris with unbelieving eyes. "Last time I heard he told me I was being too...biased, again."

"What?" Iris laughed shortly.

"Yeah," Belén leaned back against her desk chair. "I meant for the Black Orchid piece to be an introduction to...Shivhan," she whispered their friend's name, "Let the city know that it is possible to have a botanical metahuman who isn't evil, apart from the Azalea."

"You wrote that thinking of Datura," Iris folded her arms.

"Yes, obviously! Why else would I?'

Iris raised an eyebrow at her friend. She was a bit surprised that question actually came out of Belén. "Umm.." Iris pursed her lips together for a second, "...maybe to show the city the great things that Black Orchid has done without recognition? You know, the usual things you for when you write an article."

Belén knew what Iris meant and suddenly thought back to Shivhan's words. The reason you can't get into the Green right now is because you're not doing it for the right reason. You just want to win against Datura. She put an arm on her chair's armrest and tilted her head back. "Okay, I see what you mean and that's not what I meant."

"I know that," Iris said, sounding fairly sure which did relieve Belén a bit. "So how come you're not as excited as I am for this article to run? I think it's wonderful and the fact you're the first reporter to even know about this new meta - Belén, that's a really good thing for your writing career!"

"I am happy, but..." Belén sighed, straightening her head. "You know what we're dealing with, right? I'm just overwhelmed..."

"Yeah, but then this is an even bigger reason to be excited about this article! I think we should celebrate!" Iris declared suddenly when she got the picture of a nice, relaxing dinner in her mind. "Oh yeah! We should definitely do this!"

"I don't know, Iris..." Belén began to shake her head, but it would be futile to fight against Iris West.

"Let's do it! We can do it in my backyard! It's such a nice day out and it'll probably stay like that tonight!"

"But-"

"-I'm doing it!" Iris pointed at her, so excited for this idea she just got a minute ago. "We're so doing it!"

"...I guess we're doing it," Belén had no choice but to agree, though there was a tiny smile on the corner of her lips. Iris saw it and thus realized that they really did need something like this or they would just lose it.

~ 0 ~

"A dinner party?" Shivhan visibly crinkled her nose as soon as Cisco and Caitlin told her the plans for tonight. "For what?" she moved towards the screens hanging in the cortex wall. They'd been trying to see if Datura or Poison Ivy, even Zoom, had made any appearances.

"For you," Cisco answered in the same tone she'd used on them.

"And Belén," Caitlin made sure to add in. "Her article on the Black Orchid is running this week. It's a big deal."

"Yeah, for her, but why do you need me?" Shivhan looked over her shoulder to see Cisco's scrunched face.

"What do you mean!?" the man practically shouted in the room. "You're the topic of the damn article!" Shivhan rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the screens. "You're the first botanical metahuman to surface as a good guy after the Azalea debuted last year. That doesn't happen very often here."

"It sounds boring," Shivhan turned around and walked up to the back of the main desk. "And no offence to Iris, but I don't really see the point in making me go."

"It's a nice way of celebrating," Caitlin said. "I really think you should go, plus...Iris already said you're coming."

"Oh, did she?" Shivhan raised an eyebrow. She was dismayed to see both Caitlin and Cisco nodded their heads. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

"We're not," Cisco assured her. "Be there at 8 pm."

Shivhan audibly groaned as she left the cortex.

"So, who's going to tell Harry?" Cisco turned to Caitlin, his expression already indicating it wasn't going to be him. "And Jay?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "I already asked Jay and he said he couldn't go. He's working on some training routine for Barry. And Harry just flatout said no."

"There's a shocker," Cisco's sarcasm wasn't out of place but it didn't mean Caitlin liked it.

"He's upset that we're still no closer to finding Jesse and stopping Zoom. It's understandable. You should try being a bit more of that," Caitlin offered him a small smile before leaving herself.

It's not that Cisco didn't try, it was that Harry had such a...challenging personality.

~ 0 ~

"I can't believe I'm being forced to go to this," Belén grumbled as she put on her silver earrings in front of her mirror. She was just finishing up getting ready for the dinner party she wasn't very excited for. She should be more appreciative of what Iris was trying to do for her, she knew, but...she just couldn't do it.

"Hey Bells, you ready?" Barry poked his head into her bedroom. She gave a silent nod amd stood up. "You don't look very excited," noted the speedster as he walked into the room. Of course that wasn't a surprise since Iris warned him just before coming to pick Belén up that the woman wasn't very into the idea of a celebration.

"Is it that obvious?" Belén sighed.

"Uh yeah. And I don't understand why since you did something good that deserves to be recognized."

"It's just an article," Belén's flat, dismissive tone was startling. Usually she was over the moon whenever she wrote something new, especially when it got much more praise than she would've thought.

"What? No, it's not!" Barry exclaimed. He grabbed her hands and pulled her flush against him. "Iris said this was the first ever article to feature a botanical metahuman, besides yourself, who isn't a criminal. And she also said you got a lot of hits on this one, including from your own editor. Why didn't you tell me any of that?"

"I don't know," Belén shrugged. "I just... didn't see the hype, I guess."

"This is not hype, it's recognition. And you deserve it," Barry swooped down to kiss her lips. "And I'm a little concerned that it's so hard for you to understand it."

All Belén could do was shrug again. She murmured a quick 'let's just go'.

~0~

Iris had done a good job adorning the backyard for their impromptu dinner. She'd brought out a long table to fit all their guests in one go. (It was at this point that Joe smugly reminded her how she'd wanted to throw that table away at some point). She put a nice cream-colored drape over the table and had plates set out for everyone coming.

Wine was a must, though she did get a look from one speedster who could not get drunk even a bit.

She'd even gotten Shivhan's help to decorate the yard with hanging lights. It was easier to use her vines to simply hang them up high instead of getting a ladder to hang each one.

"It smells good!" Axel said as soon as he and his grandmother walked into the backyard. His nose was in the air and he sniffed until he found the trail towards the lidded pot on the table.

"I'm sorry," Veronica stopped beside Iris, "I would've left him with Mrs. Andrews but I feel terrible using her so much as my babysitter."

"Oh no! I'm glad you brought him along!" Iris laughed as she saw the young four year old climbing onto a chair to have dinner now. "This is for his aunt. He should be here."

"Thank you," Veronica smiled with relief. "Now I have to go explain to Axel we don't have dinner until everyone's here." She walked on towardd the table to do the task.

Little by little, the others began to arrive. The last ones were, shocker, Belén and Barry.

"You look great!" Iris complimented Belén on her sleeveless, emerald green dress, but all Belén did was smile politely and move on.

"Yeah, I tried complimenting her too and she blew me off," Barry said after it was just them two. "Thought I said everything right but all she did was go-" he mimicked a shrug, "-and walked away."

"Yeah, I'm a bit worried about her," Iris watched Belén mingle with her mother, but even that seemed entirely forced and without much energy. "I thought maybe this-" she made a gesture at the backyard, "-would be enough to instigate some excitement but...I guess not."

Barry put a hand on her arm. "She's thankful for it, Iris. I'm thankful for it too." Iris nodded but there was a gnawing in the corner of her mind that told her this was a bad idea from the start.

Time ticked on by and despite everyone congratulating Belén, she still didn't lighten up. She was trying her best but it just wasn't coming to her. She had a lovely dinner that she knew Iris cooked with much love and listened to her family's stories that on another day would've made her laugh. Eventually, she got up from her chair - an abrupt action that earned herself some unwanted attention - and excused herself for air.

"Air?" Cisco was left repeating, giving the others a confused glance. "We're outside!"

"Should someone go check up on her?" Iris quietly asked Barry who was sitting on her left. He nodded but he also wanted to give Belén some time alone.

That hadn't been the right choice, but Barry wouldn't know yet.

~ 0 ~

Belén had left the Wests' home and taken the sidewalk as a momentary refuge for silence and solitary. She just needed a couple minutes and then she would be fine, ready to go back and give everyone the appreciation they deserved.

"Poor little Belén..."

Belén froze on the sidewalk. She closed her eyes the moment she recognized the smug voice taunting her. "Not now, I'm so tired..." She heard the woman's mocking laugh, but when Belén opened her eyes to meet Datura...no one was around. "Great, am I hearing things now?" Belén turned back for the Wests' and started walking again.

"Where are you going?"

This time Belén was forced to stop as an aggressive pain struck her head. She tried raising one hand to touch her head, but even that was a struggle. She was definitely not hearing things. This was real.

Datura's soft, mocking laugh filled Belén's ears. "Did I mention I got a new power?"

And suddenly, Belén's vision blurred. Two seconds later, her vision re-arranged itself to show her she was in a completely white environment. There was nothing there; no noise, no sky, no streets, nothing.

But she wasn't alone.

Datura's figure stood across Belén, wearing that all-familiar smirk on her masked face. "New trick I learned - you like?"

Belén frowned. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're in...how should I say it...my own little mind world. I just killed some guy after Christmas for these powers. I'd been watching him for some time and I figured 'now's as good a time as any'," Datura shrugged so carelessly it physically pained Belén to witness it.

"How could you be like that?" Belén swallowed hard. She knew this was probably how Datura viewed her. "Do you think people are just so insignificant that it doesn't matter that you kill them?"

Datura started to smirk. "Am I finally getting to you, Belén?" The ombre-blonde quickly looked away. "Have I finally started cracking you down? Good. Because that's how I play with my victims. I make them go crazy until I finally just snap them in two."

Belén hated that her eyes were tearing up, but Datura was right - Datura was finally getting to her. "Why?" Belén found herself asking, demanding. "Why me? Why do you hate me so much?"

Datura tilted her head, her lips wanting to form a mocking pout but she also wanted to keep smirking. She truly was cracking her doppelganger and the feeling she felt - the satisfaction - nearly cured her on the spot. "It's what you deserve," the words easily tumbled from her mouth.

A humorless laugh slipped from Belén. "What!? What could I have possibly done to earn such hatred from you? We're not even from the same world!"

Datura's smirk dropped completely. It was replaced by that deep hatred Belén always saw in the woman's eyes. "Because what you have, you don't deserve. I deserved the world. I did everything right, I lived a good life...and do you know what I got? The world paid me shit. And now here you are, practically being handed everything by this world." She wagged her finger. "Nu-uh. It doesn't work that way. It shouldn't."

"But why me!?" Belén frantically shouted, her hands hitting her chest repeatedly. "Why specifically me? So what if my life turned out better than yours? Other people live way better lives than I have. Why don't you go after them!?" It was a selfish question, but in that moment Belén wanted to know why it was her that Datura was hunting.

"Because I chose you," Datura answered flatly, and it technically was true. She didn't have the option of finding more worlds with their doppelgangers, at least not right now. And even then, Datura felt like even if she did have that option...something about this Belén would still have drawn her in. "It had to be you, my dear Belén."

"I hate you," Belén's voice was shaky and strained. Tears rolled down her cheeks and there was a lump in her throat that kept her from sounding as brave as she wanted to be. "I really hate you. You are making my life miserable! My family is throwing me a celebration for an article I worked hard on and I don't have the desire to be happy about it. Because of you. Because I keep thinking about how to defeat you. I'm distancing myself from them, from Barry - I'm making myself lonely."

"Good," Datura's voice was hard as her own memories surfaced in her mind. "That's how it starts. You have the entire world and you're forced to withdraw. That's how I lost my husband, you know. He was gentle and loving...but I put distance between us. Same with my family."

"You're making me distant myself from everyone," Belén clarified. "Every moment that I'm awake I'm wondering how to win you, how to take you down. I'm not living my life because of you."

"I'm not making you do anything," Datura put a hand over her chest. "Every choice you make, you make it because you want to. You don't have to. Not like I did, not like I had to."

"STOP!" Belén fiercely shouted. She hated how alike Datura was making them sound. She was nothing like that woman.

But Datura laughed. "Oh Belén, you have no idea what's coming. I'm coming for you, Zoom is coming for Barry...and the rest of the crew? We're coming for your city. You might as well stop living your life anyways because there'll be no point. It's going to end. I'm glad that I'm governing your life, I deserve that. Have fun with that."

Belén wished with everything she had that she could just erase the woman from existence, but she wasn't that type of powerful. But, something else had hit her too. Datura was relishing in the power she held over her. Even when the meta cut their mind connection, and Belén was back on the street, she could feel Datura's satisfaction that she was crumbling to pieces. Datura knew exactly what she was doing. Mind games. Every villain's favorite game.

"Belén!?" Barry was desperately calling on the street when Belén finally made her way back to the Wests'. She didn't realize how far she'd walked along. The speedster was only a couple houses down from the Wests', but Belén could see his panic-stricken face from a mile away.

"I'm here," she rubbed her left temple, still feeling a ghost of the pain from Datura's little mind connection. That Barry saw.

"What happened!?" he was in front of her in a second, hands on her arms as he examined her for any visible injuries.

"Datura happened, what else is new?" Belén felt like a broken record with how much she complained about that damn metahuman.

"Is she here!?" Barry looked over her head to the dark streets.

"No, I don't know where she was but she got a new power. She can pull you into a mind world now. Isn't that lovely?"

Barry disregarded her sarcasm in favor of her well being. He pulled her into a tight hug, unknowingly giving Belén something she didn't know she needed. She rested her head against his chest, her arms snaking up his back to tighten their hug.

I'm distancing myself, she realized with a heavy heart. She was distancing herself and depriving herself of the warmth and support Barry was always giving. The more she realized, the more she craved his touch.

"Do you want to go home?" Barry whispered after a couple minutes. He hadn't dared let go of her, nor tried to pry her arms off him. Something was going on through her head right now and he would be there for her.

"No, I can't do that. I've been rude enough to Iris and everyone else."

"They all get you're going through some stuff," Barry pressed a kiss on her hair. "They would understand if you left early."

Belén knew he was right, but she still didn't want to leave. Datura's words were really hitting her, and perhaps that's what she needed to snap her out of it. She pulled away from Barry, only the amount she needed to be able to face him. "Let's go back. I just need to sit outside for a moment then I'll be good."

Though it wasn't what Barry would think she needed, nor wanted, he agreed and took them back to the Wests'. The two metas sat outside on the front porch, top step.

Belén brought her hands to her head while she took breaths in and out. "I had to ask her why...why me? Why does she despise me so much?"

"And did she tell you?" Barry asked even though he assumed the answer.

Belén rolled her eyes when she remembered Datura's smug answer. "She chose me," her humorless laugh rang in the air. "Can you believe that? Like I chose to be a part of this...madness!"

"Belén I'm sorry." Barry felt useless not knowing what else to say to her. He knew exactly how she felt because he'd gone through it with Thawne. And for his experience, there was nothing anyone could say that would make things better. The only thing he remembered that made him feel a bit better was having, ironically, Belén, at his side.

That's what he needed to do right now, then.

"Barry..." Belén felt his hand lace his fingers with hers. "I'm sorry," she looked up at his confused expression. "I've been a jerk, basically. To you and everyone else."

"No-"

"I have been, I know. And you know that's how Datura started?" Belén shook her head, just think about the resemblance between them that Datura tried showing made her feel sick. "She said that's how she lost her husband and family. She started distancing herself from them. I don't - I don't want to do the same. I'm doing the same..."

"You're not..." but even as Barry tried to insist the opposite, he was well aware it was the case. He just hadn't wanted to tell her that because of everything she had going on. "Look Belén," he decided to go in a different path, "I get it. I get why you wanted space from us. I've been there and...I wasn't going to reproach you for something that I did too. My plan was to just give you some decent space until I felt you were ready to talk about it."

Belén nodded silently. "You're so good to me, Barry," she whispered then sighed.

"No, I understand you," Barry gave her a kind smile.

Belén closed her eyes for a second, letting his soft fingers soothe her skin. Yeah, she'd deprived herself of this too. "You know when we went to my friend's wedding...that was the most fun I had in months. It was so...free, you know?" she opened her eyes and looked at him. "And then I let Datura take it away from me. I don't want her to have that power over me. It's the last thing I own. I can't give her that too." Belén would honestly hate herself even more than she hated Datura if she gave that woman the power to ruin her life like this.

"So let's try, little by little, to remind yourself that you don't let Datura get to you like this," Barry's suggestion was do-able, and sensible. Belén just hoped she could stick to it.

"Okay," Belén nodded. She looked down at their intertwined hands and started smiling. "Datura can't take this away from me," she raised her gaze to meet his. "She can't take you away either."

"I wasn't going to let her," Barry nearly scoffed at the idea.

Belén chuckled and during that, Barry used their intertwined hands to pull her closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, letting his hands rest on her back. Belén brought her hands to his face and pulled him over for a kiss. It was a short kiss, but it was gentle and soft and honestly what Belén really needed right now.

"Now that you're listening...can I tell you how pretty you look again?" Barry looked her over as if it was the first time he'd seen her.

Belén laughed and playfully whacked his chest. "You're such an idiot."

"Say what you want but can I sleep over tonight?" he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, admittedly making her shiver. He'd realized he could make her shiver in that sense and had been abusing the power ever since.

"I think we can go inside now," she said before he could draw her attention away completely.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Belén nodded firmly. "I deserve to have more fun like we had at the wedding. Datura knows the power she has over me and I would much rather show her that she can't hold me like that. Plus...I kind of love you guys."

Her honest smile was what sold Barry. He stole another kiss from her, intending on making it a quick one but the moment got away from them. Belén held him like her life depended on him...and honestly he probably was a good part of her reason to snap out of her funk. Barry's hand pressed harder over her back, the satin of her dress becoming more offensive by the second.

Somehow, they managed to break away but it was with heavy breaths and lingering looks on each other.

"We gotta go," Belén couldn't help but laugh a bit. Barry agreed fast. They got up together and headed back inside the house.

Everyone was relieved to have Belén back. A good part of them, if not all of them, had guessed Barry would be unsuccessful in convincing her to come back to the party. But she came back, and she came back with an honest smile on her face. None of them would know the little visit Datura paid her.

Since their actual dinner was over, all that was left was to finish the wine. Belén was the one to propose they do a small toast, though her intention was not to praise herself.

"Why can't I have that too?" Axel was giving his grandmother the biggest pout a four year old could muster. Everyone had wine in their glasses but he had apple juice instead.

"Because it's for grownups, now shush," Veronica gave him a stern warning not to even try arguing.

"It's okay little man," Cisco patted the boy's hair, "Apple juice is way better." But he then mouthed a 'no it's not' to Caitlin and Shivhan. Both women rolled their eyes at him. Axel drowned his apple juice then swiped the last sweet bread from the table before making a dash into the house, calling to Veronica that he would be using her cellphone for games.

"Better to have him in there," Veronica waved the boy off, hoping he'd lull himself to sleep in the end.

"I just want to thank everyone for your kind words about my article," Belén had positioned herself at the end of the long dinner table. She had a glass of wine in one hand while her other arm was wrapped around Barry. Maybe she hadn't wanted to let go of him after all, who knew. "It really means a lot because I know I've been very...difficult lately. I love writing, I do, and to not care about it - even if it was just for a few days - was so hard. I let Datura get into my head and that is the worst mistake I could ever do."

"We get it, Belén. We understand you, trust us," Caitlin was the one to say. She offered Belén a kind smile, much like everyone else was.

"And you have no idea how much that means to me," Belén sighed. When she began to speak again, her eyes looked directly at her mother...because she'd been avoiding this topic for a while now. "Datura has made it very clear that she wants me dead but before that...she likes to play with her victims. She's made me into a victim by making me feel like I had to put some distance between myself and my family."

Veronica's head tilted to the head, eyes widening a bit. "Datura is specifically after you, then?"

"She's hunting me, Mom," Belén felt tears well in her eyes, even more so when she saw the terrified look in her mother's own eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you that. I-I didn't have the courage to. I thought you might reject my metahuman side again..."

"I...I don't even know what to say, honestly," Veronica knew, however, that she did not want to argue again. She looked at the others and saw their sympathetic faces, more from Joe since they were the only parents at the table. "But...but everyone here is helping you, so...so we'll get through it. I'm not going away again, that's for sure."

"Thank you, Mom," Belén leaned on on Barry's side. "Datura won't play with me like this. She won't win. But for now, I want to actually enjoy my life. I've had some fun...recently..." she met Barry's look, both smiling at the reminder of their wedding attendance. "And I'd like to keep having more fun. I deserve it - we all do."

"Hell yeah," Cisco raised his glass to the air. Everyone chuckled.

"And to Shivhan," Belén said just before the woman in question was about to drink from her glass, "Thanks for letting me write about you in the first place."

"Don't know why you wanted to in the first place," Shivhan raised her glass towards Belén, ignoring the other's laugh as she drank.

"Because Black Orchid deserved to get recognition for what she'd been doing in her part of the city," Belén said. "And just to finish this off," her eyes flickered to Iris who was the closest one standing to her and Barry. "Thank you for this lovely dinner. I am very grateful for all of this."

That brought a genuine smile to Iris' face, and a good part of relief. She always got the feeling that she may come across as irritating whenever she pushed Belén to do thins like these. In a world full of evil metas, dinner parties might seem a bit irrelevant.

"I am very grateful for everything and everyone in my life," Belén looked directly up at Barry, sharing another smile with him.

"As am I," the speedster happily said back. He gripped the hold he had on her and shared a drink with her and the rest of their family.

~ 0 ~

"You're exhausted," Poison Ivy told Datura the moment she saw her partner lying down on the cold ground. She had her head tilted back and her fingers pinching her nose. "What did you do?"

"Used that new mind power I got," Datura let go of her nose and revealed the tips of her gloved fingers were bloody. "Each time I use these damn powers I get more tired. How pathetic is that?"

"It's part of your condition," the ginger reminded. "So what did you use the powers for?"

"I did what you advised me to," Datura pushed her upper body up, supporting herself on her elbows. "Got into my doppelganger's head, said some words - blah, blah, blah - that are sure to keep her away from the Green."

"You sure you said the right things?" Poison Ivy walked over to a table full of cut up datura flowers. She picked one flower up and viewed its unpatterened - almost messy - cuts. Datura had been more aggressive lately and Poison Ivy could guess why.

"Oh yeah," the dark brunette smirked proudly. "You said to make sure that she felt alone and lost and that's exactly what I made sure of."

"Good," Poison Ivy smiled over her shoulder. "The Green won't let anyone enter if they're not doing it for the right reasons. If all she wants to do is take you down, the Green will never let her in."

Datura watched her partner gingerly care for the flowers she brutally cut up in one of her angry episodes. "Is that what happened to you, then?"

Poison Ivy dropped the datura in her hand and turned to face metahuman. "I was only exploring my powers and if some measly humans had to die in order for beautiful plants to rise? So be it. The Green didn't agree with me."

"And you're still bitter about it," noted Datura. There was a hint of a tease on her face.

"The Green is not a place where we belong, my dear. We are better than the Green - we are better than all the other botanical metahumans out there. We're the best."

"Right we are," Datura smirked and let herself fall back to the ground. She pulled her legs up as if she were about to sit up again but all she did was stare up at the ceiling. "I'm better than her," she whispered.

~ 0 ~

It was late at night when Belén was woken up by a terrible scream that didn't belong to her. It took a couple seconds for her to register that it'd been Barry who screamed. She shifted on the bed to see the speedster sitting upright, chest heaving hard and fast.

"What happened!? Are you okay!?" she quickly sat upright as well. She touched his arm and instantly felt the beads of sweat on his skin. "...you had a nightmare again, didn't you?" she soon realized.

Barry nodded and, once he started returning to reality, he got embarrassed. He didn't mean to scream and wake her up like that. If he knew he was going to have another Zoom nightmare then he would've stayed with Joe and Iris tonight.

"About Zoom again?" Belén asked quietly, scooting herself closer to his side. He nodded again. "What happened?"

"I don't - you don't have to..." he shook his head, embarrassment just dripping from him.

"Don't do that," she told him immediately. "What happened?"

"I-I was...you and I...we were...the dinner party...you finished talking and then...he came. Zoom came and killed every single on of them...and then he killed you right in front of me. I was holding you-" he held out his arms as if he were actually holding someone, "-and he still managed to kill you."

"Oh Barry, none of that was true. It wouldn't happen," she rubbed a hand over his back soothingly.

"He's way faster than me, Bells. It could happen and I wouldn't be able to save you or the others," Barry brought his hands to his face, burying the latter into his hands. "I need to get faster, train more..."

"We can do that," Belén nodded. "We can definitely train. We could even train with each other - you and Jay could train. He's an excellent teacher who knows more about Zoom than we do. But right now, I just want you to lay back down and let me hug you."

"Maybe I should go to STAR Labs right now." But the moment Barry moved just an inch, Belén was on him.

"No! It is 4 a.m mister! You're getting sleep!" she pulled him down and put an arm around him. "Besides, being sleepy while you're training isn't going to help you at all. If anything, it'll make you weaker."

"I need to train, Bells," he rested on his left side which allowed him to face her.

"I know," she said softly. "Because I do too. But just like you said you'd be there for me, I'm here for you. And right now, I want you to go back to sleep and let me take care of you."

Barry nodded. He was kind of tired still. And were his eyes getting a bit heavier?

Belén smiled lightly as he started blinking faster to keep himself awake. He probably wasn't even fully awake to begin with. She decided to help him by stroking bits of his hair. It was just the trick. Five minutes later, he was back to sleep. It relieved Belén, honestly, because just like she got into her funk easily...so did he. But this was why they were there for each other. And she wanted to keep doing this for years and years to come. The rest of her life, even. She wanted to be there for him whenever he needed her, whether it was for things like this or something more simple like supporting each other's work.

Whatever it was that involved both of them, she wanted to be there.

Hell, she wanted to be there for everyone else in her life. She wanted to keep working on her relationship with her mother, watch Axel grow up, work her way up in CC Picture News...

She just wanted to live.

And that's when it hit her.

Belén's eyes widened. She turned back to her night stand and picked up her phone. Yup, it was a little past 4 a.m. She looked back to Barry and saw (and felt) he was truly asleep. With luck, he wouldn't wake up until much, much later.

I gotta do it. It's now or never, she thought. She got up from bed and went in search for plain clothes she could travel to STAR Labs in.

Five minutes later, she had brought herself to STAR Labs via vines. It wasn't as fast as the usual speed, but it was enough to be quick. She rushed straight for her greenhouse. She hadn't even bothered taking shoes with her so it was a lot easier to get into her usual sandy spot on the floor. She practically dropped to her bottom, crossing her legs and assuming the zen position. She closed her eyes and opened her mind.

All this time she'd been trying to clear her mind and that wasn't going to work for her. It might work for Shivhan but they were all different in the end. Belén thought not about winning Datura as the reason she needed to get into the Green, but instead she thought about the reasons why she wanted to live. She didn't want to be a victim, but more importantly she wanted to be happy and spend her time with the people she loved; the people who made her happy. They needed her as much as she needed them.

And for the first time since she started practicing for the Green's domain, Belén felt a rush of peacefulness spread throughout her body. Zen was taking a whole new definition for her.

It was funny how she heard her last exhale and instantly knew that she'd been transferred somewhere knew. Her exhale had sounded like an echo and when it was finished, when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but forest green in front of her.

'Welcome to the Green, Belén,' the Green itself spoke to her. Belén had no idea where the voice was coming from - there was no body anywhere near her - but she knew exactly who it was. 'I'm glad you finally figured out why it was you needed to come.'

Author's Note:

Aaah, let me just tell you that I really loved writing the bits of the Green. It and Belén have a good conversation in the next chapter, as well as some revelations. Plus, new botanical metas!