45

One Last Happy Moment

Savitar hummed to himself, watching closely as he twisted a wrench along the nuts and bolts of his suit. He stood, knees cracking, and backed away from his suit. He tilted his head, eyes scanning the bits and pieces that were to go back looking closely at it. It seemed to be in working order, was internally much different than the schematics he'd come up with when it came to his suit.

However, there were still things that needed to be done. He had to be smarter, faster. Always faster. The faster Barry got, the faster he had to become. Or, as it were, the faster Barry got, the faster Savitar would always become. It was stupid to him, really, how Barry hadn't figured things out yet. Caitlin had been told, Breathtaker knew it as soon as he'd come across him, the others…he knew them to be smart. For the most part.

Cisco allowed himself to become dulled by the mindless pop culture drivel he allowed himself to consume day after day. Brady was too young to think of anything more than the changes his body, mind, and life were going through until the danger was right in his face. He couldn't blame him. It was good to be young. Growing up and maturing too fast…having an old soul, while a nice trait to have, wasn't a luxury and never would be. Jesse wasn't on Earth-1 long enough to be around Savitar, like Wally, she simply cared more about the status of her relationship with the reckless speedster than the potential ends of their own lives.

Iris was a non-entity for him. As far as he was concerned, Iris was already dead. Just another body he'd be tossing aside once he was done with things. His feelings for her had burned away a long time ago. She's stopped being his 'best friend' the moment he fell into a coma and the sooner he realized it, the better. Same with Joe. Those fatherly feelings were gone. They were nothing but lumps of flesh that needed to be exercised.

Cadence…honestly, Savitar was surprised it'd taken her so long to figure out that Caitlin had been working with him. Ii was only a matter of time, really. A sort of pride went through him when he found that she figured it out. Still, it wouldn't take much longer for her to know his identity if she were able to set aside her own worries and really, truly look. What happened to the woman who could streamline her thoughts and leave emotions out of some of the harder decisions to make?

Of course, when she wasn't being mind-controlled, she was as emotional as the rest. Those moments did come back when she was presented with the right circumstances.

He expected, if Barry didn't kill him, Cadence certainly would be the next one in line to do so.

Whether or not she could…that was an entirely different thing.

As many said, having strong emotions was a power in and of itself. Savitar didn't believe that, but to each his own.

Spinning the wrench around his fingers, Savitar turned from his suit. He lifted his free hand, running it through his hair. He continued to spin the wrench in his hand, twisting it around his fingers with such speed that anyone coming too close would be in danger. He chewed his lower lip then abruptly turned his head to the left, resisting the initial urge to first turn to the right. His sightless eye made his depth perception and peripheral vision that much weaker, but he was still able to tell when someone was working to come up behind him.

"I'm almost finished," Savitar said to Breathtaker. He released his lips from his teeth and curled his upper lip. "Soon you can continue with what you want to do." And I can get out of your hair. A smirk pulled at Savitar's lips at his own mental joke.

"And then you'll be able to do what you want to do," Breathtaker agreed. Savitar grunted. Well, it seemed that Breathtaker was more than things he wanted for himself. He floated toward Savitar, hood down, light reflecting off his bald head.

Savitar's eyes shot over Breathtaker's form. A foe who was so formidable that years of trying destruction was nothing short of a tiny albino man who had something to prove. His powers proved that enough, the power went to Breathtaker's head. Savitar wasn't sure when Breathtaker was originally from; the future or the past? All he knew was that with a simple exhibition of his powers, Breathtaker could destroy the planet if he had the means and want to do so.

Could take Savitar's powers away as easily as he could increase them. And the only thing stopping him was himself. Savitar couldn't get stronger without making Barry stronger, and vice-versa. Such was the life of being a time remnant. His suit was the best way to get around it and Savitar always knew how to think ahead.

Savitar, instead, nodded toward his suit. "Once I'm done here, I'll be finished with the housing you wanted me to create," he said. His eyebrow ticked upward. "It's a bit more intricate than what I've been doing with my suit but…" he tapped the wrench against his leg. "Build your own particle accelerator can do that."

Breathtaker sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "I wouldn't expect a speedster would take so long to build one. Especially one of your caliber."

"It still takes time for things to be built. I needed to ensure that this one will work the way it's intended to. Not to mention," Savitar paused, a long, low growl escaping through the area around them. "I'm getting hungry." He backed away from his suit and left the darkened room he stood in and made his way down the even darker hallway with Breathtaker following him. "Besides, isn't the rest of your team supposed to be helping you to capture them?"

"Oh yes, White Hot, Stratos, and Mindboggler are already in their positions," Breathtaker agreed.

"Then what do you need me for?"

"Collateral."

Savitar paused and turned back to Breathtaker with a blank stare. Slowly, so slowly, his eyes filled with malice. He gritted his teeth. "You said we were going be in on this fifty-fifty," he spat. With a burst of speed, he grasped Breathtaker around the neck and slammed his back against the wall behind him. He lifted his other hand, vibrating it beside Breathtaker's face. "I could kill you in seconds and you'd never know it. I could take over this world myself."

"'Or," Breathtaker said slowly, calmly. "If something were to happen to you, something is to happen to Barry Allen as well. And I understand there's nothing more than you need than for him to be alive."

"I've managed to survive just fine without him so far."

"Yes, due to what you've been able to know from his experiences, from his mind."

Savitar let out a wheezing laugh. He let go of Breathtaker's neck and took a step back. "Please." His smile and laughter faded. "You can't compare something as trivial as a mind-meld to actually being the person." He placed his hands on his hips. "I know everything he does, everything he's felt, have experienced everything he has and I know how his brain works. I've just been letting him do everything he's wanted to make sure it got to the point where I had him where I needed him."

"And?"

"And it's coming soon." Savitar looked Breathtaker up and down. "What does that say about you? You've been alive for millennia and know exactly how Cadence and Brady can take you down and you've done nothing for it. You've sat back and watched them continue to defeat all your henchmen. Incognito is dead."

It was then Breathtaker's turn to laugh a hollow laugh. And yet, his laugh was as dry as dead leaves blowing across the ground on a fall day. "Incognito gave up his life for what will keep Brigade and Blight from destroying me. No matter what, I'm going to have the metahumans rise and take back what is rightfully theirs. Then I will rule them."

"Like a God," Savitar said.

"Like a God," Breathtaker agreed. "Just like you want with the SpeedForce, with all speedsters. To rule over the men and women that have made you into what you are."

"No one's made me anything," Savitar denied. He clenched his hand around the wrench, making his knuckles crack and pop from the simple movement. "If anything, Barry Allen has aided me. And I'll be sure to thank him when I get the chance. Right before he dies." Savitar lifted his hand and ran it through his hair, shaking his fringe from his face. His tone turned jovial and he spread his arm saying, "Would you like to see where we're going to hold them."

"Yes." Breahtaker nodded once. "I would like to see the rooms you've built for me."

"Believe me, keeping them there is much better than leaving their bodies to rot." Savitar's upper lip curled. He started down the hallway once more. Breathtaker silent followed him.

Until the ancient entity couldn't keep his questions to himself. "Tell me, what has restrained you from killing Barry Allen outright?" He asked. "It's not like the mind-meld, it won't—"

"—I want to ensure that Barry sees me take everything from him," Savitar interrupted. "To know what it's like to be hated on sight. To know what it's like to lose literally every single thing and to die knowing it was his fault." He shook his head. "I can't kill him yet. He's got to deal with Abra Kadabra first. I need him to get to that point. And with his Killer Frost here…" he slowly grinned. "It won't be much longer. I say give them one more day to be happy, before we tear everything down. They deserve at least that."

Breathtaker reached up, pulling his hood back over his head. "I don't think I've ever seen you in such a good mood. Imagine what you can do, if you'd let me increase your power."

"Believe me." Savitar reached into his pocket. He pulled out a brightly glowing Philosopher's Stone and flipped it in his hand. "I've got everything I need right here." He stopped flipping it, holding it against his chest. He lifted his free hand and pointed to Breathtaker. "I'll make sure to get her where you need her, so you can get both of them. Leave Barry to…." He shrugged. "Well, leave Barry to me."

Breathtaker nodded.

"You look like you've had better days, my friend."

Barry rolled his eyes toward Oliver, who stood, grinning in line for CC Jitters. His blue eyes shifted over the menu in front of him, lips silently reading off all the items that were listed on the menu. Barry slowly shook his head. He wasn't sure how Oliver was able to smile at a moment like that. Not especially when there was so much going on in his city.

Barry had tried to ask Oliver about it when he texted him early that morning, announcing his presence in Central City and asking if the speedster wanted to meet him for breakfast? Barry was immediately out of bed, in some sweats, and was across the city to meet Oliver in less than five seconds. Oliver didn't even look surprised when Barry arrived.

No, he stood there in all his splendor, casually resting his hands in the pockets of his jacket, looking at his watch. Oliver looked at Barry with an amused smile as his friend came to a stop, right foot extended to keep himself from falling over. "Five seconds, not bad," Oliver joked. "I thought you were faster than that."

Barry knew Oliver was up to something then. Knew there was a reason more than a house call, wanting to see his friend that drew Oliver to Central City. What worried Barry the most was that Oliver hadn't asked Cadence to go along with them. At the beginning of their working partnership, it was the three of them together. They'd worked to save their individual hometowns, Star City, Central City, and Metropolis with each person taking the helm and the others allowing their lives to be put on the line to help. And, if Barry were honest, he was a little confused Oliver hadn't asked to speak to Cadence simply because of how similar their superherorics and vigilantism were.

Barry was the beacon of hope, the one who did his best ot do everything 'by the rules' so to speak. Something that Oliver had admitted he looked up to. If there was anything that Oliver needed his help with, Barry expected Oliver to ask for the two of them. Besides, Brady was old enough to stay at the apartment by himself for a little while. He'd taken on Bronze Tiger by himself when he was eight, and that was when he didn't have any powers.

"Yeah, I've definitely had better days," Barry agreed, continuing to eye Oliver. He wasn't quite sure how the leader of their rag tag group of superheroes managed to stay so calm even though things were going to hell for them. Like clockwork. "What about you? What's been going on?"

"Ah, a lot of the same," Oliver said quickly.

Shut down.

"Uh-huh." Barry continued to watch Oliver as they moved forward in line. Used his speed to enhance his vision, much like speed reading Oliver's face, looked to see if there was any twitch of a muscle that would give away something that was going on. "Oliver, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Oliver replied. He licked his lips. "If anything, I should be asking you that question."

"Wha…?" Barry's eyebrows furrowed.

Oliver stepped up to the counter and gave his order. "Two Flashes, please," he said to the Barista.

"Would you like to add some Flare?" the Barista asked.

Oliver's pulled back into a smile. "Absolutely. On both, please." He watched as the lightning bolt then became covered in sprinkles of cinnamon before taking the cups and leading the way to an empty table in the back corner of Jitters. Funny how Barry had never shown it to him yet he knew exactly where to go to have a private conversation.

Barry watched him go, eyes shifting around the coffee shop. The same coffee shop that he and his friends used to hang out with when they were having their good days. He could practically imagine him, Cisco, Caitlin, and Cadence all sitting around one table talking and laughing about nothing and everything. Where they would immediately jump up and race off to STAR Labs when something came through the metahuman app. Where they'd spend their entire mornings and even some lunch breaks catching up on what they'd seen during the day.

Now that Caitlin was gone…those times had dwindled. Cisco didn't want to leave STAR Labs save for going home an didn't want to leave his home save for going to STAR Labs. Cadence, he found, continuously had moments of staring off into space, gently twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Then, when even more worked up, her eyebrows would furrow together, nose wrinkling slightly as she chewed her lower lip, a combination of hers and Caitlin's worried habits.

Brady would ask every now and then, "When's Aunt Caitlin coming back?" as if he couldn't quite wrap his mind around the fact she was gone. Or, even more innocently, Barry wondered, did Brady question when Caitlin would fight off Killer Frost and "come back" like she'd done before.

"Barry?"

Barry sucked in a sharp breath, startled, and hurried to Oliver's table. Oliver had just finished taking a long sip of his Flash, flicking the foam from his mustache when Barry sat down and took his own. "You know, they really need to think about getting her her own drink," Oliver said.

"I know," Barry agreed, sitting down. "I keep telling them." He rubbed the back of his neck, stretching out the muscles. He'd slept badly. "You know, if you keep working at it, you're going to get your own drink, too. I'm sure Star City Jitters would come up with it."

Oliver laughed. "I don't think it'd be anything you can serve with breakfast," he pointed out. "A Scotch maybe. Some sort of a hard liquor, but not a coffee." He shrugged. "Not that it'd matter, if you wanted one—"

"—I'd be carded, I know." Barry smiled, thinking back to when they first met. When he didn't have powers. When Oliver saw him as nothing more than an annoying CSI who flirted too much with the girl that would eventually become Oliver's whole world. Man, Oliver had been so jealous, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it at the time. And, at first, hardly appreciative of Barry's finding out his secret and helping save him. If he remembered correctly, Oliver hadn't thanked him for it yet. "I just stopped getting carded when I got R-Rated movies."

Oliver laughed.

"Not that it matters much, Cade gets carded every time." Barry's laughter turned nervous. "I've even been stopped by a few officers from other precincts when we're out asking if I'm holding her against her will." Oliver laughed even harder, making Barry smile and join in on his laughter as well. "Well, I can only ask for small favors. I'm sure the guys get a good laugh out of it every time. When they're not calling me Baby Face or Hot Lips anyway."

"And to think there's more than just speed that goes along with The Flash," Oliver teased. He leaned back in his seat and briefly closed his eyes. "There's more to a lot of things we do. And, sometimes, it's hard to remember where our vigilante lives start and end."

Barry pursed his lips. His shoulders tightened, muscles tensed. The only person he knew who spoke in riddles like that was Harrison—and any other faction of the Wells'. Even HR, in his own way, managed to be as mysterious as the rest. When he wasn't being annoyingly helpful.

"Okay, Oliver, what's going on?" Barry asked. Oliver raised his eyebrows. "is it Felicity? Has she…has her implant worn off? Is it Diggle? Thea?" Oliver shook his head with each question, shifting his eyes just to the left of Barry's head. "Is it Connor? The team?"

"I haven't seen Connor since I sent him away," Oliver said quickly. "And I don't have a team anymore." Barry's eyes widened. He reacted in surprise, stuttering over his words. "But that's not what's important right now, Barry. There's something I need to tell you and I wish I could've told you sooner, but I'd had some things that I'd needed to handle in my city first."

"Of course," Barry agreed. He tightened his grasp around his Flash, feeling his fingertips press tight into the Styrofoam. Relented. The last thing he needed was a soaked table and pants because he felt like Oliver was talking down to him as if he were starting over again. Not at all.

"But this is more important." Oliver leaned toward Barry, lowering his voice. "This is something you can stop before it happens."

"Stop what? Oliver, you're not making any sense."

Oliver lowered his chin. Expelled a hard breath through his nose. "There's been talk about the explosion when the gorillas attacked."

Barry closed his eyes, lowering his chin. He tried hard not to think about what'd happened with Grodd, Solovar, and the missiles that they were and weren't able to stop. Tried not to think about the lives they'd lost. It weighed on him, a weight that nearly drowned him if he thought about it for too long. If he allowed himself to dwell…he would never be able to move on.

But he'd never forget, looking at the faces that passed over the TV and computer screens over the weeks that'd passed, questions from the public, wondering how Flash and Flare could've let it happen. The constant meetings and press conferences…

"What about them?" Barry asked.

"Well, there were secret meetings that had been going on. Not just within Central City, but within Star City and Metropolis as well, mostly dealing with the fallout of superheros and vigilantes over the past couple of years," Oliver explained. Barry listened. Oliver had his full attention. "As the Mayor of Star City, I've been invited to sit on as well as state my side of things at those meetings. It appears the explosions due to the missiles are pushing things forward within those that want to repeal Meta-Humans, especially with Lex Luthor's presidential campaign.

"I recently met up with Chief Paulson of the CCPD as well as a reporter, Clark Kent," Oliver explained. His eyes searched Barry's face for any recognition. Barry hesitated. He knew Clark was Superman, Oliver didn't know. And while it wasn't a coincidence, the people that came into their lives, Barry wasn't sure if it was his secret to tell of Clarks, or even Bruce's identities. "He's doing a story on Lex Luthor's presence in Central City as he works on his presidential campaign and got a few words from both about the heroes in the city. It's not good, Barry."

Barry jumped on the words. He brushed his Flash aside and leaned toward Oliver. "What does that mean?" Oliver hesitated. Barry clenched his hands into fists. "Oliver, I need to know. I can't keep going through all of this, with Savitar and Breathtaker, and not know what's going to happen and what to do. .I can't. I need you to be honest with me." Oliver nodded. "Why did you meet with these guys? Why'd they want you there?"

"Because—"

"Because why?"

"Because, Barry, they want to press charges against Flash and Flare," Oliver said.

Barry leaned back in his seat. He stared at Oliver, suddenly unable to breathe. They wanted to…wanted to press charges. Wanted them in custody? For…for what? For saving the city?

"For the missile that blew. For the lives that were lost. The collateral damage and those that were innocent…" Oliver sucked in a deep breath, chest swelling. "Chief Paulson is seeing if it's possible to press charges and I wanted to warn you as soon as possible."

"But they can't do that can they?" Barry asked, once finding his voice. "We weren't to blame for it. We were trying to stop Solovar and Grodd, the missiles—" he swallowed hard. Curled his fingers into his palms. "What can we do?"

"I talked him down the best I could but it's only a matter of time until he gets riled up again and if this guy is anything like the others, Chief Paulson is going to need a lot of talking to to get him to see reason."

"I'm sure that can be said of all politicians," Barry weakly joked. He ran his hands over his face. Thought of what to do. If Clark had been there, he'd probably had told Bruce, which gave them another advantage. Bruce had given them the grant money to help research metahumans, if there was a way they could prove rehabilitation, just as they initially wanted to do with STAR Labs. "Thanks for letting me know, Oliver."

"I'm sorry it's had to come at such a bad time, my friend," Oliver apologized, his voice turning soft. Barry nodded. "But, in my experience, it's always better to face these things head on."

"Right." Barry smiled. "With an arrow straight to the chest?"

"Well, I think you prefer speed punching. But whatever works."

Barry sighed heavily, dropping his face to his hands. He rubbed at his eyes and sat back. Opening his fingers, he gazed at Oliver, who was the image of nonchalance, sitting in front of him, despite having had dropped a bomb on the speedster. His eyebrows furrowed.

There was still one thing that bothered him.

"Oliver?" Barry said slowly. Oliver nodded for him to continue. "When Grodd was attacking, how did you know to come."

Oliver's eyes shifted. He gave Barry a 'duh' look and said, "You told me to."

"No, I didn't." He hadn't seen Oliver in weeks by that point. Not unless the pictures they sent back and forth of a good day of saving the city counted. It made Barry's day to find Oliver hold a thumbs up and crack a smile at his cell phone camera, complete with Green Arrow costume with a couple of criminals tied up in the background behind him. "I didn't have the time. I thought, maybe, you'd seen on the news—"

"Word can travel fast, Barry, but even I can't get to Central City that fast," Oliver pointed out. He pointed to Barry. "And that's not an invitation to brag."

Barry continued to shake his head. "Oliver, I never told you to help me. I never asked you for your help."

Oliver chuckled. "I know I've taken a lot of blows to my head over the years, but I'm not stupid, Barry. I don't go running into things without thinking first. That's your specialty, remember?"

"For real?"

"Totally, for real." The two laughed. And for the next half hour they talked about everything but the elephant in the room. Everything but the states of their cities and their teams. Then Barry raced Oliver back to Star City, flashed back through Jitters to grab a hot chocolate, a chocolate muffin, a blueberry muffin, and five cronuts before racing back into the apartment.

He dropped the food onto the kitchen counter then went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. After a few pats, Barry looked at his reflection in the mirror. The same he always did; youthful face that had him mistaken for being much younger than he was, and green eyes that held a sort of darkness, proving he'd seen too much. That he'd been through a lot of trauma.

And a five o'clock shadow that'd grown within the last ten minutes. Such as the life of a speedster, everything moved fast. It was no wonder most of his paycheck went to food and disposable razors. Barry went to work, filling up the sink and lathering before he started to shave, carefully making as few passes over his skin so not to create any unsightly blemishes.

He didn't need to make himself look any younger.

He'd gone through most of his mustache and beard when he heard a low murmuring from Brady's room. Barry frowned and opened the door to the bathroom, listening harder.

"No, that sounds stupid," he could hear Brady said. "Um…" a few seconds of silence before a tentative question of, "What's up?" Then another heavy sigh. Seconds later, Brady walked by the bathroom door, head bent over a gray contraption in his hands. It lit up, casting a glow in his face as he released a hand to wave and say, "Hi, how's it going?"

"Brady?"

Brady jumped and turned to Barry, moving the contraption behind his back. His eyes shifted for a few seconds before looking Barry in the eye. "Barry! Hi!" His voice cracked and his nose wrinkled. "What are you doing up?"

"I was having breakfast with Oliver," Barry asked.

Brady tilted his head, wrinkling his nose as his eyes shifted over Barry's face. "Aren't you usually supposed to shave before you go out?"

"Curse of being a speedster, I guess."

Brady reached up and rubbed the sides of his mouth and his chin. He leaned in toward the mirror, examining his face. "Do you think I need to start shaving?"

A smile came to Barry's face. He chuckled, ruffling Brady's hair, which the young boy quickly moved back into place. "I think maybe a few more months and you could start."

"Oh. Okay." Brady backed out of the bathroom, the cube still behind his back. "I'm going to go."

"Wait. What is that?" Barry leaned around to see. "Is that a Locator Cube?"

"No." Defeated, Brady moved the cube in front of him. "It's, uh, a, uh," he lowered his voice. "It's a Messaging Cube. Aunt Jesse said I could use it. I was, just…um…just going to see how it works."

"Oh. Who were you going to send a message to."

"Deity," Brady said. Then quickly correct himself. "I mean Debby. And Kara. To, uh, Debby, and Kara. To see how they were doing." He continued to back away with each step Barry took forward, moving toward the living room. "And to say 'hi'."

"Oh, cool." Barry grinned. "Let me see it when you're done, I have a message I want to send."

"Um—"

Barry took it from his hands and twisted it back and forth. "How does it work, anyway?"

"Give it back!" Brady leaned over Barry to grab it, his fingers scrabbling at the air.

Cadence took the opportunity to walk down the steps that led to the living room, looking at her son and fiancé curiously. "What's going on?" She asked, eyes shifting back and forth between them.

"Brady's sending a Messaging Cube to Debby and Kara," Barry explained.

"Oh!" Cadence's eyebrows rose. She looked to her son, who immediately turned his gaze to his feet, allowing Barry the opportunity to take full reign of the cube and walk it to the couch. He sat down, setting it on the coffee table in front of him. "Hey, why don't we let Brady finish using it?" She sat next to him. "We can record our messages later."

"It's a good time as any," Barry insisted. Then he noticed the pointed look on Cadence's face. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Really?" She asked, then lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, almost glaring at him. "You don't see it?"

"See what?" Barry asked, still at full volume.

"Ok!" Brady jumped onto the couch at Barry's other side and started to push the buttons and twist the knobs on the side of the Messaging Cube. "Let's just say 'bye' okay?"

"Wait, wait, Kara, do you have Game of Thrones there?" Barry asked. "What episode are you on?"

"Oh, and see if you can find my mom on that Earth and tell me if she's as crazy there as she is here," Cadence added.

"Mom," Brady protested.

"What?" She shrugged innocently. It was Barry's turn to give her a pointed look. Cadence widened her eyes innocently, lips twitching as she tried not to laugh. "She asked."

"Not like that," Barry said.

"No. But I know you were thinking it, too."

Brady laughed, his laughter mixing with Cadence's and Brady's. "So, what'd you get for breakfast?"

"The usual," Barry replied. "I was just meeting up with Oliver."

"And you're still hungry?" Brady asked. He shook his head. "I don't know why I asked. There's never any food around here. I'm practically starving."

"You're not even close to starving, bud, don't be dramatic," Cadence chided, making Brady roll his eyes and smile. She then addressed Barry. "I hope you got enough cronuts, I invited Cisco to have breakfast with us, too. I don't think he should be alone much longer. He's started to talk to inanimate objects."

"How's that any different?" Barry and Brady asked in unison.

Cadence grabbed the pillow behind her and whacked both Barry and Brady with it. Barry speed-ripped it from her hand and smacked her back, making her shriek and bring up her hands, trying to defend herself. Brady grabbed another one and took the opportunity to smack Barry on the other side.

The three continued to whack each other with pillows, laughing hysterically as they did so. Brady caught his mother's eye then the two swung at the same time, directly smacking Barry in the face. He ducked a flying pillow and grabbed the Messaging Cube. He brought the Messaging Cube to his face. "Bye," he said with a wave before turning off the Messaging Cube.

Immediately, a breach opened, and the cube shot through, almost not giving Brady enough time to bring his hands back to safety before he was grabbed by Cadence, who made him laugh, tickling his sides. He laughed harder, tears streaming down his face when Barry speed tickled him as well.

Finally, they calmed down, laughter slowly subsiding. The three lay on the couch, Barry's arms wrapped around his family, basking in their warmth. Their presence. Knowing how quickly it would all be taken away.

At that moment, it was all he needed.

A/N: Awww, such a nice moment between them, right. And, finally, you got the explanation as to how Oliver knew to help Barry. Sort of. Sorry that took so long, as I continued to write, some more things continued to get pushed around compared to what my somewhat outline had originally decided.

I sooo can't wait for you all to see the rest of the story. I'm so excited, just as I was with the ends of Flash Fire, Crossfire, and Fuel to the Fire.

Cheers,

-Riley

Review Replies

Ethan: Cade's comment of rush hour traffic was the joke to follow it. Oh, just wait, Cadence's and Caitlin's fight is going to be epic.

Guest: Wow, thanks. I'm so glad you enjoyed my explanation. I'm glad it worked out the way I hoped it would.