Barry was hard at work in his laboratory, as he looked over the incomprehensible chemical equations spewed out in the board in front of him. Well incomprehensible to everyone other then him of course. He stared at the board with such incredible dedication and focus, that he almost didn't here someone come in.

Expecting it to be Joe again, he said without looking at the intruder, "Two visits in one day? Wow, I certainly feel special."

"That's funny. I don't remember visiting you." Barry turned to look at the person, and to his surprise, he realized it was Eddie.

"Huh, what brings the great Detective Thawne to my humble sanctuary? Did Iris or Joe need something?" Barry asked as he turned his attention to a file in front of him.

Eddie shook his head in response as he stepped closer to where Barry was sitting. "No no, nothing like that. I don't know if Iris told you or not, but a few of my cousins from Happy Harbor are coming to town this weekend."

Barry momentarily paused his writing as he tried to remember, "Uh yeah, I think she mentioned something about that. Why?"

"Well you see, I don't exactly have many friends here in Central. But this weekend we're going to all have a picnic at the park, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us. Joe and Iris will be there as well, and feel free to invite your friends.

At this, Barry stopped what he was doing all together and turned his full attention to Eddie. He couldn't remember the last time Detective Pretty Boy ever invited him to do something, yet here he was asking him to intrude in what is obviously a family picnic. "No offense Eddie, but why invite me? We aren't exactly the best of friends."

"True. But you are my girlfriend's best friend, practically her brother. And contrary to popular belief, I actually do want to get to know you more as a friend. We both obviously care deeply for Iris, and it'll mean a lot to her to see us getting along. So I thought, what better peace offering then inviting you out with my family? So what do you say?"

"Sure, I don't see why not. I'll get the details from Iris later." Barry finally agreed.

"Great! And I was serious about you inviting your friends. Cisco and Caitlyn are good company."

"Thanks, I'll tell the about it tonight."

"Alright, well I better get back to work. Later Barry." Eddie said as he exited the lab.

"Later." Barry called after him, before returning back to his own work.

LATER THAT NIGHT

That night at Star Labs, Barry relayed the conversation with Eddie for Cisco and Caitlyn while he was running the treadmill.

"Aw that's sweet. He's trying to get on better terms with you." Caitlyn said while monitoring his vitals.

"Yeah, I guess. So, are you guys in? I would really appreciate it if you guys were there, it would make it an infinite times less awkward." Barry said.

"Aww Barry! Are you going sentimental on us?" Cisco asked in a condescending manner, resulting in Caitlyn hitting him upside the head.

"What this idiot means to say, so that we would love to go with you guys to the picnic." Caitlyn answered.

"You know, if Eddie wasn't already in love with Iris, I would think he was trying to make a move on you." Cisco said with his ever-present grin.

"Haha, very funny. Although, I think I would know if a guy were hitting on me." Barry said with a hint or arrogant pride seeping through his thinly concealed persona.

"Oh come on Barry, let's be real. You can't even tell if a girls obviously hitting on you. How on earth do you think you can somehow see a guys flirtation?" Cisco asked.

With a slight smirk on his face, Barry answered, "Easily. I went to an all guys school."

"I swear Barry, when you make comments like that, I wonder if you really were gay at one point. Is that why you were initially mad about Iris and Eddie hooking up? Did you have the hot's for Detective Pretty Boy?" Cisco mocked in a teasing tone.

With that poorly timed comment, Barry found himself loosing his footing, flying off the treadmill, only to crash into the wall.

"Ouch." Cisco said with a grimace.

THE NEXT MORNING

The following morning brought Barry to Jitters, where he had coffee with Iris. She had been excited all morning, ever since Barry told Iris that Eddie invited him to the picnic, which for some reason Eddie forgot to mention it to her.

"Ok, so Eddie was four cousins that are coming over, all male. The eldest is named Daniel who's 29, then comes Kyle who's 27, then Louis at 25, and the youngest is Ryan who's 23. They're all super athletic and they run a small hunting and athletic equipment store together back in Happy Harbor." Iris all but lectured Barry.

"Iris, relax. It's going to go fine. I'm sure we'll all get along splendidly." Barry said with a small smile as he drunk his coffee (which may or may not have had a shot of Courvoisier in it).

Iris, looking slightly offended replied, "I know that! Last time they came, we had a great time! It's just that, and don't take this the wrong way, but they aren't exactly people who you typically hang out with. They don't understand science, and they're more into sports then academics. I just don't want you to be bored is all."

Barry just laughed as he tried to ease her worries, "Like I said Iris, it's fine! You're going to be there and if you're busy, Cisco and Caitlyn are tagging along too."

Iris, finally reassured, laughed in response. "You're right, as usual. I'm just over reacting. Saturday is going to pass without a hitch."

Saturday Afternoon

It was finally the day of the picnic, and Barry found himself arriving at the park just in time to see everyone getting ready. Joe was conversing with the four Thawne brothers, as Eddie was helping Iris with the barbecue. Cisco and Caitlyn bailed on him last minute, because apparently Dr. Wells needed there help with something at Star Labs.

As he approached the group, Iris spotted him, and ran over to give him a hug, which he of course returned. She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the small group of bulky young men.

"So guys, this is my best friend Barry, the one I was telling you guys about. Barry, these are Eddies cousins, Daniel, Kyle, Louis, and Ryan." She said pointing at each man as she called out his name.

"It's nice to finally meet you guys." Barry said to them politely.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too Barry. Iris never shuts up about you." Kyle said mockingly.

"Should I be worried?" Barry asked without realizing that he was slightly slipping into his alter ego.

"That depends. What do you consider to be worrisome?" Kyle asked with a smirk. Oh yeah, Barry was now sure that they were flirting.

"Ok Romeo, you can stop the not so subtle flirting. Hate to break it to you, but my friend Barry here is straight." Eddie told Kyle.

"Well that's too bad. You could have been the perfect boyfriend." Kyle said with a teasing smile.

"I'm quite aware. I'm a tease to the entire gay community, and I feel that I have to apologize beforehand for I can't real in the beauty that is me." Barry said jokingly.

Iris, Joe, and Eddie just stared at Barry in shock, not quite used to this side of him. Realizing what he was unintentionally doing, Barry reeled in his separate persona.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Barry asked in an almost desperate attempt to direct the attention away from him. Although the second he noticed Eddie's growing smile he wished he had asked a different question.

"Well, that's funny that you asked Allen. You see, right before you came, the guys and I were talking about putting on a lacrosse game, but we were a member short. Now that you're here, it'll be an even game."

All Barry could do was stare at Eddie in stunned silence, "You have got to be kidding me."

"Sorry, but nope. Playing lacrosse at picnics is an old Thawne family tradition, and playing a game with only five people isn't exactly fair." Daniel told him.

"Why can't Joe play with you? He's athletic." Barry asked in a desperate attempt to get out of this situation.

Joe just laughed as he answered Barry, "Sorry kiddo, but I got to save my energy for the job. I'm not as young as I used to be."

"That's never something you want to hear your partner say." Eddie said.

"But seriously Barry, just play one game! It'll be fun!" Ryan tried to persuade Barry.

"No way in hell." Barry told them firmly.

"Come one Barry! Please! Just one game! For me?" Iris asked using the puppy dog eyes and pout. For a minute there, Barry cursed his surrogate sister for knowing his weakness before his resolve began to slowly crumble.

"But I don't have any equipment." Barry said hoping for a way out of the game.

"Don't worry about that, we came prepared. " Louis told him smugly. Of course they did Barry thought.

"Fine, I'll play your stupid game." Barry said, finally giving into their eager persistence.

"Atta boy! You do know the rules right?" Eddie asked, for the first time considering Barry knowledge on the sport.

"I went to a prep school." Barry deadpanned.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Ryan said, as he got up to fetch their equipment.

Joe leaned over to Barry and with a hushed whisper that only he could hear, he asked, "Your speed won't be a problem, right?"

With an equally hushed voice, Barry replied, "Nope, not at all. I have perfect control over it."

Even though Barry agreed to play, he wasn't particularly happy about it. It wasn't the fact that he wasn't good at the sport; on the contrary he was amazing at it. Back in high school, Barry, or at the time "Sebastian", was the captain of Dalton's lacrosse team. He single handedly led his team to nationals, claiming numerous trophies and achievements in the process. The only part of the whole situation that made Barry uncomfortable was the fact that lacrosse and athleticism was more of Barry's alter personality. No one here had a clue on how good Barry actually was at lacrosse, although something told him they would find out soon enough.

As they got their equipment and began setting up for the game, a small smile crept on to Barry's face. He would be severely underestimated, and he could use that to his advantage. After all, the sooner he won this game, the sooner he could stop playing. The teams were Barry, Eddie, and Louis against Daniel, Ryan, and Kyle. Louis and Kyle were acting as goalies. Iris and Joe sat on the sidelines cheering them on. Barry and Daniel met up in the middle to see who gets the ball first. As soon as Joe blew the whistle, Barry swept up the ball with incredible speed, and ran towards the opposite goal. He easily side stepped Ryan, who tried to knock him down, and with a quick yet powerful swing, he sent the ball speeding towards the goal, flying between Kyle's legs, and effectively scoring a goal for his team. His team went wild as Joe and Iris cheered them on. To say they were shocked would be an understatement, but they were to hyped up on adrenaline to wonder how the hell it was that Barry go so good at lacrosse.

The game ended soon enough, with Barry's team easily winning. As they sat at the picnic table, eating there lunch, Iris exclaimed, "I had no idea you were so good at lacrosse Barry!"

With a shrug, Barry said, " Thanks Iris. But it wasn't that impressive."

"Are you kidding me Barry? That was amazing!" Joe cried.

"Thanks Joe." Barry once again said, growing slightly uncomfortable with all of the attention.

"When did you get so good at lacrosse Barry?" Eddie asked curiously.

With a secretive, yet smug smile, Barry replied, "Like I said. I went to Prep school."