I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "The Flash", "Arrow", or "DC Comics". Wow, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this fanfiction so far, I really appreciate the support. This chapter has been the most difficult of the three to write so far, but I still hope you enjoy Barry's chapter. As always, thanks for following/favoriting and commenting.
Chapter 3
Underneath the Mask
Barry opens his eyes to the harsh light coming through the windows. He groans to himself, as the previous night comes back to him in flashes. He remembers going to the strip club, at Dibny's insistence, and then drinking a lot. The rest is a blur, up until, they got locked in jail. He had started sobering up at that point, the alcohol slowly wearing off, but the massive headache was still killing him. Now, as he sits up, he feels completely hungover. Barry figures whatever Cisco gave him last night, must have been some strong stuff. His cell phone goes off on the nightstand next to him and he quickly picks it up to see who it is. Iris. Barry answers and a smile comes over his face. "Iris, where are you?" He hears car horns in the background. "I'm on my way to Jitters right now to meet Caitlin and Felicity. I thought I'd go over a few details with them about the wedding." Barry clutches the phone in his hand. "I didn't know you asked Caitlin to be in a wedding." There's a pause on the other end.
Barry hears a few dozen car horns sound. "Yeah, I thought it would be a good way for us to bond." Barry nods, knowing that the two haven't really spent any time with each other outside of work, since Iris has become part of the team. "I'm sure Cait appreciates you making her a bridesmaid." Another pause and Barry flashes over to the window to close the blinds, before hopping back into bed. "Actually…Caitlin is my Maid of Honor." His brow furrows, as confusion washes over him. "What made you decide to choose Cait?" Barry waits for her to answer, as he hears a bell ring. "Sorry, Barry, I just walked into Jitters, I'll call you back later. Love you." Before he can respond, she hangs-up and he's left with too many unanswered questions. Barry wonders why Iris avoided his question about Cait. He finds it strange, considering how she's been insisting on honesty between them lately, even making them work out their problems in therapy.
He jumps out of bed and flashes into his clothes for the day. Barry looks at his reflection in the mirror and sees himself more as the Flash these days than Barry Allen. Sometimes, it feels like his true self is slipping away from him, and he wonders for the first time, if that's how Cait feels. His mind goes back to his friend and to that unanswered question he asked Iris. Did she really ask her because she felt like she had to for him or did she do it for another reason? Something tells Barry that it's the second option, as he flashes to the kitchen, and makes his way over to the coffee maker. He prepares the coffee and grabs a blueberry muffin from the basket on the counter. As it's brewing, Barry waits by the coffee pot and resumes pondering about Iris's decision. He finds it weird that Iris chose now to try and be friends with Cait. They've had more than a year to form some kind of friendship and Barry wonders why she waited so long to do it. He knows that Cait wouldn't push a friendship with Iris if she didn't initiate it first because she's always wanted her friendships to be genuine, not forced.
Just like, their friendship had started. Him, Cisco, and Cait had all naturally become friends. None of them had to force the bond that they developed, it had just happened. They hadn't woke up one day and decided to be friends. Barry notices that his coffee is ready, and he pours himself a cup. He walks over to the kitchen table and sits down. Barry smiles, when he thinks about the beginning of his friendship with Cait and Cisco. They had worked well together, each having a purpose in the group. Wells was the leader, Cisco was an amazing tech wiz, Cait was the team's doctor and scientist, and he had been the vigilante saving lives. While he was deemed the hero by the citizens of Central City, underneath the mask, he had a strong team behind him. They had helped him become the hero that the city deserved and for that, he had considered them the real heroes.
Barry takes a bite of his muffin and thinks about the person that helped him stay connected to who he was under the mask. Cait. She had told him that even though he was the Flash, that didn't mean he wasn't Barry Allen anymore. It had touched something inside of him and he had suddenly felt confident. As long as, he had Cait reminding him of who he really was, he'd never lose himself. Initially, Barry had thought that she'd always be the person he'd turn to, but then, he had gotten together with Iris. Looking back, he hadn't meant to push Cait aside and start relying completely on Iris, but that's exactly what happened. Barry hadn't realized he was even doing it, until that day Killer Frost had told him he had, when they had captured her. Iris had become his priority and instead of helping Cait with her powers, he hadn't stood by her. Even though he had done that to her, she kept saving him, but he couldn't do the same for her.
Barry feels a twinge of guilt, when he thinks about Cait dying on that table and him not being able to stop it. He had often wondered if his disconnection to Cait had caused her to embrace being Killer Frost and team up with Savitar. Despite, his future self being corrupted by evil, Cait had still chosen to stick by him. She hadn't abandoned him, even if it was a future version of him. A possible answer to the question he's been asking himself comes to him. What if Iris had wanted to form a friendship with Cait because she had wanted to start a new chapter, with not only him, but the whole team? It seems to him, that she's starting to click with everyone else on the team, but Cait. Maybe, it's because she wasn't a part of the team for the six months he was gone? Barry doesn't know for sure, but this is the explanation he's going with for now. He drains the rest of his coffee and places the mug back on the table. Barry realizes that he's taken Cait for granted and his heart sinks at the thought. She doesn't deserve the way he's been treating her, and he thinks that it's time to follow Iris's lead, and make things right.