Kara grasped the paper cup between her hands, shooting a grateful smile at Natalie. The barista had made her usual order the moment she spotted Kara stepping in, shoving it into her hands without a word as she turned back to manage the lunch rush. Taking the cap off, Kara took a sip and bristled as straight black coffee met her tongue.

"I still don't get why you take your coffee black when you make that face every time."

She jumped, whirling around to see Iris sitting at one of the high-tops, chin in her hand and papers scattered about. "Iris! Hey!"

Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Right. I'm uh… sorry?"

"Sorry's all you got, Danvers?

She shifted her weight to either foot. Rao, give her a particle accelerator and theoretical physics to solve, not… this. This wasn't what she had been trained for. "Yes…?"

With a laugh, Iris' stony demeanor melted away. She kicked out the chair across from her, angling it enticingly in Kara's direction. Hesitantly, Kara took it.

"So? Who scooped you up?"

"Why do you think someone scooped me up? Maybe I just… was looking for a new job?"

"Oh please, we all know you're too smart to be here. It was only a time before someone noticed and recruited you to be some super secret scientist. Either that or…" she trailed off.

"Or?"

Iris grinned behind her coffee, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"No!" Kara felt her cheeks flood with warmth. "I just… met someone." Her ears joined her cheeks as Iris teasingly mouthed 'someone'. "Not romantically! It's um… Doctor Harrison Wells."

"The particle accelerator guy?" Iris asked in surprise. "Wait… are you working for him now?"

Cautiously, Kara nodded. Quick to follow it with an apology. "I'm sorry! I should've texted or something but it honestly happened so fast and I wasn't scheduled to work for a few days after it happened anyway! I thought I had more time to tell you."

"No, no, no. Don't apologize." She reached across the table to grasp Kara's hand. "Doctor Wells saved Barry's life. He's lucky to have you. And you always needed more than Jitters. It's okay. Really."

Shoulders slumped with relief. Iris talked about Barry sometimes when Jitters was slow and they had a moment to breathe. She had known he was struck by lightning and in a coma. Yet, somehow didn't put it together until after she said yes to Dr. Wells' offer of employment that Barry was in his care. Iris' brother was the one she was technically an accomplice to now. Or… maybe not an accomplice? They hadn't brought her in on anything yet, even if she did already know.

"Okay," she breathed and took another sip of coffee to steal her nerves. Her disgusting, vile coffee.

Shaking her head, Iris huffed. "Seriously though, what is with you and that coffee?"

"It's a family thing." She shrugged. "I gotta go. Dr. Wells sent me here for his coffee so…"

"Alright, alright. I'll let you go. But don't think you won't be hearing from me. And you better respond this time."

"I will! Bye!" She turned to join the line, calling over her shoulder. "And if you need any science help with your article…" she trailed off. The next sip of her coffee wasn't quite so bitter, as she caught Iris' eyes light up in the wake of her offer. Now, to get Dr. Wells his coffee and see what exactly Barry Allen had been up to that he wanted her gone for.

"I am in… way over my head. Yeah, I'm fast, but I am no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one meta-human. Let alone six."

"Barry. I understand. Today was a setback. But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times."

"This wasn't a grand enterprise Dr. Wells. This was a mistake."

Well, she could now safely assume why Dr. Wells wanted her gone. With one foot frozen in a step toward the Cortex, she listened to Barry's steps as he drew closer to her. She wouldn't get involved. Not like that. But…

Something solid bumped against her. Shaking free of her thoughts, she looked up to see Barry. He seemed knocked out of his train of thought much the same as her. They blinked at each other for a beat.

"Kara! I am so sorry. I didn't see you I was too busy thinking and just…"

That was a scrape on his cheek. For a wound to still be visible now, that one had to have been pretty bad. She softened her approach, wrapping her metaphorical cardigan tighter around her. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah. I just have a lot to think about is all." He looked past her, clearly ready to run out.

"Not like that. I mean your cheek." She paused, searching his still distant gaze. "Anyone can tell you um… emotionally aren't okay." That got his attention back on her.

He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets, almost as if resigned to linger. She held back a victorious smile. "What gave it away?"

"Same look people had when my boss told them they were fired due to their incompetence," Kara said, voice soft. Patterns she could handle. She'd seen this a million times before. Now, what would Alex do if it were her in the pattern instead? She sipped on her black coffee as an idea dawned on her. "Here," she shoved Dr. Wells' coffee into Barry's hands, "drink that and come with me."

His brows furrowed, staring at the cup in his hands. "I… Okay."

"So," Kara began as they slowly meandered their way to her apartment, "can I ask why you're moping?"

"I'm not-," his mouth worked silently for a moment before he found his voice again, "I'm not moping."

She looked pointedly down at his defensively crossed arms.

"Fine. I'm not moping I'm just… There's something I've been trying to do recently and I found out I'm not as good at it as I need to be."

"But you just started it, didn't you?" She tilted her head. Granted, she picked things up far faster than the average human, but she still needed some amount of time to figure it out. Languages were easy, math took minutes given the state Earth math was at. But what Barry was trying to do? She suspected even she would need a while to pick up that particular skill.

"Yeah?"

"Then how can you be expected to be good at it yet?"

His hand found comfort in the tresses of his hair. Blew out a breath. "It's not that simple. My line of work, as a uh forensic investigator, if I mess up? If I'm not fast enough to… solve whatever's going on? And worse, if I mess up and make the wrong call? Someone could die." Agitated fingers tugged on his hair. "I don't have time to just figure it out!"

Kara reached out, taking his hand and holding it securely in her own to spare the rest of his head. "Barry," she chastised, "slow down." She ignored his baffled look. "I know you don't like it. Iris told me the running before you could walk story."

"Wait, you know Iris?"

"Not the point. Listen. Take yourself out of the equation in this, erm, hypothetical situation. What would happen then?"

His feet came to a stop, turned, pointed at her. She followed suit. Staring back in a match of wills until Barry broke the silence. "I… don't know. The regular cops would handle it I guess?"

Kara shook her head. "Close your eyes."

"What? Kara, we're in the middle of a sidewalk?"

"Trust me, okay?" She let one of her classic Kara smiles shine through her lips. The one she routinely used against Alex when she wanted something. Worked like a charm even now as Barry huffed and reluctantly let his eyes flutter shut. "Good. Now think about it. Really think about it. Is there anyone else who can do what you do? Is there anyone else who could solve this problem even if you gave them everything you know about it?"

With their interlocked fingers, Kara began to tug him once more toward her apartment. He tried to open his eyes, so she let her smile drop into a pout. He closed his eyes once more.

"Then what happens when they do solve it?" She pursed her lips, thankful Barry couldn't see her now as she debated how to phrase her next question. "There are some calls cops don't handle very well. Or aren't equipped to at the very least."

Her mind flashed to the reports in the news before she woke up in the particle accelerator. Of aliens just trying to go about their lives, and human cops, not understanding that they are just beings, not dangerous inherently. The cops who would fire on them and provoke the alien into self-defense. That defense making the news to paint all aliens as dangerous criminals. Or worse yet, the aliens who disappeared off the streets without a trace. Those, the mainstream media never reported on, only talked about in hushed tones in alien bars and online safe spaces.

Barry's eyes opened now and he took a sip of his coffee, resolutely not looking at Kara, his gaze solidly locked on the approaching building before them.

He followed Kara back to her apartment like a lost puppy, though the coffee did perk him up enough that his shoulders weren't weighing the rest of his body down. And, she was pleased to note the scrape was almost gone by the time she let him inside.

"Dr. Wells drinks white chocolate mochas?" Barry asked in the silence as Kara threw her coat over the couch and grabbed a couple bags of popcorn from the pantry.

"No idea," Kara answered truthfully as she kicked off her shoes, allowing the subject to change. "He told me to get coffee so I did. Pretty sure he just wanted me out of STAR Labs for a bit."

She noted Barry's slight wince of guilt.

"Anyway, I figured if he wants to use that excuse, I might as well have some fun. I think I'll get him one of those olive oil-infused coffees next."

Barry tried his best to time his snort of laughter with the ding of the microwave. Would've worked, if she didn't have superhearing. She still counted it as a win, smiling to herself as she took the popcorn and plopped herself on the couch.

"What are we doing, Kara?" he asked, finally.

"We," she fetched the remote "are watching a movie." At his incredulous look and opening mouth, she held up a finger. "Uh-uh. Danvers family tradition. You get a planner on the first day of school and a movie night when something happens and you need to work out how you feel about it." She lost count of how many times she woke up to visions of Krypton exploding. How many times she curled into Eliza's side as The Wizard of Oz chased the visions away.

With a reluctant sigh, Barry sat down on the other end of the couch. Aching, expansive space left between them. Kara could feel it pulsing in the mirrored void in her heart. It would be so easy to scoot over, to touch. She wouldn't. He wasn't… a stranger. But it had only been a few days. She wouldn't push him.

"What are we watching?"

"The victim always chooses."

He shifted, awkwardness lining his every feature as his fingers twiddled and leg shook up and down.

"Hey," she held her hands up, laughing to herself, "I'm not gonna judge. My favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz."

"Oh!" His leg stilled, sitting up straight. "That's a good one. My dad always thought it was too cheesy though."

Kara smiled a bit. "Yeah. It is. That's why I like it." She shrugged. "Now you have to tell me yours. I told you mine."

"Singing in the Rain," he answered confidently. "My mom and I used to watch it together."

"Same with The Wizard of Oz for me!" She stood to put the Singing in the Rain DVD in, ignoring the disk that sat beside it in painfully new packaging. Not worn from years and years of re-watching. She shook her head and plopped back on the couch. Maybe a bit closer to Barry than before, but still not close enough.

They settled in to watch together, bowl of popcorn sat between them like a barrier. She tilted her head, listening close. There it was. His hummingbird heart. It began to slow, breaths deepening, as the opening credits began to roll.

It was… clean. The main physics lab was in one of the harder-hit portions of STAR Labs. He hadn't been down here since the explosion. Had no reason to, really. He assumed it would remain in its decrepit state until he left. And yet, here it was. Not a speck of dust to be found. No broken equipment. Even new notes were arranged in an orderly fashion on one of the desks.

He flicked through them and frowned. Symbols dotted the page in the place of letters. Meaningless, and yet, they were spaced frequently, strung together in long and short lines. Code? Perhaps. But not one he had ever seen before, even in his own time.

He called for Gideon the moment he wheeled into the Time Vault.

"Yes, Dr. Wells?"

Leaving his wheelchair, he crossed to Gideon's console and held a page of, presumably, Kara's notes for her to scan. "Language analysis."

Gideon did not answer immediately. Her gaze as far off as an AI with no soul could get, which was concerning, to say the least. Nothing managed to stall her before. For this to…

"It bears no resemblance to any language in my database," she answered finally.

He gripped the edge of the console with white knuckles. "Then analyze it for a code."

This time, the reply was immediate, "it bears no resemblance to any code in my database. Additionally, the structure is not consistent with that of systems used to encode messages."

Paper crumpled in his fist. "What are you hiding, Ms. Danvers…?"

He shook his head, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Gideon, where is Ms. Danvers now?"

"Her apartment. Barry Allen is there as well."

Painstakingly, he smoothed out the paper, clearing his throat. "Continue to analyze until you discern the language. I will bring more samples later."

"Of course, Dr. Wells."

He turned away before she even finished, stalking back to his chair. Cool glass slid against his ear, fingers wrapped tight around the phone. "Detective West. A word, if you don't mind."

0—

A text sent Barry rushing out of her apartment in the last twenty minutes of the movie. With how he practically sprinted out, she gathered two things. One, the meta-human had reared his head, and two, Barry took at least some of her words to heart.

What she didn't expect was for Iris to text her asking to meet up immediately after. She sent a quick invite to her apartment and set the movie on two times speed. Sure enough, Iris appeared in ten minutes just as the credits began to roll. She let her in.

"Hey, Iris. What's up?"

"My article," the woman said as she stepped inside, looking around curiously. "Cute place, Kara."

Kara warmed. The first few months here, she'd refused to decorate. She let her apartment be nothing more than a place to sleep while she worked to find a way home. But she'd finally realized it might… be a while. So she took her apartment and made it into a home.

In the morning, sunbeams bathed the studio space from the large windows on the eastern side. Now, at night, various lamps and strung-up fairy lights lit the space. A cushy couch with far too many pillows and blankets, a chair with clear signs of wear on one side as she sat crooked in it, and a coffee table crowded with books and circular cup stains. Paintings of what she remembered of Argo hung on the walls, interspaced with brushstroke memories of National City and Alex.

Iris drifted toward the fridge, looking at the printed-out article held onto its surface with a magnet. "What's this? Aliens?" She grinned as she skimmed through it. "I didn't think I'd have competition to use you as a source."

Flushing, Kara took the article from her and pinned it back up on the fridge. "It's not like that. My friend in… from back home, runs a conspiracy blog about aliens. It's silly, really, but the Daily Planet picked this post up." Her shoulders slumped, memories weighing on them. "He was so proud of it."

"Good for him. Does he know he earned a spot on your fridge?"

Kara shook her head.

Iris hummed, "I expect mine up there too once I'm finished."

And her flush came back in full, quietly watching Iris make herself at home, wandering over to the couch and flopping onto it. Whipping out a computer, she got to work. Kara stared at herself in the reflective glass of the microwave and willed her flush from her cheeks, shaking her head.

"So what's the topic of your article, exactly?" she asked, turning around to face the couch.

"Okay, there's been these sightings around Central City recently. Some sort of… red blur. Look."

Kara purposefully made her way over behind the couch, taking a look at the screen over Iris' shoulder.

"A car crash, a robbery, a building fire. They all say the same thing. A red blur came out of nowhere and saved them. One second they were in one place, the next they were somewhere else. He's a hero."

She hummed. Iris turned to face her with an exasperated sigh. "Oh come on. Don't tell me you don't think he's real. You read your friend's blog about *aliens*."

"I don't not think he's real!"

Iris threw her head back with a groan.

"Fine! I think… he is real. But you need to be careful how you break this. I don't want you to accidentally become the next Lois Lane."

"The next who?"

Right. No Superman. No Lois.

"Just, uh, I've heard that villains sometimes go after anyone they think has connections to the hero. Journalists included. Journalists… really often included."

"Right… because some supervillain is going to come after the article I submit for my college journalism course," Iris said, her voice dry. "

Kara only shook her head, leaning over Iris' still thrown-back head to look her in the eyes. "Just be careful, alright?"

She saw the moment Iris softened under her sincerity. Tense shoulders deflating, pursed lips twitching into a tight downturn to keep a hint of a smile at bay. "I will. I promise."

A chime from Iris' computer broke the moment causing her to jump up fast enough that Kara had to use just a hint of superspeed to move her head out of the way in time as Iris lurched forward to check the notification. "Another sighting! He just stopped an assassination attempt on Stagg Industries."

It was like Winn and Lois had a baby, she realized, belatedly. There was no way Iris would stay out of Barry's charade for long.

—-

"Productive meeting?" Kara asked as soon as he arrived back at the car after his talk with Simon Stagg. She went through the now familiar motions of taking him out of his wheelchair, setting him in the backseat, and placing the wheelchair in the trunk.

"Indeed," he answered. One threat to Barry Allen removed was certainly productive. Once Kara joined him in the car and began to drive, he pounced. "I noticed I never received my coffee. Coincidentally, it vanished with you, around the same time as Barry Allen."

She flushed up to the tips of her ears. "I may have lent your coffee to a good cause…" Her eyes caught his through the rearview mirror, offering an apologetic wince.

He chuckled, easing back into his seat. An unexpected development, but a convenient one. "Dare I ask?"

"I think he just had a hard day." She kept her eyes on the road now, fidgeting a bit. "He mentioned trying something new at work and it not going well. Wouldn't tell me what it was but… I think I helped?"

How interesting. Before, she always looked him in the eyes, her gaze sincere and intelligent. He admired her for it, truly. It was… new. Having someone who looked at him like he was the only thing in the world, devoting sole attention to their conversations. Logically, he knew she did the same for everyone. Something he suspected Barry Allen was particularly susceptible to considering how easily Kara dissuaded him from running away from his problems.

And yet, here she was, determined to stare down the road, not even a quick flick back to the mirror.

"I didn't know you were knowledgeable in the subject of forensics." It wasn't an accusation. He even made sure it lacked his usual pointedness.

That got a slight laugh from her, but not her attention. "I'm not. I didn't really help him solve the problem. I just… did what my father did for me whenever I was stumped."

Thawne waited expectantly for her to continue.

After a moment, her eyes finally caught his in the mirror, realizing he wanted more. They flitted away again before he could analyze the depth of emotion present within. "He was a scientist as well. He would always ask me questions. Not about the scientific nature of my work but about… well… I guess about the philosophical nature of my work." She shook her head slightly, knuckles gripping the wheel a bit tighter. Her next statement was spoken lowly, for herself more than him. He just managed to pick it up. "Ironic, considering he didn't apply the same consideration to his own experiments…"

Another shake of her head followed closely by a bone-weary sigh. "Anyway. I recognized that he seemed too bogged down in the actual plan part. Trust me, when something goes wrong at that level, it's hard to come back from." She suddenly froze, flush returning to her ears. "Erm… which I'm sure you know. So I asked him why he was doing it in the first place. Because if he's trying something new it probably means he's trying to fix a broken system? And then we watched Singing in the Rain." She finished with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders as if it was just that simple.

He let out a false hum of understanding. Could he trust her to be so close to Barry Allen? He was inclined toward yes. Partly from how genuine she seemed to be, and partly from how much easier this would be if she gained his trust. After all, if Kara Danvers became Barry Allen's confidant, there would be no need for Joe West. Yes. An assistant of his own in that role would do nicely.