27
An Enlightened Conversation
Harrison glanced down at the 'Welcome' mat that sat on the front porch of the nice suburban home then looked to Tess with a raised eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes. "Like we don't have a Welcome mat at our place," she said to him. Reaching out, she pressed her finger against the doorbell by the door and waited for someone to answer it. "Sure, ours is made from the finest threads you can find in China,"—Harrison nodded—"at someone's insistence." She rolled her eyes when Harrison grinned at her.
The door opened and Marlize DeVoe took a step back, looking at the two with mild surprise. "Oh!" She brushed her hair back with both hands before smoothing down the sides of her floral dress. "I didn't expect any company today." She looked between the two. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, we heard that DeVoe had called out sick," Tess explained. She nodded toward Harrison. "And my husband was slated to cover his class, which he did well, I might add." Harrison's lips pulled back into a smile. "Though I have to be the one to say it or else Harrison's ego will get even bigger if he said so himself."
"Bright minds can't help but give themselves an ego," Harrison replied. He smiled when Marlize nodded. "We decided that we would drop by and see how he was doing, with the thought that what is ailing him isn't contagious."
"No! Of course not! With his illness, sometimes he can be too tired to leave the house." Marlize looked over her shoulder for a moment. "But I'm sure he'd be thrilled to know his colleagues at the university are looking out for his best interest." She stepped back and allowed Harrison and Tess to enter the immaculately kept house. "Can I offer you anything to drink?"
"No, we don't plan on staying long," Tess replied. "But thank you."
Marlize nodded and headed toward the living room. "Clifford?" She called as she went. "Clifford, Tess and Harrison have dropped by to see how you're doing." She walked over to the wheelchair parked in front of the TV and sat next to her husband, gently nudging his arm. DeVoe lifted his head from the pillow tucked between his head and neck and looked over at Harrison and Tess.
The corners of his lips slowly very imperceptibly turned up. "Yes, our friends," he said. Marlize motioned for the two to sit as Clifford got himself comfortable. "I apologize for not being able to attend class today, this illness…" he gestured toward his legs. "It's like being trapped inside my own body." His lips twitched back down to the neutral line it habitually was. "Some days I wish I could get up and run…then I remember the life I was given." He blinked over at Tess. "I'm sure you know how I feel."
Tess lifted an eyebrow, the warm smile never leaving her face. Nevertheless, her blue eyes turned icy. "Are you referring to my accident?"
"Yes." He nodded. "I remember hearing about it. It was a terrible day when Central City University thought they'd lost Professor Tess Morgan. Even more of a shame of what she could have done to help further STAR Labs to the glory it could have been." His eyes flickered toward Harrison. "I wondered when you would come to see me. When your…memories would bring you to me." He looked at his empty wrist, mockingly.
"Clifford," Marlize said in warning.
"I'm just postulating that the mind-meld Harrison had with Eobard should have kept him with his memories," Clifford remarked. He pressed his hand to the side of his face, blinking as he watched Harrison and Tess before him. They stood stock still, doing their best not to look at each other, confirming his words. Clifford's tiny smile turned into a smirk with only the slightest movement of his lips. "Yes, I know bout that as well. You see, I know a lot about you, the people you surround yourselves with, and what everything is thinking all within a second. And I bet you're thinking, right now, how could I have known about the mind-meld?"
"That's exactly what I was wondering," Harrison replied with an amused smile. "The ability to share thoughts, experiences, memories, and knowledge with another individual, especially in a limited form of telepathy isn't something that people readily know about. Or can prove. Or study."
"Yes, but you have to have a special mind to think that something most would only know from Star Trek would be possible with what has happened since the Particle Accelerator explosion," DeVoe explained. He reached up and tapped at his temple. "And there's always the interesting little fact that you haven't gone to any lengths to deny it. Which just makes me wonder what made you want to come here today." He rolled forward, keeping his gaze on the couple. "I seem to remember when the accelerator was going to go off. You were giving a speech about the change in physics that you were about to bring."
Harrison slowly nodded.
"And you were asked the first thing you'd do once the accelerator went on," Marlize agreed. She smiled, gently shaking her head. "I remember that night."
Harrison smiled. His blue eyes shifted toward the ceiling then lowered when he gave a modest chuckle. "I'd crack open an expensive bottle of Dom Perignon with my staff, because I ride them very hard and they've earned it." He recited then nodded to Marlize. "And you'd asked me—"
"—Those protesting the accelerator believe it could open a black hole in central city," she replied, the warm and inviting persona immediately vanished. Taking its place was an expression that bordered on aggression. "But is it more likely to trigger a benevolent phenomenon like a Higgs boson bridge?"
"I calculated every detail, every decimal point." Harrison said.
"And yet, it still went off."
"That's correct."
"Just as Thawne wanted. Just as you wanted." DeVoe clenched his hand into a fist. "That night, you told me 'Good luck' on my endeavors. That I'd have an enormous impact on the future. A comment like that hadn't registered with me at the time. I only had the simple notion to go off; that you wanted the fallout to happen, to release the dark matter into the air, into Central City."
"Just as you wanted the wave of dark matter to come out of the speed force and onto the Bus Metas," Tess remarked. She watched DeVoe and Marlize, surprised to find that they didn't deny it, didn't even seem surprised to know they'd figured it out. "The only thing we can't figure out is why."
DeVoe shook his head. "I guess this is the time where I give you that piece of my backstory that will aid you on the information you came here seeking. Well, I assure you it's a very boring story; I grew up in South Africa. And after studying history and econometrics and at the history of Johannesburg, I took a teaching position at Oxford. But it took a tenured teaching position at Central City University to lure me away from Oxford. That was…four, almost five years ago." He tapped his chin. "Isn't that around the time of the Particle Accelerator explosion? That was a very interesting night."
Harrison nodded, grinning as he gently bit his lower lip. His eyes flickered away from DeVoe then back again. "Nice painting."
DeVoe followed his gaze and nodded. "The samurai. They were formidable foes; they often make unstoppable enemies to their opponents. Always getting better to ensure they're able to be the best." He waved a hand. "The feudal history of Medieval Japan is one of my areas of expertise. You see, I love teaching. It gives me the opportunity to broaden perspectives. But you can't just inspire people to be better. Sometimes you need to change the way people think."
"So you went about and changed the way you thought," Tess remarked. "And used the Particle Accelerate explosion to…maximize your intelligence."
"And it was that intelligence that made it so that I'm not the smartest mind alive, the fastest. I can perceive things and thoughts that others can't, even before the thought even forms in the synapses of the brain. Past, present, future, I know every outcome of every interaction that is to come. My vast knowledge encompasses things that don't even seem possible."
"Like the mind-meld," Harrison remarked.
"Precisely." Clifford sucked in a sharp breath. "I have to admit, I was surprised to understand your words, as Eobard knew of what it was, I was capable of doing, but only in a certain context of certain timelines. A timeline I'm sure no longer exists. Now I'm sure you're wondering why I'm telling you everything without an ounce of denial."
"The thought did cross the mind," Harrison said.
"Well, Harrison, it's because I have nothing to lose. There no reason for me to deny the questions you're going to ask me or what you may accuse me of. Because there's no way for me to be defeated, to be stopped. Just as there was nothing that could be done to keep you…Eobard from succeeding with his plans. Eobard has been defeated, but there's still a part of him that's been imprinted on you because of the mind-meld, you have his memories, his thoughts, his feelings. And that's why you've distanced yourself from STAR Labs and Barry Allen. Because you don't want the hatred that Eobard has placed within you to harm him in any way."
Tess glanced at her husband, curious to know how he felt about his well-kept secret being exposed so easily. Nothing changed within Harrison's face, he simply continued to watch DeVoe as DeVoe watched him. A meeting of the strongest minds.
"But don't you feel that his greatest mentor being taken away from him has harmed him enough?" DeVoe taunted.
Harrison ran his thumb over his fingertips. "What's your endgame? What are you hoping to achieve from all of this?"
DeVoe glanced at Marlize, who smiled back at him. He shrugged. "I just hope it's as enlightening as I dreamed it would be."
Barry's stomach growled when he and Cadence walked into Central City Confections, seconds before it was replaced with a distant, sad memory. His parents had gone to the same place to get their wedding cake made years ago. He hadn't expected it to hit him that quickly, or again, how they weren't going to be there for the wedding. That they wouldn't be there for one of the biggest days of his life.
As it was, he couldn't completely focus on the slices of cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and pies that sat in the display cases around the store. He could only look over his shoulders as he and Cadence sat down after explaining to the shop assistant what they were there for. Barry brought up a hand to rub at his neck, feeling all the tension that sat in his muscles, muscles that then felt like rocks while he tried to keep in mind that he could be murdered the second he walked out the front door.
Not that it wasn't a possibility before; with Thawne, Zoom, Savitar, and whomever was sending the Samuroids after him there was always the chance of him being killed within the flash of a speedster's lightning trail. But knowing there was something else, someone else who made his living off taking other people's lives…it literally meant anyone around them was in danger. Even the shop assistant, who beamed—albeit shyly—at them from behind the register.
"Do you know her?" Cadence asked, nodding to the shop assistant. Shaking his head, Barry followed her gaze, taking in the girls' long hair, paler skin, and hazel eyes.
"She does look familiar," Barry agreed. He wracked his brain, trying and failing to figure out where it was, he would've seen her before. Something about her face was just so familiar. Almost creepily so. "I don't know. Have we saved her, or something?"
"No, I'd remember…" Cadence trailed off. Barry took in a deep breath, knowing what she meant.
He remembered everyone that they'd saved…that they'd lost. And it wasn't just because they were heroes for the city, but due to their own sense of justice and how badly they wanted to help other people. Or maybe it was the guilt, remembering those they couldn't save and striving to do better so they could save the next one.
"Hi!" The shop assistant walked back to the table once more, clutching a pad of paper to her chest. "I'm sorry for the wait, the chef will be out to help you soon. He's had another large order that he's been working on. Something about the Mayor…" She trailed off, shaking her hand. "Anyway, do you want to try some samples of the cupcakes before your tasting starts! Check out this new one we just started!" She went to the counter and came back before Barry or Cadence could politely turn her down. "We call it the Fresh Flash!"
She placed an immaculate looking cupcake in the middle of the table, big enough for the two of them to share. From looking at it, Barry could see it was a vanilla base on the cupcake, and on top was a swirl of red and yellow frosting with a white fondant lightning bolt in the shape of his logo on top.
"Wow," Cadence said, her eyebrows rising in surprise. "That's really good!"
"It was my idea," the girl replied, clasping her hands behind her back. "I know Jitters does this thing where they give the villains their own drinks, too, but I wanted to do a hero thing here." She started to count off on her fingers. "We've got the Fresh Flash, the Funky Flare, the Very Berry Vibe, the Juicy Jesse Quick with a jelly filling, the King Kid Flash, and the Scrumptious Shadowhunter."
Cadence snorted quietly at the last name, making Barry smile, and quickly hide it, not wanting to offend the girl. He cleared his throat, leaning forward at the table. "Can we try the Funky Flare, too?"
"Of course!" She hurried behind the display then came back with a blood orange based cupcake with a dark red, almost maroon frosting, and a red fondant double F sitting back to back that was her logo on top. "It doesn't sell as much as the Flash, but…" she shrugged. "I think it's good."
Barry laughed one more, noticing Cadence's lower jaw shift to the side with light annoyance. He smiled teasingly at her, making her mime flicking frosting at him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome!" The girl practically gushed in response. She opened her mouth to say something else, only stopping when the chef came out from the back of the shop.
"Alexis, how many times have I told you to stop harassing our customers?" The chef said, coming over to her. He swatted her on the arm and motioned for her to go back to the counter. "I have an order of sourdough that needs to be proofed, can you get that ready, please?"
Alexis smiled sheepishly before scurrying to the back.
"I'm sorry if she bothered you fine folks," The chef said with a tiny apologetic lean toward them. "She can be a little too energetic."
"Oh, it's okay," Barry replied. "She wasn't bothering us."
"Well, please let me know if anything isn't to your satisfaction. I'm David Devereaux." He reached out and shook their hands. "And I understand you're here for a cake tasting. For your upcoming wedding. But I like to make sure I truly get to know the couple I'm helping to make the best day, so, how'd you two meet?" His eyes shifted expectantly between the two.
A wicked gleam came to Cadence's eye. Even with Barry's speed, he wasn't fast enough to stop her. "I was trying to kill him," Cadence said casually.
All at once, the blood drained from Barry's face. He looked to the chef, who stared back at her with bug-eyes. He chuckled nervously and looked to Barry for clarification or, hopefully, a sign she was joking. Barry briefly glared at her before explaining, "We both work for the CCPD. That's where we met." It wasn't exactly a lie, but he didn't have to know that for sure.
"Oh! Okay." The chef was visibly relieved. "That makes a lot of sense. I'm sure the stress of the job makes it easier for jokes like that to come about. Especially with the metahuman business that's been going on the past couple of years." He waved his hands. "But this is about your day, and we're going to make it as perfect as it can be." He whipped out a notepad. "Now, I just need to know a few things like the date, venue, guest count…"
And for the next half hour Barry and Cadence went through the logistics of their wedding. The most time, Barry realized with a pang of sadness, that they'd talked about it since he'd returned from the Speed Force. They went over the wedding style, whether they wanted flowers, if the cake was to be made with fondant or buttercream. If it was supposed to be simple or ornate. Their theme, how they wanted the cake presented, if they had a cake topper they were going to use or if they needed one provided. Everything under the sun that Barry had never thought about before.
"And we need to know your budget—"
"—There is no budget," Cadence explained, almost impatiently. "My mom's paying for it."
"Okay." The chef blinked rapidly at her change in tone. "Well, that's all the information we need right now, we'll get you started on some of our taste samples. These are the regular chocolate and vanilla with our exotic accents…" he passed a tray of cake slices from the counter behind him onto the table between the two metahumans then left the floor to help another customer who came in, allowing them some privacy.
Barry took a piece of the cake closest to him and nearly gagged. Vanilla and coconut. The coconut was too strong and, honestly, he didn't know why anyone would want to have that as a cake flavor. That is, unless it was a destination wedding. Cadence tried one and made a face.
"Was it the coconut one?" He asked.
"Now, this is like a pineapple," she replied, dabbing at her mouth. She pointed with her chin to their two slices. "I think they should've put those two flavors together, pineapple coconut. Feels very Hawaiian."
"Maybe we should've thought of Hawaii for our wedding," he suggested. "Get out of Central City for a while."
"You mean you're not tired of the constant death threats all over the place?" She replied. She let out a quiet sigh, shaking her head. "I used to think Central City was a safe place, but now I don't really know how much longer I want to live here. Or, want to keep Brady here."
"Do you mean because of Hitman or the anti-meta measures?"
"Both, though Hitman is a little more worrying at this point." Cadence lowered her voice, looking around the shop before continuing. "It's not that he knows what we look like and our identities that's the worst part. It's that there are other people that are working with him, other men and women who are trying to get that bounty to kill us for a life changing amount of money. And we don't know who those people are. They could be anti-meta or working with Lex as far as we know." She thought for a moment. "Even the person behind the Samuroids."
"We still don't know where that's coming from yet," Barry replied. He took in a deep breath, steadying himself to reveal the one thing that he hadn't quite been able to say before. "I think they're two different people. And, I think they're going after us specifically." Cadence's eyebrows twitched upwards. She took another bite of cake, bobbing her head with that one. "No good?"
"Minty," she replied. "Not my favorite."
"Are you kidding?" His eyes widened. "I love mint. I was going to suggest it." Her nose wrinkled. "You can't go wrong with chocolate and mint."
"Barry, I want my wedding cake to be a cake. A dessert. Not like I'm going to brush my teeth." She used her finger and scraped the rest of the piece off her fork and back onto the plate, pushing the sample aside to start another one. "What's that one?"
"Pistachio," Barry agreed. "Not bad but…doesn't really stand out either." He went back to the previous conversation topic. "The Samuroids are after me, and they only attack the rest of you when waiting for me. And the Hitman has only ever attacked when you're around. He hasn't attacked me unless you were with me."
Cadence slowly nodded. "Do you think these may be someone we know?"
"Who?"
"Hitman. Maybe it's someone we've put away before and now they're getting revenge?"
Barry leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand as he thought about it. He twirled his fork around his fingers, picking up speed as he thought about it. "We have a database on everyone we've ever put away. No one we know has the ability to build a Samuroid as sophisticated as the ones that've come after us." He paused.
Cadence cocked an eyebrow. "What about Hartley?"
"You think he would build something like the Samuroids?"
"To figure out your power set and continue to make more and more machines that can ultimately defeat you?" Cadence's words were pointed. "Doesn't that sound petty enough for Hartley to do?" Barry nodded. She had a point. "There's always something everyone is capable of. It may take more for other people to get to that point, but everyone is capable of something."
"Okay, let's say it was Hartley, why would he want to do that? To keep building stronger and stronger machines to defeat me?"
Cadence shrugged. "Hartley has powers, sure, but his powers only seem to work when they were siphoned through his gloves, remember?" Barry nodded. He remembered how Hartley had wanted to take revenge on Dr. Wells and Team Flash and they'd used the surrounding cars' stereo systems to take him down. "And fashioned his own hearing aid to keep from being affected by his powers. He can take on the task of finding something that will defeat you, or any other meta, and…let's say, sell that information to the government. To the black market?"
"What happened when you went to see Amunet?" Barry asked.
She shook her head, finishing a swallow of a piece of chocolate cake. Her eyes widened, pulling the slice closer to her. "Didn't get much answers. Amunet runs the Black Market, but she doesn't always know what goes through it. Anything of interest toward her is something she'd be directly interested in. You think Breathtaker would've kept her around for long if it wasn't that she was able to get us some of the information we needed."
"She could probably use this information. I'd try looking there again."
She laughed. "You're actually telling me to go back to Amunet?"
He laughed as well. How many times had they wanted to work with the people they were trying to take down? But, at the same time, Amunet had something that Team Flash didn't, and that was answers, information. The knowledge of things they wouldn't have thought was possible, despite all the impossible things they'd ever seen. And that was dangerous than having any power, there was a reason the CCPD hadn't been able to take her down throughout the years she'd been working underground in Central City.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
"Do you think we should go through with it?"
"What?" Barry leaned back as the chef came to their table to take the tray from them and replace it with another. This time the cakes were more citrusy and fruit flavors. Better tasting than the first few but still nothing compared to his minty preference. "Going to Amunet?"
"No." She paused. "Do you think we should go through with the wedding?" Barry gaped back at her. She played around with her fork. "I'm not saying to cancel it all together, it just seems like there's a lot going on right now. Like," she shook her head. "Like we've got some bad luck or something." She shrugged. "If you believe in that sort of thing."
Barry leaned back in his seat, watching her for a long moment. He had his own worries about it, sure. They hadn't had a lot of time to really think about it because of his going into the Speed Force and her becoming the leader of Team Flash in his absence. And since his coming out of the Speed Force, everything suddenly came back all at once with no time for him to breathe; Savitar's presence, the Samuroids, the Hit List, Hitman, Abra Kadabra, all of it at once.
Maybe they were having some bad luck.
"Do you not want to get married?"
He asked the question slowly, gauging her reaction as the words came from his mouth. The same thought had crossed his mind in the seconds after Cadence had said 'no' when he proposed to her. That he had mistaken everything, that, maybe, they weren't supposed to be together the way he felt, the way he knew they were supposed to be. He didn't want to end up like Earth-2 Barry, who pined quietly after Burnout, who was lost to him then and, after her sacrifice to take down Savitar, was now permanently lost to him.
Cadence looked startled. Then smiled the same smile she'd given Barry when they met. A smile that, for a short while after the truth of her agenda came out, he wasn't sure if it was genuine. Until he knew for sure. There weren't many moments where he didn't trust her or find her to be genuine, even when she was tasked with killing him. "You mean everything to me, Barry. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. I want to marry you. I just don't know if it's worth it to put everyone in danger."
"Maybe it's all worth it?" Barry reminded her. "We have a team full of people who are willing to go out there and risk their lives to protect each other and the city. And we want to celebrate our day with all those people we care about. If something happens, we can just go to the courthouse."
"Aww, you'd go to the courthouse for me?" Cadence teased.
"I don't care where we get married, or when or how, I just want you to know that I'm always going to be your partner. In life in the field…wherever. I love you."
"I love you, too." Cadence leaned across the table and Barry met her halfway, giving her a sweet kiss. "But you know my mom would never let us get married in a courthouse, right?" She reached across the table and swiped out the incoming call on her phone. "She'd kill you." She took a big bite of chocolate cake and smiled, dancing in her seat as she chewed. "She loves you, but she'd kill you."
"I know, I know." Barry shook his head. "I don't think my mom would let me get married in a courthouse. She'd haunt me for the rest of my life if I even thought about it." He tried a piece of cake and nearly gagged. "I'm vetoing coffee."
"Aww, all those drinks at Jitters and you don't want a coffee wedding cake?"
"Do you want Brady and Connor running around with a caffeine high?"
Cadence laughed. "It's a party. I don't think having some rambunctious kids will hurt anything. It might make it even better!" Her eyes flashed with mirth. "I invited Connor, Leah, Alicia…"
That made sense. Most, if not all of the CCPD had been invited and if Chief Paulson was going to go, then there was a good chance that Alicia would attend as well. A sense of worry over their ideals with metas and Chief Paulson's did come to mind, in case the wrong conversation came up in conversation at the reception. "Speaking of Connor…I invited Oliver to my bachelor party—"
"—Is he or Cisco your best man? Aren't they supposed to worry about the guest list for your bachelor party?"
Barry had the grace to blush, ducking his head, focusing on the next option to try before him. Jelly. No. "I…haven't decided yet. Cisco's been my best friend since I met him. But Oliver's been my mentor and has really helped me as the Flash. But Wally could do a good job, too…" he trailed off, resting his chin in his hand. "Maybe I'll have Iris be my best man." He changed the subject. "But because I invited Oliver to the party, I'm a little worried to how he'll be around Connor."
"You mean you're worried how I'll be around Connor," Cadence replied. She shook her head. "Look, I didn't mean to be so harsh about him, I didn't mean what I said. I'm just mad at Oliver. He sent Connor away to protect him? Abandoning your son doesn't sound like protection to me."
"Yeah, but to some people, having him fight like a superhero isn't protection either," Barry reminded her. She pursed her lips, obvious getting his point. "And I knew what you meant. You care about Connor and it's hard for you not to act like you're his mom because, as long as he's here, you're looking after him. And you're not his parent. Oliver is. You're both doing what you can to take care of your families in the ways you know how."
"You're right," Cadence agreed. "And it's not like I would've said 'no'. It's hard to lose a parent, especially as young as Connor is since Sam died and it being tied to you, I understand why Oliver would send him here. Darkh went after him specifically, because of Oliver. Anyone else could do the same thing."
"Connor doesn't just have Oliver. He's got Felicity, too." Cadence snorted. "I know you don't get along, but she's part of their lives. It's not like you can ignore her."
"I can try."
Barry grimaced, rapidly poking at this cake. "Uh, then…would it be a mood killer if I said I invited her to your bachelorette party?" Cadence stared at him. "It slipped out! She called once day and we were talking and I mentioned the party and I thought she had been invited. I'm sorry." He shrugged. "But, maybe it's a good thing it she does come. We're celebrating with everyone right? We already sent them the Save the Dates."
"And we sent one to Mick, too." Cadence gave a funny look. "I'm still trying to figure out why we thought that was a good idea."
Barry grimaced. "Yeah, you have a point there."
"She can come if she wants. Whatever." Cadence thought for a moment. "I guess this means I'd have to invite Killer Frost, too."
Barry sucked in a deep breath, let it out as slowly. Part of him understood Cadence's hesitation of having Caitlin back on the team when Caitlin—Killer Frost—had done so much against them with Savitar. But he knew it wasn't Caitlin. Knew it was her fear of everything that was happening to her that spurred her forward, that it was the part of her she couldn't control that was doing those things. Just as Savitar was a part of him—was supposed to be him—that had done everything due to the hurt he and betrayal he was feeling over a life that had been ripped away from him.
He could forgive her, had forgiven her.
Had hoped Cadence would've been able to do the same.
"I thought you already invited Caitlin."
"I did, ages ago…" Sadness crept into Cadences eyes. "I had thought she was going to be my maid of honor then, too, but…" she trailed off, shrugging. "Things change." She took another bite of cake and spat it out. "Ew. We're not doing chocolate-orange, either."
"I still think we should do the Mint Chocolate—"
"—We're not doing mint," Cadence interrupted. "And we're not doing carrot cake, either."
Barry nodded and lifted his hand, prompting Cadence to give him a high-five. He smiled across the table at her. No matter what, even if they weren't on the same page of their thoughts and ideas with how to move forward with something, they were still partners. Still a team.
"I'm sorry to bother you fine folks," The chef said, looking at the two with barely concealed annoyance and contempt. "But we're closing so I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Startled, Barry and Cadence looked up and saw that the early afternoon sunlight had been traded for the darkness of night. Who knew eating cake for hours could go by so quickly? "Have you made a decision on the cake you want?"
"Oh, uh sorry. I think we'll be going with the…" Barry blindly reached for the table and picked up the cake late that Cadence pushed toward him. He read the label. "Vanilla Lemonade Red Velvet cake." He made a face, looked at Cadence out of the corner of his eye whose expression mimicked his, and smiled back at the chef.
The chef's eyebrows rose in surprise, a light coming to his eyes. "That's a new recipe we were trying. Risky for a wedding cake, but with your theme, it should go perfectly! I'll have your cake drawn up and give you a call wen it's done." He took the empty tray and walked off, allowing Barry and Cadence to quickly leave the shop, apologizing to the chef as they went.
Once outside, Cadence looped her arm through Barry's, grasping his hand as she leaned against him. Barry smiled and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, squeezing her hand in his. They strolled along the streets of Central City, finding it to be one of the most peaceful nights they'd had in a long time. One of the most peaceful nights Central City had in a long time. There were no screams, no pounding footsteps, nothing breaking, no maniacal laughter from whatever villain that was trying to take them down.
Nothing but the sounds of the nightlife in Central City. Something they would've typically listened to from the fire escape outside the window of their apartment, but finally had the chance to experience it for themselves without having to race into their suits and save someone.
Cadence didn't speak until they were far from the confections shop. "Do you remember what that one tasted like? The Lemonade Vanilla one?"
Barry laughed. "I don't remember what half of them taste like."
A/N: So this chapter with DeVoe, also was able to give me the chance to explain more about Harrison having had Eobard inside him and how the mind-meld can really work to advantage and disadvantage, especially with the amount of time and the circumstances that a mind-med would work. And give more into crafting DeVoe to be as sinister and mysterious as Harrison and Tess could be.
I also haven't done a chapter like this between Barry and Cadence since their first (actually second) date at the bar. So, it was fun to revisit something like this again and show at least a humorous point of the wedding planning that's still going on despite their worries.
Hope you enjoyed!
Cheers,
-Riles
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Ethan: Cade isn't part of the Strength Force because her strength is the basis of her powers, her fire powers are. Stratos was the one who initially recruited Cade into the Assassination Bureau and in many ways she thought of him as her friend despite everything that'd been going on, so with Mindboggler, Incognito, and Breathtaker dead, she does tend to worry about him in some ways.
DarkHelm145: I never said Lobo wasn't going to show up ;). He just wanted my first choice as I found Hitman first, and it made more sense for it to be him, compared to Lobo, with what I have planned. In all honestly, I found Hitman before I found Lobo. But upon finding Lobo, I can still fit him in and have the story make sense.
