Hope

"Barry… you can't just say that," Kara said quietly, kneeling beside him.

"It's the truth," Barry said, his voice hollow.

Kara shook her head, her throat tightening. "No. No, it's not. You don't just— you don't know

that. The Monitor doesn't get to decide your fate."

Barry let out a humorless laugh, his gaze still fixed on the floor. "Yeah, he does. He already did."

Kara swallowed hard, her chest aching. "You can't seriously believe that."

"I saw it, Kara," Barry said, his voice cracking. "I saw what happens if I don't… if I don't do this.

An infinite number of people — gone. And it's my fault."

Kara's heart clenched. "No, it's not. It's not your fault, Barry."

Barry finally lifted his head, his red-rimmed eyes meeting hers. "Yes, it is. The Monitor showed

me — if I live, the multiverse dies. I have to die to stop it."

Kara felt like the air had been knocked out of her chest. "And you're just… accepting that?"

Barry let out a bitter laugh. "What choice do I have?"

Kara's voice rose slightly. "You fight! You find another way — like you always do."

"I tried, Kara," Barry said, his voice breaking. "I did. But every possible outcome… it always

ends the same. If I don't die, everyone else does."

Silence swallowed them. Kara could feel the weight of his grief suffocating the space between

them. She wanted to reach for him, to comfort him, but she hesitated, unsure if she was allowed

to.

"So you just… came here to wait for it to happen?" she finally asked.

Barry exhaled shakily, closing his eyes. "The Monitor said I needed to be here. That there were

things I needed to do to prepare. But all I can think about is how this ends. How I—" his voice

caught, and he had to stop before the words could choke him.

Kara's heart broke. "Barry…"

"I'm sorry," Barry muttered quickly, wiping his face with the sleeve of his suit. "I shouldn't have—

I didn't mean to dump this on you."

"You don't have to apologize. Ever," Kara said softly.

Another silence. Barry was still trembling, his mind far away, trapped in a future he couldn't stop.

Kara's chest ached just watching him.

"Have you… have you gotten any sleep since you got here?" she asked gently.

Barry let out a dry laugh. "Not really."

Kara hesitated. She didn't want to cross any lines, but she also couldn't stand the thought of

Barry being alone tonight.

"I have a guest room," she said carefully.

Barry blinked, his tired eyes snapping to hers. "What?"

"At my apartment," Kara clarified quickly, almost like she was afraid she was overstepping. "I

mean… if you don't want to go back to wherever you're staying. You could, you know, crash

there. Just for tonight. Or longer, if you need."

Barry stared at her like he couldn't quite believe she was offering that. "Kara, you don't have to

do that."

"I know," Kara said softly. "But I want to."

Barry swallowed hard, his throat tightening at her kindness. Part of him wanted to say no — to

not burden her but the ache in his chest was too heavy, and the thought of being alone tonight

made it even worse.

"Okay," he finally said, his voice cracking.

Kara nodded gently, offering him a small smile.

Neither of them moved for a moment. The silence between them was thick, heavy with unsaid

words neither of them were ready to admit. Finally, Kara stood and hesitantly held out her hand.

"Come on," she said softly.

Barry hesitated only a moment before he took her hand and the second her fingers closed

around his, he felt it. That brief flicker of warmth, a small reprieve from the crushing weight of his

fate. Kara didn't pull away, and neither did he.

She had never seen Barry this serious or so broken about anything, and it got to her. She felt

almost nauseous, but she put it aside and focused on the scarlet speedster. He didn't talk much,

but that was fine. She was there for him, and anything he needed to say she would listen to.

Eventually, crime decided to make itself known again and Barry focused on that instead of the

horrors he had just witnessed, taking down a group of robbers with the girl of steel. Kara thought

back to what he had told her, about the Monitor sending him to prepare for the crisis, how she

offered him to stay at her place.

"Kara I can't, I don't want to impose." He said as he walked into her apartment.

"Trust me, Barry, I need the company. We could watch musicals and eat an obscene amount of

donuts, it's fine." She assured him, and Barry reluctantly agreed after a few more assurances

from Kara throughout some crime fighting. While he walked into her apartment to settle in, Kara

took to the skies.

Looking up into the vast expansion of blue sky, Kara launched into the air, the sound barrier

shattering as she flew farther and faster. She doesn't stop until she's broken the atmosphere,

floating contentedly just outside the edge of the atmosphere. She smiled as she looked down at

Earth.

She turned and took off towards the moon, her cape aimlessly floating as she slowed down and

waved at the astronauts inside the space station, with the amount of alien beings and

superheroes who can fly and survive in space seeing someone flying by is not as shocking as

once was.

She took a moment and let all her worries melt away the best she could. She tried to forget that

Lena hated her, and had used her, that there was an evil organization named Leviathan akin to

that of a James Bond movie, that yet another crisis was being thrown at her that Barry Allen was

going to…

It didn't work though. Her head was filled to the brim with her problems, her body was just filled

with a tiredness that ate away at her being every second of every day. Finally, she turned and

bolted back down to Earth. She soared past canyons, oceans, and cities until she arrived in

National City and entered her apartment through the window. She was glad she could move as

fast as she could, or she would have to explain to the apartment owner why Supergirl regularly

visited her apartment

Kara grabbed a horde of blankets from the closet in her bedroom and threw them astray all over

the couch, positioning them to make them adhere to their most comfortable forms. She turned

on her TV and set it to some random channel she would change later before she ventured into

her kitchen and hoveled a horde of snacks into her arms. She let them fall from her arms and

onto the coffee table like an avalanche, before she went back and grabbed the bags of various

stuff she bought on the way here walked down the hall of her apartment, and stopped at the

guest room door. "Barry?" She called out softly.

She heard him weekly say come in, so she gently pushed open the already slightly ajar door

and stepped into the room. Barry was on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. There was a moment

of silence as Kara stood in the doorway. "Do you ever just…." Barry let out a deep sigh, "Think

about the future? About what comes next? The next bad guy, the next hardship, the next loved

one gone too soon, the next traumatic memory."

Kara's eyes falter for a moment, a deep breath following. She looks over Barry, who is staring at

the ceiling, watching the fan spin around absentmindedly. She didn't know what to say. She's

had those thoughts, she's sure anyone who wears a suit and tries to do what is right has to deal

with them, but they also have to see the light, the good, the bright side. Her eyes flickered over

Barry once more, and she was reminded these were the words of a man who just found out his

death was the key to the multiverse's survival.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and laid down next to Barry, taking his hand into hers.

Barry tensed up, but then as Kara laid head on his chest and gently squeezed his hand, Barry

felt a sense of calmness, comfort, and wholeness wash over him.

"I know things are hard, I can't imagine what it's like to see your death, but I do know death. I

lost my entire planet when I was a little girl, and I carry that with me every day, and it doesn't get

easier unless you have someone to carry that pain with." Barry listened intently, everything

around him besides Kara becoming obsolete. "Barry when I met you, you understood me more

than anybody I knew, and you still do. You understand pain and loss, and how hard it is to be a

hero and live a double life, you became my best friend! Seeing you like this, is heartbreaking,

but I want you to know we are not giving up." She sat up and looked at him intently. "Just

because some asshole with mutton chops said it was your 'destiny' to die, doesn't mean it's true.

You more than anyone should know the future isn't set in stone! We will fight with all it takes,

and we will be ready when this crisis comes."

Barry couldn't help the smile that came across his face. "And people tell me I'm the hopeful and

optimistic one." He said chuckling and Kara smiled, a small blush filling her cheeks.

"Alright, I got you some things, I figured if you are going to be staying here you need to be

comfortable," Kara said, getting off the bed and dramatically gesturing to the bags on the floor.

Barry sat up and looked at Kara, guilt washing over him. "Kara, it's enough that you even let me

stay here, I can't ask you to"

"You didn't. My treat." Kara smiled. "Now, take a shower, try on these clothes, and how does a

movie night sound?"

"Perfect." Barry smiled widely.

….….

Kara sat cross-legged on the couch, hugging one of the blankets close as Barry settled in

beside her. The soft glow of the TV bathed them in dim light, but neither of them paid attention

to the movie playing. Their minds were elsewhere.

"So what's new with you on Earth-1" she asked curiously while looking at him.

Barry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well, Iris and I finalized the divorce."

Kara's head snapped toward him. "What!." She stared at him with wide eyes. She instinctively

let out a bunch of questions.

"You and Iris got divorced?"

"Why?"

"What happened?"

Barry shook his head, a humorless chuckle escaping his lips. "I don't even know where to start.

It wasn't just one thing. I guess… I spent so long holding onto her because I thought I was

supposed to. She was the only person who believed me when I was a kid, the one constant in

my life after my mom was killed. And I mistook that for something it wasn't."

Kara's heart ached for him. "You loved her, though."

"I did," Barry admitted. "But she didn't love me. Not really. She loved the Flash. She loved the

idea of me. And I…" He exhaled sharply. "I let it go on for too long."

She stared at him instantly, hearing him vent.

His emerald eyes met her blue eyes.

Barry's eyes lingered on hers for a bit too long before he cleared his throat.

Barry glanced at her. "What about you? What's been going on?"

Kara hesitated, chewing on the inside of her cheek before finally admitting, "My best friend…

Lena hates me."

Barry frowned, shifting slightly to face her. "Why?"

Kara sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Because I kept my secret identity from her. And

now she thinks I never really trusted her. That everything between us was a lie."

Barry was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable. When he finally spoke, his voice

was quieter, more measured.

"I don't know Lena but…"

He sighed slightly

"I understand how she feels."

Kara looked at him, surprised. "You do?"

He nodded, exhaling slowly. "When I found out someone I trusted, someone who was supposed

to be a mentor, even a father figure, was my worst enemy… it shattered me."

He swallowed, eyes drifting downward as memories surfaced, unbidden and raw.

"You have to understand," he continued, voice thick with emotion. "Thawne wasn't just some

villain I fought. Before that, he was my hero. Before I ever became the Flash, before I even

knew what I was capable of, he was Dr. Harrison Wells to me. A brilliant scientist. A man who

saw my potential when I didn't even see it in myself."

Barry let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head. "He took me under his wing. Taught me how

to be a hero. Encouraged me, supported me. Helped me build the mantle of the Flash. I trusted

him completely. After losing my mom, after growing up feeling like I was chasing shadows,

having someone like him in my life, who believed in me, it meant everything."

Kara stayed quiet, watching him with careful eyes, allowing him the space to say what he

needed.

"And then… I found out it was all a lie."

"I found out the same man that I viewed as a hero, my mentor, someone I could call family…..

was the same man who drove a knife through my mother's heart." Barry's jaw clenched. "Every

lesson, every kind word, every moment where I thought he believed in me, it was all just

manipulation. Because the truth was, he didn't care about me. Not really. He cared about his

agenda. About getting home. About using me. And the worst part?" He scoffed bitterly. "Even

after everything, after I knew the truth, there was still a part of me that wanted to believe it

wasn't all fake. That maybe, just maybe, some part of him gave a damn about me."

His hands curled into fists. "But he didn't. He never did."

Kara felt her chest tighten at the sheer weight of the pain in Barry's voice.

"I hated him," Barry admitted, voice low. "I hated him for taking away that trust, for making me

second-guess every good thing I'd ever believed in. I hated that he made me grieve him when I

should've just been glad he was gone."

Barry finally looked up at her, his eyes dark with old wounds that hadn't fully healed. "So yeah,

Kara. I get it. When someone you love betrays your trust, when you realize that the bond you

thought was unbreakable wasn't as strong as you believed, it's devastating. And it doesn't just

go away overnight."

Kara swallowed hard. "So… what do I do?"

Barry studied her, his gaze softer now. "You wait. And you don't give up on her."

"It took me a while to trust again but I came around. I'm sure all Lena needs is time."

Kara exhaled shakily, the weight on her chest feeling just a little lighter.

"You always know what to say, don't you?" she murmured.

Barry chuckled, though there was still something sad in the sound. "Not always. But I know you,

Kara. And I know you don't give up on the people you love."

Their eyes met a quiet understanding passing between them. Kara's heart skipped a beat, but

she ignored it. It wasn't the right time.