𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚

“Really hard for a criminal to report money they obtained illegally. That girl stole $1.9 million from my drug syndicate just doesn’t quite work,” Felicity snarked then quickly corrected herself, “hypothetically of course.”

“So what are you working on,” she asked wanting to change the subject.

“I mean,” he drawled, tilting his head from side to side. “You’re not wrong, so maybe it’s for the best? Is there at least some sort of hypothetical lead on said syndicate? Maybe we can still get these guys and put them behind bars where they belong.” God, he sounded more and more like Oliver sometimes. 

Subtly, the soft angled corner of Diana’s crimson lips quirked into a smile. Always slightly skewed no matter how broad. Though she tended to temper her grins for more modest slants, as if she was withholding an amusing anecdote. “You must be little more optimistic, Barry,” she hummed gently, languidly crossing her legs and cocking her head in his direction. Diana certainly wished she’d made the trip several months earlier; perhaps she could have helped sway the tide of Central’s recent disasters. But, it was prudent to concentrate on the present. And for the time being, her objective was to reconnect with her allies and gauge just how long she needed to extend her ’sabbatical’ from the Louvre.

“Though, given the proclivity for citywide calamities, I understand your paranoia.”

Barry fought a smile that threatened to pull at his features, the humor of her statement utterly amusing to the Scarlett Speedster. “You’re telling me to be more optimistic? Diana, you’ve got to be kidding me. I might be the most optimistic out of the bunch, aside from Supergirl and Superman. If we’re talking optimism, maybe you drop by and give Batman a little talking to, since he decided to take up residence in Central City. Fat lotta good that did us.”

[ text: iris ] i know we said you’d cook dinner tonight, but promise me you’ll wait until i’m home? we don’t want a repeat of last time.

Barry was happy that Iris was excited to hone her skills in cooking, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t skeptical about the whole endeavor. The pair had attempted cooking together time and time again, both from the comfort of home, as well as countless couples cooking courses. Each time, something was either under or over cooked, something got broken, or a fire started.

His key slipped easily into the lock while his other hand turned the knob, pushing the door open. Barry’s nose was immediately hit with the smell of spices, hot oil, and smoke.

“No. I feel more confident in leather than khakis.” Oliver’s retort fell with a feigned mirth. He didn’t come all the way here to pick a fight; instead, he was embracing the savoring of every moment because he knew it would all come to a short end for him. “That’s a relief. I know you did it the right way this time.” 

Barry’s lips pressed together in a tight line, the painful reminder of his fall from the straight and narrow hitting somewhere deep in his chest.  He took a breath, formulating his next words carefully. “The right way? As opposed to the choice I had to make to save my wife? Trust me, Ollie. If there was any other plausible route, I would have taken it.” He didn’t want to start a fight, but he also knew that if he didn’t stand his ground, he’d regret it down the line. “I’m not proud of the path that choice led me on. Hell, my wife is still alive because of that choice. I may have suffered greatly, but I don’t regret my decision.”

Monies || Barry

“So, hypothetically, is someone stole over a billion dollars from bad guys how much trouble do you think they would be in with the police? I mean it’s not like it’s going to reported as stolen.”

@barryfrackinallen​

Barry quirked a brow, tilting his head to the side. “Hypothetically? Why do I feel like this the exact opposite of hypothetical?” He shook his head, waving his hand at his own words. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. Theoretical or Hypothetical, I think it wholly depends on whether or not it’s reported. I think it’s more a matter of ensuring that however it ended up in whatever bank account, that it can’t be traced. But you didn’t hear that from me.”

“Wait, really?” Barry glanced upwards, where what he thought was holly hung above their heads in the cortex. “That makes a lot more sense now. I was wondering why there was only one, rather than a long string of ‘em.”

With a red Santa hat sitting atop his head, Barry grinned from ear-to-ear as he leaned against the door frame of Iris’ office at The Citizen.  “Is that so?” Barry teased, fingers running along his clean-shaven chin. “In that case, this Santa needs to work on his facial hair.”

Iris looked up from her laptop then around their very empty loft. Looking back at her blank word document, she smiled as she closed it and leaned back in the chair. “I would love to put up the tree. Old-fashioned way, huh? Will you be able to hold back on no powers?” she chuckled as she glanced over at the boxes in the corner filled with Christmas decorations. She got up and walked over to Barry wrapping her arms around his neck. “You get everything out and I’ll make us some hot chocolate.” Iris kissed his lips and smiled as she walked into the kitchen. At least hot chocolate was something she could handle. 

“Completely old-fashioned,” he parroted, his smile matching hers as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m beginning to realize more and more that sometimes, I just need to slow down. Especially right now.” As the pair kissed and parted ways, Barry moved to the corner and began to unbox their Christmas tree, assembling it piece by piece at a human pace as he listened to the simple, ambient sounds that filled their apartment. “We haven’t really talked about the holidays yet, with work keeping both of us busy. Any idea what you might want to see under the Christmas tree this year?”

“Hey Babe? What do you think about putting up the Christmas tree tonight?” Their loft apartment felt empty without any decoration, but with the rebuilding of the city, there hadn’t been too much time between things. “We can do it the old-fashioned way, no powers allowed.”

“I’m more than happy to come out to see you, Bar, but I am wondering if not packing my suit was a wise decision.” 

@barryfrackinallen​

“What? Why? Just ‘cause we’ve had numerous back-to-back disasters?” His finger scratched at his brow at the look Oliver shot him. “We’re on the up ‘n up, plus I’m back to full speed, so there’s no need to worry.”

Cisco was eating his stash of candy he had set out for any kids that came snooping by STAR Labs. Had to make sure people didn’t think the place was haunted or something. Spinning in his chair, he sighed chowing down on his gummy worm. “It’s Halloween. Unless a virgin summoned the Sanderson Sisters I think we’re okay. Radar isn’t picking anything up so right now we’re good.” 

“It’s actually nice to see things running smoothly.” Caitlin offered with a rare display of vulnerability. In the wake of every chaotic pulse that tore this city down, she felt pieces of her splinter between the waxing warmth of Barry and the team’s inherent positivity and the sticky, obsidian sea of negativity that Frost caked in her bones. Her actions, as of late, has benched Caitlin for indefinitely. She never thought getting away for a little would comfort her. “You know they say the Flash always lands on his feet. It’s all going to be okay,” she hummed. 

“Halloween brings out a different side of people but coupled with that cooped up despair can’t be good. Although, I am hoping that a little bit of freedom will provide some stress relief instead of more chaos.” Caitlin pushed her chair closer to the second monitor as she began to run the algorithm. “It may take some time to scan every frightening face but I’m keeping a close eye on it.”

“Where’s Iris and Cisco?” 

Barry let out a breath – Caitlin was right. For once, things weren’t being turned upside down, and it was important now more than ever to be grateful for these moments. “You’re right, sorry.”

Small voices were calling out for the Flash, and he turned and waved to them with a wide smile as he listened to Cait over comms. “I’m trying my best to be optimistic, I promise. Let me know if anything pops up, we can keep the channel open.”

“All’s quiet on the Western Front, Barry.” Caitlin’s feather light quip rattled between the static mixed with cheers that blossomed through his coms. Her fingers swept gingerly across the keys to switch between vantage points streaming from the CCPD POD. It was nice to see so many people show up to celebrate instead of commiserate. She couldn’t help but smile seeing her team being represented while she sat comfortably in the lab. “It’s the best we can hope for but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Mayor Fey seems to be having the time of his life standing beside The Flash.” 

“Copy that,” he replied, remaining in his position despite the desire to speed around the city to ensure everything was as it should be. He inherently trusted Caitlin, starting from the day he woke up in the Lab with her and Cisco staring down at him, Poker Face playing over the speakers. She kept him alive, patched him up when things went south, and always knew the right thing to say. “Careful is putting it lightly, Cait. I’m on high alert with everything that has gone down recently. Powers are finally back at full, I’m not going to let this city down.” Turning his head,  Barry could see the mayor grinning from ear-to-ear.

Standing atop the mayoral float, The Flash smiled and waved at the crowd, grateful to see faces smiling back, amidst the hardships the city had faced in the last several months. “You think the town is safe for trick-or-treating this year, given all that’s happened?”