THE "I LOVE YOU" PROMPTS, BLUPJEANS 31!!!!
wow maj really comin in at me hard after that ep huh
31. in awe, the first time you realized it
It settles in his chest softly.
Barry watches Lup and Taako tinkering with some recipe they learned during their previous cycle, heads knocked together over the pot as they discuss adding this spice or that much butter.
Barry laughs, and his chest feels light despite the heavy weight hanging on his - on all of their - shoulders. He lets the responsibility fade away for a short moment to enjoy.
Lup turns away from the pot, eyebrows raised and smirk gracing her beautiful face.
God, Barry thinks, she’s so beautiful.
“Whatcha laughin’ at, Barry?” She says his name and he’s heard her say it a million times over at this point, the seven of them have been together for so, so long now, but this time. This time it sounds different.
He can feel the blush creeping steadily up the back of his neck and onto his face but he waves her off. “Oh, nothin’, just a joke Magnus told me earlier.”
“Was it the one about the 3 legged dog named Ihop, because that one is terrible Barry, and you should only encourage the good jokes.”
Taako hums his agreement, head still inclined over the stove, picking up a handful of what Barry thinks are probably vegetables and showing them to Lup, who nods, before adding them to the pot.
“Uh, uh...I think it went something like...” Barry hates being on the spot, and he knows he’s not funny but he wants so badly to hear Lup laugh, he’s pulling at the corners of his brain for some sort of joke, buried behind his knowledge of alchemy and mechanics and assorted Arcana.
“What do you call a dog that is also a magician?”
Lup and Taako look at each other for a few moments before turning back to look at him, asking simultaneously, “What?”
Lup and Taako both just look at him for a moment or two and he starts to worry when Lup giggles. She giggles and it grows until it’s a full blown belly laugh, and she’s doubled over with her hands clutching her knees for support. She’s wheezing and trying to get out words and Taako has fallen into a fit of his own beside her, but all Barry can focus on is Lup.
Lup wipes a tear from her eye, letting out a breathless, “Oh my god Barry,” as she straightens her back and lets out a few more stunted giggles. She stares at him for a few moments and he can see the gears whirring behind her eyes, sparkling with joy and a little bit of something else.
“Barry,” she says, still breathless and her face full of wonder, “I love you.”
Barry’s eyes go wide and Taako drops the spoon he’s holding before quickly recovering it and turning back to the pot on the stove.
“I uh, I love you too, Lup. Have for some time now.” And the feeling in his chest is expanding and it feels so tight but also so, so good, hearing her say those words and knowing his adoration for her is mutual.
She quirks an eyebrow at him, face still bright and smile feeling like it’s going to split her cheeks if it goes any wider.
“Well?” She asks. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
