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Sep. 7th, 2025 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
callmenoah posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
flashpoint_heroesCentral City wouldn't have been Noah's first guess, when it came to places Claire might settle down. He would have thought New York or California, to be closer to family. She'd been running for long enough, he thought she might choose a place where it'd be easier for her to plant some roots. But no, she was adamant about going somewhere she could start fresh.
He held back his 'I told you so' when she told him about the bar fight, purely because when she described the attack, it wasn't something either of them could have foreseen, not even him with all his years in the field. Meta-humans were completely unfamiliar to him, and from what he'd been told, had the potential to be more even powerful than evolved humans. There wasn't much that scared him, but this certainly was unnerving, especially if Claire had found herself in their crosshairs so quickly.
She was shifty about the reasons why, which indicated that it was something important to her. He didn't press for too much in the way of details, instead letting her feed him the information however she was most comfortable doing so. It had taken years to adjust his communication style in this way, but considering how much his daughters trust in him had grown, it was worth the effort.
They'd been in regular communication, and she had seemed to be in especially high spirits after her date. Considering how private she had been about her love life since Gretchen, when Barry's name kept coming up, Noah paid attention. As far as he could tell, she was over the moon for this guy. Sure enough, after the date, she talked about wanting to introduce them. It was entirely unlike her, or at least what he'd observed from her in the years after she had left Arlington and entered her nomadic lifestyle. This was serious.
Noah had been content to wait a few more days for his trip to see her, but when she suddenly dropped off without warning - at least before her date she had reminded him she'd be busy for the evening - he assumed the worst. Fortunately Peter was ready with a quick 'port to Central City, though he was unable to stick around while Noah started his search. He'd promised to pop back after his shift and help if she wasn't found. Fortunately that wouldn't be necessary. Claire had expressed concerns about Peter's empathic powers in the presence of Metas, and neither had the chance to explain it to Peter. Even going off what little he knew, Noah shared those concerns, as well as concerns about Sylar being able to acquire Meta-human powers.
Just piling on to the list of reasons he was here. First and foremost, though, he had to see Claire. He parked in the garage, then made his way inside and up to her door. With a breath to calm himself, he knocked.
A moment later, Claire's smiling face appeared as the door swung open. "Hi, Daddy!" She sounded just like she had on the phone - like she knew she was in trouble. But there was no stopping a grin from taking over her face.
"Hello, Clairebear," came his response, half a grumble, because he couldn't stay mad. Not when she looked so happy. She rushed into his arms and he caught her easily for a big hug, head tucked down to press a kiss into her hair. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."
"Sorry, Dad..." Claire looked up at him sheepishly. "We can explain, I promise!" She stepped back, and he followed her inside. Two pairs of shoes on the rug. It made sense; her text had said we're home. Had he moved in already, or was she just being concise? Her voice broke through his thoughts. "Dad... this is Barry. Barry, my dad."
He'd never seen her look at anyone like that before. Not Gretchen, not... that stupid boy who could fly, whatever his name was. Definitely not that scumbag quarterback. This was different. Noah stepped forward, offering a hand. "I've heard so much about you, I almost feel like I know you." He tried to make it sound light-hearted and friendly, not threatening. "It's nice to meet you, Barry. Call me Noah."
He held back his 'I told you so' when she told him about the bar fight, purely because when she described the attack, it wasn't something either of them could have foreseen, not even him with all his years in the field. Meta-humans were completely unfamiliar to him, and from what he'd been told, had the potential to be more even powerful than evolved humans. There wasn't much that scared him, but this certainly was unnerving, especially if Claire had found herself in their crosshairs so quickly.
She was shifty about the reasons why, which indicated that it was something important to her. He didn't press for too much in the way of details, instead letting her feed him the information however she was most comfortable doing so. It had taken years to adjust his communication style in this way, but considering how much his daughters trust in him had grown, it was worth the effort.
They'd been in regular communication, and she had seemed to be in especially high spirits after her date. Considering how private she had been about her love life since Gretchen, when Barry's name kept coming up, Noah paid attention. As far as he could tell, she was over the moon for this guy. Sure enough, after the date, she talked about wanting to introduce them. It was entirely unlike her, or at least what he'd observed from her in the years after she had left Arlington and entered her nomadic lifestyle. This was serious.
Noah had been content to wait a few more days for his trip to see her, but when she suddenly dropped off without warning - at least before her date she had reminded him she'd be busy for the evening - he assumed the worst. Fortunately Peter was ready with a quick 'port to Central City, though he was unable to stick around while Noah started his search. He'd promised to pop back after his shift and help if she wasn't found. Fortunately that wouldn't be necessary. Claire had expressed concerns about Peter's empathic powers in the presence of Metas, and neither had the chance to explain it to Peter. Even going off what little he knew, Noah shared those concerns, as well as concerns about Sylar being able to acquire Meta-human powers.
Just piling on to the list of reasons he was here. First and foremost, though, he had to see Claire. He parked in the garage, then made his way inside and up to her door. With a breath to calm himself, he knocked.
A moment later, Claire's smiling face appeared as the door swung open. "Hi, Daddy!" She sounded just like she had on the phone - like she knew she was in trouble. But there was no stopping a grin from taking over her face.
"Hello, Clairebear," came his response, half a grumble, because he couldn't stay mad. Not when she looked so happy. She rushed into his arms and he caught her easily for a big hug, head tucked down to press a kiss into her hair. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."
"Sorry, Dad..." Claire looked up at him sheepishly. "We can explain, I promise!" She stepped back, and he followed her inside. Two pairs of shoes on the rug. It made sense; her text had said we're home. Had he moved in already, or was she just being concise? Her voice broke through his thoughts. "Dad... this is Barry. Barry, my dad."
He'd never seen her look at anyone like that before. Not Gretchen, not... that stupid boy who could fly, whatever his name was. Definitely not that scumbag quarterback. This was different. Noah stepped forward, offering a hand. "I've heard so much about you, I almost feel like I know you." He tried to make it sound light-hearted and friendly, not threatening. "It's nice to meet you, Barry. Call me Noah."
