(no subject)

[callmenoah]

Central 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."

Comments

[feelthelightning]

It would take some major convincing to get Cisco to share the STAR Labs satellite with anyone. He didn't even like Harry messing with it. The damn thing was his baby.

He made a soft surprised sound into the kiss and blinked up at her dreamily when she did pull back. He was flustered and breathless and way too lost in everything that was Claire. He didn't even verbally respond yet. Just leaned up for another kiss. Soft and slow, taking his time until his head was fuzzy and he broke it for a desperate breath.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing it. And if it means you keep kissing me like that, it's so worth it."

[infinite1ups]

She was mostly interested in the general concept and tracking of things. Ideas that could be feasibly implemented - with Cisco's permission, of course - to track evolved human activity. Though if it was tracking the phenomena themselves, and not any specific signature unique to an individual, Cisco's tracking would already be picking up evolved human abilities.

Something easy to test with Peter. Or, as a last resort, Sylar. They both had electrokinesis, and both had mentioned a power that had something to do with sound, similar to Hartley's gauntlet, except with their voice.

All thoughts of powers and pretty much anything else had pretty much vanished when she kissed Barry. The way everything else seemed to disappear felt like the closest thing to Flash Time without actually being in it. Claire couldn't even get a word out before he was kissing her again, and she wasn't about to pull away until he did.

She was a little breathless after, biting back a giggle of pure giddiness. "I'd be a fool if I didn't kiss my hot boyfriend like that every day." It was only fair after he called her his hot girlfriend earlier. "You," she kissed him again, then continued, "are everything I've ever wanted, and I'm never gonna let you forget it."

[feelthelightning]

It wasn't that he'd think that she'd misuse it, it was that he was just possessive of the satellite. It was his One Ring in a sense. But Barry would agree that it would be something interesting to test. And he was sure they could convince Cisco with enough sweet talking. Or Harry would just co-opt the satellite from Cisco as he's done in the past.

But those were thoughts for another time, because her giggle was like music and her words had him blushing again. "God, I love you, honey." He skated his hand up the side of her neck to prop the back of her head and stroke her jawline with his thumb.

[infinite1ups]

"I love you more," Claire playfully shot back with another peal of soft laughter. That line had always seemed so cheesy in those movies she watched with her mom, but now it made perfect sense.

That soft touch made her shiver, and she helped herself to another kiss before tilting her head to kiss Barry's neck. Just a gentle, affectionate thing before she nuzzled in for more cuddles. "I think after these next few days with us bunkering down here... I'm not gonna want you to leave. Y'know what I mean?"

[feelthelightning]

If she thought that was cliche, it was about to get worse. "I love you most." He laughed easily.

Though her next words caught him off guard. Not at first but once his brain processed them. "Yeah, I do. It's gonna be hard going back to sleeping in my own bed." He said almost dreamily. Then looked a bit more alert. Like he hadn't meant to actually say that out loud.

[infinite1ups]

Of course it was cliche, but Barry sounded so sweet that she didn't mind at all. She loved it. Even if she couldn't really top that.

Claire let slip another giggle, her lips finding his neck again, breath warm against his skin when she spoke. Maybe she was hiding her face a little because she was blushing so much. "I mean, what if you... didn't go back to sleeping in your own bed?"

[feelthelightning]

Goosebumps prickled over his skin where she brushed her lips and he shivered involuntarily. A good shiver. But the question made him pull back completely so he could catch her gaze to make sure she was serious. For a moment, he was stalled by how cute she looked with that blush.

"Are you... asking me to move in with you?" He sounded so hopeful and excited. "Because if you are, I'm absolutely saying yes, emphatically!"

[infinite1ups]

Despite the blush, Claire was completely serious. The hope in his voice, how excited he sounded, it made her all the more certain of her decision to ask.

"Yeah," she sighed. "You're here almost every night anyway, and..." Oh, right, he already said yes. No explanations or justifications needed. She beamed up at him, then went back in for a tighter hug. "Good. It doesn't feel as much like home when you're not here."

[feelthelightning]

He was also beaming. Even more when she continued to defend her decision despite not needing to. "You are my home." He admitted and closed his eyes against his own deepening blush. Yeah, that sure did sound corny. But he was a very corny guy. She knew what she was signing up for.

[infinite1ups]

It was extremely corny, and it was exactly what Claire had signed up for. She truly did like cheesy. Even more so with Barry - he never made it feel forced or fake, he was always genuine.

"You're mine, too," she agreed, tipping up to kiss his forehead. "I don't feel like I have to keep running anymore." And, with a bit of cheek, "Might be fun if you catch me, though."

[feelthelightning]

Barry settled back down against her and snuggled. "I'll always be there for you. If it's to run beside you or catch you when you wanna be caught."

"I can't wait until my powers are stable again so we can run together."

[infinite1ups]

Claire snuggled in just as close as she could, head on his chest, a leg draped over his. Just as she said she would, she was already getting used to how much faster his heartbeat was.

"I'd like being caught by you," she sighed. "Soon, baby. We'll be fixed up and running around in no time. You can show off as much as you want, I'll eat it right up."

The rush of running with Eobard was still fresh in her memory, and she wished it wasn't. It made her want to go even faster with Barry.

[feelthelightning]

Good thing, too. Because his resting heart rate was a fun 120 BPM. Not the most soothing rhythm.

"I'll show off as much as you want to see. I'll share every bit of power with you so long as it's safe." Anything that makes her smile.

"You know, Cisco's gonna miss his live-in chef." Barry chuckled.

[infinite1ups]

It had been a little strange at first, almost worrisome. But she knew it was normal for him, and so it became normal for her. Now she struggled to relax without him in bed next to her.

"I wanna go so fast," she said dreamily. "Even if I have to wear protective gear." See? She was learning.

But there was also an ulterior motive, no matter how innocent she tried to sound about it. "I mean... I'd probably look pretty good in leather."

[feelthelightning]

"I mean, it's technically a tri-polymer designed by Cisco to be heat resistant, fire, and friction proof, but it does look like leather." Look at your little nerd, Claire. "But I think you'll be pretty dang hot in leather." He agreed. He was excited to see what Cisco came up with for her, because it would definitely have speed protection just like his Vibe outfit.

[infinite1ups]

"You're so cute when you explain things. Even if I do feel like now I'm struggling to keep up with all the smart people around me," she joked. Claire knew she wasn't stupid, but she also wasn't a scientist. Nor was she highly educated, with her GED and barely a semester at college.

"If it's heat proof, though, you should probably be wearing it all the time, 'cause you're always so hot." Boom, got 'em.