You Bring Out The Worst In Me~

[nevergetshome]

It had been some time ago that Thawne had gotten the results of Claire's blood. He messaged her and to his surprise the text kicked back. A phone call told him the number had been disconnected. It only took a little bit of research with Gideon to get her address from this time period only to find out she'd moved. Recently. And where had she moved to? Of all places in the world but Central City. The hometown of his foe. A place he spent fifteen years of his life. It was time to visit his old rival.

Silent observation was key. He kept his distance, but immediately, he felt something interesting. Barry Allen was having trouble handling the Speed Force. The fumbles were small, but enough that he could feel them when Barry faltered. Ahh, so this was around his encounter with the Chameleon. That made sense. What drove a dagger into his heart though was to see Barry Allen and Claire Bennet together. After he'd shared everything with her. Told her how Barry ruined his life. Even if he never said Allen's name, he called him the Flash, and she clearly knew who he was. How could she betray him?!

Just one more reason to hate Barry. One more thing Barry stole from him. One more reason to destroy The Flash. He'd have to teach them both a lesson.

There was a knock at Noah's hotel door. Harrison was standing politely on the other side, waiting for Noah to answer.

Comments

[feelthelightning]

Harry totally didn't tense under her touch just a fraction, but he offered up a light Harry branded smile. The kind that was really more of just not his typical frown, but quite obviously Harry's 'at ease' expression. It was accompanied with a nod.

Barry was certainly not letting go of her hand any time soon. Or letting her out of his sight for a while.

"No, I'm not good!" Cisco sounded more petulant than angry. None of it was directed at Claire. Just the situation at large. "I'll be good when Eobard fricken Thawne stops showing up in our lives! This is gonna make the vibrating hand nightmares worse for a while! I felt safer with a speedster living in my flat. Think I can get Jesse to take up your room?" The last bit was a joke and Barry snorted out a laugh.

"I think Wells might think you're hitting on her and akin you alive." Barry retorted.

"He can move in too! His paranoia will probably help keep us all alive!" Cisco's arms were flailing as he spoke, a sign of how rattled he was. He didn't mind that Barry moved in with Claire. He just didn't like that Thawne decided to show his face in the city right afterwards.

Caitlin heard them talking as they rounded the corner and moved to intercept. She looked pale and akin to a cornered animal. She quickly hugged Claire and Claire might notice just how cold her ambient temperature was. "Are you both okay? I can't imagine the state of panic you must've been in." Well, she could imagine, but she was worried about Claire right now and trying to ignore her own fear.

[infinite1ups]

Claire could tell it wasn't her, and didn't take it to heart. She was worried, though, and almost felt a little guilty for asking Barry to move in with her. The idea to have Harry and Jesse stay with Cisco wasn't necessarily a bad one, she thought, at least temporarily.

More than anything, it frustrated her that she didn't have much to offer Cisco in the way of comfort. Claire knew how she could be in that state of worry and agitation - all the gentle assurances that it would be okay didn't really help. Sometimes it was best to just have someone to listen while those grievances were aired out.

"Between Harry's paranoia and my dad's, we have an infinite supply." She offered a little levity instead of cliché platitudes. Hell, her own paranoia could be added, too.

There wasn't much time to say more anyway, before Caitlin was meeting them outside of the Cortex. She returned the hug, very careful not to react as she felt how chilled Cait was. Caitlin would feel her tense up a little, but nothing showed on her face.

"As okay as possible, I think, all things considered," Claire sighed, keeping a hand on Cait's arm as they pulled back. "Are you okay? How are you holding up?" It must have shaken her up, having Thawne so close while she was working and not even knowing.

[feelthelightning]

"And Joe's." Barry added helpfully. Joe was paranoid in that old cop way.

"I'll be okay." Caitlin said almost shyly. "I doubt he even came near the med lab. But..." but she couldn't help the fear that choked her up knowing he could have. That he'd been 30 feet away from her for who knew how long. It made her want to cry. She did feel Claire tense up and pulled back, withdrawing in on herself worriedly.

"Jeez! I really need to fix the AC in the med lab for you, Caitlin." Cisco said, to give her an out for being so cold. He could damn near feel it radiating off of her from beside Claire so he was sure Barry could too.

Cisco brushed passed her into the Cortex, but seemed to freeze in place when his shoulder touched Claire's. He looked shocked and out of it for a moment as a Vibe gripped him. He grabbed Claire's shoulder desperately for balance, but tumbled anyway with blood dripping from both nostrils.

"Cisco!" Cait yelled and tried to catch him.

[infinite1ups]

Claire gave Caitlin another reassuring squeeze before Cisco bumped past. She didn't have superspeed, but her reflexes were still quick enough to catch her shoulder under his and try to guide him down gently.

"Cisco?" At first he looked like he had in the Cortex when he'd Vibed the two of them fighting with Killer Frost, except this was obviously worse. She knelt beside him, frowning. "C'mon, Co-Bestie, we got you."

[namesthevillains]

"Sh-shit... anyone get the license plate of that bus?" Cisco muttered when he was finally coherent enough to talk. He rubbed the back of his hand under his nose and saw the blood. He wasn't surprised to see it. He could feel it. Not to mention, he felt like his head just exploded. He held onto Caitlin and Claire as Cait tried to settle him comfortably on the floor.

"Vibe-ception." He muttered. "I Vibed a guy who was Vibing me Vibing him Vibing me..." He looked dazed. "D'juu call me co-bestie?" He smiled lopsidedly at Claire with an almost drunken giggle.

Barry was also at his side with a cloth he'd nabbed from the med lab, wiping the blood clean from Cisco's face.

"The guy was nice looking, strong eyebrows, brunette with brown, eyes. I Vibed him off of you, Claire."

[infinite1ups]

She visibly relaxed as Cisco came back around, and cracked a smile. "Yeah," Claire said sheepishly, then immediately perked up.

Her face was a curious mix of excitement and concern, because truly she didn't know what to make of it. But she knew exactly who Cisco was describing. "Peter!" she chirped, then tilted her head. "My uncle. He doesn't get Vibes like you do, but he can dream the future. Maybe he had a dream about you."

They'd have to look more into those results from Thawne, and probably run more tests of their own to verify. But checking on her friend was a little more important for now. She rested a hand on Cisco's shoulder. "You alright?"

[namesthevillains]

"I like it." He smiled happily and let his head loll a bit. "Co-besties." He seemed a tad out of it still. Slap-happy almost, despite the pain in his brain.

"Well, I think Uncle Peter might've had a rebound dream like my Vibe. That Vibe was like that time the timeline was collapsing." Cisco said and Barry frowned. They almost lost Cisco that day.

"I'm good. Head hurts, but I'm okay." He promised. Caitlin lightly rested her cold hands over his forehead and he hummed his appreciation.

"I'll take a look at you in the Med Lab just to be sure." Cait and Barry helped him to his feet then she walked him off to the Med Lab, trying to keep her hands over his forehead.

Barry took Claire's hand again. "Do you think that means this info from Thawne will say it's safe for Peter to visit?"

[infinite1ups]

Claire got to her feet as they helped Cisco up, then lingered close to Barry outside the Cortex. "I think so? But now I'm worried Peter's Precog abilities might have a negative effect on Cisco. He's got Telepathy from Parkman, too."

She realized that might sound alarming or confusing, and held up her free hand. "Peter has excellent control, he doesn't read people's minds on purpose unless he has permission. But he can definitely pick up on stray thoughts and feelings if they're strong enough, so I'll give everyone a heads up before Peter visits. And Parkman is... one of the good guys, he's a cop in LA."

The Parkman situation was complicated, but ultimately Matt was a good man.

She had been so worried about Meta powers having a negative impact on Peter that the opposite hadn't really occurred to her. Meta powers seemed stronger, which she had taken for granted. She really should have considered it from both sides.

"I don't think we should only be relying on Thawne's research for this," Claire admitted. Her trust in Thawne had been shaken enough to want to exercise some caution in analyzing his test results. "As much as I believe he's been as honest with me as he's capable, it's still best to get Caitlin and Harry get more samples from me. Learn as much as we can, you know?"

Her mind went back to her near-spittake at the table in her kitchen, and she couldn't help but crack a grin. But then she immediately got shy and tried to quickly change the topic. "I should let my dad know I'm okay."

[feelthelightning]

Barry held her close for a moment as he watch them go. "Cisco's abilities are... we're still figuring them out. Harry knows them better than we do because of Cisco's evil doppelgänger from Earth-2, Reverb. He was one of Zoom's lieutenants. Hopefully this is a one-off thing, but it might be something to worry about with Cisco."

Barry wasn't as put off by telepathy as one might think. He tended to be pretty honest and open about everything. Except his secret identity, but that was probably going to come out with her uncle anyway. "A heads up is probably best. I can see Harry having an issue with it. I also feel bad for your uncle if he gets hit with any of Harry's rage fits, mentally."

Though, he did agree. "Thawne's research is usually pretty sound. I've... travelled back in time to get his help before on something I couldn't solve and he came through. ...after some threats on both sides. Funny thing is, he gave us the equations and theories but he couldn't use them himself and Harry was able to actually not only build a working prototype, but rebuild it to be smaller and streamlined. I'm confident with Harry and Cait looking over the data, they'll know what they're looking at and what other tests to run."

Speedster reaction time caught sight of that shy grin but didn't know what to make of it. He nodded and started walking with her into the Cortex where Jesse and Noah were.

[infinite1ups]

She'd have to get in touch with Peter later and ask about any dreams he may have had. If he was trying to reach out now, well. It'd have to wait.

"Peter's used to it by now, he deals with Sylar all the time and that guy's got anger issues for days."

It gave her a lot of confidence, knowing the information was in such good hands with Harry and Caitlin. Even Jesse could probably offer some insight, smart as she was. Claire was also ready for whatever other tests they might need.

First, though, she was all too happy to rush across the room and give her dad a hug. Noah clearly looked worried, but there was some relief in seeing his daughter smile. Still, he could tell she'd been crying. He gave her an extra squeeze of a hug, kissing the top of her head.

"Hey, Clairebear," he said softly. "You don't have to talk to me about it if you don't want to." She seemed calm now and he didn't want to upset her all over again.

"More test results," Claire offered up without hesitation. "Harry's transferring the data now so they can take a closer look. There was a message for me on there, too. But I'm okay." There was some lingering shakiness in her voice when she talked about it, but at least she wasn't ready to break down and cry anymore. She held firm.

As Claire stepped back, Noah looked to both her and Barry. "I was in contact with Peter before I got here. He's ready to come help whenever and however we might need him. Sooner rather than later later, I think. He said he had a dream."

[feelthelightning]

Barry offered him a warm smile. He was still frazzled by all of this, but he was The Flash, and as such, he had to be the pillar in all of this. He couldn't go recklessly run the streets and find Thawne like he wanted to.

The mention of Peter's dream got his attention. "Cisco has visions and he just had one of Peter, too. They're probably connected." He glanced at his best friend through the glass walls of Medical. Cait was shining a pen light in his eyes while a blood pressure cuff took a reading. Otherwise, Cisco seemed back to normal.

"We're a little worried about Cisco's powers. The vision hit him pretty hard." Barry admitted. "Did Peter say what it was about?"

pardon me while I make the most vague assumption about Peter's dream lol

[infinite1ups]

Well, her dad went ahead and answered the question she hadn't asked. But she also had a brief, chilling realization that Cisco's description also would have fit Sylar. That seemed unlikely now, with confirmation that Peter too had been getting visions.

"He said he mostly saw you, Claire, with a bunch of people he didn't know, but mentioned making eye contact with someone who matches Cisco's description," Noah explained. "I assumed everyone else was the rest of the team, because he talked about a room that looked a lot like this one."

She'd been nearly ready to run into Medical and double check with Cisco, but that was good enough for her. Her shoulders relaxed, and she stayed put. He needed to chill for a bit, he didn't need her questioning him about his Vibe.

"Was Peter okay?" Claire asked her dad. "Did he get any weird side-effects?"

Noah shrugged. "He didn't mention anything out of the ordinary." He went on to add, "I didn't out anyone here, but I did tell him about Meta-humans and our concern regarding whether or not his ability will have any bad reactions. He's waiting until he gets a all clear before he 'ports here again."

So, either her dad was staying until it was safe for Peter to come get him, or he was flying back to DC, Claire thought. "Cisco said he Vibed Peter off of me, so I guess it would make sense that I was in Peter's dream. Oh, wait! Maybe this means it'll be safe, if Peter's dreaming about being here." She was practically bouncing at the thought. "That'd be so cool!"

When I wrote that description of Peter, I realised it also matched Sylar.

[feelthelightning]

"He was Vibing your uncle seeing the future. No wonder it kicked him in the face." Barry said.

"I can't wait to meet more of your family." Barry smiled brightly. She met most of his, aside from Wally and Iris, who were just busy, but eager to meet her.

Harry entered the Cortex, paused mid-step to assess the 'situation'. He nodded at Noah in a greeting, then noticed Cisco in the Med Lab. He opened his mouth to comment on that, looking confused, then just shut it and walked on by, holding a USB drive out to Claire. He had a laptop tucked under his other arm. "In case you wanted any of that. I was able to recover the deleted audio file. 22nd century tech apparently deletes in the same way as 21st century tech." He paused then added, "I didn't listen to it. I skimmed through his notes as they were transferring. It looks like he was testing the viability of the transitive healing properties of your blood against Meta cells. His own, to be specific. As well as samples from Meta cadavers and... samples taken from Ramon and Allen." He noted how Barry's posture changed. The idea that Thawne had gotten samples from them or stolen from the lab behind Caitlin's back were both chilling thoughts.

"Jesse, I want you and Snow looking over this," Harry held up the laptop and she took it with a nod. "I'm going to focus on detecting Thawne when he enters this building."

Barry knew that meant Harry wouldn't be sleeping until he had something worked out. Cisco would probably try keeping him company until he couldn't keep himself awake and Barry would come in to find him asleep in a chair while Harry worked around him quietly.

I had the "oh shit" realization a little while after I did my reply. :D

[infinite1ups]

"I think you and Peter will get along swimmingly." Barry reminded her of the old Peter. The one who used to be her hero. She still highly admired her uncle, and they were fairly close, but the Sylar thing, among other issues, had made them drift a little. It was very much her hope that they could repair that when Peter visited.

Claire had been looking forward to meeting Barry and Iris, but how she was a bit nervous about meeting Iris, though she absolutely didn't want to admit it. She couldn't say whether or not Thawne was trying to get in her head with that comment, but he had succeeded all the same.

As Harry entered, she glanced up and smiled, then took the USB with her thanks. Noah nodded in return, and immediately looked slightly concerned at his daughter. The mention of the audio file having been recovered clearly affected her. In truth, she didn't know what to feel about it. But she did know she felt almost as bothered as Barry, knowing that Thawne had gotten samples from him and Cisco.

At least, she thought, Thawne hadn't been able to out Caitlin. That was a silver lining.

"Maybe I can send some of this data to Dr. Suresh and see what he thinks. He doesn't really know about Meta-humans yet, but he knows a lot about people like me." She paused, then added thoughtfully, I'll redact all of the names except mine. He's seen my blood before, it's no big deal."

"I'll reach out to Mohinder. And if you need anything, Wells, let us know," said Noah, who glanced at Claire briefly before looking around at everyone else. "Rebel may be of some help to us. The kid's a whiz with tech, it's literally his superpower."

Pocketing the USB drive, Claire drifted back to Barry and slipped an arm around his waist. "Seems like it's a bit of a waiting game until we have more info. But in the meantime, Dad and I can get ahold of our people. I want to ask Peter more about his dream, and I really need to check on my mom." Thawne had already threatened one of her parents, so she wouldn't put it past him to go after both. For his sake as well as hers, she hoped he'd leave her mom alone.

If Thawne wanted Claire's fury, that was how to truly unleash it. Even more than with her dad. Sandra Bennet was innocent, she had nothing to do with any of this except that she was Claire's mom. Noah was part of this life, he knew what to expect. Her mom had made a conscious, deliberate effort to keep herself out of the evolved human stuff - but there was no staying away from the Reverse-Flash. The thought made her feel a little queasy.

XD I was like, this can go one of two ways...

[feelthelightning]

Oh, Thawne had absolutely been trying to get into her head with that realisation. But also providing information at the same time. If he could drive a wedge between Barry and Claire, he'd be happy. Not to hurt Claire or to even really hurt Barry for once, but because if she was with Barry, he'd lost his only ally.

Harry hadn't been too sure what to do about the audio file, but he'd been interested to see if there had been any hidden or encrypted data and recovering the file was a side effect of that search. It had felt wrong to take the option out of Claire's hands, so if she wanted to delete it, he figured she was capable.

"Ask Ramon, I'm not a joy to work with, but I wouldn't be against putting my knowledge of Metas together with Dr. Suresh's knowledge of Evolved Humans. I trust your judgement, Bennet." And he did. Harry recognised a lot of himself in Noah. "A technopath?" The idea was intriguing. More so when he could imagine just how ruffled Cisco's feathers will be.

It was funny how easily Claire could just mold herself into Barry's space and it felt like she had always been there. He looped his arm around her and found himself relaxing just having her close. "Yeah. Uh, if there's any issue, we can run over to visit your mom ASAP." Barry agreed.

In that exact moment Claire refused to remember Sylar existed. XD

[infinite1ups]

It would take some thought and reflection before Claire decided what to do with the voice note. She was as worried about Barry hearing it was she was curious to see his reaction. The Iris thing continued to linger in her mind. Yes, Barry had assured Claire that she was the one he wanted, but she also hadn't told him who Thawne implied in the message.

Her immediate thought was that once again Barry would chalk it all up to Thawne's manipulation, and surely there was a degree of that present. But the emotion... that had sounded too genuine, too raw, and she wondered what Barry would make of it.

If nothing else, she wanted to hear it one more time by herself. Maybe with headphones to see if there were any other clues in the audio she might have missed.

"Suresh is used to working with me, he'll be fine," Noah assured Harry with a tight smile. "And yes, Rebel is a technopath. He does... I believe the term is white hat hacking? And he can program just about anything. He helped keep Claire under the radar."

"He's a good friend," she added. "He's very good at making-- uh, all the most legal stuff. Totally above board." Probably not the best idea to admit to crimes in front of two dad figures and her cop boyfriend.

Having Barry to lean on now was invaluable. She let her head rest lightly against his chest, sighing as the tension melted out of her. "Unfortunately I think it's best if we stay away for now, unless there's an emergency." Thawne could find Sandra easily enough on his own without Barry running Claire there with a yellow lightning trail to follow. "But, we can call her later." Yes, we.

Sylar who? XD

[feelthelightning]

There would definitely be some odd emotions if he found out. Especially with his memories altered ad they were. Harry would be the only one to remember the article written by Iris West-Allen in the Time Vault now. At least, of Team Flash. And once the timeline solidified, even Barry would forget about Eddie's death, leaving Harry the only one with that original knowledge who hadn't learned it from Thawne.

Harry actually smirked at that reply. It was subtle, but for him, it was enough of a change that it would be very noticable. Unlike Thawne, who was very smiley for a Wells in Harry's opinion. Then again, so was that impostor HR. So maybe he was the odd duck.

"I'm sure Ramon would love to work with this technopath." He can just hear the frantic 'Don't touch the satellite!' from the younger tech genius. Speaking of... "Ms. Bennet, I know I only just gave you that watch not too long ago, but if you wouldn't mind," Harry gestured to Noah then took off his own watch and approached her. "I'll lend you mine until I can build a new one. I want this one back." He said as he held up his watch. "Don't snoop through it." And that was the reason for the switch. Giving Claire's to Noah so he could take his time to build the new one with the new security system now on his plate meant no mistakes would be made in a rush and he could get his watch back from Claire when he was done. It also has nothing to do with letting Cisco program Caitlin into Harry's watch.

"Totally legal hacking. I'm sure that never crosses any lines." Barry said playfully. Look, he was a cop but he was also someone who would break into the Pentagon with his super speed if it meant saving the lives of his loved ones. There were some lines he wouldn't cross.

"Yeah, I agree. We don't want to draw attention to her location." He wasn't sure Thawne would go after her without a reason, but he didn't want to chance it.

He'll make his presence known soon enough, probably. >:D

[infinite1ups]

"I used aliases a lot while I was traveling, and Rebel also helped push other news stories to the forefront after my jump," she admitted somewhat sheepishly. She still had a pile of fake IDs in the glove box of her bus. He'd also deleted any records he could find of the government's plans to capture and detain evolved humans.

As Harry held up his watch, she traded her own. She might have objected, insisted that she could go without so Harry could keep his, but... there was probably no way he'd budge on this. Besides, it was likely he'd be in the lab the whole time, anyway. If not, he'd be with Claire or Barry, who would be able to alert if Thawne was close.

"Snoop," Claire scoffed, giggling. "I don't even mess with mine. I'm just glad I keep remembering to put it on every time I take it off."

She liked to think Thawne would be so low as to go after her mother, but he had gone after Barry's, so she couldn't be certain. The thought had her so terrified that she struggled not to let it show up on her face. Between that and thinking about Iris, she was feeling pretty rattled. It had her tense.

"Cisco and Rebel would probably get on just fine. The real challenge would be on the rest of us to keep up with all their references." Time to focus on other things to keep herself calm. To quiet that sudden urge to get to her bus and drive. Not running, not this time. Just hiding for a while. The road was an excellent place to think, and she was fighting the itch to be out there. "I was in California when I met Thawne; I'd just gotten done visiting her. Hell, I almost picked an apartment close to her instead of coming here. I don't think it'd be that hard for him to find her."

XD Barry will try not to throw him into the grand canyon.

[feelthelightning]

Harry could almost see that moment of hesitation where she wanted to argue. Once he had hers, he looped his around her wrist, adjusted the band, and fastened it around her wrist with a little pat to her arm once he was done. He held the other out to Noah. He trusted he didn't need to enforce the safety measure by actually putting it on his wrist. He'd dad Claire, but he wasn't Noah's keeper. "It will ping around Metas that aren't whitelisted, and it will immediately alert us here if it detects Thawne, sending us you coordinates. Allen will be there immediately. He won't sneak up on you again." Harry informed.

Claire would see the world slow to a stop. Yellow electricity streaking through the air around them as everything went eerily quiet. Barry moved in front of her, keeping contact with her waist the whole time. His other hand slid up to cup her face lovingly. "I can practically feel your tension, hon." He lifted his hand from her hip to her arm and caught her wrist, bringing her palm up flat against his chest over his heart so she could feel his pulse. "Focus on me. Everything will be okay. I promise. Take slow, deep breaths with me. In through your nose and out slowly through your mouth." The Speed Force was a warmth that flowed from him and through her, here in Flash Time. A calm, even though their cells were excited to unfathomable speeds.

Claire would like... pay money to see that. XD (And Sylar would be fine!)

[infinite1ups]

Claire's protestations were never subtle, even when she was trying not to protest. But at least she'd learned to choose her battles. Most of the time. When she wasn't choosing all of the battles.

Noah indeed managed to get the watch on himself, inspecting the device curiously in the process. He was going to take a similar approach to his daughter, though, and rely on it to do its job without messing with the thing. His job had required him to have some technical proficiency, but this was beyond him.

She heard her dad thanking Harry just before it all went quiet. By now she was getting used to this, so suddenly being in Flash Time was almost enough to immediately calm her all by itself. But leave it to Barry to go above and beyond for her, even in the smallest things. How stupid, she thought, to think he might want to be with someone else, when he was clearly so devoted to her.

"Babe, I-- I'm okay," Claire said, quietly insistent, leaning her cheek into that tender touch. The way she immediately melted into it was a pretty good indication that she'd been less okay than she claimed. She kept her hand in place over his heart, trying to focus on her breathing but finding herself distracted, albeit very pleasantly so. Between the warmth of the Speed Force and Barry being so close, she felt pleasantly cozy, almost dazed.

After a couple uneven breaths, she was giving up on the traditional calming techniques to steal a kiss, instead. "Mm. You're magic, you know."

It's because it wouldn't kill him that Barry would happily do it without hesitation.

[feelthelightning]

That's just who Barry was. He went above and beyond for those he loved. He felt the way she melted into his touch and it warmed his heart, but also, he wanted to just encase her and protect her from the world right now.

The kiss was not what he was going for, but he wouldn't complain. He kissed her back, slow and steady, resting his forehead against hers when she spoke. "Magic? That's a new one." He was often called the impossible, but magic was interesting. "Today has been back to back panic and emotional hits. I can hold us here as long as you need to find your centre."

He stroked her cheek with his thumb and held her close, pressing their lips together again. For a speedster, he was being very slow right now and it was intentional. He wanted to help bring her down from that panic.

Best boyfriend ever!

[infinite1ups]

"I... was starting to freak out a little. Might've been tempted to go out and do something reckless. But you pull me into Flash Time and all those dumb thoughts just go away. Poof. It's magic." Barry's gentle yet solid support was exactly what she needed, and she let herself lean into it. The tension in her shoulders had melted away, and she didn't feel like she was on the verge of a panic attack anymore.

Claire happily kissed him another moment longer, then hugged him tightly, her face pressed in against his neck. The safest place on Earth. Probably on any Earth. "I love you." A brief pause, a shakier breath, but she held steady. "And I need you. I'm not quite used to that yet."

[feelthelightning]

"If I'm not allowed to be reckless, neither are you." He told he softly. "But I'll happily be your magic speedster if it helps you. You are the only thing that kept me from being reckless. I want to run out into the city and find him right now. Force him to face me. But I know if I do, it will put you in danger and I don't want to leave your side."

"I love you too and I need you too. More than you realise."

[infinite1ups]

"Yeah, you're my magic speedster. My Pikachu, my Teddy Bear... The titles are adding up," she giggled, then turned more serious. "I understand that same reckless feeling. I'm more worried about it putting you in danger than myself, though."

No matter how much she betrayed Thawne, she still knew Barry was the main target of the man's hatred. Getting back at Claire was just a bonus.

"We're better off sticking together, so I'm not going anywhere. You got me, darlin'."

[feelthelightning]

Barry brushed her hair back and kissed he again with a warm smile. "I'm not great at nicknames, but I'm gonna have to catch up. You need some cute ones too." Could she feel how much she made his heart race? As fast as his heartbeat usually was, it might be hard to tell.

"I have something too precious to live for to let Thawne beat me." He bumped his nose into hers playfully.

"And you got me, babe." Which he totally didn't just sing to the tune of I Got You Babe.