Saturday; Text to Action

[feelthelightning]

I'm gonna be a little late. Had to run into work on my day off for a bit.

The text was sent at around 5pm and it wasn't exactly a lie. It just had nothing to do with CCPD work. It had to do with stopping a train from derailing. And now he was waiting for a bruise over his left eye to heal before he could show up. Because it would be gone in 30 minutes max and if his bruise disappeared while he was having dinner with her it might seem suspicious.

He was just glad Caitlin and Harry had managed to create an anti venom for the chameleon's venom so quickly or he would have had to call off the date entirely. He still had no leads on who killed the chameleon or what went down in that bar. If he didn't know better, it had been Snart's Cold gun, but he was off with the Legends fixing time. Whatever had done it, made sure the Meta wouldn't get back up.

It was roughly 6:45 when he finally showed up at he place in a dress shirt and waistcoat with matching slacks. He had a bottle of wine in one arm and a bouquet of flowers in the other. He knocked on her apartment door, careful not to drop anything.

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[infinite1ups]

It was exactly how she and Harry had bonded so quickly. Well, that and maybe the head injury.

Claire helped herself to another kiss, just because she could, and went to the fridge. A moment later she was setting down a carton of ice cream and one of those spray cans of whipped cream.

"I'm a both kinda gal," she answered, grinning. Calories were the least of her worries. Part of her wanted to object, to reassure him that she'd handle it. She wanted to spoil him for their date, after all. But at the same time... it was nice that he wanted to help, and he could get it done way faster.

"Fine, you can do the dishes. I gotta warn you, though, I might have to kiss you about it." Claire was even more bubbly and teasing as she sat down, cutting into the pie to serve them each up a slice.

[feelthelightning]

He could get used to all the kisses, given how affectionate natured he was.

"Is that supposed to be a threat, or incentive to do it more often, because it sure isn't a deterrent." He replied happily. As a matter of fact, he was pretty sure they called that positive reinforcement.

Barry was eager to help her however he could. So he scooped up ice cream for them both when she got their pie cut, and topped both with whipped cream.

[infinite1ups]

Claire could be choosy with her affection. It just so happened that now she was going to choose affection with Barry as much as possible.

"You can take it however you like, darlin'," she said with an innocent smile, getting a bit of whipped cream on her finger before licking it off. Then she picked up her fork and dug in to her pie. "I'd only ever threaten you with kisses and other nice things, so keep that in mind."

[feelthelightning]

A bite of that pie and he was in heaven. Then she was playfully flirting and he was blushing. "You're beautiful, intelligent, you heal, you can cook, bake, and you're sassy. Where have you been all my life?" He was so completely taken with her it was crazy how he'd gone a day without her.

[infinite1ups]

That reaction was a one-two punch of perfection, in her eyes. She grinned, playing off the praise with a shrug in between bites of pie. She'd outdone herself on that one, she had to say.

"Me? I could ask you the same thing. You're everything I could've wished for all wrapped up in one person." Claire sighed, content. Just like she'd told Thawne, she wasn't one to think of things as meant to be, she didn't put much stock in fate. But... she was starting to think that a pretty compelling case could be made for her and Barry. "I don't know how I got so lucky."

[feelthelightning]

"This is just as amazing as the pizza, by the way." He said with a delighted hum and took another bite.

"I'm just so glad you had the courage to approach me when you did."

[infinite1ups]

The praise made her even more giddy, when she didn't think that was possible. She was going to enjoy cooking and baking for Barry.

"Me, too. You're so dang cute, I just couldn't help myself. I knew I'd regret it I'd I didn't." It beyond her wildest dreams, how things were turning out. "Part of me can't believe this is real."

[feelthelightning]

Barry reached across the table again and covered her free hand with his. "It's real." He promised. There's a reason he gets designated as the Paragon of Love in the future, not that he's aware of it. His devotion to those he loves and the lengths he'll go to keep them safe and feel loved have no limits.

"I could sit here forever, just staring into your eyes."

[infinite1ups]

Claire turned her hand to hold his with a soft sigh. Just that simple touch calmed so much of the worry roiling inside her. It was real. She wasn't going to wake up in a random motel room alone to find this was all a dream.

"You could," she started, the playful sass coming back, "but I think after a while it'd interrupt snuggle time."

[feelthelightning]

"Don't tempt me to devour this slice of pie as fast as possible so we can cuddle." He teased, though he did focus on eating it a little faster, just not Flash fast. He still wanted to savour it.

[infinite1ups]

She might have been hurrying a little too, but not so much that she wasn't still enjoying her handiwork. Sharing with others was her favorite part, though, and it pleased her immensely that Barry enjoyed her cooking so much.

"But... what if I tempt you? What then?" Even as her smile softened, the mischief wasn't going anywhere.

[feelthelightning]

He grinned at her and moved so fast he was a blur, finishing off his pie and ice cream. Then just as fast, he scooped up all the dirty plates except the one she was still eating off of and washed them in the sink. He also cleaned up the kitchen in its entirety for her. He'd even put away the leftovers.

"Now I'm just waiting on you." He teased, standing behind her with his hands lightly in her shoulders. All in all that took about three seconds.

[infinite1ups]

Barry was done before she could even get a word out to stop him. Some of the tension in her shoulders loosened immediately as his hands rested there, and she burst into giggles, titling her head way up to look at him.

"Okay, you showed me. You win this round." Because that absolutely was not going to stop her from being a bit of a brat. She turned her focus back to her last few bites of pie, each one going down in quick succession.

"You gonna at least let me wash this one?"

[feelthelightning]

"Nope." As soon as she was done, he plate and silverware was gone, washed, and it was all put away. Claire was then scooped up bridal style from the chair and they were both run to the couch for the promised cuddles.

Barry tucked her against him, arms looped around her and kissed her temple now that he let the world slow back down to normal. "Sorry, that took me longer than it should have. I had to find where everything went before I could put it away." He was just being cheeky now.

[infinite1ups]

In what felt like the blink of an eye, they were on the couch. But Claire had no complaints, not really. Not when she was wrapped in Barry's arms. She did, however, playfully roll her eyes. "I could've showed you, if you let me help," she gently reminded him, then kissed his cheek. "Your way is faster, though, I'll concede. Leaves more time for cuddles."

[feelthelightning]

"That's the best part about being a speedster. All the extra time for cuddles." His cheek was probably warm from wind burn under her lips. Barry caught one of her hands and brought it to her chest so she could feel his heart beat. It was unnaturally fast, but the longer he snuggled with her the more he relaxed and it slowed to something more human. "That's something else you'll have to get used to with me. That's not gonna give you anxiety, is it?"

[infinite1ups]

Her eyes widened when she felt how fast his heart was beating. Regeneration kept hers pretty steady unless she was exerting herself. She hummed thoughtfully, fingertips tracing idle patterns over his chest. "I can get used to it. Sure as hell isn't gonna keep me from wanting to cuddle you."

[feelthelightning]

"Good, because I'd be heartbroken if that was the deal breaker." He vrushed his fingertips through her hair idly while she traced patterns. This was nice and comfy.

"When I first got struck by lightning, it was beating so fast they couldn't differentiate one beat from the next so it looked like I had no pulse on the machine, but I was also having a seizure at the same time, which wasn't possible if I was technically dead." It might sound like a traumatic story, but it had been three years now.

[infinite1ups]

"Nothing is going to keep me from this," Claire promised, grinning. She could tell from how he told the story that it didn't seem to be an upsetting one for him, but it still made her feel protective over him, anyway. It made her hug him just a little bit tighter. "I'm glad you came out of it okay. Sounds like we both had quite a few close calls."

[feelthelightning]

"Oh! I guess I never said, that's how I got my powers. The particle accelerator exploded and there was a huge dark matter storm. I was working on fingerprint analysis at the time and got struck by a dark matter charged lightning bolt right in my lab. I was in a coma for nine months after that. Came out of that coma with superpowers and abs." Barry laughed. "But there have still been close calls since then. What's been your closest?"

[infinite1ups]

"Oh-- no, you didn't. You mentioned the lightning, I think, but I didn't put it together that it was how you got your powers." She bit back a wider grin, keeping herself from giggling. "And abs, apparently. Nine months, though. That's awful."

Claire considered the question, though there was really only one answer. "The eclipse. It turns out, for some reason, that a solar eclipse shuts off all of our abilities. I took a bullet for my dad and ended up in the hospital with every infection imaginable. The doctors didn't know what to do with me, my body was so accustomed to my regeneration that my immune system couldn't fight it, and the infections were so bad that nothing could treat it. Nothing ever hurt so much. They couldn't do anything to keep me from dying, and my poor mom had to watch. After the eclipse ended, I woke up, but my parents weren't sure if I would. Horrible as that was... it was kind of funny sneaking out of the hospital with my mom before anyone noticed I'd revived."

[feelthelightning]

"Yeah! Apparently my muscles should have been atrophied but they weren't! That was how I met everyone at STAR Labs!" Boy did he sound giddy. It had been a while since he thought about the good old days of first waking up. Before things went to Hell with Reverse-Flash. "I mean, nine months wasn't bad for me. I was asleep."

"Oh... so you're kinda like my friend Supergirl. Without the yellow sun, she gets weak. Otherwise she's invincible. Don't worry, now that I know, nothing will ever get to you again during an eclipse." Because she absolutely wouldn't have told someone like Thawne that information, right? Spoilers: She did. He didn't like the idea of her dying. Even if she came back. "You died?!" Okay, Barry, you've died too. Calm down.

[infinite1ups]

She'd never heard anyone sound so... excited? About how his muscles should have atrophied. But then, Barry looked good, so that was a fair reaction to have. It was more of that excitable puppy nature that Claire loved so very much about him.

"I guess? No one's really looked into why it happens or how it works. Eclipses don't occur that often and we don't have like, a team of evolved human scientists to run testing every time there is one. The last time there was, I drove way out into a remote spot and just laid around in my bus. It was a lovely afternoon."

Fun fact: she didn't remember telling Thawne that, and even if she did, she wouldn't think there's anything he could do with that information. Invincible Brain strikes again. "Yeah... I did. I've died a lot, lost count how many times. Doesn't happen as often these days, though."