skinny love | barry allen

61

"And Wally just beat his personal best." Cisco announced with wide eyes early that morning, where he, Caitlin, HR and I sat in the cortex, over watching another practice run between Barry, Jesse and Wally.

"Hm," I hummed, tearing off a piece of my muffin with my right hand and popping it in my mouth. "Barry's putting him through the wringer today."

"Barry? Excuse me?" HR walked around the console with his tablet in hand, stopping in front of me. "Uh, yeah, I suppose it could be Barry, or it could be his genius coach, whose sole purpose on this Earth is milking epic greatness from those around him— thank you very much."

"Oh right— how silly of me." I held up my right palm in the air for him to high five. "Good mentoring, HR."

HR smiled widely and slapped his palm against mine, a small laugh escaping my lips at his excitement. I sat back in my seat, making sure the sleeve of my huge sweater covered the entirety of my left hand.

"It could also be Jesse." Caitlin suggested and quickly defended when HR shot her a look. "Come on, Wally doesn't want to get beat by his girlfriend."

Cisco rest his hand on the back of my chair. "Also, please, just refrain from using "milk" as a verb from now on, please."

"I'm getting kind of dizzy." Wally said through the comms when the dot that represented him took a sharp turn.

"You're supposed to get dizzy, Wallace! You're supposed to get exhausted on this route. It's supposed to simulate the stress that you're gonna feel when you finally confront Savitar, so my suggestion to you is, suck it up, buttercup!" HR said to him with a ton of enthusiasm, his mood not dying down for a moment. Then, he looked at Cisco. "Milking epic greatness."

"Yeah, no kidding." Cisco shot him an amused glance. "Why don't you take it down a little, tiger mom?"

"Oh!" I sat up in my chair quickly when my eyes landed on the screen. "Barry and Jesse are at the final mark-"

Cisco was looking over my head. "Wally's at the home stretch-"

Only seconds later, Barry's panting voice filled the comms. "Guys?"

All our heads snapped toward HR, awaiting the result of this practice run. Slowly, HR turned the tablet to face us with glee. "0. 21 seconds."

"0. 21." Barry had nothing but relief in his voice. Then the sounds of Jesse and Wally's laughter with victory filled the line. "Just fast enough to save Zee from Savitar— you did it!"

"Yes!" Cisco had shouted in triumph. He lifted me out of my seat and spun me around, hugging onto me tightly when Caitlin jumped out of her seat and clapped her hands together and HR celebrated with a cheer.

-

"Welcome home, James." HR's makeshift British accent filled Barry and I's ears when we headed towards the cortex. "Can I brew you a proper cup of tea? And a robust pick-me-up for you, mate-"

"No need— we hit Jitters on the way." Barry announced as we entered the cortex, holding up two cup holders filled with coffees for everyone. "Got everybody something."

Everyone hummed and awe'd in appreciation while I set down Barry and I's coffee's I had been holding onto the desk. Barry grabbed my hand, tugging on it lightly so we stood in the center of the room while everyone picked up their coffees.

Barry smiled down at me widely, pulling me closer to him with our now interlocked hands, his voice a whisper. "You ready?"

"Yes." I looked up at him with a smile that matched his, my tone also a whisper. "You?"