Alliance {The Flash/Arrow}

Twenty Four

My knees repeatedly alternated bouncing up and down against the bottom of the table I was sat at, anxiety coursing through my body like a hurricane. My fingertips carefully played with the rings that were set closer to my knuckles in an attempt to distract myself from the impending conversation I was going to have with my best friend. Cisco had, thankfully, agreed to come with me in an attempt to smooth things over with Stella, but I wasn't sure how much help he was going to be. While he was a master at hiding what he really felt for her from her, he always managed to give away that he felt something for her since he would turn into a blubbering idiot whenever she so much as looked at him. It wasn't his fault that he was completely in love with her, but I wished like hell that he retained at least some kind of brain function so that I wasn't completely on my own here. If he could just manage to keep his head on straight long enough to form cohesive sentences, I would feel more confident in this endeavor. The whole point of having him here was for substantial backup, and I was hoping like hell that he wouldn't let me down.

"You have got to loosen up." Cisco chuckled, putting three mugs of coffee down on the table as he sat down. I was surprised that he was able to remember Stella's insane order that I'd had memorized for years, but I figured that it was because he must have often gotten her coffee and already had the order memorized. "If you're trying to play this off as a nonchalant conversation with your best friend, you can't look like she's about to pull a gun on you."

"Sorry." I apologized, wrapping my hands around the warm mug and taking a sip of the hot coffee. He seemed shocked that I didn't have a sassy comeback, but I didn't have the mind to come up with one. "I just don't want to upset her with this information, and it's making my anxiety flare up."

"Do you have a medical cream for that?" He joked, making me smile. "Stella will understand your decision even if she doesn't agree with it. If she didn't she wouldn't be much of a best friend. She's just going to be worried that her best friend is walking into the face of death for a third time."

"I know she doesn't want to see me in any more danger than I've already been in, but this is something that I have to do." I stated. "It's like Barry said: we're haunted by the thought of condemning so many people, and this is something that we have to right or die trying."

"I want to just state right now that I, in no way, think that this is a good idea despite my agreement to help you." He informed me as I saw Stella walk through the front door.

I forced a smile as she walked over towards the table, trying to ignore the raging anxiety coursing through me. She was completely oblivious about what I was about to throw at her, and it felt horrible to keep something like this from her. I wasn't sure if she would be able to tell just how anxious and guilty I was, but my question was answered as she hesitantly sat down across from me. "What's wrong with you?" She asked. "You've got that look on your face."

"Perceptive as usual, Stel." I chuckled nervously, wanting to laugh this off in hopes that it would help. It didn't.

She smiled proudly, taking the coffee in her hand. "Well, a good policewoman always has an eye out for suspicious behavior." She stated before taking a sip.

I swallowed hard before blurting out the real reason I had summoned her here. "Stella, I'm going back to Earth-2."

She nearly choked on her coffee because of my words, and all I could do was sit there and try to contain the violent shaking that my body was enduring. "I'm sorry, you're what?"

I nodded once. "Barry and I are going back."

"Ashton, the last time you were there, you almost died. You know, the whole 'someone stabs you and you see that bright light in the sky' thing that we've seen many many times? Why in God's name are you going back to try and live through that again?"