skinny love | barry allen

12

"Dude, you are a crime-fighting lady-slaying machine!" Cisco gave Barry a high five as we all walked into Jitters.

We were all hyping Barry up on how he managed to keep his date with Linda, a girl he met at the karaoke bar last week, while being the Flash at the same time.

"Oh, God, it was so cool." Barry was ecstatic, "She was so cool- we're going on another date tonight."

"Tonight?" I blinked, "Really?"

I was happy for him, because he was getting over Iris and moving on. But, there was a ping in my chest that I couldn't decipher.

"Aren't you worried about moving too fast?" Cisco questions as we stopped mid step on the stairs.

"No- what do you mean?" Barry shot him a confused look, "It's a second date."

"No, no, no, no, I meant going too fast, hurrying." Cisco began, "Look, I mean, you're fast, but there's fast, and then there's fast- am I being subtle enough?"

"You're really not." Barry shook his head and jogged up the steps, reaching the top and finding us a table.

"Cisco's right." Caitlin agreed as we followed him, "With your increased blood flow and increased heart rate, theoretically, your speed could cause you to-"

Cisco inhales sharply, "You're gonna need to think about a lot of dead puppies- like, we're talking a whole kennel."

"And baseball- cold showers." Cisco added in and listed off, "You know what? Nuns."

"Okay." Barry laughed, "It is just a second date."

"Other matters aside," I eyed Cisco playfully as he shot me a look and answered his phone, "I'm happy for you."

Barry stares at me for a few moments, and it looked like his expression dropped for just a moment, but he recovers, "I appreciate that a lot."

"Actually." I wrap an arm around him, "If it ever comes to it- I suggest you think of the time I did your eyebrows."

"Oh my God." Barry threw his head back and leans if against my arm as Caitlin softly laughed at us, "That hurt so bad."

"Exactly why the memory will help." I playfully wink at him, as Cisco hung up the phone.

"Hey, I gotta go." Cisco tells us, "I gotta help out a friend."

"Everything okay?" Barry asked him, "We just got here."

"Yeah, I'll see you guys later." Cisco left us all alone, leaving Jitters.

Our attention diverted towards the screen, where the news reporter spoke, "Quentin Quale was attacked near his lab at Concordance Research last night.
There were several unsubstantiated reports of the so-called "Burning Man" in the area following the attacks."

"Caitlin." I stared at the screen, tapping her arm, "Burning man."

-

Dr. Wells spoke as he stared at the screen, "Well, it appears letting Ronnie roam free is no longer an option."

"So, the Burning Man is actually Ronnie Raymond, your ex fiancée- but, this Martin Stein guy's mind is in him?" I pieced together everything, as Caitlin giving me a simple nod.

"He's not even Ronnie anymore." Caitlin inhales sharply, "He's Martin Stein walking around in Ronnie's body, like a vampire."

"That's actually kinda cool." I slip off my jacket, then notice the look Caitlin was giving me, "I mean- not cool at all."