Adorkable - Barry Allen

Chapter 30

Mark Mardon held a gun against Marie's neck as he dragged her into the alley just outside of the CCPD. Right when he was nearing the end of the passage, he pushed her away and started to run, dropping the deadweight. Barry came crashing out of the doors, just on the opposite end of the alley, when Mark turned around.

Before Barry could do anything, Mardon pulled the trigger of his gun, the barrel pointed at the woman's chest.

Barry raced forward as fast as he could, but he had to watch as Winnie jumped out of nowhere, soaring in front of the bullet before Barry could even reach them.

The bullet might as well have gone straight through his heart as his eyes widened in fear, his stomach dropping. 

With all the commotion, Mardon was able to get away, disappearing from everyone's sight.

Marie knelt next to Winnie as she started bleeding out onto the pavement.

"Y-you saved my life. Are you o-okay?" Marie asked her shakily. 

"I'm okay. I will be okay but, I need you to go inside just in case he comes back." Winnie told the woman.

"B-but-"

"I can take it from here." Barry said monotonously.

"T-thank you." She said, squeezing Winnie's hand before getting back inside the building.

Barry looked down at Winnie, tears filling his eyes. He bent down to try and pick her up.

"C-come on, Winn. Hold on, I need to get you to the hospital." He said desperately, doing his best to ignore the blood that was beginning to pool around his feet.

"Barry... stop. I- I can feel it." She said to him, the pain slowly fading as she focused all of her attention on him, "You and I both know I won't make it-"

"W-we have to try, Winn. We have to try something." Barry said, his voice starting to crack as tears began dripping onto Winnie's shirt. It was in that moment that Barry came to the revelation that the amount of pain he was feeling was because he loved Winnie. He was in love with her and he only realized it much too late.

"Bare, I-I don't want to spend my last moments in some stuffy hospital... away from you." She told him, lifting up her trembling hand to his cheek. "T-there's something I need to tell you."

"N-no. You can't, Winn. You just can't." Barry whispered as that was all he could say. He ripped off his mask, not caring if anybody saw because all that mattered in that moment was the woman sitting right in front of him.

"One day, way back when... when we were both little, I... I realized that I had feelings. Feelings for you and... I have loved you everyday since." Barry opened his mouth about to speak before Winnie pressed her finger to his lips, quieting him.

"I love you, Barry Allen. And I know, that you're with Linda. And, I know that you're happy but, that's just how I feel and it's something I needed to get off my chest." She said, dropping her hand, her eyes becoming watery as well.

Barry just stared at her with wide eyes, completely in shock, taking a few moments before he started to miserably laugh. 

"W-what's so funny?" She asked, attempting to not burst into tears at the thought of Barry thinking everything she said was a joke.

"It's just- it's just that... I've spent so, so much time being a complete and utter idiot. There have been so many moments where I could have realized how brilliant and amazing you are. I've wasted so much time, time that we could have spent being together, Winn. A-and I only just figured out how-how much I'm in love with you, Winnifred West." His voice broke as he finished his sentence. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, the pool of blood growing and pooling around them.