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shrinkthisviolet · 5 months

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“those bastards.” / “if i ever get my hands on them…” for Thallen please!

This one ended up much longer than I expected, because finding an endpoint was tricky 😂 under the cut for length:

Eddie thought finding out Barry’s identity would make things easier. He’d be fully on the loop, he wouldn’t worry so much about the guy he’d come to…

To…love? It was true that he and Iris, although they’d come close, had never actually started dating, but…still, to think of Barry that way…

Still, it wasn’t so off-putting. It was more just that Eddie was…nervous, really. He’d loved Iris, but Iris hadn’t seen him the same way. Not that she needed to, Eddie treasured her friendship dearly, but it meant Eddie didn’t entertain the thought of having any more of a chance with someone like Barry Allen, who had taken some time to come around to him.

Things had gotten better over time…and Barry telling him that he was the Flash was a culmination of their friendship that Eddie was deeply touched by. But contrary to his belief, it didn’t make things easier.

In fact, it made things harder—because on top of worrying about his growing feelings for Barry, he now had to keep Barry’s identity a secret from the others on the force (except Joe, apparently), and Iris…and he had to share the resounding worry of every close friend of a superhero.

And his first experience with that…was when Barry showed up on his doorstep, bleeding from a wound on his head, his cowl down, and muttering in a daze, “You were…closest…”

“Who did this to you?” Eddie demanded, holding him by the shoulders as he guided him inside. “If I ever get my hands on them—”

“No! No…” Barry grabbed his hand, wincing as his head throbbed against. “Just…just help me.”

“Caitlin…?”

“Too…far.” Barry winced. “Hurts…”

“I’ll call her. Just…you just sit here, okay? Let me just grab something for your head.”

Barry nodded, settling on Eddie’s sofa and holding a hand to his head to stem the bleeding. Eddie, meanwhile, bustled into the kitchen to grab some ice, and tried very, very hard not to think about how right it felt, to have Barry show up on his doorstep when injured and settle on his couch like this.

As he went, he called Caitlin, explaining the situation.

“Did you check him for a concussion?”

“Ah…” Eddie winced. “No. Forgot that part.”

Caitlin sighed. “Well, do that, and let me know.”

So Eddie rushed back to Barry, handing him the ice pack to press against his head. “Hey Bar? Can you tell me what happened?”

“Yeah…yeah, I can.” Barry winced, though he thankfully looked a bit more clearheaded than before. “I went after Captain Boomerang on my own—don’t look at me like that, I didn’t name him—and a rogue boomerang hit me when I wasn’t paying attention. Eddie?” Barry squeezed his hand. “Come on, don’t look at me like that. I’m fine.”

“Fine? You’re bleeding! You’re, like, half-dazed, or…or something—“

“Less than before. Still a little dazed, but…further from a concussion than before. Which is what you and Cait are worried about, right?” He smiled softly. “But…do me a favor? Don’t go running after him trying to play hero. That’s my job.”

“It’s mine,” Eddie insisted. “I’m the police officer here.”

“And I’m the Flash,” Barry grinned.

Yeah, Eddie thought, dazed at the sight of Barry’s bright smile. That you are, Bar.

Barry tilted his head. “What’s that look for?”

“What?” Eddie blushed. “Nothing. I was just…you must need something else.”

Barry shook his head, still studying him with a curious smile. “Nope, nothing like that. But I do have a theory.”

“Oh? And what theory would that be?”

“Well…maybe I’ve gone a little loopy after all, but…if you’ll let me, I want to try something. Stop me, by the way,” he added, “if this gets weird or anything.”

“Okay…but what do you…?” But the closer Barry got, the closer in Eddie leaned too…until there was nothing else for it: Eddie closed the gap between them, and Barry reciprocated in kind.

They burst apart only seconds later, when Eddie asked, “But…Iris…?”

“Somewhere along the way these past few months,” Barry said softly, “I realized…I wasn’t in love with Iris anymore. I was in love with her very kind, very handsome blond best friend.”

Eddie blushed. “Well…you’re not so bad yourself, Flash.”

Barry smiled, leaning in to kiss him again, and Eddie met him in the middle.

When they finally came up for air, Eddie quickly excused himself to call Caitlin.

“No signs of a concussion?” Caitlin sighed. “Well…he still needs to be monitored overnight and the next day, just in case. I could be there in 30 minutes and take him. Or you could let him stay overnight with you and bring him to STAR tomorrow. Whichever you want.”

Eddie glanced at Barry, who was now lying down on the sofa, half-asleep already, and looking…peaceful. So peaceful. It would be cruel, he thought, to wake him now.

(And he knew he’d hardly be able to sleep unless he knew for sure that Barry was alright.)

“He can stay here,” Eddie said. “I don’t mind. I’ll bring him to STAR Labs tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Eddie.”

“Sure thing. Have a good night, Caitlin.”

“You too.”

And as he hung up…Eddie looked over at Barry, who had completely succumbed to sleep now, and smoothed a hand over his forehead, smoothing the stress-formed wrinkles that had formed there.

There was so much about Barry that Eddie still didn’t know…so many questions he still had.

He knew about Barry’s mom. About his dad. About the accelerator that gave him powers. But…it was one thing to know something and another thing to know it.

He didn’t know the extent of Barry’s struggles. They were friends, but…not close ones. And Eddie found himself wishing that he could.

I wish I could take all this from you. I wish you never had to know the kind of pain you do.

He couldn’t, he knew. It was a fruitless thing, to try taking pain away from someone. It couldn’t be done—pain could be healed from, but not removed.

If Eddie was lucky, perhaps he could be part of that healing one day. But at the very least, he’d settle for being someone Barry loved and trusted.

That kiss was certainly a magical beginning, in any case.

prompt list!

#the flash #barry allen #eddie thawne #thallen #caitlin snow #lavi’s prompt fills #also i know captain boomerang didn’t appear in the flash until s9 #but i needed a meta of the week capable of hitting barry in the head 🤷‍♀️

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