#Never has Grandma Iris' voice been so loud in my head

[anxiousangerball]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but

YOU DO NOT NEED TO START A NEW HOBBY!

STEP AWAY FROM THE TEXTILES!

YOU DON'T NEED MORE YARN!

THAT FABRIC IS NOT CALLING TO YOU! LEAVE IT ALONE!

[bangtanmythology]

In The Name Of Song. Truth Uncovered.

About: Y/N finds out the whole story of what she has become and who those around her are. Her training starts and her and Jimin become the siblings he’s always known they were.

Brother!Jimin x Reader, Mermaid!Jimin, Angel!Yoongi. BTS Supernatural AU.

Words: 2.9K

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“I understand the parent’s side of things. My Great, Great Grandmother betrayed a group of witches by having an affair with the head witches’ husband, who was a human and had a child, so they cursed her. The curse meant that she would never be able to marry a regular human or another mermaid, if she did fall in love with any of these then she was destined to kill him with her voice. Right? So, when she sang a lullaby to her baby, the husband died. The baby, who was my great grandmother, ended up marrying an nasty, rebelling mermaid, their female baby was born half mermaid, the other half became what was known as a siren because the baby, our grandmother, used her powers for evil things, she’d lure sailors in, killing them and using them, never falling in love but instead simply killing them. When we use our siren form to lure people instead of making them fall in love, we will simply kill them. Grandma used the sailors and ended up having a baby with one of them, she abandoned this baby and another mermaid raised mum.” You rambled,

The story was beyond complicated, your head spinning round in circles as Jimin stared at you, nodding every so often with a focused look on his face. He reached his hand out and placed it gently on your ankle, in the few hours that Yoongi had left you alone with Jimin you came to realise that he was an extremely clingy person.

“Yes, that’s all correct and then you know the story with mum and dad, we are now indebted to the reapers but the devils and angels work along side these reapers and when an angel falls, instead of becoming a devil, they are stuck wandering around the earth however they retain some of their angel powers. Yoongi is a fallen angel because he betrayed Michael, the archangel. He has not told me what he did to this day. He is stuck on earth, he begged the reapers to kill him again, to take him from this world and place him as a devil in the next but they would not do it. He begged for a purpose, for something to do, for something to protect, they told him that his debt would be payed off if he spent his life watching over our families. They told him that when we turned 18 he had to bring us here and watch us, make sure that we weren’t causing harm to the reality that we were in, this is the 7th Reality, we’re from the first reality which is the main reality. He had some other mermaids brought here to train me, our grandmother is here, she’s going to help you, along with me, we’re going to train you.” Jimin’s voice was soothing, his words somehow sinking fully into you and making it seem as though maybe all of this would be okay. 

“Right, so he is a fallen angel, a bad one? He stares at me funny.” You mumbled, looking down at Jimin’s hand that was now gently running over the smaller grazes on your calves. Jimin looked up at you, shaking his head and laughing,

“He’s not bad, he was kicked out of the angel realm, that’s all, he’s grumpy, I mean he basically looks after this world all alone, the reapers went extinct 9 years ago and nobody else was sent to care for everything. Half of this world is dead, only magical creatures and hybrids live here. There’s human’s who are sent here to repent their sins, a lot of the creatures and hybrids feast on them. Werewolves and vampires are the worst, we have those in our reality too, they are aggressive, dangerous cannibals who feast on people and kill them. Of course, the werewolves and vampires here take care of those who are criminals. Quite often the ones sent here are either humans who commit serious crimes that they get put into life imprisonment or death row. We also have monsters who fight amongst themselves sent here. This is basically a training ground for a lot of people who are supernatural. We only stay here for a coupe of years and then we go back to the reality we are from. Originally, Yoongi was going to be sent to the 2nd reality to purge it, it is a hell reality, everything burns there, everything is crime and corruption. Of course, that would have been an awful place for us to be seeing as we’re weak to fire after all.” Jimin was rambling, his head now on your thighs as you ran your fingers through his hair, petting down the stray hairs that always seemed to stick up around his face.

“Well, if we’re weak to fire, what actually are our powers and what exactly am I doing here? How long will I be here?” you were looking around the cave, the water placing you in a trance as your eyes focused and unfocused on the shapes beneath it.

“Well, our skin is like that of a fish, of course when we are in our human form it doesn’t look like it or feel like it, but it definitely still is. You will notice that you’re now comforted when you are in the water, in fact if you really need to you can actually manipulate the water, nothing intricate, we can’t make patterns or anything but we can make ripples, waves, if we work together in groups we can even cause tsunamis. The ocean is where we are the strongest. I read a few books that say that if we meet another being, we can give them the ability to breath underwater which is obviously one of our strengths. Fire burns us severely, even the slightest touch will scald our skin and burn us, fire will kill us 3 times faster than it will kill anything else. When we sing, we attract others, they become enchanted by the sounds of our voices and we can lure them in, make them fall in love with us. I’ve done so with many girls, that’s why I have a bit of a reputation,” His voice trailed off at the end, his tone turning into a cheeky, playful tone that had you chuckling slightly. The small, adorable guy who was currently half asleep on your lap did not seem like he could be seducing anyone. His cheeky, lazy smile put doubt into you when I t came to his adorable clingy personality and you were sure that he could be a scary person when needed.

“I highly doubt that you are luring any women in with this clinginess Jimin, plus I haven’t sung a day in my life, nor will I, I sound like a trampled cat when I sing and it really isn’t pleasant,” Your voice was full of laughter and playfulness, mimicking his tone. The fever you had been burning up in had since disappeared and Yoongi explained that it was because he dumped you straight into the water as soon as you got here and you had transformed into your mermaid body, the reason behind the cuts, bruises and scrapes across your legs. You had not remembered anything because apparently it had been excruciating and Jimin convinced Yoongi to erase your memory of the pain.

“Hey! I lure plenty of women in I’ll have you know,” Jimin mumbled. You gazed down at him, a loud laugh escaping your mouth as his cheeks burned bright pink. He was half asleep, a huge smile of his face as your fingers continued carding through your hair.

“Y’know, both of us were left with parent’s that knew what we’d become, they’re humans who come from special families, protectors, they take in orphaned supernatural children and babies. I hated them when I first went there, I was 6, I understood what was going on, I wouldn’t talk to them, I lashed out, I did not want to be there. I wanted to go back to you, I wanted my little sister, I’ve known all these years that I had a sister, that I couldn’t contact her, that there was a little girl out there who needed me and I couldn’t do anything, I didn’t try hard enough, I’m a fai-“

“shut up. Do not talk like that Jimin. You couldn’t have done anything, we were separated for a reason, I didn’t know you existed, I was always protected, I never had problems. I used to be different you know, I used to be cheerful and naïve, I had someone in my life, an older brother figure, he protected me. Sure, he betrayed my trust but because of that I became careful, I stopped trusting people, I can analyse people, I closed myself off. Of course, he came back, and he’s kept his promise to this day, but I think something is weird about him. I think he’s like us, he disappears once a month for like a week or so and then he comes back always in a good mood and happy and he’s really athletic, strangely so, he’s really protective as well,” You were rambling, your brain trying to process that Seokjin may be something other than human. That everyone in your life might be more than human.

“He’s not like us, sounds like a werewolf to me,” Jimin sounded angry, his jaw clenching and unclenching to calm himself down, his fingers gripping his sweatpants.

“No way. You said that werewolves are nasty, evil creatures. Seokjin is lovely, he taught me to ride a bike, he took me to my first swimming lesson, he even spoke to my boyfriend when he embarrassed me and broke up with me in front of the whole school,” Your fingers had stilled in his hair, instead resting them on his forehead. Jimin let out a breathy laugh,

“Then he had an ulterior motive, he must have known about you being a mermaid, there is no way he’d do that purely for care for you. He knows more than he is giving up. Also, let me guess, you never saw that guy ever again?” Jimin was looking up at you, dark brown eyes shimmering, luminescent flecks lighting up his iris.

“Well no, I didn’t actually. That’s not like Seokjin, why would he use me for something like that, I knew him for 18 years, you know, I’ll bet that the years that he was gone was because he was here.” Your words were unsure and Jimin’s eyes were scanning over your face, a small pout set on his lips.

“Y/N, you don’t even believe what is coming out of your mouth right now. Anyway, I am sleepy, and I’d rather not sleep now, I’d like to be asleep and not out and about at night because I do not want an encounter with a vampire thank you very much.” Jimin was stretching his legs, raising himself to his feet, stretching his hand out to help you stand up with him. You stood with a groan, your legs protesting, knees feeling as though they were splitting in half from having been crossed for so long.

“How about I teach you how to change into your mermaid form, I mean, we only have a few hours of day light left and if you turn at night, you become a siren, not a mermaid. I’ve never seen one in person, but I’ve heard many rumours, apparently its not pretty, sorry Y/N.” Jimin had a big grin on his face, his previous radiant, happy attitude coming right back.

“You know what, I’d love that.” You smiled, your eyes looking around the cave, then down at your legs, wiggling your toes, patting the slightly damp floor of the cave with the sole of your foot. Your eyes flitted back up to meet Jimin’s.

“I have no idea how this works,” You chuckled, a nervousness creeping into your belly, he laughed and raised his hands above his head, intertwining his fingers and stretching them high above his head, leaning from side to side and then straight down, his hands touching the floor, his body surprisingly flexible.

“Well, first you’re going to need to be naked, there’s no way you can do it with clothes on. I won’t look, I promise, although, it’s not like I haven’t seen a naked woman before you know, and it’s not weird because all the mermaids have to see each other naked and also you’re my sister so I wont look at you in that way.” Jimin was laughing as he spoke, probably a reaction to the disgusted face you were giving him. You shook your head and pursed your lips.

“Definitely not, you need to close your eyes, then I’ll take my clothes off.” You told him, your voice pointed, echoing against the humid grey walls. He nodded his head and turned around, pulling his sweatpants down and jumping into the water, swimming a few feet away and keeping his back to you. You stood still for a moment, ensuring he was not going to turn around and embarrass you. Once he had been facing away from you for a few moments you began to undo your bikini top. Your brain suddenly remembered the words Yoongi had told you.

“Wait. Yoongi said that when I got here, he put me in the water and I transformed, does that mean that I was naked, and he put me back into my bikini?” You mumbled, cheeks heating up as you gripped the material of your bikini top in your hands. You saw Jimin shrug, his shoulders tucking into his neck as he raised his arms up in the air.

“when I got here, you were dressed but you definitely couldn’t have transformed with your clothes on. That’s one thing that Grandma made sure I never did.” He sounded bored and you quickly pushed your bottoms down your legs, stepping out of them and slowly lowering yourself into the water. You sighed as the pain in your legs seemed to disappear, the water seeping into your wounds as the water sparkled and the cuts, grazes and nicks in your skin seem to vanish slowly.

“erm, what’s happening to my legs?” You mumbled, your jaw hanging low as shock set into your body,

“Oh, well this water has been here for years, it’s connected to the sea of life, who even knows I don’t understand it either, this is the only body of water that does that, even the rest of the sea of life doesn’t do that,” He was smiling, you could tell by his tone. His hands clapped together as he mumbled a small ‘right then’ under his breath.

“okay, you need to picture your tail in your head. Close your eyes and imagine a fish, it is a beautiful, shiny fish, it is sparkling and swimming freely, zooming through the sea, it is happy, content with its life. Feel the water graze over its fins, it is warm, flowing in and out of coral and then, it becomes a human, with a beautiful, long tail.” His words are painting an exact picture into your head. You picture an emerald green fish, the colour of Jimin’s tail with golden colouration around its tail. It swam, shining, weaving between rocks, coral and other large fishes around it. The fish became engulfed by a bright light as a sharp shooting pain engulfed your legs and you could hear a faint voice.

“Keep focused, ignore the pain, focus on the fish,”

The bright light faded into a yellow hue, shortly replaced by a turquoise wave that seemed to break directly into your face before the wave disappeared. Small bubbles spread out in the water, a woman with beautiful green hair had her back to you, golden scales over her hips and waist, a large expanse of her back was clear, beautiful skin, the skin merging with the scales on the small of her back. Your eyes moved down to where her legs should have been, the golden scales faded into a beautiful emerald green, the gold returning down the sides of her beautiful, long tail. The bottom fin of her tail was a completely translucent golden colour, shimmering inside of the water. The fin was long, at least a half the size of the tail, split down the middle, two sides forming two curved, soft scalene triangle shapes that fluttered inside the water.

“you did it!”

Your eyes shot open, staring ahead of you. You felt the same, completely normal.

“No, I didn’t. I feel the same,” You mumbled, disappointment sinking into your features. Jimin laughed and shook his head, flicking his emerald tail as he swam towards you, reaching his hands out to grab at your feet, your arms stretch out behind you to balance yourself on the rocks behind you. His eyes glistened a brilliant green as they stared down at your tail.

Tail.

“oh my god! I did it!” You were screaming, the noise bouncing off the walls, a musical symphony piercing your ears, your eyes widened as you heard it, sending chills down yours and Jimin’s spines. You looked down at yourself, the beautiful gold and emerald tail you had seen in your mind was yours. Your chest was a translucent, shiny golden colour, it wasn’t scaly like your tail but more like the skin of a frog, glistening and smooth, your breasts completely covered in the golden colouring.

“Wow, this is amazing,” You laughed, a loud, airy laugh as you wiggled your tail out of Jimin’s grasp

[poc-movie-supremacy]

Has life been good to you?

A.N.: This is a future!fic, westallen are elderly people in this story. It’s date night for them. If you have any constructive criticism, tell me, but don’t be mean about it, please. I hope you enjoy this fic! (also I don’t own any characters or setting related to the flash tv show or the comics)  

_______

Her joints ache as she puts away a finished book. She slowly walks around the room, searching for her tablet to play a card game. The room is quiet, lit with the glow of the sun. It filtered through the redwoods surrounding their cabin. This cabin used to belong to Barry’s father, but after the kids proved fine on their own and no one needed the Flash, they retired to it. It was quaint and quiet. It was odd at first, but then it became a gift. She felt more relaxed than she has in a while. Life never became lonely either, not with the ability to portal anywhere. 

Iris found her crossword puzzle and settled down in the big red armchair in the living room. Today is date ‘night’. Well more like date afternoon, Iris is almost 75 she’s going to bed earlier and earlier. Barry had gone out to the store to buy some forgotten stuff for dinner. He was still a lot more nimble than Iris in his old age. On good days he could carry her to their bed, but usually he just threaded his arm through hers and walked her to bed. She was grateful for it, Iris underestimated Grandma Esther when she was watching Iris. Doing most things in her old age was a lot harder than it seems. Barry helped her a lot though which she thinks he likes. It makes him feel needed, she figures. 

After about an hour Iris heard the door opening. “Hey honey I’m back.” Barry entered the house carrying two paper bags filled with stuff.

Iris put down her crossword, “Hi baby, do you need any help with the groceries?” 

“No, I just needed these things.” Barry peaked his head over the wall to give her a sheepish smile. Iris arched her eyebrow curiously at her husband. “I may have gotten more than I needed.” 

Iris gave her husband a look but smiled.  “It’s alright, we probably don’t have to go shopping soon then.”

Barry finished putting away all the groceries. He sped over to his wife. “I don’t think so. I bought wine and mint chocolate chip ice cream.”

Iris’s eyes lit up. “You bought wine and mint chocolate chip! Oh, can we have it for dinner?” Iris squeezed her husband’s hand and pouted at him.

Barry looked at Iris fondly. His free hand swept a loose gray curl behind her ear. “Yeah, but for dessert. I’m making lasagna for us.”

“Need any help?”  

“No it’s ok. Lasagna’s easy to make.” Barry also didn’t want Iris in the kitchen since she couldn’t cook that well even after all this time. She glared at him but stayed where she was. Barry leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. 

After turning on the music, Barry bustled around the kitchen preparing the lasagna. Iris hummed softly to the music as she told her husband a bizarre story that apparently happened to their granddaughter. She had dressed up as a chicken in an attempt to vandalize her rival school, but when she heard of a man intent on ill will towards old ladies, she, in a chicken costume, took her friends, also in chicken costumes, took him down. Thankfully they beat him, sustaining only minor injuries. 

Barry’s eyebrows shot up. “Her first time fighting crime was in a chicken suit?” 

Iris laughed out loud. “Mhm. Joey and Melanie were not amused when they found out. Joey called me almost raving about how irresponsible those kids were. It took a lot of effort to not laugh. Once he realized what he was complaining about he apologized, to both of us.” 

Barry chuckled. “Moments like these remind me why Joe said he couldn’t wait for us to have kids. I’m glad they’re ok. You think Cisco’s fuming that his great-niece went out super-heroing and not only did she not ask him for a suit, but the suit she did go out in was a chicken suit?” 

“Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised. It happened last week I think, so we’ll be hearing about this soon.” Iris said.  

Barry's eyes sparkled in mirth as layering the lasagna. Iris shivered and slowly walked around the house closing the windows. “Ok I put it in the oven, in 45 minutes we will be having lasagna.” Barry ambled over to his wife who had just closed the kitchen window. He wrapped his long frame entirely around her. Old age has made them shorter, but he still had a good foot on her. Iris buried her face into his chest and returned the hug.

“Still cold?” Barry whispered.

“Mmm not anymore.”

“Sorry.”

Iris looked up at him crosseyed and pouting. Barry giggled at his cute wife, it did not help change her facial features. She stuck her tongue out at him then continued cuddling her husband. Barry looked at his wife dreamily and smiled dopily. He looked at her like that so much his friends nicknamed his dopey. (Harry got nicknamed grumpy. He wasn’t amused) Barry didn’t mind the nickname though, it was true. He was in love with her, has been since they were kids and she offered him cookies on the playground. Now 68 years later, they survived every damn thing no one could think of, had kids and grandkids, and got married. The song that came on made Iris’s smile stretched from ear to ear. “Do you remember this?” A thousand years was playing on the tablet. 

“That movie was horrible.” Barry groaned. He remembered that day like it was yesterday even though it had been decades ago. It had been a tiring day fighting crime, so they decided to rewind by watching a movie. Iris got them a ton of snacks then Barry curled up into her side. She mindlessly ran her fingers through her hair while she looked for a rom-com to watch. By accident, they watched the fifth twilight movie. It definitely wasn’t their favorite and Cicso definitely didn’t approve of their choice, but the song, a thousand years, was the one thing they liked from that movie. 

“It wasn’t the best no, but the song, this song, was really beautiful,” Iris remarks. Barry is struck with a good idea. He reluctantly pulls a little away from the hug to put them in a waltz form (even though the song wasn’t a waltz to their knowledge). 

He quietly sings Christina Perry's song to Iris. It’s one of her favourite things about him. They slowly sway side to side as they dance in the kitchen. He spins her around and kisses her temple. When the lyrics, time stand still, come up Barry flashes them into flashtime. He cupped her face and kissed her softly. When they stopped, he rested his forehead against hers. She happily sighed, eyes closed and smiling. She felt lucky that they were able to be together this long. She remembers thinking that he was going to die in the future, when she was going to die, and she counts her blessings that neither of those futures came true. 

“I love you.” He whispers, and he looks at her like she hung the freaking moon. Her hands softly fiddle with his thick red sweater with the gold trim. (It was a gift from Kara)

“I love you.” She adores him, she adores everything he does for her, she wonders if she has repaid the favor. 

“You’re gorgeous. You get more beautiful with every passing day.”

“Every hour every minute?” Iris asks cheekily. He laughs and twirls her. She thinks it’s the loveliest sound in the world. 

“Every hour every minute and then some. You are an angel, Iris West-Allen, and I am lucky to have you.” He’s starting to sweat. Using his powers drains him more quickly than it used to. He doesn’t want her to notice, but she does. 

“I am lucky to have you, Bar.” Her voice is quieter when she says this next part. “It’s ok, baby, take us out of flashtime, you’re tired.”

Even though he knows he should, he still tries to argue with her. “No, I’m ok Iris,” 

She gives him an unimpressed look. Some things never change. Barry yields to her good judgement pretty quickly. Now they can hear the rustle of the trees and music from the tablet. Iris leads Barry to the couch and she goes to get some milk and a power bar.

“The lasagna will be done in 25 minutes.” Iris handed him the powerbar and glass of milk. Barry took the milk from her and put it on the nightstand. He pulled Iris to his side and took a bite out of his bar. She rested her head atop his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was it’s usual quick pace which she found comforting. Barry ran his finger through her hair methodically. His thumb started to caress an old scar on her hairline. 

“Do you ever miss when we used to be heroes, out on the streets catching criminals, helping people?”

“We still do, help people I mean. Playing card games with Cynthia, baking with Kara, trading books with Diggle, meditating with Wally, it keeps us all sane. As for the first part, it was a thrilling life with a lot of rewards, but it wasn’t the safest life. You know we’re lucky to have lived so long.” The green arrow mask on the mantle and other knick-knacks from other dead heroes was a big reminder of that. 

“Time has been good to us,” Barry remarks. He doesn’t say that not everyone has been so lucky, but she knows. He knows she knows when she curls closer to him.

“Time, the speed force, life’s been good to us all, let’s hope the next generation has the same luck.”

“Let’s hope.” The rest of the night was relatively quiet. The lasagna was delicious and completely gone by the end of the night. The wine and ice cream made them a little more giggly than before. After two glasses each they called it quits and headed to bed. After readying themselves for bed, Barry and Iris curled themselves up in bed. A small part of her head was the only thing peeking out from under the mattress, resting by his chest. Blankets were piled on top of her. Barry squeezed Iris’s hand.

“Goodnight, my love.” As he was about to turn off the light he saw a photo on his nightstand. It was a photo of them, their parents, their kids, their spouses, and their grandkids. The other photos around them were of their friends throughout the years. Time has been good to me, he muses. Turning off the light cocooning himself around his wife, they drift off to sleep, at peace.

[sophiainspace]

Coldwestallen + empty house + feels

Len’s been sitting on the low wall across the street from the house on Mendoza Drive for an hour now.

He really doesn’t know what prompted this little… visit. Well, yeah, he knows. He’s just surprised it brought him here. God knows he’s learned, one way or another over the years, that the past should be left where it is. Digging up graves does no one any good.

And yet.

There’s a shimmer of air behind him, a crackle of lightning that he feels more than sees. He knows what that brings, after all these years, and it never fails to make him smile. “Hello, Barry.”

He doesn’t look back, but a warm body sits down next to him. He’s so close Len can feel the warmth radiating off him - always a few degrees warmer than mere mortals - but very obviously not touching Len. 

“We were worried,” Barry says, as though he’s choosing his words very carefully.   

“Don’t be,” Len counters, his eyes still fixed on the house opposite. “I’m fine. I’m not sad. I just remembered the date, and started… thinking.”

Barry shuffles next to Len. “Anniversaries are always weird for me.” 

Len doesn’t answer. He just nods at the house. “It’s empty now, you know.” Barry doesn’t ask why, but Len keeps talking anyway. “After my grandfather died, dear old Dad kept it - rented it out. Was the only thing keeping us fed, some weeks. Somehow it was never claimed by the state when he went to prison. Found out after I shot an icicle through his chest that he didn’t have a will - which left it to me. Along with my childhood home…” He grimaces. No doubt Barry can work out all on his own why he’s left that one well enough alone. Both houses sit empty now, although Len had enough respect for his grandfather to have this house cleared out. He hasn’t been anywhere near the one on Handley Avenue. It can rot, for all he cares.

“So,” says another voice behind him, and this time he is surprised, turning around to look at her. “Why are you just sitting out here?” She comes up behind him, warm arms snaking around him, bold where Barry is reticent. He’s tempted to close his eyes and lean back into her, let her hold him up and keep him going, but she’s done that for enough people - and it’s not his way.

So he just shrugs against her. “Don’t know.” 

Standing behind him while he’s sitting down, Iris is tall enough to drop her chin on the top of his head. It makes him smile into the darkness ahead of him. “When I was little,” she says, her voice sliding into a warm storytelling tone, “Grandma Esther used to make the best food.” She snorts. “At least, that’s how I remember it, but then I was pretty young when she passed. Dad claims most of her stuff was inedible.” Barry chuckles beside him. “She had these brownies,” Iris goes on, a dreamy, nostalgic note entering her voice. "If heaven exists, I’ll get to eat nothing but those for eternity. I don’t remember her much, but I do remember things like that. And Dad tries to keep those memories alive with the food, you know?” 

Len sees her poke Barry, who turns to look up at her. “Your turn,” she says.

Barry frowns. “I don’t remember my grandparents.” 

Iris raises a sarcastic eyebrow. “What - your parents never fed you?”

He laughs, his eyes getting a faraway look. “Oh god, yeah. You remember the mac and cheese?”

“I do,” she replies fondly.

“Mom made it when I was sad.” He glances at Len. “For a while after she died, I wouldn’t eat anything, so Joe learned to make her recipe. Sweet of him. It was close, but… not quite the same.” Barry’s smile isn’t sad. It’s wistful, as though he’s learned that memories are rare treasures like the food they’ve been talking about, to be savoured and shared. Len isn’t sure he quite gets that.

They’re waiting for Len to say something. To tell a fond childhood story to echo theirs. He looks up to find his hand is running back and forth along the textured surface of the wall he’s sitting on, and coughs. “He died a long time ago.”

“I hear that doesn’t always help,” Barry says almost cheerfully, which nearly makes Len laugh - he swallows it at the last moment. Seems inappropriate, though he’s not sure why. His grandfather did nothing but laugh. The little house in front of him was always full of laughter. It was the most wonderful contrast with Len’s own home that sometimes he would walk the two miles from Lewis’s house to his grandfather’s just so he’d be somewhere where he wasn’t afraid to laugh out loud. Where he wasn’t afraid, period. Where there was happy chatter, and food on the table. Like…

“Ice cream.” 

Iris leans around to look at him. “Hmm?”

Len smiles, kicking the wall beneath him like he’s eight years old again. “He drove an ice cream truck. There was always a lot of ice cream around.” He coughs again. “It was… nice.”

Barry looks behind him at Iris. “It’s a start,” he says.

“It is,” Iris agrees, her arms tightening around Len. 

He has no idea why they’re being weird, although he’s probably being a little odd himself. He stands, dusting himself down where crap from the wall has got all over him. “Well, come on then,” he says. There’s stunned silence on either side of him, and he turns around to raise an eyebrow at Iris. “If you want to get me talking, you’re going to have to give me something to work with.” He pulls out the key to the house. “Plenty of stories in there.”

Iris steps around to his right, taking his arm. “Lead the way.” Barry smiles at him as he takes his other arm.

They go into his grandfather’s house together.

[allthephils]

Repose

Chapter 16

Read on AO3

Rated M (adult themes, keeping beauty au) word count: 3014/ 45,687

“Phil.” Louise had a hand on Phil’s shoulder. He looked up from his phone to see the lone guard had turned and was walking directly toward him. Before he had a chance to think, there was a firm grip on his upper arm. His phone was pulled out of his hand and Dennis pulled the metal grate aside. Two additional guards had come out of nowhere and they now flanked the gate.

“Mr. Lester, I’ll need you to come with me. I’d prefer we do this quietly and without incident but that is entirely up to you.”

Phil looked to Louise and back to the guard. He nodded his understanding and Louise watched as he was led through the gate and around the corner.

“Where are we going?” Phil and the guard weaved their way through the halls. He had no idea where he was or how to find his way out.

The guard did not slow his pace. “Your presence has been requested by members of the family.”

“Requested? That sounds like I have a choice. Do I have a choice?”

The guard did not respond but advanced quickly to a set of double doors, swiping his badge, and holding one side open for Phil to enter. The room looked just like the one Phil had met Prince Walter in, opulent but practical. Someone sat on the sofa alone, it was Adrian.

Phil rushed forward, glad to see him, but Adrian didn’t look up. Pulling a chair away from the wall, Phil sat down in front of Adrian.

“Hey, are you ok?” Phil asked, putting a hand to Adrian's shoulder but quickly pulling it back again. Tension hung between them but whether it was fear, anger, or something else entirely, Phil couldn’t tell.

After what seem like ages, Adrian spoke up. “What did you do, Phil?”

“Adrian, I…”

Adrian held up a finger, silencing Phil, just like Phil had seen Walter do to him. The thought of Adrian taking after his father, stuck here without Dan’s balancing influence, left a sour taste in Phil’s mouth. He waited for Adrian to speak, aware as always of how much was at stake for the young man in front of him.

“So, you won’t kiss him, but you’ll out him? To millions of people. Without his consent. Is that right, Phil?” Adrian finally looked Phil in the eye. “Did you think about how that might put him in danger, put you in danger? And what about us? What about me, Phil? And my mother?”

“Adrian, I’m sorry.” Phil did his best to sound composed, like he wasn’t in a complete and utter panic. “I wasn’t given any notice, I was just left, shut out. I have no way to contact any of you, no way of knowing if he’s ok.” Phil’s composure began to crack. “ I had to do something so I used the only tool I have. Dennis looks so worried. He won’t look me in the eye. God, Adrian, I wasn’t thinking of you, any of you, or England or me or anything but Dan and if he’s even fucking alive.” Phil let his head drop into his hands. He felt a hand grip his arm, and then Adrian was wrapped around him, crying into Phil’s shoulder. Phil sat up and pulled him in for a proper hug.

“Adrian, listen to me. I’m really sorry I didn’t consider you in all this but you must know that Dan was only closeted because of your father. He talked about coming out all the time. I know that was years ago, maybe I had no right, but here we are.”

Adrian pulled back. He looked so young now that his guard was down, tear stained and clearly terrified of what’s to come. “He did come out.” He said.

“What? What are you talking about?” Phil asked, confused.

“That Christmas, the year you guys met. He told me first, I had my suspicions, but he told me officially. He told me all about you and how much you meant to him. He told me I’d be a great king and that he’d always be here for me. He was scared but he was so happy, Phil. He loved you, loves you, so much.”

“I don’t understand. That’s, that’s when I lost him. He left me, Adrian.”

“It’s my fault.” Adrian’s voice was clear, resolved.

“What’s your fault?” Phil asked.

“All of it.” Adrian shook his head and tucked his feet under him. “Jesus, Phil, I was so jealous. I couldn’t just be happy for him.”

“Adrian, you were a kid.”

“You should have seen him. He stood up at the table, like he had a toast to give. It was the night before Christmas Eve. Iris was there and my Aunts, a cousin. I could never do anything like that.”

Phil didn’t know how to process this, he had no idea. “Iris was there?”

“Yeah, he must have told her already because she just sipped her wine and kept her head down.” Adrian continued. “But my father, he lost it. He went on and on about how he’s ruining Iris’ life, like she has no value outside of marrying royal. He talked about her family, her sex life. Right in front of her, in front of everyone. The things he said, Phil, it was awful. She wasn’t having it, she stood up for Dan, for herself, said she’d be just fine. Basically told Walter to fuck off. I think Dan was ready to be attacked but he hadn’t expected dad to go after Iris like that.”

“Adrian, why didn’t Dan tell me any of this?”

“I don’t know Phil, he was really shaken. And it just got worse. Dad started threatening you, saying he knows who you are, where you’re from, your family. He could ruin you, Phil. He could spin this whole thing to look like you’re some kind of stalker, or worse.”

“He threatened my family?” Fear and anger buzzed in Phil’s mind. He couldn’t go back now. He couldn’t undo what he’d done and he wasn’t sure he wanted to but he’d never considered the possibility that Dan left him to protect him. It was out there now, in the open. He had gotten ahead of Walter without realizing how crucial that step might be. He wanted to call his mum, to explain, to warn her. His family had to have seen the story. They must be so worried. All the thinking he hadn’t done rushed over him in a wave of potential implications and consequences. “Of course he did, and of course Dan retreated. He knows what your father is capable of.”

“That wasn’t it, Phil. That was just the beginning and Dan held his ground. Nothing angers my father more than challenging his authority. Dan stood up to him, he threatened to go over his head.”

“To the queen.”

Adrian nodded. “My father does not like to be reminded who is really in power. He was quiet all Christmas Eve, right up to midnight mass, but then it started. When were all heading back to our rooms. He laid into me, berated me. He had us stay behind while mum and grandma went off to bed. He pushed me to the ground, told me I was nothing, that I’d always be nothing.” Adrian’s chewed on the cuff of his jumper, his eyes shone wet as he spoke through shaky breaths. “He said if I was going to be king, he’d have to mold me into someone who could carry on his legacy. He said I’m weak, he promised to break me.”

“My god, Adrian.” Phil didn’t know what to say. He knew Walter could come in at any moment.

“Dan finally got between us. He helped me up and walked me to my room. He slept on my floor that night and every night for weeks. He didn’t leave my side except when he…”

“When he came to see me.” Phil said, suddenly aware of the heartbreak that he had lived with then, and the shadow it left behind, dull and dusty, but always there. He dropped his head and let it all sink in.

_______________________________________________________

The door slammed behind Phil as he rushed in out of the cold. He’d been exploring with Martyn and Cornelia but decided to take the third wheel out of the equation. Watching his brother and the love of his life walk hand in hand in the snow was beautiful but just a little too much. He threw off his gloves and scarf and hung his coat on a hook, then scurried to sit right in front of the roaring fire. Holding up his phone, he looked straight into the camera, love on his mind, hoping it would come through his eyes in the photo. He’d already sent Dan a photo of his breakfast and a shot of the snow angel he made. He hadn’t heard back but he understood why. He hit send on the selfie and wiggled back toward the fire, thawing out his frozen bum. Just a little more time in front of the fire alone, a little more time to just imagine his future with Dan. Soon, his mum would want help in the kitchen or his dad would start in with his stories, and there was wrapping to do. Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve.

His mind wandered to New Year’s kisses and all the favors he could ask Dan for on his birthday. He dreamt of their first Valentine’s day and Easter garden parties at Buckingham Palace. That last one gave him pause but before he could think too deeply, his back pocket vibrated.

Dan: Your nose is all red. I wish I was there to keep you warm.

Phil: I wish you were here too. This fire can’t compare.

Dan: You’re so pretty, Lester.

Phil: You’re the pretty one, can I see?

Dan: I’m not really supposed to do that.

Phil: I know. But since when do you follow the rules?

Dan: Good point.

A few seconds passed and Phil tapped the small photo that arrived. Dan’s face filled his screen. He was lying on a pillow and had held the phone up above him so Phil could just see his face and neck. His eyes were narrowed, head tipped back, and his bottom lip was between his teeth.

Phil: Woof.

Dan: LOLCI

Phil: ??

Dan: Laughing out loud, crying inside

Phil: :( me too

Another photo came though. Dan was in the same spot but he wore a genuine, gentle smile and his brown eyes twinkled like they did when Phil laughed at one of his jokes.

Phil: You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Dan: Stop. My heart hurts. I miss you so much.

Phil: I only speak the truth.

Dan: I have to go dress for dinner.

Phil: Ok. Text me later?

Dan: The moment I escape. I love you.

He didn’t text later. Phil had wrapped all his gifts and dried the dishes that his mum had washed. His dad had fallen asleep in his recliner and Martyn and Cornelia had long since disappeared up the stairs. Catherine sat by the fire with a cup of tea, finally relaxing after a day of festive preparations. She smiled at Phil as he leaned in for a goodnight kiss to the cheek. Phil hurried upstairs and to his room, stopping in to brush his teeth. He pulled off his clothes and slipped on flannel pajamas, then crawled into bed. Phil had no idea how late these multi course royal dinners went. It was only 11, maybe Dan hadn’t gone to bed yet. He knew this could happen. He was lucky to connect with Dan at all when he was with his family. Still though, it was lonely not having that small reminder that Dan was thinking of him. He stayed up as long as he could but it had been a long day and sleep finally won out.

Everyone was already around the kitchen table when Phil stumbled in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His dad was dishing out huge portions of food; eggs, sausages, beans, the works. Fresh scones steamed on the table alongside clotted cream and lemon curd. This should be heaven for Phil. He sat and poked at the food on his plate, pushing his eggs from side to side. His phone sat silent where he had set it, and he watched it do nothing as he sipped his coffee. The whole family was quiet in the face of Phil’s conspicuous lack of appetite. Before they could ask what was wrong, he pushed back from the table, grabbed his phone and headed back toward the stairs.

“I’m not feeling well, I’m gonna go back to bed for a little bit.” He said to no one in particular as he made his way up the stairs.

He typed out a message for Dan, Happy Christmas Eve. Curling up on his bed, he told himself he’d have to get used to this and hit send.

A knock on his door woke him up. He hadn’t actually intended to fall asleep and disorientation had him wondering what day it was.

“Come in.” Phil sat up and rubbed his eyes, then replaced his glasses and looked up at Cornelia.

“Hey you, feeling any better? Lester Christmas Eve can’t get started without you.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sorry. What time is it?”

“Only noon. It’s all good. Come down though, we are about make a snowman.” Cornelia had sat down on Phil’s bed and placed a hand on his knee. She looked at him with so much understanding and love, he almost told her everything right then and there. Fortunately, his phone lit up and distracted them both.

“You’re blowin’ up.” Cornelia said, winking. “See you in a few.”

The phone screen was filled with notifications, 6 texts from Dan. Phil breathed a sigh of relief and read.

Dan: I’m sorry I couldn’t get away last night.

Dan: I wish I was there with your family instead of here with mine

Dan: I wish I was there with you

Dan: Sure is chilly in this castle

Dan: Please don’t be mad.

Dan: I really need to hear your voice.

Phil tapped Dan’s photo and hit call. Dan answered with a very quiet hello.

“I’m not mad. I was just worried and I miss you. I wish you were here too. I can’t really chat though, I have to go make a snowman with my family.”

“That sounds so nice.” Dan sounded far away, because he was talking from his bed in his cavernous room with the vaulted ceiling, but also because he spoke in a low near whisper, hesitating before every thought. “My family are currently all in separate rooms, silently disliking each other. Phil, you know I love you right?”

“Of course, I do. You never let me forget.” Phil said, though the question was odd.

“I’d do anything for you, Phil. You are the best thing in my life.”

“You’re the best thing in my life too. Dan, is something wrong?”

There was silence on the line for a bit. Phil knew Dan was still there, he could hear him breathing and he thought he wouldn’t mind listening to that sweet sound a while longer.

“But I’m not.” Dan finally said.

“You’re not what?”

“The best thing in your life. You have a wonderful family who love and accept you. You have real true friends. You have a life that you chose, that you built.” Dan spoke with conviction, presenting his case. “You were fine before you met me and you’d be fine without me.”

“Without you?” Phil spoke up. “I wouldn’t. Not now that I have you.”

Dan talked right over him, “You’re kind and strong and just good and I’m chaos.”

“Dan, you're scaring me a little. Please tell me what’s going on.”

Dan laughed a little under his breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I have to sit around this huge table again tonight, too big to have a conversation with anyone but the person next to me. I’ll be served in abject silence by wonderful people I have known since I was a baby. My parents won’t even speak except to pray thanks for the meal. This place makes me emo, I guess.”

“Can we talk later? After my family stuff is done. Like 10 or 11 maybe?”

Dan sighs, “We have late supper and then midnight mass.”

“Oh.”

“It’s ok, go make snowmen. Have the best time ever for both of us.” Dan’s trying to sound like he’s ok now, but Phil can hear worry and melancholy.

“Ok, babe. Happy Christmas.”

Bouts of sadness and frustration aren’t a new thing from Dan and Phil isn’t surprised that being with his family would bring that out. Still, he wants to hold Dan and make him feel safe and loved. He wants to make him forget everything that isn’t the two of them, drown out all the voices that say what they have isn’t ok, pretend they aren’t a secret.

Christmas Eve was always cakes and snowmen and movies and opening one gift before bed. Soon, Phil was immersed in traditions and family and any worry slipped to background. His gift was a handmade sweater from his aunt. He loved it and vowed to wear it fo Christmas Day. There was talk of Dan. Everyone wanted to hear how they met, how it was going. He could mostly tell the truth. They met in the bakery, they went to a party for their first date and hung out by the food, Phil got too drunk and Dan tucked him in. He told them all about candlelight pizza dinners and galaxy cakes and breakfast in bed.

“You sound perfect for eachother.” Catherine had said, pulling Phil in to kiss his head. Then, “Maybe we can all be together on your birthday.”

He smiled and nodded, allowing himself the fantasy, just for now, just for Christmas.

[emmaspirate]

If you could take a stab at some Joe &a Barry fic that would be amazing. I love their relationship and I'll never tire of watching or reading them together (paternal not romantic hahaha)

sorry this took 8 years to get to you and i lowkey don’t know what this is but I kinda just went for it so sorry if it sucks… also lololol thank you for specifying paternal. this contains light west-allen so if that’s not your jam i apologize just imagine whoever else you want. this also wasn’t beta’d so sorry for spelling errors :)

Barry Allen was not supposed to live with them.

Not permanently anyways. Joe West wasn’t entirely sure what possessed him to bring the small, sniffling boy back to his house in the first place. He’d known the Allens for some time, but their strongest connection was the fact that Barry and Iris were best friends. Maybe that was what made him do it; he knew it was what his daughter would want. Whatever the reason, when the foster worker had come to take Barry from his house and the boy had seemingly instinctively looked at him, eyes as wide as saucers, Joe had blurted “that won’t be necessary.”

His initial plan was just to look after him until a more permanent foster family could be found. He dreaded the thought of Barry being put in a group home. Maybe he also felt some sort of loyalty to Nora Allen, who he just did not believe was killed by her husband in spite of the evidence.

That was his initial plan, anyways, but Joe West knew that the best way to make God laugh was to tell him your plans.

None of the foster families were right, and Joe was determined to find the best. Some couples seemed downright negligent, others just gave him weird vibes. He probably should’ve sensed what was going on when he turned down a couple for smiling too much. Miraculously he remained as aloof as ever even as Barry slowly integrated himself into their lives. Iris was thrilled that she finally had someone to hang out with in the house besides her dad, and he didn’t miss the besotted looks Barry shot his daughter. For his part, Joe found that he quite liked having another man around the house, and while he never let himself say the word “son” out loud he’d caught himself thinking it a few times.

Still, it would take his loud-mouthed Aunt Edith to finally open his eyes.

Aunt Edith was from a different generation. At least that’s what Joe always had to remind himself of whenever she spoke. She was a conservative woman. The kind of woman who insisted he remarry about four months after Francine left because Iris needed a mother figure. That conversation had been the last one he’d had with her. Quite frankly, he wasn’t expecting to run into her at the West family barbecue, but she was a member of the West family so it couldn’t be helped.

“Joseph,” she acknowledged with a bow of her head.

Joe nodded, hoping she’d leave. “Aunt Edith.”

“I have been informed that you have taken in the Allen boy.”

His eyes flickered over to the table where Barry and Iris were sitting and digging into a serving of Grandma Esther’s mac and cheese. A small smile formed as he replied, “Yes I have.”

Aunt Edith made a disapproving clucking noise. “I hope that situation is only temporary.”

Joe started. “What is that supposed to mean?”

The older woman looked at him as though it should be obvious. “Well, for starters he just does not belong in this sort of environment, he does not belong in this family.”

Joe didn’t know what she had meant with that comment, but he had a few guesses.

She kept barreling on, clearly not realizing her nephew’s growing anger. “And secondly, do you really want your name attached to the Allen’s? Given what that man did to his wife I would think-”

Joe cut her off then, having heard more than enough. HIs voice came out harsh but he made sure to lower it so no one, namely Barry, would overhear. “Henry Allen did not murder his wife, and even if he had Barry had nothing to do with any of that.”

“You best watch your tone!” It was clear she was trying to come off as an authority figure, but she was also evidently not used to being talked to like that.

Joe laughed, a bitter sound. “I’m a grown ass man I can use whatever tone I want. You best not talk about things that you know nothing about. Barry is a member of our family. He’s living with us permanently.”

“You can’t be serious?!”  She sputtered.

Joe got right up in her face, relishing in the moment. “As a heart attack.”

She scurried off then and Joe imagined that if she had a tail it would be tucked between her legs. He expected to regret what he’d said because of course he couldn’t keep Barry. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was absolutely no other option. Barry living with them was the right thing, the natural thing, at this point.

Joe had wanted the best for Barry.

He’d found it.

The first time Barry had referred to Joe as his father had not been under the circumstances either had been expecting.

Joe never pushed it, not feeling that it was his place. He constantly called Barry his son, and had even heard Barry refer to himself as such to others. Still, Barry never called Joe “dad” and the older man could understand why. The boy probably saw it as a betrayal to Henry, who was still serving his sentence at Iron Heights. Joe never wanted to pressure Barry into anything and it really didn’t bother him all that much, so he never thought much of it.

There had been a few near slip-ups though.

It often happened when they were rushing around, almost like it was instinctual. Joe would be handing him his lunch or teasing him and Barry would let out a “Thanks, Dad!” or “Stop, Dad!” He’d always stop himself before he could finish the word though, so it came out more of “Daaaa-J-Joe! Thanks, Joe! Thanks so much, Joe!” Then the kid would do something stupid like salute him or run into the door frame all the while turning beet red.

So that’s the way it went, and Joe didn’t mind.

At least he didn’t think he did.

Joe and Iris were currently waiting for Barry in the high school auditorium. He’d just finished giving a presentation on some chemistry thing that had gone right over both Iris and Joe’s heads. That’s probably why Barry hadn’t wanted either of them to come. In fact, Joe wouldn’t have even known it was going to happen unless Iris had spilled the beans. Barry had seemed surprised she’d even known. When she’d told him that “of course she knew, it was important to him,” he’d looked at her like he was hopelessly in love and Joe wondered if he could be more obvious.

So here they were, surrounded by kids who were probably smarter than him and a bunch of posters that said things he could barely read let alone comprehend. He was just about to suggest that maybe they wait for Barry outside, feeling a touch out of place, when his son’s grinning face came into view.

“Guys! Thanks for coming!” Barry engulfed Joe in a bone-crushing hug and then moved to Iris. It was always amusing to watch the two of them embrace. She was so much shorter, and Barry had barely figured out how to control his long limbs.

“Yeah, of course! We understood none of it, but I stayed awake the whole time,” Iris replied in a chipper voice. Joe could see some of the boys, most decked out in glasses and Star Trek t-shirts, eyeing his daughter.

Barry laughed. “Well it means a lot to me that you two were here.” Barry’s eyes moved to look behind them. “Speaking of, Joe there’s someone I want to introduce you to.” Barry didn’t wait before raising his hand and flagging someone down.

Joe turned to see a man a few years older than him approaching them. It was very evident that the guy was a teacher of some sort, and, judging by the lab coat, a science teacher.

“An excellent presentation, Mr. Allen,” the man compliment when he reached them.

Barry gave him a megawatt smile, and Joe was glad he’d splurged for braces for his kids. “Thank you, Dr. Lee. This is Iris West,” he said, gesturing to the woman standing at his side.

Iris stuck her hand out. “Hi Dr. Lee. I was in your General Chemistry class last year.”

Dr. Lee nodded in recognition. “Ah yes, Miss West! The one who would always fall asleep in class.”

Iris was unfazed despite Barry’s blush and Joe’s disapproving glare. “It was an early class!”

“And you somehow still finished with an A,” Dr. Lee chuckled.

“Yeah, well, I had an excellent tutor,” she replied as she hip-checked Barry, which only made him blush more.

Joe had no doubt that was part of the reason that Iris had finished with such a high grade. He distinctly remembered Barry staying up until 5 in the morning helping Iris study the night before her Chem final. That boy had always been powerless to deny her anything. Still, Iris’ brain could not be underestimated. She had the ability to retain anything, which meant she was absolutely impossible to argue with. He remembered one time when she…

He was so distracted by his current train of thought that he nearly missed Barry saying, “And this is my dad, Joe.”

Joe did his best to remain nonchalant. To keep his expression neutral. He really didn’t want to make this a big deal for fear that Barry would never again call him that.  It wouldn’t do to get misty-eyed or choked up or anything stupid. He’d said it so casually too, like it was a regular thing. Like he always called him dad. Like it was second nature.

So he couldn’t quite help it when his “nice to meet you,” came out a little bit strained. If anyone noticed, they didn’t say anything. Joe reached out to shake Dr. Lee’s hand and the man eagerly accepted.

“You should be very proud,” Dr. Lee said, nothing but sincerity in his voice. “Your son has a very bright future.”

Joe turned to look at Barry who was giving him a sheepish grin like he was asking if it was okay that he said that. He couldn’t help but nod slightly as he said, “He does.”

Barry was as transparent as a piece of paper.

Joe was doing his best to pretend like he didn’t know exactly why Barry had asked him to meet at the house and insisted it just be the two of them. He was doing his best to not pay attention to Barry fumbling over his words and knocking over beers all through dinner. He was doing his best to appear confused when Barry told him he needed to talk to him about something serious.

“What’s up, Bear?” He asked, maybe overplaying it a bit.

Barry’s knee was bouncing up and down so aggressively he was shaking the table. “I, um, it’s about Iris?”

Joe cocked his head. “Was that a question or are you telling me?”

“Telling you. I’m telling you. I wanted to talk to you about Iris, um, specifically, Iris and me.” Barry took a quick sip of his beer, steeling himself.

He almost felt bad for the kid. Joe was almost certain Barry was about to give himself an ulcer trying to get the words out. There was a small part of him, however, that wanted Barry to suffer just a little bit. “What about you and Iris?”

Barry sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “She and I, all of us, we’ve been through a lot these past few months. That led me to make some, uh, questionable decisions, namely my proposal.”

“Ah.”

The younger man winced. “Yeah. I’m going to regret the way that went down for the rest of my life, but I’ll never regret doing it.” Barry leaned forward, nerves seeming to dissipate momentarily. “I want to marry Iris, Joe. I want to marry her more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire life. I want to do it right this time. I should’ve asked you the first time and I’m sorry that I didn’t.” He was beginning to babble now and Joe almost cut him off because he knew his answer, but curiosity stopped him. “I’m asking now though. Not for permission, because she’s more than capable of making that decision herself and she’d kick both our asses for doubting that. I guess I just wanted to know if you think that I’m, um, if I’m worthy. Worthy of her? Worthy of joining your family?”

Of all the things he could’ve said, Joe would’ve never expected that. “Barry you are family.”

Barry ran a hand through his hair in agitation, a habit he’d picked up as a teen. “I know that. You, Wally, and Iris have always been my family, you always will be. I don’t know, this just feels different. If Iris marries me, she’ll become an Allen, but I’ll also become a West. That’s not a small task, Joe. I mean look at Iris! She’s a force of nature. She’s smart, and kind, and brave, and beautiful, and she leaves me breathless every single day. She changed my life. Iris may just be generous enough to let me stand beside her for the rest of our lives, but I’m not sure I deserve to.”

The two men stared at each other in silence for a long time. Joe knew that Barry often looked to him for advice, but Iris had always been a tricky subject. He was a father to them both, but truth be told their relationship often gave him a headache. He’d never met two people better suited for one another, nor two people with more obstacles in their way.

Joe couldn’t quite imagine the toll Savitar was taking on them. His attention had, understandably, been on Iris, but he knew that Barry felt intense, almost crippling, guilt about the situation. The psychological toll of having to not only watch the woman you love die multiple times, but also know a version of you was the one killing her was unimaginable.

Still, Joe hadn’t quite realized that there was even a possibility that Barry would doubt his own worthiness. He kind of assumed that those days were behind them. Imagining Iris’ reaction did bring a small smile to his face because he was nearly certain it would involve lots of yelling and expletives.

He knew Barry was looking to him for an answer and so with a smile still on his face he asked, “Do you remember that time Tony Woodward made fun of Iris’ braids and she cried?”

Barry was clearly confused, but went along with it anyway. “Yeah, I don’t think I’d ever been that angry before.”

“Do you remember what you did.”

“I gave him a piece of my mind,” Barry laughed.

“Do you remember what he did.”

Barry laughed again. “He beat the shit out of me.”

Joe smiled and nodded. “He beat the shit out of you. When I got the call from the principal of Carmichael Elementary telling me one of my kids had gotten in trouble for fighting I assumed he meant Iris. Imagine my surprise when it was you sitting outside of the his office with a bloody nose.”

“I’ve never been so hardcore,” Barry interrupted.

“Sure, that’s one way to put it.” Joe let his expression shift into a more somber one. “I asked you why you did it, and you looked up at me, about as serious as a kid your age could look, and told me that Iris didn’t need you to protect her, but that you always would try.”

  Barry seemed to draw inward then as though he were remembering being that small and only wanting to keep Iris safe. “That’s still true,” he said softly.

Joe placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “And that’s why nothing would make me happier than if you were to ask her to marry you. You make her happy, Barry, and you adore her for the person that she is. You always have. That’s all any father wants for their baby girl. You may not always be able to protect her, but as long as you try to, as long you love her more than life itself, my answer will always be yes.”

He could remember the day Iris was born so clearly.

It had been an ordinary Tuesday, almost boring in its mundaneness. Francine had complained of heartburn the night before, but that had been the only warning they’d gotten that their lives were going to change. She’d been such a small baby, but she’d had quite the pair of lungs on her. He’d been convinced that the sound of her screaming was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. That had lost its magic a few days in, but the way she smiled up at him had not.

There was no feeling like becoming a father for the first time.

Coincidentally there was also no feeling like becoming a grandfather for the first time.

The baby was early, but that didn’t really surprise him because Iris had always been an overachiever. Barry had sounded so nervous when he’d called Joe to let him know that it was time. Part of it was undoubtedly the fear that comes with realizing you’re about to become a parent, but Joe also knew that Barry was worried because the baby was a speedster.

They’d all found out about two months into the pregnancy when Iris had received a fairly nasty cut on her head in a fight with a meta. Barry had come racing into Star Labs demanding to know if she and the baby were okay. That was also how Team Flash had found out the couple were expecting, and Joe had been a little miffed. Iris had been doing her best to quell his anger when they’d all realized that her head wound had miraculously healed. Caitlin had run a few tests and discovered that baby West-Allen was a speedster.

Iris’ pregnancy had progressed relatively normally from there, but Barry had been extra vigilant following the news. Perhaps overly so. Joe was actually grateful the baby had made its appearance when it had, because he was quite certain Iris was close to killing her husband.

Joe knew that any tension between the pair was gone as soon as he entered the Star Labs medbay. Barry was hunched over Iris, who was sitting up in bed staring at the bundle in her arms. When he came further into the room, his daughter’s eyes flickered up to him.

“Hi, Grandpa,” she whispered, sounding exhausted.

Joe swallowed the lump in his throat. “PawPaw.”

Iris’ brow furrowed. “What?”

Barry interrupted, but his eyes never left his newborn. “Joe’s grandkids are going to call him PawPaw.”

Joe pointed at Barry as he made his way over to the bed. “See? He knows.”

“Well PawPaw, would you like to hold your grandson?” Iris shifted her arms so that she was now holding her son out to her father.

Joe laughed in amazement. “It’s a boy?” He’d personally thought it silly that the two had elected not to know the sex. It had been Iris’ idea and even though Joe sensed Barry wanted to know, he still could not deny her anything.

“It’s a boy.” Iris confirmed as she placed the infant in Joe’s hands. “This is Joseph Bartholomew West-Allen, which I’m now realizing is kind of a mouthful.”

Joe looked at Iris almost reflexively when he heard his grandson’s name. She had a knowing smirk on her face, one eyebrow cocked slightly higher than the other. Joe vaguely recalled a time when Iris had told him not to bank on her naming her kids after him because she thought children should be their own person or something like that. The longer he stared at her, her smile growing, the more he realized that this hadn’t been her doing.

Barry had named his son after Joe.

One look at the new father’s face, and Joe’s suspicions were confirmed. Barry had tears in his eyes that were quickly beginning to spill over as he gave Joe a watery smile. The two men moved to wordlessly embrace, both of them angling themselves so they didn’t crush the new addition.

If you’d asked him all those years ago what would become of little Barry Allen, he probably couldn’t have answered. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine this was where they would all end up. It was the last thing he would have expected, but the journey was the greatest he’d ever been on, and this honor the greatest he’d ever receive.

From behind him, Joe heard Iris sigh. “God, can you two pull it together? Neither of you just gave birth.”

Joe and Barry laughed.

[eternlmisery]

Welcome to the Legends

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Leonard had never thought that Sara would get hurt outside of battle. It had never crossed his mind that he could be standing in a hospital lobby, outside of surgery and Sara would be in there, fighting for hers and their baby’s lives.

Sure, he had been scared when Sara got hurt during missions, but they had Gideon to fix her. Now the doctors seemed useless in comparison to the A.I.

He sat alone in the waiting room with his pale faced laced with fear, observing the garlands and Christmas tree on the lobby, until he stood up and started pacing back and forth.

When Lisa, and unsurprisingly Cisco, arrived, he had to explain the situation to his little sister.

“What happened, why aren’t you with Sara?” she asked; eyebrows furrowed together.

“There have been some… issues.” He sighed as tears were beginning to well on the young woman’s eyes. “Her water broke and… and it was bloody… and I brought her here and they sent something about a placenta abruption.”  

Leonard rubbed his temples and Lisa looked around for the toddler who was usually attached to the man.

“Where’s Rory?” She questioned.

“Dinah came… and she took her with her to the cafeteria.” Lisa moved to stand next to Leonard and rubbed his arm soothingly.

“She’s gonna be okay, Len.” She told him. “Sara’s been through much worse.”

“If anything happens to her in there…”

“It won’t.” She pressed and then turned to Cisco, who pulled out of a bag a small package from Big Belly Burger. “I’m sure you didn’t eat anything the whole time you were here.”

“I’m not hungry.” He snapped at her and Lisa was taken aback by the fact that Leonard yelled at her; something that he had never done before.

“Aunt Isa!” Rory squealed and jumped in Lisa’s arms, trying to reach the bag with the food. “Ood!”

“How about me and your grandma help you eat and we leave dad with Aunt Lisa to talk?” Cisco offered and showed her the milkshake he had purchased too. Lisa passed her to him and Rory immediately gave the man a hug and proceeded to grab the milkshake. “You really are a Snart.”

Leonard even shot him a “thank you” smile before turning to his sister.

“How long have you been here?” She inquired and he shrugged.

“Two hours?” He wondered. “She was admitted about half an hour before I texted you…”

“And what did they say was wrong with her?”

“The doctor checked up on her to see how many centimeters dilated she was… there was blood. That’s when they told me to get out. No word ever since.”

Lisa grabbed her brother by the arms and made him face her.

“Lenny, Sara is going to be okay, you hear me?” She told him; voice determined. “In a while they are going to call us to meet your daughter or son. You deserve every bit of your happiness.”

“And what if I don’t, Lis?” he questioned with a shaky voice. “What if this is my punishment for everything that I have done? To have been given happiness and to have it ripped away from me… She is in there bleeding in a table and I don’t know if they are going to get out of there alive.”

Lisa’s eyes softened and she squeezed his shoulders; tears thick in her bright blue eyes.

“Do you remember when I got my tonsils removed when I was 10?” She asked him as she made him sit down next to her. He noticed now that Cisco had left; probably went to Dinah and Rory to give the two siblings some privacy.

“How could I forget? I must have robbed every liquor store within 10 miles to afford it. You were so bad...” Leonard wondered out loud as Lisa smiled.

“It was a routine surgery, but still, you sat in the waiting room the whole evening and waited for me. Mick told me that you were so scared you were asking the doctor if I was going to make it. Because every time something happens, you think that it’s your punishment for the things you did. But it’s not true. Things like this happen to everyone; not just reformed crooks/ ex-brainwashed villains.”

He let the back of his head rest on the wall and sighed. She passed him the package.

“Eat. It’s going to be a long night.” Leonard managed to smile at the young woman. Oh, how the tables have turned.

 Leonard didn’t even realize that he had fallen asleep, until someone nudged him and he found himself sleeping in his sister’s shoulder; several brown curls tickling his nose.

He immediately jumped up and saw that Barry, Iris and Caitlin had arrived while he was sleeping.

“What happened?” Leonard demanded as looked at the people who had become his friends. “Did the doctor come?”

“No, but we did and brought you coffee.” Caitlin said and handed the man the hot beverage with a comforting smile.

“Snart, we are here for you.” Barry told Leonard; sitting next to him. Leonard nodded towards the man and glanced at his watch.

5.30 A.M

He had been sitting there for six god damn hours and there were no news.

“Where’s Rory?”

“Dinah brought her back home and stayed with her.” Lisa announced and stood up too. “And now it’s time for a shift change. Please stay safe and call me the moment anything happens.” She hugged her brother tightly.

“Lenny…”She said against his neck and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” He mumbled as she pulled back and turned to take Cisco’s hand in hers. Both waved at the others and started to walk out of the waiting room; leaving Leonard with a bigger knot in his stomach than before. Surprisingly, Caitlin was the one that moved towards him first; putting a careful hand on his shoulder.

“Leonard I’m gonna go find a doctor and have a little chat. See how things are going with Sara and the baby.” She told him with a smile and headed towards the offices; offering Iris to come with her if she wanted to if she did. Barry settled next to him as Leonard took a sip out of his black coffee.

“Leonard, I really don’t know what to say to you… I honestly don’t.” He started to say but Leonard lifted his hand to stop him.

“You don’t need to say anything, Allen… I’m just… I’m glad you’re here.” A small smile ghosted on his lips.

“I am too.”  

 “Mr. Snart?” He heard a feminine voice and he suddenly whipped his head up to see a petite nurse looking at him with a folder in her hands. “Doctor Davis sent me to pick you up. Your wife is out of surgery and the doctor wishes to talk to you about her condition.”

The women and Barry look up at him and smiled. “Go” they said with their eyes and smiles and Leonard let the nurse guide him towards a closed door that wrote “234”. The woman walked first and opened it to reveal Sara; lying on the bed with her eyes shut and IV hooked on her right arm.

Then he saw the empty hospital bassinette next to her and his breath was caught in his throat.

“Where is-?” He was cut from the door opening again and Doctor Davis walked inside with the brightest smile on his face and a pale blue bundle in his arms.

“Mr. Snart!” He exclaimed with his smile. “I have this little gentleman who wanted to see you!” He handed him the bundle cautiously and Leonard didn’t even bother hiding the fresh tears that welled up in his eyes as he looked at his son. A tiny rose-colored creature with wrinkled skin and the closed eyes and he looked so much like Sara and Rory it made his heart fill with emotion.

“Hey little man; I’m glad you are here.” He whispered to the infant with a soft voice as the doctor cleared his throat.

“Mr. Snart your wife has been suffering from placental abruption and as soon as her water broke we realized that the blood in it was a result of the placenta that had separated from the inner wall of the uterus and while the problem was very serious it seemed to have appear quite suddenly. In some women the bleeding may be visible, but Mrs. Snart wasn’t in that category. If you hadn’t brought her in immediately there would have been a bigger issue because a condition like that could have been life-threatening for both her and the baby, as it deprived the fetus of oxygen and nutrients. But by doing a caesarian section as soon as possible we made sure that both she and the baby would be healthy. She is quite the fighter and so is the little guy.”  

Leonard smiled at his son and wife. It felt so weird even saying it in his head; his son.

“I know.” He answered and the doctor hummed. “Is anything gonna be wrong in the future with or and the baby?”

“We were afraid that there would be some lasting damage from the lack of oxygen on the little guy but I just came back from further testing and your boy is 100 % healthy. Same thing goes for the mommy who should be waking up any minute.”

“Thank you.” He said and his voice cracked ever so slightly as he looked at the baby in his arms again. “Can we please have a moment?”

“Of course! Alice will be here immediately, if you just press the button on the right side of the bed and I’ll be back in shortly to make sure Sara is doing okay.”

Once Leonard was alone with most of his family he got his phone out as he sat in the chair next to Sara; texting Dinah before placing his phone away and turning his attention to Sara and their baby. Taking her hand in his he kissed Sara’s palm but never looking away from their son.

After a few minutes Sara’s eyes started to open slowly; blue/grey irises meeting with his as a smile formed on his lips. Sara looked at the small baby in his arms for a moment before a sob escaped her throat.

“He is okay.” She whispered as her IV-hooked hand tried to reach and touch her son. “He is really okay.”

“Because you are a fighter and so is he. You gave him the strength to fight.”

“When I saw the blood… and I looked at you and I could feel your heart breaking and I couldn’t tell you it was gonna be okay because I didn’t know that and then they told you to get out and I wondered if I would ever see you again-.”

“I’m here. We’re both here and you are okay. You both are okay.” Leonard said in a low voice as he gave Sara a chaste kiss on her lips.

“I thought I was never gonna see Rory… that I was gonna let you down and our babies…” She brushed the dusting of light brown hair that was visible from the blue baby cap and her hand was shaking.

“You didn’t.” He pressed and his own eyes were filled with tears again. “You got through everything while I was waiting outside shaking like a coward.”

“You kept our daughter safe. That’s all that matters.”

“That would be your mother. I couldn’t look at her without tearing up.” Leonard said with a soft voice.

“You can’t do everything in the same time. It’s okay to rely on the people that care about you, Len.”

 The tiny infant opened his bright blue/grey eyes and stared up at his parents.

“Hey baby boy.” Sara whispered and the baby cooed in her chest.

“He has your eyes.” Leonard remarked as he settled next to Sara and pulled her close to him. She pressed a kiss on his lips and sighed; feeling content in her husband’s arms.

After what they both had gone through that day, they were ecstatic to just be in each other’s company. And secretly Leonard wanted to ensure that Sara was really okay.

“So, how do we call him?”

Sara passed the baby to him again and she gazed at Leonard, who was still observing the newest addition to their family thoroughly.

“Hunter Michael Snart?” He suggested.

Sara smiled; she was sure smiling a lot this day and she didn’t even know why. No; she did. Half of the reason why was sitting next to her and suddenly the other half ran inside the hospital room squealing.

“Mommy, Dawy!” Rory shrieked as she ran over to her parents with an envelope in her small hands.

Sara took her daughter’s hand and helped her climb up the bed; settling her between herself and Leonard.

“Ror, this is your new baby brother; his name is Hunter.”

“No! His name is brother!” She objected as she leaned closer to the infant and smiled; causing Leonard and Sara to mirror her expression.

“What are you holding, snowflake?” Leonard inquired as he noticed the envelope his daughter had in her hands.

Rory handed it to Sara, who opened it and then looked at Leonard; unable to speak.

It was a picture of her and Laurel from when they were little; Laurel a little older than 10 and Sara about 8 year old. But it wasn’t an ordinary picture; it was the one from the scrapbook they made as kids.

“Who gave you this, Ror?” Sara asked calmly; trying to control herself.

“Auntie did mommy.” The toddler explained and the couple exchanged a look. “She was out ere!”

Leonard looked at his wife again; understanding in his eyes, as he passed her the baby and ran out of the room, just in time to see the woman who looked exactly like Laurel, turn in the corner.

From the other side of the corridor Dinah and Mick emerged with big smiles on their faces and they stopped when they saw Leonard’s expression. Dinah moved first towards him and pulled him in for a hug before handing him a coffee.  

“Dear, are you okay?” She asked him and Leonard immediately nodded. “I’ll go check on the girls and the little guy and leave you two to catch up. Very nice seeing you Mick!” Once Dinah disappeared inside the hospital room Leonard could finally breath and of course Mick realized that something was terribly wrong.

“What happened?”

“We’re in deep shit Mick. But I’m glad you are here.” He answered and suddenly Mick had given him a hug Leonard he didn’t know he needed. He had almost lost his wife and son and now Laurel who is somehow alive was appearing and… He had just missed his best friend. “…Where is Amaya?”

“She is on the first floor with Ray and they are buying balloons.” Mick muttered and Leonard patted his shoulder. After taking a speed train from Star City last night, the team needed some time-off. They had gone to Star to help Team Arrow with a dozen of convicts who had broken out, but as soon as they learned about Sara they realized they had to return even if it was for a bit.

Mick looked at him for a moment before reaching for something in the bag he was strangely carrying. He took a box out of it and handed it to Leonard. He looked at him before opening it and he saw that in it was a cotton baby blanket that was neatly folded and on it was sewed:

“Welcome to the Legends”

Leonard later denied that he cried; he just said that it was the ventilation system in the hallway and that same night he and Sara wrapped their son in that blanket; a reminder that they might have the craziest and most unconventional family… but that family was more they could ever ask for.