ϟ barry allen | the flash

[supertardiness]

	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ

Comments

[eloquentness]

[Coffee dates are secretly Iris's favorite kind of dates, especially if she's not behind the counter. She's gathered enough Stories to last a lifetime (and then some), but Jitters will always have a soft spot.

Thanks to her uber-trusting manager, it had become their place, and even during daylight hours, she doesn't mind stopping for a quick bite. If a coffee shop can be a girl's second home, Jitters certainly feels like one. As she stirs her latte, she leans forward, peering up at Barry as if it's their first date all over again.]

Mm, nothing exciting. I'm supposed to cover some big sports game since Linda's out with the flu.

[On one hand, she hopes Linda gets better. On the other, she really doesn't know her sports terminology like she should, so - ]

Since I know zilch, I sprung for an extra ticket so someone could help me figure out what's what. If they're interested, I mean.

[supertardiness]

[Sports, you say? Most of Barry's sports knowledge came from hanging out and watching games with Joe, but that doesn't mean he can't help Iris out. Joe is a very knowledgeable source and going to a game with Iris could be fun.]

Oh, I don't think you'll have a hard time finding someone who's interested.

[Especially since he's sitting right in front of her.]

[eloquentness]

Is that so? [She laughs, reaching out to hold his hand.] In that case, I hope his schedule's clear.

It's been a while since I've been to a game, and from what Linda tells me, the commentary's reserved for the folks at home.

[Iris has always been a casual fan, and she knows enough of the lingo to understand plays and strategies. Partially from Joe and Barry's game-watching, but also partially from hanging out with Linda. A girl can't exactly leave herself in the dark if her new best friend's always sprouting sports factoids.

That knowledge, though, leaves her a little shaky when it comes to reporting on the game. This so isn't her department, but free tickets? That was much harder to deny.]

[supertardiness]

That it is. But I'm sure whoever you take with you will be more than happy to help. Plus, going to a game is way better than watching it at home, commentary or not.

[He wants Iris to not let Linda down as much as Iris doesn't want to let Linda down. So he'll help her in whatever way she needs him to.]

[eloquentness]

He'd better. I barely know half these players, and - [she drops her voice to an almost teasing whisper,] I have a sneaky feeling I can't google my way to victory.

[Technically, she could, but then her eye wouldn't be on the ball, and she's not sure who would be more dismayed, herself OR Linda. Or possibly both.]

What about you? What're you gonna do before the big game?

[supertardiness]

Work.

[He makes a face like that's the worst possible thing he could be doing, but he also knows that Iris knows how much he enjoys what he does, and most of it is for show.]

But it'll be worth it if I get to see you after.

[eloquentness]

Plus, if memory serves me right, you get to play with that lumi-thing this case.

[ She means luminol, the one chemical compound CSI likes to liberally spray around as if it's God's gift to CSIs everywhere. It isn't. Iris knows that much from accidentally watching CSI with him (never again), but science so isn't her forte. ]

[supertardiness]

[He laughs.]

Only if the case calls for it. There are more fun experiments I could do, though, so we'll see what comes across my desk.

[eloquentness]

Fun for you, maybe. [ It's clear she's teasing though, as she leans over to kiss his forehead. ] I feel like I'd just slow you down with all the questions I'd ask.

[supertardiness]

[He grins a bit in return.]

You know I never mind answering them. But I won't subject you to it if you've got other places to be.

[eloquentness]

Nuh-uh. I cleared my entire schedule for this, [lies, blatant lies, she just doesn't want to write about real estate,] so I'm gonna help you.

Or at least try to help you.

[supertardiness]

[He grins a bit at that, before nodding.]

Okay. I'll do the science stuff, and since you're the writer, you can make my notes sound way more interesting than they actually are.

[eloquentness]

Of course. [ Maybe edit for grammar, if she's feeling particularly helpful.

She does, however, change her seat so that she's sitting right next to Barry. Just so she can rest her head on his shoulder. ]

I'm gonna jinx it, probably, but... this is nice.

[supertardiness]

[Barry shifts to slide an arm around her shoulders and gives it a small squeeze.]

Then I'm gonna jinx it too, because this is nice. Not that spending time with you ever isn't nice.

[eloquentness]

I know what you mean mean. [ she laughs, settling in, ] It's been a while since we've been all normal.

I'd say we should do this more often, but that's probably a triple jinx.

[supertardiness]

[He laughs, before nodding a bit.]

Probably. But I'd still like to try. It's probably just a matter of making time for it, right?

[He shrugs.]

Maybe me and Wally can trade off sometimes.

[eloquentness]

Yeah, but I wouldn't want to take you away from the world.

[ A hero-life balance is one tough juggling act. She hums thoughtfully, ] Cisco's getting better with his vibing too. It's probably a matter of time before he joins you in the field.

[supertardiness]

I'm all for it, man. We can just be a superhero fight squad. All the metas in Central City would know better than to mess with us.

[eloquentness]

They won't know what hit 'em.

[... literally. ]

Maybe then, they'd actually learn a thing or two.

[supertardiness]

We can only hope.

[He glances down at his watch.]

And I gotta get back to work. Still coming along?

[eloquentness]

Of course. [ without a second thought, she slides her hand into his: ] Just lead the way.

[supertardiness]

[He grins, and off they go to save Central City - the slow CSI way. /scene]