Burning Down The House - Snowbarry

Chapter Five

Caitlin continued to stare at the spot where Barry had just sat, and albeit disappointed that something had once more interrupted a moment between them, she found her entire body was racked with nerves.

She said it.

Those three words.

Her stomach had never felt so bizarre before. It felt queasy, twisted, and mangled in all the best ways, like a habitat swarmed with butterflies. She was anxious, but she was also incredibly excited.

She brough her knees up onto the bed and ducked her head down into them, letting out a muffled scream of joy before falling back against the bed, hair sprawling out across the pillow.

Despite how incredibly tense the past month had been, and how bleak she once feared the future was going to be, she now found herself feeling hopeful

But for Barry, who had since arrived at the loft after a distress signal courtesy of Iris, their embrace was still a high in his mind, the brightest day in over a month, but he wasn't allowed to enjoy it as it was quickly becoming clouded in darkness and harrowing worries of the future as he stared at the man before him.

"Barr, it's so good to see you! I was just getting ready to whip up Iris a cup of her favorite tea, she's not feeling well." Eddie flashed a toothy smile towards Barry as he moved past him, who shifted his frame to keep his eyes on him as the man walked into the kitchen.

Barry took note of the quantum splicer situated on his chest.

Barry furrowed his eyebrows as the man began to scrounge through the cabinets, sparing a glance towards Iris who appeared to be just as puzzled as him.

Barry returned his gaze to Eddie, who was no longer shuffling through cupboards, but instead heating a teapot with his bare hand. "West-Allen." He stated simply as the hissing began, and he took out a cup, pouring the woman a cup of tea. "I never took you for a hyphen kinda gal, but I guess that doesn't matter anymore." He let out a slow chuckle as he shifted his dark gaze towards Barry. "Who would've thought Barry Allen could be a home-wrecker?"

"You can't get to me Deathstorm. I know this is just another manipulation." Barry spat.

The man leaned forward against the counter, narrowing his eyes at Barry curiosity. "I thought you'd finally want to put a face to Deathstorm instead of the ominous skull and flames, although it is more in line with the name." He smirked. "I've waited a long time for this moment, Barr. Almost eight years in fact. But when you're drifting amongst the stars, the seconds seem like hours, the days like weeks, the years an eternity, and you learn to be patient."

Eddie took the cup over to Iris, who after a moment of hesitation reached out and pulled it from his grasp. "H-how are you alive?" Iris questioned, though Barry couldn't tell whether she truly believed the figure before them was actually Eddie or she was simply seeing if she could make him slip up.

Eddie moved back to the counter, letting out a reminiscent sigh as he leaned agaisnt it. "After I shot myself the day the singularity opened, I was sucked into that perfect inferno set against cold. Infinite nothingness." He spoke in admiration and yet disdain and bitterness all at once. "When Ronnie separated from Stein inside the singularity soon after, the resulting explosion combined my body not only with his grief, but with the singularity itself, and I was reborn."

Barry's gaze faltered for a moment, trying to discern the validity of his words, and when he raised his eyes once more, he found Eddie glaring at him, nodding in confirmation of his conclusions. Barry narrowed his eyes at the man before shaking his head, still trying to wrap his head around the reveal. "Why... Why go after Caitlin?"