Letting go is painful.
Harry hoped that those memories would hold for longer.
He was never certain when it would kick in.
It was quicker than he expected.
The both of you were having coffee. All you'd done was take a seat, and that was it.
"Oh, hello?"
Your head tilted to the side, as you stared at him.
"(Y/N)?"
"Yes, have we met before?"
It was a literal gut punch. You were smiling, but there was not an ounce of recognition in your eyes. Harry did his best to collect himself to lay out a response that would be believable.
"I spilled my coffee on you yesterday, I wanted to apologize." He placed the drink that he bought just for you on the table. When you read the label, your smile got brighter.
"Thank you, that's so nice of you. I'm sure the coffee spilling was my fault though. I tend to get a bit clumsy. Especially around handsome men."
From the color that littered your cheeks, it was clear you hadn't planned to say that.
He couldn't help it, he laughed. Because it was so uncharacteristic of you. It was all he could truly do to keep himself from crying at the moment.
His laughter seemed to urge your own.
The both of you sat there in fits of laughter. When it slowly began to die down, he wanted to reach out. Touch you, hold you, one last time. But it was useless. After a moment of internal battle, He stood.
"I should get going."
You rise with him.
"W-Wait I-"
From the look on your face, it's clear that you didn't want him to leave. But he couldn't stay there.
"Is there any way we could meet again?"
His expression slowly fell, and he reached for his cap out of instinct.
"I'm sorry."
That's all he said as he marched out of the shop, leaving you standing there.
It was cowardly, he knew that.
But there was nothing else he could do.
He told himself it was wrong.
It was wrong for him to be this angry.
He wanted to see that smile, and you were finally wearing it. One that had no pain from Eobard's wounds. Regret from decisions you made to save the ones you love. It was all gone.
You were free.
To live your life.
Now he needed to go and find a way to live his.
"You're going back to earth 2?"
Harry nodded at Cisco's observation. He'd caught him packing up a few of his gadgets from the lab. Barry's steps slowed when he caught the conversation.
"When do you plan to come back?" Barry asked.
Now Caitlin was fully listening.
"I don't know."
He wasn't sure he could, at least not at the moment.
"I just need time to get things in order."
"You mean forget about (Y/N)."
Cisco's words were filled with bitterness.
"You're just going to walk away. You promised you would see her one last time didn't you? Now you're just going to leave. Run away like you always do when you don't want to face a problem."
"What exactly would you have me do Ramon? Walk up to her and play pretend?"
"We know it's hard but-"
"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Harry exploded.
He dropped his bag to the ground, fist clenched.
"I can't..I can't.."
He couldn't even get the words out, and they understood. Harry looked off to the side, choking on his words. Cisco nodded, taking a step closer as he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. Pretty soon Barry and Caitlin were at his side doing the same. It's rare for someone as proud as Harry to be vulnerable.
All they could do at the moment was provide comfort.
Because no amount of words would fix what had been done.
