BarryxEddie

Seeing friends

Barry was sleeping. Turns out being the Flash is very tiring. Joe stormed into his room. "Barr! You're gonna be late again!" Barry sat up fast. "I don't have work today, Joe. You know that." Joe left the room and went downstairs to make breakfast while Barry fell back asleep. When he woke up again, he smelled burnt chocolate chip and hazelnut pancakes. He rushed downstairs. "Joe, what is that smell?" Joe looked up. He was eating his chocolate chip and hazelnut pancakes. "Breakfast. Have some." Joe shoved a plate in Barry's face. Barry ate the burned food slowly. He would usually eat faster, but he hasn't had much of an appetite recently. Even though he usually liked eating a lot. Bring bring! Bring bring! His phone went off. He answered and zoomed away. Cisco had called saying the Joker was in town. But, Joker hadn't been spotted since Batman disappeared. When Barry got there, Joker was nowhere to be found. He asked Cisco, but he was insistent he was there. Barry went back home. "Hey Joe, I'm just going to run to Starling city real quick." Joe nodded his head and continued eating his chocolate chip and hazelnut pancakes.

Barry made his way to Starling city to meet with a friend. When he got on top of a roof his friend was there. "Oliver. I messed up." Oli went to Barry and stared him dead in the eye. "It wasn't your fault she died, Barry. It was Evil Wells' fault." Barry was astonished. How did Oli know? "How did you know? About Iris."

"I know everything."

"Yeah... How do you do it?"

"Do what, Barry?"

"Keep going. I mean, with all the death and misery in your life, it's astounding you haven't broken yet, and that you keep going. But... I don't get how you do it."

"Barry. I do it by not letting the bad things drag me down. Instead, I use them to push me forward."

"But how?"

"How about you figure that out on your own." Oli put his mask on and shot a zipline arrow and zipped away. Barry stood there. He didn't understand what Oli meant. He sat down. He tried to hold in the tears, but failed. He just sat crying for a couple hours.

- - - -

"Barry? What are you doing?" Barry looked up and saw Eddie. "Oh umm... I was just uh, thinking." Barry wiped his eyes to clear the tears. "Right." Eddie sat down with Barry.

"You came here to see the Arrow?"

"Yeah. He-a, he helps me a lot to keep being a hero when I don't feel like I can."

"So you and him are pretty close then?"

"Yeah, he trained me to be a hero after I woke up from the coma. He was actually one of the first people I told. He told me the lightning chose me, and that inspired me enough to not listen to the people in my life telling me to not be a hero."

"How'd you know him?"

"I saved his life. Why are you here? In Starling city. On this roof."

"Had to find you. Now how exactly did you save the Arrow's life?" Eddie and Barry talked for over half an hour. The only reason they stopped was that the Flash was needed in Central city. As Barry ran back with Eddie, he thought about what Oli said, but it still made no sense to him. "I use them to push me forward." He couldn't figure out what he meant. How can you use bad memories to push you forward? Just then, a bear appeared. Barry dodged the bear just in time. "A BEAR?!" Eddie was taken back. "How- no, why is there a bear in Central city?" "That's what I'm going to figure out." Barry tried contacting Cisco, but got no answer. Barry had to think fast. He looked to his right and saw a paragon falcon eating a hotdog, and a rabbit hopping in circles. He looked to his left and saw a dolphin wearing a helmet and a leopard sleeping on a car and a goldfish flying in the air. Barry thought these animals must have escaped the zoo. But that wouldn't make sense since fish don't fly, and there aren't fish at the zoo. Then Eddie looked up. "Umm....Barry?" Barry turned toward Eddie and looked up. There was a woman riding a flying snowboard. "Hey! Whatcha doing up there!?" The woman looked down. "Making animals." She said with a smile. "Well, uh. Can you make them somewhere else?" Barry was concerned. "Where? I like to make them here." "Well, you're going to have to find somewhere else because there are people here that could get hurt." Barry grew agitated. "Fine! Come on!" She snapped her fingers and she and the animals were gone. "You alright there, Barry? You umm, you seemed kinda snappy." Eddie had looked in front of him at Barry. "Yeah. I just got a headache." He knew Barry was lying. The two went back to S.T.A.R. labs. "Cisco, why didn't you answer me?" Cisco was sitting in his seat. "Oh, Barry. Hi. Hi Eddie. So I didn't answer because I had a nightmare." Barry's face flinched. "You put people in danger, because you had a NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!?????" Cisco swallowed. "I. Yeah, but um, I wouldn't word it like that." Barry started shaking with rage. "Barry, why don't you go for a run. Seems you got something bothering you." Eddie said, his voice slightly trembling.

"I'm fine." Barry was lying.

"Barry. You're not fine." Cisco introvined

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not! Barry, you have to talk to someone." Cisco was mad.

"I can't! I'm a hero! I DON'T have time for talking!" Barry stormed out.

"Dude. You have to be gentle with him. He's fragile." Eddie said in a low voice, that was just loud enough for Cisco to hear, but low enough so Barry couldn't. He chased after him.

"Barry. I'm sorry." Eddie had found Barry sitting on the floor. "We shouldn't have pushed." "No. You were right to push. It's just umm, it's a bit hard to talk about." Barry said in a voice so quiet, Eddie could hardly hear him. Eddie sat down on the floor next to him. "Barry, It's okay. Take your time." Barry broke down in tears. "It's my fault. Iris is dead because of me, and now Joe is going crazy and....and you. You're stuck blaming yourself even though you know it's my fault." "Barry. It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"It's not."

"It is."

"Barry! Look at me! IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!" Eddie didn't realize he was yelling. Barry stared at him for a minute. "Then who's fault is it?" "I don't know." The two sat in silence for a while. Eddie held in his tears. Barry's face was quivering. Eddie couldn't hold his tears anymore, he let them spill out. "Barry, I think sometimes there just aren't answers. Sometimes, there's no explanation."

"You know, you kinda sound like the Arrow right now." The two hugged. "Barry, Joe will be okay, I promise."