"Guys, do you really think this is a good idea?" Caitlin asked as Cisco placed another jugful of coffee on the desk. He grabbed one of the other ones and filled two cups with the dark liquid.
"Of course! There isn't much that can go wrong. Coffee doesn't affect us anymore, just like alcohol." You answered, grabbing your mug and sniffing it. You've never been a big fan of coffee and having supernatural speed didn't change that. It was still something that made your stomach turn just by smelling it. Even Cisco raised his eyebrows as he saw your disgusted face and you smiled sheepishly at him.
"Okay, maybe it's not the best idea... But I promised Barry!"
Barry only nodded his head with an arrogant smirk on his face, convinced that he was going to win this challenge. Barry and the rest had found out about you just a few weeks ago as you rescued a family from a fire where Barry was headed too. They told you everything about the metahumans and your abilities and they asked you to join them, knowing that you were on their side. Sharing the same talents as Barry made it easier to work together and not wait for the other all the time.
The whole 'challenge' thing was Cisco's idea, originally. But Barry seemed somehow threatened by your skills and was immediately in for a few tests to see who was faster, or stronger.
"Ready?" Barry asked, also grabbing a cup filled with coffee.
"No. But let's do it." You said confidently and Caitlin started the timer. You found out hastily that it was easier to drink right out of the jug instead of refilling your mug every few seconds, so Barry and you switched at almost the same time. The timer was set to one minute and in the end you'd see who drank more. Or at least that was the plan.
It wasn't even 20 seconds into the game that you drank two jugs of coffee and almost threw it up all over the table again. You supported yourself on the table, taking deep breaths whilst Barry kept on drinking as if his life depended on it.
"You know... you can stop. I give up." you groaned, holding your stomach as you realised you couldn't take even one more sip of the for you gross liquid. Barry's arm shot in the air in a sign of victory and he burped, a proud smirk making its way on his face. "I'm gonna be sick!" you murmured, gratefully grabbing the glass of water that Cisco offered you. "You look kind of greenish..." he commented and you squinted your eyes. "Next is running. You won't beat me there Barry." You said, pointing a finger at him as he chuckled. "Are you sure? Maybe we should take a break for you to recover?" he worried but you shook your head. "No, I'm ready to beat your ass now."
"You wish! I've been doing this for way longer than you have, sweetheart." He teased and you licked your lips before biting your lip, thinking about a comeback, but you had none. You hadn't had a teacher like Barry, so you had to figure it all out on your own.
"Tell me when and where and I'll be there." You said and walked up to him, standing just a few inches away from him. He leaned his head down to your height and stared back into your eyes. From the moment you've met Barry, there was some kind of tension between you. You clicked immediately and got along just fine, even if you both were very careful of the other at the start.
"Right now. The first to be at the station and grab something from Joe's office and bring it here wins." He said before leaning down and pecking your cheek. "Go." And off he was.
It took you a millisecond before you realized what happened and you followed Barry, pushing the kiss aside for you to think about later.
"The tension between them is going to kill me at some point." Cisco commented after you took off and Caitlin nodded. "It's uncomfortable." she said. "Very uncomfortable." Cisco added and then they waited.
You could see Barry a few meters before you, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he ran ahead of you. You pushed yourself to new limits and sped up, your legs moving faster than they ever have before.
In a mere second you ran next to the flash at the same speed as him, winking as you sped up again and passing him.
Grabbing something from Joe's office was risky, as you had to make sure that no other officer noticed you on your way, but it only added something to the challenge. It could only be a few seconds later that you reached the police station and rushed past Eddie and into Barry's surrogate father's office.
As you opened the door, the first thing you saw was his nametag, so you grabbed it and rushed out again just as Barry ran through the door. You heard a faint "what?" behind you from Joe, but you were too focused on getting back to Star Labs that you decided to ignore it.
"Got it!" You yelled and slammed Joe's nametag on Cisco's table just as Barry entered the room behind you. "Told you you wouldn't beat me there!" You said and held your head up, smiling proudly at him. "Just because I let you win!" he exclaimed.
"Oh no you didn't!" You said, taking a threating step closer to the handsome man. He only nodded, so you swung your fist, trying to hit him in the chest, but he only caught your hand. "First one on his back loses?" You asked and he nodded, immediately taking a swing himself.
It must've looked funny for Caitlyn and Cisco, as all they saw were some shadows dancing around and trying to bring the other one on it's back without seriously harming each other. Your breathing started to pick up as Barry had you in a vice like grip and you struggled, moving your hands to push his arms off of you. As you finally stumbled to the floor, Barry was kneeling on the floor, trying to push your shoulders on the floor, but you wouldn't budge.
"Alright kiddos, enough for today. You're even. You're both good. Now go home and relax... or something..." Cisco muttered as he threw a jacket at Caitlyn before grabbing his car keys from the table. Barry and your eyes stared back at him confused and he only moved his eyes to the clock on the wall that signalled you that it was already past six in the evening. Barry offered you a hand to stand up and you gladly took it, waving goodbye to the others as they walked out of the room.
"We better clean this mess up..." You thought out loud as you saw the coffee mugs and the moved furniture. Thanks to your unnatural speed you were done within seconds so you closed all doors and locked the place. "Come on, I'll order us a pizza. We deserved that." Barry threw an arm around your shoulders and walked casually toward his apartment, not waiting for a reply.
"But no more contests. I think Cisco is right, we're even."
Barry agreed and so you walked down the road in actual human speed. It felt nice to have Barry's muscular arm around your shoulders and you couldn't help it but move closer to him. You caught his light smile as you moved your eyes toward his face, but you decided to ignore it. Your face must've looked the same right now.
After all these years of not fitting in and being teased for being different, you enjoyed Barry's company. He knew what you went through as a kid, he understood how you felt and he could identify with your newfound abilities better than anyone else.
"Sorry for making you feel sick with the coffee. I thought you were joking as you told me it makes you want to throw up."
"It's fine. I'm getting used to the taste of it." You grinned and Barry took another sip of his coke, smiling from ear to ear.
The both of you were comfortably seated on the sofa in his small apartment, talking about today's events. The pizza he had ordered was eaten in no time and you were enjoying the free evening with Barry.
"I don't think I ever told you, but I'm glad we bumped into each other that day of the fire. I was very scared. I had no idea what was wrong with me and I couldn't just go to see a doctor... I was so relieved as I saw you were just like me. A... a metahuman..." you added the last part with a hint of confusion in your voice. It was weird to talk about yourself as something supernatural, something almost inhuman.
"I'm glad too. I had the others, but I wanted someone to talk about that. The other metahumans were dangerous and had to be locked up, so they weren't really 'talking material'." He added with air quotes. You chuckled at his explanation, but you knew he was right. After all, you had witnessed it by yourself already. A girl that can teleport to the place she is currently looking at? It was a struggle for you to catch her, and if Barry and you hadn't worked together, you didn't know if you would've caught her.
"I think we make a great team." You smiled at him as you thought back to this day. After still being careful of each other, this was the day you had really bonded and since then, you were kind of inseparable. "We do." He said and gripped your hand in his, lacing your fingers together. He moved his left arm so he could wrap it around your shoulders again and you cuddled into his side, still holding his right hand in yours. You drew small circles on the back of his hand and you enjoyed the silence.
You could feel Barry's fast heartbeat matching yours and could feel his breath on your head before he pressed a kiss to your scalp. His hand caressed your back until your breathing evened out and you fell asleep in Barry's arms, the only place you felt really safe and like you belonged.
