Soothsayer ⚡ Barry Allen

Lost at Sea

Andy's new ink

I closed my eyes and relaxed on my side, listening to the music and the consistant buzz that filled the space around me. I had put a lot of work into this, I don't think I'd find anyone better than my man in Gotham, but this chick wasn't too bad. I'd put my research into the tattoo artists in Central City, and Chelsea seemed to be the best fit. I love the pinch, the pain radiating from my right hip. I wasn't particularly a self mutilator, but I welcomed pain. It was an inevitable part of life that I had no problem inflicting, and mostly no issue enduring.

Without drugs to dull the pain like with my other tattoos and the sensitivity of the area, it was enough of a preview of what I was going to be putting myself through for Barry alone. Speaking of, I texted him the address and an 'asap', purposely leaving the abreviation lowercase. "This'll be cold," she warned, spraying my hip with antibacterial and letting it sit for a second before wiping it and the excess ink away. "Alright," she sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Go check in the mirror."

I took a breath and sat myself up, gently stepping down and walking to the wall mirror with a minor limp. I had came to Chelsea with only the lighthouse in mind, possibly incorporating my stretch marks into some sort of storm, but she brought it beautifully to my skin. A simple lighthouse in the midst of a choppy sea, contained in a little sea shell. My eyes snapped from the complex linework as the door opened, watching the door through the mirror and smiling at the light panic on his face. "Hey, slow poke," I giggled, holding my sweats out of the way as I came back to the table. "It looks perfect."

Chelsea smiled and nodded me around, already having vaseline on her fingers to rub into my skin. "Keep it wrapped until you can clean it, and don't wrap it after," she informed, conscious of my slight hissing as she applied the ointment and covered the irritated flesh with plastic wrap. After adjusting my waistband over my hips, I followed her to the desk and grabbed my wallet. "That'll dock you sixty-five." Another reason I chose her, she was quite fair with how she taxed her time, $80 an hour.

Trading off the cash for an aftercare sheet, my smile grew as I felt Barry walk up behind me. "Thank you," I sighed.

"Thank you," Chelsea countered, setting down the green paper. Grabbing Barry's hand, I led him out of the shop, surprised at how quiet he had been.

"How was your day?" I inquired, looking up at him with my cheek resting on his shoulder.

"Apperantly not as good as yours," he chuckled. "You worried me for a minute."

"Sorry, I didn't want to sound too urgent, but I wanted you to come get me." With a breathy chuckle, Barry slipped his arm under my legs and ran us home, thankfully with my left side pressing into his body. When the world caught up to me, I was sat in front of Barry on the bathroom counter, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Can I see?" I smiled and sat up a bit, carefully pulling my sweats down my hips before pulling away the tape that kept the plastic to my stomach and thigh. Running hot water, Barry grabbed some of the soap I'd bought for the healing process and helped me clean off the vaseline and remnants of ink clinging to my skin. Chelsea's hands were light, but she got her ink deep, leaving the muscle underneath tender. Since Barry was stood between my legs, I gripped his shoulder when he rubbed a little too hard, loving the way he paused before continuing a gentler motion. "Sorry," he mumbled, kissing my cheek and running his fingertips over the new ridges in my skin.

"You're fine," I breathily laughed, leaning my head back against the mirror.

"A lighthouse?" I hummed in response, loving how the electricity in my veins lingered around my hip.

"I love the ocean, partly why I stick to the coasts," I explained, not wanting to tell him the real reasoning for it just yet. There was so much I didn't want Barry to know while at the same time wanting him to understand why I was doing them. Hopefully, after it all comes to surface and the dust settles, he will. My future was based on a bunch of hopefullies; hopefully they would accept me, hopefully I wouldn't die, hopefully I wouldn't crush everything I've built with Barry.

"Maybe we'll have to take a beach day once this heals up." I smiled as he blott dried my skin before applying some lotion to it as well.

"That would be fun." I opened my eyes when he gingerly pulled my sweats up over the black ink, my smile growing when he kissed me. "Thank you," I breathed, feeling his nod against my own face. Not that I was complaining, but I noticed Barry stayed within my reach for longer than usual. "Is everything alright, mátia mou?" I asked softly as I pulled back to look at him.

He cringed for a moment before opening his eyes, releasing a tense breath as he secured his hold on me. "I have to go to Gotham." I took a second to process his words before slowly exhaling, pushing my fingers through his hair. "Team -- League orders," he corrected. Ah yes, Bats had taken to calling them the Justice League. How quaint. I took a deep breath as I weighed the consequences of my options, waiting until his dark eyes were back on my dark ones before speaking.

"As a member of Team Flash," I started cautiously, dipping a toe in the water, "wouldn't that technically make me an honorary member of the League?"

"You want to come with me?" His confusion was obvious and expected, considering my last trip there ended with a full blown mental split, but I didn't want Barry on the Joker's turf, no matter who was with him. My unease would only be lessened if I were there with him.

"You want me to take over here?" I chuckled teasingly, able to bring the ghost of a smile to his lips. "I don't want you out there alone," I properly explained, the small curl to my lips straightening out into a tight, worried line.

"I won't be alone." Barry took a moment of my silence to look me over and realize what I meant. "Hey, Bats has gone up against the Joker more times than I can count, everyone there looks out for each other."

"And how many times has B-man successfully taken care of him?" I tried, taking one of his hands and squeezing it tightly. "Please, let me come with you." Taking a deep breath, he nodded and pressed his lips to mine, reassuring me and mustering up his own courage with the one action.

"Go get your stuff ready. We'll leave after sun down," he informed against my lips. I nodded and smiled at bit, not daring to break the sweet contact between us first.