Soothsayer ⚡ Barry Allen

Us Time

I didn't get them nearly as often as Barry, but I'd had a nightmare. My dreams were selective after the League, and I had a harder time remembering them afterwards, but nightmares shook me, rattled me to my core, and were the main reason I didn't want to sleep beside Barry. This one included him and both the Snarts but that's all I could recall. It was this very reason I didn't want him here, and as I roused myself from the sleep state, I forced a composure when I found that he'd followed me in here. I put my hand on the arm he'd wrapped around my stomach and took a deep breath when he pulled me closer, trying hard to remain calm.

"I don't like waking up alone," he informed in a soft voice, everything about him gentle. "But if you want your space, I get it. All you have to do is say so." His grip eased and he started pulling away, almost having left the bed before I decided to grab his hand. Now that I was awake, I didn't care all that much, I just needed his comfort. I turned over and pulled him back to me, curling myself small against his chest as his arms wrapped securely around me again.

"You built me a shrine?" I softly asked, needing to distract myself as well as him.

"No," he sheepishly denied. "But I needed a spot to feel close to you, when the sketchbook wasn't enough." I nodded, curling my fingers around his shirt as I breathed him in.

"While I was stationed here I'd watch you in your lab, try and piece together how you were trying to help people," I breathed, beginning to feel the security of his hold again. "I'm sorry. If somehow I could take out all the pain I put you through but end up here and now still, I would. I never wanted to hurt you in any way. I just needed to keep you away from there," I apologized, looking up and holding his gaze the whole way through.

"I know, Dromi. Don't worry." Tucking some hair behind my ear, Barry kissed my forehead, whispering, "I know." I took a deep breath, more calm spreading through me as his arms enveloped me. I curled into him worse than he'd curled into my back the night before, trapping him here. When I woke up these days, I had a hard time finding a sense of myself, remembering what parts were Al Kahin and which were Andromeda, but Barry'd put them in order for me, holding me together as the glue dried.

"I love you," I whimpered. "I don't deserve to but I do." He pulled away, denial ready at his lips, but I gently held my hand over them and met his eye. "I knew I didn't deserve you in Blackgate, even before I'd done anything to hurt you." With a soft huff, he moved my hand, looking at me seriously.

"And since then you've done a lot to prove to me that you do deserve it. You deserve someone to look for the light in you, to love you." My face warmed and I took a deep breath, a relaxed smile pulling on my lips.

"Nobody's gunna love me under the same light you do. No one's as dedicated as you are," I pointed out. "It's just fine by me, too." My lips twitched up and I added, "I've got all I need in front of me." My smile remained as Barry pressed his lips on mine, slowly starting to feel him pull away.

"I love you, Andromeda," he whispered against my lips, breathing in my air as he got another kiss in. "But I'm going to see my dad." I nodded and brought my hand to his cheek, smoothing my thumb under his eye as he pulled further from my reach.

"Stay safe, mátia mou. Se agapó." I loved the smile that pulled over his lips, turning and leaving the room shortly after it made an appearance. With a soft sigh, I laid back comfortably and rode through the odd mixture of emotions left within me.

⚡One week later⚡

Barry was a wild sleeper. It was another reason why I was scared about the idea of him sleeping in the same bed as me. I sat in his second favorite chair beside the bed, simply watching his sleep patterns. He tossed and turned, switching to either side often, sometimes laying flat on his back. His arms either failed out or curled in, his hands in permanent fists. He made quite a bit of noise as well, moaning and even talking in his sleep. Sometimes it was clear, other times it was incoherant, and most of them bore no context. He got nightmares often, it explained his jerkish and erradic behavior even before I'd left.

It was bad tonight. I bit down on my knuckle, wanting to respect his privacy, to some extent, but unable to watch him go through this -- especially alone. Against the smaller, better part of my judgement, I carefully grabbed one of his arms as it stuck over the edge of the bed and sat under it, laying beside him and slowly running my fingers over his back. His arm tensed around my abdomen, pulling me close enough to feel his warm, lightly labored pants on my face. With a small smile, I rested my forhead on his, content that his troubles seemed to be gone for now as he relaxed into me.

I had meant to get up, to go before Barry had the opportunity to wake up and learn that I snuck into his room at night, after seperating myself, to watch his sleep fits. But that wasn't the case.

I don't know how long Barry had been awake for but he was watching me carefully as I opened my eyes. For once, I became flustered under his stare, my face unusually warming. "Hi..." I mumbled, watching a smile grow on his face.

"Good morning," he laughed, pushing back the hairs surrounding my face. "You were in my dreams," he admitted when I continued to watch him like a deer caught in headlights. I raised my eyebrow, still unable to produce my usual snarky remark. "You chased away my nightmare," Barry informed in a mumble. "It made sense when I woke up and you were here." He held my cheek and my eyes instincively closed, my hand laying atop his and holding a firm grip on it.

"I didn't want you to be alone," I supplied quietly, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. Barry tightened his hold around my back and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, filling me with a sense of content.

"I don't care what people say, you have too good a heart to be an evil villan," he informed, causing my heart to flutter. I knew it wasn't true, but his words made me impossibly more flustered, my face warming under his hand.

"Thanks to you," I managed to breathe out. "The old Andy would laugh at the new me." He laughed softly and I cursed my heart for fluttering with utmost adoration for the boy. He weasled his way in there and I was left with no clue how or what to do with it. I could manipulate my way through just about anything, but nothing with Barry was manipulative or an act, and for once in my life I didn't know what to do with the lack of it. It was all still new and foriegn to me.

"You had a light in you all along, Andromeda. I just helped you kindle it." I shook my head, opening my eyes and taking in his relaxed smile.

"You gave me some of yours. What good I have came from you." I ran my thumb over his smile and felt this odd urge to tell him the truth. It was so strong, I couldn't stop the words tumbling out of my mouth. "I was truly evil, Barry. But all that changed when you started visiting me. Little by little I became a better person. I wanted to prove it to you without actually saying anything. That's why I became your rat... Even in Blackgate you changed me."

With my hand still on his face, I kissed him, feeling his skin warm under my fingers. "Its in your name, Andy. You're made of billions of lights, some brighter than others, but they all create something beautiful," he mumbled, holding me close but just far enough apart that our lips no longer touched, my face warming again.

"You're my lighthouse, Barry. Bringing me safely home from the storm. You're my guiding light." I closed my eyes and relaxed, an involentary smile on my lips. I'm glad my activity didn't dampen his faith in me, it made all that hopeless yearning worth it. "I'd be lost without you." I could feel his hand smoothing through my hair, the action eventually lulling me into sleep again.