The Flash: In Another Life (Snowbarry)

3.4 Shadow of the Breach

Hey, wow, it's been a while. Where to begin? 

Around the time I started writing Part 3, I was going through some pretty major life changes, including a new job that's kept me pretty busy. That and I was deciding on the exact circumstances of Barry's return, all of which had this middle string of chapters play out very differently.

I don't know how frequent updates are going to be from here on, but for now, enjoy.

The Loft

Barry woke up late the next morning. He couldn't remember the last time he woke up so peacefully. No nightmares, no empty bed. He looked down at Caitlin sleeping soundly resting her head on his chest.

The time before Caitlin opened her eyes was well spent. Barry admired her brown hair glowing in the morning sun seeping through the crack in the drapes. He ran his fingers through it, trying to tidy it a little from all those months she was on her own (and from all they did last night).

"Hii." Caitlin refused to move in the slightest. She didn't want Barry to stop what he was doing.

"'Hi' yourself." Barry moved his hand down to Caitlin's and laced his fingers into hers. He felt his mother's old ring sitting on his fiancée's finger. "You ready to break the news to everybody?"

"Absolutely." Caitlin chuckled slightly. "Assuming we don't run into something trying to kill us."

"What could possibly happen?"

Central City

Later that day, Cisco and Barry each hid behind their own barricade to shield themselves from something firing at them. They'd gotten separated from Caitlin in the chaos of the dimly lit arena. The boys were lucky to be taking cover so close to one another. They tightly gripped the blasters in their hands, looking for any opening to fight back.

"Barry!" Cisco shouted. "Where are you?"

"I don't know!" Barry shouted back. "I lost Caitlin! There's too many of them!"

"No! You can take them! You just gotta do one thing. Run, Barry. Run!"

Barry steeled himself, let out a battle cry, and charged... at a group of kids wielding laser tag guns and immediately got his vest deactivated. "Aw. They got me."

"Oh, you have failed this city!" Cisco decried before jumping in.

Cisco wondered how he got taken out so quickly, seeing as none of their opponents had fired.

Barry and Cisco looked behind them, where Harry was setting his blaster down after just meeting the same fate they did. He looked more irritated than apologetic for his friendly fire.

"For real, Harry?" Cisco said. "You were supposed to be keeping an eye out for Chad."

"It's too dark in here, Ramon," Harry complained as he fidgeted with his vest, clearly uncomfortable with its weight.

"Do I look like Chad?"

"Well, you're about his height, so..."

As Cisco gasped with a look of pure, unfiltered offense on his face, Caitlin finally found them, her vest still active.

"Wait, did you all die already?" She shook her head disapprovingly.

"Well, Harry-" Cisco failed to explain. He just shook his head and led his eliminated teammates to the waiting area until the round ended.

After the game, the team (sans Harry) stopped by the picnic area in the park to meet up with Cecile and Wally. Joe arrived with the food everyone ordered, quickly becoming accustomed once again to the absurd amount of food Barry ate.