𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭: ᴢᴇʀᴏᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ² − b. allen ((editing))

∟ 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲.

shade
part one

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IT STILL HADN'T settled in Anna's head that a new speedster had come to the city — her city; the city that she had been protecting for two, almost three, years. Anna was making it possible for people to sleep well at night and walk the streets to get to work, and for a while, even Anna felt safe in Central City. Until the Woman in Red showed up.

          For what seemed like forever, she had gotten used to there only being good speedsters — but that happened during the time period between Reverse-Flash and Zoom, too. Anna wasn't prepared to fight against another speedster, she was physically able to do it, that was certain, but she was nowhere near mentally or emotionally prepared to handle something that had flipped her life upside down and dragged her through hell two times over.

          For days, Anna had kept the secret to herself and Shannon, Cisco and Barry, leaving everyone else completely in the dark from the arrival of a new speedster. She contemplated between telling the rest of her team, or just keep it to herself. Everyone was so happy again after she had ruined it, and now, if she told them, she would ruin their happiness yet again.

          Movement on the bed knocked Anna out of her thoughts and brought her attention toward the left side of the bed where Barry now sat. She smiled softly and he smiled back, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. "You're awake," he said softly and scooted closer to her.

          "I've been awake for a while," Anna replied, her smile slowly disappearing from her face as she pulled her eyes away from Barry. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled, hoping that would relieve some of the weight that sat on her chest but it seemed to only get worse. "Tossing and turning between if I should tell the team about the new speedster or not. I know I should, but I don't want to ruin the happiness that they have."

          Barry scooted down and rested his head on the pillow, turning onto his side to face Anna. He rested his hands under his face and sighed deeply, staring into Anna's brown eyes with his green ones that made her fall in love all over again every time she looked into them. "We have to tell them," he said softly. "I know you don't want to, I don't want to, but they deserve to know. They've been with us for a really long time and we shouldn't keep this from them. They have to be prepared for it."

          "Do we have to tell them yet?" Anna asked and stifled a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't want them to come at me with pitchforks and torches if I ruin their day again."

          Barry nodded his head and rested a hand on the side of Anna's face, stroking his thumb over her cheek lightly and sending tiny bolts of electricity through her skin. "They need to know today. We've kept it from them long enough." Anna's smile dropped yet again and she nodded her head slowly. "Cisco and Shannon are going crazy keeping this to themselves. Especially from Caitlin. Everyone deserves to know about what's coming."

          Anna reached out and rested her hand on Barry's chest, feeling his steady heartbeat against her palm. "Don't die on me, okay? I can't do this without you, Barry," she whispered and scooted herself closer to him, resting her head against his chest. "I need you."

          Barry wrapped his arms around Anna tightly and rested one hand on the back of her head, his fingers running through her hair. "Don't die on me, either," he said and kissed the top of her head, leaving his lips against her hair. "I need you, too."