Pippin followed Barry into the house, deciding to keep her trap shut as Barry brought her suitcase in for her.
It was a cozy house, one of those homes that seemed full of wonderful memories. There were picture frames everywhere, most of them of a young Barry and a beautiful girl smiling.
Pippin laughed quietly to herself, picking up a frame that was resting on a coffee table.
"Oh, no, please. I've tried talking my dad into taking down all these pictures but he keeps ignoring me." Barry walked towards her, his cheeks turning pink.
"It's cute." Pippin looked up from studying the picture of a toothless Barry that had chocolate ice cream all over his cheeks while the girl was laughing, rubbing an ice cream cone all over his face.
"Yeah, that's Iris." Barry pointed out before he rubbed the back of his head, almost thoughtfully.
"She seems nice."Pippin replied, not knowing what else to say.
"She is." He answered, staring down at Pippin while she met his gaze with a confused look.
"Speaking of which, you could use her room. Here, I'll show you."
Pippin nodded, taking her suitcase in one hand before he could. The house reminded her of one of the foster homes she had passed through.
A shiver ran down her spine which she tried to hide but she figured Barry had noticed.
Judging from the look he was sending her.
Barry opened a door, leading her into a light blue room. A nightstand was perched in a corner, a dresser against the wall as well as a tall lamp but there was no more furniture in the room.
"Crap." Barry ran a hand through his hair as his green eyes clouded in annoyance.
"I'm sorry. I counted on her not taking the bed when she left." He turned to face Pippin who was chewing her lip absentmindedly.
"Couch?" She offered, meeting his gaze with a small smile.
"You can sleep in my room. I'll take the couch."
He shrugged, smiling as Pippin started to protest. "Pippin, don't worry about it."
She clamped her mouth shut as his kind eyes twinkled at her.
"Besides, it'll be closer to the door. More efficient when I have to get out to do Flash stuff."
Pippin's eyes widened as she pressed an index finger to Barry's lips. He froze, staring at her finger then back at her in bewilderment.
"I didn't know." She hissed, her eyes flashing a little with irritation.
"Didn't know what?" Barry mumbled against her finger, watching her blush a little at the chill it sent up her spine.
"That you were the Flash." Was her annoyed response as it was Barry's to stare at her in surprise.
"Felicity didn't tell you?"
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^THE GIF IS WORKING THE GIF IS WORKING HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH
oh but yeah back to the caption
Barry's face when he finds out Pippin didn't know he was the Flash
'Woman do you realize who I am?'
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Shock laced his voice as he stared down at the feisty blonde who had removed her finger from her lips and now had her hands on her hips.
"It wasn't exactly her secret to tell, was it?" She snapped back, sighing at him.
"I just guessed that she had-"
Pippin's frown cut him off as she started to speak. "You can't be so free with your identity, Barry. It's who you are. People will hold that against you. Your identity is your secret, it's a weapon that can be used against you and the people you care about."
Barry watched her as she occasionally threw her hands in exasperation to accent her words.
"If the people you put in jail learn who you are, they'll use it as leverage." She pursed her lips, indicating her small lecture was over.
"You're right." Was the only thing Barry could think to say. Pippin stared at him for a second before shaking her head and managing to smile. "You're so naive. It's cute."
Barry's eyebrows arched a little as he blinked at her.
"And to think I was leaving Starling to get away from vigilantes." She shook her head, a smile staying on her lips.
"Does that mean you don't want to meet the team?" The question slipped off of Barry's tongue as he leaned against the doorway, his cheeks tinted pink. Pippin frowned, nibbling on her lip as Barry watched her, his eyes focusing on her and her only.
"If you want me to." She shrugged, eyeing Barry warily.
"I could use your help." He answered, rubbing the back of his head as his voice trailed off at the end. The corners of Pippin's lips curled upwards slightly.
"I'll help in any way I can. It's better I get it over with now. Either way, I would've said yes anyways."
Pippin answered, turning her back to Barry only to glare at her suitcase with narrowed eyes.
"Staring at your suitcase won't really unpack it, you know." Barry chuckled, watching as Pippin sighed in frustration.
"Unpacking is for the weak." She answered, nudging the suitcase with her foot.
"The lazy, you mean." He suggested, smiling as he received a small Pip-glare. She returned to staring at her suitcase in irritation and disdain.
Barry sighed, cracking his neck a little before he whizzed around the room, swiftly unpacking her bag. Pippin fell back in shock, hitting the ground rather roughly but all she focused on was the golden blur spinning around the room as Barry attacked her suitcase.
In a few seconds, the light was gone, Barry was standing next to her with his hair rather disheveled, and her clothes were neatly stacked on top of the dresser. Pippin stared at him, her mouth wide open as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.
"Wow." Was the only thing she managed to articulate before licking her dry lips.
"When did you get on the floor?"Barry teased, clasping her hand in his own and pulling her up.
"That was amazing." Pippin murmured, her eyes wide and slightly awestruck.
"I've never seen anything like that." She added, blinking a few times.
Barry wasn't sure what to answer so he simply nodded, offering another smile.
"You want to grab some food? You're probably hungry from your trip."
She flashed him a smile, now more calm and collected than before. Pippin hadn't been sure what to expect when he said he was the Flash.
She had never seen a superhero with powers before.
That's what he was.
It was nothing like Oliver.
Here was someone who had powers, who could easily run faster than the speed of sound.
Of course, he was innocent, naive, and obviously sheltered but he had a kind heart.
Anyone could see that.
Pippin stole a glance at him as he picked up the car keys, switching off lights while she waited patiently by the door.
"I hope Big Belly Burger's okay."He glanced at her, a little surprised to see her already looking his way.
"Perfect." She smiled, the corner of her eyes crinkling in a beautiful way. Barry smiled, locking up before they walked silently to the car.
"So when do I get to meet this team?" Pippin broke the silence, staring out the window as she tried to familiarize herself with the new surroundings.
"Ronnie and Caitlin are on their honeymoon but Cisco's at the lab. We could swing by tomorrow." Barry answered, glancing over at her and smiling.
"Sounds good." She mumbled, staring at the skyscrapers as they neared the city.
"How come you're not fighting crime tonight?"
Settling in her seat, she turned her gaze to Barry.
"Everything's been pretty quite for a few weeks."
Pippin hummed in understanding. She had heard about the incident in the news.
A large cloud over the city, an anomaly.
Felicity had freaked out and had been clacking away on her keyboard for most of the night.
The whole night had been spent making phone calls, checking on Barry, and calming Felicity.
"How are you after that?" Pippin asked, noticing the sharp intake of breath that Barry sucked into his lungs before he answered.
"Different. I feel a little weird but it's mostly because of everything that happened." He frowned, his shoulders falling a little as he continued to drive.
Pippin hesitated before placing her hand tentatively on Barry's shoulder.
He glanced at her before looking back at the road.
"I know the feeling."
She murmured, smiling a little before she turned back to the window, her hand slowly sliding off of Barry's shoulder.