Another World Pt. 1
{Barry x Reader}
I walked through the dark city street, taking slow steps between my father and best friend, Barry Allen. My mind had wandered off to somewhere - I don't know where - but it recollected now, my eyes watching dark streets unfold before me. We were quiet, nothing but the chirping crickets ringing out through the cold evening.
We moved on further, in a comfortable, almost thoughtful silence. Reaching a few steps downward, I started down just two before feeling Barry's hand grasp my arm tightly. I turned to him in surprise, watching as he steadied himself with me, looking down at his shoes.
The sight was nothing out of the ordinary, his one foot and one prosthetic foot were planted firmly on one step now. I looked to his face, watching as he stared at his jeans, tugging at his pant leg of the prosthetic leg. His eyes widened at the artificial limb for a moment as if it was his first time ever seeing it, before meeting mine. Before I fully could register his look of confusion, my sight was blurred by a blinding, white light. In the midst of the white stood a man, draped in a red suit, surrounded by sparks of yellow lightning. But the vision only flickered for a few seconds, and I found myself staring into Barry's eyes again as if it never happened.
"Are you okay?" I heard my father ask. We both glanced to him, nodding.
"I just missed a step," Barry confessed, letting go of my arm. He slowly made his way down the other steps, my eyebrows furrowing as to why it looked like he forget how to take the stairs. It had been nearly two years since the night of the particle accelerator explosion, the night Barry lost his left leg. Sure, things had been difficult at first, but Barry had gotten back to the point where his artificial leg didn't slow him down a long time ago.
I hadn't realized we had made it home, but the sound of keys jingling brought my mind back to the present. My father unlocked the door, stepping inside the dark house. I knew my sister and mother were already home, probably already in bed. Barry, my father and I had been out late, helping Barry with some forensic work at the CCPD.
After slipping off my jacket and shoes, I glanced to Barry to see him already watching me. "Is everything alright?" I asked him, crossing my arms. My father looked to Barry, too.
Barry nodded, rubbing a hand against his forehead. "Yeah, I think I'm just tired."
"I know I'm tired," my dad groaned, shaking his head. "Goodnight, kids. I'll see you in the morning. And tomorrow we start apartment hunting, Barry."
Barry blinked and nodded slowly. He looked like it was his first time hearing about it. "For Y/N and I?" He asked quietly.
"I think we've lived together long enough," I laughed. "It's time for you to get your bachelor pad, or whatever."
My dad chuckled, too, shaking his head. "Hm, yeah, at this age guys like you start living with girls they like more than friends." I smiled, nodding in agreement with my dad's words. I loved Barry and all, but living alone with him? It wasn't like we were in love or anything.
"I'm heading to bed now," I sighed, shaking my head at the two. My dad nodded, and disappeared up the stairs to his bedroom. I walked down the hallway, heading towards my own, Barry trailing behind me.
I stopped at my bedroom door, turning to look at Barry. His door was right across from mine, just as it always had been for as long as I could remember.
"Goodnight, Y/N," Barry said, looking at me from his doorway. I smiled back at him, seeing his bright green eyes in the shadowy hall. Then, for the second time tonight, my vision of him was blocked by the familiar and unsettling white light, this time shoving images of the red-suited man running in a blur of lightning. I blinked hard, the visions disappearing completely.
"You good?" Barry whispered.
"Yeah," I lied, nodding. I forced a smile one last time before stepping into my room and muttering out a weak goodnight to Barry.
- - -
I looked around, but everything in sight was unfamiliar. I stood in the middle of a clean bedroom, not sure why I was there. "Y/N." Barry was suddenly standing in front of me, a vaguely familiar light of yellow sparking off of his body.
"What?" I asked, looking around the room. It seemed foggy inside, engulfing everything in a gray smoke. I glanced back at Barry, who was now dressed in a red suit, a lightning bolt emblem placed on his chest. I stepped backwards, confused as to how he changed so quickly, and what the heck he was wearing.
"You need to wake up," he said softly, his eyes searching mine.
My eyes raked over his suit again, realization coming over me. Barry was the man in the visions I'd seen earlier.
"Wake up," Barry said again, "Tell me I'm The Flash. Tell me I can make things right. I can't do it without you, Y/N."
"The Flash?" I questioned. The name sounded like something from a comic book, and whatever it was, it wasn't Barry Allen. The man in my visions ran faster than the speed of sound, and my Barry Allen just had trouble making his way down the stairs. My heart ached, looking at the Barry in front of me.
The next words out of Barry's mouth startled me the most, though. He had stepped forward towards me, grabbing my face in his hands. Tears trailed down his face as he studied my eyes, a certain sadness filled in his. "I'm in love with you, Y/N."
My body jolted and my eyes adjusted to the darkness around me, relief flooding me as I found myself sitting in my own bedroom. I breathed heavily, panting as I sat up in my bed. I licked my dry lips, the scenes of my nightmare playing out in my hand. Eventually, my heartbeat slowed back to normal as I laid back down. I pulled the covers to my chin, my mind racing with thoughts of The Flash.
- - -
I stepped out of my bedroom, dressed and ready for the day after only getting a few hours of sleep. My mind just wouldn't stop running after the dream where Barry invaded my subconscious. It had felt so real. Before I could take a step down the hall, Barry's door flew open. He looked just as tired as I felt. His hair was a mess, and he was wearing nothing but sweatpants. I gulped at the sight, a sight I'd seen many times and had never once cared about.
"Y/N," Barry said softly, stepping forward. He brought a hand to his face, rubbing his tired eyes. "Can I talk to you?"
"Uh, yeah," I sighed, combing my fingers through my hair. "What's up?"
Barry watched me for a moment, his eyes linger on my face. With a swift movement he turned his gaze away, leaning into his doorframe. "I just... it's kind of weird." I smiled, thinking of my strange visions and my unsettling dream, knowing that whatever he was about to tell me wouldn't phase me.
"Don't worry about it," I assured him.
"Okay," he nodded, "Let me just, uh, get changed." He looked down at his bare chest, and my eyes followed. It was like seeing Barry in a new light - all because of a dream where Barry was in love me. I nodded once, turning my eyes away.
With a sigh, I walked off to the living room to leave him to get ready, thinking of what life would actually be like if Barry did love me like that.
I sat on the edge of one of our brown couches, looking at my feet. What was wrong with me? What was going on? I stared harder at the ground, willing myself to have another one of my strange visions while I waited for Barry. But nothing came.
I heard Barry's footsteps, a soft thud with the sound of a light tap against the wood floor. They continued in a staggered pattern, until finally he appeared and collapsed onto the couch. I looked to him, narrowing my eyebrows at the strange and dangerously close proximity of our two bodies. My eyes lifted to meet his, the air changing.
The Barry Allen I had always known was gone. I was back in that dark, unfamiliar bedroom from my dream. All I could see was the Barry - The 'Flash' Barry Allen - standing in front of me. "Tell me I'm The Flash," he repeated from last night.
Then everything changed again, and I found myself back in my living room, back next to Barry, our eyes boring into each other.
"Are you alright?" Barry asked, his face scrunching up in confusion. My gaze drifted, not sure how to answer. "Y/N?"
I shifted slightly, looking back to his concerned face. "I'm fine, Barry. Isn't there something you wanted to talk about?"
Barry nodded, letting out a little sigh. His hands were resting in his lap, fiddling nervously. "Uh, yeah, well... gosh, I don't know how to start this," he breathed, "It's going to sound crazy." He gulped, bringing a hand to his hair and tousling it around.
"Shut up," I smiled at him, admiring his messy, disheveled hair. He still looked like morning, with the unfixed hair and the tired look his face. Tired had never looked so cute, or so tempting, before. I noticed how a hand of his had moved between us, just an inch away from my leg. I cringed internally - I wasn't supposed to think of my best friend like that.
"Right," he laughed lightly, "It's just that... well... ever since last night, I've been having these weird feelings. Or, something, it's something like that."
My ears perked at his words, immediately intrigued. I could understand the feeling.
"It's like I'm remembering... another life," he said slowly, looking at me to see my reaction.
My breathing hitched, my mind clouding over with memories that weren't mine. Barry, standing in a red suit. Barry, fighting off people with strange, dangerous powers. Barry, stuck in a nine month coma while I waited by his side impatiently. Barry, the night of the particle accelerator explosion.
This, right here, wasn't my life. This sure as anything was not Barry's life.
• • • • •
author's note | here is part one of two (MAYBE three, i'm not sure yet) of "another world"
this may seem weird, but this is based off of a dream i had. crazy, right? i needed inspiration and then i had some super strange dream about barry allen being my best & missing a leg & all sad. so, whatever, i'm making it into a story for you guys hahah
i hope you're enjoying and not thinking i'm the weirdest person alive rn
hey, also, i'm wondering - what are your favorite barry allen imagine books or just regular barry allen books? i'm looking for some new ones to read please n thanks :)
i'll put up part two either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how well this part does 😅 and after that, i'll be posting some requested imagines from you wonderful people!
also this gif of grant kills me