ꗃ﹕ 𝑬𝑿𝑷𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑬. . . ▅ ▅
THE FLASH.⠀───⠀❪ 巴里艾伦 ❫
❝ EPILOGUE! ❞
━━ ❛ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅. . . ❜
▇▇ ₊˚〆₊ made + written by cardiiac ▇▇
THE PITCH-BLACK CURTAINS DRAPED OVER THE NIGHT SKY AND THE TWISTED, WARPED SHAPES THAT THE STARS CREATED AGAINST THE BLACKNESS SPIRALED IN EVERY DIRECTION. The milky speckles twirled and danced along the dark ocean in various patterns, tugging at the corners of her lips in a way that made her smile. It was hard not to break out into a full-on grin as she turned her gaze back to the man beside her. She wasn't alone. And nothing could reach out from the pits of the great abyss and harm her; not anymore. She was home.
"Are you excited?" Barry asked, mindlessly swinging their intertwined hands back and forth in the fall breeze.
"Mhm," Piper nodded as she turned and stepped forward, letting go of his hand and wrapping her arms around his neck. A euphoric smile spread across her cheeks as the man pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, securing his arms around her torso. "Do you think it's too late to cancel the housewarming party and just have a night to ourselves in the new house?" she questioned, raising a curious brow.
Barry tilted his head, holding back the smile that was threatening to break through. "And why would we do that? Iris has been talking about this party for six months now," he murmured, rubbing his hand up and down her back.
Shrugging nonchalantly, Piper darted her eyes in between his for a brief second. "I know. It's not that I'm not excited for everyone to see the house, but we've been working nonstop for the past three years. You, with the CCPD and S.T.A.R. Labs, and me with the Central City Citizen and Mercury Labs. Not to mention— also being a part-time superhero every day too. This is our first night, for the next two months, of us being off work, and I want to spend it alone with you," she sighed, idly playing with the navy blue collar of Barry's sweater.
The brown-haired man smiled softly at the woman before him, knowing where she was coming from. They had been working extremely hard in the past three years, from rebuilding S.T.A.R. Labs and mending relationships to recovering from her coma, moving on from everything that had happened, and learning how to be happy again.
They'd been through a lot over the years and learned many lessons that had taught them a great deal about themselves and the world around them.
The team was stronger than it'd ever been, and Central City had never been safer with the protection of The Flash, Expedite, and Vibe. For the first time ever, Piper Lita could confidently state that she was beyond happy and content with where she was in her life. A lot had changed—and for the better too.
"I would love, more than anything, to spend the night with only you, but we already promised to have this party. We've kept everyone waiting long enough to see the house," Barry reminded the woman, rubbing her side. "Besides, tonight's the night. Remember?"
Piper broke out at the man's words into a bright smile, staring up at him with radiantly warm chocolate-brown eyes. "How could I forget?" she breathed, glancing down at his lips before snapping her gaze back up to his eyes.
"Did you tell Erin?" Barry suddenly asked, raising a brow as he gave her a knowing look.
Rolling her eyes, the scarlet-redhead scoffed. "No, I haven't. I can keep a secret, you know," she retorted, backing out of his arms.
"Oh, really?" Barry laughed, following her as she walked toward the house. "'Cause I'm pretty certain that you told Erin that we were in the process of building our dream house the day construction for it began."
Piper's mouth dropped, and she narrowed her eyes as they walked up the driveway. "Listen here, bitch boy—that was the only thing I've let slip, all right? She doesn't know anything, and neither does Cisco. I haven't told them a single thing or detail." Her finger pointed directly at the brown-haired man right as her back hit the front door.
Stopping in front of her, Barry pressed his left hand against the smooth, burgundy matte door. "I believe you, princess," he murmured before pressing his lips gently to hers.
Immediately, she grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer as their lips moved in sync. And just like always, Barry melted into her touch, his muscles relaxing more as he felt her fingers dance across his chest.
"I would suggest that we continue this inside so all of our new neighbors don't have to watch us make out—" Piper breathed as she pulled away, only to be cut off by Barry kissing her slowly. "—but I also know," she whispered against his lips right as he began to pull her shirt up the tiniest bit, "that if this continues, neither one of us will stop, and everyone will be here at seven. Which is only minutes away."
Running his hand up underneath her shirt, the brown-haired man sighed. "You were right," he mumbled, pulling away as he reached into his pocket for the house keys. "Maybe we should just cancel the party and have a night to ourselves."
Looking up at him, the scarlet-redhead smirked. "I would love, more than anything, to spend the night with only you, but we already promised to have this party. We've kept everyone waiting long enough to see the house. Besides, tonight's the night. Remember?" Piper repeated, echoing his exact words from moments ago, and slightly tilted her head to the side.
Pulling out the key, Barry unlocked the front door and rested his hand on the doorknob. He stared down at her; his eyes narrowed, but his lips slowly twitched upward. "Using my own words against me, clever," he mused, twisting the doorknob. Piper winked at him before turning around and walking inside.
From there, it wasn't long until a series of repeated knocks echoed from the front of the house. Setting his drink down on the coffee table, Barry made his way toward the front of the house to find that Piper had already got to it, ushering everyone inside.
"Barry!" A familiar voice called, and a radiant smile lit up the brown-haired man's face as he walked forward and embraced his father.
Smiling at the exchange between the two, Piper turned her attention back to everyone else who was walking around the house in awe. As her eyes bounced from person to person, the scarlet-redhead smirked to herself as she noticed Joe and Harry walking together into the dining room.
Everyone noticed that the two men had grown closer over the past three years. The entire team, minus Harry, knew the detective's feelings toward the scientist well. What they had yet to figure out still was how Harry felt. It'd been a guessing game for years, especially since neither man had made any sort of advancement toward the other. However, Piper and Iris were both trying to convince Joe to make a move, but so far, they'd been unsuccessful.
Moving her eyes to Cisco and Caitlin, she watched as the two looked at the wall of framed comic books that Piper had moved from her apartment to the new house.
Over the past three years, both of them had been doing great. Caitlin was currently engaged to Julian Albert, and their wedding was set for January. The brunette was still working at S.T.A.R. Labs and serving as an informant for CCPD when they needed her.
As for Cisco, the long-haired boy lived his best life by keeping the city safe and working full-time at S.T.A.R. Labs. Not much had changed for him, and for that, he was grateful.
A soft knock came from the door, and Piper blinked, snapping out of her thoughts and speeding to open the door. Right as she did, she was wrapped in a bear hug by both Iris and Erin. "You guys made it!" Piper exclaimed, a bright smile lining her cheeks.
"Uh, duh. Our jobs can wait. There was no way we were missing tonight. Especially after all the harassment Iris has put you and Barry through." Erin commented, chuckling as Iris nudged her in the side.
Hoisting up the little girl in her arms, the newspaper chief shot the woman a smile. "I'm so happy for you two. The house looks spectacular," she complimented.
"Thank you," Piper smiled before reaching forward and grabbing the little girl's hand. "How's my favorite angel doing?" Blinking, her round hazel eyes gazed at the scarlet-redhead in wonder as a smile spread across her cheeks.
The couple sighed in unison. "Evelyn is doing pretty good. She only woke up twice last night, and we got to sleep until seven." Erin breathed, nodding towards their daughter. Nine months ago, exactly a year after Erin and Iris married, they adopted their first child. Ever since then, the two wives had been non-stop busy and running on scarce amounts of peaceful sleep.
"Hey, guys," Barry greeted, coming up from behind Piper and wrapping his arms around her torso.
Iris's face immediately lit up, "Barry! It's so good to see you." Erin nodded in agreement as she took Evelyn in her arms, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
"I'm glad you guys are here. Now, we can get started," the brown-haired man announced excitedly, pressing a quick kiss to Piper's cheek before unwrapping his arms from around her.
"Get what started? Are we playing a drinking game?" Erin asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up as she followed behind Piper and Iris, both of whom were trailing behind Barry. Piper snorted, shaking her head at her best friend as they continued walking.
"All right, everyone, come to the living room!" Barry shouted, intertwining his fingers with the redhead. The two stood in front of the marble fireplace while waiting for everyone to gather around. Looking down at their interwoven hands, Piper brought them up and pressed a soft kiss to the back of Barry's before squeezing it. He squeezed back, smiling over at her adoringly before looking back at everyone else. "We have something important to tell you," Barry began, his words causing everyone to perk up.
Caitlin, Cisco, Iris, and Erin all glanced at one another, sharing intrigued glances while Harry and Joe both breathed in deeply. Moving his hand, the brown-haired scientist grabbed onto Joe's hand, squeezing it softly. Blinking in surprise, the detective looked over at Harry, biting back a smile as he watched the man's cheeks fade to a soft pink.
"We're getting married," Piper blurted out; the excitement of what was to come was too much to keep inside anymore, and she raised her left hand, flashing everyone the diamond ring that was snuggly fit on her ring finger.
"Oh, my God, yes!" Erin shouted, pumping a fist in the air as both Caitlin and Iris squealed, running over to Piper immediately.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Cisco rubbed his forehead. "About damn time. For a second, I thought you were going to tell us that you're pregnant," he admitted, shaking his head as he chuckled. Noticing how the couple remained silent at his words, his jaw dropped, "Wait a damn minute..."
"Are you pregs?" Iris gasped, her eyes wide as she let go of Piper's hand.
Looking over at the brown-haired man, Piper smiled softly as she saw him already gazing at her endearingly.
This is it. I'm getting my happy ending.
Growing tired of the tense silence, Harry rolled his eyes. "So, are you pregnant or not?"
ꗃ﹕ 𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹'𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬. . . ▅ ▅
greetings!
i just want to start off this final author note with a big 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪.
writing this book— piper lita's story— has changed my life in many ways. especially creatively and emotionally. i've had the absolute best time writing this book and creating a new world for the flash and its respective characters.
𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲 and 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮 both mean so much to me and will always hold a special place in my heart.
thank you for sticking around and reading this story, voting, and commenting. all of your support has meant the world to me, and it amazes me that people actually love these characters so much and have grown attached to some of them. i hope this story has, in some way, shape, or form, helped someone or taught someone something.
this epilogue was more of a brief overview of everyone's current lives and where they are now. hopefully, i have made some of you happy with how some characters have turned out to be and how their stories ended or continued.
i wanted to leave with a cliffhanger. that way, the rest is up for you all to interpret or guess. piper's happy ending is whatever you all imagine that to be.
i hope all of you enjoyed reading piper's story. thank you.
love, grayson.
© CARDIIAC