Barry's eyes fluttered open to find Cisco and Caitlin standing over him. A steady beeping could be heard throughout the cortex as he groggily lifted his head.
"The streak lives." Cisco grinned.
"You'd be dead if your lung cells didn't regenerate so quickly." Caitlin said.
Barry groaned, shifting from his position, "Ugh, my chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette." At the odd statement, Caitlin tilted her head in confusion.
"Yeah, teen me lived for danger." Barry explained.
"This isn't funny, you could've-" Caitlin began, concern evident in her expression.
"I didn't." Barry interrupted.
After a few minutes, Barry lied down to give himself a short break when he remembered something.
Barry looked over to where Caitlin was standing and opened his mouth to speak before he was cut off by Cisco, "Since you're okay now, I should probably go check up on... s-something."
Caitlin and Dr. Wells nodded their heads clearly knowing where Cisco was headed off to, Barry watched as Cisco walked away and out of sight.
"Where's he going? Why did I see Winnie before I passed out? Is she awake? Can I go see her?" Barry asked trying to get out of the bed without causing too much pain.
Caitlin sighed at Barry's onslaught of questions, "I'm sorry, Barry. Yes, Winnie is awake. She has been for the past two weeks. Cisco's j-"
"Wait...two weeks? You didn't tell me that she's been awake for the past two weeks?!" Barry began to yell. He was getting seriously annoyed.
"I didn't mean to keep it from you for a long time just until you were done a bit more of your training and I-I'm sorry." Caitlin tried to explain not knowing how she could possibly justify her actions anymore. Her previous excuse seemingly meaningless so, she just settled on asking for an apology.
Dr. Wells watched the exchange wordlessly, it was definitely an awkward position to be in and he didn't think that it would be wise to butt in.
Meanwhile, Barry looked at Caitlin at a loss for words. She'd kept such a big secret from him, one that Cisco and Dr. Wells both knew. They'd all agreed to keep it from Barry and he just didn't know how to respond.
So, they all just stayed quiet for a while taking in all of the information and avoiding eye contact. Finally, Dr. Wells broke the silence, "Now that we have a sample we'll get to work analyzing it, figure out the makeup of the poison and a clue as to his human identity."
Cisco walked back from where he'd snuck off to, "Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist... The Mist. Okay, that's his name. End of discussion." Cisco said laughing at his genius.
Barry got up from the bed he'd been resting in. It was time he went out and did something proactive.
Seeing this, Dr. Wells interjected, "You should be resting."
"I have to go. I have to see Winnie."
---
Reluctantly, Cisco lead Barry back to the room where Winnie had been resting.
"She fainted when Caitlin stabbed you with the needle. Had to bring her back here and make sure she didn't hit her head too hard." He explained.
Barry nodded his head and got ready to open the door.
"One more thing before you go in."
"What is it?" Barry asked turning to Cisco.
"She doesn't remember about a month of the time she spent before the explosion so, she will probably be a bit confused about some things. And, she doesn't know about your... um... powers."
Without responding, Barry opened the door and walked in to find Winnie lying down in bed rubbing her temples. Hearing the door open, Winnie perked up, "Cisco, my head hurts so much... and you're not Cisco."
Barry chuckled, "No, I'm not."
He'd truly missed Winnie. He felt his eyes begin to water and bit his lip. The last time he'd seen her, she was lying in that bed unconscious and unaware of her surroundings. Now, she was awake and fine, save for a headache.
"Are you okay, Barry? You look like your eyes are glistening with the ghosts of your past." Winnie smiled, knowing Barry wouldn't get the reference.
Barry could only smile in return and walked closer to her bed until he pulled up a chair so he could sit next to her.
"But, seriously. Are you okay? I saw what Caitlin did before I passed out. God, that was horrifying." Winnie said a frown appearing on her face at the memory.
"I'm okay. You don't need to worry. Just a bit sore in my chest but, I'm fine. I swear." Barry said taking her hand and holding it between his.
Winnie looked down at their entwined hands and blushed. She'd missed Barry and how much he cared for her.
"I'm glad you're okay but I have to ask. What are you wearing?" Winnie said looking his red suit up and down and stopped, curiously tilting her head when she saw the lightning bolt on his chest.
Barry let go of her hand surprised at the question. He felt his cheeks flush from Winnifred's stare.
"I-I, umm... I..." Barry stammered trying to think of a good excuse.
Winnie giggled at Barry's reaction despite feeling disappointed that they were no longer touching.
"Winnie... can I... can I tell you a secret? You have to promise that you will keep it." Barry asked silently debating whether it was a good idea or not.
Winnie lifted her one eyebrow to question what Barry wanted to say.
"Sure?" She said slowly
"I-I have powers." Barry said not being able to make eye contact with Winnie due to the absurdity of his claim.
"You have what?" She blinked back.
"I uh... I can run really fast." Barry said cringing.
"You can run really fast? That's what you wanted to tell me?"
"No... uh, yes actually. Well, not what you're thinking." Barry tried to explain, "Oh, oh. I know. Do you feel like ice cream. You love ice cream."
"Yeah, I do but-" Winnie was cut off when she heard a whoosh and a large breeze rushed through the room. Barry was gone for a second before he was back holding a cone of chocolate ice cream in his hand.
Winnie's eyes widened to big saucers as she stared at the dessert in his hand speechless.
Barry lifted his free hand to rub the back of his neck, "This is for you."
"Holy Hufflepuff! How did that happen? Tell me everything" Winnie exclaimed as she grabbed the ice cream from him, she couldn't just let it melt after all.
"Well, that's a bit of a long story." Barry began.
"I'm not going anywhere." Winnie said in between licks.
Barry sighed, "I'd love to but, I kind of need to see Joe right now. Maybe when all of this is over."
"Oh, um sure." Winnie said unhappy that Barry had to leave so soon.
"I promise I'll be back but, there's something important that I need to handle right now."
"I understand, Bare. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere." She reiterated.
Barry zoomed out of the room to find Joe and left Winnie licking ice cream in her room.
"Hey." Cisco said popping his head into the room.
"Hey." Winnie replied back.
"Everything going to be okay?"
"Yeah."
"Wanna watch Inception now?" Cisco asked.
Winnie grinned, "Yeah, but the popcorn's burnt."
"What are you complaining about? You've got ice cream."
Winnie just smirked back, "Come on we've got a movie to watch."
Winnie moved over on her bed so Cisco could sit down. He grabbed the remote and hopped onto the bed. Cisco looked down at Winnie and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and they let the movie start.
After half an hour, Cisco got a call, "Cisco we're going to need your help down here. Barry went after Nimbus."
"Who?"
"The Mist. The guy that's been killing people." Dr. Wells spoke.
"Alright, be there soon."
"What is it?" Winnie asked.
"I've got to go help Barry."
"Go."
Cisco paused the movie and ran out of the room.
---
Later that night...
Winnie was reading her book waiting for Cisco to return so they could finish the movie. What she wasn't expecting was Barry rushing into the room with a whoosh that caused her to lose her page.
"Barry, not that I'm angry you're here but you just made me lose my page."
"Sorry. I didn't realize you were reading. I have time to explain everything to you now."
Winnie's lips curved upwards and she patted a spot on her bed for Barry to sit down. They spent few minutes talking about how Barry'd gained his powers from the particle explosion and how he'd become a hero, saving people's lives.
"The only problem is that I don't seem to remember the night of the explosion." He finished.
"So, you don't remember what happened?"
"No, I don't. Cisco told me that you don't remember up to Novemeber. Is that true?" Barry asked concerned.
Winnie jsut nodded her head, "I-I've tried to jog my memory but, I haven't been able to remember much. Which, is really annoying considering the fact that I changed all of my passwords."
Barry cocked his head to the side.
"You know, every December, I go and change up all of my passwords for security. Email, phone, everthing, after that one time I got hacked. Now I can't get into anything!"
"Well, you could always try asking Cisco. He's very smart."
"I would but, I feel a bit... embarrassed." Winnie whispered, "But, enough about me. You've been saving people's lives, taking down criminals! Do you have a name yet?"
"What do you mean?" Barry asked.
"You know, superhero name. You have your civilian identity, Barry. And then, you need to have a hero identity."
Barry scratched the back of his head, "People have been calling me this stupid name..."
"What is it?" Winnie asked excited.
"The Streak." Barry mumbled very flustered by the ridiculous name.
Winnie couldn't help but let out a laugh, "Who came up with that?"
"A bunch of people but, I've been trying to come up with something better."
"I'll tell you if I come up with something."
The two of them stared down at their feet. They had been sitting across from each other, their knees pulled up to their chests.
Eventually Barry had to speak up about something that had been on his mind, "The last time we talked to each other, we got into a fight."
"What about?"
"Well, you were moving away to Starling City and I-I didn't want you to go." Barry said, abashed.
"That's a very sweet reason, Barry. I bet we probably made up on the day of the explosion. I don't think I could stay upset at you that long." Winnie said earnestly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
A silence fell upon them once more not knowing what to say.
"Cisco has been trying to get me to watch Inception."
"Really? He hasn't asked me."
"That's because Winnie hasn't watched it and you have." Cisco said walking into the room with Caitlin in tow, "We brought popcorn."
Cisco waved the three bags that he carried in his hands.
"You don't mind me joining, do you?" Caitlin asked.
"Of course not, Cate. You're always welcome." Winnie said.
"That goes for you too, Barry." Cisco added.
Cisco and Caitlin both grabbed some chairs and placed them in front of Winnie's bed. They turned out the lights so that is would look darker.
Cisco bringing the three bags was very helpful because Barry and Winnie were fine sharing a bag, while the rest of them had their own. They all sat down and faced the screen where Cisco rewinded to the beginning of the movie for Caitlin and Barry.
Sometime during the middle, after they'd all finished their popcorn, Barry looked next to him at Winnie who wore a happy smile on her face. He scooched over towards her and rested his hand next to hers.
Winnie noticed this movement and glanced at Barry in confusion. Barry just leaned towards her until his lips were close to her ear.
"I've missed you." He whispered softly.
Winnie looked back up at Barry, staring into his blue-green eyes, "I've missed you too."
Still keeping eye contact, Barry moved his pinky to touch hers, causing butterflies to explode in her stomach. One after another, Barry moved his fingers until they were holding hands. Winnie looked away from Barry a moment, hoping he couldn't see the red rushing onto her face.
But instead of pulling away from him, she hesitantly leaned her head against his shoulder and he rested his head against hers. The two held hands until the very end of the movie.
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