chapter twelve ; detailed simplicity

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Natalie analyzed her appearance in the wall mirror as she twisted and turned, eager to make sure she looked okay in every angle, pulling on her nude wedges, which complimented her dark blue skinny jeans and yellow tank top. Finishing up, she pulled at her lightly curled hair and nodded to herself, sure that she looked fine. Natalie was quite eager for this date. Barry was very cute, and kind, and intelligent. She wasn't going to let a great man, as much as she knows of him, slip through her fingers because she was scared. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as the doorbell rang.

"I'll be there in a second!" she called as she checked her appearance one last time and quickly sped to the door, taking a deep breath before she opened it.

Barry stood with that infamous, brilliant smile on his face, his hands deep in his pocket, "Hey."

Natalie returned the smile, "Hey."

The two stood there for a while, both racking their brains for something to say.

"Umm, shall we go?" Barry finally asked, gesturing behind him.

Natalie laughed lightly, "Yeah. Yeah of course."

Barry smiled at his shoes as Natalie locked her door and walked beside him. Natalie stopped short right in front of the car and pointed to it, "You didn't steal this did you?"

Barry jerked his head at her, "What?" His confusion further strengthened when he saw the small smile on her face.

She laughed when she saw him, "Caitlin told me you didn't own a car."

Barry nodded to himself and sighed in relief, "Yeah that's true. It's Iris' car. She let me borrow it for tonight."

Natalie let out a small 'oh' when Barry mentioned Iris. She still had that feeling that Barry had feelings for Iris, even though she was with Eddie. A smile spread across her face when she saw Barry opening the passenger door for her, "M'lady."

Giggling, Natalie slid in the car, "Why thank you, kind sir."

Barry laughed as he gently shut the door and walked around the front of the car and got in. He smiled at himself and started the car, "Well, you might be wondering where we are going,"

He turned to see Natalie smiling at him, "The thought may have crossed my mind."

"And I would just like to say that it is something I haven't done in a long time," Barry said as he focused on the road ahead of him.

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows and faced back towards the road, a small smile on her face, "That is a very vague hint."

"Don't worry, I think you'll like it. I asked Caitlin what you'd like.."

Nat quickly turned towards Barry, "Wait, you asked Caitlin for help on our date?"

Barry's grip tightened on the steering wheel as he glanced at Nat and continued hesitantly, "Is that bad? I just wanted to make sure you enjoyed the date."

"No, no, no. It's just that.. no one's ever gone out of their way..I.. Thank you, Barry. That's really sweet," Natalie said as she felt a deep blush form on her cheeks. Her opinion of Barry just kept getting better and better. Barry's grip relaxed and he nodded to himself.

After about 15 minutes, Barry parked the car and unbuckled his seatbelt, and quickly scrambled out to open the door for Natalie. She gave him a small thank you as he told her to wait directly in front of the car.

Natalie turned and took in their surroundings, "A park. This is really nice. I haven't been to a park in a while either."

Barry emerged from the trunk, carrying a wooden basket on his arm and a white blanket draped on the other, "No, I've been to this park recently, what I haven't done in a long time is have a picnic. Help me set out the blanket?"

"Well I haven't been on a picnic in a long time either, this'll be nice," Natalie said as she took the blanket off of Barry's arm and shook it out to lay it on the ground. Once it was settled on the grass, Barry set down the basket in the middle and motioned for Natalie to join him on the blanket.

"For our date," Barry announced with a wide smile and excitement in his eyes as he opened up the flaps of the basket to remove its contents, "we have sparkling apple juice, an assortment of fruits, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a small cheesecake."

Natalie laughed lightly as Barry set down all the items after they were presented, "All very fine choices, Mr. Allen."

"Well, I'm glad you think that. Sparkling juice?" Barry asked as he handed her a wine glass. Natalie nodded and laughed as Barry poured her a glass and one for himself. "To our first date." Barry said, raising his glass.

"To our first of hopefully many," Natalie said quietly bringing her glass to Barry's. His smile widening at her words and his heart beating faster. In that moment he was suddenly aware of how nervous he was and anxious that he made a good impression on Natalie. He watched her as she slipped off her wedges and set them in the grass and returned her attention to him.

"So, what should we start with first?" Nat asked, wanting to start a conversation with Barry.

"I have an idea, you might think its silly but, how about you close your eyes and then move your hand around and whatever the first thing you touch we will eat," Barry said.

"And what happens if I touch the grass?" Natalie joked.

Barry shrugged his shoulders and a small smile formed on his face, "Then that's what we'll eat."

Natalie shook her head and closed her eyes, "Okay, you ready for this, Barry? Anything I touch means we have to eat. We could become cannibalistic here."

Barry couldn't contain his laughter as he listened to her, "I'll take my chances. I trust you won't let that happen."

Natalie squeezed her eyes shut, eager to actually follow Barry's rules. She removed her hand from the blanket and moved it slowly through the air. She moved it cautiously left and right and her pinky lightly crashed into something squishy, "Please tell me that wasn't you because I'm actually not that eager to be a cannibal."

Barry chuckled, "No, you touched the sandwiches." Natalie rapidly blinked her eyes open and playfully sighed in relief. Barry reached over and unwrapped the plastic covering and removed the plastic plates from the basket before handing Nat a grilled cheese.

The two ate in silence for a while, just enjoying the other's company and taking in their surroundings. The cheesecake was eaten and the fruit gone, all that was left was the sparkling juice and two full bellies.

Natalie stretched her arms out a bit before moving to lie down on her back and patting the space beside her for Barry to do the same. They both laid there, side by side, Barry's head turned, admiring Natalie as she stared up at the sky.

"What do you see in the clouds?" Nat asked as she pointed up.

Barry turned his was towards the sky and searched, "Umm, that one over there, it kind of looks like a rocket ship."

"I think that cloud looks like a bunny rabbit," Natalie said softly as she looked at a neighboring cloud.

"Hey it does," Barry said with a small laugh as he cocked his head to see it.

"I used to do this all the time when I was little. Whether it be in the car or at recess, I just remember it always being fun. It still is," Natalie said lightly as she continued to stare up.

Barry took in her words and thought about what Caitlin said the night before, how Natalie wouldn't trust him again if he kept his secret from her for too long if they got serious. As he looked at her, he knew she was going to be a part in his life, whether that meant they continued to date or just as really good friends. He knew eventually she would have to know, but not now.

"You said you hoped we would go on more dates, right?" Barry hesitantly asked.

Natalie crinkled her nose and slowly nodded her head yes. Barry nodded his own, "Okay good." She twisted so that she was laying on her side facing him as Barry sat up and crossed his legs, "Why do you ask?"

Barry leaned back and moved his gaze to the sky, "I thought I would tell you a bit of my back story before we do go on more dates. I don't want you to get so far into it and then be scared away by my past. A lot of people think I'm..obsessed."

Natalie quickly sat up and shook her head, "Barry, I wouldn't-" He quickly held out his hand to stop her, "Just..hear me out first."

Nat silently obliged and moved into a comfortable position before Barry spoke again.

Barry took in a deep breath before he looked down in his lap, "When I was eleven, my mom was murdered. My dad, he's in Iron Heights, Central City's jail, convicted of her murder. Wrongfully convicted. When I went downstairs that night 15 years ago, I saw these..flashes of light racing around her and in that I saw a man. Everything was happening so fast and before I knew it, I was twenty blocks from our house in a blink."

Barry took another deep breath before he continued, "I'm telling you this because I am doing, and I will continue to do, everything in my power to get my dad out of prison. I just don't want you to be scared or..freaked out by that if you found out later. Not a lot of people believe me when I tell them or they find out on their own. I'd rather have you leave now then later."

Natalie took Barry's hand and squeezed it tight, "So you have a bad and terrible past, it's not gonna scare me away, Barry. You're not the only one," She let it go before she took in a breath of her own.

"When I was 9, funnily enough 15 years ago too," Natalie started dryly, "my dad went to prison, only he deserves to rot in there. He had been for years, starting around the time I was three, selling drugs, drowning alcohol, and paying cheap hookers. He was a terrible husband and a terrible father. He would be gone for days just so that he could perfect his stock of drugs and make sure the buyer was happy. Finally our neighbor figured out what he was doing and called the cops. He went to jail and my mom was left with two little kids and one on the way. And I haven't seen him since."

Natalie gave him time to take in everything and continued to stare up at the sky. Barry let out a small puff of air before he laid back down.

"Seems like we are both two people with messed up pasts," he joked dryly causing Nat to laugh.

"Yeah I guess we are. It feels nice, you know. Telling someone and they don't look at you with that face and have them say 'I'm sorry'. It's just that simple understanding of I kind of know all the hell you've been through," Nat said as she turned towards Barry.

"I couldn't agree more," Barry replied as he turned to face towards Nat.

Barry drove Natalie home in a silence that felt nice. It allowed both of them to think about what happened that night. When they reached her house, Barry, once again, scrambled to open her car door. Barry, being the gentleman that he is, walked her to her door as she unlocked it.

Before she went inside, Natalie stood facing Barry, "Thank you for tonight. I really enjoyed it."

"I enjoyed it, too." Barry replied, a soft smile spread on his face.

Bouncing a bit on her toes, Natalie took the time to admire Barry, "I hope we can do this again sometime?"

Barry's eyes lit up and he shook his head in disbelief, "Yes, yeah I'd like that a lot actually."

"Okay, good," Nat said with a small laugh.

The sound of crickets and distant cars engulfed the silence that fell over the two as they stood in the doorway. Just smiling at each other.

Nat stared down at her feet as she contemplated whether to say something or hug him goodnight, unaware of the similar thoughts running through Barry's mind.

She pushed up on the tips of her toes, rested a hand on his shoulder, and planted a small kiss on his cheek. Barry's hand immediately flew to where Natalie's lips touched his skin, covering a deep blush and wide smile. She took a small step back before she let out a shaky breath, "Goodnight, Barry."

"Goodnight, Natalie." Barry said as she headed inside the door, leaving Barry in the illumination of the porch lights. He stood there in disbelief of what happened.

Barry began walking down the driveway and when he was well away from Natalie's house, began running at Flash speed, letting out a loud 'whoop'. At this moment, he felt like he was on top of the world.

But this feeling quickly was deflated when he remembered he left Iris' car in Nat's driveway. Racing back, Barry got in Iris car and drove down the road, only thinking of one thing, Natalie.