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“Sir? Sir? Hello?”
“Barry!”
Barry blinked as he snapped back to reality. That was weird. He didn’t usually zone out like that. He looked around: he was still standing in line at the Jitters near CCPD. He was dressed for work, with his messenger bag slung over one shoulder. There was a gap in front of him, leading up to the counter: he was next in line.
“Sorry about that,” he said as he stepped up.
Next to him at the counter, near the pickup station, Eddie stood with a crease in his forehead, concern focusing his gaze. His voice had been the one to shock Barry back to the present, although Barry wasn’t sure how he managed to lose himself in the first place. Barry tried to give him a smile to reassure him, but it was a little shakier than he’d intended.
“You okay, babe?” Eddie asked as he took the cup of coffee offered to him. His eyes never left Barry’s face.
“Yeah, sure, I’m fine,” Barry said with a dismissive shake of his head and a wave of his hand. “I guess I’m just a little tired.”
Eddie’s steady stare told him he didn’t buy it.
Barry sighed. “I’m fine. Promise.”
A single eyebrow slowly raised, morphing Eddie’s concern into suspicion.
Barry couldn’t help but laugh. “Stop. You know I can’t handle the eyebrow.”
His eyebrow stayed put, but Eddie gave him a playful grin. “Then you’d better fess up.”
A barista handed Barry his drink right as he feigned panic at Eddie’s orders. They laughed and made their way to a seat across the room. By the time they’d settled down, Eddie’s smile had waned, and concern bent his brow once more.
“You promise you’re okay?” he asked.
If this line of questioning continued, Barry could wind up irritated. “I’m fine. It was just a long patrol last night.”
“Hm.” Eddie’s eyes ran up and down Barry’s face, looking for a lie. It was the cop in him, Barry knew, but every time he inspected him for some kind of deception, it ruffled Barry’s feathers just a little.
“Stop that. You know I’d tell you if there was something wrong.”
Eddie’s eyes softened and the tiniest of smiles graced his lips. He reached out and took Barry’s hand, bringing them to the middle of the space between them. “I know. You can’t blame me for worrying, though, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Joe would kill me if I didn’t look after you.”
Barry laughed out a scoff. “Oh, so you’re concerned for your own safety, then?”
Eddie grinned. “He made me promise to protect you. I take that promise seriously.”
Heat flooded Barry’s cheeks and he averted his eyes. They’d been together for almost two years. Two years since Thawne. Eddie was part of Team Flash - part of Barry’s life in every aspect. He’d kept that promise, that was for sure.
Barry turned up his hand and squeezed Eddie’s. Despite everything they’d been through, few things made him feel safer than holding his lover’s hand. Whatever had caused him to space out earlier had passed, and now the only things that mattered were Eddie and the precious, precious coffee sitting in front of him.
Eddie broke their contact to take a sip of his drink. He closed his eyes and gave a content sigh. “That’s the stuff.”
Barry chuckled. Eddie had turned into a real coffee-holic since helping out more at STAR Labs. The caffeine didn’t touch Barry’s speedster metabolism, but the taste was something he’d come to rely on, as well. He took a drink of his own coffee, taking in the warmth, the bitter and sweet mix. It was as nice as Eddie said.
“You ready for the day?” Eddie asked, returning to gazing at Barry from atop the heel of his hand. His gaze was dreamy, with a content smile on his face. Barry smiled back.
“I think so, yeah.” Barry’s hand found its way into the messenger bag hanging at his side, clasping around a little rectangular box made of velvet and metal. He ran his thumb along its edge. He had a lot of work to do today, but also had plans to make - plans that made his heart hammer just a little faster than usual.
“Okay,” Eddie said. He took a glance at his watch. “We need to go, or Joe’ll have my butt.”
“He can’t have your butt, that’s mine,” Barry said with a mischievous smirk.
Eddie wiggled an eyebrow and hummed his approval before standing up. He maneuvered around the table and leaned down to give Barry a long, lingering kiss. Barry thought to break it off and get going, but Eddie’s hand found its way to the back of his neck and soon their kiss became deeper, a spark of passion blocking out any potential embarrassment of making out in public.
When they finally broke apart, Barry knew he was bright red, but he didn’t care. He knew at least one person had started staring, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was the warm smile on Eddie’s face and the small velvet box still under his fingertips in his messenger bag.
Oh. So that was what had caused him to space out.
“You’ve gotta stop doing that in public,” Barry said with a laugh. He stood up and took Eddie by one hand and his coffee in the other.
Eddie’s smile spread into a playful grin. “Not a chance.”