Work Text:
Christmas time had come once more, and the Flash family couldn’t be happier. Wally had helped trim the tree, though now he was trying to fix it, changing around the different ornaments so many times Barry was worried the tree would fall to pieces before he was satisfied.
“Relax, Wally.” Linda called out from her place on the sofa. “The tree is fine, the ornaments are perfect, but if you keep messing with it you’re going to break something!” Wally laughed, a little chagrined, muttered an apology, and went to sit by Linda. Though they were happy as could be, it was clear Wally was just as fidgety as any speedster, as he tapped his foot so quickly it managed not to make a sound. Thad and Bart had taken over the tv, playing the newest video game, as Max warned them to be careful. Jay was gathering the last of the presents from their hiding places and carefully placing them below the tree, while Joan went to the kitchen to begin work on their feast.
“Is there any way I can help you, Joan?” Barry asked, feeling a little restless and out of sorts.
“Just keep out of my way, dear.” Joan said with a smile, nudging Barry back out towards the rest. “Really, it’s fine. I’ve got this. But if you really want to help, make sure no one gets too fidgety or tries to interrupt me. If anyone seems too restless, help them burn off some energy so I can get dinner ready.”
Barry nodded, then stood awkwardly in the hallway. This was the first time he had been to a holiday party since Iris died. It had been five years, five holiday seasons, without his beloved wife. Yet, on an impulse, Barry had volunteered to host the Flash Family party. Before he could take back his offer, Joan and Jay Garrick had offered to handle the cooking and assist with the decorating, while Max offered to bring over Thad and Bart to celebrate their first Christmas together since Thad had agreed to join their little family. Even though he had misgivings about following through, Barry couldn’t bring himself to ask to cancel after hearing Bart and Thad would be joining. After all, they were his grandsons, and they deserved a happy, fun holiday with the rest of the family. He smiled at the homely scene before him, the younger boys playing a game and arguing the half hearted argument of happy siblings, while his nephew sat beside his chosen companion, and his hero and friend stood chatting together by the fireside. Iris would have loved this. Just as his mood began to darken, he heard a clap, and turned to face the sound.
“Alright, everyone. It seems like we’re all a little hyper this year, why don’t we go for a quick run?” He smirked, pulling out his famous winged hat. In a rush of air and flash of light, the rest of the family reappeared in the living room in costume: Bart as Impulse, Thad as Inertia, Max as Max Mercury, Wally as Flash, Barry as Flash, and Jay as the original Flash. As one, they raced out of the house and set off down the street. They had only gotten a few hundred miles away, but already Barry could feel his mood lighten. He would have to thank Jay for this later. They ran in silence, enjoying the feeling of the lightning in their veins as the world flew past them. The snow fell quietly, coating the world in a blanket of white fluff, seemingly frozen in place as the speedsters raced past faster than it could fall. Bart and Thad were in the lead, rushing off past the others, trying to beat each other to each new landmark. For the first time in far too long, Barry laughed. He watched as Max caught up with the boys, lecturing them on their manners, and just shook his head fondly. He was grateful for this family of his, no matter how chaotic they may be at times. Moments like this just made everything worthwhile.
“Alright! Let’s go for two more laps, and then we can all head inside for some games!” Jay called out from Barry’s side. The boys let out a cheer and sped up. “Race ya!” Wally called out, rushing to catch up with the younger boys, as Max retorted “Mind your surroundings!” Jay and Barry kept pace with each other, opting to stay at the back of the pack and watch the younger speedsters rush about.
“I remember a time when I was the lone speedster.” Jay said, breaking into Barry’s thoughts.
“I remember when you were just a character in a comic book, and my hero.” Barry replied, a far off look in his eyes. “Then, all of a sudden, I was granted this wonderful gift. I could be the hero. I could be like you.” The silence stretched, punctuated by the pounding of their feet over the ground, until Barry decided to break it. “I guess, I got so used to being alone, so used to having to hide, that I forgot how amazing it was to be part of a family. Then, I found all of you, and we were able to come together, and I could never trade that for anything. But… It’s been so tough without Iris, I guess I thought I would be alone again.”
“But you’re not.”
“No,” Barry grinned, “I’m not alone. Not anymore.”
They finished their run in peaceful silence, before stopping just outside the house where Bart and Thad were arguing about who had been the fastest as Max worked to corral them into the house again. After changing back into their civilian clothes, the speedsters moved on to the den to find Linda pulling out the board games.
“What’ll it be boys? We’ve got Monopoly, Uno, Clue, Parcheesi, Sorry, and Trivial Pursuit.”
“Uno!” Bart and Thad called out in unison, before Thad grumbled and tried to look annoyed.
“I’ll sit this one out.” Jay said, as he sat down on a chair next to a bookshelf and picked up the thick black covered book on the small table next to it. “I have some reading to catch up on.”
“Uno suits me just fine, I’ll show you all how a master plays.” Max said, with a smirk, taking a seat next to Thad.
“Not if I play circles around you!” Wally retorted, taking a seat next to Bart.
“Alright, count me in!” Barry said with a laugh, taking the empty seat next to Max.
“Uno it is!” Linda pulled out the deck, took the seat between Barry and Wally, and shuffled. As she made sure everyone understood all of the rules, including stacking draw fours and draw twos, she dealt out seven cards to each of the players. Once the starting card was pulled, the game began. It moved quickly, with Linda keeping pace for a while, until Max was declared the winner. After a few more tense rounds, where Max continued to dominate, Linda bowed out of the group and went to relax in the family room. With the lone normal human out of the game, the speedsters opted to play at super speed. In the time it would take the average group of players to play two rounds, the speedsters had completed 82 rounds. Max had won 60 of those rounds, Wally had won 20, and Thad had won the remaining 2 rounds. Barry had been the first player to end up with a massive hand in every round, while Bart and Thad had always gotten so close to Uno only to be hit by a draw four or a stack of draw twos. Wally seemed to have no real strategy, only winning when luck was on his side, while Thad and Max played like two grand masters in a game of chess. After a few hours of this, which felt like an eternity, the group broke apart trying to find a new game to play. Arguments started up, especially as everyone still wanted to play a game as a group but not every game would allow that many players, until Max let out a loud whistle.
“Enough bickering! We don’t want to bother Joan while she’s busy making our fantastic feast, so keep it down.”
Everyone muttered apologies, properly chastised as Max frowned, and tried to think of a game they could all play.
“What if we opened presents now?” Barry suggested. All eyes turned toward him in a flash. “There’s no real reason to wait until evening, and maybe the gifts will give us an idea of what we could do together that won’t get Joan angry with us.”
With a cheer, Bart, Thad, and Wally rushed off towards the tree, as Jay went off to inform Joan and Linda of the new plan, and Max and Barry followed behind. They swiftly divvied up the gifts, matching each gift to its owner, and waiting for Barry to give the signal. Joan appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, and said “Alright, I’ve got about five minutes before I have to move on to the next step, so I hope you’ll forgive me for going first.”
She opened her gift from Jay, which turned out to be a beautiful locket, and gave him a short, soft kiss. Bart had gotten her a comic book of one of his favourite characters, while Thad had chosen a book of recipes from a nearly extinct people from a remote island that was currently sinking into the ocean, both of which earned a tight hug and pat on the head. Barry had gifted her a lovely tea set, while Wally and Linda had chosen a painting done in the style of Vincent Van Gogh. With a hug for each gifter, Joan bowed out of the gift opening to continue working on dinner, with a promise that all hugs and thank yous would be welcome when dinner was ready.
Bart had received a new video game from Thad, an omnibus on his favourite character from Max, tickets to a show he had wanted to see from Linda and Wally, a ferret plush from Joan and Jay, and an empty scrapbook to fill with memories from Barry. Thad had received a series of books from Bart, a new chemistry set from Max, a giant teddy bear from Joan and Jay (that he refused to part with from the moment he opened it), a box with his name engraved in it to keep special treasures from Barry, and a new microscope from Linda and Wally. Wally had received an envelope with cash donations from everyone in the family to pass along to his friend Piper to help out the less fortunate, as well as a baseball mitt from Linda, a signed baseball (signed by his favourite baseball player of all time) from Barry, a puzzle game from Thad, a sketchbook from Bart, a book on philosophy with a hidden compartment from Max, and tickets to a concert from Jay and Joan. Max had received the same gift from everyone: Max Mercury merchandise, particularly the sweaters and shirts. He had been amazed there was any merchandise of him, since he was an older hero, but he had been touched nonetheless. Bart and Thad had also made him a homemade card, and Thad had written a short but heartfelt thanks for taking him in. Jay had received a variety of books, mostly period piece romance novels, from everyone. He loved them, even if he tried to act annoyed at the romance novels. Barry was the last to open his presents. He received some handy kitchen gadgets to help make cooking easier from Jay and Joan, a new book filled with the latest scientific theories from Thad and Bart, some new equipment for his personal lab from Max, and a framed print of one of Iris’ favourite paintings from Wally and Linda. Bart and Thad used their speed to clean up the mess of wrapping paper and boxes, at Max’s suggestion, then asked to play a game.
“Why don’t we all go outside and play a game, then?” Max said. “With what equipment we have here, we could play soccer, football, or baseball.”
The group thought for a bit, before Bart, Thad, and Wally cheered in unison “Soccer!”
Max laughed as Jay went off to fetch the ball.
“Soccer it is. About four blocks west is the field, you boys head over and get set up, we’ll meet you over there.” Jay said, nodding to Barry as they prepared to leave. Barry shook his head, indicating he would be staying, but wished them luck.
As everyone left to go play some super speed soccer, leaving Joan in peace to finish the cooking while Linda enjoyed the football game on the tv, Barry paused at the tree as something caught his eye. He thought he had pulled out all the presents, yet the shiny green wrapping paper with its beautiful red and gold bow clearly sparkled under the lights of the tree, bright and bold for Barry to see. It was fairly light to the touch, but solid, as Barry turned it over and over in his hands until he found the small tag tucked under the bow. There, in an all too familiar hand, were the words ‘For Barry. May this year be better than the last. Love, Hal.’ Barry couldn’t help the genuine smile that blossomed over his face. Hal was easily his best friend, and somehow he always found a way to lighten Barry’s spirit. He carefully unwrapped the package, finding inside a stunning red leather book with gold engraving that read ‘My Family.’ Curious, Barry opened the cover to find photographs he thought long lost staring back at him. The first photos were from his time dating Iris, before he proposed, before she knew he was the Flash. The next pages included photos from when they had gotten engaged, when Wally had joined them, and finally the pictures from their wedding. There were photos of Barry and Wally both in and out of costume, as well as the pair of them with the rest of League, mostly in costume. A few pages had pictures of Barry with Hal and Ollie, in costume and out, all smiles and joy. There were some pictures that were posed, but so many of the pictures chosen for this book were more spontaneous, catching the candid moments of life so clearly Barry could swear he could hear and see each and every moment those pictures had been taken in. The very last picture, on a page of its own, was of Barry and the rest of the Flash Family, in costume, posing in front of the Flash Museum; Barry had been smiling, standing in front of his statue, with Wally on his right, smirking, Max slightly behind him with a confident grin and his arms crossed, Bart and Thad in front of him, matching poses and smiles as Thad couldn’t keep the pure joyful pride from his face, and Jay standing tall on his left. This had been taken at the Flash Museum anniversary party, three months ago. Looking closer, he noticed a figure in the background, flying behind them. Upon closer inspection, the figure turned out to be Hal, in his Green Lantern uniform, flying by and waving to the camera. Barry snorted out a laugh. Of course Hal photobombed them and made sure to include the photo in his gift. Barry shook his head fondly as he let his eyes wander over the picture again. As he closed the album, his fingers lingering on the soft cover, Barry leaned back against the sofa. The holidays were difficult for him, since Iris passed, but now he could see things from a different point of view. He would never stop missing Iris, never stop wishing she could be there to join in the fun and watch their family grow with Barry, but he knew now he wasn’t alone. Iris was there with him, in spirit, in his heart; and the rest of his family, those who have called themselves Flash or had felt the touch of the Speed Force, were there with him still; and he still had his dearest friends, who were just as much family as any of the others. Yes, the holidays may be difficult at times, but Barry knew there was always the hope of a joyful time filled with love, even if the ones we love can’t physically be with us in that moment.