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corner-stories · 8 months

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a new york state of mind

Bart Allen. Jesse Chambers. Grant Emerson. Lower Manhattan. New Beginnings. Winged Helms. 3358 words. (ao3.)

With only a duffle bag and a backpack on his person, Bart Allen tried not to look like a tourist as he navigated the streets of Lower Manhattan.

It was overwhelming to be around so many new things. Nearly every store or cafe he saw was unfamiliar, yet intriguing, like every door could lead to something new.

It seemed that every person he walked past was just looking for a place to be. On one street corner Bart passed a woman talking on her phone in the thickest Brooklyn accent he had ever heard, and on another was a jazz band unloading an ungodly amount of instrument cases from a single yellow taxi.

And to Bart’s surprise, he had only been in New York for a few minutes and not yet did someone act like spending three thousand dollars on rent counted as a personality trait.

The hustle and bustle of the city made both Keystone and Central look boringly tame, but in his twenty odd years of life he was used to this kind of chaos. As he walked forward he could feel a sense of anticipation building in his gut, something that would either fade away or remain with him during his tenure in the city.

After a few moments of walking, Bart arrived at his location with his luggage in hand. In contrast to all the movies he had seen about a young person moving to New York, the anticipated place was not a theatre on Broadway, an esteemed private university, or even some shitty shoebox apartment in the East Village.

Instead, Bart stood in front of the brownstone belonging to the Justice Society of America, a place that was several stories high and undoubtedly bigger on the inside. As the sounds of Lower Manhattan filled his ears, the feeling of anticipation in his gut got stronger and stronger. Suddenly, his grip around his duffle bag tightened.

Before Bart’s mind could wander in a million different directions, the door of the brownstone burst open and out came one of the more… energetic supporters of his current career choice.

Jesse Chambers was smiling from ear to ear as she skipped down the steps, then dashed over to approach the gangly, mopheaded Speedster on the street.

“You made it!” Jesse cheered in a tone so bubbly that it caught Bart off guard.

Who was she and what had she done with Jesse Chambers?

The blonde even hugged him, something that made Bart wonder if he had truly entered the Twilight Zone.

“Whoa! Whoa! Nice to see you too, Jess!” he said, awkwardly hugging her back and patting her on the shoulder.

Having a smiling Jesse hug him so hard that she lifted him off the ground was certainly a change of pace. He had heard that Jesse became as giddy as a schoolgirl when it came to matters of the Justice Society, but Bart didn’t think she got that giddy over it.

After a few seconds of utter glee, Jesse put him down and the expectant knot in Bart’s stomach had yet to go away.

“How was the trip here? You all good? Got everything you need?” Jesse asked all at once. The fact that she wasn’t speaking at super speed was absolutely astounding.

“Uh… yes, yes, and yes!” answered Bart, happily patting the duffle bag in his grasp. He gave her a smile and did his best to not act like he had only remembered to pack last night. “Got two weeks worth of shit all here.”

There was a beat, then Bart refocused his gaze on the brownstone once more. Standing this close to the place reminded Bart that the choice he made was very tangible and real — no longer a mere idea he had kept in the back of his head for god knows how long.

Bart sucked in a few uneasy breaths, then looked towards Jesse. The smile on her face had yet to fade away.

“I guess we should just head in then, huh?” he asked, realizing that he could no longer prolong the inevitable.

Jesse gave him a nod. “You ready?”

For once in his life, Bart realized what it was like to look before one leapt. He took in one more slow breath, then said —

“...let’s fucking do this.”

Before he could take a single step, Jesse reached over and snagged both Bart’s duffle bag and backpack.

“Too slow!” she teased, and to that Bart could only roll his eyes.

Entering the building reminded Bart of a day two years ago, a day where his choice to pursue higher education had led him far from the midwest. The halls of the brownstone were certainly less chaotic than a public university’s freshman dormitory, but they were no less capable of filling Bart with a sense of unease.

But the good kind, the kind of discomfort associated with growth and new experiences. If he was on edge then so be it, because it signaled the start of something new.

“I’m glad you’re doing this,” said Jesse as she led Bart through the main foyer.

In his peripherals Bart caught sight of an ominous, unfamiliar shadow on a wall. It turned out that knowing of Todd Rice’s status as the JSA’s security system did not make the eldritch blob on the wall any less startling.

“Oh really?” replied Bart, keeping his eye on the dark splotch for a few seconds. “I couldn’t tell.”

Jesse guided Bart up a short flight of stairs. “No, I mean it — most college guys go to Daytona Beach or Cabo for spring break, but you’re here.” She turned back and gave him a grin that was just a bit softer than the ones before. “I’m proud of you.”

Bart briefly avoided her gaze as they walked across the carpeted floor. “Well… it’s just for two weeks,” he decided to say, figuring that it was better than anything else inside of his head. “And it’s better than an unpaid internship.”

Jesse rolled her eyes as Bart followed her. Truthfully, he was quite grateful that the JSA would compensate him for his time. The stipend may have been chump change in New York, but combined with the free accommodations and food it was absolutely plentiful.

As Jesse guided Bart through the hallways he would call home for the next two weeks, he got a glance of the world he was just dipping his toes into.

A handful of JSAers were present in the halls as the pair of Speedsters walked. Bart only knew them by their codenames and not their given ones, but hopefully he would learn them at one point.

Through a slightly ajar door he saw the ‘other other Wildcat’ unabashedly vaping in the privacy of his own room. Judging by the scent, Bart was immediately aware of what exact substance he was partaking in. Truth be told, he didn’t take the Pretty Boy Wildcat for the stoner type, but one learned something new every day.

Also walking down the aisle was Doctor Mid-Nite in his signature costume, albeit with the cowl pulled down and a pair of dark glasses over his eyes. Unsurprisingly, the world’s greatest physician was holding two bagels and a mug of coffee in his hands. He proceeded to shuffle down the hallway with all the grace of a soggy wet owl. The Good Doctor was at least polite enough to mumble something that sounded like a greeting as he passed by the Speedsters.

Through a doorway leading to a living area, Bart caught a glimpse of a handful of JSAers simply joking around. The one he recognized as Citizen Steel was napping on a metal sheet on the floor (for some reason) and the unholy trinity that was Stargirl, Cyclone, and Lightning were in a competition to see how many objects they could stack onto their teammate. Judging by the impressive Jenga Tower on Citizen Steel’s forehead, it was fair to say that Cyclone was in the lead.

After a few more moments of walking, Jesse finally brought Bart to a room at the end of the hall.

She opened a door to bring him into a space only slightly bigger than his room at uni — somehow, it was just a little more welcoming. Instead of plain white, the walls were painted a dark brown. The one window was wide and the single bed in the corner was adorned with clean, freshly-pressed sheets — akin to what one would see in a hotel. There was even a desk and a fan in the corner.

“It’s not our biggest room, but it does have a nice view,” Jesse explained as she placed Bart’s luggage on the bed.

“It’s perfect,” the younger Speedster said, and he meant it in every way. He had only been in the room for a minute and he already decided that he would enjoy the next two weeks.

Jesse gave him a softer smile, then went over to pull the curtains back. True to her word, the view outside was resplendent. From where they were they could see above the trees of Battery Park and all the way to the Statue of Liberty.

It was certainly a better sight than what he had back at university, which included some trees and approximately one third of a building.

As Bart took in the view of the partly cloudy day, Jesse pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the screen.

“Okay, so dinner’s served at seven-thirty, so you got some time to yourself,” she explained quickly. “Other than that, training with Wildcat starts tomorrow morning, so you should be good for today.”

Bart looked back to her and nodded his head. “Alright, thanks.”

At this point of time he was still taking everything in, whether it be the unfamiliar scents or the sound of New York seeping in through the walls. He knew that eventually the noise of the streets would become so cordial that it could lull him to sleep, but for now he would need to get used to it.

After stepping towards his bags on the bed, Bart began unpacking his things. Before Jesse could come over and help him, the pair of Speedsters heard a knock on the door.

Glancing over at the doorway, Bart and Jesse witnessed one of the JSAers gently pushing the door open, the one with S-Tier “himbo energy” and a pair of warm, kindly puppy-dog eyes.

“Hey, Jess?” asked Rick. With one arm he opened the door and with the other he held onto a restless toddler.

Little Johnny Tyler was rather perturbed as his father carried him into the room. His youthful face, while usually adorable, was twisted into a look of unease and wariness. Fortunately, the two-year-old was smart enough to recognize his mother standing close by and raised his arms up to reach for her.

Fortunately, Rick was ever the doting father and carried his son over right away.

“Hey, Bart,” said Rick to the younger Speedster, to which he received an awkward wave in return. The Man of the Hour then focused on his wife. “Sorry, Babe, he’s not going to sleep… again.”

Amused, Jesse rolled her eyes. “And in other news water makes things wet, come here.”

Carefully, Jesse took her son from her husband. Little Johnny looked a bit more comfortable once he was in his mother’s arms, but only slightly.

“Hey, Mister Grumpy Pants, are you giving Daddy a hard time?” Jesse asked as she began bobbing up and down to comfort her son.

Johnny babbled in response, which in Bart’s babysitting experience could either mean so much or nothing at all. As the little one began chewing on the sleeve of his Wonder Woman onesie, Jesse gave Bart an apologetic look.

“Hey, you good here?” she asked. “Need anything else?”

Bart nodded quickly. “Don’t worry about it. Go on, take care of the little poop rocket, I’ll be fine!”

As per usual, Jesse looked the slightest bit annoyed at Bart’s nickname for her flesh and blood, whereas Rick looked amused.

“Okay,” Jesse said, reaching over to squeeze Bart’s shoulder. “See you at dinner.”

With her slightly less grouchy son in her arms, Jesse exited the room. Before Rick followed, he gave Bart a polite nod and then closed the door behind him.

Once Bart was alone there was not much to do but unpack.

Unsurprisingly, the Speedster emptied his bag in a flash. In less than a second he placed everything where they needed to be, putting the clothes in the closet and his electronics on the desk. He even set up his gaming laptop and made sure that his mouse was properly plugged in. Afterall, he couldn’t possibly imagine two weeks without being yelled at by thirteen-year-olds in a game of Call of Duty.

At the end of it all, Bart stood in the middle of the space and took everything in. The little room in New York instilled an unfamiliar sensation inside of him, one that left him with more questions than answers.

Bart thought about what would happen during the next two weeks. Having spent the last two years as a full-time university student, his hero time was strictly limited to weekends and very rarely on weekdays. Even the Fastest Electrical Engineering Major Alive couldn’t be in two places at once, especially when Jesse was covering most of his tuition.

As his train of thought began to flow, Bart also wondered just how long he could keep wearing his current colors.

Despite managing to remain rather babyfaced in his early adulthood, Bart wasn’t sure if continuing to call himself ‘Kid Flash’ was the best idea. His growth spurt didn’t help either, as the former baby of the Flash Family had grown at least six inches during the summer between high school and university.

On the bright side, he was close to overtaking Wally in terms of height. But on the not so bright side, it was becoming very difficult for Bart to keep imagining himself as ‘Kid Flash.’

Sometimes looking at himself reminded Bart just how much things had changed, that he was no longer the youthful boy who daydreamed during history class and always wished he could be somewhere else.

Nowadays, he spent more time focusing on school and trying to be Bart Allen, something he had initially done on his family’s request. Unsurprisingly, he grew rather fond of modern education once he was studying something he was actually interested in.

The next two weeks were his opportunity to put on a mask and be a speedster again. To what end he wasn’t entirely sure, but he was sure that he would find out eventually.

With most of his things placed where they needed to be, Bart went to his duffle bag on the bed and rummaged around for anything he may have forgotten.

Then at the bottom of his bag he found it.

Sitting at the bottom was a helmet made of several metals. The main part of the contraption consisted of a circular dome, but on the sides were gold-colored wings welded firmly into place.

He had made the helm a while ago with nothing particular in mind, a project that had come to fruition due to too many hours spent in the workshop of Titans Compound. He had begun tinkering with the scraps and junk he found lying around, most of it consisting of material S.T.A.R. Labs didn’t need anymore and dumped on the Titans.

Nonetheless, after playing around with the 3D-printer and a highly experimental nth metal titanium alloy someone just threw in the trash, Bart — in his own words — created a thing.

He wasn’t entirely sure why he bothered to bring the helm with him, but there was something about the way it felt on his head that Bart couldn’t deny.

He couldn’t exactly describe it — perhaps… a fullness, a completeness, a feeling that such a winged helm on his head practically felt like a crown. Plus, busting out his half-assed Hermes cosplay was fun sometimes.

Nonetheless, Bart hoped that Jay wouldn’t mind seeing a similar helmet across the JSA meeting table.

Bart walked to the mirror on the room’s walls and placed his helmet on his head. It sat upon his reddish-brown curls like it was meant to be there all along. When he saw his reflection he couldn’t help but smile — perhaps he could craft himself a traveler’s cloak and caduceus to complete the look.

As Bart removed his helmet and placed it into his closet, he heard the sound of the door creaking. When he looked over he expected to see Jesse, Jay, or maybe ever Courtney.

But to his surprise Bart was greeted with the presence of a person he had not seen in a long long time.

Grant Emerson had a mask covering his entire face, but judging by the way he weakly crossed his arms Bart guessed that his old friend was nervous to see him.

“Uh… hey?” The unease in Grant’s voice was unmistakable.

Bart smiled brightly, both surprised and charmed. “Hey, it’s you!”

Grant nodded and awkwardly cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s me.”

As cheery as could be, Bart walked over to his old friend. He was quick to notice that Grant was no longer a whole head taller than him, another allusion to just how much time had passed. Literally being able to look Grant eye-to-eye was certainly something Bart would need to get used to.

“Long time no see, huh?” asked the Speedster, smiling as cheerily as ever.

Grant nodded again, then scratched the back of his neck. “Uh… that’s one way to put it.”

“Cool mask, Dude,” Bart was quick to say. “Makes ya look tough.”

Grant let out what sounded like a cross between an awkward chuckle and a grunt. “That’s the idea, it gets kinda itchy though.”

There was another beat as the two young heroes stood in the room.

Bart could sense that Grant had many things to say, but for the life of him just couldn’t say it. He knew that his old friend had become more withdrawn over the last few years for a multitude of reasons.

But through the mask Bart could see the familiar pair of brown eyes he had spent time with on the Titans Base at Liberty Island, and once he got a good look at them suddenly many things came back to him, things he had thought to be forgotten and lost.

At the end of the day perhaps fewer things had changed than Bart had initially thought.

“It’s good to see you, Dude,” he soon decided to say, knowing that breaking the ice a little more could do wonders in making Grant less nervous.

“Yeah, you too.” The walking nuclear reactor then let out another grumble, though one more akin to a verbal tic as opposed to an expression of discomfort.

Once more, Grant reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “So uh… some of us are gonna pop in a movie before dinner, you wanna join?”

Bart shrugged. “Depends, what were you guys thinking?”

“Well, Tommy suggested Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, but that’s only because he’s stoned,” Grant said a little too casually. “So I’m gonna try to turn on Slumber Party Massacre when he’s not looking.”

There was a beat, then Bart burst out laughing. He took a step forward and placed a friendly hand on Grant’s shoulder.

“That sounds absolutely fucking sick, let’s do it.”

From the way Grant’s mask moved, Bart could swear that his old friend was smiling.

“Alright, cool,” said Grant casually before walking out of the room.

Bart followed him with a grin and made sure to close the door. As he walked down the hallways he caught another glimpse of the city outside of the windows. More and more he was getting used to the sound of the street or the various buildings crowding the view of the sky.

As every moment passed, it was getting a lot easier for Bart to embrace a New York state of mind.

#Bart Allen #Jesse Chambers #Grant Emerson #Pieter Cross #Tom Bronson #Courtney Whitmore #Maxine Hunkel #Jennifer Pierce #Nate Heywood #DC #JSA #Rick Tyler #Johnny Tyler #Bart joins Team Nepo Baby!!!

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corner-stories · 8 months

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raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Leaky Houses. Thunderstorms. Bedtime Stories. Irey West. Jai West. Bart Allen. 2165 words. (ao3.)

The sound of raindrops had plagued the weekend at the Garricks.

Irey and Jai had been promised a few fun-filled days alongside their grandparents. But what was supposed to be time spent outdoors in the sun was now time spent indoors just waiting for the torrential downpour to stop.

While Joan distracted Irey and Jai with a few dusty board games, both Jay and Bart were running around the house trying to make sure that the dribbles of rain seeping through the cracks didn’t develop into something worse.

Apparently, Jay had been in the process of fixing the roof anyways and had been caught off-guard with the sudden rainstorm. Had he known the storm was coming, then he would have gotten things done a lot faster. Plus, Bart wouldn’t have to run around the living room with a crock pot trying to stop the rain from ruining Grandma’s favorite chair.

At least things were mostly under control, as the house only leaked in the corners of the second floor and not in the bedrooms.

Fortunately, Irey and Jai seemed more interested in Monopoly than laughing at their older cousin and Grampa Jay’s antics. In fact, they seemed to understand the rules a lot better in five minutes than Joan had during her entire lifetime.

The baby was even quite calm during the whole thing, as little one-year-old Johnny Tyler opted to nap in his playpen than be enthralled in the chaos of the leaky Garrick house. Although, Bart did prop up a beach umbrella over the pen, just in case. He didn’t want to know how angry Jesse would get if her son got rained on.

It seemed that whatever higher power existed in the world was keen on making rain that weekend — literally — but only if all the babies of the Flash Family were gathered under the same roof. No exceptions.

A rainy afternoon turned into a rainy dinner of pot roast and mashed potatoes. Then later on, it turned into a slightly less rainy evening as the Garricks entertained their younger grandchildren.

But as much as Irey and Jai enjoyed schooling their grandparents in Scrabble, they couldn’t help but sense the downsides to their current predicament. Their parents had only a few rules when dropping them off for the weekend — make sure Jai eats all of his vegetables and limit screen time for both of the twins.

Jay and Joan seemed to interpret that as eliminating all screen time for the kids. Irey and Jai couldn’t even sneak into Bart’s room to take advantage of his gaming PC, as their older cousin had been preoccupied all day with watching Jesse’s little Hourbaby.

And in addition to that, Bart was not willing to risk the twins seeing his search history and using it to blackmail him into doing their bidding. He certainly wasn’t going to go through that for a third time.

Nonetheless, at least convincing Grampa Jay that “sussy” was a word to win a Scrabble game could go down in history as Irey West’s greatest achievement.

…

One downside to staying at the Garricks was that Irey and Jai had to share the guest room. With little Johnny’s crib being set up in Bart’s bedroom, it was the only option the twins had.

While the two were used to occupying the same space, a thirteen-year-old Irey wasn’t exactly keen on sharing a room with her eleven-year-old brother. Her being in junior high while Jai remained in elementary school didn’t help that fact one bit.

At least Irey didn’t put up a fight when she and Jai discussed who would be sleeping on the lower mattress of the trundle bed. In fact, she was hoping that letting Jai have the upper bed would lead to him having to owe her later. It would be nice to have him cover for her the next time she tried to sneak out to the skate park.

The sound of raindrops against the roof had yet to die down as Irey laid on her mattress. As she tried to ignore the sound of her brother journaling in the corner, she heard the distant echoes of thunder in the sky, then followed by a flash of lightning outside their dark window.

At first Irey thought the far-off booming would terrify her, but somehow it did anything but. Instead, the thunder melded with the sound of raindrops against the roof, creating a gentle blanket of noise that helped Irey close her eyes and drift off into an easy sleep.

But less than an hour later, Irey felt herself being shaken awake — not by the sound of thunder, a bad dream, or even a lightning strike granting her new powers — but by her own brother.

When she opened her tired eyes, she saw Jai with several blankets wrapped around himself as he hunched down on the upper mattress. He only dared to reach out with a single arm to prod his sister away.

A very exhausted Irey could only blink. “...what now, Jai?” she asked, trying to stifle a yawn.

At the tender age of eleven, Jai was keen on keeping himself hidden under the blankets. After reaching to the side of her mattress to grab her eyeglasses, Irey soon got a better look at her brother and the expression of utter terror on his face.

Combined with the continued sound of thunder in the night sky, Irey sighed and figured that she should have seen this all coming.

“Again, Jai? It’s just a little noise.”

Jai scrunched his face into a frown, then took on a mocking tone as he replied — “Again, Irey? It’s just a little spider web.”

Irey suddenly considered what the repercussions would be if she zipped her brother all the way to Antarctica and left him there.

“Hey!” Irey growled. “At least there aren’t multiple species of poisonous thunderstorms!”

With a grumble, Irey threw the blankets off herself and sat up in bed. She grabbed Jai’s arm and tugged him with her as she got to her feet.

“Alright, let’s go to Grandma and Grampa!”

Jai looked confused as he kept the blanket over his head. “What? Why!?”

“What else can we do?” Irey asked, squeezing her brother’s hand. “Punch the thunderstorm?”

Before Jai could seriously consider her suggestion, Irey dragged him out of the room.

In her short life, Irey had been told that in all sibling groups there was usually a “smart one.” Considering how things were going now, she was certain that the “smart one” of the Wild Wests was definitely not Jai.

It was a short walk from the guest bedroom to the room of the grandparents.

Once at the door, Irey calmly knocked three times on the wood and waited, side-eyeing her brother as she did so. The way he kept the thick blanket over his shoulders and back made him look less like a frightened eleven-year-old boy and more like a terrified potato.

When the door opened the two were greeted by Joan in an off-white nightgown. The second her eyes settled on her grandchildren, Joan could immediately sense that something was wrong.

“Oh dear, what brings you two here?” asked Joan, kneeling down slightly.

“Grandma, Jai’s a widdle baby who’s scared of thunder,” Irey quickly answered.

When an annoyed Jai elbowed his sister, Irey rolled her eyes and corrected her words.

“I mean Jai’s scared of thunder.”

Jai let out a grumpy huff. “I’m not scared, I just can’t sleep!”

“What’s going on, Joan?” came Jay’s voice.

Irey and Jai peeped a little deeper into the room to see their Grandpa Jay sitting on the bed, aptly clad in a set of plaid pajamas underneath his night robe. He looked over at his grandchildren with the same worrisome expression that his wife wore.

Fortunately for the twins, their grandparents didn’t hesitate to welcome them into their room. After Joan ushered the two inside, Jay had gotten out of bed and was helping his youngest grandchild onto the mattress.

“What’s happening, kiddo? Not scared of a little thunderstorm, are we?” he asked with a warm, playful smile.

Jai shook his head, yet refused to part ways with the blanket over his shoulders.

“No! It’s just hard to sleep with all the noise.”

Jay let out a chuckle while Irey rolled her eyes again. She climbed up onto the mattress as well and settled at the foot, while Jay and Joan remained near the headboard to comfort Jai.

“Oh, I understand, sweetie,” said Joan in a soft, caring tone. “Sometimes you never outgrow things like this, but you can learn to live with them.”

There was just something about the gentleness in Joan’s voice that brought a smile to Jai’s face. Even the snarky look in Irey’s eyes had managed to fade into a genuine smile.

“You can sleep here if you need to,” Joan continued on. She then looked up to meet her husband’s gaze. “Right, honey?”

Jay didn’t hesitate to nod along — “Of course.”

Irey remained at the foot of the bed as she watched Jai settle in front of the headboard. Joan sat on the mattress next to him and even let him lean his head on her shoulder, something that certainly did more to comfort him than Irey referring to him as a “widdle baby.”

Before Jay could settle onto the other side of the mattress, the door of the bedroom burst open. With all the poise of the Kool-Aid man, the other babies of the Flash Family made themselves known.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Bart yelped out in a panic. In his arms was a rather bored baby Johnny.

“Okay, so the twins aren’t in their beds but it’s not my fault, but I got Johnny so if like… something got them then at least it didn’t get him and y’know… one out of three’s not that bad, right? But anyways, if they’re gone I’ll find ‘em, and whatever thing got them I’ll make it pay, and… and…”

The room went silent as the twins and the Garricks stared at Bart and the Hourbaby.

After a few more moments of silence, Bart blinked, then slowly nodded his head as he took in the scene in front of them.

“... and they’re right here.”

Judging by the mildly confounded look in his eyes, Irey guessed that Bart was internally fighting the urge to smack himself on the head.

“Well, don’t just stand there, get over here!” Joan said, gesturing for the teenage speedster to come over.

Similar to Irey, Bart rolled his eyes but did what he was told. He closed the door behind him and took a seat next to Irey at the foot of the bed, keeping little Johnny in his arms as he did so.

Bart’s embarrassment seemed to fade away quickly. When he next spoke, his voice took on a playful, slightly mocking tone — one akin to how Charlie Bucket would acknowledge his bedridden grandparents at the end of the day.

“What is it, Grandma Joan?” he asked in a cheerful, comical tone. “Are you going to tell us about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens?”

Irey let out a chuckle and wondered if she should bring up copper kettles or woolen mittens.

Joan looked amused. “I was actually thinking that Jay could run downstairs and pick-up that old story book.”

Irey shook her head. “Naw, that book’s boring — they took out the cool parts of Cinderella.”

“Well, yeah, most kids don’t wanna hear about the whole feet-cutting thing,” Bart remarked. “That shit’ll scar you for life.”

After Jay shot Bart a quick disapproving look for cursing in front of the children, he looked back towards his wife with a gentle smile.

“The storybook sounds fine, Joan, I’ll go get it.”

“Uh… actually…” Jai soon spoke up. All at once, the attention in the room was placed on him. “There's a story that I wanted to hear from you, Grandma.”

Joan perked up, both flattered and surprised. “Oh? And what story is that?”

“How did you and Grampa Jay meet?” asked Jai, sounding genuinely curious.

In response to that Irey looked at her grandparents and nodded along. “Yeah, how did you?”

“I wanna know, too,” Bart added on. He adjusted his sitting position on the mattress, making sure to get comfortable in preparation for the tale.

“Jay told me about the wedding night, but not this,” the teenage speedster continued on. He looked over to Jay. “How did you two meet?”

Jay smiled as he ran a hand through his grayed hair. “Oh, well… that was back in… what, ‘38?”

He looked to Joan to double check if the date was true, as at their age remembering certain things was becoming a chore. When she nodded in return, Jay’s smile became just a little bit wider.

“Yeah, ‘38…” he continued on, the warmth of his voice melding with the sound of raindrops outside. “It all started one day in my junior year of college…”

#Bart Allen #Irey West #Jai West #Jay Garrick #Joan Garrick #Johnny Tyler #Flashfam #DC #Impulse #Kid Flash #The Flash #we need more big family vibes with the Flashfam

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