pokemon; Forever, And Everything In-Between | Lucas/Barry/Dawn, Riley/Dawn
Title: Forever, And Everything In-Between
Pairing: Lucas/Barry/Dawn, Riley/Dawn
Summary: It takes her two weeks before she speaks to Riley about what brought her to Iron Island. Ten, twenty, and all the years in-between.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Notes: This was written for the first round of pokeprompts's March Madness tournament. The prompt was the song 100 Years by Five For Fighting. I was specifically inspired by the part where it goes caught in between 10 and 20 and the way the whole song revolves around the age of fifteen, but other concepts from the song snuck in too while I was writing this, probably because I had it on repeat the whole time.
The numbers before each segment are the trio's ages, since this isn't in chronological order, although there is an order to it. And I think that's about all that I need to say. Enjoy!
Forever, And Everything In-Betweentwenty
She's sitting there by the edge of the cliff, waiting, when he exits the mouth of the cave. He's not surprised to see her there- somehow, it's always felt more surprising when she's not there, although it's been years since he's seen her last. Even back then, she never stopped by Iron Island that often.
"It's been a while," he says, finally, when it's clear that she's not going to speak.
"Mm," she agrees, fingers curling in the grass. She tilts her head back, and he thinks he can see starlight reflected in those grey, grey eyes.
There's so much he can ask her. So much has changed since he's last seen her. Back then, she was just a trembling young girl, all silk-wrapped steel. Beautiful. Fragile. Strong. He can still see that girl, in the flick of her wrists and the curve of her lips, but there's more now. He doesn't need to ask to know that everything worked out just fine.
Instead, he asks after her Lucario, and he knows that he's said the right thing when he's rewarded with a brilliant smile that, even now, never fails to make his heart skip a beat.
ten
She sticks her feet back into the water, kicking at soil beneath and watching as it muddles the clear surface. It's her birthday today, and she's got just what she wanted. Spending the day at the lake with Barry beats any present, and even though Barry complains about their moms coming to keep an eye on them like they're still babies, she thinks that she wouldn't change a thing.
She's played in the water all morning, and now she's tired, too tired to do much more than sit back and idly kick at the water, but Barry's still practically thrumming with energy. He's always like this, never slowing down even when she's ready to collapse. For all that she's a whole month older than him, he's always managed to be ahead of her, always dashing forward until she can barely see him anymore.
She knows that once they get their Pokémon he'll be gone, moving faster than she could ever hope to catch up to, his footprints in the dust the only reminder of the ten years that they spent together. But right now he's still here, and so she reaches out to put her hand over his. He stills, for once not pulling away, and she smiles, knowing that she still has a while yet before she loses him.
nineteen
Barry taps his fingers against the table and his foot against the floor. Lucas can't help but smile as he flips the batter, knowing that if Dawn was there, she'd be scolding him for being so impatient. She'd say that he should be grateful that Lucas is cooking breakfast for him at all, conveniently forgetting that he has to if he wants to eat at all- everything Barry makes is still half-frozen when he's through, and Dawn, no matter how hard she tries, can't make anything other than eggs right and there's only so much of that you can eat before you're sick of it.
But this morning there's no Dawn to scold him, having slipped out to train before they woke up. They're alone in the kitchen, with only the sound of Barry's tapping and the batter's sizzling to keep them company, and Lucas can't help but think that it's rather nice.
He doesn't notice that the tapping's stopped until he turns to grab something and finds Barry there instead, right besides him.
"I'm hungry," Barry announces with a grin, Lucas' only warning before he leans in and licks some stray batter off of his cheek. Lucas is reminded, absurdly enough, of the first time Barry ever kissed him, the first time anyone ever kissed him. They were just kids, not-quite fifteen, and he can never forget his surprise when Barry grabbed him one day and pressed their mouths together, harshly, awkwardly, before letting go and running off before Lucas could even think, let alone speak.
Barry's never lost that ability to surprise, he thinks as he turns towards him, deciding to relive that memory.
The pancakes burn.
eleven
Lucas is so different from any other boy Dawn has ever met before. He's mild-mannered, and polite, and not rambunctious at all. In fact, he's downright sweet at times, and it can't help but make her little girl heart flutter and her lips curve up into a sweet smile.
Even though she's champion now, Rowan still sees the need to send her items, and she treasures each one, if only for the minutes it gives her with Lucas. Five, ten, half an hour, it doesn't matter- each one is like gold.
But he'll always need to leave eventually, on to the next task that Rowan has given him. She'll watch his back as he walks away, watch as he gets smaller and smaller in the horizon until he's gone and she realizes how distant from her he really is. That one day, there will be no more gifts, or he'll move on from being Rowan's assistant, and then he'll be gone.
She'll lose him, as sure as anything.
eighteen
She's breathing heavily, but her eyes are shining as she recalls her Empoleon. He recalls his Infernape a moment later, wondering, as he has at the end of every battle against her since that first one, when she became so tough.
"You owe me a million for winning!" he calls out, and is rewarded by her grinning broadly at the familiar words. She's making her way over to him now, in no hurry. He's no longer that ten year old who dashed off the moment is was clear he lost, if only because they live in the same house and, seeing as they battle at least once a week, Dawn would kill him if he does.
She doesn't say 'Good battle' or 'You did well' or any of the other near-patented phrases she says whenever some twerp challenges her and fails because they're too stupid to realize that the only person Dawn is allowed to lose to is him. Instead, she moves to hug him, and he takes a step forward, like he'll accept it.
Which is why she doesn't see it coming when he tackles her to the ground. She squeaks as she hits the ground and, a moment later, begins to squeal with laughter as his fingers mercilessly attacks her, dancing up and down her ribs.
None of those challengers have ever seen this Dawn, laughing without breath, cheeks red and eyes sparkling. No one sees this Dawn, not even Lucas, because he doesn't have those ten years with her that Barry does, each of those years overlapping the other until they become the girl laying in the sand beneath him.
This Dawn is all his, and that's why he's the only one who'll ever be allowed to defeat her.
twelve
He's never actually met Lucas, but he's seen him from a distance before, and even if he'd never seen him before, Dawn's told him enough about him for him to know in an instant who this boy is.
Lucas seems nice enough, but Barry's not stupid. For all that he's brash and impetuous and only twelve, he doesn't miss the way Dawn talks about Lucas, her eyes softening and her voice quieting in a way that used to be reserved for him and only him.
"...name is Lucas," Lucas is saying. "You're Barry, right?"
Barry just looks at him for a moment, lips tight as he remembers the way Dawn smiled when she first mentioned this boy's name. Then he pulls back his fist and punches him in the face.
seventeen
"I'd like you to move in with me," she says, all in one breath. She pauses, half a beat, then adds, more timidly, "If you want to, that is."
They're sitting on the front stoop of her house, the remains of dinner piled on plates between them. She's not looking at him, her hands twisted in her lap and her gaze fixed in the direction of the ocean.
For just a moment, Lucas can't think- of all the things he expected her to say when she said that she needed to talk to him, this wasn't one of them- so he responds with a question instead. "What about Barry?"
"I've asked him too," she answers, looking down at her lap. "I'm asking both of you. I- I want both of you here."
He doesn't bother asking about what Barry said. He knows him well enough to know that he probably didn't even take the time to reply, just tackled Dawn in his excitement over being asked.
He hasn't answered yet, he realizes, and he lets out his breath. "Yes," he says, finally, and is rewarded when Dawn looks up at him with a relieved smile.
thirteen
She runs into him when she's over halfway to Solaceon Town, and it doesn't take much to convince him to go the rest of the way with her. He's carrying one of Rowan's packages, like he always does, but this one isn't for her, and she's a little ashamed of the flush of pleasure that rushes through her when she realizes this.
The buildings of Solaceon Town are well in their sight when she turns on her heels and asks, with the brightest of smiles, "Want to go to the PokéMart with me? It won't take too long, promise, and it'll be fun."
He hesitates before answering, and for a moment, she's sure that he's going to say yes. Then his eyes flicker to the side, to something beyond her, and his expression changes. "No," he says, shaking his head. His voice cracks a bit. "No, I'd better get this delivered." He says his goodbyes, and then he leaves, and she is left watching his back- again.
She's not alone for long. Barry comes racing up a few minutes later, and she finds the disappointment from Lucas' abrupt departure fading a bit as she's enveloped in his chatter. He shows no sign of rushing off, and she waits for the inevitable challenge for a battle.
It never comes. He abruptly goes quiet, and she waits, tilting her head as she looks up at him.
"A moment ago- that was Lucas here," he says, finally. There's something odd about the tone of his voice, something terribly familiar that she can't place.
She nods, and the first inkling of an idea creeps into her mind.
sixteen
Barry and Dawn are still asleep when he wakes up, something he didn't expect. He'd always pegged them both as early risers, but the sun's climbing up the sky and they're both still deep asleep. Barry's arm slips off of his waist as he crawls out from their pile of sleeping bags. He settles back on his heels, watching as Barry's other arm tightens its grip around Dawn's waist. He can't see Barry's expression- he sleeps on his stomach, and currently he's face-down on his pillow- but Dawn makes a contented sort of hum and curls in closer to him with the smallest of smiles.
He watches them a moment longer before turning around, and crawling out of the tent. It's Barry's turn to make breakfast, but he shudders at the thought of how Barry must cook on a camping trip- probably asks his Infernape to use Flamethrower on the food- so he decides to make it instead, while it's still early enough to be considered breakfast.
They wake up while he's still cooking, stumbling out of the tent with bleary eyes, half-heartedly bickering with each other over one thing or the other. Barry's too loud for this early in the morning, and Dawn must agree, because a moment later she pushes him into the river. Barry pops out of the water with a startled yelp, immediately continuing their argument, and Lucas can't help but smile at the familiarity of it all.
fourteen
It takes her two weeks before she speaks to Riley about what brought her to Iron Island. Two weeks of wandering around in the caverns together, two weeks of training together, their Lucarios moving more and more in-sync as the days pass by.
He's patient with her, never pushing her to speak about it. Instead, he keeps the conversation on safe topics, like her Lucario or their recent battles together and things like that. She likes that about him, that patience, that understanding. That's why she chose him, out of all the people she's met and all the friends she's made throughout the years, to be the one she goes to. She likes a lot of things about him, really, but she likes that best. And- it's so nice down there in the caves, so calm and peaceful. She thinks a hundred years could go by, and it'll all still be the same, her and Riley and their Lucarios, in this world beneath the surface.
She can't keep silent forever, though, not with all those words and emotions festering beneath the surface, and one day, she finally speaks.
"They're so stupid," she blurts out, the words bursting out of her, with more bubbling up after them. "Both of them. So stupid. They keep fighting with each other and then they avoid each other and then they fight each other again and they keep doing it over and over it's just so stupid when we all know that's not what they mean-" she cuts herself off, choking down on the words. The thoughts still come, faster and faster, each overlapping the other and filling her up until she just wants to scream. She wants to forget and she wants to remember and she doesn't know what she wants, just knows that it's so very clear and those two boys are just so very stupid.
Riley is speaking, soft words washing over her, and she doesn't hear a thing. She looks down at her shaking hands, and then it hits her. She's so stupid, even stupider than they are- she's not angry, she's afraid, so very afraid. The world's rushing by and Lucas and Barry are rushing along with it and she can't even take a breath.
She looks up at Riley, then. He's as polite and kind as Lucas is, but there's a fire lurking behind his eyes when he battles that reminds her of Barry, and she can't help but adore him for it. And he's so much safer than they are, because when he leaves she knows that she can always find him again and he'll never break her heart, if only because he can never really have it all in the first place, and she just wants something she can hold on to.
She knows what kind of objections he'll make- she's too young, too lost- and so she doesn't give him the chance to make them. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him, at once sweet and fierce, as the world around her slowly comes to a stop.
fifteen
She's always known that she'll lose them one day, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt when that day finally comes.
She's in the middle of a forest when she sees them. They're stumbling down the path together, the first time she's ever seen them in the same place together without one of them leaving almost immediately. Barry spots her first, and he waves at her, his fingers wrapping around Lucas' wrist as he drags him towards her. She waves back, standing to greet them, and her smile is only half-real as she prepares to congratulate them.
She's always know that she'll lose them one day, but that doesn't mean that she's ready for it.
"We've been looking all over for you," Barry huffs, letting go of Lucas to cross his arms. "We have something to tell you."
Something in her crumbles, but before she can reply he leans forward and kisses her, lightning quick. She makes a noise not unlike a squeak, but she doesn't hit him, and Lucas takes that as permission to lean in and do the same. She's not sure who moves next, but someone does, and it's not until one of them trips over the other's leg that they stop, falling into a breathless, tangled heap.
She's in between them, curled against Lucas' chest with Barry's breath hot against her neck. "What-" she begins, then stops, unable to speak any of the millions of questions dancing around in her head.
"Go out with us?" Barry asks. She opens her mouth to speak- yesyesyes- but then Lucas gives her hand an encouraging squeeze and she can just feel Barry's familiar grin, and she bursts into tears instead. It's ridiculous, really- so many times she could have cried in the last five years, and she choses now to start, in the one moment she should have been smiling.
But for all these years she's thought that she was losing them, that one day they'll leave her, and now that suddenly, she knows that they won't- it's too much, and she can't help but soak Lucas' shirt with her tears. Barry pushes her hair out of her face, remembering that she hates it when it sticks to her skin, and Lucas just holds her close, and she knows that they understand, without her ever having to say a word.
And that's enough.
Pairing: Lucas/Barry/Dawn, Riley/Dawn
Summary: It takes her two weeks before she speaks to Riley about what brought her to Iron Island. Ten, twenty, and all the years in-between.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Notes: This was written for the first round of pokeprompts's March Madness tournament. The prompt was the song 100 Years by Five For Fighting. I was specifically inspired by the part where it goes caught in between 10 and 20 and the way the whole song revolves around the age of fifteen, but other concepts from the song snuck in too while I was writing this, probably because I had it on repeat the whole time.
The numbers before each segment are the trio's ages, since this isn't in chronological order, although there is an order to it. And I think that's about all that I need to say. Enjoy!
Forever, And Everything In-Betweentwenty
She's sitting there by the edge of the cliff, waiting, when he exits the mouth of the cave. He's not surprised to see her there- somehow, it's always felt more surprising when she's not there, although it's been years since he's seen her last. Even back then, she never stopped by Iron Island that often.
"It's been a while," he says, finally, when it's clear that she's not going to speak.
"Mm," she agrees, fingers curling in the grass. She tilts her head back, and he thinks he can see starlight reflected in those grey, grey eyes.
There's so much he can ask her. So much has changed since he's last seen her. Back then, she was just a trembling young girl, all silk-wrapped steel. Beautiful. Fragile. Strong. He can still see that girl, in the flick of her wrists and the curve of her lips, but there's more now. He doesn't need to ask to know that everything worked out just fine.
Instead, he asks after her Lucario, and he knows that he's said the right thing when he's rewarded with a brilliant smile that, even now, never fails to make his heart skip a beat.
ten
She sticks her feet back into the water, kicking at soil beneath and watching as it muddles the clear surface. It's her birthday today, and she's got just what she wanted. Spending the day at the lake with Barry beats any present, and even though Barry complains about their moms coming to keep an eye on them like they're still babies, she thinks that she wouldn't change a thing.
She's played in the water all morning, and now she's tired, too tired to do much more than sit back and idly kick at the water, but Barry's still practically thrumming with energy. He's always like this, never slowing down even when she's ready to collapse. For all that she's a whole month older than him, he's always managed to be ahead of her, always dashing forward until she can barely see him anymore.
She knows that once they get their Pokémon he'll be gone, moving faster than she could ever hope to catch up to, his footprints in the dust the only reminder of the ten years that they spent together. But right now he's still here, and so she reaches out to put her hand over his. He stills, for once not pulling away, and she smiles, knowing that she still has a while yet before she loses him.
nineteen
Barry taps his fingers against the table and his foot against the floor. Lucas can't help but smile as he flips the batter, knowing that if Dawn was there, she'd be scolding him for being so impatient. She'd say that he should be grateful that Lucas is cooking breakfast for him at all, conveniently forgetting that he has to if he wants to eat at all- everything Barry makes is still half-frozen when he's through, and Dawn, no matter how hard she tries, can't make anything other than eggs right and there's only so much of that you can eat before you're sick of it.
But this morning there's no Dawn to scold him, having slipped out to train before they woke up. They're alone in the kitchen, with only the sound of Barry's tapping and the batter's sizzling to keep them company, and Lucas can't help but think that it's rather nice.
He doesn't notice that the tapping's stopped until he turns to grab something and finds Barry there instead, right besides him.
"I'm hungry," Barry announces with a grin, Lucas' only warning before he leans in and licks some stray batter off of his cheek. Lucas is reminded, absurdly enough, of the first time Barry ever kissed him, the first time anyone ever kissed him. They were just kids, not-quite fifteen, and he can never forget his surprise when Barry grabbed him one day and pressed their mouths together, harshly, awkwardly, before letting go and running off before Lucas could even think, let alone speak.
Barry's never lost that ability to surprise, he thinks as he turns towards him, deciding to relive that memory.
The pancakes burn.
eleven
Lucas is so different from any other boy Dawn has ever met before. He's mild-mannered, and polite, and not rambunctious at all. In fact, he's downright sweet at times, and it can't help but make her little girl heart flutter and her lips curve up into a sweet smile.
Even though she's champion now, Rowan still sees the need to send her items, and she treasures each one, if only for the minutes it gives her with Lucas. Five, ten, half an hour, it doesn't matter- each one is like gold.
But he'll always need to leave eventually, on to the next task that Rowan has given him. She'll watch his back as he walks away, watch as he gets smaller and smaller in the horizon until he's gone and she realizes how distant from her he really is. That one day, there will be no more gifts, or he'll move on from being Rowan's assistant, and then he'll be gone.
She'll lose him, as sure as anything.
eighteen
She's breathing heavily, but her eyes are shining as she recalls her Empoleon. He recalls his Infernape a moment later, wondering, as he has at the end of every battle against her since that first one, when she became so tough.
"You owe me a million for winning!" he calls out, and is rewarded by her grinning broadly at the familiar words. She's making her way over to him now, in no hurry. He's no longer that ten year old who dashed off the moment is was clear he lost, if only because they live in the same house and, seeing as they battle at least once a week, Dawn would kill him if he does.
She doesn't say 'Good battle' or 'You did well' or any of the other near-patented phrases she says whenever some twerp challenges her and fails because they're too stupid to realize that the only person Dawn is allowed to lose to is him. Instead, she moves to hug him, and he takes a step forward, like he'll accept it.
Which is why she doesn't see it coming when he tackles her to the ground. She squeaks as she hits the ground and, a moment later, begins to squeal with laughter as his fingers mercilessly attacks her, dancing up and down her ribs.
None of those challengers have ever seen this Dawn, laughing without breath, cheeks red and eyes sparkling. No one sees this Dawn, not even Lucas, because he doesn't have those ten years with her that Barry does, each of those years overlapping the other until they become the girl laying in the sand beneath him.
This Dawn is all his, and that's why he's the only one who'll ever be allowed to defeat her.
twelve
He's never actually met Lucas, but he's seen him from a distance before, and even if he'd never seen him before, Dawn's told him enough about him for him to know in an instant who this boy is.
Lucas seems nice enough, but Barry's not stupid. For all that he's brash and impetuous and only twelve, he doesn't miss the way Dawn talks about Lucas, her eyes softening and her voice quieting in a way that used to be reserved for him and only him.
"...name is Lucas," Lucas is saying. "You're Barry, right?"
Barry just looks at him for a moment, lips tight as he remembers the way Dawn smiled when she first mentioned this boy's name. Then he pulls back his fist and punches him in the face.
seventeen
"I'd like you to move in with me," she says, all in one breath. She pauses, half a beat, then adds, more timidly, "If you want to, that is."
They're sitting on the front stoop of her house, the remains of dinner piled on plates between them. She's not looking at him, her hands twisted in her lap and her gaze fixed in the direction of the ocean.
For just a moment, Lucas can't think- of all the things he expected her to say when she said that she needed to talk to him, this wasn't one of them- so he responds with a question instead. "What about Barry?"
"I've asked him too," she answers, looking down at her lap. "I'm asking both of you. I- I want both of you here."
He doesn't bother asking about what Barry said. He knows him well enough to know that he probably didn't even take the time to reply, just tackled Dawn in his excitement over being asked.
He hasn't answered yet, he realizes, and he lets out his breath. "Yes," he says, finally, and is rewarded when Dawn looks up at him with a relieved smile.
thirteen
She runs into him when she's over halfway to Solaceon Town, and it doesn't take much to convince him to go the rest of the way with her. He's carrying one of Rowan's packages, like he always does, but this one isn't for her, and she's a little ashamed of the flush of pleasure that rushes through her when she realizes this.
The buildings of Solaceon Town are well in their sight when she turns on her heels and asks, with the brightest of smiles, "Want to go to the PokéMart with me? It won't take too long, promise, and it'll be fun."
He hesitates before answering, and for a moment, she's sure that he's going to say yes. Then his eyes flicker to the side, to something beyond her, and his expression changes. "No," he says, shaking his head. His voice cracks a bit. "No, I'd better get this delivered." He says his goodbyes, and then he leaves, and she is left watching his back- again.
She's not alone for long. Barry comes racing up a few minutes later, and she finds the disappointment from Lucas' abrupt departure fading a bit as she's enveloped in his chatter. He shows no sign of rushing off, and she waits for the inevitable challenge for a battle.
It never comes. He abruptly goes quiet, and she waits, tilting her head as she looks up at him.
"A moment ago- that was Lucas here," he says, finally. There's something odd about the tone of his voice, something terribly familiar that she can't place.
She nods, and the first inkling of an idea creeps into her mind.
sixteen
Barry and Dawn are still asleep when he wakes up, something he didn't expect. He'd always pegged them both as early risers, but the sun's climbing up the sky and they're both still deep asleep. Barry's arm slips off of his waist as he crawls out from their pile of sleeping bags. He settles back on his heels, watching as Barry's other arm tightens its grip around Dawn's waist. He can't see Barry's expression- he sleeps on his stomach, and currently he's face-down on his pillow- but Dawn makes a contented sort of hum and curls in closer to him with the smallest of smiles.
He watches them a moment longer before turning around, and crawling out of the tent. It's Barry's turn to make breakfast, but he shudders at the thought of how Barry must cook on a camping trip- probably asks his Infernape to use Flamethrower on the food- so he decides to make it instead, while it's still early enough to be considered breakfast.
They wake up while he's still cooking, stumbling out of the tent with bleary eyes, half-heartedly bickering with each other over one thing or the other. Barry's too loud for this early in the morning, and Dawn must agree, because a moment later she pushes him into the river. Barry pops out of the water with a startled yelp, immediately continuing their argument, and Lucas can't help but smile at the familiarity of it all.
fourteen
It takes her two weeks before she speaks to Riley about what brought her to Iron Island. Two weeks of wandering around in the caverns together, two weeks of training together, their Lucarios moving more and more in-sync as the days pass by.
He's patient with her, never pushing her to speak about it. Instead, he keeps the conversation on safe topics, like her Lucario or their recent battles together and things like that. She likes that about him, that patience, that understanding. That's why she chose him, out of all the people she's met and all the friends she's made throughout the years, to be the one she goes to. She likes a lot of things about him, really, but she likes that best. And- it's so nice down there in the caves, so calm and peaceful. She thinks a hundred years could go by, and it'll all still be the same, her and Riley and their Lucarios, in this world beneath the surface.
She can't keep silent forever, though, not with all those words and emotions festering beneath the surface, and one day, she finally speaks.
"They're so stupid," she blurts out, the words bursting out of her, with more bubbling up after them. "Both of them. So stupid. They keep fighting with each other and then they avoid each other and then they fight each other again and they keep doing it over and over it's just so stupid when we all know that's not what they mean-" she cuts herself off, choking down on the words. The thoughts still come, faster and faster, each overlapping the other and filling her up until she just wants to scream. She wants to forget and she wants to remember and she doesn't know what she wants, just knows that it's so very clear and those two boys are just so very stupid.
Riley is speaking, soft words washing over her, and she doesn't hear a thing. She looks down at her shaking hands, and then it hits her. She's so stupid, even stupider than they are- she's not angry, she's afraid, so very afraid. The world's rushing by and Lucas and Barry are rushing along with it and she can't even take a breath.
She looks up at Riley, then. He's as polite and kind as Lucas is, but there's a fire lurking behind his eyes when he battles that reminds her of Barry, and she can't help but adore him for it. And he's so much safer than they are, because when he leaves she knows that she can always find him again and he'll never break her heart, if only because he can never really have it all in the first place, and she just wants something she can hold on to.
She knows what kind of objections he'll make- she's too young, too lost- and so she doesn't give him the chance to make them. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him, at once sweet and fierce, as the world around her slowly comes to a stop.
fifteen
She's always known that she'll lose them one day, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt when that day finally comes.
She's in the middle of a forest when she sees them. They're stumbling down the path together, the first time she's ever seen them in the same place together without one of them leaving almost immediately. Barry spots her first, and he waves at her, his fingers wrapping around Lucas' wrist as he drags him towards her. She waves back, standing to greet them, and her smile is only half-real as she prepares to congratulate them.
She's always know that she'll lose them one day, but that doesn't mean that she's ready for it.
"We've been looking all over for you," Barry huffs, letting go of Lucas to cross his arms. "We have something to tell you."
Something in her crumbles, but before she can reply he leans forward and kisses her, lightning quick. She makes a noise not unlike a squeak, but she doesn't hit him, and Lucas takes that as permission to lean in and do the same. She's not sure who moves next, but someone does, and it's not until one of them trips over the other's leg that they stop, falling into a breathless, tangled heap.
She's in between them, curled against Lucas' chest with Barry's breath hot against her neck. "What-" she begins, then stops, unable to speak any of the millions of questions dancing around in her head.
"Go out with us?" Barry asks. She opens her mouth to speak- yesyesyes- but then Lucas gives her hand an encouraging squeeze and she can just feel Barry's familiar grin, and she bursts into tears instead. It's ridiculous, really- so many times she could have cried in the last five years, and she choses now to start, in the one moment she should have been smiling.
But for all these years she's thought that she was losing them, that one day they'll leave her, and now that suddenly, she knows that they won't- it's too much, and she can't help but soak Lucas' shirt with her tears. Barry pushes her hair out of her face, remembering that she hates it when it sticks to her skin, and Lucas just holds her close, and she knows that they understand, without her ever having to say a word.
And that's enough.