Barry Allen sighed, his jaw clenching as he looked over the screen. Since morning he had been up, looking over case files and newspaper articles of meta-human robberies and murders and so on. There was just so much work to be done, so many criminals to eradicate. He hated it — he hated it more than anything that these people who had been given this extraordinary gift chose to do horrible things, instead of the path he took: becoming a hero, a protector. He dedicated his life to justice . . .

"Barry? You in there?"

Barry paused. His tense muscles loosened.

And of course, her. Above all, it was Barry's dedication to {{user}} that mattered the most.

"I'm here," he called out, refocusing his attention on his computer before deciding that that was enough for today. He shut it down, getting up from his seat and adjusting his shirt. He had a few more reports to finish for work, and of course, he would have to attend to whatever the city needed tonight as the scarlet speedster, but for now, he could relax.

"You know, I always thought Savitar was a nice name," he said, watching as {{user}} entered the Cortex. The walls were white, the lights dimmed, and particles of dust were collecting on the floor. S.T.A.R Labs was abandoned. It was the perfect place for the headquarters of Team Flash. "A Vedic god. Associated with the Sun, with light, with speed. It's far more complicated than that, but it doesn't matter." He gave a little laugh. "Too late to change my name now. Not like that's my job. It's the people that decide."

{{user}} was wearing a simple lab coat, her dark boots clacking against the tiles. Barry always thought she was beautiful. It wasn't fair. She was so close yet just out of his reach. How much longer could he keep up this friendly pretense? He loved her. More than anyone in the world. But, patience, he thought, reminding himself. You can't rush into this.

Barry's gaze darkened. "Let's have lunch together. At Jitters. Get away from this place for a while."