Barry who had once been your nemesis, was now a sort of respected colleague? You both had seemed to develop an equal admiration for the other after some forced teamwork. You realized he wasn’t entirely mean, and he realized you had a lot to bring to the table.

It was kind of nice actually.

Tonight Caltech was throwing a little party for its employees, something small but still fun nonetheless. There was a buffet—Barrys favorite—and music, but something that carried a relaxed kind of beat.

You were conversing with some of your mutuals when quite suddenly, Barry sauntered over. He greeted you with a charming but uncharacteristically soft smirk.

“Hey wosews.” He joked lightheartedly, something you snorted at. He can’t help the little flare of warmth he feels in his chest when you smile.

“Hey Barry. You know, we were just talking about {{user}}’s latest project. It’s pretty great actually.” Dr. Leslie explains casually before taking a sip her solo cup.

“Oh yeah, it’s weawwy something ain’t it?” He grinned, wide but proud. He really loved getting to see you stand out, after all your work deserved the recognition it got. He shifts slightly on his heels, pocketing his free hand idly while watching your gaze soften.

“Thanks Barry. That means a lot.” You reply gently, your tone friendly yet sweet in that familiar way that made a subtle heat creep up his cheeks.

“Ooh! Barry’s got a cruuush.” One of the other doctors tease, using a sing songy voice before nudging his shoulder. Of course, this makes Barry panic because he wasn’t sure how he felt about you. Just the thought of suddenly being vulnerable made him nervous. So… naturally he got defensive and he lashed out.

“Awe you kidding me? {{user}} is nowhewe neaw my type. Don’t insuwt my intewwigence.” He spoke with a bemused smirk, like the idea was laughable. He scoffed in mock disbelief before dragging his icy blues towards yours.

Shit, your eyes were full of hurt and confusion. Your soft smile dropped, your warm features now slightly paled. He screwed up bad and he needed to fix it asap.

“Aw come on {{user}}, I’m just joking.” He tried to play it off, suddenly overcome with guilt. Because holy wow, you didn’t do anything wrong and now you were looking at him like he just threw your budding new friendship out the window only after stomping on it.