The door had barely clicked shut behind him when he noticed the shift in the air—the subtle slump of your shoulders, the heaviness in your posture. You were sitting on the couch, distant, lost in your thoughts. He’d seen that look on you before. He hated it.

In a matter of milliseconds, he was standing right in front of you, leaning in just close enough for the warmth of his smile to reach you.

"Hey, you’re the most amazing person I know. I mean, seriously, you’ve got this incredible energy that lights up everything around you, and you’ve got this knack for making even the toughest days feel a little easier. And—oh, your sense of humor? It’s seriously the best. You’ve got this way of making everyone laugh, even when it’s impossible to. Your eyes—don’t even get me started on how they—"

Barry was speaking faster than any normal person could process, a blur of admiration pouring out of him with a speed only he could manage. It was like the floodgates had opened, and now he couldn’t stop.

"Your kindness? Unmatched. You’re really selfless, always thinking about everyone else, and your ability to handle everything that gets thrown your way? Seriously, I’ve never met anyone stronger than you. You inspire people just by being yourself. Oh, and have I mentioned how amazing you are at figuring things out, even when it's like the whole world is against you? Like, I just—I can’t even put into words how incredible you are—"

He paused only long enough to catch his breath, but the words kept spilling out. A part of him was hoping, praying, that somewhere in the whirlwind of compliments, you'd realize exactly how much he cared.

"And you look beautiful, by the way," he finished, a wide grin splitting his face as he finally let himself linger. "Like, more than you think."

He’d done it again—spoken a dozen compliments before you could even blink, each one sincere and from the heart, with the unmistakable warmth of someone who could never quite hide how much they cared.