They say that heroes are never lost.

That the real heroes always find their way home.

That they never lose sight of what's right and what's not.

Well...they lied.

It was a lonely snowy evening, with every passing cold second, heaven descending on earth; one snowflake at a time.

Heavy slow steps could be heard, being dragged throw the thick layer, a young man was walking with his hands firmly resting in his pocket hoping to feel some warmth. On his way to the KSFZ Channel 8 building, the young man stopped by a small side shop looking to buy flowers for someone very special.

And that he did. Bluish-purple or something like that was her favorite color. He never could learn the name of the color though. Eh!

But that's okay. All that mattered was that he got them and also asked the vendor to tie them together with a ribbon and as he imagined giving them to her, he couldn't help but smile.

He walked and walked and soon he reached the building, going straight for her office. He knocked and entered.

"Hey there," he said smiling with his head popping out of the small door opening.

"Heeeyy..sweety. Why are you standing there?" She held her hand out and helped him inside. Gradually..well eventually her hands found her way around his neck and he too, could only oblige and as she pushed herself up to reach him and greet him with a soft kiss, the young man felt..happy. One might even go as far as to say..peaceful.

"You didn't need to bring the flowers, Bar," she said with both of them still standing in the same place, not willing to grow apart.

"Yes, I did. After all, it's not everyday that my girl gets a promotion."

"Aww. I am Barry Allen's girl. It's cheesy but I kinda like the way it sounds."

"Well, that makes the two of us," he said with a huge grin.

She held the flowers and walked to her table to change the old ones. Beside the vase, was a small box which caught Barry's attention.

"What's in the box?" the curious young man asked.

"I was waiting for you before opening it. So, why don't you open it and find out for yourself?"

Barry picked up the box and got rid of the ribbon.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. Now hurry!"

"Okay, okay!" he said quickly, seeing her excitement and opened the box, half expecting a clown with a spring at it's bottom to jump at him; but instead there was a grey colored name plate inside with her name embroidered in alongside her new designation- Linda Park, Assistant Editor.

"You like it?"

"I love it, Lin."

Barry proudly placed it on the table and lovingly hugged her while congratulating her again. "You deserved this. All those sleepless nights. Finally, you got your reward, as you frequently put it."

"Thanks sweety. And I know, I caused you a lot of trouble with how I had to cut short the time we spent together. But-"

"It's okay, Miss Park...In the end, you are worth it all," he replied, bringing a cozy smile on her face making her rest with peace on his shoulders.

And for the time being, during that hug, everything was okay. Barry was okay. Though a part of him knew that this wasn't right. Nothing was right. Not. one. bit. But he was tired and this was comforting and-

But before they could get used to the comfort, her phone rang almost startling them and though she really didn't want to break the hug, she had to; for now, people would look for her to make mistakes and get shots at her. And Linda Park, mind you, didn't do mistakes.

"Sorry, I need to get this."

"Yeah, no problem," he said while loosening his grip.

The caller ID said- Kara Danvers, who was on her way to an active hostage situation.

Linda picked up the phone and was asked by Kara to get the cameraman meet her at an address ASAP and disconnected the call.

"I am sorry, Barry but there is a hostage situation on Block 10 near the station. So-"

"I know. I know. This is my forte. Gotta run!" he smirked and kissed her goodbye.

"Be careful, Bar."

"Only way I know, Lin", he joked..only to fall on his face over the roughness of the carpet.

"Are you alright. Barry?" she smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. I meant to do that. Don't you worry," he said which made her chuckle ever harder and Barry went on his unmerry way to the scene.

A crime scene and Barry Allen.

They both went a long way back. Because that was the day his whole life changed, for better or worse. He still thought about fateful night but with time, it had become just a bad nightmare. A nightmare that just won't go away. But in the end, just a nightmare. Before he got lost into the thoughts again, he shifted back his attention to the present and the job at hand.

Soon enough though, the Flash reached the bank, took out the gang and safely got the hostages out in a flash (pun intended!) and he stood outside in his majestic red costume with golden and white stripes, shaking hands and accepting everybody's thankyou's and best wishes, and in a split second, all that was left was an after image of the orange-colored lightning with which people of this city had grown accustomed to. And before Kara could reach there, the Scarlet Speedster had left before anyone could even notice the same, forcing her to call the cameraman directly as soon as she reached there.

"Barry? Where are you?" shrieked the blond reporter.

"Yeah, Kara, I am almost there, don't you wor-"

But before Barry could complete his sentence, the driver was shook by...The Flash zipping through beside his car and he almost lost control.

"And yeah, I see why you called. He just whisked past my car. But I am just reaching there; give me five minutes."

"Barry..! You are like.. the slowest man on the planet, I asked you to come here like 10 minut-" And with that familiar roar, he cut the call before she added in any more instructions. "Yeah, that's Kara, alright," he quipped with a smile.

But that smile brought back memories of the other adventures they both shared and those memories always triggered something inside him and he went straight back into thinking about the things he didn't want to. This was not okay.

"Stop Barry! Don't..don't even think of going there!" he mumbled to himself. He then initiated a little trick he had mastered over the years and calmed himself to go through to do his work.

He looked outside the window to see a big billboard featuring an advertisement. The image on the board featured the Flash and the slogan beside it read, "Get discounts on the Flash and the Frost to experience the city's best drinks at the prices you want to pay! Over 50% discounts available but the offer is valid only upto December 31, 2024."

"2024. I wonder how did I even..no stop. Don't think about it," he reminded himself and just looked at the image of the Flash in awe. "Those were the times.." he remarked and let go of the thought as the car reached the destination, whilst Kara just stood there giving him an unrelenting look with those puppy eyes she was known for, long gone. "Oh, boy.."

The Allen residence

"Huh..that was tiring," he murmured as he knocked on the door. Not that it wasn't everyday. He definitely liked his earlier job more. But he adjusted to the hours some time back.

With tired eyes and weakened fingers, he was about to knock again, when the door swung open and on the other side was standing the one person Barry still didn't believe was- his mother, Nora Allen. The nightmare was over; his conscious anew.

"Hi, mom!" he quietly smiled.

"Barry.." she stepped towards him and gave him a big motherly hug.

This is what Barry now lived for. These precious little moments and memories, which earlier were just..dreams. The nightmare was over and a beautiful dream had taken it's place. A dream which wasn't what he wanted in this form, but was everything he wished for.

Trying to avoid a tear in his eye remembering all those years that he missed her, tried to save her, all those years that he looked for her killer but now all he did was try to think about something else to spare himself of the pain..the pain of his sacrifice. His loss.

"What's for dinner, mom?" he asked, breaking the hug, expecting something nice to go with the fast food that he brought along on his way to the Thursday dinner they always had together. He did wish his work place was closer though, so he could visit more.

"Nothing.." she said suddenly.

"Nothing!? Today is Thursday, right?" he shot back.

"Well, nothing for you, young man. Didn't you have date today, mister?"

And suddenly he remembered something. Guess what!

"Oh crap!" the smitten speedster cried, while taking out his phone to check any calls he missed followed by another "crap, crap.."

Nora could only laugh. "You are done for, mister. Dating 101? Never forget one," she joked. And well, that was just some good advice.

S.T.A.R. Labs,

Central City

Meanwhile, somewhere outside the S.T.A.R. Labs, a volt of electricity generated out of nowhere and it rose into a big energy ring and something...someone ran through it and initiated a test run through the city leaving behind a trail of red lightning and finally came back to where he began and just stopped. The portal closed behind him and a distorted voice followed with a huge smirk on the face of this mysterious figure.

"Gideon, access this Earth's information databases, and find me..The Flash..."

Author's notes:

That's a wrap for the introduction and the setting. For all those who are confused about the timeline or which Earth it is, it's a major plot point which I can't reveal in the description. So, I guess you have to wait and watch out for it because I will explain everything...well, eventually.

You can also check my other story which is a 13-part story about Thea Queen becoming the Dark Archer in a timeline where Deathstroke kills Oliver and well, trying to take revenge and find some love along the way...Also, if possible, follow me on Instagram 414karan as well as this story!

Thanks for reading guys and girls. Stay safe and cheers!

EDIT: Should I switch to a 1st person perspective? I usually write that. Let me know!