riverview | 001 # text # un: skyenet

Are we trying to be poetic now?
Oh the sacrifices I make for she who quakes.

[ Wally is thankful for her encryption so nobody else can bear witness to what a huge dork he is. ]

Now this might sound a little crazy.
Insane, even.
But you could take my word for it?

you know, as far as flashy alter egos go, quake's pretty good
i might steal that

( she's pretty sure they all know. that magnitude of dorkiness is pretty hard to hide. )

and THAT sounds like a cop-out
you can totally do better than that

Whatever you do, don't leave the name thing up to the media.
That's how I got stuck with Kid Flash back in the day.

[ And despite the second part having the first five letters in common, the name definitely wasn't flashy. Though he did grow to love it because it was ultimately his. ]

I thought friends were supposed to trust each other, Skye.

[ The previous answer was definitely a cop-out, and this one is avoidance. Mostly because he isn't sure what the right or wrong answer is here. ]

kid flash is cute, though
clearly you're just a tiny cheetah cub in disguise

( it's a dangerous game of Nobody Knows The Answer, aka they're both playing with fire and probably going to wind up feeling particularly foolish as a result. so, obviously, skye doesn't know when to stop. )

you can't say you're not a pillow princess and expect me to just believe you without some kind of proof, wally.
what kind of friend would i be if i didn't hold fast to the scientific method?

Maybe when I was in grade school.
I've dropped the kid part, btw.

[ If the easy way out and avoidance tactics fail, then he has to resort to option three which is to pass the baton back to her in hopes it makes her drop it. ]

Okay, fine miss I-need-some-proof.
How do you think I should go about proving it?

sorry, you're still cute
i don't make the rules

( nuh-uh. this is a game of vaguely (?) flirtatious chicken. she patently refuses to be the person to duck out of the way. )

are you telling me you've never proven you're not a pillow princess before?
i find that extremely hard to believe, mr we're-all-in-this-together.

Guess I can't argue with the rules.
Never expected you to be such a stickler for them, though.

[ He has no intentions of being the one to back down either even if he's not exactly sure what game it is they are playing anymore. ]

Hey, you are the one putting the onus on me to prove something here.
I just want to know what you need to be satisfied.

a girl's got to have some mystery about her, you know
keeps things interesting

( wally. you just walked right into this... )

what i need? well, that depends
are we talking getting handsy in a closet or a day off and plenty of time to kill?
satisfied is a spectrum, mr west

Things have been interesting since you arrived.
That's for sure.

[ More like he ran into it headfirst completely unaware of the potential danger. Good thing it never takes him long to recover. ]

I naturally assumed we were talking multiple scenarios.
Else you'd be left with a potential outlier as proof.
Wouldn't be very scientific of you.

i'm choosing to take that as a compliment, so thank you.

( for two people who weren't intending to flirt, they sure are doing a terrible job of not flirting... )

i wouldn't want to ignore the requirements of the scientific method
should we start with a control, then?
maybe dinner, get frisky at the movies?

That is certainly one way to interpret it.

[ Wally knows this playful back and forth between them has been straddling some sort of line from almost the beginning, but after the last few exchanges, he thinks they might have left the line behind? At least he suddenly feels very much like an awkward schoolboy with a crush who also happens to have some serious adult issues to deal with.

Though the most startling revelation here is he doesn't want whatever this is to stop. Not that he's actually sure there is anything to it since he's never been able to tell when a girl is interested unless they practically bash him over the head with it. It's something his Aunt Iris used to tease him relentlessly about back when she knew he existed. ]

I don't see how one could decline.
I mean.
There is science involved.

( whatever this might wind up being, it's probably not a date. at least, she doesn't think it's a date. technically speaking, they've been joking around, but... well, have they? is he giving a vaguely affirmative answer out of pity or friendly obligation, or is he actually interested? the world may never know. skye certainly doesn't. )

try not to sound too excited, senor speedy
i might think you're in this for the science and not the spectacular company on offer

ps: tacos or waffles?

[ She shouldn't expect things to get much clearer on his end while he tries to navigate this minefield of uncertainty. ]

If it makes you feel better
I don't do science with just anyone.

ps: waffles?

idk how i feel about waffles for dinner
i like my breakfast bread for the morning after

( there's a part of her brain that just flatlines when confronted with the process of actually discussing said meal plans. how to talk about it without asking flat out "so are we going to dinner and a movie"? she's not sure. so, obviously... not talking about it seems like the better option. better to just keep swimming along. )

maybe i'll let you pick as part of our experiment
send me an address and i'll meet you there

( unless you want to pick me up, typed out and then deleted. )

[ Wally sends her back a quick text containing an address of a diner a few short blocks from the apartment building where she lives. The idea of waffles for dinner isn't one he is locked in on, but it's as good a place as any for them to meet up with there being several other places offering different food choices and a movie theater in the general vicinity.

Best to have all the bases covered when the game plan for this adventure of theirs doesn't appear to be set in stone.

It's only natural that he arrives at the diner first wearing the best pair of jeans he has and a simple white shirt with long blue sleeves. He really doesn't own any clothes fancier than what he has on, not that this outing is an occasion for such things by any stretch of the imagination.

The dilemma about arriving first is it gives him plenty of time to replay their text conversation in his head trying to see if there were any cues he missed by being his typical dense self. But by the end of his internal analyzation, he has thoroughly convinced himself that whatever extra was there is just something he created in his mind.

Sure, there was some subtle flirting going on, but the whole thing was way too ridiculous for it to be serious. Honestly, he's surprised she's still willing to hang out with an idiot like him. He really couldn't let go of the science thing there a the end, could he?

Deciding he has done way too much thinking on the matter, he pulls out his phone, so he can play a game to distract himself while he waits just outside the diner. A game he becomes so immersed in that he fails to notice Skye when she does happen to make her approach. ]

( she doesn't mean to be late. she'd just lost track of time; balancing a strange urge to go through every single shirt in her closet with tending to the bandaging and careful application of topical pain relief she'd gotten from the doctor, and then of course her quick stop at the pharmacy, meant she'd completely missed any internal alarms she might have set to get her moving on-time.

on the plus side, running late means her brain doesn't quite have time to overthink the entire conversation yet, as it's a little too preoccupied with making sure she doesn't stab her own eyes out with kohl eyeliner. eyeliner that is, unsurprisingly, a little more difficult to put on when your arms don't quite want to cooperate.

on the other hand, though, running late means running late, which she really hates. by the time the taxi she'd hailed pulls up to the little diner, skye's embarrassed enough that she practically flies out the passenger door, head turning back to wave furiously at the driver in thanks as she sprints towards the entrance.

or, you know, right smack into the man waiting for her ever-so-patiently by the door. maybe she should have been looking ahead instead of back while sprinting. )

God, Wally, I'm so — ( clumsy, apparently. ) Sorry. Are you okay?

( thankfully, she's not dead, just consistently embarrassed by her own stupidity. )

[ The force of the unexpected contact is enough to knock the phone free from Wally's grasp, but it also causes his speedster instincts to kick in which allows him to place a steadying hand on the hip of whoever ran into him in case they need it, before his other hand darts down to catch the falling device right before it makes contact with the ground.

The flash of movement ultimately leaves him in some awkward half-crouching position with his hand still on the person's hip and his head reaching up to about the height of their waist. A bright smile slowly makes its' way onto his face as he looks up to find out the culprit was none other than the person he was waiting on. ]

I'm okay. [ Of course he can't let the incident go by without a little teasing. ] But if you want to get my attention in the future, a simple hey would do the trick. Not that I'm complaining about your particularly unique greeting style.

[ He should probably remove his hand from her hip and stand up now, so he does, casually slipping the phone into his pocket as well. ]

So how did the visit with Doctor Frankenstein go? Was the experience as weird as I imagine it would be?

[ It's true he's only heard positive things about the good doctor who is here and that's what matters. But, still, it's Doctor Frankenstein. ]

( she's not normally a super touchy-feely kind of person. hugs and hand-holding and general contact aren't the sorts of things skye initiates on her own, and they usually take a bit of time before she's ready to accept them from other people. jemma had to wait a full month before skye would let the other girl hug her. but for whatever reason, wally's steadying palm across her hip avoids the normal reaction of stiffening in her spine completely; instead, skye just settles into the touch, reaching out to help him up from his crouch when he moves to adjust his stance. )

I'll keep that in mind. ( she doesn't realize it, but her expression swiftly mirrors his own, a grin curving over her mouth as his fingers drag away from her hip. ) Not that sweeping you off your feet couldn't be fun, but I figure you'd really have to earn that.

( what? what does that even mean? at least she can answer a question about her doctoral visit without sounding like a completely besotted weirdo. )

It was ... fine? I guess? ( really descriptive, she knows. ) I mean, he was nice, but my brain just kept screaming this is Doctor Frankenstein the whole time. So, yeah. Pretty much exactly as weird as you'd expect a house call from Doctor Frankie to be.

( a pause as skye reaches to re-adjust the wrap currently keeping her forearms neatly compressed, the ones intended to be better for healing while she figures out a more long-term solution. )

What about you? Have any luck figuring out your disguise for our big act?

[ All of the awkwardness Wally was feeling earlier comes flooding back when Skye grins at him like that, and for the life of him, he's not sure why that is. It's an answer that escapes him for now because he has been far too concerned with trying to decipher things from her end to really consider how he might or might not feel about everything.

If he is thrown off by her lack of sense, it isn't reflected in the soft laugh that escapes his lips in the only response he gives. He doesn't doubt she could pull the sweeping thing off, though. Bad arms and all. Speaking of which, he nods along as she proceeds to go on to tell him about her visit (so much detail!) with the one and only Doctor Frankenstein.

When she's done, he folds his arms across his chest and tilts his head, considering her for a moment. ]

Well, you don't look horrendously disfigured. Quite the opposite. [ He... should probably quickly move on from that before she gets the wrong (right?) idea. ] I've talked to him once or twice before. Mostly about the ethics of time travel. He is not a fan of it.

[ Clearly where the illustrious Doctor Frankie as she called him stands on time travel is the thing she should focus on there. It could save lives one day or something. ]

But the disguise is still a work in progress. [ He begins to tap his chin with a finger. ] I think once I figure out a name everything else will fall into place. The thing is I believe my naming creativity is stunted from years of fighting guys calling themselves Captain Cold, Heat Wave, the Top, and Abra Kadabra.

[ There's some venom tossed onto the last name on the list. The crazy techno-wizard from the future is partially responsible for ruining Wally's life back home. ]

Oh, thanks. ( sarcasm drips from every syllable, but it's all in jest. ) Way to tell a girl she looks great on the first date, West. You're really doing wonders for my ego here.

( not that he's telling her she looks bad. and not that it's a date! technically speaking, anyway. she's just playing along with the vibe of their conversation, continuing the teasing nature of their back-and-forth as they settle in to the face-to-face variety of things. speaking of face-to-face ... maybe they should actually go inside instead of loitering in the parking lot like a pair of wayward souls.

an arch of her brow at his time travel comment — they'll come back to that — and skye cocks her head towards the doorway, a gesture that's intended to provide quiet encouragement to follow her in to the building while they talk. he's a smart dude. she's confident he'll figure it out.

eventually he does, and skye's quite pleased; they settle into a small booth in the diner where a waitress comes with menus that are far too big to suit what she can only imagine is a very small kitchen in the back. when she leaves, skye reaches for a napkin, absent-mindedly folding it back and forth between her fingers. )

Time travel isn't a thing, you know.

( or maybe it is. skye doesn't know. apparently people have jetpacks and superpowers here, so why shouldn't time travel be a sci-fi concept come to life here too? )

And your villains sound ridiculous, for the record. Somebody should really tell Abra Kadabra he sounds like a cheesy kids' birthday party magician.

( she's team wally here, even if she doesn't know the rest yet. )

[ Wally has a witty reply all ready to go to parry her sarcasm, but when his mind registers she used the D-word somewhere along the way, the retort dies on the tip of his tongue as he can only gape at her. He doesn't think she's being serious, but it's been a long time since he has been on anything resembling a date. One of the side effects of being stuck for years in the extra-dimensional energy source that supplies speedsters with their powers.

Then he's been struggling to let go of a life that no longer exists back home in the two years it's been since he finally found his way back to some form of reality. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realizes that him simply considering the idea this could be a date is a sign of progression no matter if there's actual substance to it or not.

It feels like he stands there looking at her with wide eyes and his mouth hanging slightly open for an eternity, but in truth, it's only a few seconds before he's awkwardly clearing his throat in an attempt to cover up his momentary bout of speechlessness as they begin to walk inside the diner. ]

I don't think your ego has anything to worry about on that front. I mean, you really do look great. Y'know, just in case you were wondering.

[ Though she probably wasn't now that he thinks about it. Maybe the earlier speechlessness was the preferable option to nervously rambling on like he did even if he meant it. He's silently thankful the waitress, Jules, doesn't waste any time bringing them the over-sized menus after they claim their booth so he can hide his face behind it as he holds it up.

The thought of using the menu (which he has memorized as he's a regular here) as some sort of buffer throughout the meal crosses his mind until Skye's comment that time travel doesn't exist has him pulling it down so he can look at her, his lips twisted up in a self-satisfied smirk and amusement twinkling in his eyes. ]

Sure it is. You just run really fast, jump into the time-stream, and boom — time travel.

[ At least that's the non complicated version for how it works back home even if he's unwilling to do it because of the potential consequences. Happy with his simplistic explanation, he casually brings the menu back up. ]

And as ridiculous as Kadabra and his name is, he is quite powerful. [ His tone is missing the cheekiness from a moment ago. ] But if I ever find out what century I tossed him into, I'll be sure to pass the message onto him.

( the awkwardness barely registers. it's a blip on the radar, really, just a few moments of consideration in silence before he's clearing her throat and continuing on. for a brief second or two, skye wonders if perhaps he took her sarcasm to heart. had he thought she'd really been offended? maybe so, since he's so adamantly reassuring on how great he thinks she looks. )

If you say so. ( but she smiles all the same, a quiet quirk of the corners of her mouth that pushes dimples in as it goes; it leaves a bit of a flush over the apples of her cheeks even as her gaze drops back down to the menu laid out on the table before her. another beat, and skye amends her statement with a soft: ) You're not so bad yourself.

( she knows, realistically speaking, that this isn't an actual date. his compliment is friendly, but there's nothing more to it than that. after all, they'd been teasing back and forth — albeit a bit aggressively — but there hadn't been any actual investment on his end as far as she could tell. just friendly enthusiasm and a willingness to play along as long as she was willing to play too, like a welcoming party host taken by surprise by a change in itinerary but too polite to stop the guests. )

So do you tease all your dates with vague promises of superspeed, or are you just trying to impress me?

( not that he has to try very hard, really. the fact that skye's managed to overcome her own hesitations about being honest and open here in riverview to him — and to his friends like cisco as a result — speaks measurable volumes to his impressive sincerity and trustworthiness, even if she hasn't quite come to terms with the idea of being totally transparent about the superskills lingering in her limbs with all the other residents here on the moon. one step at a time.

as for right now? her attentions focus more on the bright smile across from her, the shining glimmer of pride that seems to bloom across his face as he brags — yes, brags — about the concept of time travel. it catches her so fully that skye's practically startled by the fact that he brings the menu back up; his dropped tone only encourages her to reach out, fingertips reaching out as if to rest atop his hand only to stop short, just casually brushing across his knuckles before dropping back down. )

He sounds like a dick, Wally. ( said with all the sincerity she can muster, even if the words aren't the most reassuring. ) But he's not here, right?

[ Wally dares to sneak a glance in Skye's direction to gauge her reaction to his clarification that she does indeed look great, but he isn't sure how to interpret what appears to be a slight flush to her cheeks and her averted gaze. Did he make things awkward? Is she embarrassed on his behalf for him sounding like a complete fool? Is it something else?

What is absurd is how her sending back a completely innocent compliment his way forces him to use every ounce of willpower he has to fight off the heat that desperately wants to rise to the surface of his own cheeks. He manages to succeed, for the most part, and he wonders if the display makes him worthy of one of those fancy Green Lantern rings. ]

I'm glad we got that settled.

[ One of the corners of his mouth turns up so he can flash her a crooked smile before he busies himself with the menu. There have been more than a few women, even those he is friends with, who have tossed some not so subtle offers his way during his time on the moon, but none of them have had him acting like this. And this isn't even a date. He just needs to continue to follow her lead on this ride until he can get his head on straight.

Talking about his powers helps with that because they and his ability to use them is one of the few things in his life he is certain about. He loves what he can do even if it hasn't always been easy, and that love is usually obvious in his eyes when he talks about it like it is now. There's also a level of cockiness that comes with it as well. ]

Hey, I'm just telling you I live to do the impossible. If that impresses you, then I can't do anything about that. [ The smirk of his lingers for a moment before it settles into something more subdued. ] But, in all seriousness, I'm actually pretty tight-lipped when it comes to real speedster secrets like time travel.

[ Sure, he doesn't exactly hide that he can run fast. But that barely scratches the surface of what they can do as they are capable of changing reality as people know it through things like time travel and their connection to the Speed Force. It's why he hasn't told a soul about the true extent of his abilities since he arrived. He trusts Skye, though. She's shared more than a few things with him, maybe not exactly intentional at first, and the least he can do is be open with her in return.

He's mentally going over his mishmash of an order (waffles, fries, and maybe a dessert) before the barest amount of pressure he feels on his knuckles causes his entire body to freeze up. It had to be her, and while he can't see her from behind the menu, her following words lets him know she's a little worried. Great job, West. A beat goes by before his shoulders visibly rise and fall as he sighs softly. Folding the menu back up, he slides it onto the table while offering her a small smile that feels forced even to him. ]

Nope, definitely not here. And if he ever does show up, I'm moving to a different moon. [ He nervously rubs the back of his head with a hand. ] Can we just forget I brought him up? We should be having fun here, and there isn't anything fun about that guy.

Oh, yeah, you're super subtle about it.

( though, to be fair, skye's not very subtle herself either; her words are light, a teasing jab, meant to mirror his own self-satisfied expression. he's bragging, but she doesn't mind. the confidence is ... well. it's a check in his favor on the pros and cons list of this outing in skye's mind, to say the least, and certainly one that might extend in directions far beyond that of the table that happens to lie between them. whether she wants to admit that this particular dinner-and-a-movie experience is a date or not, she can't deny that confident, capable men have always been the ones she's been drawn to.

which is why, when his entire demeanor seems to shift from confident and capable to downright uncomfortable, skye takes notice. her brow furrows a bit in concern, and the hand that had held back from full contact before pushes forward again, this time resting atop his own over the menu. her own tone is soft, reassuring. )

I hate to break it to you, but this moon would definitely suck without you. So I think you're gonna have to stay here a little longer.

( honestly, between the two of them, they could probably spend a few dozen evenings talking about all of the shitty people who seem to exist only to make other people's lives hell. red skull, this wannabe magician dude, most of hydra in general, most of his villains: the list goes on and on. but that's a topic they can save for another evening, preferably one a little more private; tonight, she'd rather focus on the promise of satisfaction he'd been so assuredly smug about. )

Okay? Okay. ( and that's that. they'll leave the topic there for now, skye's moving on. ) What kind of fun did you have in mind? Beyond the pure intensity of debating between pure chocolate chip and chocolate chip/peanut butter for my waffle, I mean. Because I'm still debating, but I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Okay, so that may have been a little much. Subtlety has never exactly been a specialty of mine.

[ Wally can admit as much even if she was just teasing him about the bragging. He knows he can get a little carried away at times when he's trying to impress certain people (because, yes, there is some of that going on here if he's being honest) and occasionally needs a reminder to dial it down before he reaches the 'arrogance isn't cute' stage.

With his menu no longer acting as a shield between them, he's exceedingly aware of her movements this time and thinks he is prepared for her hand settling on top of his. But there's no stopping the shaky breath that slips past his lips, the embarrassed blush that paints his cheeks, or the way his muscles tense up at the moment of contact. It's not an unwelcome act on her part, far from it, but he feels guilty for making her feel like she needs to do it at all. The last thing he wants is to burden yet another person with his problems and potentially mess up their lives like he did with Linda and Frankie back home.

Still, he truly appreciates the sentiments behind everything, and his hand relaxes underneath her touch after a brief moment, there's even some humor managing to sneak into his voice when he speaks as his eyes remain glued to the sight of her hand resting on his. ]

If you say I have to stay, then I guess I have to stay. I really wouldn't want to be the reason your moon experience isn't all that it could be.

[ While he has told a few people to some extent about how Kadabra had tossed him into the timestream and erased his existence from the minds of everyone in the world to ensure he couldn't find his way home, the idea of sharing the story with Skye feels decidedly more personal than it did with the others, and doing it in the diner while he knows their waitress is watching them from her spot by the counter doesn't seem like the right time. It's why his expression turns grateful when Skye appears to be content with letting it be for now. ]

Ah, the great waffle debate. While you can never go wrong with pure chocolate chip, I'd highly recommend the chocolate chip/peanut butter combo for your waffle of choice. But before we order, I did say I might be able to do something to help out with your current arm situation if you're interested?

001 # text # un: skyenet

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guess who never hit send on a tag!!!

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