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[ back when people who were well into their thirties had regressed in their age and even their height and maturity? barry remembers it a little well — it'd been based off of one of his favourite disney movies. ]

Yeah. [ he thinks he knows where this is going. unless dustin doesn't know peter pan or wants to nerd out about it, the way he's phrasing things leads barry to suspecting this is all about what had transpired on that island. ]

[ he contemplates making it easier for dustin and filling in the gaps for him, but joe wouldn't do that. sometimes kids need to find the strength within themselves to acknowledge what they've done. you can't always hold their hand. ] Neverland, right?

Yeah, um. Neverland.

[ He scrunches his face up, even if Barry can't see it, and there's a brief pause as he does so. ]

I'm sorry. About--I mean, the spear. And tricking you. And--kind of, uhm. Stabbing you. I mean I definitely did--I definitely did, I just...

Sorry.

It's okay.

[ those are the first words he has to say, and he wants to say them. he doubts they'll do much good, but it's the sentiment that counts. it's okay — because barry allen's not going to hate him over it. ]

I heal fast. Really fast. [ except he hadn't with the dreamshade, but that's something dustin doesn't need to know. without the help of the spring, barry had been a little on the side of not being okay. ] And I know it wasn't you. You kind of showed me that, even then.

I did?

[ Colour him surprised--he doesn't bother to hide it in his voice, and it shows in his face though the other can't see it. He likes audio because it's more like a walkie-talkie, and apologising like this is way easier than in person. A coward's way out, maybe, and something he'd normally never do, but he'd never actually hurt someone like that, either. Not normally.

He's beginning to not like Wonderland all that much.

There's also the issue of the fact that Barry Allen is his cool friend with superpowers--he'll touch on that, too. Just not right now. ]

Yeah. [ barry smiles, shrugging his shoulders a little hopelessly. ] You told me about the spring? [ his face scrunches up as he tries to remember. drinking from a natural pool of water in order to heal is a new one. usually caitlin orders him to sit down and rest for longer than a minute as he's still in the process of healing. ]

I don't really think you meant it. It was just the event. [ an event that had warped dustin into being a younger, more volatile version of himself. barry understands the whiplash of that, especially given hogwarts was like the flashpoint he has yet to create. he's gone from happy and complete to someone who feels uncertain and empty. it's a bit of a head spin. ]

[ he teases: ] Unless you did.

No. [ It's not in a denying tone so much as the same sort of voice you use when you're getting really tired of other people's ribbing you--he isn't, but it's the same sound. He definitely feels a lot better about it already.

Dustin wonders, though, why this guy is so easy to forgive. Most of the adults in his universe are a little more jaded. He has a feeling he'd like Jonathan and Steve and Nancy. ]

I'm glad I sorta helped you. Even if I hurt you. I think--I don't know. Wonderland sucks. [ Especially without friends. Like Barry's friend, and--woah! Hold the phone! ]

Hey. How many people know you're your superhero friend?

I — Uh. What?

[ oh, so, the belief dustin may not have remembered the events of neverland isn't a correct one. good to know, he supposes. he kind of wishes that it was true to an extent, since it'd make life easier. dustin doesn't know he's the flash, he can keep surprising him with random baked goods. ]

[ and it's good he always panics whenever someone finds out who he is when he doesn't outright tell them, right? ]

You … You remember that?

No, I thought I'd just make up something to mess with you, but now I know I'm right.

[ A beat. ]

Yeah, I remember.

[ barry winces. ] Yeah, sorry.

[ not for not telling him — barry's learned quickly he owes no one that, not really, except for the handful of people he should always tell the truth and nothing but the truth to. ]

You weren't supposed to know. No one's really supposed to know ... about him ... and me ... being the same person.

I can definitely keep a secret. Me and my friends were hiding a girl in a basement from an evil corporation for like, a million years and none of our parents even knew.

It's kinda cool you have to identities, though, I mean--you're a real life superhero. That's crazy. Whatcha call yourself?

[ he opens his mouth and closes it. he can find out a little more about dustin and any evil corporations he's been dealing with a little later. after all, barry needs him to trust him first before he can comb through anything dustin may possible tell him (and, you know, dimension hop when he's out of here). ]

Uh. [ he feels embarrassed. for someone who's almost stamped it onto his forehead with people around him, it's now he thinks about caution. dustin's an eleven year old kid. he needs to be careful. ]

[ but he's also an eleven year old who shouldn't be defined by his age. barry had matured a lot more quickly after mom died. who's he to deny dustin the same fair hand that joe west had given him when he'd taken in a stray? ]

The Flash. Because I'm gone ... in a flash.

[ The Flash. Dustin repeats it, voice one of awe and wonder. The Flash. The. Flash. Theflashtheflastheflash.

It suits him. It suits both Barry and the hero he'd found in the woods--the hero he'd struck, the hero he'd brought to his knees and felt immediately bad about because he hadn't quite settled into Neverland life. The cheesy tagline just adds to it.

He really is right out of all of Dustin's comic books, complete with the innate desire to help people. Dustin's pretty sure he'd visit sick kids in the hospital, too. Dustin's also pretty sure that Barry would do that anyway, cool costume or not. ]

Wonderland just got cooler. Hey, can I be a cool side kick? Like Indiana Jones fighting Nazis and stuff.

[ barry laughs, his hand scratching at the back of his neck. ] I'm glad you think so.

[ he's not too sure what to make of wonderland. on one hand, there's no one who really needs saving, except for the events when he doesn't forget who he is and what he likes to do outside of combing through crime scenes, and on the other, he can rest. ]

[ barry knows he wants to just rest. ]

[ but dustin reminds him why he loves being the flash so much. it isn't the fanfare, even though the accolades and being given the key to the city had been awesome. it's the fact he can inspire hope in someone like dustin, to challenge him to be brave when he'd otherwise wilt away. it's what joe had done for him when he was eleven years old. ]

[ he's smiling, it warming his voice. ] You know, the Flash does need someone to help him out. There's not a lot of trouble in Wonderland. Maybe that's because the White Rabbit's busy hopping about. But I'm trying to get faster, get better at my reflexes. Maybe you can help me.

[ oh

hell

yes ]

Are you serious?

[ Please be serious. Please be serious, because Dustin's eyes light up and he leans a little forward and all of the horrible things he'd apologized for are gone and out the window, in his mind. Dustin has a bad (or good, depending) habit of focusing on the here and now and not much else. He pick sup the device he's using--careful not to drop it--and lifts it even closer. ]

I don't think I can play tag with you or anything, I'm but very good at gym, but I definitely want to help.

[ for anyone watching at home, barry knows this is a very dangerous thing to do. by giving a kid hope to be a part of his team means that he may be opening a door where things worse than the dermogorgan will leap out. but barry's not interested in talking down to dustin, or putting him in his place. he's a cool kid, and, besides, sometimes it's best to have a second opinion about things. ]

[ being a part of team flash isn't a job. it's a family. and wonderland isn't as threatening as central city is. it seems to have put a restriction on which metas are welcome to fall down the rabbit hole. ]

[ he laughs. ] I wouldn't race you. Unless that's what you wanted, but — I can do other stuff. Some stuff I definitely need a second opinion on. And someone to eat some cupcakes with.

If that's ... something you'd want to do?

Yeah. [ It's said with earnest and genuine excitement, though he's trying to hold back and not seem too over-eager--Barry's older, and he does still want to play it cool. Be cool, Dustin. Be cool. ]

You seem to be the leader-type, why would you want a second opinion? [ 'Especially because I'm a kid,' he wants to say, but he leaves that completely out of the picture. ] You've got everything so put together already.

[ he laughs, it sounding a little embarrassed. barry as a leader? he bets that joke would cause oliver queen to finally smile. ]

Because being a leader doesn't mean you're always right. [ if there's a lesson he's learned from the green arrow, as well as joe west, it's that. being in a position of any sort of authority doesn't mean you're better than anyone else. it just means there's more at stake for you. he keeps that to himself for now. ] You know every leader has an administration, right? A group of people who help them out? A leader usually just gives you hope, even just someone to represent your cause.

Wow. [ Hey--that makes sense. Professor X listens to the rest of the X-Men, and all the groups in all of his comics have that sort of dynamic.

Dustin considers this for a moment, quiet, mulling it over. ]

I guess, but selling yourself short would be a bit silly. So I'll help you out, but only for more cupcakes. [ Hey, he's got to make it seem like it's his idea, after all. ]

[ dustin's a good kid. he wishes taking on that advice was as easy as zipping around wonderland in a second, but he knows he'll try for his new friend. if dustin henderson believes in him, then barry allen doesn't want to let him down. ]

[ he laughs warmly. ] I can definitely do that. You've got a deal, Dustin.

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