all i want for christmas.

(I don't remember if I hit the reply button so I'm doing it again just in case. Lol)

@ sam winchester.

"You're always hungry." Charlotte teased lightly, mustering a small smile. As much as she wanted to think that this wasn't weird, she couldn't help thinking it was. Having Barry there for Christmas was proving to be way more difficult than she thought it would be. She knew that the little displays of affection were necessary or else her family would probably start questioning whether something was wrong or not, but it was hard to her. It was just a reminder that she still had feelings for Barry and that this was only a show for her niece and the rest of her family.

"Hmmm...I don't know who that other person is...do I know her?" She joked. Clara was quick to jump in before Barry could say anything else. "It's you! Your name starts with a C and so does mine Aunt Charlie!" Charlotte let out a quiet laugh. "You're right, munchkin. Silly me, how could I not know who he was talking about?"

---

"Your mashed potatoes are amazing, sweetheart, so I think we can let it slide, right, Buck?" Steve asked with a slight chuckle, glancing over to his friend. "And I'm going to agree with Sam and say that a little bit of pie around the holidays isn't going to kill you." He knew that his girlfriend was extremely health conscious, which was good, but he sometimes felt like she worried a little bit too much about it. He thought she was beautiful regardless of what her weight was, and it wasn't like she gained much weight anyway. She seemed to have a decent metabolism, though it was nothing compared to his and Bucky's.

Barry let out a soft chuckle, if only Charlie knew why his metabolism was so high. He wondered why she never questioned why he ate almost all the time, Barry had to guess she didn't think much of it. Just some skinny nerd who didn't eat enough so he had to consult out something in his mouth. He looked down at Clara who was overjoyed about having Barry here. Barry loved spending time with Charlie and her family. It was like a second family to him, by the looks of it Charlie hadn't told them about the break up. Which he understood completely.

All the affection was coming back, memories and feelings that were still there for Barry. He knew it had to be hard for Charlie and he hated putting her on the spot like this. He rubbed her back and kissed the side of her face whispering, "I think maybe we should talk after this" he whispered. He wasn't sure what he was going to tell her. He just wanted to clear the air.

---

Chloe nodded, "well how kind of you two.. it's much appreciated now let's eat and then we can have pie " she smiled. Bucky chuckled and walked over taking a seat, "so I've noticed since you two have moved in together not much has changed, Steve has so much nostalgia..you didn't want some of your personality in his apartment? Or now that you both live together...."
Chloe looked up as she poured wine in glasses and smiled, "are you kidding? I love all the forties vintage stuff, the music is unbelievable. I guess I have an old soul. Plus I love vintage!" She chuckled. Bucky grinned, "that would explain why you're dating Steve. He's very vintage" he cackled.

There were a lot of things that Charlotte didn't question about her ex-boyfriend. When they were dating, if something just seemed weird, she would brush it off or excuse it for something that put her at ease. Maybe she should have questions things more though, that was what she decided when Barry broke up with her at least. Maybe if she asked more questions then she would know why he broke up with her, because, despite his father's death, she hadn't seen it coming at all. She had a lot of things that she wanted to ask him now, but they weren't together anymore. What was happening today was all just a show for her family. It was all just so her niece wasn't heartbroken on Christmas because Barry wasn't there.

She resisted the urge to tense up whenever he put his arm around her or kissed her cheek or her head. Little things that used to make her smile were things that she just didn't know how to react to anymore. And she hated that. She hated that things were different now. She nodded wordlessly in response to his words, acknowledging that she had heard them and that she agreed before making her way into the dining room. Dinner would be ready soon enough.

---

"Need I remind you that you're the older one, Buck?" Steve asked his friend, punctuating his words with a raised eyebrow. Bucky always ragged on him about his age and other things. Though his best friend wasn't the exact same person he'd been in the forties, there was a sense of normalcy about their friendship now. With each passing day she was seeing more of the man he thought he'd lost during the war. "I still don't know what being friends with the two of you means for me." Sam chimed in with a chuckle. "You spend a lot of time with senior citizens, Wilson." Bucky said, causing Steve to let out a laugh of his own. "Yet we still out run him during training no matter what."

Barry brought this on himself and on Charlotte, maybe he should have been honest with her from the beginning. Maybe things would be better if he would just be honest with her about his secret identity. It worked for Clark and Lois, maybe it could work for him? He didn't want to put Charlotte in harm's way. That's the very last thing he wanted but Barry was also selfish and wanted her for himself. He wanted to get back together with her. Maybe if they moved in together he could keep a closer eye on her? He mentally slapped himself. He shouldn't be making plans without even think g of Charlotte or her reaction to what he as going to tell her.

Barry rubbed Charlotte's hand gently and led her to the dining room where he smelled all the delicious food. He smiled at her,"you guys always make so much food? Because if you do I might never leave" he chuckled. He held Charlotte close pressing a kiss to her head.

---

Chloe let out a laugh, "I love seeing you two argue like an old married couple.. are you sure you two aren't secretly dating behind my back?" She looked at Sam and nodded, "I wonder that myself, how did I get reeled in by this handsome blonde?" Vanessa chirped in "you have the hots for a man in uniform and easy on the eyes that's how." Chloe giggled, "yeah.. well. It's true." Chloe shook her head, "why you gotta bring that up? I run with you two as well and I'm left in the dust! This is why we don't run with super soldiers Sam. "

Dinner went by pretty quickly. Her family made small talk like they normally did, but thankfully the spotlight wasn't really on her or Barry. Her sister announced that she was having another baby, so that took on most of the conversation during dinner. Gifts weren't being exchanged until later on after dessert, and there was a small break in between which would give her and Barry some time to talk. The thought caused a pit to form in Charlotte's stomach. She knew roughly what it would be about, but there seemed like there was more to it than just their breakup. She just had a feeling in her gut that was the case anyway.

She made up an excuse for them to go upstairs to her room, and no one really questioned it either. Once they were inside, she shut the door behind them and turned to face Barry. "You said you wanted to talk..."

---

Steve rolled his eyes playfully at his girlfriend's words. "I'm positive, doll." He told her. "Why would I want to date someone with an ugly mug like that anyway." He joked, motioning across the table to his best friend. They really did bicker quite a bit, and she wasn't the first person to make a comment like that to him. Actually, she made comments like that quite frequently. He was honestly pretty much used to it by now. He and Bucky would rag on each other and Chloe would rag on them and tease them about them dating. "We don't make fun of you for not keeping up though, Chloe, that's the different." Bucky told her with a slight chuckle. "He's an Avenger, you're not. We can make fun of him for being a slowpoke all we want."

Barry didn't let the pressue get the better of him. The family was talking among themselves about a pregnancy. He was pulled to the side by Charlotte and into her room. He found it strange no one questioned this but he was about to crack a sex joke in the middle of a serious conversation that was about to happen. He cleared his throat.

"Okay, so I've had a. Lot in my mind lately." Barry started to talk and went to air on her bed. "I know the past few weeks have been hard for you. Trust me it's been super hard for me too. Charlie I miss you I want to be with you. I didn't want things to end but.. I want to be honest with you if there's a chance of us getting back together..." he watched her as she was staking all this information in[lone]

Chloe laughed, "Steve don't tell me you wouldn't want to date your best friend if you didn't have Chloe as your girl?" Bucky grinned. Sure he wasn't the same guy from the forties but he had some of the persoality of his old self. Steve understood that and he didn't expect change from him he embraced his best friend. Chloe shook her head, "I'll let you two stare lovingly into each other's eyes while I get dessert." She chuckled.

Charlotte honestly didn't know what to say at first. She wanted to get back together too, but he hurt her. He shut her out when his father died, and then just broke up with her without any sort of a warning at all. "I miss you too, Barry..." She started quietly. "And I want to hear what you have to say, but I also want you to know that you hurt me. I know that losing your dad was hard for you, I gave you the space I thought you needed. I just--did I do something wrong?" She'd been wondering that since he broke up with her. Had she done or said something to make him want to break things off with her? She was more confused now than ever before though because he missed her and he wanted to get back together. If that was what he wanted, why did he end things with her in the first place? It just didn't make any sense to her at all. And it was making her realize now more than ever before that something else had to be going on. There had to be another catalyst that led to their breakup that she wasn't aware of. "I just don't understand why you broke up with me in the first place."

---

Steve chuckled softly at his best friend's words. "Why would I ever want to date a jerk like you, Buck?" He joked. Bucky might not have been the same man that Steve had known in the forties, but he was still his best friend, and he was more himself now than he had been when he found him in that apartment in Bucharest. He knew that his friend had a lot of baggage now, but who didn't have that working as an Avenger? Who didn't have that when they fought in a war? "I'm getting slightly uncomfortable over here. Do we need to get you two a room?" Sam joked after Chloe made the comment about grabbing the dessert while they stared lovingly into each other's eyes. He shook his head slightly in response to both of their words.

Barry rubbed the back of his neck as he always did when he was nervous to say something. He knew well that Charlotte has every right to be angry or upset with him. Considering that he just told her he wanted to be with her. He cleared his throat trying to come up with a way to tell her. Tell her everything. "I know I've put you through a lot Charlotte and I'm So very sorry. I didn't want to hurt you believe me. It's not just my dad's death that affected me. It's .." he sighed. Barry sat down and rubbed the back of her hand, "I've kept so much from you and that's a reason I broke up with you. I can't possibly keep secrets from you anymore and I'm sorry that I have. It's not that I don't trust you it's just I don't want to put you in any danger.."

Barry rubbed his temples, "I don't know where to even begin to explain everything..." he looked at Charlotte who was completely confused. "I'm not just...a CSI Charlotte.. I um" he was mentally preparing for the worst. "I'm the guy everyone talks about.. the hero of Central City.. the Flash."

---

Bucky grinned, "come on, don't tell me you wouldn't be interested? I could show you a good time" he winked. Chloe looked st both of them "excuse me are you really hitting on my boyfriend right in front of me?" She laughed. Vanessa tilted her head, "Chloe if I were you I'd do something about this flirting" Chloe came back and placed the pie in the center of the table. "I would say I'd kick your ass James except that I can't and I might have to get someone else to kick it for me" she joked.

Charlotte could tell Barry was nervous. They dated long enough for her to pick up on the smallest details. His nervousness made her a little nervous too. What was he going to tell her? Why was he so nervous to tell her? It had to be something big if he was nervous about telling her. She watched and listened, not saying anything really until he was finished talking. When he finally did tell her what had obviously made him so nervous, she was kind of at a loss for words. He had just dropped a major bomb on her, and she didn't know whether to believe it or not. Barry would never lie to her, but what he had just told her was crazy. "I---you---what---" She stammered, obviously unsure of really what to say to him like at all.

---

Steve chuckled, shaking his head. He was used to his best friend's antics. Always had been, and always would be. "Okay, now I'm extremely uncomfortable." Sam said. "And slightly weirded out too." Steve let out another laugh at Sam's words. "You should be used to this by now, Sam. Buck's been working with us for a while now." He said before Chloe set the pie down on the table. It looked and smelled amazing. "You really outdid yourself today, doll." He told her with a smile. His girlfriend was an amazing cook. She always tried different recipes that she found online, and dinners around the holidays were fantastic. Not to mention all of the baking that she did too.

Barry couldn't even look her in the eye for the first minute of silence. He looked at her face her expression said it all. She was astonished, and e stood in front of her rubbing the back of his neck. "I just .. want you to know that I'll understand if you don't want to be with me or if you're upset with me. You have every right to be upset. I just didn't want to keep it from you anymore." He closed his eyes for a moment and then looked at Charlotte again. "I'm sorry Charlotte."

---

Chloe laughed shaking her head at all the banter between her boyfriend and their friends. "Wow James, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were really in love with Steve. You can't have him" she chuckled. Bucky laughed, "wow Wilson I didn't think you'd be uncomfortable with us I mean you've seen Stark and his behavior right?" Chloe took a seat and smiled "thanks, it's an old family recipe from my grandma so good! So let's finish this so we can watch a movie or open gifts.."

@ sam winchester.
(Idk what you want to do with Barry and Charlotte but I was gonna skip for mine a few months. )

@ Wonder Woman
[I think I'll hold off on skipping for Barry and Charlotte, what did you want to skip to for yours?]

@ sam winchester.
(Yeah and that's fine. Since it won't affect my side of the story lol well I realized how confusing whatever I had planned was so I changed it a little. Like she's related to Bucky, through her grandmother whose his sister who he hasn't seen in years anyway.. Chloe decides to help her grandmother one day to clean the attic, she's not home at this point she's out of town with Chloe's mom. Anyway they find some vintage Bucky and Steve stuff that she didn't know about and piece stuff together and the faces are just priceless lol)

@ Wonder Woman
[Okay that works!! I'll pick up where we left off on my side and let you start for your side ]

Charlotte's head was spinning. When Barry told her that he wanted to talk to her, the last thing she expected was for him to reveal something as big as this. She knew that her reaction was fairly obvious. She was never someone who was hard to read, she was always like an open book, and it was probably clear to her ex that she was beyond shocked by what he had just told her. She had good reason to be shocked though. He had just told her he was the freaking Flash!! She was still kind of processing what he had just told her when he spoke once more. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" She finally asked. "I told you everything, Barry, how could you possibly keep something this big from me for so long?"

@ sam winchester.
(Okay cool! :] )

Chloe was sitting at home going through some of her old pictures, she smiled as she picked one up with her and Diana her sister. "I was not a cute kid," she told Bucky as he walked in. "Steve will probably disagree with you, also you never saw him, so when did you want us to help with your grandmother's things? " Chloe laughed, "I'm sure Steve was adorable and we can go soon, she's going on a cruise with my parents I promised I'd have it done soon." She looked up when Steve entered. "Hai!" She waved. Bucky smiled, "was just telling Chloe what a weird looking child you were,."

---

Barry stood there face watching her expression for a minute he wasn't sure why he even decided to tell her. He was tired of secrets and he loved Charlotte. He was rubbing his neck awkwardly trying to put into words what he was feeling. "I wanted to tell you, Charlotte o couldn't. He was killing everyone I cared about or hurting people. I knew if he ever found out who you were he'd go after you too and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you." He stepped forward reaching for her face, gently caressing it, "i don't really have any other excuse and I know I should have been honest with you and I'm sorry. I really am."

It all made a lot more sense than it had before. Charlotte had been trying to figure out why he broke up with her for a while now but to no avail. The confession he had just made sort of gave her the answer she'd been looking for since the breakup. He'd been trying to protect her. "I wish you would have told me." She said quietly, reaching up to touch the hand he had placed on her cheek. "I understand why you didn't though." It made sense. Zoom had been terrorizing him, and when he lost his father, it made sense now more than it ever had before why he had broken up with her. "I've missed you so much, Bar."

---

Steve smiled when he walked into the room and heard his girlfriend laughing. "Look who's calling the kettle black. You were pretty weird looking too, jerk." He said, punching his best friend's arm lightly before he walked over and pressed a kiss to the top of Chloe's head. "What're you looking at?" He asked curiously, peering into the box she had out on the table. There appeared to be a bunch of old pictures inside. He'd seen a few pictures of Chloe when she was a kid, but these ones didn't look familiar to him at all. "I don't think I've seen these ones yet." He said as he picked one up out of the box.

Barry pressed his forehead against her's and sighed sadly, "I've lost so many people, family and friends, I didn't want to lose you too Charlie. I just love you so much." He closed his eyes. He opened his eyes and stared into her eyes and smiled softly, "I don't know what to do.. about anything" he chuckled softly. He was awkward as always, Barry wasn't going to let anyone hurt the only person he knew would always had his back no matter what happened. Her family was like his, and Barry wanted nothing more than be part of a family.

---

Chloe laughed, "you two are hilarious, my grandparents would like you. And not just cause you're basically their age or your fame, but you're great." Chloe closed her eyes when Steve kissed her forehead, smiling, his kisses were always different but they were always warm and sweet, loving. "Yeah, my grandmother collects a lot of pictures of my family, me. So much. My mom sent these to me. I know I look so weird. Skinny girl with a boyish look " she laughed.

@ sam winchester.

Charlotte had harbored nothing but anger towards him for the longest time. She had tried her hardest to move on, but she kept questioning why Barry had ended things in the first place. Now though, she understood why he had done what he had, and her heart ached for him. "I know, Bar, but I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I love you too, I did then and I still do now." She smiled softly. She was glad that she finally knew the truth. She'd no longer have the question of why running through her head. "You could always start with this..." She said, before pressing her lips lightly against his.

---

"She's poking fun at our age, Buck. The nerve of these younger generations." Steve joked, shaking his head as if in disbelief. He smiled down at his girlfriend before looking to the photos. He definitely didn't recognize any of these ones, and he thought he'd seen most of them at this point already. "I never thought to visit your grandmother to see embarrassing pictures of you when you were a kid." He chuckled. "I figured your mom had shown them all to me at this point."

Barry stared at Charlotte for a moment and smiled softly, kissing her back, “that’s a good start.” Barry pressed his forehead against her’s, “I’ll just have to be extra careful.” He pulled back hearing a small child walk in the room, asking for Barry. He chuckled, “for more to show me?”

---

Bucky laughed, “we are old Steve, but I get it. Hey little missy you’re gonna grow old too!” Chloe stuck her tongue out, “but I won’t look good as you two! Steve! None of these are embarrassing. I made sure to hide all those” she giggled.

@ sam winchester.