Archive of Our Own ^beta

Would Preston even still be in Manchester? Would he even still be in Alabama? Bart didn't even want to ask if he would still remember him. It wasn't like Bart had been the best at catching up even before he had been lost in the speedforce. That never meant he didn't think about Preston all the time. His first friend, his best friend. Bart felt so unmoored since coming back and what he wanted more than anything was to see Preston again, even if it was just for a millisecond. He canvassed Manchester, then the county, then the state. He found Preston on the campus lawn of University of Alabama.

Preston had a big video camera pressed to his eye, a much nicer and more professional one than he'd had back in the day. He turned and caught Bart in his lenses. His mouth opened, and he lowered the camera.

Bart turned to leave after the glimpse of Preston's eyes meeting his. He needed to get out of here. This was a mistake. He didn't want to disrupt Preston's life when he looked like he was thriving. Bart moved slowly enough that even if Preston recognized him he would think that couldn't be Bart Allen. He just had to get enough distance that Preston would look away and then Bart could be anywhere else in less than an eye-blink.

"Wait!" It was a little deeper than Bart remembered, but that was Preston's voice. Bart vibrated with nervous energy, trying to be still. Did he turn? Or did he run now?

"Bart? Bart Allen? Is that you?" Bart turned.

Preston beamed at him, lowering the camera in his hand as he started to walk towards Bart. It was like no time had passed at all and Bart couldn't help it. He ran to Preston, knocking him over in a hug before Preston could know what was happening. Preston fell on his ass, just managing to hold his camera aloft so it didn't smash- not that Bart would have let it. He'd have caught it in a cushion of air, or something.

"Preston!" Bart said, pulling him back up in a flurry of motion, moving around him like a firefly just to take him in. "Ohmigosh, you remember me! You really remember me! So many people have forgotten all about me, but you remembered!"

Then Preston smiled and laughed. He took Bart's mane of hair in his hand and pulled him down for a kiss that shocked the air out of Bart.

"Sorry!" Preston said. "I just- I missed you. I've been thinking about doing that for years. I wasn't even sure this was real for a second."

"Well, can we do it again?" Bart asked, seeing a little cartoon him swooning in a little cartoon Preston's arms in his mind's eye. He was still a little taken aback. And people called him impulsive!

"If you think you can do better."

Oh, Bart would show him. He could kiss Preston way better.