The Summoning ϟ The Flash & Merlin

Chapter 1: The Summoning

Rose wiped the sweat that was beading on her forehead with the back of her hand. She wanted to scream in frustration how it wasn't like in the movies. At least it would have accurately reflected the mood of the crowd that gathered to mourn their fallen hero. Rose wanted the rain, the grey skies, and every special effect that would have been used in those scenes. Anything, but the beautiful, warm day that reminded her of Eddie's equally warm and beautiful smile.

The sun was now much higher in the sky than it was as Eddie was put into his final resting place. Iris had held on to Eddie's mother, both breaking down into tears, as they had lowered him six feet under. Rose fisted some of the newly turned dirt in her hands in frustration. How cruel it was that lives could be changed within a matter of minutes, in seconds.

Soon, the clean smell of freshly cut grass turned to an all encompassing smell of cigarette smoke. Rose sniffed at the air; breathing it in. That wasn't just any cigarette smoke. It was Silk Cut cigarettes. Her head shot up as she looked for its source. A few yards away, a blond in a trench coat was enveloped in smoke, leaning against a shady tree. Rose pushed herself off of her knees and went to brush any unseen dirt and cut grass off of her smooth black tights. She made her way over to John, the smell of cigarettes growing stronger with each step. When she was a few feet away, he threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it with a couple of twists of his shoe.

John pushed himself off of the tree and opened his arms, allowing Rose to take refuge in his embrace and inhale the comforting scent of cigarettes and his cologne. It reminded Rose of days not too long ago that felt like a lifetime ago. A life where her friends were alive and happy. One of John's hand went to Rose's hair, his thumb stroking a small section of it like he used to do whenever she was upset. He bent down and placed a kiss on top of her head, causing Rose to lean back to get a look at him.

"What are you doing here, John?" she asked as she backed out of the hug to wipe a few stray tears away from her face, staring at the wet section of John's white button-down from where she had previously been crying.

"I saw you on the news. The black hole with you at the center of it. I came to make sure you were doing alright. What happened?"

Rose shook her head. "It is kind of a long story."

"Talk about it at that dive bar you always talked about?" John said, offering his arm to the black clad brunette. The first small smile Rose had in a week graced her features.

..............................

"To Eddie and Ronnie." Rose raised her third shot of whiskey up into the air, the glass catching what little light flowed in from the windows, giving John an open invitation to clinked his shot with her's.

"To Eddie and Ronnie," he repeated. The two shot back the liquid, its warmth coursing down their throats. Rose made a circle with her finger in the air and the bartender brought them another round of shots.

"Okay," Rose said as she lifted the glass. "What are you really doing here, John? Cause something tells me you came here for more than just my wellbeing." She flicked her eyes to the side, not turning to face him completely. John opened up his trench coat and started digging in one of the pockets when Rose felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her chair swiveled around.

"Hi Rose," Jason greeted as he signaled the bartender.

Jason Graves, or Detective Graves, worked Narcotics at the CCPD. Rose often helped him on cases when she wasn't helping Joe and Eddie in Homicide or Barry with superhero things. One of the other cops kept telling Rose that Jason had to have a crush on her, as he always seemed to have his eye on her when she entered a room. But between Xiomara and everything else going on in her life, Rose didn't have any time to pay attention to yet another person.