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In some ways, it seems ironically fitting that today of all days would have the most sunshine. But then again, Eddie was like sunshine. He had a way of lighting up the room with that mega-watt smile and bright presence, and it was something that Barry had felt jealous of at times. Now, it's something that Barry would do anything to get back.
He had saved the day sure, stopped the blackhole, but it wasn't happily ever after. Not without Eddie.
Something was missing, the world seemed just a bit more gloomy.
Which is funny because Barry remembers waking up from his coma and wanting to hate Eddie and for him to go away. He wanted to hate him for taking Iris, for ruining their chance to be together. In fact, he had prepared with all his might to hate Eddie, to make sure Eddie stays away from Iris. But all that might as well be for nothing. Eddie was like the sun, so bright, so blinding, that all the anger and hatred just melts away in his presence.
It was impossible, it was wrong, to hate the man once you knew him. Because how could you hate someone so kind, so generous, so open, so full of light.
Barry looked around at all the people gathered and he wonders what Eddie would have made of all this.
Dr. Stein had told Barry what he and Eddie had talked about that day, about how Eobard Thawne had told Eddie that he didn't matter, that history would not remember him. So the Flash showed up to the police captain at the precinct in the aftermath of disaster averted, the Flash told the Captain of Eddie's sacrifice, of what he did to protect this city, and even, the world.
Barry Allen would not have Eddie Thawne be forgotten in history, he would not have Eobard Thawne win in the end.
Eddie would get a hero's burial, he would be remembered.
The light is gone and they may never get it back, but Barry would do whatever he could to keep the memory alive.
The city has a hero in the Flash, but the Flash has a hero in Eddie Thawne.
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In some ways, it seems ironically fitting that today of all days would be when she feels the strongest. Iris is pretty sure that many expected her to shatter, to fall apart, to break like some fragile vase. But she would not do that, she would never, for her own sake and for Eddie's.
Her hero.
Her brave, strong hero.
He had always been strong for her, so how could she dishonor his memory by not being strong now?
He had been her strength when Barry was in his coma, he had been her strength when the world seemed to have fallen apart, and he had been her strength even when he wasn't physically there himself.
Just the mere thought of him gives her the strength to keep moving, to keep living her life.
Iris knows that's what Eddie would want for her, because that's all he ever wanted for her, to be happy, to have a life.
So many people had come to his funeral to pay their respects, but there was only one group of people that mattered to Iris - Eddie's family. A family that had long looked down at Eddie for failing to live up to the family reputation, for not being what they had wanted.
Iris wants them to see how wrong they were, that her Eddie was a hero, was brave, was better than anything they could have imagined.
She had made sure the newspapers would not forget, "The Hero of Central City" headline ran for days on end.
She would make sure they all knew. That his family would no longer be the gloomy presence that sapped away his strength in life.
She would live her life to make sure that won't happen. After all, he had died to make sure her life would continue.
And she would live, for the both of them.
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In some ways, it seems ironically fitting that today of all days would be when he feels the least alone. Joe had spent much of his career wanting to run headlong into things solo, always forgetting that he had a partner to share the weight.
Because being alone was easier, being alone meant only himself could get hurt and no one else.
And then Eddie came along, all bright eyed golden boy with an enthusiasm to match and the stubborn tenacity of a bloodhound, who won't stop following him around.
Joe couldn't get rid of him if he tried, and believe him, he did try.
Part of Joe blamed himself, because he should have seen it coming, he should have seen that all the dots were leading to this. All the signs were there after all. All he had to do was open his eyes and he would have seen it.
Because loyal, brave, protective Eddie who would jump first into any danger to stand by Joe no matter what, would be the one to never hesitate in pulling the trigger on himself to save the people he loves.
Joe had been so blinded by his concern for Barry, by all this talk about changing the past, that he had forgotten about Eddie and his connection to Eobard Thawne.
If he had realized it just a little bit sooner, he could have stopped Eddie, he could have found another way. And that was his job wasn't it, as Eddie's partner, to ensure his well-being? To make sure he would be safe? When had he become so derelict in his duties?
The defeat of a mad man shouldn't have come at the cost of Eddie.
His gaze wanders through the crowd that has gathered and falls on Caitlin and Ronnie standing near Cisco. The newly married couple holding hands. It made his heart ache all the more.
He had been so focused on one child's future at the expense of another. He had been so focused on what's in his head instead of reality. He had been so convinced of Barry and Iris, of their future, of how he didn't want anyone else to get hurt if she and Eddie were not meant to be that he had inadvertently allowed that painful reality to come to pass.
Maybe in a way, this was his punishment, his reminder. The haunting echoes of Eddie and what life could have been serving as an eye opener to his own guilty part in all of this.
In how he had failed not only his children but the partner who had never failed him.
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In some ways, it seems ironically fitting that today of all days would be when his purpose in life becomes clear.
He really shouldn't be surprised. He shouldn't be surprised that standing here and watching them lower an empty casket into the ground would bring clarity to a lifetime of blinding faith in a childish belief of superheroes.
After all, what had that belief given him?
He's read the newspapers, he's watched the reports, he's seen every single thing related to the event. He knows what the Flash did.
But what about what the Flash didn't do?
They call it sacrifice, they call it heroic, but what good is all those accolades when the person who deserved them isn't even alive to experience it?
What good is the Flash when he can't even save the one life that matters?
So no, it's not a surprise that anger and hatred gave way to reality and purpose on this day.
Because standing at the grave of his big brother, the one whom he had always gone to when life seems to be a mess and he needed someone to show him the way, he knows what he has to do now.
Someone has to pay for what happened to Eddie, someone has to be responsible, and all roads lead to the Flash.
A hand on his shoulder turns him away from his thoughts for a moment, a gentle grip pulling him away from the place that he seemed almost rooted to.
"Malcolm...it's time..."
Yes, it is.