Just Best Friends - Ch.8 | Preview
A/N: I told myself I wasn’t going to post any more previews for this story, since I typically update it weekly, if not twice or three times a week, but! Birthdays are always the exception. Since I was lazy and didn’t finish the full chapter today, like I had planned on doing, this is the next best thing.
A happy, happy birthday to Nora on twitter. I hope you like the first scene of the chap. I shall do my best to write the remaining scenes and post the full chap for you tomorrow. xo
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The next afternoon when the clock hit 12 o’clock, Iris found herself drumming her fingers on her desk, debating what she was going to do during her lunch hour. Mason had gone out. Linda was eating her little home-packed lunch at her desk, but that wasn’t exactly an invitation for her to go over and attempt a chit-chat either. She could go visit her dad at CCPD or she could visit…
Pulling out her phone from her purse, she immediately texted the person most present on her mind. It was a few minutes before he responded back, not by texting back but by strolling through the front door of CCPN and heading straight for her desk.
“Hey, Iris!” he said cheerfully.
“Hey,” she said, unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face.
“So, you wanted to do lunch?” he asked, hopefully.
She bit her bottom lip as she stood up to approach him.
“Actually, I was hoping for something else that hit a little closer to home.”
His brows furrowed. “Oh?”
She grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him back outside, so they could be a little more private.
“STAR Labs,” she said, as soon as they were out of earshot of passersby.
Barry blinked. “You want me to…give you a tour?”
“No, no, no.” She shook her head, stifling a laugh. “I want to be there when you do your…. you know,” she lowered her voice. “Flash stuff.”
“Oh!” His eyes widened. “I see.”
She frowned. “Unless you don’t…want me there?”
“No, no, no!” he reassured. “It’s not that. Not that at all. I’ve dreamed of the day you’d be on the coms, helping me in the field.”
She got giddy hearing that spill from his mouth.
“’Kay, good.”
“It’s just…unexpected.” He cleared his throat. “But come on.” He held out his hand. “I’ll get you there in a Flash.” He winked.
Taking a deep breath, she forced her butterflies to get them under control. She gave Barry her hand, and within seconds they were inside STAR Labs with Cisco, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells staring at them.
“Hello, Barry…and, and Iris.” Cisco blinked, then turned to glare at Barry. “I didn’t know we were bringing in visitors.”
“Iris isn’t a visitor,” Barry declared. “Not anymore.” He spared a glance at her twinkling eyes. “She’s going to be part of team Flash.”
She practically bounced up onto her toes.
“When I can be,” she clarified. “I do have a job, obviously.”
“As a reporter,” Caitlin stated.
“Right, yes.”
But Barry saw right through Caitlin’s mask.
“She can be trusted, Cait. I wouldn’t bring her in here if she couldn’t.”
“Oh, does that mean Linda can’t be trusted?” Cisco asked, amused.
Iris, for one, was dumbfounded. What did Linda have to do with any of this? She turned to look at Barry.
“What is he talking about, Barry?”
“Nothing! Nothing. He’s talking about nothing.”
Before she could question him further, Dr. Wells wheeled himself towards her and held out his hand to shake hers. Reluctantly, she shook it.
“Hello, Ms. West. I’m happy you’ll be joining us. We were all waiting for the day Barry would finally let you in on his little secret.”
After shaking his hand, Iris looked over at Barry who was avoiding her gaze.
“Yes, so was I.”
“Cisco!” Barry declared, walking over to him. “Any crime activity? Anything that the Flash can help out with?”
“No, not at the-” An alarm suddenly went off. “Then again…”
Caitlin was closer, so she went over to the monitor to see what was the matter.
“Bank robbery on 5th and Oak. Better run, Ba-”
But he was gone before she could finish her sentence. Excitement running through Iris’ veins, she circled around the desk to see what Cisco and Caitlin were looking at.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Right there,” Caitlin said, pointing to a moving dot on the monitor.
“Oh, my God, this is so exciting.” She bounced again. “Get him, Barry.”
“Working on it, Iris,” Barry said back, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Cisco and Caitlin shared an amused look.
“There’s a microphone right there,” Cisco pointed out. “He can hear whatever you’re saying.”
“Oh.”
She felt chills race up her spine. Anything?
A million dirty phrases filtered through her mind, and she had to fight to squash each and every one of them. They were in the presence of others after all, and he was not her boyfriend.
“Got ‘em,” Barry said before she could think of anything else. “I’m just going to wait for the police to show up, and then I’ll be back.”
“A job well done. Nice work, Mr. Allen,” Dr. Wells said into his own pair of coms. Then he wheeled himself out of the room.
It was about 10 minutes before Barry returned, but it sent all their hair and papers flying when he did. He was smiling from ear to ear. His eyes were bright and happy. It was contagious, at least for Iris.
Cisco high-fived him on his way in.
“Nice job, Barry,” Caitlin said, and he smiled at her.
Iris was rounding the desk already, and she jumped into his arms, making him hug her tightly. Cisco and Caitlin shared another look but said nothing.
“That was amazing, Barry.” Slowly he set her down, but she still clung to his arms, and he held her close. “So, so cool. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Of course.” He could not stop smiling.
Eventually, he took a step back and changed his clothes in a flash. Before Iris knew it, his Flash suit was hanging up on display on the other side of the room, and Barry was back in the clothes he’d worn when they first arrived.
“Now you want to grab lunch?” he asked, hopeful. “I can flash us to Big Belly Burger, so it won’t take so long.”
Iris giggled infectiously.
“Okay. I mean, if you’re not needed here?”
Barry glanced over at Cisco.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Flash is off-duty…for now.”
“Great!” Barry said cheerfully. “Come on, let’s go.”
He held out his arm for her to loop hers through, which she did, and they practically skipped out of the cortex down the hall.
“Bring us back some food!” Cisco called out, and Caitlin leaned towards him.
“It’ll probably be a while.”
Cisco sighed.
“Yeah, yeah, I know…”
