In honor of Mother’s Day, here’s a little bit of Iris celebrating with her family. Happy Mother’s Day to all the loving, doting mothers and mother figures!
On AO3
It was the smell of fresh coffee and the touch of soft lips pressing against her cheek and lips that woke her up. She kept her eyes closed as a smile broke across her face and the kisses traveled up to her lids.
She sighed in complete and utter contentment, reaching up to thread her fingers through her husband's hair. She stroked the thick locks, feeling his hum against her skin.
"Happy Mother's Day," he greeted her softly
"Thank you. How are the babies?" she murmured, her voice raspy from lack of use.
"Perfect as always."
Iris burst out laughing, finally opening her eyes to see Barry sprawled horizontally on his side of the bed, fully dressed and his legs dangling off the side. She leaned over and kissed the space between his brows, endeared by his goofy smile.
"Perfect, huh? I mean, they are perfectly beautiful but well-behaved? I don't know about that."
"They sure take the 'terrible twos' to the next level," he agreed. "The parenting books definitely were not written with them in mind. Want to sleep in a little more? You might need it."
He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead as she shook her head. "Uh-uh, I want to see the tornado twins."
They shared a smile, remembering how Cisco gave Nora and Bart the nickname after they had started vibrating slightly in place. They found that when the brother and sister were together and playing with McSnurtle, their excitement went up a level that caused them to vibrate in place. Barry and Iris had lunged to grab them before anything else could happen but it was safe to say, they kept the babies' interaction with McSnurtle to a minimum until Cisco finished his dampening bracelets for them.
Barry's smile dropped slightly, looking off to the side. She knew that look: his speed force senses were tingling, which meant the babies were acting up again.
Barry sped away and in a flash brought back little Bart and Nora in his arms as Iris sat up in bed. Her face lit up, any traces of grogginess washing away at the sight of her gorgeous babies. Her heart felt like they had doubled in size as she reached over to grab the nearest baby, Bart.
He made grabby hands at her, settling them on her hair and locket when she kissed his chubby cheeks. She leaned over to smooch Nora's too as Barry settled in next to her.
"It’s like your speed force senses were tingling," he said with a chuckle. "They spotted McSnurtle."
"Mama, Snurtle play!" Nora squealed before leaning over Barry's arm and turning to her mom as though she had the turtle she so coveted.
"Sn-snurtle play, Mama," Bart repeated looking at his mom inquisitively.
Iris smooched both her babies again after brushing their wispy curls. "Not today, babes. We're going to try to make it without incident today. Ok?" she asked, nodding with a smile.
The twins were only two-years old but it didn't stop Iris from talking to them like they understood complex language. She just loved the wide-eyed looks they gave her in return. Plus, Barry more than made up for it in the baby-talk department.
Case in point, he was leaning over Nora just then, adopting a goofy voice. "You wanna pway with McSnurtle the turtle? You want to pway wid him? Yes you dooo."
Nora just gave him the same wide-eyed look Bart had just given her. "Snurtle!" she repeated as though attempting to conjure him up.
Barry turned Nora to face Bart more fully and Iris did the same with Bart. They found when they didn't get their way, the best thing to do was let them play with each other and they'd forget all about their baby plights.
Barry grinned at Iris crookedly as the babies fought against their holds to play with each other. They released them, keeping a careful eye on their crawling bodies.
"I wanted you to have breakfast in bed without interruptions," Barry said, taking hold of her hand.
It was only then Iris noticed the familiar rolling breakfast tray covered with an assortment of her favorite foods and a single frangipani that could only be found in Bali. She spotted some familiar foods that definitely were not from Central City.
"Oh my god!" she squealed, drawing the attention of her babies before they turned back to their light wrestling. "Is that pan au chocolate from Gérard Mulot?" she asked in a perfect French accent.
It was her favorite bakery in Paris that she took Barry to on their third anniversary. She had fallen in love with the place that Barry made sure to get it for every special occasion or really, whenever Iris was in the mood for it.
Barry rolled the tray over her and let her dig in. "Yup and the one from Marais, too. Nothing but the best for my beautiful baby mama," he said pressing a kiss to her cheekbone.
She groaned in pleasure as the smooth, dark chocolate blended perfectly with the warm, flaky croissant in her mouth. "Holy sh-crap. If the kids weren't here, I'd pounce on you."
"Oh that can most definitely be arranged," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her. He took the piece of pastry she offered, licking the chocolate from her finger. "Tonight, after the portraits and dinner, it's just you and me. I have a whole day planned with us and the kids, it'll be enough to tucker them out for the night."
"Oh yeah?" she asked, sliding a grape in her mouth as she looked at from underneath her lashes. "And what exactly is going to happen once the twins are asleep?"
He peeked at said twins—they were happily occupied with a Flash plush toy, squealing "Dada!"—before leaning over to lick at her lips, taking any of the residual pastry with him. He kissed her, letting his tongue slide into her mouth to taste her.
"Oh I don't know, maybe we could watch Inception and light up that oyster candle thing," he said in a deep and husky voice.
She knew he was using his bedroom voice and normally it would make her body tingle enough to tackle him, but his words made her giggle against his lips. She leaned into the kiss some more, tilting her head to take in his lips because yes, despite the humor his words evoked, she would always want him.
She pulled away slowly, watching as he took his time opening his eyes, the flutter of his lashes making her heart clench.
"You still really think it was that combo that knocked me up?"
He looked at her, his cheeks flushed with desire, but he looked sheepish. "Hey, the guy said oysters were an aphrodisiac." The guy being a young waiter at the Japanese restaurant where Barry had gone to pick up their takeout.
"Please babe, as if we ever needed any aphrodisiac. Your libido is plenty." She pulled at her lower lip. "So is mine, come to think of it. Who knew nerds were my weakness. Or maybe it's just you."
"It better just be me," Barry growled, pretending to bite her. She pushed at his shoulder with a laugh.
"Besides, it's the act of eating oyster that's supposed to be the aphrodisiac, not sniffing an oyster-scented candle. Which I still can't believe you tracked down."
"Ok, we can skip the oyster candle," he amended.
"Please."
"And how about I give you a nice massage instead."
"Yes, please."
"With Inception on or off?"
Iris snorted. "Definitely off. I don't need Hans Zimmer making our lovemaking feel dramatic and scary. But we are watching it first."
"You got it." He kissed again and then grabbed a familiar looking album. It melted her heart every time she saw it and remembered the first time Barry presented it to her.
Iris has been four months pregnant with the twins and hadn't even thought of Mother's Day other than to buy flowers for Nora and Francine's graves. Despite her mother being absent in her life, she was grateful that she had at least given her Wally and been a mother to him. She had brought the flowers home only to be greeted with a huge arrangement sitting on their dinner table next to a brand new photo album.
She looked at the arrangement curiously before turning to Barry who was bringing over a matcha mille crepe cake from her favorite place in New York City. She had been craving matcha anything as of late and Barry never hesitated to speed over to Prince Tea House over in East End to get them for her.
"Hey babe, I already got the flowers," she said, gesturing at the bouquets in her arm.
He beamed at her, his eyes soft. It was that look he always gave her, that was reserved just for her: as though she was a marvel he couldn't believe existed. As though she was the impossible and not him and his speedster abilities.
"They're for you. Happy Mother's Day, Iris."
Maybe it was her hormones—most definitely—or maybe it was that look he was giving her, but Iris could feel her eyes welling up. Barry immediately set the mille crepe down and gathered her in his arms, the flowers crushing in between them.
"You're a mom, Iris. A beautiful, wonderful one at that. You have been since the moment Nora walked into our lives that day and you deserve to be celebrated."
She sniffled and gave him a watery smile. "And you're a dad."
Barry shook his head. "It's not the same. I…I wasn't there for Nora like I should have been, the way you were," he said with regret and residual grief. "But I'm going to do better this time around. I will be anything you and our babies need."
Iris cupped his cheek, stroking the five o'clock shadow there. "I know you will."
She knew it in her heart that he would do anything and everything for them. She kissed him softly, savoring the moment with his scent mixing with the flowers around them.
She pulled away and looked at the album. "But what's that?"
He grabbed the album and presented it to her. On the front cover, he had placed a candid picture of her, smiling brightly with a frangipani tucked behind her ear and a bundle of them in her hands. Barry had made it a habit to collect a bundle of flowers that surrounded the resort where they stayed. It was a large and private area that made it feel like they were in their own little world.
"I want to commemorate every moment of this," he said. "Just like I want to honor every single moment of our lives together. You're the most incredible woman, Iris West-Allen, and I know you're going to be the most incredible mother. I want our children to be able to see their mother every step of the way. How she carried them with love and nurtured them with the utmost care and compassion. Even while they were wreaking havoc on her hormones."
He had looked like he was going to say more, but Iris couldn't wait any longer. She took the album from him and set them on the table with the flowers and kissed him with everything in her.
When she eventually pulled away, she pressed their foreheads together, their heavy breaths mingling together.
"I love you Barry Allen."
"I love you, Iris West-Allen."
And so began tradition. Barry had taken a portrait of Iris with their camera, her wedding ring sparkling brightly as she rested her hand on her belly, curving around it as though protecting their babies. And she was protecting them, just as Barry would protect her.
This Mother's Day, they would be adding a third picture to the album, with the twins slightly bigger than the last photo.
Barry hugged her to him, the album against his chest with her image on the outside. "Ready to add to this?"
Iris glanced over at her babies fooling around on their bed and then turned to her husband, her heart full. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world.
Fics I text my friends at various times of the day. Generally at 1AM. Always unedited. Sometimes a fever dream. Guaranteed fun.
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Part 1 | Part 2
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a Mason x MC x Nate love triangle I’ll never write
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So excited to get back into writing with the crew! Hope everyone likes this one :)
@cbsnforeverandalways, @liquidheartbeats2
His eyes were heavy as he looked at her, his breath loud in the quiet air between them, skin flushed. He was reeling from her admission, but he knew that the ball was still in her court. He had already made the first move, now it was her turn.
"I want you, Iris, you know that," he said in a husky voice, desperate. "Do you want me?”
She felt like air had left her lungs. Between finally bearing her whole heart to Barry and meeting his gaze — god, that look in his eyes, it was unlike anything and it made her warm, warm, warm — she felt like she couldn’t speak. But it was now or never.
“Yes,” she said softly but with conviction.
His eyes fluttered in relief, a shine to them as he closed the gap between them.
A hardened past. A bloody reunion. A hopeful future. None seemed to make sense to Iris, especially together and all at once, but all she knew was that he was here. He was back.
Iris looked up at her savior, gasping for air.
She certainly wasn't expecting to see those familiar green eyes staring back at her with a grim look on his face.
"Barry?"
"Are you ok?" he rasps, letting his hand drop to his side. The very hand that held the gun that was shot just moments ago, causing Iris's attacker to collapse to the ground.
She remembered that stony way he would look at people, his posture perfect and straight like he was constantly ready for a fight. But in that moment, as Iris straightened up and leaned against the brick wall, she could see a flicker of..something accompany the stoniness in his eyes. She didn't quite know what it was, but it certainly was unfamiliar to the man that had been deemed a "psycho" within the community.
"Iris…" he said, prompting her to answer his earlier question.
She shook her head jerkily as she looked down at the dead body at her feet, the body of the man that was just moments away from ending her life painfully.
"No," she gasped, "I'm not ok."
Tears dripped down from her eyes but her blood boiled with a rage that was getting harder and harder to temper.
She let out an angry cry before stomping down on the prone body at her feet. In the back of her mind, she was aware that her efforts were futile--the man was very well and dead--but she needed to release the rage and fear that was threatening to drown her until she was no more than a puddle of distress and anguish.
She was vaguely aware of Barry simply standing by and watching as Iris's hair and limbs flailed in sync to her stomps until she was replete of energy and all that was left was a shadow of her anguish.
With a painful gasp, Iris tilted her head skyward, taking in as much of the fresh oxygen above that was not tainted by the odor coming from the body below. She stumbled back until she was pressed against the brick wall behind.
It was only then, as she heaved and still greedily sucked in the air from above that she tilted her head to look at Barry under hooded eyes.
"Wh-what are you doing here? How did you know?"
Barry looked down the alley, inspecting the place, before holstering his gun.
"I heard you were in trouble," he replied in his usual, businesslike tone. As though he hadn't just shot a man dead, as if he hadn’t just saved her life from a gruesome and prolonged death.
He examined the body, crouching down and rolling him over. "We need to get him out of there before anyone comes through."
Iris had retched at the sight of Barry dismembering the body, but she couldn't bring herself to leave his side. She didn't know if it was from the comfort she found in his presence or the fact that she had too many questions she needed answered in that moment. Perhaps it was both.
She slid down the doorframe, vaguely noticing Barry whip his head towards her.
"Are you ok?" he asked, elbow deep in bone and blood. "You don't have to be here for this."
Iris closed her eyes and looked in the opposite direction but remained where she was.
"You said you heard I was in trouble. By who?"
"Linda. I don't think she was even expecting to see me based on the surprise on her face. I was in town for a day and she saw me at the market."
"'The market,'" Iris repeated with a scoff. "You mean you were looking for a job."
"No. I was telling you the truth when I said I wanted to leave it behind."
She lolled her head to look back at him, momentarily forgetting about the body in the tub. "Then what were you doing here with a gun, Barry?"
"I told you, Linda said you needed help. It's my turn to ask you questions now," he said, his sea-green eyes settling upon hers firmly. "Why was this guy after you?"
"You still didn't say why you were back in town. I thought you were leaving Central City behind for good." Leaving me.
His eyes were unwavering as he looked at her with that penetrating gaze she would often find upon her. But back then she was with Eddie and she couldn't spare them a second thought. But now…
"Not for good," he said softly. "Just until…"
He looked down at the tub.
"Until what?" Iris asked.
He clenched his eyes shut before shaking his head. "I need a bag. That one, by your feet. Do you think you can kick it over?"
Iris studied him for a moment, the set of his jaw, the way his arms bulged as he shifted the limbs in the tub. She watched him and let his distracting presence make her forget about just why he was there, to begin with.
"Iris, you ok? It's ok, I can get it."
She broke out of her reverie as his eyes settled upon her again. He was pulling his bloody arms out of the tub and it brought her back to the present and she could feel the bile rise from her throat.
"No, no, I can kick it over," she stuttered. She kicked over the roll of garbage bags as she pressed the back of her hand to her nose, looking away again.
"You should wait in your room. You've seen enough and I don't want you around the rest of it. Please."
When she hesitated he spoke again. "I'm not going to disappear on you this time. I'll still be here for you to interrogate me. I would just rather not be soaked in the blood of a man that was going to kill you, Iris."
The reminder that she had been on the verge of dying a painful death made her nod jerkily before scrambling up and out of the bathroom. She made it into the kitchen just in time to grab the garbage pail and heave.
Four hours later, Barry was all cleaned up and showered, having dumped the body god-knows-where and changed. He knelt down by Iris where she was curled in a fetal position on the couch with thin headphones on, presumably to block out the sounds of body parts scraping against the floorboards.
He let the back of his fingers drift softly against her cheek, reveling in the softness of her skin. He hadn't seen her in years and yet, being so close to her, feeling her skin, and smelling that scent that was uniquely her, he felt like no time had passed.
His mind wrestled with himself as he leaned closer. She was asleep and yet he couldn't stop himself from stealing a moment to simply touch her.
Her eyes fluttered open, startling him, and yet his fingers remained where they were gliding along her jaw.
"What have you gotten yourself into, Iris?"
Her eyes took in his damp hair and change of clothes before she quietly sat up, sliding the headphones off.
He leaned back to look at her, cataloging every movement. Just like he always did.
She rubbed her tired eyes. Despite the appearance of having been sleeping, she was doing anything but, the thoughts racing around her mind rampantly for sleep to ever come peacefully.
"I was chasing a story and fell on the wrong people's radar. I knew I should have probably let it go, but you know me."
She looked at him. The way those green eyes remained on hers made her warm, but wouldn't allow herself to give into them. Not until she knew what his motive was.
"So, are you finally going to tell me why you're back in town."
"Does it matter?" he asked softly.
"Yes."
If he was back to get into the mob again, then she didn't know if she could bear it, but if he was back for her…no, she couldn't let herself think about that. She had been broken when he left after the kiss they shared. She thought it was a given that she would leave Eddie for him, but then suddenly it was Barry that was leaving her before she could even have him.
"I told you that I was leaving that life behind and I meant it, Iris," he said, as though knowing what she was thinking. And perhaps he did. He always has a knack for knowing what she was thinking. "I came back because I heard Eddie was in jail."
"I left Eddie the moment after you kissed me," she said bluntly.
It was true. She had stopped loving Eddie a long time ago, long before Barry started becoming her shadow once he began working for her dad in the market. And she certainly hadn't been planning on falling for her father's enforcer, especially not when she was starting to hate the life her father had built around her.
Barry stared at her for a long moment before looking away, brushing his thumb against his lips.
One moment she was looking at his profile, admiring his long lashes at that angle, and the next his face was pressed against hers as his hot breath washes over her lips.
They both breathed in the other, eyes shut as they let their lips drift softly against one another. And then Barry couldn't help letting his tongue peek out from between his parted lip and taste her. It was in that moment something struck them both.
Perhaps it was the reality that they were truly here in each other's presence, that it wasn't just a mirage invoked from desperate longing but they suddenly were glued together and neither knew where one began and the other ended.
In the midst of desperate gasps and cries of need, Barry had to know. "Do you want me, Iris?" He runs his lips across her jaw, gripping the back of her head securely to him. "Will you be with me?"
Iris 's eyes were closed, savoring his touch and scarcely able to breathe but when she heard the anguish in his voice even as he pressed loving kisses across her face, she let her eyes flutter to look at him.
Her breathing labored, she let her head drop so that she could look at him only to find his eyes clenched shut as though fearing her silence, her answer. She slid her hands from where they were threaded in his hair to cup his face. Hints of a stubble brushed against her soft palm and she was surprised she hadn't felt them against her skin when he was kissing her.
But she ignored that to focus on him, his sweet face that belied the horror he had seen, had been a part of. Her memories of him consisted of his stony expression, sometimes accompanied by a frown and then the one time he cracked a smile because of something she had said. It was just one fleeting moment in all the time she had known him and suddenly that was what she craved the most. To not feel his lips upon hers or upon her skin, but to see it stretched into a smile or maybe miraculously, a laugh. How she wished for a joyful sound to emit from him rather than pain and anguish, or perhaps worse, apathy.
"Barry," she said softly, her thumbs stroking his cheeks. He let out a slow breath before opening his eyes. She always felt breathless whenever he looked at her like he was diving into her soul and making a home there.
"Barry, yes. Yes, I want to be with you."
His eyes shone bright and he looked so young and sweet in that moment, her heart clenched.
"I love you, Iris. I love you so much."
She pressed her forehead against his. "I love you, Barry. Stay here."
He let out a sharp exhale as he looked back into her eyes. He brought his lips to hers until they were breathing each other in, but kept his gaze on her. He wanted to be close to her but needed her to see the truth in his admission. He wasn’t leaving her ever gain.
Written for the Westallen Prompt Challenge. Prompt: “I’m sick of trying.”
They sat there silently, just staring at one another. It was as though they were waiting for the other to break the silence and speak, especially since neither knew what to say,
“I’m sick of trying,” Barry finally said, his voice so soft she barely picked up on it.
“What do you mean?” she asked just as quietly.
“I’ve been pretending for too long that you don’t mean everything to me. I’m sick of trying to keep up that facade.” He chuckled wryly while looking away and scratching his neck. “I don’t think I was fooling anyone anyway.”
She said nothing, her ears ringing with his words. I’ve been pretending for too long that you don’t mean everything to me.
She gasped softly and she could tell he heard it by the way his shoulders stiffened.
“It’s ok,” he whispered, before clearing his throat. She saw the tension in his jaw as he clenched his teeth as though steeling himself. He looked up at her and there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t define. It was a mix of so many things, she felt overwhelmed as words escaped her.
“I’m so in love with you, Iris. But I want you to know that I love you enough to give you the space you need. If you need time to be away from me to process or, do what you need to, then I will live with that. I can—”
“Um, you can shut up now,” she said. She blushed when she realized what came out of her mouth and how harsh it sounded. In her dazzled state, she had done a piss-poor job of reassuring him and instead, succeeded in scaring him further. “I-I mean, Barry it’s ok. You don’t have to say anything more.”
He looked at her cautiously. “Oh,” was all he uttered and Iris knew she had to do a better job.
“I’m sick of trying to pretend like you’re not everything to me either,” she said. She was still somewhat breathless from his confession, her heart beating fast against her chest and her skin burning from his sea-green eyes on her. The only way she was able to get any coherent words out was by stealing his.
His mouth dropped slightly as a gust of breath escaped. “Oh,” he breathed.
Iris let out a gasp as she was pulled into the abandoned stairwell before she felt familiar lips upon hers. She sighed into the kiss, her body relaxing as she felt those familiar and curious hands explore her body, dipping under her sweater to feel her soft, warm skin.
Unfortunately for her, these happened to be ice cold in that moment. She jerked at the contact before pulling away from the kiss loudly.
“Oh my god, Barry, your hands are freezing!”
“Oh, sorry,” he murmured, pulling his hands away and sticking them in his armpits even as he kissed the side of her face.
She couldn’t help but giggle at that. “You’re such a dork,” she said quietly, pulling his hands into her and breathing into them before rubbing them. “There, all better.”
“You’re so good to me,” he said, looking at her softly. “I’m sorry I’m so weird.”
She looked up at him. “Hey, you’re not weird. Why would you say that?”
“Because I’m weird about going public with our relationship,” he replied, looking away.
Iris brought his warmed hands back to her waist and pulled his face up to look at her. He kept his eyes downcast and she waited until he finally met her gaze.
“I understand. I understand that this is a new experience for you and that you need some time to adjust before the rest of the world swarms in because it’s high school and that’s what people do.”
“Especially when the beauty inexplicably went for the freak.” He lifted his right shoulder in what she came to know was a nervous tick of his. It was almost as though he was trying to shield himself with that one movement. He tended to do that when his insecurities came up or the death of his father.
Iris smoothed a hand over his shoulder to ease the tension until he let out a long breath and slowly dropped his shoulder.
“You’re not a freak, Barry. It’s ok, I understand. I mean, I’ll be honest, it kind of sucks that I can’t tell people I have boyfriend, especially a wonderful one at that,” she shrugged, “but I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything by not being public about us. We still get to do things couples do, so I’m not in any rush. I just want you to be ok and feel comfortable, ok?”
His eyes softened even more if that was possible and Iris could have sworn he loved her in that moment. She told herself to settle down and take things one step at a time, so she let out a deep breath before shoving one of his shoulders.
“The only thing I do ask though is that you please, please quit smoking. I’m quite fond of you and I’d like to see you have a nice, long, healthy life you know?”
He wrapped his arms tighter around her, bringing her closer until their foreheads were pressed against one another. “Yeah, ok.”
“Yeah?” she asked, pleased.
He nodded against her, his soft locks brushing her skin. “Yes. I’ll go on the patch or something.”
Iris beamed. “Really, really?”
His answering smile was achingly beautiful, nearly blinding her with its sunshine. It was moments like these he seemed like an actual seventeen-year-old boy and not one that was so weighed down by his grief and tragedy.
“Really, really,” he nodded, pressing a kiss to her lips.
She did a little hop even as she leaned into the kiss, throwing her enthusiasm into it. Just then the bell rang, indicating passing time.
“Ok, time to go,” she said, pulling away. “I have a chemistry test to fail.”
“You’re not going to fail,” Barry assured her, picking up her fallen bag from when he unceremoniously grabbed her. “You nailed ions emission spectra even quicker than I did.”
She gave him a bored look as he settled her bag on her shoulder. “Ok, maybe not as quickly as I did,” he amended, “but definitely quicker than we both were expecting.”
Iris frowned. “Hm, yeah, I have to stop psyching myself out. Anyway, thank you very much for being a wonderful and very professional tutor.”
“Anytime,” he murmured, his cheek going bright red.
She shook her head with a smile. Even months into dating and having had his hands up her bra, somehow he managed to blush at the most unexpected things.
“I’m off,” she said leaning up to kiss him. “Wait like a minute before heading out? That should be good enough.”
He looked at her quietly for a long moment, searching her eyes before finally nodding.
“Ok?” she asked.
He nodded. She could feel his eyes on her as he made her way out of the stairwell and into the bustling hallway. She was barely a foot away when she felt someone grabbing her hand.
She whirled around, “What the—?” but the words were caught in her throat when she saw Barry there, sheepishly smiling at her while lacing their fingers together.
“Barry, what…”
He shrugged, swallowing thickly. “I wanted to walk you to class and wish you a proper good luck.”
Iris could feel curious eyes on them but she couldn’t bring herself to care as she stepped forward and laid one on him right there in front of everyone. She stood on her tiptoes even as Barry snaked his arms tightly around her to keep her close so that she was practically lifted from the ground.
For a moment, she just let herself get lost in him, the feel of his body, the sensation of his tongue exploring her mouth in that always eager and curious way, his hands spreading wide across her back as though trying to feel as much of her as possible.
“Hey, you two!” they heard a familiar voice calling out. “West and Allen, break it up! West...Allen?”
Iris pulled away to see the Assistant Principal looking at them in bewilderment before shaking himself out of it and adopting a frown. “No PDA in the halls. Break it up before I write you guys up.”
They slowly let go of each other, just keeping their fingers linked.
“Sorry, sir,” Barry said quietly. “Didn’t mean to…”
Iris looked over at him and saw the deep blush travel down his neck and her heart squeezed at the sweet sight.
“Yeah, sorry Principle Albert. Won’t happen again,” she said while dragging Barry away.
They walked to her class in silence and it was then Iris looked up at him again. He was glancing at the students nearby that were clearly gawking at them and whispering among each other. Iris’s heart dropped to her stomach. She didn’t know what caused him to make such a bold move, but she was hoping he didn’t regret it.
He looked at her, meeting her eyes with determination. “I don’t regret it,” he said, as though reading her mind.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded, stepping closer. “I love you, Iris. That’s just a fact I’ve never been able to hide and certainly can’t now that I’m with you and I don’t want to anymore. I’ll deal with the looks no matter how uncomfortable they make me because it means I’m with you. Exactly where I want to be.”
She was sure her brain short-circuited at the admission as she stared at him in awe. “You...love me.”
“Yeah,” he said softly, lifting his right shoulder and it was that sight that snapped her out of her stupor. No way was she going to let him think she didn’t love him too.
“I love you, Barry.”
It was his turn to stare at her in awe as he let out an astonished breath of air. Just as she leaned up to kiss him, the bell rang, signaling the end of passing time.
“You’re going to be late for class!” Iris said. Barry had an impeccable attendance record and now that was going to be messed up.
A hand came out of nowhere with a hall pass in Barry’s direction. Iris looked up to see her chemistry teacher, Mr. Wells, peering at them over his glasses.
“Ms. West, I believe you have a test to take,” he said. “Mr. Allen, I’m sure you have somewhere to be as well.”
Barry took the hall pass from him. “Thank you.”
He turned to look at Iris and even though the tips of his ears were still bright red, he leaned down to kiss her before ambling away, glancing back at her with a smile.
Iris’s heart pattered at the sight, leaning against the doorway with what she was sure the goofiest smile on her face. Who would’ve thought the boy who craved anonymity would give that up for her? She supposed that was love, she thought dreamily.
Thank you for all those that enjoyed the drabble and supported it! Here’s a little piece to kind of explain what happened in the Anguish Drabble
Warning: References to violence and a potentially graphic scene at the end. Please do not proceed reading if any of these themes are disturbing.
Barry Allen was a man of the law and a proud one at that. He had joined the force soon after graduating from Central City University at the top of his criminal justice and law class in the hopes of bringing justice to those that couldn’t fight for themselves.
He held to that moral code...even until it meant breaking the law.
The night he received a phone call from Starling Medical changed everything. The words echoed in his mind, haunted him even when he was finally able to bring Iris home after over a month in the hospital.
“Is this Mr. Barry Allen?”
“Yes, who’s calling?”
“My name is Claire Temple, I work at Starling Medical. You were in Ms. Iris West’s next of kin contact.”
His heart thundered in his chest.
“Iris? What happened to Iris?”
“Ms. West was brought to the ICU here after an attack—”
He hadn’t even let her finish before he raced out the door. Starling was quite a drive away from their home in Central City and he felt every single second tick by as he raced over to her. And all the while he thought of everything he should’ve done. He should’ve kissed her harder before she left for her trip, he should have kept her in bed a little longer, he should’ve warned her again about the dangers of her job, he should’ve put out a security detail for her after her last expose came out...could’ve, should’ve, would’ve…
It didn’t matter anymore because she was lying in a hospital bed with her life hanging by a thread.
If it wasn’t bad enough that she was in critical condition after being brutally attacked by the thug, when Barry found and arrested that man in the month Iris was in the hospital, the monster got away.
“I’m sorry, Allen. My hands are tied,” the judge said simply when confronted.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he demanded, getting in his face. “You mean to tell me that despite the ample evidence against this piece of shits you’re going to let him get away scot-free? His DNA was in her fingernails for fuck’s sake. From when she fought for her life!”
The judge looked at him almost tiredly before schooling his features. “It’s out of my hands.”
“Bullshit,” Barry spat, fire in his eyes. “You’re going to fucking rot in hell. And Iris-if something, if Iris doesn’t make it, you better crawl into that bottomless hole you came from and hope I don’t find you.”
He set out the find him again, knowing it was going to be harder this time, but then Iris was discharged from the hospital and all his attention was trained on her. He took a leave but there was only so much he was allowed to take. His parents came into town to help but he saw a change in Iris that worried him.
Oh, she tried with all her might to hide them away from Barry, telling him she was just fine and ready to go back to work, that this incident wouldn’t stop her from helping people, but he saw it in her.
It was the way she’d wake up every night gasping for breath, as though she was still being choked to death, it was the way she jumped at the slightest movement or sound, looking around her furtively. It was the way he’d sometimes catch her staring vacantly out the night sky.
He’d see her naked body covered in bruises and still-healing wounds and his imagination ran wild with what he did to her, what they put her through and it made him think of hurting the monster, terrorizing him just as he did to her.
He was terrified to even tell her the final verdict and had avoided it until one day she tentatively brought it up while they were watching a movie. He had put on Pride and Prejudice, the movie she once called her “happy movie” while holding her securely in his arms. He was relieved to see her curling up to him and even smiled when Lizzie and Darcy’s hands touched for the first time.
“I think this is one of my favorite scenes ever. In any movie,” she murmured before kissing his shoulder.
“Yeah?” he smiled, returning the kiss to the top of her head. “I think it might be one of mine too now.”
She laughed lightly at that and his heart literally jumped in his chest at the beautiful sound before it was cut off by an awful siren blaring past their loft.
He felt her stiffen in his arms and his heart jumped once more for an entirely different reason this time. He rubbed her back soothingly as he was prone to doing every time her body stiffened or he felt her heart rate spike. She began to bunch up his shirt in her hand, her head still resting against his shoulder. But Barry could tell her mind was far from the movie now.
She was curling the cloth tightly and tighter, her hand restless until Barry could feel his shirt stretching against his body.
“Iris,” he said softly, one hand continuing the slow strokes on her back while the other settled atop her fidgeting hand.
“Um,” she started softly, her hand slightly loosening her grip. “I never heard anything about the trial and what happened.”
Barry let his head rest against the back of the couch, clenching his eyes shut before steeling himself. He reached over to shut the TV off, not wanting what was to come to taint her happy movie. She slowly pulled back and looked at him cautiously.
“It’s not good, is it.”
He met her eyes, taking her hand in his. “It’s not good.”
She swallowed, nodding softly. “How bad? A year? Few months?”
“Iris...he got away.”
There was a long moment of silence while Iris sat frozen, looking just past Barry with unseeing eyes. It was a look he had become familiar with within the last few months, but there was something different there now. Like the calm before the storm and Barry braced himself.
And the storm came.
Iris let out a shrill scream, clamping her hands around her head before flipping their coffee table. Everyone had a breaking point after being beaten by the world, even the calmest and kindest of souls, and this was hers.
She crumpled to the ground in the mess of broken glasses and started banging on the ground, the shards cutting into her arms.
“Iris!”
Barry skidded to the ground, not caring that he was getting glass on his knees, and pulled her into his arms tightly. He rocked her gently, trying his might to soothe her while keeping her arms trapped under his own.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” he chanted into her hair while she wailed into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
His eyes burned with tears at the sound of her anguish, his heart breaking into pieces. He wanted to scream and shout with her at the injustice of it all. Where was the fucking justice he spent his life fighting for?
“He’s running free,” she cried in agony. “He’s going to keep hurting people and get away with it. Look at what he did to me and I was lucky enough to escape.”
Barry did look at her. He had been looking at her since he first laid eyes on her years ago in a crowded lecture hall and haven’t looked away since. He saw her fiery passion to help people and her determination to do just that and to make a difference in the world—it was what solidified their bond.
But these days when he was looking at her, he saw his beautiful girl in agony, haunted by what she knows and what she went through. And the fact that she couldn’t see justice, well, he didn’t have to look at her to know the anger and the fire it brought about because it felt it in his chest. The anger seared into his soul and he wanted to make things right. He was going to make things right.
When he set out to find the man of inflicting pain upon his love, he hadn’t meant to take things far. Or maybe he had but just didn’t want to admit it to himself. When he came face-to-face with the beast there was a smugness on the man’s face.
“It’s time you learned that I’m untouchable.”
“No one’s untouchable,” Barry replied quietly, taking in his presence carefully. “You’re going to turn yourself in.”
The man chuckled. “Oh yeah? And who’s going to make me?” He looked at Barry up and down and shook his head. “What, you a police detective? Nah, I don’t think so. Now, this may not be Gotham, but you people can’t touch me here either.”
“This can be easy or this can be very hard for you.”
“Let’s make it interesting. I can literally do this to you,” he said, shoving Barry’s shoulder roughly. “And you can’t say ‘boo’ to me. I can put my right hook in your face and you still can’t say ‘boo’ to me.”
Barry felt the rage that he was keeping in check slowly bleed to the surface. It was taking every fiber of his being to stand in front of the man that terrorized Iris and not crumple his disgusting face.
The man reared his fist back, but before he could make contact, Barry caught it in his hands. “Wanna bet? Boo,” he growled before twisting it painfully.
The man yelped and grabbed for Barry’s throat, momentarily choking him before Barry got the upper hand again. It was as though he could only see red and Iris’s tear-soaked eyes. One moment, he was fighting the man off and the next he was bashing it against the cement ground until there was no resistance.
Breathing heavily, he stumbled away and looked at the blood on his hands. There was a long and slow moment in which Barry tried to process what he was seeing in front of him. His brain couldn’t compute the sight before him until all he could think about was:
Iris is safe now
and
Oh, God. What did I do?
In case it wasn’t clear, Iris basically blew the whistle on some scandal and they came after her and terrorized her in the hopes of keeping her silent for good but she managed to survive. I didn’t want to go into the details too much since it was supposed to be a short piece. :0
