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“So, we’re doing this?” Barry asks as soon as they move away from each other.
Iris laughs lightly. It’s such a Barry thing to do—asking for clarification as if she hadn’t just kissed him.
“I thought I made that pretty clear when I kissed you a second ago,” Iris teases.
“I mean, I was the one who kissed you, but…”
“Please.” She rolls her eyes dramatically, though the smile never leaves her lips. “We both know you don’t have the guts to kiss me first.”
“Oh, really?”
“Mhm.”
She nods her head, trying to seem serious, but it doesn’t last for long—not when Barry is looking at her like she hung the stars in the sky. There’s pure love and adoration in his eyes, and she’s sure that hers match his. Something about knowing that the person she loves more than anyone else loves her in the same way makes her feel so light.
All of the things she was worrying about are washed away in this moment. The only thing that matters is him—is them.
So, as they lean in toward each other for the second time that night, she’s at peace in a way she’s never been before. The soft press of his lips against hers grounds her as much as it makes her feel like she’s floating. She’s there in the moment with him, but she’s also floating on cloud nine.
“How’s that for guts?” Barry questions with the most smug look on his face.
“It was still me first, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out one day.”
His responding laugh is so light, so content, and she feels like she’s falling in love with him all over again.
It’s kind of surreal to her—the fact that her best friend is in love with her. The person she’s always wanted to be in her life forever is sitting across from her, saying he wants the same thing. The person who knows her better than anyone else ever will wants her to be his. She knows he’ll love her exactly how she is, flaws and all, because that’s just the kind of person Barry Allen is.
And that’s how she feels too. She’s seen him at the absolute lowest points in his life, the times when she saw the wounds that hadn’t become scars yet. He let her in. He let her see his pain while he tried to hide it from everyone else.
The way they trust each other, the way they know each other, makes it feel that much more natural to slip into this new dynamic. Everything is just so easy between them because of their shared history.
“I want to take you on a date,” Barry says suddenly, like it’s something he’s been waiting to say for years. It’s something she’s been waiting to hear , so she knows the relief he’s feeling as he says it.
“Hmm.”
“Really?” he tries to come off as unamused, but she sees right through it. “You have to think about it?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to rush into anything.”
She’s not really sure who she’s putting on this show for, since she and Barry both know just how much she wants it.
“This has been, like, seventeen years in the making. I wouldn’t exactly call that ‘rushing in.’”
“I guess you have a point,” she agrees, dropping the act and letting her true feelings show on her face.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Is tomorrow too soon?” she asks. She can’t bother to be even the slightest bit embarrassed by her eagerness because she knows he’s on the same page.
“I was gonna suggest tonight, but I guess tomorrow works too.” He sighs dramatically.
“Wow, you’re, like, really in love with me.”
“You’re just noticing that?”
Her response is a fond smile, one that’s just for him. No one has ever, no one will ever, get to see her like this. It’s only Barry. It’s always been Barry.
“Let’s get dinner tomorrow after work,” she suggests.
“I’d like that.”
They fall into a comfortable silence where they just watch each other, studying the loving looks the other is giving them that are their new normal. They don’t ever have to try to mask their adoration again. The time for them to love each other openly and loudly has finally come.
The door to the house opens, and Joe steps out onto the porch. “Oh, hey, Barry. I was just making sure Iris was still out here.”
“I am,” Iris replies a little awkwardly, still dazed by the events of the past few minutes, “still out here, I mean.”
“I can see that,” Joe replies, his amusement at her slightly distracted response clear in his tone.
Then, Barry has the audacity to laugh. It’s the softest laugh that he tries to cover with a cough, but she hears it. She knows him too well to fall for his weak attempt at a cover-up, which she lets him know with a playful glare.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”
“But you thought it,” she accuses while narrowing her eyes at him.
“I haven’t heard you two fight like this since high school,” Joe comments.
“He started it.”
“Really?” Barry asks, his voice purposefully as flat as he can make it sound while he’s still happier than ever before.
Joe observes their interaction closely with a knowing smile on his face. “Iris, are you staying here tonight?”
“Yeah, if that’s okay.”
“You’re always welcome here.”
It feels so comforting that she and her dad are on good terms again. The months spent fighting with him were painful, to say the least. And maybe it was Barry’s decision to go back in time that made things that way, but he helped them fix it too.
“Don’t stay out here too late,” Joe advises before heading back into the house.
Both Barry and Iris’ gazes stay on the door until it shuts all the way, and then they look back at each other.
Iris is the first to break the silence, though she keeps her voice soft so she doesn’t interrupt the calm atmosphere around them. “I’m glad you came over tonight.”
“I am too.”
“I’m gonna go to bed now,” she tells him, though she makes no move to stand up.
“You realize you have to go inside to do that, right? Unless you plan on sleeping out here, but I don’t think that would be very comfortable,” he teases. When she doesn’t respond for a while, he asks, “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s perfect.”
It only feels natural for them to meet in a kiss again. She had imagined what it would be like to kiss her best friend before, but she never thought it would feel like this. His lips are soft, pressing against hers gently. She’s pretty sure she could stay like this with him forever, but they lean back from each other a few seconds later. The thought that she can do that whenever she wants for the rest of her life makes her indescribably happy.
“Okay, I’m going inside before you can try to keep me out here any longer,” she says.
“As if you’re completely innocent here.” He rolls his eyes as he stands up and then offers her a hand to help her up.
She steps closer and wraps her arms around his middle, holding him tightly.
“I love you, Barry,” she tells him with her head tucked under his chin.
When they step back, his smile is fond, more so than she’s ever seen from him before. “I love you, Iris.”
Despite the confession of feelings she heard from him minutes before, she gets a little flustered at this. It still feels so surreal.
Leaning up on her toes, she kisses his cheek softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.” He nods in agreement.
Though she wants to stay out there with him all night, she eventually pulls herself away from him and heads inside.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Wally asks from where he sits on the couch.
“Oh, sorry, am I not allowed to smile?”
“Not like that,” he replies, earning an unamused stare from her. “Did something happen with Barry?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.” She shrugs, and he narrows his eyes at her. “I’m going to bed.”
“I’m gonna figure out why you’re smiling like that.”
“Maybe; maybe not.”
—
When Barry enters Cisco’s apartment, he can’t wipe the grin off of his face.
Cisco was kind enough to offer Barry a place to stay until he can get his own apartment, which Barry is extremely grateful for. Despite the mistakes he’s made recently, he still has his two best friends, and maybe that’s all he needs.
“You look crazy,” Cisco comments, looking over at Barry from the couch.
“No, I don’t.”
“Start talking.” Cisco looks back at the TV. “You’re obviously dying to tell me what happened tonight.”
Barry sits down next to Cisco, barely able to contain his excitement as he says, “I kissed Iris.”
“Seriously? You’re sure you weren’t, like, hallucinating or something?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Barry replies, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Why are you acting so surprised?”
“Honestly, I never thought you’d have the guts to do it. I mean, I always figured she’d be the one to do it, but props to you for beating her to it.”
“What do you mean you always figured she’d do it? How long did you think that?”
“From the second I first saw you two interact.” Cisco laughs. “You were both so painfully obvious but so painfully oblivious. But yeah, I just thought you were too chicken to make a move.”
“Well, I did it—multiple times, actually. And she said she loves me.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Yeah,” Barry breathes out, smiling again.
“You’re never gonna shut up about this, are you?”
“Nope.”
With an amused eye roll, Cisco responds, “I would be annoyed, but I know how long you’ve been waiting for this, so I’ll let it slide.”
—
The next day, Barry can’t contain his excitement at the thought of spending his evening with Iris. He’s finally able to take her on a date like he’s always wanted to.
But then Cisco texts him to say that there’s a new metahuman terrorizing the city. Barry has never been more annoyed in his life.
As much as it pains him, he has to text Iris to tell her their plans have been interrupted.
Barry: i’m gonna have to reschedule our date. i’m sorry :(
Iris: it’s okay
Barry: are you sure?
Iris: yeah, i mean, we have the rest of our lives to get dinner together :)
He should probably be used to it by now, but the way she always knows exactly what to say to make him so incredibly happy will always amaze him. So, as he heads out to fight the metahuman who apparently has no idea how long Barry has waited for this day to come, the words we have the rest of our lives echo through his mind.
It takes a little longer than expected to defeat the meta, but Barry finally gets the situation under control and runs back to S.T.A.R. Labs. He flashes into the cortex, where he immediately spots Iris, Joe, and Wally talking to Cisco.
Barry tries to be subtle—he really does—but he immediately looks at Iris. He does manage to contain his smile for the most part, though, which he’ll take as a win.
“Hey,” he greets, his eyes never leaving Iris.
“Hey,” she replies, the same shy smile from the night before on her lips.
“Oh, my god,” Wally says, making everyone turn to look at him.
“What?”
“Did you guys finally get your shit together?”
Joe laughs, and Wally shoots him a questioning look. “Did the way Iris couldn’t stop smiling last night not give it away?”
“You knew?” Iris asks.
“That was the happiest I’ve ever seen you two. It was pretty obvious.”
“Hey, at least Iris didn’t keep you up all night, going on and on about how in love she is,” Cisco adds from across the room.
The blush that starts to spread on Barry’s cheeks is instant. Of course Cisco had to expose him like that. He shouldn’t be that embarrassed, knowing that Iris loves him too, but he doesn’t want to overwhelm her with how strong his feelings are.
Iris looks up at him as she bumps her shoulder against his. She’s clearly amused, but he still tries to make himself come off as more cool and collected than he actually is, saying, “It wasn’t all night.”
“Oh, did you want me to lie about it so you don’t get embarrassed in front of Iris?” Cisco questions, clearly enjoying how flustered Barry looks.
“Thank you so much for choosing this moment to tell everyone my business.”
“Hey, no problem.”
“Yes, thank you, Cisco,” Iris joins in.
“Anything for you, beautiful.”
“I’m right here,” Barry reminds Cisco.
“Oh, this is gonna be fun.” Cisco laughs.
Barry rolls his eyes, ready to try to do some more damage control, but he locks eyes with Iris, and the fond smile on her lips is enough to make him forget about everything else. Everything else fades away, because all that really matters to Barry is Iris.