A/N: Takes place post-episode after Barry & Iris go home for the night (mostly). There is smut in this, but it's not as graphic as I've written in the past, which is why I kept the rating at a T. Still, you've been warned. I hope you enjoy!

*Many thanks to sendtherain for being an awesome beta.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

...

After several more hours trying to track down the icy alter-ego that now comprised a good percentage of their friend Caitlin Snow, Joe took the helm and insisted they all go home and get some sleep. Caitlin would likely still be missing in the morning, but there was a chance she'd be easier to find in daylight. Not to mention that they'd have much more energy to lure her back to the light or form a strategy to fight her and bring her back to STAR Labs. Then they could figure out what to do next.

"There's no point in staying here all night when we'll make a lot more progress after a good night's sleep."

"Sleep," Cisco had scoffed, but Joe ignored that with one pointed look.

"You have a day job," he'd informed Barry, looking straight at him. His eyes had shifted over to Iris and then Julian. "So do you two."

The trio had nodded and left, but Cisco had stubbornly stayed put. Joe's commanding glare had no effect on him, so HR jumped in and declared how there was an additional bed in his room and he'd be more than happy to share his quarters for a night.

The fact that Cisco silently agreed to it while HR gushed proved to everyone just how serious he was. Joe and Wally followed Barry, Iris and Julian out of the cortex, departing STAR Labs for the night and hoping the light of day would show more promise than this very long night had.

…

The clink of keys on the table just inside the loft was the only sound surrounding them when they stepped inside the door no more than half an hour later. Iris's car had been at STAR Labs, so they'd taken it home as opposed to Barry just running them there. It gave them time to relax in silence. Iris and Barry's minds were still spinning, but there was some peace in just being in the car together, having to worry about nothing more than easygoing evening traffic. Their clasped hands between the seats reaffirmed the bond between them that somehow seemed to have grown even stronger in just the last few hours.

"Long day," Iris remarked, slipping out of her shoes and kicking them to an out-of-the-way spot near the wall.

Barry half-laughed, half-sighed. "You can say that again."

"I don't know how much we accomplished, but…"

"Hey." He grasped her elbow and turned toward him, sufficiently stopping her in her tracks. "I got us some new information, remember? Something we didn't have before. I would never have gotten that if I hadn't run to the future."

Iris's smile was forced. "You're right. That is something."

He pulled her close and tucked her face into his neck. Her arms wrapped around his waist. As he smoothed down her hair, stroking it gently, his eyes scanned the room slowly. It was the same as before he'd left, but it was so very different from the loft he'd discovered when he ran to the world without Iris.

"Was it bad?" she asked quietly, her voice so soft he almost hadn't heard it. "The future," she clarified, lifting her head.

He debated evading the question, but decided against it. There was no time for dishonesty between them. They'd sworn as a team there wouldn't be, and after the hours he'd spent in a future torn apart, he was more determined than ever to keep every promise he made.

"It was bad," he confirmed, tucking a silk lock behind her ear. "We're all a mess without you."

He almost chuckled, but it was no laughing matter. It was so true it hurt.

Iris brought his hand to her lips and kissed his palm.

"Do I want to know the details?" she asked, voice soft again, so quiet.

"Probably not," he said with a sigh. "I wish I didn't know them."

She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears, the heartbreak of the future humming in her mind. His reticence only made her brain supply its own fears. The problem was Barry didn't think her wildest nightmares could be any worse than the reality he'd come back from.

"But it's not going to come true, Iris." He brought his other hand to her face and stared down into her scared eyes with a fierce intensity. "Me coming back with this future information has already altered things."

Her brows furrowed. "But you didn't see… I mean, Cisco didn't—"

"I don't need to see the future again a month from now to know that it's already changing. All we have to do now is find Caitlin, find this physicist, and we'll already be well on our way to defeating Savitar." He caught a tear on his thumb that had involuntarily fallen down Iris's beautiful face.

"I need you to trust me, Iris." She closed her eyes and more tears fell. "Do you?"

She nodded as he caught every tear wetting the skin on her face. His lips pressed to her forehead, and – despite the very high sense of danger and her fear gathering more by the day, the hour, the minute, the second - she felt a security having him so close to her, loving her, reassuring her. Somehow she believed him every time.

"I trust you, Barry." She opened her eyes and offered a gentle smile. "And I love you. So much."

He smiled in return and lowered his head to kiss her.

"I love you, Iris," he whispered against her lips.

The words, her touch, fueled an urgency inside him that he'd held at bay ever since the need to conduct a team meeting had forced him to part with her hours before.

He groaned quietly, but wasn't even aware of it until he heard Iris's sudden gasp and the feel of her hands clutching at his shoulders.

"Make love to me, Barry," she whispered, nuzzling the side of his face.

"Iris—" he choked.

"You need to feel I'm real," she said, and he wondered not for the first time how she could read him so well when he hadn't said a word. "And I…" she sighed. "I need to feel you too." She swallowed hard. "I need you all around me never letting go."

Her words made him shudder, but he only nodded against her and took her hand, leading her up the stairs. It felt like a slow moment, like speeding would ruin it. There had to be a peacefulness about this, a quiet that couldn't be rushed.

Tonight Iris would feel treasured and wanted and safe, and he would be able to breathe again.

When they reached the bedroom, Barry closed the door, secluding them further. He undressed her in the shaded moonlight, sliding his hands beneath her shirt and lifting it over her head, unbuttoning her pants and lowering her zipper, peeling down the fabric till it was at her feet.

He kissed his way up her body, taking his time, paying attention to every movement, every sound she made. His hand smoothed up her calf to her knee, then from her thigh to her hip. His lips followed the path and by the time he reached her lips, cupping a breast in each hand, Iris was so sensitive and overcome with need that she could hardly balance herself on both feet.

Then in one quick movement, Barry lifted her up against him, and instinctively Iris wrapped her legs around his waist. He hadn't taken off a single piece of clothing yet, and she could already hear herself complaining when he set her down, but in the moment it didn't matter. He held her with care. His eyes were filled with love and need. She couldn't look away if she wanted to. Heat consumed her when she realized neither could he.

As predicted, she whimpered a little when he pulled away to undress himself. It was slow and torturous at normal speed. She reached for him as soon as he was nude and had sheathed himself, needing to feel him. She needed to hear his heart beating and his breath lingering on her neck as he thrust himself into her.

She gasped and wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into his scalp and running them down his back. She moaned, arched up and restlessly hooked her legs onto anything that was Barry.

"Faster," she urged, and he obeyed, pumping relentlessly.

He grunted, losing control sooner than he'd probably intended, but she didn't care. Eager to please her, his hand slipped between her legs and he vibrated two of his fingers inside her. She came almost immediately, gasping for air as if there was suddenly none available to her.

"Barry," she breathed, then repeated his name a few more times, a reverent sigh that tasted like living water on her tongue. "Barry…Barry…"

Her arms held snug around his back, and she wouldn't let him go. He didn't try to move, but eventually he collapsed, exhausted from the love-making he'd intended to be slow but had sped to extremes with the simple plea commanded from her lips.

"'m sorry," he murmured, his face hot and sweaty as it lay nestled in her neck.

She didn't say anything, but her hands ran the length of his back in light dancing circles. She felt him relax when she did it, which eased her into a state of near sleep. The sound of him breathing soothed her. The rise and fall of his body as he lay on top of her, the quiet protest of how he needed to get off her, of how sorry he was – for what? She wondered. For coming before she did? For being so desperate for her? For causing all this pain by creating Flashpoint?

There was no apology needed.

"Barry," she soothed, pressing her face against his, and it quieted him, took him to the same place she was.

Eventually she nudged him to slide off her, which he did without question. He lay beside her and brought her close, and she cuddled into him and inhaled his scent and felt alive. She felt safe.

He was hers, and she was his. In this moment, everything was perfect.

...

A/N: A Flicker of Light is the morning after sequel-esque fic to this one.