A/N: *Spoilers* Late last night, on-set photos were leaked onto the Internet. Maybe the producers felt we needed it or something. Anyway, Episode 1.15 will have a Westallen 'first kiss.' I'm sure everyone is wondering why they kissed and what led up to it. Here's my take. I hope you enjoy it.
Westallen Week – Day #3 Prompt: Firsts
~o~o~
You Are Loved
Christmas day, moments before the look:
With her arm around his waist, Iris stood beside Eddie but she felt Barry's eyes on her back. They burned right through her as if he were actually touching her. She had to see his face, but she knew what she would see, a forced smile that hid his feelings. Taking a deep breath, she thought, two can play this game then she turned her head.
Barry thought he was done playing games; pretending that he didn't love her as if didn't need her with every fiber of his being.
Their gazes locked. Maybe he should smile just this once to keep up appearances, but the look on her face brought those thoughts to a screeching halt. He looked her up and down and he looked into her eyes.
Iris was thinking; this is our secret; no one else needs to know.
Barry then decided to show his feelings. They were on his sleeve and he didn't care who saw it.
Iris thought she was prepared, but she wasn't. His eyes burned her even more. She turned back to the tree, but her heart was pounding in her chest.
Iris and Barry had reached a turning point in their lives. What will happen next?
~o~o~
Next day at Jitters:
Iris was distracted by other things then she dropped a tray. She wanted to curse a blue streak but refrained.
"Iris, what happened?" Terry, her co-worker, asked. She helped her to clean up the mess.
"I'm sorry, I guess I was distracted," Iris replied.
Terry glanced up and you can guess who walked in. "I can see why," she said and gave Iris a look. Confused for a moment, she looked over her shoulder and Barry walked in. He looked fantastic; so tall and he was smiling, but it was forced. She knew what he was thinking. She ignored the pounding in her chest; she stood up, carrying her tray.
"I'll take that," her co-worker said. She took the tray from her. Smiling, she left them alone.
Say something, she thought. "Hi," she said and mentally kicked herself at how breathless she sounded.
"Hi," he said just a breathless. He came closer. They were both silent, neither knowing what to say.
Her co-worker frowned and tried to get their attention. "Did you want some coffee, Barry?"
Shaking his head to clear it, he replied. "Sure, thanks, I'll take a small latte," he replied.
Iris woke up. "I'll get that Terry," she said and headed for the counter.
"Ok," Terry said and went to assist a customer.
Barry hated the way things were between them, so he asked, "How are you?"
She closed her eyes for a moment then she looked at him. It wasn't the same look from Christmas day. He just looked worried about her. She relaxed. "I'm alright; just a little distracted."
"Yeah, me too," Barry said. A moment then, "Iris, this is the last thing I wanted. I just," he couldn't finish.
"I know, Barry, and it's Ok. We'll work this out," she said and tried to smile.
"I hope so, because," he hesitated.
He was going to say it again that he loved her, and she couldn't let that happen. "Here's your coffee; just the way you like it."
"Thanks." He took the coffee then pulled out his money.
"It's on the house," she smiled.
He held it up. "Thanks; I owe you one." There it was again; the same look from Christmas day.
All Iris could do was gape at him and wonder why she had never seen it before. Her heart melted into a puddle in her chest. Then with a half-smile on his face, he turned and left the bar.
Terry snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Earth to Iris?!"
She shook her head and realized that Barry was gone.
~o~o~
About a month later:
Barry and Iris had gotten pretty good at avoiding each other. It was difficult at first; whenever they would see each other. Usually, they would stop and stare but moments later; they snapped out of it and headed on their way, neither speaking a word. It was painful, but they felt it was for the best.
They went about their day-to-day lives. Flash was busy with meta-humans and Iris was busy with finishing her studies for graduation. Getting an update from Joe, he told him that Iris would be starting her new job at CC News in a matter of weeks.
He was at STAR Labs when he received a text from her. He was completely stunned. They hadn't talked since that morning at Jitters and her meetings with Flash hadn't continued either. The break-up was still fresh in his mind. He desperately wanted to apologize again for beating up her boyfriend, but he was afraid it would only make matters worse.
Shaking his head to remove thoughts of that night, he sent a reply to her text. She wanted him to meet her at the lake. It had so many memories of their childhood. It was only a few miles from the house and they would go there and play along with a lot of kids from the neighborhood. It was a safe place; a lot of parents were there and up until their teen years, they would go there just to talk.
Taking a deep breath, he headed there and she was waiting for him when he arrived. Frowning, he wondered what had happened. She was sitting on a bench staring out over the lake.
He sat down and touched her arm. "Iris, I'm here. What is it?"
She turned to him and he was stunned to see tears on her cheeks. "Barry, I had to see you. I had to talk to someone about all of this."
He took her hand. "You can talk to me about anything. So, why are you crying?" He wanted to ask about Eddie but decided to let her speak. She was silent. "Go on."
"It's over. I moved out last night," she replied. She wiped her eyes with a tissue.
"Oh, I see," he said and wanted to jump for joy. He barely refrained. "What happened?"
She stood and began to walk. He followed her. "I lied to him and he lied to me. So, it's over."
"You lied to him about what?" He asked but inside he knew.
She stopped walking and looked out over the lake. "After I broke ties with the Flash, I told Eddie that I had finished writing my blog, which was a lie. He found out about it and he was furious with me. He wanted to know why I had lied to him. The Flash and I weren't speaking, not anymore, but he didn't believe me. He's still jealous and it was ugly. He'd never spoken to me like that and I was afraid."
He stood in front of her. "You did the right thing." Then he thought of what she said and wondered what else broke them up. "You said he lied to you; what about?"
"He was never home, Barry, so I confronted him about it. He's looking for the man in yellow. He's obsessed with finding him, and I wondered why. He had no explanation, but his eyes, when he spoke of him, gave me chills. It was like he was two different people. I don't understand him, Barry, not really." She looked into his eyes. "Not like I know you."
He instinctively pulled her into his arms to give her some comfort. She was sniffling and trying to hold it in. He pulled her tighter against him. "Everything is going to be alright." He wanted to tell her he was the Flash, but she had enough to think about. It was going to take time to get over Eddie and he thought he was a patient man.
She was holding him so close and it reminded him of Christmas Eve. And so, he said it again. "I love you, Iris."
Instead of pulling away, she held him even tighter. "I know you do."
Feeling encouraged, he was the first to pull away. He tried to smile to give her a little hope then he couldn't help himself. He reached up to smooth her hair away from her face and she was staring at him with a look he had never seen before; a look he had thought never to see.
With both hands, he wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Iris closed her eyes at his sweet gesture.
He definitely felt encouraged then he leaned down. Iris knew what he wanted and to her shock, she wanted it too.
She leaned up on her toes and then they both closed their eyes and kissed. It was a bit awkward at first then he pulled away and smiled. Iris opened her eyes and smiled at him.
Barry was elated. He leaned down again and then they kissed over and over again. His lips slanted to gain entrance and she opened to him freely. He was overjoyed and deepened the kiss. Between kisses, Iris whispered, "Don't stop."
And he didn't; not for a few minutes. After reluctantly releasing her lips, he rested his forehead against hers. Both breathing heavily, he whispered. "That was so nice. I could kiss you all day and all night and it wouldn't be enough."
She smiled. "I feel the same way."
He was little surprised. "Do you really, I mean, I don't want us to rush into anything?"
She nodded. It didn't surprise her that he wanted to take things slow. "I agree."
He stepped away from her, which was the last thing he wanted to do.
He took her hand and placed it on his arm. "Are you ready?" The question had a double meaning.
Head held high, she answered him with a clear head and a calm spirit. "I'm ready."
The end!
~o~o~
Song Inspiration: You Are Loved, Josh Groban.
A/N: Now I'm melting into a puddle of love. *sighs heavily* Please ignore any mistakes; I wrote this like an hour ago! If you would like to see the 'leaked' kiss by the lake, head over to my Tumblr blog and search 'first kiss' or 'westallen kisses'! Thanks for reading! Reviews/kudos is love! :D