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Iris doesn't mean to lie to Barry. It's initially just a slip of the tongue. How it spiraled to this, she doesn't know. Now she's caught in a web of lies that she isn't sure she can get through unscathed.
o.o.o
It starts when Tony Woodward visits her at Jitters.
One minute, he's acting all macho and grumbling about The Streak in some dumb display of alpha male dominance. The next, he's flirting with her, ignoring all the signs of her discomfort. She's never really liked the boy, memories of him hurting and bullying Barry all too clear, but she's never really been scared of him either. Not until now. Something about him seems different, raises all the warning flags in her brain.
Lying to Tony comes easy.
"Thanks, Tony, but I don't think my boyfriend would approve," she says. Barry is her usual excuse whenever she resorts to using this trick. But she and Barry currently aren't speaking and Tony probably wouldn't be deterred by her nerdy best friend. Her mind unwittingly turns to The Streak. "He's a hero, like my dad."
o.o.o
(To be honest, it starts when she first sees the mysterious Streak and he smiles at her. She knows she's a goner during their first real meeting, a secret Jitters rendezvous that leaves her a little breathless, a little dazed, and a whole lot more hopeful.)
o.o.o
At the sound of wind blowing, the telltale sign of an appearance from The Streak, Iris grins. Her heart pounds as she turns to face him. "I guess you got my message."
"Are you okay?" he asks. Even through the distortion of his voice, she can tell he's concerned. It kind of does sound like a worried boyfriend...
Iris' cheeks heat up but pushes that thought away. He's not your boyfriend, Iris. Now is not the time to be silly.
Lightly, she says, "Cop's daughter. I can handle myself."
"Not with this guy," he says brusquely.
"I knew him when we were kids," she says, a little sharper than usual. It's not really him, but she's tired of being underestimated. By her father. By Barry... But she pushes that thought away too, focusing on the task at hand. Tony. She's here to warn him about Tony. "He didn't want to hurt me. He wanted to impress me, but he is fixated on you, and not in a good way."
Also, he thinks you're my boyfriend. But she doesn't dare tell him that, too embarrassed. What would his reaction be? Not that it matters, since she is not telling him.
"Do you know where he went?" he asks.
"He said he had a place out in West Keystone. Bragged about how big it was, but I have no idea where," she says, wishing she could be a bigger help.
"I do," he says, getting ready to leave.
"Wait," she says quickly. "There's something else. His hand. It transformed like an iron fist." Her brow furrows as she recalls posts mentioning other strange phenomena in Central City recently. It can't all be a coincidence. "He's like you, isn't he?"
"Yes, and writing about me is what brought him to you," he says tensely.
Iris doesn't need validation from him (or Barry), but something inside her is desperate to prove that she isn't a weak link, that she could help, that she's an asset. "I know, but maybe I could talk—"
"No!" he shouts angrily, startling her. She's never seen an outburst like that from him. "He's too dangerous!"
She wants to reassure him or argue with him or do anything other than stand there, but before she can think of what to say, there's a knock and two policemen outside the door.
"Damn, that's my ride."
Damn her father's partner for being so overprotective.
The Streak is gone with another gust of wind.
o.o.o
When Tony kidnaps her and tells her that he killed The Streak, her heart hurts more than it should over a virtual stranger.
But then The Streak appears and saves her, like some kind of guardian angel, and hope swells in her chest.
He's alive and he saved her.
But the absolute best part of the otherwise shitty night is when she gets to punch Tony. Sure her hand swells and hurts like a bitch, but Tony's had it coming long before he kidnapped her, back from when he used to make Barry's life hell. That alone means she'll bear the pain from punching a literal iron man.
Of course, there's the added benefit of being the one to end up saving The Streak. How's that for damsel in distress. Proving (to her father, Barry, and The Streak) that she can handle herself makes the pain worth it.
o.o.o
The lie about The Streak being her boyfriend should have ended with Tony being locked up and stayed within the safe confines of her fantasies. But somehow it ends up escalating.
It happens at Jitters. She had insisted on cleaning and locking up even though the manager was willing to let her rest for the remainder of the week because of her kidnapping and injury. She says that she needs all the hours she can get to help pay off her grad school loans, which is true, but she'd be lying if she said that a part of her wasn't hoping that The Streak would drop by to check on her.
When she hears the door open, something inside her chest warms.
He came.
"Hi," she says, a little breathily, turning around with a bright smile. She freezes when she sees Barry instead of The Streak, smile slipping off her face. It feels weird and unnatural to be disappointed at the sight of Barry, but ever since their fight...
"Oh, I thought that you were someone else," she says, putting her cleaning supplies down to avoid looking at him.
She's a big girl though, so she turns back around to face whatever he has to say head on. There's a chance he wants to make up and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want things to be back to normal between them.
"So..." he says, taking a big breath and looking as out of sorts as she feels. His voice cracks, like it always does when he's upset. "Joe told me what happened."
She looks down at her hand, cradling the injury. She should've known he would've come to see her as soon as he heard about it. She would've done the same thing if it were him.
"How's the hand?" he asks.
"Not broken, so that's something," she says lightly, smiling to make it easier on him. She knows how he is. She knows how quick he is to blame himself about things like this, ever since they were kids.
"I should have believed—"
"I'm sorry I said—"
They both speak and cut off at the simultaneously. Barry looks like he doesn't know how to say what he wants to say, so Iris takes the lead. It's enough for her that he wants to apologize.
"I've missed you," she says simply.
"Yeah, I've missed you, too."
They give each other small, tentative smiles. She feels awkward and a little uncomfortable still, but she has no doubts they'll ease back into their normal familiarity soon enough. He's her best friend and that will never change, regardless of what fights they may get into.
"When I heard Tony took you, I..." He breaks off, as if it pains him to even voice the thought. "I just I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."
Iris softens at his words, heart clenching. She knows that feeling. She lived it for nine months when he had been in that godforsaken coma. Just thinking about those nine months make her eyes start to well with tears, though she refuses to shed them. She's not going to budge on the blog issue, but there's a huge part of her that still wants to comfort him somehow, that wants to let him know not to worry so much.
"Well, my boyfriend's looking out for me," she says without really thinking, trying to make light of the situation.
"B-boyfriend?" Barry chokes out, eyes widening.
Her own eyes widen, too, when she realizes what she had said. Shit.
"Your boyfriend," he says again dumbly, like he can't believe it.
This is when Iris should clarify that it's just a silly joke. She'd explain about lying to Tony, he'd tease her a little, and they'd laugh it off. She's not sure what compels her to say, "Yeah. My boyfriend. He's kind of like my guardian angel."
Shit shit shit. What is wrong with her today? It's the pain medication. The pain medication is messing with her brain and making her loopy.
Barry opens his mouth, probably to ask her a bunch of questions or to tell her how dangerous it is. She feels so stupid. They had just made up over her blog and now she had made it worse by lying about a superhero being her boyfriend. She can't stand the thought of getting into another argument with him.
Panicking, Iris says, "Do you want to hang out and catch up?"
"Yeah," he says. She's not sure if she's imagining it, but it looks like he's blushing. "I would like that, yeah."
"I promise not to talk about The Streak tonight," she says in a falsely bright voice, her panic increasing. Oh god. How does she get out of this one?
"No, I want you to." He bites his lip, trying to hide a grin. She's sure she isn't imagining that. "No, I mean, I want, you can, I want you to talk about whatever you'd want to talk about. I know it's important to you."
If she weren't freaking out about her lie, she might have questioned his newfound excitement about The Streak. As it is, she's floundering for a subject change.
"Good because it's not just The Streak," she says, remembering some of the posts she's gotten. Barry's brow furrows. Oh god. He probably thinks she's two-timing The Streak now. Quickly, she adds, "There are others out there that are like him. I've gotten scattered posts about this guy that's on fire, except that he doesn't burn up."
She grins and holds her breath, a little on edge. If this were the old Barry, he would eat up this weird phenomena and obsess about proving it exists. She's not sure if new Barry who wants to put this stuff behind him will take the bait.
"Okay, so wait. Wait. You're trying to find The Burning Man now too?" he asks, a little skeptic.
Okay, so new Barry.
She just continues grinning. "Yeah, why not? I mean, a lot can happen in a week, especially with The Streak."
Dammit. She had been trying to avoid that topic. She blames her pain meds and their role reversal for her scattered brain. She's always supported Barry's obsession with proving the impossible, but it's a little disorienting to be the one most passionate about it while he remains disinterested at best. It's like their system is out of sync and she's not sure how to adjust yet.
"Heh." Slyly, he says, "Like dating?"
Iris' face burns. She avoids his gaze, hoping he can't tell she's lying. "Like dating."
"When did this happen, if you don't mind me asking?" he asks, sounding amused. It really isn't the reaction she thought she'd get, but she's glad he isn't upset like he was with her blog. Maybe he thinks that dating The Streak means she'll be better protected from any danger? "How did it happen?"
"I've been trying to get answers from him," she says, mixing in the truth with her lies. This way she can evade his questions a little. "Where does he come from? How does he do what he does? But he dodges everything. Literally, with this super-speed power."
She thinks of their first rooftop rendezvous, the way he had jumped from place to place every time she had turned to face him.
(The way he had drawn near when she kept her back to him and how hyperaware she had been about his body, like there had been an inexplicable magnetism between them.)
An unconscious smile forms on her face from the memory. "When he moves, Barry, you don't even see him. He comes and goes in the blink of an eye, in a—"
"Flash?" Barry supplies, finishing her thought before she could even think it, like they've always done.
The word resonates deeply within her, setting off a spark. Hearing it aloud spoken in conjunction with the Streak just seems so right. "In a Flash..."
Barry smiles, but she's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't even notice. The Streak did say he wanted to be called anything other than The Streak. Somehow, she knows that he'll be more than happy with the new name she had just thought of. And it's all thanks to Barry.
"Yeah," she says absently, smiling to herself.
o.o.o
Iris barely has a minute to feel pleased about her blog's growing follower count when she's whisked up to the rooftop.
"I see I've gotten a new name," The Streak, no, The Flash says. She can't really know for sure due to his constantly vibrating face, but she thinks he's smirking.
"A friend helped me come up with it," she says, a little breathlessly. Being able to talk to him, knowing that he's real is something she might never get over.
"It's better than The Streak," he acknowledges. A slow smile spreads to her face. She had known he'd like it.
"Does that mean you approve?" she asks, stepping closer.
He circles around her in a streak of lightning. He stops near the edge of the rooftop. "Do you care if I approve or not?"
"I care what you think," she admits, turning around to face him again. He's in a dark corner of the rooftop, shadows obscuring his face. Dimly, she wonders what he looks like, whether he's handsome...
"It's a good name."
Coyly, "I'm sure your real one is better."
"How's your hand?" he asks, evading personal topics like he always does. She can't be too disappointed though, because he cares enough to check up on her.
"Not broken. Told you I could handle myself," she says pointedly. She hopes he's a little sheepish about underestimating her. "How's your hand doing?"
"Mine was broken, but it's healed now." He flexes his hand as proof before speeding behind her. He maintains a lot of distance, but she can feel how close he is. "You know, Tony had the strangest idea."
"Oh?" she says, feigning ignorance. Her heart races, stomach turning unpleasantly. Why, oh, why did she lie?
"Seemed to think I was your boyfriend," he says. She's not sure if she's imagining the amusement in his voice. Oh, please let it be amusement.
"Yeah, about that," she says, chuckling weakly. She doesn't dare look back at him. "It's a funny story, really."
"I'm listening."
"I told you how I've known him since we were kids, right? Well, he's had this weird crush on me since forever and to discourage him, I kind of implied we were dating?" she says all in one breath. The seconds tick on slowly. Sheepish, she adds, "Oops?"
"You realize that telling him that just put a target on your back, right? It's dangerous to be connected to me."
"He would have targeted me regardless because of my blog," she protests, not in the mood for another lecture. "And I'm not giving up on that, no matter what. You give people hope. People need to know you exist."
The Flash sighs, like he knows he's fighting a losing battle. "You're a good person, Iris West."
Her heart thrums. Softly, "Thanks."
"You didn't tell anyone else I was your boyfriend, did you?"
And just like that, the embarrassment is back. Face burning, she admits in a low voice, "...I kind of sort of told my best friend, too?"
"Don't tell me he has feelings for you, too?"
"What?" Iris says, laughing a little at the thought. "Don't be silly. He doesn't see me like that. We're just friends."
"Friends..." he echoes. Zooming around the rooftop, he stops off to the side, further away from her. "Then why did you lie to him?"
"I don't know. I wasn't thinking. It was just supposed to be a joke, but things have been really strained between us and then I panicked and kept lying." Her stomach sinks saying it out loud. In a voice no louder than a whisper, "I've never lied to him before."
"Are you going to tell him the truth?"
"I have to, don't I? There's no other option."
"I could, I could fake date you," he says. Then he whirls around, moving to a very poorly lit area of the rooftop.
Time seems to stand still in that moment. There's a loud pounding in her ears and she's not sure if she's heard him right.
"You, what?" she asks, stunned. This could not be real life.
"I could fake date you," he repeats, clear as day.
It doesn't make sense. There's really nothing The Flash could get out of the situation. The best thing to do would just be to tell the truth. Barry wouldn't be upset about it. He'd probably just laugh with her about how ridiculous it all was.
But Iris finds herself saying, "Okay."
o.o.o
(It's only later when she's alone in Jitters that she even begins to worry about the mess she's gotten herself into).