~Author's Note~

I got the idea for this when I was re-reading trufflemore's story Echoes, though I don't know really how? So credit to that story for inspiring this one. But anyway, go and check that story if you haven't already because it's great!

Don't think this has been done before, let alone any future fics about westallen, so let me know what you think? :)

Rated Teen just to be safe because of suggestive themes, romance and like three curse words.

Notes: Takes place a few years ahead of season 2? So they are both in their late twenties/early thirties? Zoom is defeated, I'm using the idea (slightly borrowed from Young Justice) that Wally found out Barry was the Flash some way and re-created the explosion that gave him his powers in S.T.A.R Labs—which in turn gave him his powers.

Hourglass

"The future doesn't sound so bad."

Iris West-Allen is busy cooking dinner, humming a song under her breath, when she hears the front door open and the sound of two people entering her home. She turns when she hears her son run into the kitchen with laughter, trying his best to run away from Barry Allen—who is hot on his tail. Iris smiles when her son runs behind her and hides behind her legs, giggling madly as Barry glances from his wife and back down to his son.

"And just what do you think you two are doing?" Iris questions as she looks from Barry and down to her son, placing the spoon in her hand on the counter beside her. Barry holds up his hands in surrender, taking a step back to acknowledge his point but before he can speak in defense; his son beats him to it.

"Daddy started it!"

Barry sputtered at the accusation as Iris turned and glared at him playfully, chuckling quietly as she swept a hand through her son's disheveled brown hair. "Why don't you go and get washed up for dinner while I have a word with your father?"

Austin Allen nodded happily, his stomach rumbling in agreement as he rushed out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs, his feet thumping loudly against each one as he hurried to the bathroom. Iris sighed as Barry understood her exasperated expression instantly, turning and shouting to their son. "No running up the stairs slugger!"

The thumps on the stairs lessened noticeably as Barry chuckled, Iris turning back around and stirring the mac and cheese in one of the pots on the stove.

Barry came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back by the hips so that she rested against his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to her neck as Iris beamed.

She could feel his heart beating wildly against her back, the never-ending warmth from his body encircling her. She couldn't have been happier.

"How was work today?" He questioned lowly, hugging her close.

"Fine, Wally and Linda literally can't keep their hands off each other. You would think they haven't seen each other in ages." Barry laughed softly, burying his face into the side of her neck as Iris let go of the pot, leaning back into his hold.

"Ah, cut them some slack. We were like that too when we first got married. Remember?"

She blushed at the memory, lifting a hand and swatting at his arm. "Well, I didn't know that marrying the Flash would yield that many surprises." Barry smirked (and he was glad she couldn't see his cheeks flush), gaining a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Just think, Linda's not getting the full experience. She's got Kid Flash but you have the Flash."

Iris rolled her eyes, grumbling in disgust as Barry laughed teasingly, the former reaching down and hitting him in the arm again. "Ew, Bear come on. That's my little brother you're talking about," but then she paused, weighing the odds for a moment and feeling extremely lucky, "though you do have a point. Poor Linda."

"Glad you see it my way. He might've re-created the lightning but you can't match the original. I'm one of a kind." Iris turned her head and found herself staring at his lips, voice lowering down to a whisper.

"You are something, that's for sure."

Barry grinned as he connected their lips in a swift motion, electricity igniting between them. It was like that every time they kissed; like some unseen force pulled them closer together, something (and maybe, Iris sometimes thought, it was the speed force pounding through his veins) causing Barry's lips to be something she couldn't get enough of, something that made Iris seem so damn beautiful in the light.

Whatever it was, it connected them.

It brought them together.

Iris turns in Barry's hold to bring her arms around his neck, Barry's hands leaving her lips to raise and cup her cheeks (he's reminded of a kiss from years ago that Iris didn't know existed, one from a different timeline that was just as equally amazing) as his calloused thumbs gently caress her cheekbones. The kiss is deepened by one of them and Barry lets out low groan when one her hands falls and slips under his tee shirt, running over his defined abdomen.

Just as Barry lowers one hand to slide under the back of her blouse and trail along the smooth skin of her back the moment is interrupted by the sound of Austin bounding down the stairs.

Both adults skyrocket away from each other at the sound, Barry using his speed to zoom over to where the dining room is and attempting to look as nonchalant as possible as he sets the table, and Iris turning some knobs on the oven to turn off the flames sizzling in front of her.

Austin had caught them in some . . . less than explainable situations many times before and neither wanted to have to go through Iris smacking Barry every five seconds he said something (stuttering through something) that wasn't the best wording for an eight year old.

Austin ran into the dining room with a large grin, freshly changed out of his school clothes and brown eyes sparkling with excitement to tell his mother about his school day. Iris cleared her throat as she moved the baked chicken from the pan to a plate, and then doing the same for the mac and cheese.

"Why don't you help me set the table, slugger?" Barry asked after a few way-too-quiet minutes, Austin grabbing the plate his father held out for him with a smile.

"Okay."

Barry had picked up the nickname from his father, using it on accident one day when Austin was four and then just sticking with it from then it. It warmed Iris' heart because though Henry wasn't around too much anymore (he was still out exploring the world, even in his old age) his spirit was still there.

Their son was in third grade and had been (as Iris would put it, blessed) with Barry's hair coloring and Iris' eye color and white skin that was a shade dark, with an attitude that was nearly an reflection of Barry's (though the only difference was the fact that he didn't like science at all; which he must have gotten from Iris as Barry would claim).

But they loved him all the same, he was their child—their little slugger. Both had also been keeping a keen eye out for Austin showing any signs of having super speed like Barry, because they had no idea how it worked and even Caitlin and Cisco (who they still kept in touch which after all of these years) were stumped about, but so far he hadn't had any incidents.

Which was a silent blessing for the two parents—raising the little rascal was already enough work all on its own.

Iris still had her job at Picture News and Barry at CCPD, and he still was the Flash when needed (because he had too big of a heart to ever put away his suit) and for Austin's safety, the youngster didn't know. But he iodized the Flash and Green Arrow as much as the next kid (according to Austin, it was all the talk at school).

They lived in a small two story house down the street from Joe's, because Iris hadn't wanted to move too far with his slowly dwindling age and Barry had agreed; with three bedrooms—one of which Iris used as a workspace for her articles—a bathroom, a garage where Cisco and Barry could mess around with any home-made experiments for (their) the suit, a living room, dining room and small kitchen.

They liked their home and the last time there had been a seriously deadly meta-human around was when Iris was pregnant with Austin and Barry had limped through the door covered in blood late one night (long story short, as soon as his accelerated healing kicked in and he was a better within three days she gave him ten new bruises to remind him never to scare her like that again).

Everything, for the first time in their lives, was peaceful for once. Tranquil. Perfect.

Iris throws the pots and pan in the sink and carries over the two plates to the dining room table that is now primed to perfection. Barry is sitting on one side of the table while Austin sits on the other, Iris placing the plates on the table before taking a seat next to Barry.

"Alright," she muttered, looking up at her son with a smile, "dig in!"

Austin didn't waste a second in filling his plate, Barry turning to his wife and giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek. "This looks amazing Iris," he mumbled roughly into her ear, her stomach doing summersaults at his throaty voice, "I love you."

Iris rested her hand on his shoulder, doing her best to try and hide her ruddy cheeks. "I love you too, Bear." She turned to her son, "Alright kiddo, tell me all about your day. Did you end up passing that science test?"

Dinner commenced with Austin ecstatically telling his mother about his day as Barry finished off all of the chicken and laughed along with each story, Iris congratulating her son when he told them of the easy one hundred he got on his English test (Barry secretly knew he had reporter genes in him, always had).

"I'm stuffed, Momma."

Iris laughed as she pushed back her plate, Barry leaning back in his chair and throwing his hands over his stomach. "Yeah, me too. I think I just gained back all of that weight." Iris rolled her eyes at his joke (because they both knew his metabolism kept him in tip-top shape and that he would be hungry again within a matter of two hours) as Austin wiped his hands on a napkin and exhaled.

"Well," she chuckled again when she saw Barry's dreamy expression, "I'm glad. Trying to fill you two up is nearly impossible."

The room went quiet, covered in a relaxed silence.

Barry cleaned up the dishes, returning to his seat with a relived breath just as Austin twiddled with his thumbs on the table, eyebrows scrunched up in deep thought. Iris noticed before Barry did, nudging her husband in his side and nodding her head towards their son. He looked over and saw the distressed look over Austin's face, mouth turning into a frown as Iris decided to break the hush around them.

"Are you okay, honey?" Austin jumped at his mother's voice, looking up with a sheepish face.

He saw the inquiring gazes from both of his parents, looking back down at his hands before speaking.

"I just . . . um . . . heard something today. Something I didn't understand." Barry's eyes widened and he seriously prayed to whatever was above that Cisco didn't 'accidently' spill his secret identity to the kid when Barry had left Austin alone with him and his son Ajax to go and speak with his teacher.

"Why don't you tell us about it and we'll try to explain it to you?" Iris voiced softly, reaching out across the table and taking her son's hand. Austin nodded, Barry watching him carefully (reminded of a time when he was talking to his mother about getting beat up and their little secret about telling Henry that he had won instead).

Austin squirmed in his seat, seemingly not quite knowing how exactly to ask the problem bugging him. "Well . . . Noah was talking to Elijah at lunch today about how his grandma had baked him some chocolate chip cookies for lunch. I was just wondering . . . um," he went quiet for a moment, Iris sending a worried glance Barry's way before squeezing her son's hand in reassurance.

"Go on, Austin, it's okay. And?"

Austin looked up, eyes directly locking onto Barry's slumped form across from him.

"Daddy, why do all of these other kids have a grandma and I don't?"

When the question reaches Barry's ears, he's never wanted to run away faster. The temperature in the room seems to drop twenty degrees, Barry's lips forming a straight line and eyes holding a steely look. Iris knew what Barry was thinking, and she knew he wanted to run.

Being a father was a hurdle for him but this, this she knew was something he didn't expect. No one ever really gets over death, everyone knew that. Barry tried to say as far away from the subject as possible. You can't properly explain death to a child, can you?

Iris quickly moves her hand from holding Austin's to resting over Barry's and damn if she doesn't feel a slight tremble to his fingers.

"I mean," Austin continues, "all of the other kids are talking about how nice their grandmas are and everything and I've never, I've never seen mine. Do I have one? Is she super nice? Will she bake me cookies someday?"

Austin's innocence is what kept them going through the dark times; his simple outlook on the world.

It's what kept Iris going when she felt like she was on the verge of breaking down because of her father's health getting worse and worse and work being a knife in the back.

It's what kept Barry going when he was beaten and broken on the sidewalk somewhere, facing off against a raging fire or gun-wielding criminal that could end his life in an instant—"You may be the fastest man alive but bullets can still kill you and I need you to always come back to me. To us." As Iris had told him one time she was helping him clean off the blood from his aching body—Austin was what kept their lives bright.

He was their light in the darkness. Their way home when one of them strayed too far.

She's surprised when Barry talks before she can get any words out (get them unclogged from being stuck like cement in her throat). "You don't have a grandma, sport. She . . . she left us a long time ago. A bad man . . . took her from us." Austin looked confusedly at his father, whose eyes were becoming glassy the more he talked.

"Why did the bad man take her away?"

Barry reaches the hand that Iris isn't holding up to his mouth, making a fist and biting on it. Inside, the rage swirled around like lava. He waited a moment before lowering his fist, Iris looking at him cautiously.

"Because he didn't want me to be happy. He wanted to take away something I loved and he succeeded with that but he forgot something."

"What did he forget?"

"He forgot that I would never forget your grandma. He forgot that I would always remember her and how that would always keep me going. He forgot that taking her away," he stops when he voice cracks, Iris opening her mouth about ready to take over but Barry stopping her by gently squeezing her hand, "taking her away didn't stop me. It made me stronger." A tear slipped down his cheek and Iris reached over and wiped it off, Austin looking between each of his parents in somber muteness. "So no," Barry mumbled, looking down at his hands and then at his son, "you don't have a grandma, slugger. But that doesn't mean anything. She's still with us and she's protecting you every day. She's here."

He points to his heart, Austin watching him carefully. He waits a moment before raising his own hand and pointing to his own heart, Barry nodding with a sad smile. Then the older man stands up and walks over to his son, picking him up with a loud grunt as Austin laughs happily in his father's arms.

"Let's go and get you washed up, slugger. I'll tell you a few stories about Grandma Nora in the meantime."

"Was she the best grandma ever?"

Barry looks at Iris, whose own eyes are a glossy shade from his explanation, and smiles.

He smiles because he knows it's all he can do.

"Yeah Austin, she was the best. You would have loved her."

Later that night Barry walks into their shared bedroom with a hefty yawn, Iris putting down the novel she was reading on the nightstand next to the bed. "He's asleep. I told him about the time the Flash saved Central City from the singularity and he was out in seconds. Apparently, that's not my best superhero story."

Iris laughs as he throws off his tee shirt and crawls into bed beside her, Iris curling closer to him once he gets comfortable and tugs the blanket over both of them. "You handled explaining to Austin about Nora perfectly, you know." She murmured as her head nestled into his chest, one hand resting on his bare torso.

One of Barry's hands is unintentionally running through her long hair, carding through her natural curls as he hums in reply. "I didn't want to talk about death, about him, to our little guy. I don't want this world to ruin him, to hurt him. I wanna protect him from that."

Iris sighed, "I want that too, Bear." Silence follows her words for a few moments until Barry breaks it with a voice that's like a little kid's, a voice that reminds her of him from childhood.

"I miss her Iris. I miss her a lot."

Iris burrows herself as close to him as she can get, wrapping her arms around his bare waist. "I know you do Barry. I know."

They stay close, Iris wiping the tear trails (that he tried desperately to hide—failing miserably instead) off his cheeks once his breathing evens out to show that he's fallen asleep. Afterwards she kisses him tenderly on the forehead, feeling his arms tighten around her sleepily when she does so, and sighs before returning back to her original position with her head resting on his warm chest.

Then she presses a kiss to his chest, trailing her hand down his abs drowsily. "I'm so glad I have you Barry," she whispers, closing her eyes, "because I don't know what I would do without you." And in his sleep, Barry smiles. He smiles because of the fact that he's married to the love of his life. He smiles because of the fact that they have an adorable little son.

He smiles because Nora is in his dreams that night, telling him that he's doing an amazing job as a father and that she's proud of him.

He smiles because he can.