Author's Note: Just a mutli chapter story I started working on. Barry doesn't have powers in this. I'm picturing Wally as Michael B. Jordan, if you need a visual reference.
Wallace "Wally" West and his little sister Iris have always been close. At two years apart, they were thick as thieves and the best of friends. Their father, Joe was happy that his two children were so close. They were close even before their mother Kristina died. That bonded them and really made their bond unbreakable.
Wally was Iris' protector and there seriously wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his sister. He felt like that was his job as her older brother. Including keeping guys away from her. He had several friends throughout the years that liked Iris and wanted to get with her, but Wally was having none of that. He knew how guys, mainly his friends were, and didn't want to jeopardize relationships with them or with Iris, and especially Joe, by having something happen between a friend and iris. It was just something Wally wanted to avoid at all costs. Wally's friends surely came to realize that they were to look at Iris like their little sister too.
Except for one friend, Edward "Eddie" Thawne. He had a serious thing for Iris and really wasn't trying to hear Wally's 'Don't date my sister' rule. Wally and Eddie were very close, so he thought that if he talked to Wally first, he would give him clearance. It didn't happen that way, and Eddie wasn't too happy about it. He figured he would do what he wanted anyway and it caused the demise of their friendship.
It also caused a rift between Wally and Iris, but only for a little while. They couldn't go that long without talking to each other. It was hard enough at home, but they went to the same high school and ran in the same circles. Iris just accepted the fact that she had a father and a brother that were overly protective of her. She'd take that over them not caring at all.
So now, Iris and Wally were both in college, with Wally being a senior and Iris a sophomore. He was away at Starling City University on a track and field scholarship. Wally had always been a fast runner. He won several titles and awards in high school which caused him to get a free ride to school. Joe was especially thankful for that. He was raising two kids alone on a police detective's salary.
Wally was eager to get home to his father and sister. He missed them terribly since he wasn't able to go home during Thanksgiving. It was hard for him to miss that. The team had an important indoor track meet in Coast City. Wally was under obligation to be there since he's under scholarship. He hated that he was that far away from them and hadn't seen them since August before he left.
Iris was a little closer to home at Central City University, majoring in journalism. She too had a scholarship, though it was an academic one. She had always been an avid writer, and decided that writing was her calling. She had dreams of becoming an ace reporter and winning herself a Pulitzer. She was putting that out into the universe and hoped that it came back to her. Iris was a truly lovely person with a social butterfly persona, infectious and fun loving personality. It was hard not to love Iris West.
Wally truly thought his little sister was a perfect gem and wanted nothing but the best for her. He had no idea that the best for her was right under his nose.
Bartholomew "Barry" Allen is the son of Dr. Henry Allen, and the late Nora. Nora was murdered when Barry was just 11 years old right in front of him. Two masked men came into his house one night robbed them, and killed her. Henry was out on a call and came home to the tragedy. He tried to help his wife by tending to the huge butcher knife stuck in her chest. He wasn't able to save her, and was unjustly accused and convicted of killing her. They didn't believe 11 year old Barry. They thought he was just covering for his father. Henry's prints were on the knife. No one else's were except for Nora. Everybody believed he was guilty. Everyone except for his son.
Barry then went to live with distant relatives on his mother's side. He was essentially an orphan because his family held a lot of hostility, anger, and resentment towards Henry. They never let Barry visit him in prison and Barry often ran away because of it. When he became old enough, he went to see his father on his own.
He essentially was a genius and worked his butt of through school. He also was on the track team because the boy was fast. Really fast. The team dubbed him 'The Flash' because of how fast he ran. He actually got an academic and athletic scholarship. He was currently double majoring in Physics and Chemistry at Starling City University.
He had dreams of becoming a scientist. Science fascinated him more than anything in the world. So now he was just studying and running. His current semester of his sophomore year was over and Christmas was fast approaching. He hated this time of year because it reminded him too much of all that he lost and didn't have. He seriously didn't want to go stay with his relatives for nearly a month during winter break. He wished he could stay at school, but he couldn't. He wondered what he'd do with all that free time. It was easier during the summer because he could work and never be there, and spring break was a breeze as well. It was just this time of year that was making him nostalgic and missing his family.
He was dreading packing. His roommate Wally, however was eager to pack and get home. He couldn't wait. Barry envied that. But it wasn't Wally's fault that he was dreading going home and he had a nice and inviting home to go to. Barry was sitting on his bed, pretty much wallowing in self pity when Wally walked in.
"Hey Barry." Wally says as he sits down on his bed.
"Hey." Barry replies gravely.
"What's with you?"
"I'm just dreading going home. I don't really want to. I feel isolated from that part of my family."
Wally looks around. "Yeah, I see you haven't even started packing yet."
"Nope. I wish I could just stay here. I really don't want to see them. They still talk badly about my dad and I really don't want to hear how glad they are that I'm not just like him."
"I tell you what. How about you come home with me?" Wally asks.
"I can't do that. I don't want to impose on your family time." Barry says, though he's grateful that Wally offered.
"You can do that. You're my friend, teammate, and roommate and I'd hate to see you miserable when you don't have to be. The more the merrier at my house. Christmas is a big deal at our house."
"Are you sure? You're sure your father won't mind?" Barry asks.
"Yes I'm sure, and no he won't mind. So I think you need to start packing. I'm getting on the road in about 3 hours. We'll get there when everyone is sleep, but who cares. And now I don't have to drive all that way by myself."
"Thanks, man. I'll have to repay the favor one day." Barry says as he stands and goes to their shared closet.
"Don't mention it. And you're pitching in for gas too." Wally jokes as he stands as well.
"No problem. Are you really sure that's not too long to have a house guest? We're off for about a month."
"Nope. I told you, the more the merrier at my house. You'll love it there." Wally says.
"Ok. Cool." Barry says.
"Oh, and before we leave, I just have to make some ground rules." Wally says.
"Sure. You already know you can live with me and I'm not a slob." Barry jokes
"No, it's not that." Wally says.
"Then what is it?" Barry asks.
"My little sister is off limits." Wally says surely while he deadpans Barry.
"What? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a huge nerd that girls don't even like that much. And you're like my slightly older brother. I wouldn't dream of doing that. I can't wait to meet Iris though. So I can finally see what she looks like." Barry rambles on.
"Do you really think I'd put a picture up of my sister with all the guys that come through here? I don't need anybody jacking off to my sister's image." Wally says.
"Didn't need to hear that man." Barry says and starts pulling out clothes.
"Alright. Just saying."
Barry thinks for a minute. "You really think one of the guys would do that? Like really whack off to her picture?"
Wally looks at Barry like he's crazy. "We're talking about the guys here, Barry. Most of them aren't as straight laced and Mr. Rogers-esque like you are. Have you heard the way they talk?"
"I am not like Mr. Rogers." Barry says to his defense. "And yes I've heard it."
Wally again looks at Barry like he's crazy. "Yes, you are. You wear sweaters and plaid shirts, Barry. Come on. I won't hold that against you. Some other nerd girl will like you the way you are." He says as he pats Barry on the back.
"I get it. I'm an uber nerd." Barry says.
"There's nothing wrong with being a nerd, Barry. Steve Jobs was a nerd. Bill Gates is a nerd. And look at what they accomplished. At least you aren't totally one. You're at least athletic. Chicks dig that. Lose the sweaters, and I'll bet girls would be falling over you." Wally says.
"I happen to like my sweaters. But I'm a dork and a nice guy. We always finish last."
"I'm going to get you laid one of these days." Wally says and laughs.
"Thanks, but I'm good." Barry says and gets more clothes to pack.
"Oh, another heads up. I'm meeting my girl when I get home. It'll be so late, that you won't notice I'm gone. Just hang out in my room until I get back."
"You're seriously going to leave me alone in your house with people I don't know and don't know me?" Barry asks incredulously.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? You'll be like family in a day or two. My peeps are great. And you're kind of ok." Wally jokes.
"Very funny. Am I going to get to meet Linda too?" Barry asks.
"Probably. She gets home today too and I miss her. I haven't seen her since August when she left for school. We're meeting up tonight becaue I know her family will want to visit with her as well. Plus, you know the other thing." Wally says and smiles.
"Again, I didn't need to know that man."
"I promise I'm going to get you laid one day." Wally jokes and walks over to his bed.
Barry and Wally finished packing and set out to load up Wally's car with the insane amount of stuff they had. The trunk and back seat were packed to capacity. They then headed for the road and drove to Wally's house in Central City.
They arrived there well after midnight and the house was eerily quiet. Wally showed Barry to his room before he quickly showered, texted Linda, and was out the door. Barry made himself comfortable in Wally's room by watching a movie on his laptop. He soon dozed off and was startled awake by someone jumping on him while he was in the bed.
"Wake up you big lug! I missed you!" Iris says.
It startled Barry so much that he jumped and rolled over, knocking whomever was on top of him over in the bed. He looked over and was shocked to see a girl in the bed with him.
He heard a light scream and jumped from the bed as she did the same. She reached for the lamp on the nightstand and held it up towards him, ready to strike. He looked at the girl standing in front of him, holding a lamp, ready to hit him with it.
The girl looked utterly horrified and he figured he must too.
"You're not Wally. Who in the hell are you? And why are you in Wally's bed?!" She asks, pretty much demands as she changes her grasp on the lamp she's holding. She seriously looked like she was getting ready to pass a football.
"Uh….I'm Barry….Wally's roommate. I came home with him." Barry says nervously.
"Where in the hell is Wally?" She again pretty much demands again.
"Uh…He went to meet Linda." A flustered Barry says. Now that he has his composure he takes in the girl standing in front of him. She was short, well short to him since he's 6'2 and lanky. He noticed that she was very pretty and had the same skin tone as Wally. He figured she was Iris. "You must be Iris." He says and smiles awkwardly.
"Yeah. I'm Iris. Who are you again?" She asks as she sizes him up. She lowered the lamp, but didn't put it down. He was a tall and lanky guy, but she couldn't help but notice he was kind of cute. In a baby deer in headlights sort of way. He had green eyes that she thought were cute. He was wearing plaid pajama bottoms and no shirt. She quickly took in that he had a six pack. He also had nice arms that she subtly checked out.
Barry nervously walked towards her. "I'm Barry. Bartholomew Allen. I'm Wally's roommate and I'm on the track team with him." He says as he awkwardly stuck out his hand to her.
She finally put the lamp down. She had heard of Barry from Wally, but just finding some strange white dude in her brother's bed threw her for a loop.
Iris took his hand and was surprised at the size of his hands and how strong they felt. She felt warmth radiate through her when she shook his hand. "Hi. I'm Iris. West. I guess you already know that. I'm Wally's little sister. You said your name is Bartholomew?" She asks while she's still holding his hand.
"Yeah. I go by Barry though." Barry says and smiles at the incredibly gorgeous Iris. They were still holding hands.
She noticed the way his arms rippled as they shook hands. She thought Wally's roommate Barry was definitely cute.
Barry subtly checked Iris out as well. He knew he wasn't supposed to but she was gorgeous. She had on the same pants he has seen countless girls at their school wear, and a tank. He also noticed that she had something on her head. It looked like a shower cap, but it wasn't. It looked like it was satin or something. It didn't take away from how pretty she was. Barry now knew why Wally didn't put her picture up. His sister was absolutely gorgeous. And he was screwed. He suddenly remembered Wally's warning about his little sister being off limits and he took his hand away from hers. He cringed, then smiled at her awkwardly. He suddenly ran his hand through his hair. Iris was making him nervous.
Iris noticed how nervous he suddenly got after they kind of stared at each other for a while. He was probably wondering what she had on her head. The way he suddenly yanked his hand away let her know that Wally must have told him that she's off limits. Iris decided to make small talk anyway.
"So, you're the one they call 'The Flash'?" Iris asks subtly.
Barry blushed and slightly turned red. Well, the tips of his ears did. "Yeah. Wally told you that? Why am I asking you that? Of course he told you that. And now I'm rambling. Sorry….I get nervous around pretty girls." Barry rambled on then cringed at his last statement. "Sorry…I didn't mean to call you pretty….Not that you aren't. I just didn't mean to. And I'm going to shut up now."
Iris looked at him and just smiled at his adorable awkwardness. Barry was deliciously cute in that nerdy and awkward way that's hard to find. She liked guys like that and suddenly wondered if he wore glasses sometimes. He would be hot in glasses, she thought. She shook that from her mind because she wasn't supposed to think one of Wally's friends is cute. She already made that mistake with Eddie. But there was something about Barry.
"It's ok, Barry. I did kind of startle you out your sleep. I didn't mean to just jump on you like that. I thought you were Wally. And thanks for calling me pretty. I don't usually get that from Wally's friends." Iris rambles as well.
"Don't tell him I said that." Barry says.
"I won't. He's kind of protective over me." Iris states surely.
"Yeah, he is. You mean a lot to him."
"He told you I'm off limits, didn't he?" Iris asks.
Barry nervously shifts. "Yeah, he did. I can see why. He doesn't even have your picture up in our room because he doesn't want-. Nevermind."
"You sure ramble a lot, Barry." Iris teases.
"Only around pretty girls." He says and blushes. "Damn. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's ok, Bear." Iris says.
"Bear?" He asks.
"I didn't mean to call you Bear, Barry. Sorry." Iris apologizes.
"No, I like it. You can call me Bear if you want to." He says and blushes even more. This one makes his whole face turn red.
Iris felt like she needed to get away from Barry before she said something else. "Well, Bear. It was nice meeting you. I'm going back to my room to sleep some more. I was so excited about seeing Wally that I woke up too early. Sorry for waking you." She says and smiles widely.
Barry thought her smile could make a blind person see. Iris was breathtakingly gorgeous. And off limits. Life seemed unfair. "That's ok. You can just make it up to me somehow." He suggests. He knew he was trying to flirt with her despite her making him nervous and her being off limits.
Iris raised an eyebrow to him. She blushed this time. "I'll keep that in mind. See you later Bear." She says as she walks away. Barry watched her leave the room. He was so glad that Wally wasn't there to witness the exchange between him and his sister.
Iris went to her room and got back in her bed. She tried to put the cute and awkward guy in her brother's room out of her mind. She soon drifted back off to sleep.
Down the hall, Barry got back in Wally's bed and tried not to think about Iris. He knew he couldn't think about her in that way. He was now glad that Wally hadn't put her picture up. He'd be doing exactly what Wally didn't want him to do. Iris was gorgeous. He hadn't seen a girl that gorgeous ever. And there were some really pretty girls at his university. But he knew that Iris was special because of how Wally adored her. He was starting to wish he hadn't come home with Wally. It was going to be a long month.
He was sitting there lost in thought when Wally came in. "Hey Barry."
"Hey. Did you have fun?" Barry asked. He suddenly felt guilty.
"Of course I did. I hadn't seen Linda in months. Now I'm hungry."
"Yeah, me too."
"Well, throw on a shirt and we'll head to the kitchen." Wally says.
Barry jumped up and looked through his suitcase and found a Starling City University tee shirt and put it on. "I just need the bathroom first." He says as he grabs his toiletry bag.
"It's right next door."
Barry headed to the bathroom and came back minutes later. He followed Wally downstairs where he saw who could only be Wally's father Joe.
"Welcome home, son." Joe says as he pulls him into a bear hug.
"It's great to be home. Dad, this is Barry. The one I told you about. He's gonna be staying here with us." Wally says.
Joe walked over and gave Barry a hug that surprised him. Made him realize how much he missed his own father. "Hello, Barry. It's nice to meet you. Happy to have you here." Joe says sincerely. He knew about Barry's backstory and knew how much of a good kid he was and good friend to Wally.
"Thanks, Mr. West." Barry says.
"Call me Joe." He says. Joe patted Barry on the back and went back over to the counter. "You guys want coffee? I know you want breakfast."
"Yeah." Wally says as he walks over to the fridge and looks in. Barry went to sit at the table and realized how much at home he felt. Wally was right. He never felt that welcomed even at his relatives' house. He was glad he came home with Wally. Then Iris came bumbling into the kitchen. Barry felt something stir inside him. She was another reason he was glad he came home with Wally.
Iris ran and literally jumped in Wally's arms. "Wally! I missed you!" She says as she hugs him. Seeing how excited she was to see her big brother made Barry smile. Then he started checking her out again. He noticed that he could now see her hair and it was long and slightly curled. He also noticed that she was wearing his Starling City University Track sweatshirt. He knew it was his because it was red. Wally had the gray one. He wondered why she was wearing his sweatshirt, though he didn't mind.
"I missed you too, Iris." Wally says as he swings her around. He finally put her down. "Hey, I want you to meet Barry." Wally says happily.
Iris smiled widely. "We already met." She says and subtly winked at Barry.
"Really? How? When?" Wally asks as he looks over at Barry.
"I came to your room looking for you and I found Barry there instead. And I hope you don't mind me getting my girly smell all over you sweatshirt, but I kinda missed wearing your things." She says and again smiles widely.
"You couldn't have missed it that much." Wally says.
"Why?" Iris wonders.
"Because that's Barry's sweatshirt." Wally says sarcastically as he looks from Iris to Barry.
"I'm sorry, Barry. I thought it belonged to this jerk. Do you want me to take it off?" She asks.
Barry knew he turned red at her asking him that. "No, it's cool." He replies. He got a little kick out of her wearing his shirt. He saw the way Wally was looking at him. He put that thought out of his mind.
"I'll wash it for you when I'm done." Iris says.
"No, that's fine. It's just a sweatshirt." He almost told her she could keep it, but knew that wouldn't go over well.
"So, are you guys hungry?" Iris asks to change the subject.
"Of course we're hungry. We live off campus food. Neither one of us has had a home cooked meal since August." Wally says.
"What about you, Bear?" Iris asks and Wally, Joe, and Barry look at her.
"Bear?" Wally asks as he looks from Iris to Barry.
"I meant, Barry." Iris says.
"Yeah, right." Wally says and gets juice from the fridge. He found it funny for some reason. Probably because he knows that Barry is harmless. He's pretty sure the dude is still a virgin and Iris better be.
"So what do you guys want? Pancakes, waffles, omelets, French toast?" Iris asks.
"All of the above." Wally jokes.
"I kinda have to agree." Barry says.
"She is not fixing all that." Joe says almost sternly.
"He's right, I'm not. Since Barry is the guest, we'll have him choose." Iris says. She looks at Barry and discreetly mouthed 'French toast'.
"I guess I'll choose French toast." Barry says.
Iris smiled widely again at the adorably cute Barry. "Good choice, Bear. I mean Barry." She says and gets to work.
Wally looked at Barry and went and sat down. He sat across from Barry and just looked at him.
"My sister is off limits." Wally says under his breath and smiles.
I'm dead, Barry thought to himself.
Let me know what you think. Yay or Nay? Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are hugs!