Barry blew through in a maelstrom of light and wind. One minute he was running through the speed force after leaving the strange world that belonged to a strange, pretty super alien, and the next he was back inside the familiar center of STAR Labs. Out of the peripheral of his vision, he saw three figures standing behind the familiar console, and despite his brain still attempting to wrap itself around the capricious turn of events, Barry removed his cowl in relief and anxiety while turning to face his friends.
"I'm back!" he proclaimed with a mixture of relief and happiness, only to notice the stunned expression in the three faces staring at him. Fear began to build up in the pit of his stomach as he began to fear for the worse. "How long have I been gone?"
Both Cisco and Caitlin immediately started making their ways toward him as both started spouting off details, concerns, and questions as they started fawning over him and studying the mechanism on his chest. Barry tried paying attention to them as he found a thousand more questions spinning through his head, but he found his eyes straying to the lone figure still standing behind the console.
Iris West was always beautiful; in fact, most times, she was the very epitome of beauty in Barry's eyes. But as she stood there gazing at him dressed in a stunning red dress that enhanced the warmth of her brown skin, with a wide grin on her lips and her eyes twinkling with happiness and unshed tears, he found himself completely and utterly shell shocked by how completely and utterly breathless she made him. Even as Cisco tore the mechanism from him and Caitlin started demanding that he step down in order for her to take blood and do tests, Barry found himself incapable of taking his eyes from Iris who had yet to stop smiling at him but had yet to make a move to come to him. Everything else in the world was just periphery noise with Iris being his sole focus. In the midst of all the questions and uncertainty, she was clarity. More than ever, he felt his hands and arms itching to reach out and hold her – to bury his fingers in her silk hair while he held her close. After facing the possibility of never seeing her again, he needed something to reaffirm his place in this world – her world – the only place that he truly belonged.
Barry took a step toward her, ready to go to her and embrace her, and a strong burst of warmth filled his chest when he noticed her taking an answering step toward him as well, but Caitlin's firm grasp on his arm kept him tethered to his current spot, earning a frown from him when he was finally able to tear his gaze from Iris to face the geneticist.
"We have to do tests to make sure that everything with you is all right," she stated firmly as her hand started pulling him toward her station with Cisco still chattering about the object that Barry had retrieved from National City in an alternate universe.
Barry pulled his arm from Caitlin's strong hold and started to protest her pushing him when he looked up and saw Iris take out her phone and frown at the screen. Before he could call out to her, his best friend shot him a small apologetic smile and held her finger up to him, silently asking him to wait for a moment, before she walked out into the hallway with her phone pressed to her ear. With every step she took farther away from him, the more he felt his previous happiness slowly begin to slip away until she disappeared and with her all of his previous contentment. Somewhat defeated, he reluctantly followed Caitlin to their med bay.
He sat still through the examination and answered both Caitlin's and Cisco's frenzied questions but his gaze continuously strayed to the door as each second that passed only made him more and more anxious. When Caitlin finally gave him the all-okay, Iris finally reappeared, but her lips were turned down in a frown and her eyes looked troubled. Even when she tried to smile at him reassuringly, Barry could tell that there was something wrong, and he was eager to find out what it was.
"Um, I have to go guys," Iris declared with a small sigh. "My boss just called and told me that I'm really needed at the office, so I have to get back."
Barry immediately rose to his feet. "I'll walk you out," he offered eagerly.
The tension in her shoulders eased at his suggestion and a warm smile slid across her lips as her eyes lit up with a spark of her previous happiness. "That would be great," she agreed readily.
"So what's got you so down?" Barry asked as they entered the elevator. "You looked happy before you got the call."
Iris rolled her eyes and released another sigh. "It was Scott who called."
When she failed to expound, Barry furrowed his brows. "What's so bad about that? I thought you liked him." The last statement made him feel like a rock had been dropped into the pit of his stomach, but he forced his tone to remain light.
"I did- I mean I do, but he's been kinda standoffish with me lately," she replied with a huff as she nervously tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She then released a heavy breath and rubbed her fingers across her brow as she continued on. "He asked me to go on an official date with him and I agreed, but I had to cancel when you disappeared and both Cisco and Caitlin were worried that you had been lost for good.
"Scott said he was fine with me canceling, but he's been withdrawn from me lately, and it hasn't really helped that I've been working from STAR Labs because I wanted to wait for you to come back, either. I guess I've tested his patience enough because when he called, just now, he basically ordered me to come back to the office so he could see the story I was suppose to be working on, which I luckily completed last night."
She released a heavy breath as she lowered her hand to look up into Barry's worried gaze. "I just have this strong feeling that he's going to want to talk when I get back, and frankly, I don't really want to think about it, right now. I just want to be happy that you're home and that you're safe, which is what really matters to me. I want to bask in the relief of you being home, you know?"
Barry frowned, hating how stressed she seemed to be. "God, Iris, I'm so sorry! I never-"
Iris held her hand up to him, silencing the sorrowful litany on his lips. "No, you don't need to apologize, Bar'. None of this is your fault, so don't go trying to make it about you when it isn't," she stated firmly as she reached out her raised hand and grasped his firmly within it. Her eyes began to twinkle with a sheen of unshed tears. "You already carry such a heavy burden on your shoulders. I don't want you to try and carry mine, too."
He could not stop the grin from spreading across his lips as he squeezed her hand firmly in his own. "Sorry, I can't help it, sometimes. I just hate seeing you sad," he replied quietly.
"Well, if you don't want me to be sad, then just don't disappear again, Bar," Iris said sternly as a single tear slid from the corner of her eye. "I always get so scared when you're gone. I already nearly lost you once, and I don't want to go through that again."
Reaching out with his free hand, Barry wiped away the wet streak on her cheek with his thumb before brushing the back of his fingers against the freshly dried skin. He felt his heart pound heavily inside his chest when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, but when her eyes fluttered back open, he forced the spit in his mouth past the lump that had grown in his throat and forced a smile onto his lips.
"I'll try not to disappear again, Iris," he said gently, but both of them could hear the uncertainty in the way he said it. Iris did nothing to object because as much as she hated it, she understood that he could never make such a promise. He was the Flash. Fate could always rip him away.
The elevator doors opened and the two of them walked out and headed towards the parking lot in admirable silence. It wasn't until they reached Iris's car and she pulled away to reach for her car keys inside her purse that Barry realized that they had held hands the whole way out.
"I think Dad's going to want to see you, so I think you'd better go see him, now," Iris remarked, not the least bit fazed by them holding hands the whole way there. "He's probably going to make something special for dinner, so I guess I'll see you there."
Barry nodded his head as he flexed his hand, which felt as though it was going through withdrawals at the loss of her hand. "Yeah, I'll head over to the precinct, right now. Singh probably has a lot of words for me and a crap-load of work, too."
He turned and started walking away, his head already full with everything that had happened as well as what was going to be waiting for him ahead, when he heard Iris calling out his name. Pausing a few feet away from her car, he turned his head and gazed at her over his shoulder.
"I almost forgot something," she remarked before she closed her car door once more.
Barry furrowed his brow as he opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing. The question was left unasked, however, as he found himself caught off guard by her suddenly running to him, crossing the short distance between them in a handful of strides. He expected her to stop before reaching him, but when she was less than a foot away from him and showed no signs of slowing, he merely opened his arms and braced for impact, which came less than a second later.
Her arms came up and wrapped around his shoulders as her feet left the ground. Barry's own arms circled around her waist as an almost involuntary grunt escaped his lips at the force in which she had collided with him. None of that mattered, however, as he soaked in the warmth of her body pressed to his and inhaled the scent of her shampoo and perfume all mixed together in one perfectly Iris scent. One hand grasped the cloth of her red dress at her back while the other became lost in her silky hair as he held her close. Feeling her against him and being able to hold her made him realize that for the first time since returning to his universe, he finally felt like he was home.
"Thank you, Barry," Iris whispered into his ear as her arms remained wrapped around his shoulders.
"For what?" he asked back as she finally pulled away and he reluctantly dropped her back down to her feet.
Iris smiled warmly up into his face with her hands still on his shoulders. "For coming back."
Smirking back, Barry shook his head and stared deeply into her honey-brown eyes. "I'll always come back to you, Iris."
This time when he spoke, they both heard the promise in his words and the strong conviction in his voice that revealed he would do anything to keep it. Even if it was not voiced aloud, both of them understood that a vow had just been made. Should fate ever pull Barry away, he would always find his way back because as long as Iris was waiting for him, he would be looking for a way to return to her. For Barry Allen, Iris West would always be his tether – his home.