A/N: A little late, but I was pretty busy yesterday and then I was feeling all out of sorts. Here it is though! And I'm pretty sure I more than made up for it with the cuteness factor. Enjoy!

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

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Was it possible to be this happy?

Four and a half weeks of dating Barry and Iris couldn't imagine a time when she'd felt more alive, more at peace, more motivated to live and to breathe if it meant spending time with Barry. If it meant being his girlfriend.

Barry Allen's girlfriend.

That's who she was now. Or, part of who she was at least. The part that made her the most happy. The part of her that had most recently developed.

She went to bed every night thinking about that, about him. She woke up every morning the same way. He texted her goodnight and he texted her good morning. He stopped by her office every day with either coffee, flowers, or brownies. Sometimes he came with all three.

He was always grinning at her, always smiling. She knew she was returning the favor because whenever he left her office he did so by walking backward, and without fail he always bumped into the doorframe, blushing promptly.

Linda had stopped asking why Iris took longer to write articles now or why she sometimes just stared at the gifts Barry had dropped off for a total of ten minutes, biting down on her bottom lip and smiling unabashedly.

"Shameful. To think Iris West is reduced to this." She'd teased once, shaking her head.

Iris hadn't even tried to defend herself. She barely looked up to acknowledge the jest. All she could think about was the next time she'd see Barry. As if he could read her mind, usually soon after that she'd get a text from him asking if she was free that evening.

She was always free. When she wasn't she was more upset by that fact than by the disappointment she knew would be etched onto that puppy dog face of his when she had to break the bad news to him.

Not even with Eddie had she felt this insatiable joy and need to be close to him, to spend every waking moment that wasn't spent at work to be near him. She wished she'd taken a second look at him sooner, that it hadn't taken them so long to say how they felt about each other and to not have the complication of being in a relationship with somebody else.

But that was all in the past now. The present was so pure and so wonderful that all the pain and frustration that had brought them to this point all felt worth it.

She was quickly becoming addicted to Barry's kisses too. He was really good at kissing her.

She knew he'd had girlfriends in the past, at least three that she'd met. If he had any girlfriends in college, he never talked about it. So that was explanation enough that he knew how to kiss. It was also totally possible that he was just a natural. Barry was a quick learner. That only increased after he became the Flash.

She thought so much about his kisses that her mind often traveled down a darker path and wondered what else he would be good at.

No, she scolded herself time and again. They had only been dating a little over a month. She couldn't want that. Or, at least she couldn't voice that want.

But it was definitely a want. She lingered on his body when she didn't think he was watching. She thought about it at night and had more than her share of wet dreams. Her best friend – now boyfriend – was ridiculously attractive. Combine that with how much he loved her and how much she—

Oh.

There it was. Another thing that hadn't happened yet.

It made her uncomfortable to think about, that she hadn't said those three words. Or four. That she hadn't directly said I love you, Barry.

It wasn't a question of if she did or not. Of course she did. She always had. It had just taken him telling her how he felt for her to realize it. Things had gotten complicated after that, but it never changed how she felt.

And it wasn't that she doubted how he felt either. Everything he did and said and the way he looked at her indicated he was very much in love. She hadn't seen him act this way around any other girl.

But he hadn't repeated the words he'd confessed two Christmases ago, nervous and guilty as he was and probably very certain that she didn't feel the same way or wouldn't reciprocate if she did. Because of Eddie.

In her mind, it was definitely his turn.

It had taken her awhile to come around, but ever since then she'd initiated almost everything. Sure, he'd propositioned moving forward in their relationship before his dad died. And yes, he'd definitely been the one to make that first kiss as happen, as well as almost all of their dates. His favorite words to say were "so, you wanna…?"

Awkward shoulder shrugging and head gesturing often followed the question that was implied there. Sometimes his hands flailed about and he knocked things over on her desk or tripped over some item on the carpet that wasn't actually there.

She liked to wait to respond because he was so adorably on edge that she might say no or the justifiable I'm busy. Her eyes often twinkled though when she put him out of his misery and responded with an "Oh, I wanna."

His audible sigh of relief combined with a blistering smile made her pull him close and kiss him always. She couldn't help it. He was irresistible and adorable and he was all hers.

"Get a room!" Linda would call out if she was passing by.

Sometimes Iris would get up and shut the door and come back to him when that happened. Either that or Barry would speed her outside to a secluded area. Regardless, they would make out for a good five minutes before another obligation, responsibility or distraction forced them to part ways.

They weren't moving fast though. They were moving just right. It wasn't like they had just met either, so maybe confessions of love said this early wouldn't threaten to break the happy bubble that had surrounded them from that very first kiss.

But why did he need to hear it? Surely he knew how she felt. She'd said plenty of things before they started dating that implied that she did. I practically said we were destined. Shouldn't that be enough? she defended herself over and over when He's never heard you say those words in that way popped into her head.

Her Barry was such a romantic. Despite his speechlessness the first time she'd told him how she felt, with how far they'd come, she couldn't imagine him not reciprocating now.

The mere thought of those words, I love you, too, sent shivers down her spine and put her heart into full flutter mode. It made her realize that despite her uncertainty, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to put it all out there. She wanted him to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that yes, she was that far along. She loved him more than she'd ever loved anyone and she wouldn't ever love anyone but him ever again. The possibility that someone could love this deeply threatened to overwhelm her but it didn't make it any less true.

The excuse that she'd defiantly used in past weeks, that he hadn't said it again yet; and the unspoken, rarely thought one – that maybe it would be more special if it was said when they slept together for the very first time – seemed awfully pathetic now.

Why should she – why should they – have to wait till then? Whenever that magical moment came upon them, she knew it would be special regardless. It didn't need secret ingredients like first love confessions or even a planned romantic atmosphere to make it incredibly meaningful for both of them.

The bottom line was she'd been in love with him long before they'd been on the same page. His eagerness to be with her after she'd nervously confessed how she felt told her loud and clear that his feelings had never gone away and probably hadn't lessened any either.

So, okay, she would say it. And soon. She was impatient to do it even now. Because she could hear his voice in her head, the gentle whisper, the passionate proclamation, the rough, choked-up reciprocation.

I love you, too.