A/N: Hey guys! Sorry updates have slowed down, I have quite a bit to do before Christmas; anyways, this one is a request, particularly's Zephyr Sprite's request of Caitlin/Ronnie + WestAllen nightmares! I know this is only WestAllen (and I changed the context of the nightmare up a tad), but I'll probably do Caitlin and Ronnie sometime in the future~! I hope you enjoy it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Flash!

summary; being afraid of being alone in the dark wasn't his biggest fear anymore. It was losing the woman he loved to the man in the yellow suit. (WestAllen)

- she had such cold, cold hands

hands that once held him so near

and he longed to bring warmth back to her fingers

and vowed to never let her go cold again -

He was screaming, the world around him a bright and angry red. There were voices all around him, suffocating him, attacking him. Familiar voices, sounds, from memories that his dreams would never bring up. His mother's face flashed before him, and he desperately reached out to try and touch her. To try and grab her, hold her close one last time. But she was just out of reach. The street he ended up on whirled around him, taunting him for all the mistakes he made that night. For all the heartbreak a single man had caused. Even years later, he wondered almost every night if he could have done anything to prevent it. And came up blank, time and time again.

The flashes of images came faster and faster, bloodied visions of dead bodies and streak of thunder. He yelled out, purely on instinct. But his words were lost to the symphony of horror he was encompassed by. Nora Allen's screams were all he heard, and he desperately pleaded with a higher deity to make it all stop. Go away. Leave him be, for a single night.

Suddenly, the entire atmosphere changed. The red skies were awash with black, and there was a chill in the air. Barry looked around, confused and disorientated. He knew he was dreaming, and yet his senses weren't picking up on that key fact. His mind knew this wasn't real, but his body did not. A foreboding feeling washed over him, turning his skin clammy and setting his nerves on edge.

And then there was Iris in front of him, her mouth open in a silent scream and tears running down her cheeks. Her hands were outstretched, as if she was reaching for someone. Him. But what was she scared of? Why was she alone, looking so lost and hopeless?

He took in the fear and pain in her eyes, mind whirling, and lifted his gaze to the inky horizon behind her. And his heart stopped at the sight of the man in the yellow suit.

"Iris!" He yelled. "Iris! Look out, you have to move. You have to-!"

He was too late. The Reverse Flash shoved his hand through Iris' chest, the appendage coming out of the other side covered in slick, red blood. Her blood. A strangled, wet cry fell from his crush's lips, and he found himself screaming with her.

"Iris!" He was sobbing now, tears blurring his vision. "Iris, no!"

And suddenly he was awake.

With a loud curse, he shot out of bed, and nearly banged heads with the very woman he had been dreaming of mere moments before. But that hadn't been a dream; that had been his worst nightmare, painted for him by his subconscious.

"God, Barry, I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes now," Iris was worried, he could tell. It was in here eyes; to him, she was an open book. "You were thrashing around and crying out for your mom for a bit, and then for me. What were you dreaming about?"

He didn't respond; instead, he reached over to her and pulled her into his arms, burying his face into her hair. All he needed was to know that she was alive, that she was safe and not dead. Not in danger. Thankfully, the dark-haired beauty didn't resist, simply running a hand through his messy hair to soothe him. Iris still didn't know the context of the nightmare, but it was extremely rare for Barry to scream and thrash the way he had mere minutes ago. And it scared her. Much to her dismay, he was used to the nightly terrors of his mother's death. This was far, far worse than the usual.

They stayed like that for a while, holding each other tightly and sitting in silence. They didn't need words; Barry needed Iris, needed to know she was here and safe, and Iris would never turn her back on her best friend when he needed her the most.

Barry finally spoke. "Iris, will you...will you promise me something?"

It was selfish. And it could prove to be futile, he knew, but he needed the verbal confirmation that she wouldn't throw herself into danger needlessly. Iris nodded, gesturing for him to go on.

"Promise me," he began quietly. "That you'll never leave me."

She blinked a few items, the seriousness in his tone throwing her off. But it didn't take much for her to see just how desperate Barry was for an answer. And she she gave it, with a reassuring smile on her lips.

"Never."

A/N: Hey now, there's some fluff! Hopefully I can put up a few more soon enough. Many thanks for all the requests, keep 'em coming! Moreover, thank you everyone for the kind words and encouragement, they really do help me! So, as always, I'd love to read your thoughts and your new suggestions for future chapters...and now I leave you with some trademark angst! (Because, hey, why not?)

He was screaming, pleading to every god he knew of that this was a dream, a hallucination. But no, her cold, lifeless body was on the floor in front of him and there was absolutely nothing he could do to bring her back. Nothing. Her blood soaked his hands, her clothes, turning everything a dark crimson.

"You promised, Iris!" He screamed, his words lost to the wind. Lost to her. "You promised you would never leave!"