Barry stared at his reflection in the mirror, sighing heavily. "Well, this is as good as its gonna get." He said at last as he turned around to face his best friend. "Tell me the truth. How stupid do I look?"
"Honestly, dude, you don't look that bad." Cisco told him. "Except the sleeves. Why are they only pushed half up?" The young man reached out to attempt to tug his friends sleeves down, but Barry stepped away.
"Linda said girls find it attractive? I don't know why, but I'm clueless when it come to girls. I'm trusting her on this one."
"What's that logic about?" Cisco asked.
"I dunno." He replied.
Barry had been leaving his Philosophy class that Friday when Linda stopped him in the hall. She had been stepping off of the elevator when she spotted him exiting the class room and called his name to gain his attention. At first he just smiled at her and said hello, offering her a friendly wave, but then she continued the conversation. Apparently she had heard about the date he had planned with Iris and she wanted to be certain that he was going to make the night special—and that apparently included his planned wardrobe.
"What are you wearing for your date tomorrow night?" The petite girl asked as she fell in step at his side.
"I dunno." Barry responded. "I haven't really thought about it. Why?"
"Because I'm helping Iris plan her outfit, and I want to make sure that you look nice too."
"Like, dress shirt and tie nice?"
"No, dummy." Linda cut in. "But like," sighing, the girl paused mid sentence, stepping in front of the taller boy forcing him to stop mid step. "Okay, do you have any green cloths? Like a nice sweater or something?"
"Maybe? I mean, I think so, yea."
"Perfect." She told him. "Make sure you wear it tomorrow."
He looked at her, lack of understanding written all over his face as he gave a soft awkward laugh. "What, are you color coordinating us or something?"
"What?" His dates best friend asked with a laugh. "No, of course not. That would be stupid for a first date. No. Your eyes are green dumb ass. The green sweater will make your eyes pop." She mimed a popping gesture with her hands as she spoke.
"Oh." Barry muttered softly. "You're giving me fashion tips."
Linda rolled her eyes. "And make sure you push the sleeves up to your elbows, until it gets colder anyway."
"Hu? Why?"
"It's a thing that girls find attractive on guys." The girl said animatedly, bobbing her head as she spoke. "I don't know why, it just is. Just trust me on this one. And have fun tomorrow night."
"I swear," Cisco laughed, shaking his head. "I will never understand woman."
"Yea, well, that makes two of us." Barry agreed with a laugh, giving his friend a gentle push as he headed out for his date.
…...
"Are you sure this isn't too casual for a first date?" Iris asked her room mate. "I feel like I should be wearing a dress or something."
"A dress Iris? Really? You're going to a carnival, okay? Not the Carnegie Hall."
"I don't mean a ball gown, Linda." The journalist laughed with an eye roll. "But are you sure I shouldn't be wearing a sun dress or a Maxi-dress or something?"
When Iris had returned to their dorm after working on the assignment with Barry, Linda had been waiting there for her. Her best friend had been perched in her desk chair, a sheepish look on her face.
"Okay, be honest." Linda began. "How pissed off are you?"
"I was planning on killing you tonight and posting the 'room mate wanted' fliers in the morning." Iris started, and her best friend winced. "But then he asked me out, so I think I've now down-graded to just wanting to break your nose."
"Wait, he asked you out?" Linda asked excitedly, a proud grin making its way onto her face. "You're welcome."
"Wow." Iris deadpanned. "Modest much?"
"Okay, okay, I know." Her room mate was still smiling, practically bouncing in her seat. "But seriously? He asked you out? When's the date? Where are you going? And how did he ask you? I want to know everything!"
Iris smiled, sitting on her bed and finding herself in an easy conversation with her best friend to fill her in, and just like that, things were back to normal between the two of them again.
"Iris." Linda said, fixing her friend with a stern glare that meant business. "You look amazing. And, in those jeans? If he doesn't look at your ass at least once tonight, you should seriously consider re-evaluating just how into you he really is."
Laughing, Iris rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the mirror as she pulled her hair back into a high pony tail, leaving a few loose strands to fall and frame her face. She wore a pair of stone-washed high-waist jeans—which Iris had to admit, did wonders for her figure—and a thin black long-sleeved shirt. The shirt had a low-cut neck line and three black buttons sewn into the fabric for decoration. Over her shirt a white and black Aztec-print cardigan hung loosely around her slender yet curvy frame. She had a pair of dark brown soft leather hiking boots on her feet, the ankles of her jeans tucked neatly into them, and a gold chain with a circular amethyst pendant hung from her neck. Her makeup was done in natural hues—her mascara, eyeliner, and deep red rose color tinted lips the only indications that she was even wearing any.
"Are you sure I look okay for a first date?" Iris asked one final time as she grabbed her phone.
"Yes!" Her best friend shouted in excitement. "Now get the hell out of here and go on your date already. Have fun, break some hearts, you've got this girl."
"Okay." She said. Smiling at her room mate, Iris made her way out the door. Behind her she could hear Linda calling, "And I want to hear details when you get back missy!" as she left.
...
When Iris arrived at the fair grounds that evening Barry was already there waiting for her, which she found surprising considering he had a bad habit of being late for class almost every day. He was wearing a pair of dark denim jeans, black Converse, and a fuzzy green cardigan over what appeared to be a black t-shirt. He had, impossibly, somehow found a way to be even more adorable. Smiling as her eyes found her date for the evening standing among the crowd, she made her way over to him. "Hey stranger." She said out loud as she got within his hearing range.
"Iris, hi." Barry breathed, looking her up and down. "You look amazing, Iris. Wow."
"Thanks Barry." She smiled. "You're looking extra adorable tonight."
He laughed nervously, a blush creeping onto his face as he reached a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks. I um, I bought the tickets already, if you wanted to head in?"
"Absolutely." Iris beamed.
Barry made a sweeping gesture with his arms towards the entrance. "After you, Miss. West."
With a smile on her face, she began walking towards the entrance. As she walked past him his gaze shifted, only for a moment, to admire her figure and to appreciate the way her outfit accentuated all of her curves perfectly. She glanced behind her and caught the gesture, however quick his action might have been, and smiled to herself. It appeared that Linda had been right about the outfit after all.
"Okay, ladies choice." Barry announced once they were inside the gate. "Where to first?"
"Wow, such a smooth talker, Barry Allen. Who knew?" Iris teased.
Her companion rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny." He told her. "But seriously, where to?" He was laughing by the time he finished talking.
"Uh, how about we start with some food? That way we won't have to worry about stopping the fun later when we get hungry."
"That sounds like a good plan to me." Barry said with a smile as he began walking in the direction of the food stands. "Any preference on the food?"
Together, they made their way to one of the booths and ordered there food, two orders of loaded fries, hot dogs, and iced teas. After that they found an empty table and sat down to eat, easily falling into a conversation. They kept it light and teasing at first, with their usual back and forth banter, until Iris asked a question that lead to a much more serious conversation than they had ever had before.
"Why forensic science?" She asked him curiously. "You're so smart, Barry. And there's plenty of fields in science that you could have picked. What made you choose forensics?"
It was a simple question, and she had been curious why he chose that career path over any other. The answer she got was something that she wasn't expecting.
"My parents." He began, and she could see just a little bit of the light in his green eyes fade away as he seemed to recall the memory. "My mom was killed when I was eleven. They arrested my dad, but he didn't kill her. I was there, I know he didn't do it. But the evidence was pretty damming, and they all saw a kid trying to cope with what happened by making up stories."
He paused. And looked down at the table, lifting his shoulders in a gentle shrug. "I guess I just want to find a way to help people, so no one ends up in a foster system if they don't have to. Maybe a part of me still hopes that I can prove my dad innocent somehow too? And I have no clue why I'm telling you all of this. This is so not a conversation to have on a first date."
He let out a soft, forced laugh. Iris subconsciously reached across the table to take his hand, every fiber of her being wanting to take the hurt look from his eyes and bring some of the light back.
"I had no idea, Barry." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and after giving their intertwined hands a quick glance, he looked up to meet her gaze. Iris was rewarded by a soft smile gracing his lips.
"I know you didn't." Barry told her. "It's not really the kind of thing you tell someone when you first meet them, you know?"
Iris nodded, her hand never leaving his, and at her nod he continued, trying to make the conversation light again. "What about you Iris? Why did you pick journalism?"
"I'm a good writer, for starters." She told him, sensing that he was hoping to lighten the conversation and doing her best to respect that. Her comment earned her another smile and she continued. "I don't really know. I guess I've always just loved the idea of being able to inspire people, to share stories of hope. To be able to give a voice to the voiceless. Sorry, I know how corny that must sound." She finished with a soft laugh.
He quickly shook his head. "No, not at all. And you can be pretty damn inspiring when you wanna be. And you're an amazing writer, Iris, and an amazing person. You're going to be a great journalist, and I think you're going to inspire a lot of people."
She gave him a bright but gentle smile, and only hoped it was enough to show him just how much his words had meant to her. "Thank you. That means so much to me. Especially coming from you."
He smiled at her, and transitioned into a new conversation, making some stupid joke that made her laugh. Her laugh had to be one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard in his life. He'd do almost anything to her hear her laugh like that. The rest of the meal continued in the same way, Barry and Iris taking turns making some stupid joke just so they could hear each other laugh. As they were throwing their trash away once they finished eating she looked to her date and said, "Alright, it's your turn to pick. What's next?"
Barry took a moment to look around at the booths near by before deciding. He pointed to one of the games, the one where you had to shoot a water gun at a target to win a prize. "That one? I'm a terrible shot, but it's worth a try, right?"
Iris smiled at him, he really was adorable. "Well lucky for you, I'm a great shot. So definitely worth a try."
He returned her smile and lead her in the direction of the booth. When he got there he handed the worker their tickets, and the man explained the rules of the game. In short, they were suppose to aim at the target and the first one to make the bobber reach the top won.
"Good luck." Iris said as she picked up her water gun and took aim.
"You too." Barry said as the bell rang, signaling the start of the game.
They both took aim and began firing their water guns, and it soon became obvious to Barry that Iris hadn't been kidding when she said she was a great shot. She expertly hit her trigger button, never missing the center ring of the target. Barry was so impressed by her skills that the distraction only made his already terrible aim that much worse. Iris noticed her companion's lack of skill as well as the adorable pout on his face each time he missed the target. It was so adorable in fact that it almost became a distraction. Almost. She had to force herself not to glance in his direction for even a second or she knew that she would loose her focus and miss a shot. It didn't take long for her bobber to reach the top and the game to end.
"This round goes to the little lady!" the booth worker announced. "Pick any prize off the top row, or you can play again."
"You weren't kidding when you said you were a great shot." Barry laughed.
"My dad's a cop, remember?" She told him. "He started teaching me how to shoot a gun when I was twelve. Come on, let's go again. I'll give you some pointers." Iris poked his biceps as she finished.
"Okay." He laughed, handing the worker another ticket and picking the water gun back up. "I'm open to learning a few new things."
She stepped closer to him so that she was pressed against his side, and she heard his intake of breath at the gesture, and saw the slight blush appear on his face—apparently he had not been expecting her to press herself so close to him. Just as she predicted, when she reached around him to position his hands on the gun, his blush deepened. She couldn't help the small grin that crept on to her face at that fact. She placed one of his hands on the bottom of the water gun for better support , since his arms seemed to be unsteady and shaky.
"Okay, hold your arms out like this." She positioned his arms and hands so that he could hold the water gun more steadily. "Good. Now focus on the little target over there, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders a little more, and then aim and shoot."
She kept her hands over his as the bell rang and he fired. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was better. At least he managed to hit the target more and cause the bobber to raise up. When the timer ran out the bobber was around the half way mark. "That was better." She Iris told him, keeping her voice positive. "Remind me to take you to an actual shooting range sometime so you can practice."
He crossed his eyes and raised his brows rather comically, causing her to laugh, before responding. "Yea, I'm not really sure that's the best idea, considering my aim, but sure."
"Nah. You'll do fine." She smiled and leaned into him, bumping her shoulder against his as she gestured to the prize rack. "Okay, you pick. Which one?"
Barry surveyed the prizes, all of them stuffed animals of various kinds. After a moment his eyes settled on an extremely fluffy black teddy bear and he smiled, pointing at it. "What about that one?"
"That one is perfect." Iris said, smiling brightly. "I'll take that one." She told the worker, and the man reached up to bring it down before passing it to her.
Once the bear was placed in her arms she hugged it against her chest, smiling an adorable child-like smile that made Barry's heart melt. "Good choice." She told him as they walked away, after thanking the worker.
"I'm glad you approve." He teased with a laugh. "Alright, your turn to pick. Where to next?"
Iris only smiled, taking his hand in hers and lacing her fingers through his, leading him to their next destination. "You'll see."
With in a few minutes, after some casual teasing and small talk, the pair reached the ferris wheel on the far end of the carnival. "You're not afraid of heights are you, Barry?" She asked him.
"Definitely not." He replied with a playful smirk. "Are you?"
"Not even a little bit." Iris smiled back.
After passing their tickets to the worker the couple found themselves a carriage and took their seats. Another worker came around to make sure all of the carriages were locked and secure before the ride moved up to allow more passengers to board.
"So," Barry began. "I saw Linda in the hall yesterday in the language and cultures building. Is it safe to say that you won't be in search of a new room mate then?"
"You know, I was planning to kill her and put up fliers for a new room mate the next day," Iris began sarcastically, but then after a moments pause became slightly more serious. "But then you asked me out, and my joy kind of won out over my anger." Another brief pause, and she playfully added, "we downgraded to just a broken nose."
Laughing, he shook his head. "Well to be honest, I'm still just surprised you actually 'yes' when I asked you out, so…"
"Why were you so surprised?" She asked seriously, looking up at him, her big brown eyes meeting his soft green ones. "Barry, you're adorable. And your sweet, and funny, and you're insanely smart. It's so easy for me to talk to you, and you always make me laugh. I really like spending time with you. Why wouldn't I say yes?"
"Are you forgetting that whole 'science-nerd-nobody-likes-the-weird-kid' conversation from the first day of class?" He asked, giving her a sad, almost bitter smile—as if just the memory of those days in his past when he was bullied was enough to break him.
And she couldn't help it. In that moment, he looked so small and so pained, that all she wanted was to fix it for him, to put that adorable smile back on his face. Adjusting the teddy bear between the two of them so that she wouldn't lose it, Iris turned to face him, and reaching up she placed a gentle hand on either side of his face. Looking directly into his eyes she repeated her words from that first day of class, the ones she had said when he first told her about being labeled the weird kid in school, and nobody liking the weird kid.
"I happen to like you just fine, Barry Allen." She told him gently, before leaning forward and pressing her lips softly against his.
The kiss had been rather chaste and only lasted for a second or two, and she had taken him by surprise so he hadn't kissed back. But when she pulled away to look at him again, he had doe eyes, and his dazed look slowly morphed to one of surprised joy. Once again, she couldn't help it. Before when she kissed him, she had been wanting to reassure him that she genuinely liked him, and to put a smile back on his face. Now, the smile that had appeared on his face was so adorable all she wanted to do was kiss him again, to kiss his smiling lips. And so she did. Returning the smile, Iris leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his again. This time, Barry kissed her back. One of his hands came to rest on her waist, just above her hip, as he kissed her back. Again, the kiss hadn't lasted long. But it had been sweet and tender, and for now that was enough for the both of them. It was obvious that they both cared for each other, and neither of them wanted to push things too far too quickly and mess things up. The kiss had been gentle, and almost shy, but that didn't mean it meant any less to either of them. If anything, Iris thought it might have meant more.
As they broke apart they both just sat their looking at the other for a moment, smiling in blissful happiness. After returning the teddy bear to her lap, securing it there with one hand, Iris took Barry's hand with her other, lacing her fingers through his. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and felt his breath against her face as he leaned his head against hers while they watched the night sky from the top of the ferris wheel.
…
"I thought you said you were a good shot?" Barry laughed as they walked up the stairs that lead to his dorm. Iris had driven him back to the dorms since he didn't have a car, and insisted on walking him up to his door.
"Yea, with a gun." She shot back laughing. "Guns and basketballs are two very different things. Outside of boxing, yoga, and running, I have zero athletic ability."
"Yea, well that's more athletic ability that me." He told her. "All I've got is bowling, and I'm not even sure most people would consider that a sport."
"Well then we're just going to have to go bowling sometime, because I happen to be pretty damn good at it myself."
"Wait. So you can bowl, but you can't shoot a basketball?" He laughed.
"Hey there, Mr. Smarty Pants, you can't shoot a basketball either, so I don't wanna hear it." Iris teased.
"Yea, okay." Barry laughed. "Fair enough. But, I do have a question."
"Yea? And what's that?"
He stopped walking as they approached his door, and turned to face her. "You've mention us going out again twice now tonight, and kissed me four times. So does that mean I get a second date with you? Because, I would really like one."
He seemed nervous, but less nervous than he had been when he asked her out the first time, so she smiled at him, planning to tease him a bit before giving an answer. "I think you've miss counted. I didn't kiss you four times tonight."
His brown knit in confusion as he thought back to each one of the kisses they shared, recounting. "No, you did. Twice on the ferris wheel, once at the funnel cake booth, and once on the way here in the ca—"
He was cut off by her lips pressing against his. "Five times." She whispered as she pulled away, smiling up at him.
"Five time." He repeated, his voice cracking from nerves ever so slightly, causing her to giggle.
"You really are adorable when you're nervous, Barry Allen. Did you know that?" Iris asked him, before giving her answer to his question. "Yes, I would love to go out on a second date with you."
"Yea?" He whispered back, an adorably goofy smile plastered on his face. At her nod of confirmation, he began rambling nervously. "Okay, great. Yea, I'll text you. Or call you, I'll call you. Or no, I'll do both. I will text and call you later."
Iris laughed softly at his ramblings, and leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Good night Bear." She said with a smile before turning and walking down the stair, heading back to her car. Unknowingly, she had just given him a nickname that she would continue to use for him the rest of their lives.
