Barry stifled a groan at the approaching footsteps. Singh was constantly down his neck about the Demova case. Poor guy was found dead on the side of the road.

"Captain, I will have the fingerprint analysis for you in a few minutes." Barry sighed, keeping his gaze fixed on his work.

"Ouch, you're rejecting me?" That was definitely not Singh.

"Iris? Hey!" Barry hopped up from his chair, and walked over to give her a hug. "Sorry about all the mess. I've been busy lately. How are you feeling?"

Iris waved a dismissive hand, and then spoke. "I'm a little achy, and no biggie, I'm used to you being messy."

Barry scoffed. "Wow. Thanks."

Iris shifted her weight, and played with her hair. Barry noticed the way she didn't meet his gaze, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Iris? Are you alright?"

When Iris looked back up at Barry, it alarmed him to see tears brimming her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He cupped her cheeks, and locked eyes with Iris.

"I'm so sorry, Barry. I really am."

"Iris? What are you talking about?"

"I haven't talked to you in forever!" She blurted.

Barry's eyes stung. Yes, he had seen Iris on a regular basis, but that was as The Flash. He missed his one-on-one Barry and Iris bonding talks. Barry hadn't talked to her in awhile.

"Barry? Do you think we could sit down and catch up?"

Barry nodded immediately, and guided her over to a chair. "Yeah, of course."

"For starters, Eddie and I broke up a couple of weeks ago."

"Yeah, I know." Wait, he wasn't supposed to know that. Only The Flash did.

"What? How? Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Barry rubbed his neck uncomfortably, and chewed his lip. "Uh, well, Eddie has been acting a little off, you know, so I asked him about it and, uh, he told me." He wasn't the best liar in the world, but at least he could come up with something, unlike Joe. "I didn't come to you because I was hoping you might tell me yourself." Barry looked at his shoes. It was true, he was a little hurt by that.

Iris felt like a bomb just exploded in her chest. Poor Barry.

"I didn't mean to leave you in the dark like that, Bear."

"It's alright, Iris. How are you feeling about it? You okay?"

Iris nodded, and swiped a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah. I don't think it would have been fair for Eddie if I continued in that relationship with him. I just...wasn't feeling it, you know?"

Barry smiled understandingly, and didn't say anything else, just looked out the window.

"I'm not losing you, am I?" Iris whispered.

"What?"

"You're still my best friend, Barry. I need you more than anything in this world. You are my backbone. I'm not going to lose you because we haven't been in touch, am I?"

Barry placed his hand on Iris' thigh and looked her straight in the eye. "Iris, I love you. You will never lose me. You got that?"

"You mean it?"

"I can't tell if you're joking or not? What? Because there has been some space between us, our friendship is just over?" Barry laughed, and nudged her shoulder. "Come on, Iris. We're inseparable!"

Iris smiled brightly.

"Come here." Barry wrapped his arms around her, and pulled Iris into a hug. "So, why have you been so distant lately?" Barry knew the answer, he just wanted to hear Iris talk about his alter ego. It always brought on something funny.

Iris stepped out of his embrace, and looked up at Barry, blushing profusely. He tried not to smile at how adorable she looked.

"If I tell you, you can't have the same reaction that Joanna did."

"What reaction might that be?"

"Saying nothing."

Barry nodded. "Alright, what's up, Iris?"

"Um, The Flash and I have a...thing."

"You mean like, romantically?"

"No. Well, yes. Or, actually, no. No. I wouldn't say it's completely platonic, though."

Barry had to remember that he wasn't the Flash right now, and tried desperately to hide his amused smile, but the blush that crept to his cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Iris. Did anything about him go unnoticed by Iris? He could get his hair slightly trimmed and she would notice the difference immediately.

"Aw, Bear. I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"Hmm? No, no. What do you mean by a thing?"

"Forget it. It's fine. I know you don't want to discuss this. The last thing you want to hear me ramble on about is Flashie, I know you have a thing against him."

"Iris, I don't dislike The Flash. He's doing a lot of good for this city, I dislike you writing that blog and putting yourself in danger."

"You sound exactly like him, you know?"

Barry swallowed hard. "Do I?" He choked out. Was Iris starting to catch on?

"Yeah, you both are hell-bent on keeping me safe. I keep nagging him about his identity, he won't tell me though. Says it will only bring the bad guys to my front step."

"He sounds like a wise guy." Barry chuckled. "I don't think it's stupid that you hang out with him, Iris. Just be careful, alright?"

"Yeah." A recent question popped into Iris' head, and she had a huge urge to ask it. "Bear?"

Barry had gone back to his report on the Demova case, enjoying Iris' company. He held up a finger, and finished writing his last sentence, before looking up at her. "Yeah?"

"When I was in the hospital, I think dad let it slip that he knew who The Flash was."

Barry's eyes went wide. "Did he now?"

"Mmhm. Seems appropriate considering he's a cop and Flashie works with the cops sometimes. It made me wonder though, do you know who he is?"

Barry felt his breathing stop, his heart stop, his blood run cold. He was terrible at lying to Iris, especially when she was on to him. He always became a stuttering mess. Barry shook his head slowly, and stared at the ground. "No. No, I don't."

"Barry." Iris dragged out his name in a painfully long way, and slowly walked around his desk. "Look me in the eye, and say that again." She knew he wasn't capable of it.

Barry looked up at her, any attempt at a calm facade went completely down the drain when he saw the look she was giving him. "N-no."

Iris narrowed her eyes, and placed her hands on her hips. "You're acting weird."

"Pfft, I-I always act weird. Wha-what are you...why would you think…"

"Bartholomew Henry Allen. Truth. Now."

His cheeks were burning, and Iris eagerly waited for his answer. In all honesty, she expected him to say he really didn't know, but then he spoke.

"Ye-yeah. I do."

"Oh. My. God." Iris put her hands on her head, and walked circles around Barry's lab. Once it sunk in, she walked back over to Barry, and grabbed his shirt, she meant to look intimidating, but Iris couldn't help but smile at how adorable Barry looked when he was nervous.

"You know!?" She squeaked. "Is he on the force!? Do you work with him? Do I know him? Or is he a complete stranger? Is he hot. I haven't gotten a good look at his face, but just his smile alone is breathtaking. Wait. Do you know who his team is, too? Have you spoken to them? Have you been to their base? Can we all three have a mee-"

"Iris!" Barry stood up from his chair, and walked over to the door. "I-I can't do this right now. I shouldn't have said anything. You weren't supposed to know."

"Barry I-"

"Iris, you should go."

Iris nodded, and walked over to Barry. "Sorry." She whispered, and looked up at him. She could swear there were tears forming in his eyes. Why though?

"You didn't do anything wrong, Iris. I can't tell you anything. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." Barry pulled Iris into a hug, and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much, Iris. I can't lose you."

A few tears slipped down Iris' cheeks. "I love you, too, Bear."

The moment Iris left his lab, Barry's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, crying his heart out. He wished everyday he could tell her. Tell her everything. Talk to her about all the little things that weighed on him, that made his heart hurt when he came home. He couldn't. Iris' safety came first, her happiness second, and he would always, always, be third.

As Iris descended the stairs, Joe instantly noticed her puffy red eyes, and ran over to her, worry evident on his face.

"What happened, baby?"

Iris wrapped her arms around Joe, and mumbled into his chest, "You should check on Barry. I'm going to head to Jitters to have a long overdue chat with Joanna."

Joe nodded, extremely confused as to what happened. He watched her leave, and then made his way up to Barry's lab.

And then he heard the sobs.