Whoosh.
"I never thanked you for looking out for me while I was…out." Flash said, after quickly speeding Iris onto the roof.
"Yeah. No problem, least I can do considering you save me a lot." Iris twisted her hands nervously. The thought of his team weighed on her.
"Too much. I save you too much." He added, and then Barry furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you okay? You seem a little off."
"How can you see right through me, but I have to look at that mask. No fair, B."
"Okay. We need to drop B. Go back to Flashie or something. Seriously though, what's up?"
"When you were in the alle-"
"You didn't look at my face did y-" Barry's eyes widened, panic flooding through every bone in his body.
"NO! No. I'll admit, I was tempted but I figured it would mean more if you took it off and showed me yourself."
"Thanks. Continue."
"I sort of talked to your friends." Iris blurted in a rip-off-the-band-aid manner.
If Barry's eyes weren't already wide from his quick scare, they were now. His heartbeat picked up dramatically. Even under the vibrations, Barry's face visibly paled.
"What?" He managed to choke out, backing up into the shadows.
Iris has never seen this side of him. The extremely nervous side. She always thought The Flash was one big ball of confidence.
"Funny thing, they sort of let it slip that I knew them, but I couldn't seem to place their voice. You going to tell me who they are?"
"No." Barry, almost instinctively, blurted out.
"You know I have a detective for a dad, which means I'm good at detecting. I'll figure this out, Flash."
She was so close, and that made Barry just want to go ahead and tell her, save him from the pain that was lying.
"You don't realize how badly I want you to know my identity, but doing so could risk your safety, and everyone around you. Iris, if a "bad guy" knows you know both sides of me, you run the risk of them doing some horrible things to you for my name."
"I can take care of myself."
"I'm sure you could, but how scared do you think your dad would be for you, or Barry, or anyone who knows you?"
"One day, I am going to get that mask off you." Iris said confidently.
Barry didn't respond, just stayed deep in the shadows, and that was Iris' cue to switch the subject. She didn't like it when he wasn't near her. For what seemed like the millionth time, Iris spun around so her back faced him.
"Did you get hurt badly?" She asked.
"From which incident?" Flash finally responded after silence drifted through the air.
"Geez, you really do hurt yourself a lot, don't you?"
Barry hummed in response, and stepped closer.
"The superhuman who had you unconscious." Iris clarified, smiling when she heard him approaching.
"Metahumans. They're called metahumans, and which time?"
"Now you're just messing with me."
"Hey! I'll have you know I have been unconscious four times since the last time we were up here." Barry knew which time Iris was talking about, he just felt like teasing her.
"Wow, for having super speed, you sure are slow. I mean the alley!"
Barry snorted, and let out a laugh, and Iris frowned.
"I'm assuming that laugh was because you did know what I was talking about, and I'm the one who's slow because I couldn't tell you were teasing me."
"Bravo, Ms. West." Barry clapped his hands.
Iris took a step back, just enough to close a little more of the gap that was between them.
"I'm fine. A few broken ribs, slight concussion, bruised spleen, fractured ankle. Nothing much. I heal quick, remember?"
Iris' jaw dropped, and she couldn't help but spin around to look at him. Normally, by the time she turned on her heel, he would be back in the shadows, but this time, he stayed. His face wasn't being vibrated because it was dark enough now, and he kept his gaze fixed on her.
"That's normal for you!?" Iris squealed, tears blurring her vision as his list of injuries replayed in her mind.
Barry's eyes were locked with hers, and he could read every emotion that went through her mind right now. It was the look she gave Barry when she was worried about him, not The Flash.
"Iris. I-"
She threw her arms around his waist, and squeezed him tight. Although this was the first hug she's given him, it felt like she's done it a million times before. Something about him just felt so familiar, so easy to be around.
"Ow." Barry whispered, and then cradled her head against his chest.
"Right, broken ribs. Sorry." Iris lightened her grip on him, and then looked up to meet his eyes. She never looked at his face when he wasn't blurring it, and although it was really dark, and they looked more like dark spaces, rather than eyes, it was still nice. "Does your heart always beat this fast?"
"Speedster, remember?"
"Be careful, okay?" She mumbled into his chest. "I need you."
"Believe it or not, I need you, too." He looked down at Iris, and met her eyes. And smiled. A smile that wasn't blurred by his vibrations.
God, you're adorable. Iris thought, and returned his smile.
It was a big risk to take, smiling at Iris, she could easily recognize it, but the dark and the distractions around her, including him, helped.
Barry didn't speed off when she released the hug, instead, he gave her a nod goodnight, and walked off the roof. There was a slight limp in his step from his healing ankle. It was the first time he really looked human. Iris wanted to follow him down the steps, see what happened, but then a flash of light filled the doorway, and she knew he was gone.
"Bye, Flash."