Notes: For Iris West-Allen Week - What's your emergency?

Fashion Emergency

Iris groaned and flung yet another item of clothing onto her bed. It was wrong, wrong, wrong. All wrong.

Stalking to her door, she peered out into the hall and considered stepping out the door for a moment. Then she shrugged and yelled, "Barry! Emergency!" instead.

There was a distinct scrambling noise from downstairs and moments later Iris watched Barry's lanky form come running up the stairs. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking a little worried. "What's your emergency?"

"I have that date with Lacey tomorrow," Iris said.

"Okay..." Barry frowned at her. "Do you not want to spend Valentine's Day with her after all or something? Because I'm not making a break up phone call for you again. Jason nearly broke my nose the next day at school."

"Yeah, well, you were the one who made out with him six weeks later," Iris reminded him.

"On a dare." Barry pouted.

"Which turned into dating him for a good three weeks longer than I did," Iris retorted.

Barry blushed and changed the subject. "Iris, just... explain your emergency, okay?"

"I have nothing that's Valentine's Date worthy to wear tomorrow!" Iris leaned against the doorframe dramatically. "I've got a date with the prettiest girl in school and I have nothing worthy of wearing on a date with her."

"Was I this melodramatic when I first came out?" Barry asked rhetorically.

Iris stuck her tongue out at him. So she was being a little dramatic. She'd only figured out she was pan a few months ago and she'd been so keyed up about asking Lacey out. Iris deserved to be melodramatic about this. "Jason," she repeated.

The way Barry winced was, in Iris' opinion, well deserved.

"Despite you being mean to me," Barry grumbled, "I'll see what I can do." And then Barry smiled, something oddly wistful about the expression. "I'm pretty sure you've got that backwards though, Iris. You don't have a date with the prettiest girl in our year. Lacey has a date with the prettiest girl in our year. You."

Iris felt her face flush at the compliment and she swatted Barry lightly on the shoulder. "Flattery will not get you out of being my fashion consultant, Barry."

He rolled his eyes and sighed with the right amount of drama for the occasion. "Very well. Lead on. It's just, like, regular clothing strewn about your room, right? I'm not going to have to worry about Joe coming home early to find me in your bedroom sitting next to a frilly bra or something?"

Iris snickered. "No underwear on display. Come on." She led the way into the room. "You and I have done each other's laundry plenty of times before. Unless I'm only wearing my underwear, I'm pretty sure my dad wouldn't freak to find you sitting next to my bra at this point."

"If there was any place left to sit," Barry muttered, staring around her room in dismay. "Did a tornado erupt from your closet? Am I going to find a portal to Oz in there?"

"Hurricane Iris," she admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed to have Barry see her room in this much of a mess. Maybe she should have put a few things away before shouting for him. And then she mentally rolled her eyes. This was Barry. He'd seen worse. So much worse. What was she doing getting all worked up over him like that for?

"Alright, well if your closet and dresser have been emptied of all candidates, maybe we can make putting things away a sign of an eliminated outfit. That way your dad doesn't ground you for this mess when he gets home."

Iris nodded in agreement. It'd suck if her date prep got her grounded and she wound up missing the date for it. Though it was more likely she'd just loose car privileges and have to ask Lacey to come pick her up.

"Okay, so first up is this dress." She picked up a white dress with lavender flowers printed on it.

"That one is so pretty on you," Barry opined. "Why isn't it good enough?"

"Because Lacey is so... and I'm not..."

"Iris. You are gorgeous. And this dress?" he walked over to pluck the fabric from her hands, "is a contender." He set it aside carefully and then held up three shirts. "These are not. You should put them away."

Obediently, Iris did so, feeling a bit relieved to be getting the help she'd asked for after all.

"This skirt too. Or maybe start a donate pile 'cause it didn't actually fit you the last time you wore it. Joe made you change, remember?"

"Are you sure? I mean, I know it was a little tight on me and a bit shorter than I remembered, but..." Iris hedged. It was a pretty skirt and she hated to give up a pretty skirt.

"... when you bend over your underwear shows." Barry was blushing and not looking at Iris.

Iris blushed too. "Right. Give away pile. Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Well I wasn't gonna say that in front of Joe!" Barry practically squeaked that out. "I don't need him interrogating me about why I was looking close enough to see your underwear in the first place."

"Why were you looking close enough to see my underwear in the first place?" Iris asked, trying not to laugh as Barry turned an even brighter shade of red.

She ought to lay off before he imploded or something.

"I was just looking at you and then you bent over. Was I supposed to magically know to avert my eyes?" Barry huffed and threw a yellow sweater at her. "That sweater looks great on you. Goes well with that red pencil skirt?"

Iris hummed thoughtfully. "It does."

"Where are the two of you meeting for your date? And is it lunch or dinner? I hadn't heard that part yet?"

"Lunch. We're going to that little cafe on the docks and then wandering around the shop fronts for a while," Iris replied.

Barry nodded, slowly. "It's supposed to be a little colder tomorrow. I think you're right," he sighed. "The lavender dress is out after all." He reluctantly handed it over to Iris. "It's warm enough for indoors, but not outdoors. The skirt can pair with a warm pair of tights and still look good though."

She hung the dress up and then plucked the red pencil skirt. In her minds eye, Iris could see the yellow sweater on herself and the pencil skirt with it, calling up a mental image from the last time she'd worn the ensemble. It did look flattering on her. Red tights and black shoes with it, maybe? Barry was right about it being cold after all.

If the shades of red clashed instead of layering well, though, then Iris would have to wear her black tights instead. But maybe that would be better anyway. Black tights and then her red flats.

Iris set the outfit aside and proceeded to play yea-or-nay with the rest of her clothes. In the end Barry whittled her down to a handful of options. Some dressier than others but all appropriate for a Valentine's Date at a cafe and walking the shop front area along the river.

"I think either the yellow sweater and red skirt or the pink sweater with jeans are my final selections for you," Barry declared, once the majority of Iris' clothes was back in the closet and dresser where they belonged. "They both incorporate classic Valentines Day colors and look terrific on you without being too dressy for the venue or the walk after."

"Terrific, huh?" Iris looked between the two outfits thoughtfully. She still wasn't sure which to wear, but Barry's repeated insistence that she was pretty or beautiful and that her fashion sense was impressive and that she could make anything look good... it certainly lifted a girl's spirits to have a pretty boy say that to her. Even if he was her best friend and probably saying most of it just to make her feel better about herself.

"Well, I think my work here is done." Barry lurched to his feet, balance not quite steady. He was going through yet another growth spurt was likely going to be hitting six feet tall at this rate.

"Thanks, Barry. You're a life saver. I will definitely be wearing one of these two outfits tomorrow. Lacey's gonna think I look amazing and I've got you to thank for it." She hugged him and, impulsively, kissed Barry's cheek. "Too bad you don't have a date of your own lined up for tomorrow too."

"Yeah, well." Barry blushed and shrugged. "There's someone I like, but they... like someone else. So I'd rather hang out at home tomorrow than lead someone else on when I'm not really interested in dating anyone right now."

"Their loss," Iris told him primly. "You're a catch and anyone would be lucky to have you."

Barry smiled and looked away a bit uncomfortably. Which was fair, here she was telling him he deserved a date tomorrow when she was the one who'd be spending the day with the girl of her dreams. And what if...

"It's not Lacey, is it? The person who..."

And that startled a laugh out of Barry. "No. No it is definitely not Lacey. I'm still annoyed with her over the group project we did last year where she barely contributed."

"Oooh, yeah. I forgot she did that to you." Iris had been pissed on Barry's behalf. But, well... it had been a year. Lacey was much more responsible these days. Probably. Iris hoped, anyway. "You're not annoyed I'm going out with her, are you?"

"Well, I mean... Jason." They both laughed at that admission. "Could be worse." Then, a touch more seriously, Barry told her, "no. I'm not annoyed you're going out with Lacey. I want you to have fun and be happy. I want you to enjoy tomorrow."

"Thanks, Barry."

"Now, I'm going to go finish watching Stargate. I... don't remember if I hit pause before coming up here when you shouted. Hopefully I did, I don't want to have to figure out which chapter I need to jump to from the dvd menu..." Barry muttered on his way out the door.

Iris smiled, feeling a fond warmth creeping up on her as she watched him leave. What would she do without her Barry Allen?