This one confuses me so much. My head does not wrap around.
Prompt from Hunter 10600. An accident brings about a lightning storm that brings a future Flash/Barry Allen. Future Barry, as Barry, goes in search of the present Barry but runs into Iris. The Future Barry acts weird, since in his time she died in some weird accident, and he causes Iris to be suspicious. She follows him to STAR Labs and discovers Barry's secret from there, where Barry freaks out about a future Barry Allen and Iris knowing.
A storm came out of nowhere. The skies had been completely clear all day, but in the blink of an eye, a massive storm formed. It was Iris's least favorite type of storm, the kind that had almost taken her best friend away from her; lightning.
She knew she was being ridiculous. She was a grown woman who had taken down the infamous Clock King. It was crazy for her to be afraid of something as common as a thunderstorm, but she was.
Barry had been at STAR Labs when something went wrong. Truth be told, he had no idea what. One second he was on the treadmill at STAR Labs in 2022 and the next he was standing in front of a bank sign reading Nov. 24, 2014. He needed to get back to his own time, but he was going to need help, his help. He knew that he had spent a lot of time at STAR Labs, so that was where he would check first.
Just as Future Barry turned, she walked past him. He stared at Iris, his life-long best friend.
"Hey, Bear," she greeted. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"What do you mean? I'm not looking at you differently." Honestly he could barely remember what it felt like to look at her.
"Okaaay. I need to go, I'll talk to you later."
"Ok." Future Barry walked around the corner and started running, completely unaware that Iris had doubled back to follow him and had seen everything.
Barry had tears in his eyes. He couldn't help but think of the last time he had seen his best friend.
It was three weeks after he had finally confessed to her. He told her that he was flash and that he loved her. He was the happiest he had ever been. Iris had forgiven him for lying to her and had agreed to go out with him. The date had gone really well.
Then everything had taken a turn for the worst. He got a call at work about a car accident and was told to get to the hospital as fast as he could. He ran as fast as he could but he was still too late.
The love of his life had died in a car accident. The car slipped on ice and ran into Iris when she was walking home. It was the middle of the summer and the car slid on ice. Barry didn't believe it.
He was right there was a metahuman that could control ice. He had caused the accident because he wanted to break the Flash. It was Barry's fault. Maybe if he hadn't told her, if he had kept just one of the secrets, she would still be alive.
Barry couldn't afford to think like that. He needed to find himself and get back home.
He reached STAR Labs within two minutes and went upstairs to find his team and himself. He watched them for a few minutes without them noticing and in that time Iris had driven to the lab assuming that was where her best friend had gone.
"Hey guys." Future Barry said.
Caitlyn gave a small yelp. "What did we say about using your speed to sneak up on us, Barry?"
"What are you talking about?" Barry said as he walked into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw who had snuck up on him.
"Don't run back over there and pretend to be innocent." Caitlyn scolded. "What are you looking a-" Caitlyn said turning around.
"Why is there two of me?" Barry asked turning to Dr. Wells who had come in to see what the commotion was all about. "Oh, crap."
"There's two of you. I can't even tell you what I'm thinking right now." Iris said mouth wide open. "And you're the Flash. That explains a lot."
Present Barry looked about ready to collapse. He was thinking of all the things that could go wrong with there being two of him.
Future Barry wasn't sure if he should be happy or terrified. All he thought of was Iris. He had changed the past. Iris already knew he was the Flash, so would she live, or would she die sooner, or would anything change at all?
"One problem at a time. Let's get our future friend back to his own time before he steps on any other butterflies." Dr. Wells took charge of this problem as if it was as normal as a man who could breathe fire. (They thought each metahuman was different, but they had run into three fire users.)
"I'm gonna . . ." Barry pointed at Iris.
"Go ahead, we'll take care of this." Dr. Wells responded.
"Anything else you want to tell me, Barry?" Iris scowled up at him.
Barry looked down and sighed. "One more. I . . . I love you."
"You what?" Iris's gaze softened.
"I love you, Iris. I have for years and not just as a friend or a sibling. I love you." Barry hesitantly looked up at her. She had moved closer to him.
"Barry, why didn't you say something? I have been thinking you we're even an option. I kept calling you my brother thinking maybe I could convince myself that that was how I loved you. I started dating Eddie hoping he could someday make me feel the way that you do. Why, why didn't you tell me, Barry?"
"I was afraid that . . . that my confession would change things, that you wouldn't trust me anymore, but I was just being stupid and I'm sorry."
Iris closed the space between them and their lips met just like they always hoped they would.
Barry didn't know exactly how they had gotten the future him back to the future, but he would find out in about eight years.
I don't know how either Barry. I'm new to science fiction writing.