Prompt from KaMi-HiMe BVB. Iris follows Barry to STAR Labs.
A bomb went off, Barry had to go. There was a fire, Barry had to go. There was kidnapping, Barry had to go. He forgot he had to do something, Barry had to go. It seemed like whenever Iris got a chance to spend time with her best friend, he had to go somewhere else. Sometimes his excuses were just too ridiculous to believe, in fact, most of them were.
Iris had made a decision. The next time he disappeared when they were supposed to be hanging out, she would follow him without fail.
Her opportunity came faster than she thought it would.
The next day Barry was supposed to have lunch with her, but he got a phone call halfway through.
"I'm sorry." He winced and walked away from the table.
"It's ok." She lied. Not being able to spend time with Barry while he was awake hurt a little more than sitting with him in a coma, saying goodbye every day because she knew the next time she saw him he could be gone. Now she couldn't be there with him by his choice.
"I will make it up to you, I promise." Barry said effectively telling her that he had to leave. He truly looked sorry, so she felt a little better.
She waited a few seconds after he left the coffee shop to follow him. Iris was very careful to follow at a distance that would not draw attention. For the most part Barry stuck to crowded streets which made keeping hidden easier, but then he would go into alleys she would have to practically watch him around the corner to see where he turned and then follow.
Barry looked behind him a lot and Iris wasn't sure if he was doing it out of habit, and she should be worried, or if he could sense that someone was following him, and she should be more careful. Soon she could see where he was headed. A massive building she had been to nearly every day while Barry was in his coma.
He left early to go to STAR Labs. Is he still sick? Iris was used to being worried about Barry, she had done it her whole life, but this felt different. The possibility of him still being affected by the lightning and the coma was devastating.
She quietly slipped inside the room where Barry had been kept while he was in his coma. What she saw horrified her.
"Barry!" she exclaimed running to his side.
Barry lay in that same hospital bed covered in blood with Caitlyn hovering over him. He did not look like that when she had been following him and he had only been out of her sight for about two minutes. What in the world could have done this in so short a time?
"What are you doing here?" He said trying to hide his shock. And fear?
"I may have followed you." Iris answered shyly.
"Iris," Barry drew out her name. "Why?"
"I wanted to know what was up with you, Barry. You've been acting so different since you woke up. Then I saw that you were going here and I got worried that you were still . . . in trouble."
"I'm sorry. I know I've been acting weird, but I'm ok. Really I'm ok."
"That does not look 'ok.'" Iris gestured down at his bleeding body, only it wasn't bleeding anymore. Caitlyn had cleaned up all the blood and all the cuts and other injuries Iris didn't want to think about, had all healed. "Wh-what? H-h-how?" Iris stuttered.
"Cellular regeneration." Dr. Wells answered as he entered the room. "He has super speed down to the cellular level allowing for quick healing. Nice to see you again, Ms. West."
Iris looked at Dr. Wells in shock and then turned back to Barry. "You are the Flash."
Barry simply nodded.
"Other than 'my safety,' why didn't you tell me?"
"Lots of reasons, most of them selfish. I didn't know how to tell you. Plus, it was fun being able to save you for a change, and you thought I was cool and mysterious. It was nice, and it was almost like you enjoyed trying to solve the mystery."
"I have always thought you were cool. You were so different form anyone else and you never tried to change who you were." Iris smiled. "But, you're right the mystery was kind of fun."
They were quiet for a minute. "Is this how you stay so skinny?" Barry simply nodded and laughed at his friend.