I have to say, I had no clue how to do this one, so I hope it turned out ok.
Prompt from Guest. Follow up to chapter 34.
Iris was about to understand Felicity and Caitlyn's love of the salmon ladder. Barry looked slightly upset at her excitement, and she knew exactly why.
Everyone thought that she was too oblivious to realize how Barry felt about her, but she had just been waiting for him to take the risk. Then she had met Eddie. Iris had really liked him and thought that she may grow to love him like she loved Barry, but it hadn't turned out that way. Still, Barry had not confessed his feelings to her, so she might as well tease him.
It was really entertaining to watch Barry's face before Oliver even got on the salmon ladder.
Oliver went towards the salmon ladder and grabbed the bar.
"Nope. You've got to give them the full affect." Felicity commanded. Barry looked at her with puppy dog eyes that she refused to acknowledge.
"Oooh, I haven't actually seen that yet. This is going to be fun." Caitlyn agreed. She had just liked seeing his arms flex.
"C'mon Felicity." Barry wasn't sure why Oliver was hesitant. He had no problem being shirtless around others he had seen, especially Felicity.
"Just do it." Felicity said. Barry knew better than to believe Oliver would disobey her.
"Fine." Oliver pulled his shirt over his head, and Caitlyn, Iris, and Barry's eyes widened. "Barry, you've seen me shirtless before."
"Yeah, but I was a little more focused on the fact you were dying." Barry gaped at the scar tissue riddling his friend's flesh.
Iris and Caitlyn had gotten over their shock and were now gaping at his body for another reason. The guy was ripped. Ripped enough to make him crazy strong and attractive, but not so ripped that he couldn't lift his hands above his head or look really creepy. Other than the scars, his body was perfect.
Iris could feel Barry getting more and more uncomfortable by the second, so she was loving this for a lot of reasons.
Oliver turned from the gawking girls and once again grabbed the bar for the salmon ladder.
Iris definitely understood the other girls' fascination with the salmon ladder. It was amazing. Not many bodies could look that fantastic, but Iris didn't care as much as the other girls. She had Barry, and he was good enough for. No, not good enough, better than she could ever hope for. Barry was her best friend, a hero, and the man she loved.
She watched as Oliver dropped down from the top rung of the ladder.
"Your turn." She turned and smiled at Barry.
Barry scooped her up in his arms, but before he could run off, Oliver spoke. "You're gonna set her on fire."
"Right." Barry bit his lip thinking.
"You haven't set me on fire before." Iris pointed out.
"Those times were really short distances." He turned to Cisco. "Are you going to be mad if I put her in one of my extra suits?"
"Go ahead, man." Cisco didn't look happy about the idea, but he was looking forward to her reaction from a long distance run. Then, maybe, Barry would get on the treadmill and show off his tech!
Iris slipped the too big suit over her normal clothes, and she felt herself scooped up into her best friend's arms. This was the best part. Being in his strong comforting arms without needing to be comforted.
Then he took off. She was glad he wasn't too shy to hold onto her because she would not survive a fall. If it was anyone else carrying her, she would be begging for them to stop, but she was enjoying the ride. She could feel the wind assault her face but the Flash mask protected her face, and she was able to enjoy that too. Iris could definitely understand why Barry was always busy. If she could do this she would spend all day running like a maniac.
Too soon, it came to an end.
"We should start heading back. They'll wonder where we went." Barry said.
"I'm wondering where we went." Iris didn't recognized anything around her. They were on a deserted road surrounded by open land.
"Somewhere private." He said shyly.
Is this it? Is he finally going to tell me he loves me?
"Iris, I have something more I need to tell you."
"Ok." She gave him a nod of her head wanting to make sure he would work up the confidence to tell her. Even if she had gotten her hopes up before, she needed to believe that tonight would finally be the day that he would confess, and they would get together.
Barry moved his lips but no words came out.
"Barry, whatever you want to say, you don't have to be afraid to say it. I want to hear it."
"I love you. Not just as a friend, definitely not as a sister. I love you, Iris. I've wanted to tell you for years, but I could never get up the courage. You're beautiful, kind, forgiving, all the amazing things that people strive to be, and it's just who you are. You're perfect. You didn't need romantic love from a guy who could never reach your level of amazingness. You gave me no choice but to love you, just by being who you are." Barry vibrated his voice as if to distance himself from the words if they were rejected, but he held her even softening gaze.
She had waited for those words to leave his mouth since, well, her entire life. Her world revolved around her best friend, the man she loved.
"I love you to, Bear. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You are far more amazing than I am, and I'm not just referring to your super power, though that is totally amazing. I love you for you. I've just been waiting for you to tell me."
Barry closed the gap between them, and they sealed their words with the first kiss.