accelerate | ( ENTRANCEWAY INBOX )

[ he hums for a moment, gaze still downcast. if he thinks about that word, he thinks of her — and the sun, joe west, the team at star labs, even the speed force — but he can't find a word to encapsulate them all. ]

[ his brows furrow together, and he thinks of that moment in the west house by the dining table, where he'd been feeling unstoppable. proposing to be even more invincible than he'd been after the speed force had let him go, barry can easily recall how he'd bounced on the balls of his feet and been eager to leap into the future. the memory is followed by a wake of sadness, but barry tries not to dwell on it. ]

Invincible.

[ it's her turn.

iris lowers her gaze, though the smile on her lips doesn't falter. it had felt like the start of something new. before zoom stormed into what had once been a safe home, the stars aligned and everything felt so clear. they'll never have that exact moment again, but for those precious few seconds, they truly were invincible. ]

Force.

[ she keeps that memory as vividly as he does. she remembers. how could she not? ♪ ]

[ is it cheating if he says — ]

Speed.

[ and he smiles at that, knowing it may be too literal of an association. but since emerging from the speed force, barry had believed he had a new lease on life. a fresh, healthy outlook on the world around him and on himself. though zoom had torn it away from him temporarily, attempting to force his hand into becoming a mere reflection of hunter, he thinks he still holds onto the tangible lessons the energy force had taught him. ]

[ whether he implements those teachings is another question entirely. ]

[ ha!

she knows — she knows — that the word she is about to use will make him pull a face. if she's being entirely honest, she might be counting on it. ] Streak. [ okay, okay. so it wasn't the best name to give central city's fledgling superhero, but nobody's perfect, and at the time, iris was more interested in learning his real name.

they have oliver queen to thank for that.

sort of. ]

Edited 2016-07-04 13:29 (UTC)

[ poking his tongue out, he looks like he's tasted a lemon. nose wrinkling, expression shifting into one that's almost offended — his response is immediate and almost instinctual at this point. ]

Ugh, no. [ his knee bumps into hers, as if he's about to pull himself up onto his feet and kick off to show her how he's more flash than streak with his lightning. but he stays put and leans forward to correct her. ] Flash.

[ and then he closes his eyes, smacking his palm against his forehead. instead of pulling his face free, he buries his head in his hands, elbows resting against his legs as he groans. ]

Yes.

[ her hands furl into fists and she lifts her arms up into the air. victory is hers and it tastes so sweet. actually, it doesn't taste like anything, but if it were to taste like something, iris is pretty sure it would taste like brownies. she pats his shoulder comfortingly as he buries his head in his hands.

he was a worthy competitor. but also stop being so cute, barry. ]

Allen, 1. West, 1.

[ it was a low blow, and iris can accept that. he's the flash! they both agree. ]

[ keeping his head in his hands, he peers up at her through the cage of his fingers. shaking his head, he's smiling; she may be able to tell from his cheeks, even if his smile is hidden from her view. if winning makes her happy, then he's happy, even though he's not looking forward to her bragging rights for the rest of the evening. ]

[ he's grateful he hasn't slipped up on the more deeper words. as quick as he is to run away, barry knows what he's running from. ]

[ lifting his head from his hands, he rests his elbows on his legs and slouches. ] What will you do with your victory, Miss West?

[ she is totally 100% gonna brag.

#slay ]

I'm glad you asked, Mr. Allen. I plan to start with — [ her voice trails off as she brings herself to her feet. nowhere near as fast as barry, she takes her time in walking over to her desk. she comes back with the basket of goodies he left on her doorstep, and sitting back down with them. ]

— victory food. [ she lifts up a brownie in his direction. see? she'll even share. ]

[ watching her stand, barry remains on the floor. his eyes follow her as she walks to her desk to retrieve those brownies he'd brought her. he thinks to quickly flash to turn off lemonade, but he remains where he is, cross-legged and following her with his eyes. ]

[ he smiles, and almost laughs. he turns his body around so he can face her properly, hands on his legs and perhaps looking a bit more boyish with the way he sits. ]

You plan to start with a victorious brownie? Is there going to be a dance?

Maybe when we get to Formation.

[ now there's a victory dance if the world's ever heard one.

#iris west came to slay

once the teasing fades from her expression, her smile softens shortly after. she breaks off a small piece of the brownie and tucks it into her mouth, letting the chocolate melt on her tongue. there's a moment of silence or two, and she looks up again. ] I missed this. [ just doing normal things with her best friend. ]

What?

[ barry rocks where he sits, suddenly becoming restless with energy he hasn't used. sitting and thinking of words and their meanings and possible associations had kept him busy. trying to peel back what iris was both saying and not saying had him wrapped up in watching her expression and trying to pull apart her tone. but now the game is over, barry's almost childlike again. ]

Eating brownies?

[ barry's all restless energy, and iris is so steady, in contrast. there's little that would stay her hand. she is never one that keeps from acting when she needs to, but who she is at her core is so unfalteringly steady. she gives a small, harmless scoff at his response. all she's done since she got to wonderland is eat brownies.

it's a good thing she found the training center. someone teach her how to wield a sword. ]

No. Hanging out.

[ without anything earth-shattering happening immediately after. ]

[ all that restless energy that makes up barry — the flash or the person, sometimes he's not so sure where he once began and where the flash now ends — seems to disappear, albeit slowly. it isn't a quick drop in movement, as he slows in his restlessness of shifting around, drawing his knees to his chest while his legs are still crossed, hands moving along his legs from his kneecap to his ankle. he settles by taking his previous position on the ground, cross-legged and looking at her. ]

[ quietly, ] Me too.

[ being the flash had interrupted almost every aspect of his previous life — the life he thinks he still holds onto, but often shoves inside the closet for the cowl he decides to wear. he doesn't want to be like oliver, playing two roles, becoming caught up in the whole persona of a playboy who isn't true to who he is anymore. hanging out with iris is who barry allen is, it's how the flash had begun — and he's started to forget that. ]

[ unfolding his long legs, he pushes himself up. with his hands raised above his head, he stretches, and he's sure he hears a crack somewhere. ]

That's why we should have a croquet game. A real one. [ he looks at her pointedly and arches his brow. ] You still need to do nerdy things with me, right?

[ the day of the particle accelerator being turned on had been his nerdy day, and it'd been the last one they'd shared together. it feels like years ago since she's made fun of him for what he likes and what she doesn't mind being dragged along to. ]

[ the answer to that question is of course.

there isn't a date iris west won't cancel. there isn't an argument she won't make if it gets barry out of work, or persuades her father to see his side. and there aren't many nerd things she would refuse to partake in. she doesn't need to share his interests to support his enthusiasm.

it begs the question: has iris west ever accompanied barry to a comic con? ]

Depends on the nerdy thing.

[ she unfurls to her full height after barry does, not that her height is anything impressive. she's all of four feet and four inches, more than well accustomed to barry towering over her even with heels. shortly after, she plops on her bed. the day is catching up to her. ] Do you even know how to play croquet?

Do I know —

[ he scoffs. of course he doesn't know how to play croquet. barry dislikes all sports save for running and sometimes basketball and baseball. he's not athletic by any means, preferring to be all brains and less brawn. but he pretends — and horribly so — that he's the best croquet player in the room. ]

[ pulling his shoulders back, it's easy for him to look down at her with an arch to his brow. challenging and almost incredulous, if not for how iris can read him and know he's being as excellent as an actor like a brick to the face. he walks over to her bed and sits on the edge, almost tentatively, before he becomes comfortable within a second and falls back against the sheets. ]

Of course I know how to play.

Uh huh.

[ amusement thick in her voice, iris turns sideways to face barry when he falls back against the sheets along with her. her hands are splayed over her stomach and her gaze lingers on him with that amusement, eyes twinkling in response to it. she really did miss this. ]

My aim's pretty good.

[ this is a warning, barry. if y'all play croquet, iris would take no prisoners. ]

[ staring up at the ceiling, barry notes how it lacks any glow in the dark stickers. he liked them best in his room; able to peer up at the galaxy before him without needing to open the window, he found the dark wasn't so scary if he could notice the stars glittering in the sky. he stores that away as a reminder for when his room is cleaned from the dark matter in his room. ]

[ turning his head, he laces his fingers together on his chest, before he stretches his arms above his head. ]

I'm pretty quick. [ she may have better aim, but he knows he's got the speed — quite literally, too. that impatience that often overtakes him seems to have only been amplified by being struck by lightning. he gives her a pointed look. ] The game may be over before it even begins. Just a friendly warning.

I wouldn't be too confident.

[ speed or no speed, iris west is a force to be reckoned with. and if he really wanted to win fair, he wouldn't use his superhuman advantage, she's just saying. an amused expression flits across her features, eyes closing as he stares up at the ceiling. a lot of things concerning science go over iris' head, and that includes stars and galaxies and universes. barry explains it in a way that she understands. the universe never seems so big or scary then.

she breathes in deeply, shifting on her side, allowing some of that heaviness to sink into her bones. ]

I just might surprise you yet.

[ iris always surprises him. he thinks he'll be surprised when she doesn't. ]

[ he looks back up at the ceiling, a little aware she's looking at him. for a good portion of his life, all he's ever wanted is her attention. now that he knows he has it, barry wants to shy away from it. if this is what it's like to feel invincible, he's not so sure if he knows how to wear it. the speed force had made him feel cocky and overconfident at first, but when that had simmered down, he'd been able to listen to his instincts and the impulses that wouldn't lead him astray. ]

[ with zoom, they told him to create a time remnant. now, they tell him to enjoy the moment, even if he finds himself wanting to bury his face away from her. that invincibility he felt in joe's dining room had been something warm and comfortable, and though he feels it now, he doesn't want to voice it. he can't, and he won't. ]

[ he remains on his back when he thinks to turn his head again, pressing his cheek against the linens of her bed as he looks at her. ]

[ playfully, he narrows his eyes. ] You talk a big game, West. [ he taps her hand with the back of his own. ] Can you deliver?

[ iris doesn't have to open her eyes again to know he's being playful. she can picture the look on his face perfectly: the mischief, the glint in his eye, the sunshine smile. her lips pull at the corners, much as she fights a smile of her own, cheek sinking further into the pillow. iris west never feels invincible. surrounded by the impossible while remaining decidedly human, she's mindful of her own fragility in a world that makes heroes and villains out of men.

she isn't brave because she's invincible. she's brave because the odds have never stopped her. ]

I always do, Barry. [ she unsuccessfully fights a yawn. ] I always do.

[ her eyelids are heavy. it comes suddenly, without waiting. she doesn't say anything else after that, silence filling the room. it's comfortable, at least to her, and it isn't long before iris is dozing off. she forgets there was a victory to celebrate. nothing truly feels much like a victory these days as it is.

(and she's still waiting for barry to come home.) ]

Edited 2016-07-07 06:57 (UTC)

[ she may yawn, but barry shifts on the bed like he has all the energy in the world to spend. like a man-whale, he pulls himself up so he's properly resting on a pillow, dropping himself hard enough onto it to cause waves. still lying on his back, he keeps his head turned to her to watch her slowly succumb to how tiring her victory must've been — or simply how she'd overworked herself in a worry about the dark matter and him. ]

[ he's never had a doubt iris west can't deliver. it's why he places all of his belief in her. he'd never believed much in himself, but finding that blog of the streak written by an anonymous who sounded much like the one person he admired more than he does han solo and leia organa combined had instilled in him the values he supposes he exerts now. building the flash mantel on justice and helping those who can't quite help themselves, it'd all been iris west. ]

[ but he can't quite fall asleep like her. despite closing his eyes, he's still slightly restless. remaining uncharacteristically still on her bed, he doesn't try to grab his book, doesn't flash to another portion of her room, and he doesn't wish for something to occupy his hands. instead, he glances around her room to memorise it, seeing which portions are iris west and which ones are of someone he's still getting to know. ]

[ instead of trying to spark her into talking again, barry just remains on his back, looking up at the ceiling. for as long as she's quiet, he stays still, and perhaps that's enough to overpower the flash who can run up walls and stay up for hours and days at a time and lead him, at least, to a very human-like nap. ]

[ her sleep is dreamless.

iris has never been quite as restless as barry, though her drive and her energy are still nothing to underestimate. earlier, she asked him if he'd slept any because she's been worried about him. it wouldn't be the first time barry pushes himself to some kind of brink; partly because he's punishing himself, partly because it will all come crashing down on him if he stops running. how can anyone survive the impact? but iris knows it's coming. it's only a matter of when.

her sleep is dreamless, but it isn't deep. she stirs when barry's restlessness reaches her. iris is surprised he dozed off along with her, considering. a hand gently rests on his shoulder, fingers digging into his skin faintly. ] Barry?

[ unlike iris, he is not dreamless, and she is beginning to see. ]

[ barry's always been restless. always running from people and his own thoughts, barry's never quite stayed still. even when mom had sat on the edge of his bed to read him the runaway dinosaur, he'd shifted his legs beneath his blankets while his hands remained still on top of his sheets. ]

[ he's quick at everything — from reading to thinking to his metabolism and his feet, barry's always run a mile a minute. and he's always crashed as quickly, too. at his lab, on the couch, at star labs and on a desk he's chosen to temporarily claim as his own, he's always slowed down for a few minutes or long stretches of hours, but he's even running then. ]

[ he easily runs from any dreams he has, and he does so now. it'd been sharp and bright as he'd been running, but as iris shifts, he seems to follow. he hadn't been lying when he'd admitted her voice would always bring him home. ]

[ it's with a jerk he doesn't acknowledge that barry withdraws his arm he'd unknowingly thrown over iris. scrunching up his nose, he shifts from his side and rubs his eyes hard with the tips of his fingers. ]

You snore.

[ she doesn't, but barry knows what she's going to ask, where she wants to go now, and as groggy as he is, he's quick. he's the flash. but it's a learned behaviour he's only carried on into his superheroism. barry allen's always been quick at evading anything that could tear a singularity into his own universe. ]

[ her endless patience means iris isn't easily frustrated by barry's deflective tactics, persistent though they may be. it does mean she'll ignore his light accusation in favor of searching his face. (besides, eddie would've told her if she snored, wouldn't he...?)

iris is worried about barry, and that goes without saying. she isn't the only one, if caitlin's silent agreement is anything to go by. wells probably would be too, if he wasn't from so early in their timeline, and thus more reserved than usual. the blankness of barry's room, the aggressive cheerfulness in the face of his grief — his unwillingness to let any of them in, even a little bit. the closer he gets, the farther she feels from him.

and it's not the first time it's happened, either.

a hand gently catches barry's forearm, and her expression mirrors that gentleness. ]

You were dreaming.

[ she wouldn't need to state the obvious, if he weren't being so evasive. how much longer can she ignore he's hurting? ]

[ barry looks to where she's touching him. it's almost like he doesn't feel it, as though she's reached out to brush her hand against an arm that doesn't belong to him. but he doesn't move his arm from her grip or tucks it into himself. if anything, he lets it hover, and moves it back toward her. ]

[ he hasn't woken up beside iris in a long time — sometimes he suspects that'd been some sort of vivid dream in itself. there are moments where barry's not so sure what's real and what isn't. wonderland's made him wonder what's true and what's false — is this a part of the speed force? or something else entirely? — but iris' touch has always been grounding, and he finds even a mere brush of her fingers before they become solid and strong against his arm is enough to make him realise that this isn't him falling down a rabbit hole as he sleeps. ]

Sorry.

[ he glances at her, then his arm. avoiding looking at her, he doesn't particularly want to talk about this — he suspects patty may have told iris about the nightmares she'd confronted him about. it's not something he's wanted either west to know for the sake of making sure neither spend too much of their time worrying over him. ]

[ he forces himself to stretch, back arching, a foot bumping into her leg. ]

I didn't mean to. Guess your bed's just comfortable.

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