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Barry.

[ relief wraps around her voice, and she almost feels her bones dissipate with it.

it's unnatural for barry to be absent from an event. he is the ultimate hero in iris' eyes. he jumps into the fray with little thought to how it might result in consequences where his well-being is concerned. if someone is in danger, barry is going to run toward them, not away. she knew without a doubt that his absence meant something, and it couldn't be good if it was keeping him from her. it's the only way she could explain not seeing or hearing from him throughout the event, and no sooner she hears his voice, she receives that confirmation. before he even explains, iris just knows, and all she can do is be grateful to hear his voice at all.

she's been moving tirelessly from room to room, and the last day was spent reaching clementine to help her with the zombies.

all in a day or three's work, right? she's about ready to drop, but barry's voice keeps her going when she thinks she won't take another step. ]

Barry, where are you? [ jesse was the only one that she was able to find during the flood, and harry's radio silence throughout jesse's ordeal doesn't escape her notice, either. he must have been sent away, as well. nothing would keep him from reaching his daughter. ]

[ when he hears her loud and clear, he knows he doesn't need to yell into his phone. it sounds of static for a moment before it seems to fix itself magically. that crackling dissipates and silence lingers, a good proper one that's meant to when the phone line's as strong as his legs should be. for a fraction of a second barry wonders if he had made her voice up, but the one thing he's always been confident on is whether iris west is real or not. the speed force had tried to trick him once, and he hadn't fallen for it, not wanting to find peace with a reflection of iris as he had with his mom. ]

I'm — [ in the highest point of wonderland. barry's surprised he hadn't somehow phased himself into the actual roof of the mansion. if he had enough energy and creativity, and strength to bust through what was hard and impenetrable to his powers, he would've. he's in the dusty attic, himself the only thing that's actually drenched. he lifts one foot and places it back down, hearing a soft sound of his converse shoes protesting. on an exhale, ] In the attic.

[ brushing his own whereabouts aside, he's quick to add, a little more focused now. ] Where are you?

Third floor.

[ iris is quick to answer, choosing practicality over sentiment. her heart is telling her to go to him wherever he is. common sense reminds her that barry can get to her faster than she could ever get to him. she needs to stay put and have faith he'll reach her, which she always does. ]

I was helping Clementine de-escalate a situation, but it's all taken care of. Everyone's okay.

[ just. y'know. zombies. ]

[ barry's on the move before she even says floor. the phone remains pressed against his ear as he moves, which isn't an entirely easy feat given he's used to using his hands to propel him forward. he streaks through the mansion, zipping down the stairs, along the corridors, and through its entire skeleton before he reaches the third floor. ]

[ once he's there, he skids to a stop and takes a moment that lasts only a second to right himself. pressing his hand against a wall, he closes his eyes for a moment. ] Woah. [ he spares one quick thought to grab something to eat but forgoes it. listening to iris' voice, he does his best to right himself, and then he's zipping through the third floor again to arrive where she is in a skid of crackling electricity. ]

( iris feels heavy for what they had to do. what clementine had to do. she would've given anything to have barry's speed just then. it would've made her fast enough to take care of it all on her own. she knows georgia and shaun will come back, for that's how wonderland decrees it, but it made it no less difficult to stare down a friend who was no longer a friend and watch them die. it had to be done, is what she tells herself. it had to be done. )

Barry.

( the sight of him unknots the tightness that had settled in her throat, and in onetwothree quick steps she reaches him, throwing her arms around his neck. )

[ he's supposed to be the fastest man alive, but iris steals that thunder right from under him when he feels her warmth against him and her arms around his neck. his wrap around her waist and he presses his palms to her back, holding her to him. face in her neck, he finds the unsteadiness he'd been feeling moments ago is gone. ]

[ not surprising. iris has always grounded him. ]

Hey. [ he laughs lightly, finding all that tension that's been building up inside of him disappears. it's the strength of her arms that seems to release it. ]

[ he should let her go, but barry's arms aren't complying with his thoughts. ] You okay?

I am now.

( the sentiment may be corny as hell, but it doesn't make it any less true. some events are thornier than others, and iris is a strong force in her own right, but she's human at the end of the day, and a compassionate one at that: things get to her. she doesn't want them not to. people are hurt, some of them have died, and she didn't know where barry was throughout most of the event. she isn't a fatalist, but wonderland teaches them to brace themselves for the worst. )

Do you ever just want to lock everyone you know into the same room and not let them out of your sight?

[ his lips curve upward as he attempts to appear mock concerned, ] I'm pretty sure that's called kidnapping?

[ but he knows it's the one thing everyone shares. if they could lock themselves up in a room and throw away the key, then things may appear a little rosier than they actually are. but barry knows that the walls have to be made out of a specific kind of substance to stop him from phasing through, the knobs need to be removed, and there has to be absolutely no windows. ]

[ he lets out an exhale through his nose, shoulders sagging a little as tension slips out. ] But yeah, I do. I'm finding it really hard to keep tabs on everyone here, and I'm this [ he raises his hand, index and thumb just a small space apart. ] close to putting a tracker on everyone. And I don't even know where to get one of those!

[ humour, it's the best damn thing to break any sort of real and concerning confession. ]

( kidnapping, schmidnapping.

... and okay, so she knows that he's joking, and that she really shouldn't let him deflect with humor, but it's been a while since iris spoke about her experiences from home. the things she's lived the rest of the team hasn't, and from the looks of it, won't anytime soon. )

That's actually something we do back home. ( iris scrunches her nose. ) Sort of. It worked like a panic button app in our phones, and we could press it if any one of us was in danger. ( so that's actually not a bad idea, even if he was joking ... )

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