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[ That is not a hashtag she would have ever associated with her name, and yet – ]

You wouldn't....... 😩

[ oh who is she kidding? He absolutely would, and probably critique it all to her face later. ]

[ by the time her text comes, he's read it and the reviews. he does, however, pretend he's the slowest reader in the world. ]

Damn, Iris. No respect for the innocence of your flowers. They're never going to bloom again after that.

[ will barry realise how this is going to become awkward soon? the jury's still out on that one. if he forgets he loves iris, then speaking to her on a platonic level about her being sexually dominating in front of her flowers at her work will be easy, breezy. ]

[ This is exactly the kind of thing best friends tease each other about, but she feels way too grateful that she's not talking to him face to face. How many times has she imagined greeting him at work with a kiss again...? ]

Flowers are stronger than we think.

Let me guess: you finished it already?
Or was that just the opening act?

Just finished reading it again. Pretty good piece of fiction. Not bad for my first Barry/Iris story.

[ is he going to read some more? he doesn't really know. he's used to reading about the flash in the newspapers, secretly beaming at how proud the city seems to be regarding his successes, but reading about how he and iris choose to reunite since his return to this earth ... it's a little on the weird side. ]

[ but oh so interesting from an analysing point of view. ]

This is weird but so interesting, right? I can't be the only crazy one here.

I wonder if this is what celebrities feel like.

[ The ones back home, she means. Iris was climbing her way up in the world of journalism, but no one really writes RPF about the likes of James Baldwin and Rachel Carson. For one, she could see both Baldwin and Carson sending back tons of edits with every chapter. ]

It's one thing to be famous for heroics, but people are actively invested in this. [ In us. ] I'd ask why, but the stories kind of say it all.

"Tenacious, incredible investigative journalist Iris West, and smart, scrawny CSI Barry Allen."

It kind of writes itself, imo.

[ as famous and heroic as the flash happens to be, iris can't write herself short. if it hadn't been for her, central city wouldn't have welcomed the flash with open arms the way they did. they had accepted him, and when they were losing their faith, they read iris' powerful words to fix it. ]

[ she speaks of heroics, and he thinks of her. ]

**smart, witty, incredible CSI Barry Allen.

Don't sell yourself short, either. (:

[ She's one of his biggest fans - probably the biggest fan - and yet his praise means the entire world to her. She's so, so glad he can't see her flustered face, because his belief in her matters more than anything. ]

Hey, I think I just found a story where you solve a murder in my flower shop :OO

[ this is officially the weirdest thing she's ever done with him, but it's also enjoyable? in an equally weird way? bless their fandom. ]

[ thank god he is not standing in front of her right now, because he's blushing. even though he knows how she feels, it's that — the undying belief, the refusal to think any less of him — that keeps him running. ]

For real?

OMG does this involve #DomIris because Bubs n Bulbs will never be the same for me ever again.

[ no offense, he's all for #domiris, but that flower shop needs to remain sacred until at least their first anniversary. ]

ewww, of course not. Get your head out of the gutter 😫

[ She has no idea, honestly, and she's not sure she wants to find out. Her flower shop will never be the same again. ]

What!?

[ he's laughing. god, can you hear him laughing from the golf course? he really needs to get back on his buggy and pretend to be landscaping when he's already finished the job. ]

Come on! It'd be hot! 🔥 🚒

[ if he's gonna run with this train, then she might as well take it to its logical conclusion . . . ]

Oh, is that what you're into these days? 🤔 🤔

I am not against being adventurous.

[ is that a neutral response? he doubts it. barry is quite fond of sticking his foot in his mouth and tripping over the other one. ]

Unlike this one story that has me being so boring??? Iris likes the Flash more than Barry??? What is this?? I'm going to leave a review. This is defamation of my character -- literally!

Just make sure it's anonymous, or we'll end up on the Majority Report.

[ Iris wants to write the news, not make it for dragging some poor teenage girl (or guy) through the mud . . . ]

But also you're the opposite of boring???
Idek what these writers are talking about... it's never been a dull moment.

[ Quiet moments, sure, but she loves those the best. They're like Earth-1 Netflix and Chill, except with actual Netflix and snuggles. ]

[ barry isn't actually going to leave a flaming review regarding this one particular story. if he does it for this one, then he'll need to do it for them all, and though he's as quick as a blink of an eye, he also knows it's not the worst thing in the world. given what he's lived through, it's hardly a blip on the radar. ]

[ but he's allowed to be dramatic. let him have this moment. ]

The Flash is more interesting than me! But I'm the Flash! Also the Flash wouldn't have the possibility of dancing with Beyoncé if it wasn't for ME.

[ moment over. ]

Thanks for not thinking I'm boring. I know my science talk is boring for you. But I've gotten better at speaking actual English to you these days!

It's a weird paradox, isn't it? The Flash can't be more interesting than you but "Chronicles of Our Own" thinks otherwise??
Beyoncé should be honored to dance with you in any universe.

[ oh, she's indulging it for all its worth. It makes her flower arrangements go that much faster!! ]

True. But at least now I can understand you no matter what language you speak. (:

[ Including, but not limited to, any sort of languages he may pick up from the Speed Force (?) ]

[ 👀 this house is bitchin' ]

THAT is the best, most realistic fic out there!!!

[ sorry, iris; he ships himself with beyoncé. ]

You've got such a cool power. c: Has Cisco given you a superhero name yet?

[ the one person who will push iris to become a superhero is this idiot right here. ]

[ huh? As much as Iris loves her powers, she'd never seen herself in the same light as the Flash or Vibe, or Arrow or any of the other costumed crusaders from their world. ]

Thanks!! But no, he hasn't.

[ . . . ]

Was he supposed to?

He should! We can be the Three Amigos. The Flash, Vibe, and [ Iris West's Alter-ego Goes Here]! How cool would that be? Think of all the fanfiction for The Flash/Your Alter-ego.

Tempting, but it's ok! I like supporting you guys from HQ.

We can have our own team! The Flash Vibe Journalists ... I'm going to get Cisco to work on the name. But it'd be cool!

[ barry allen? ladies and gentlemen, won't take iris not being a significant part of the justice league as an answer for anything. would he consider leaving if he could get his own band with iris and cisco going? quite possibly. even with her reassurance months ago, he still doesn't feel right. ]

Yeah, but you already have a team. Shouldn't you be supporting them too?

[ even if she's not part of the league, she doesn't want barry to ditch what he's worked so hard for. and besides, wouldn't they technically be competing with the league if he left...? ]

[ this is why barry needs her, she tempers the stupidity. ]

You're right. You always are. No surprise there.

I know you've said you were okay with it before, but I just feel really weird being in the League without you. The Flash isn't the Flash without Iris West. I don't care what Batguy says, you're needed. I need you.

[ "batguy", because barry refuses to call batman "batman" in the hopes of making iris laugh. ]

[ When he puts it so bluntly, Iris doesn't know exactly what to say. She's quiet, with "..." flashing far longer than it needs to. ]

I've never left you, Barry.
Even if I can't walk into Justice League HQ, I'm right here.
I always will be - and that won't change.

[ perhaps one day he will grow used to being within a new team — and being a significant member of said team — and not feel as though it's a betrayal to his first team. though it's all in his head, barry doesn't quite want to feel comfortable in the justice league. he doesn't want to enjoy it, or get along with the people there, because he wonders if that will completely undermine everything they've achieved as team flash, a much smaller and close-knit team than that of the justice league. ]

[ but isn't this their end goal? helping the world on a larger basis, learning how to be faster, more efficient, and develop as a leader and a hero and a person has been their objective since day dot. he doesn't want to do it without her. ]

Before you got here, I was pretty content not to do anything. The cities here had heroes. Good heroes. Really powerful ones, too. Who needed the Flash? But you decided to follow me, albeit at your usual slow pace, and I don't want to sit on my hands anymore. I never would've joined the Justice League if you weren't here. I forgot who the Flash was and what the Flash meant to people.

I just hope you can do the same for the other heroes here. Cisco's probably got a really cool superhero name up his sleeve for you, but I'm starting to think the one you should settle on is one that doesn't exist in our vocabulary.

[ it's probably in the speed force's, though. ]

[ every time barry says that she is his (metaphorical) heart, the world feels as if it's coming to a standstill. there is no flash without iris west, he'd told her.

she may not be part of the Justice League, but she is always by his side. this is just a proper extension of team flash: a strike team that saves an entire country without blinking twice. but it's also precisely because they're a strike team that they need barry. barry has so, so much compassion that it could fill an entire universe. multiple universes, probably.

case in point: this entire exchange that's making her vision super-blurry and this conversation like an impressionist painting. ]

What if I told you it exists in Arabic?

[ show-off. ]

أمل means "amal," or a hope that may seem far-fetched but really isn't. Every time I think of you in the League with that gloomy old Batguy, I think of amal. I think of how you make everyone remember just why heroes matter in the first place, and how much you make me want to get out there and show the world what you're capable of.

Edited 2017-11-04 18:05 (UTC)

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