#backtothestart02 fanfiction
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I Remember You - 1/1 | bughead fanfiction
A/N: I couldn't get this idea out of my head. Hope my fellow bugheads enjoy.
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Synopsis: 7x20 - Betty and Jughead's first time during their senior year.
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That night after their double date with Jughead and Veronica, Archie dropped her off at home. He kissed her sweetly on the lips, their fingers tangling until it was time for her to walk up those steps she knew so well and open the door to her house. She chatted with her mom a little and then went upstairs to her bedroom.
It had been a good night, a fun night. Archie had been a perfect gentleman, and sometimes a little bit of wild poet when she needed him to be. But she’d be lying if she said he was the only one she thought about during those quiet moments in her bedroom.
There’d been that spark between her and Veronica even before their memories had been returned at the tail end of junior year. Something still sizzled between them for sure. But tonight Vee wasn’t the one she was thinking of either.
She might’ve spent two lives in love with Archie and months building up tension with Veronica, but there was another person she felt a connection with, that in a previous life she’d really, truly loved. She loved him hard and deeply, until it consumed her. And then she’d ruined their relationship in the heat of the moment with Archie, and-
Well, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Was it right of her to confront him about a relationship that only the two of them knew the good and bad about? The fights, the betrayal, the pain that came with teenage drama? Jealousy, competition… but such a deep love too, and a fierce loyalty despite the mistakes.
It had been eating at her for months, and she knew it now. She couldn’t resist the pull she felt every time they were in the same room.
Re-dressing herself, she snuck out of her house an hour after her beloved Archie had left and made her way to Jughead’s train car on the other side of town.
Climbing the rickety steps, she knocked lightly on the outside door.
“Betty.”
He looked confused and then immediately following, concerned.
“I- Is everything okay? It’s late.”
He folded his arms, and she started to wonder if this was a mistake.
“Yeah, sorry, I- I know it’s late. I just…” She pursed her lips.
“Do you want to come inside?”
Her eyes locked on his, and relief flowered inside her. She nodded, smiling hesitantly but gratefully.
Jughead stepped back to allow her inside. She slipped out of her jacket as soon as she was inside and set it over his chair by his typewriter. She let her eyes linger, and then her fingers brushed over the elevated keys.
“I remember when I gave you this…” she paused when she remembered how very weird their lives were. “I mean, not this one. But-”
“I remember too,” he finished for her, and they shared a smile. “That typewriter was special.”
The moment built, not tension but something more, something exciting and unspoken.
“I-I suppose you’re wondering what I’m doing here, on your doorstep at half-past 10.”
He shrugged innocently.
“I’m so sorry, Jughead, for cheating on you with Archie.”
“Betty, that was a lifetime ago.”
“No, I know, but it’s been eating at me that I never really said it. Those memories…we watched them like they were a movie, but I remember them like they happened to me yesterday, all of them at once. And Jughead, I loved you so much.”
“I loved you too, Betty.”
“I just can’t believe I let you slip away, and I just moved on with Archie, got engaged to Archie, and you moved on with Tabitha. But we never really…we didn’t talk. We didn’t…” Her mouth ran dry, struggling to find the words.
Tears slipped out between her eyelashes and trickled down her cheeks, one on each side.
“And I know I’m with Archie now, and you’re with Veronica, and we’re happy that way. Tonight was great and fun and like old times but not.” A laugh burst out of her. “But I…I still…” She sighed, her breath catching when he wiped away her tears and tilted her chin up so she could see the tears welling up in his eyes too.
“I still too, Betty. I still.”
And then he was leaning down, and their lips caught on fire. Betty moaned into him and caught her hands around his face as he did the same to her. It was a dragging, drugging, lustful kiss, but there was so much love there too. A love that both of them had tried to deny existed anymore for years.
“I’m sorry, Jughead. I’m so-”
“I forgive you, Betty.”
He unbuttoned the buttons dotting the top half of her dress and pushed the fabric over her shoulders.
“I forgive you.”
And then all words were lost in the rush of undressing each other and moving to his bed, a bed that had been hand-designed by Miss Veronica Lodge, Jughead’s girlfriend. But Betty’s mind was hazy. No one existed for her then except for the young man kissing her like she’d forgotten she could be kissed. Jughead traced her skin like he was memorizing it, in case this never happened again, or even if it did. He treated her like a precious jewel he was lucky enough to behold.
And when he moved inside her, their skin coming alive, the air in their lungs exhaled on a chorus of hallelujahs. Betty wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him like a vice, inhaling his scent, threading her fingers in his hair, pulling him tightly to her as if this was the first time. And in a way, it was.
Tomorrow they would go back to their significant others, her to Archie, and he to Veronica. But they wouldn’t forget this night, and it might even happen again.
She didn’t regret it, and she felt in her heart that he didn’t either.
Not when they laid together, their fingers intertwined over their beating hearts after they’d finished. Not when their foreheads pressed together, and they traced the lines on each other’s faces.
As luck would have it, that same night Archie had slipped away to see Veronica, and they’d had a very similar experience. The four of them wouldn’t discuss what it all meant for a few weeks, and not until Betty and Veronica had a sizzling encounter of their own, but one thing was for certain.
Some connections couldn’t be broken. Not that easily. Not by time or erased memories. Not forever, and not this night.
“I love you, Betty,” Jughead had whispered when her eyes were closed long enough that he thought she was asleep. It was the only time he said it that entire year, but there was no mistaking the genuine realness of it.
And Betty carried that with her.
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For anyone who has forgotten all about what Hazy is about:
Synopsis: Post 4x02 - With everything good between him and Iris again, the last thing Barry expects is to wake up in a time when Iris is not his fiancee but instead the wife of a very alive Eddie Thawne.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
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Westallen Meet-Up Fanfiction Event: Westallen in Summer | MASTER LIST 2019
Thank you to all the participants!
By @backtothestart02:
Gentle Sway (prevs. Rocking in a Warm, Summer Breeze)
Untied and Unraveled
If Only She Knew (1)
Easy Burn
Thumbleiris Meets the Fairy Prince
By @yeinethegrey:
Blackouts and Ice Baths
By @jade4813:
Stardust
#westallen in summer#fanfiction master list#westallen fanfiction#barry x iris#fanfiction event#westallen in summer master list#backtothestart02#yeinethegrey#jade4813
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Before the Hood - 1/6
For @jade4813 from @backtothestart02 -I’m not going to lie. This gets pretty angsty pretty quickly and ends on a bittersweet note. But it’s meant to be the prequel to my Robin Hood westallen AU that I plan to write eventually (yes, this is a Robin Hood AU, you got me), and that fic will end very happily, so if you’d like, you can consider that your fic too. I hope you’re able to enjoy this fic though!
I so appreciate you as a person and a shipper and a writer. I am always so inspired by you and your talent and appreciate so much how kind you are. So I was unbelievably excited when I received your name as my giftee (you write such incredible AUs!). Hopefully you will enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it and be hopeful about what comes after instead of in a puddle of tears. I hope I can do your masterpieces some justice and that you have an amazing Christmas and holiday season!!
Merry Christmas!
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(All of these chapters have been lightly proofread, so feel free to do a re-read once I post them to AO3 & FFnet, b/c I’m sure they’ll be in much better condition then.)
Fun Fact: I did some medieval research for this story that I did try to incorporate. (1) People were not meant to be educated unless they were upperclass/royalty/clergymen. (2) Women were rarely educated period, unless upperclass and then very little. They were expected to marry and raise children. (3) The Crusades and everything according to the Robin Hood legend that I googled I tried to incorporate to some degree, since I did keep the story set in the Middle Ages. (There’s prob more, but I can’t think of what at the moment.)
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Chapter 1 -
Collin Woods.
A place thick with trees, alive with wildlife, and far from any central city on the map, two hundred miles away from the literal Central City. Within the woods contained the small town of the same name, the only structure cresting above the trees being the stone castle of the royals. Previously residing there was King Richard – a loyal, good king who took care of his people and flourished the town with bountiful riches and a thriving population. But within the past several months he had left the town and its people to embark on the noble quest of fighting in the Crusades. In his place, he left his younger brother, Prince John, a selfish, spoiled, adolescent fool who little by little drained the small town of its resources until the only thing rich and satisfying to the eye could be found within the castle grounds.
Many of the young men of the town had gone off to fight in the Crusades with their King. Not all could go, because work needed to be done that could not only be sustained by older men, women, and children. But some left not only for the cause itself but to escape the death trap that had become their once thriving homeland. War with all its drudgery, pain, and rate of death on the battlefield was still a welcome reprieve. To those that survived, they only hoped their king would return with them and so sustain the lands they used to call home and create a small paradise once again for themselves and those they loved.
Beside Prince John was his wise and yet often taken for granted advisor, Sir Hiss – not his actual name of course, but his natural born lisp that often affected his speech had granted him the title. The superficial prince did nothing to correct it. Since he relished as well as mocked his only true friend – if he could be called that – the name suited him in the latter case. Trained guards were at Prince John’s disposal, as well as the particularly greedy Sheriff of Collin Woods, Clifford Devoe.
Amongst the townspeople was the West family, but with the father, Joseph, and the son, Wallace, off to fight in the Crusades, and the mother, Francine, passed many years ago, the daughter, Maid Iris, was ordered by Prince John to live under the care of Sheriff DeVoe and his wife, Marlise. Iris was rarely seen after that, except for at festivals hosted by Prince John. And by one other, who she risked everything to see night after night by moonlight, hidden amongst the trees lining Silver Lake.
Barry Allen.
Bartholomew was his given name, but hardly rolling off the tongue, his best friend, Cisco – who’d also shortened his name – decided on a nick name for the young Allen. To those around him, it had stuck.
Barry was the only child of Henry and Nora Allen. The former was the only doctor in the town. He had taken a young pupil under his wing, a girl – which was most unheard of, Caitlin Snow. He’d tried to lure his son into the teachings of medicine. There were few things greater than the ability to heal, he would say. But young Barry would have none of it. And being a friend of Caitlin himself, Barry encouraged the union. There should be more than two doctors in one town, should one fall ill, heaven forbid. But it wasn’t going to be him. Most of the time when he wasn’t home, he traveled into town to offer his skills – that of repairing homes and entertaining children – as proof of his servitude. His mother, Nora, who was a seamstress to nearly everyone found this to be a great addition to the work force. And since she needed to do little to win over her husband, most of the time he relented.
But Barry didn’t spend all of his time tending to the needs of the townsfolk. His favorite pastimes were narrowed down to three: fishing with his best friend, Cisco, practicing archery from his handmade bow and arrows, and visiting Maid Iris by moonlight.
One late afternoon in June, finished with his tasks for today, Barry idly leaned against a tree and carved himself some new arrows, preparing to get some practice in. For the Crusades he would tell his father if the subject ever arose. But it hadn’t yet. Only his friends knew of his hobby, and it was kept amongst them. It was no secret Barry didn’t want to go to war.
“Hey!”
The disgruntled voice pulled Barry out of his reverie, and he saw an unamused Cisco standing inches beneath where his arrow had landed, a hole piercing his new hat as it stay pinned against the tree behind him.
Barry had the decency to blush.
“Sorry, Cisco.”
Cisco carefully pulled the arrow free and his hat with it and placed it back on his head.
“Watch it. My mother made that.”
Cisco’s mother was not the greatest seamstress – as was evidenced by the seams falling apart of the hats she made for her son, even without arrows being shot through them. But his parents looked down upon the Allen’s for Henry’s audacity to train a young girl in medicine, to educate a peasant girl whose duty it was to marry and raise children, not attempt to heal people. And also, because Barry’s parents were not stricter with him. As a result, they forbid their son from being friends with Barry – an order he ignored fervently.
“My mother could make you a new one,” Barry offered, not for the first time, as he turned his full attention to his friend.
Cisco snorted. “My mother would know. She knows she can’t sew. It has never been her talent. And if she saw how neatly the seams were sewn, she’d know where I had been.”
Barry nodded. He knew. He just couldn’t help but offer.
“Did you see Caitlin today?” Cisco asked casually, leaning against the tree beside Barry.
Barry shook his head. “I left early this morning. Ralph was off with Sue again, so he wasn’t around to watch his younger brothers and sisters. I offered my services.”
Cisco’s lips turned up in a smirk. “Of course you did.”
“It is my contribution,” Barry said, picking up another arrow and shaving down the sides so it would fly more smoothly.
“You don’t sound happy about it.”
He shrugged.
“Maybe you’re just jealous Ralph can spend time with Sue in broad daylight when you have to sneak around with Iris by moonlight.”
Barry froze, his eyes wide as he turned to look at his friend.
“What? You thought I didn’t know?”
Barry turned his body fully.
“I’m your best friend,” Cisco said, offended.
“You’re not- You didn’t- Does anyone else-”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course no one else knows. At least not because of me. I won’t tell a soul.” He paused. “At least not until you do.”
Barry snorted and returned to his arrows.
“I’ll never be able to do that,” he muttered under his breath.
“You never know,” Cisco said, softening.
Barry picked up his bow and arrow and aimed for a farther tree.
“As long as King Richard is fighting in the Crusades and Iris is cooped up with that awful Sheriff DeVoe, there’s no way we can be together openly. She’ll probably marry that awful knight Julian,” Barry said, scowling.
“I thought he’s planning to leave for the Crusades,” Cisco said, his brows fusing together.
“Not before obtaining a marriage proposal, I bet.”
“And why would the Sheriff say yes to him? He gains too much by keeping Iris locked up. He feeds off her inheritance.”
Barry lowered his bow. “Because Julian is a knight, and his father is in Prince John’s royal guard. He probably thinks Julian won’t return from the Crusades and he won’t have to worry about it.”
“But if he does return…”
“He’ll have to own up to the promise. And Maid Iris will have no choice in the matter.”
Cisco shoulders slumped, and then he gathered himself together, determined to let them not both be burdened down by this possibility.
“It might not happen,” he offered. “Julian’s thirst for war might overcome his desire for Iris.”
Barry looked at him. “It does.”
Cisco’s brows furrowed again.
“Julian wants her because I have her. It’s his petty jealousy for everything I have that is greater than his thirst for war. All the medals and glory in the world would mean nothing to him if they didn’t also crush me into the ground in the process.”
He shot off another arrow, this one recklessly into the air at a distance. Someone could trace it, find him, discover his hobby and somehow use it against him. But he didn’t care. Few things stifled his hatred for Julian Albert, son of the guard, knight in training, who gloated about all that he would receive on his return from the Crusades. More than once Barry had wanted to retort bitterly, ‘If you return.’ But he’d held his breath. He wouldn’t sink to his level.
“And what do you have that he doesn’t?” Cisco asked, though he knew at least some of what his answer would be.
“Both parents, friends, the right to choose what I want to do, and a father who is willing to bend the rules for the sake of the people.”
“And the love of Iris,” Cisco added, which made Barry’s anger finally fizzle out.
“Yes. And that.”
…
In the quiet cottage just off the edge of town, Nora Allen sat in her rocking chair and picking up a new color of yarn to add to her nearest quilt. She hummed quietly to herself, a melody to harmonize with the blue birds chirping outside the window. The sun shone through it, warming her face, and with the scent of biscuits wafting out of the oven, she knew dinner would soon be at hand. The chicken was ready, and the corn. With the prepared food would come her husband, her son, and the young girl Henry had taken under his wing, Caitlin Snow.
Caitlin was a quiet one. With long brown locks and the same purple, cotton dress she wore day after day, only changing the ribbons in her hair on occasion, Nora had taken to mothering her. She’d never had a daughter, and there was much about Caitlin that appealed to her. From her determination to chase after her dreams to her polite refusal of anything that might inconvenience anyone, Nora welcomed having her in their home and at their table. A few times she had studied her son’s interactions with her to see if there was any spark. She certainly wouldn’t mind having Caitlin officially part of their family.
But Caitlin, it seemed, was in love with a slightly older boy, Ronnie Raymond, who had gone off to fight in the Crusades. And Nora’s boy, Barry, she had begun to suspect, still fancied Maid Iris.
It was a star-crossed romance she’d hoped her son could avoid. Not because she held anything against Iris or her family, but because it would be nearly impossible for them to find happiness together in a practical sense with Iris being elevated in her father’s and brother’s absence. In addition, she knew the feelings had not been one-sided before Joseph and Wallace had left for Crusades. That made the young romance even more devastating.
But Iris lived with Sheriff DeVoe now, who was snide and arrogant and in line with that terrible Prince John who was constantly raising the taxes. She hoped Marlise DeVoe, who while loyal to her husband, didn’t appreciate his tactics, had taken Iris under her wing and protected her. Heaven only knows what kind of atmosphere existed in that house if she hadn’t.
With Prince John’s almost constant raising of taxes – and demand in paying them being more frequent – Nora worried that soon Henry would allow appointments without pay. He tried to be firm and decisive on the outside, but on the inside his love for her and his son and the townspeople had turned him to mush. After all, once Barry had made it clear he would not be following in his footsteps, Henry had sought out a pupil and had no qualms whatsoever about taking on Caitlin Snow.
The sound of the heavy wooden door being opened interrupted her thoughts, and the sound of her husband’s warm voice made the sadness of her thoughts all but disappear.
“Something smells good,” Henry said, walking through the door. “You smell that, Caitlin?” The young girl nodded beside him. “It smells wonderful.”
Nora smiled to herself, set aside her tools and yarn and walked into the entryway adjoining the kitchen.
“You’re home,” she said, to which her husband crossed the distance between them and placed a kiss on her cheek. “It smells so good.” He pulled back. “Is it biscuits?”
She nodded. “Yes. And chicken and potatoes.”
Caitlin’s eyes lit up. “You have potatoes?”
“Yes. And I’m going to mash them. Would you like to help?”
Caitlin nearly bounced up on her toes. It never ceased to amazing Nora how this girl could go from being shy to eager and excited when new opportunities presented themselves. She wondered what that meant about her home life but decided not to think on it.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she chuckled. “Come on.” She nodded her head towards the hot pot over the fire and grabbed some pot warmers so as not to burn herself. “Grab a bowl from the bottom shelf. We’ll put them in there first.”
Caitlin did as she was told and used the large spoon to transfer the vegetable. Nora looked over her shoulder at her husband as she did so.
“Have you seen Barry today?”
“Not this morning,” he said on a sigh. “But the Dibny’s informed me he spent all morning with their rambunctious children, so he must’ve done some good today.”
“Henry.” Her voice lowered, and he reined himself in.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s a good thing what he’s doing. It’s better than just lying around this place all day. I’m glad he’s getting work in and that he’ll help out with the harvest in the fall.”
“Oh!” Caitlin interjected, spying the individual in question walking passed the distant window. “I think I see him.”
Moments later, the door opened and Barry walked in, a basket of freshly pulled carrots in his arms.
“Carrots,” Caitlin said, awe-struck by yet another delicious food being added to the menu.
“What a brilliant idea, Barry. Thank you for thinking of it,” his mother said.
He forced a smile that matched his father’s until Henry felt the glare his wife was delivering to the back of his head.
“I thought it might…add something,” Barry added lamely, avoiding his father’s gaze.
“I talked to the Dibny’s earlier today,” Henry said, pushing bitter feelings behind him for the sake of the meal and the company. “It sounds like you were very helpful to them this morning.”
Barry looked at him, then glanced at his mother and Caitlin and knew he had to do something to release the tension.
“Well, someone had to be, what with Ralph running off with Sue just as his brothers and sisters were waking up.”
Henry softened, a proud smile gracing his features.
“I’m glad you stepped up, son.” He gripped his shoulder. “It’s good to know what’s important in life and not go running after a lass before you’ve found your place.”
He glanced over at Caitlin.
“Nothing against you, of course, Caitlin.”
She grinned sardonically.
“Of course not. I’m special.”
Barry shook his head at the comment, but it had the whole family laughing, and so the tension was broken.
…
Night descended over Collin Woods about an hour after dinner. Caitlin had returned home, promising to meet Henry at his clinic the next day as early as she could. He promised to bring food with him and Nora insisted she come home with Henry for dinner again. Caitlin was reluctant to make that promise, so she just smiled as a goodbye and waved her hand on the way out. Barry watched her from the front window and thought about the impact she made on their home. He was glad to have her in his life, and glad even more so that she’d provided an escape for him from his father’s profession. But he worried some about her home life. Whenever he saw her about in town, there was no light in her eyes. She looked sullen, almost like a young child. And he saw the tight grip her mother always had on her even though she was three years into adulthood at age fifteen. It just made him more aware of the destruction Prince John had brought upon their little town.
Barry lay in bed until he could hear his parents’ snores drifting down the hall. Deeming it safe to slip out, he pushed open his window and carefully climbed over the ledge to the other side. He closed it after he’d landed in the grass, keeping it open a crack so he wouldn’t have difficulty going in, and then slinked away from his home, taking off as fast as one of his arrows as soon as he’d reached the cluster of trees thickening like a swarm of flies on the way to Central Pond.
He got to the edge of the water, looked up and saw some hazy clouds crossing over the moon. He worried for a moment that she wouldn’t come. They had always said that if it was a cloudy night, maybe it was a sign they shouldn’t meet up that night, that there was somehow a better likelihood of them being caught, even if logically that didn’t make sense. They should be harder to see with no grand moonlight making figures known amongst the trees.
But he didn’t have to worry long. Because mere moments later, a tap came on his shoulder, and he nearly fell into the water because of it.
“Barry!” she quietly shrieked, pulling him back by the fabric of his shirt, and then dissolving into a fit of giggles when she did. Putting a hand over her mouth, she tried to compose herself. “I’m sorry.”
He was flushed, breathing heavily for a few moments, but then a silly grin stretched across his face.
“No apology needed,” he said, then took her hand and led her away from the water into the woods. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”
“So was I,” she said. “The clouds were so much thicker from my bedroom window.” She came to a stop and held both of her hands in his, swinging a little on the balls of her feet. “But I thought I’d make a try for it. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”
In truth it had been two days, and the only reason they hadn’t met up was because of storms, rain that poured hard and for hours. But it still felt like an eternity. Every moment apart felt like a lifetime.
“I know,” he said, intertwining their fingers together. “It’s been forever.”
He couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled on her hands with his own, instantly bringing her closer, and met her lips with a sudden kiss. She melted into it, and so did he. His arms moved to settle on her waist as hers wrapped around his neck. And for a while they stood there in the filtered moonlight, just ignoring the world around them.
“Oh, Barry,” she murmured, eventually pulling back enough to lay her head on his chest. He swayed them gently. “I wish it could be like this forever.”
He rested his cheek on the top of her head and shut his eyes, listening to the sway of her long dress in the night breeze.
“So do I.”
“I dream at night about us, you know.”
He smiled to himself. “You do?”
“Well, don’t you?” She lifted her head to look up at him.
“Of course, Iris. I dream about you even when I’m not sleeping. I almost shot Cisco with an arrow today because I was so distracted dreaming of you.”
Her eyes sparkled. “You wouldn’t have hit him.”
“I don’t know…I was pretty distracted.”
“You never miss,” she said. “Not even when you’re distracted.”
“I might’ve made an exception for Julian,” he joked lightly.
She smirked. “I might’ve let you.”
He didn’t know if her not liking Julian any more than he did made their situation even more tragic, but he decided he liked it. Better the knight not be his competition when it came to Iris’ heart. In any other way, he could deal, even if he didn’t want to, but if he was unsure about where her heart lie, he was sure he would die.
“Come on,” he said, stepping back enough to just hold her hand. “I want to show you something.”
Iris bit her bottom lip and ran with him through the woods until they came to a large tree. She stopped before he did and looked up at the spectacle before them.
“It’s amazing,” she said, awestruck.
“It’s old,” he responded. “And probably shouldn’t be climbed on.” He bent down to pick something off the grass just around the old oak. “But it’s unlike any other tree in the whole forest, and I think we should make it our own.”
He came back to her and handed her a rock, sharp and narrow at the end. She looked at it strangely and met his eyes with a quizzical expression.
“What are you thinking, Barry?”
He grinned and pulled her to the large, oak tree. Then she watched as he used his own rock to painstakingly carve his initials into the wood. He made a small cross beneath it and stepped back. He glanced at her when she didn’t move.
“Your turn,” he said.
Excitedly, though she tried to contain herself, Iris stepped forward and carved her own initials in. Then, without any prodding, she drew a large heart around their letters and stepped back, looking at their masterpiece proudly.
“I love you, Iris,” he said, softly, and she turned to find him staring at her, so much love in his eyes. She didn’t doubt his declaration for a second.
“I love you, too, Barry,” she returned, taking both his hands in hers as they’d been before.
“I don’t know how long we can be like this,” he admitted. “But I’m going to treasure every moment.” He brought their clasped hands to his heart and held them there. “You’re my home, Iris. And that’s one thing that will never change.”
Her heart aflutter, and all words fallen away from her memory, she smiled softly in response. Then she tilted her face up, closed her eyes, and waited for him to kiss her.
#the flash#westallen secret santa#westallen#barry allen#iris westallen#iris west#backtothestart02#fanfic#fanfiction#the flash fanfiction#submission
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Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Flash (TV 2014)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Iris West & Wally West, Iris West & Joe West
Characters: Iris West, Wally West, Joe West
Additional Tags: Angst, Romance, Missing Scene, post 3.23, 3.23
Series: Part 18 of Roll Credits
Summary:
Post 3x23 - Iris insists on staying alone at the loft her first night without Barry.
#Iris West#Westallen#fanfiction#recs#backtothestart02#oh help#I'm very sad now#poor Iris#the flash#search your feelings you know it to be queue
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To My Followers and Readers
This is going to sound really dramatic, and maybe it is, but that’s just the kind of person I am. I wanted to write something to you guys because I genuinely have bittersweet feelings about no longer being able to share on this blog as much as I used to. I’m starting a significant new chapter in my story, one that I’m very excited about, but one that will come at the expense of doing many of the things I enjoy, like writing and connecting with friends I’ve made on here.
The WestAllen/Flash fandom has been a huge part of my life over the last five years, and now that I won't be able to be as involved as I have before, I still wanted to give a shoutout to the people I’ve befriended, shared some laughs and discussions with over the years, who ever let me know directly how much they enjoy my posts, whoever checked in on me and offered encouragement, or whoever fulfilled a request for me, because it really has meant so much to me. And some of us go way back to my inksmudge days 😂:
@cygnetofthesea, @theparadoxofwriting, @iriswestsallen @fyeahgrantgust,@contrarily-me , @notyetbulletproof ,@backtothestart02 , @iriswestallens ,@wanderer765 ,@kingmakings, @resplendentgoldenwings ,@blackloislane, @cbsnforeverandalways, @cee693, @secondgenerationnerd, @theroseiris ,@royalsandwestallen, @janemichaels, @ciarra10 ,@justbarryallen, @jennlee44 , @teletalker , @westallenolicitygifs, @smartestpersonintheroom ,@storyadvocate, @redstreaking , @guineverependragon, @wearerobin90, @kingmakings, @ladyofpride, @4ever-the-nme, @theartofdreaming1, @jade4813, @youareiron-andyouarestrong, @blueorchidsforever, @flashandthingz, @loveandstuff89, @noradallen, @sunshinesunsethappiness, @izzyllewis, @dasakuryo, @re-psycledsoul, @liquidheartbeatz, @kadialobbz, @annacarina2, @thebirdinthesea, @sistahcream, @westallendiaries, @smileyscorner04, @eboniangelvibez, @soniarose25, @nikascott, @valeriemperez
To anyone who ever read my stuff and appreciated it, know that I appreciate you and that it’s a great comfort to me when I remember that people like you have responded well to something I created. I appreciate you guys on AO3 and Fanfiction too! I can’t even begin to capture how much your comments have made me smile.
This isn’t a permanent logging off! I just won’t have time to analyze/gush/criticize the show or the cast in lengthy posts anymore, or answer Asks. I do still want to write though! I will still share writing on here, AO3 and Fanfiction when or if I get to write lol. To anyone who sent me prompts, I have all of them saved and have ideas for a couple of them as well. I’m saving my writing for when I need time to de-stress and do something I enjoy as a creative release. I also still have a trove of ideas for WestAllen fics that I do want to work on. Who knows how I’ll be able to manage my time, but I know that the drive to write is still there and I will always have it and want to share, as long as people are willing to read.
You can still follow me on my fandom Twitter though! I tend to publish there now since it’s short and simple, although it’s mostly my visceral reactions to news and things I hear about lol. And if anyone wants, you can also follow me on my personal/general Tumblr, which is just a collection of random posts that resonate with me. If you’d like to stay connected on there, just comment on this post and I’ll message you, as I prefer to remain mostly Anonymous on that blog 😃
Thank you to the hundreds of you who have made this horrible show and the experience of being a WestAllen and Iris fan on a racist and terrible show a bit more tolerable 😂 ❤️
P.S. There’s been a lot of people I connected with over the last few years, even briefly, which is a testament to how nice a lot of you are, so I truly apologize if I have forgotten anyone.
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Stardust
Title: Stardust
Rating: PG
Synopsis: Three months after Barry's disappearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths, Iris looks up at the stars and ponders the destiny that brought him to her...and took him away. Written for @westallenmeetupffe - the Westallen Meet Up Fanfiction Event because I love @backtothestart02 too much to say no.
Chapters: 1/1
“Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in
your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand.
It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics. You are all stardust…
The stars died so you could be here today.”
- Lawrence M. Krauss
July 25, 2019
Iris hated the stars, she decided as she threw a fulsome glare at the sky, hoping some errant clouds would get the point and hide the twinkling lights from view.
Well, okay, she admitted to herself on a disgusted sigh. She didn't hate the stars. It wasn't their fault that they made her miss Barry. A light breeze blew across her cheek, as soft as his touch, and she closed her eyes. Her head tilted back towards the sky, she wrapped her arms around her waist and breathed deeply, imagining the arms around her were not her own. If she tried hard enough, she could almost remember the exact smell of his skin, as clearly as she remembered the deep rumble of his voice in his chest when he held her.
"So, Iris? How about it? It’s a beautiful night, and everyone agreed to take over Flash duty for me. I’m all yours. Want to go out and look at the stars?" he suggested with a grin, leaning back against the kitchen island, the movement causing his muscles to flex and shift in a tantalizing fluidity of movement.
He had done this more and more frequently over the past few months, stealing time away for the two of them to be alone together. Neither of them were strong enough to admit why. They didn’t have much time left to enjoy these precious moments, and they knew it. Barry’s disappearance – and apparent death – was foretold in a newspaper from the future. They had resolved not to give in to despair, determined to fight fate. And yet it was a dark cloud that hovered over them, stealing the lives they had dreamt of building together with every second that ticked by.
Iris pursed her lips. “All right,” she conceded. In all honesty, she’d accompany Barry anywhere. To another planet, another world, another time, another reality. Anywhere he wanted to go, just for the chance to hoard these precious seconds with him.
Kicking off her shoes, she dug her toes into the soft, muddy ground at the edge of the water. Night after night, she was drawn to the lake where Barry had once told her they’d shared their first kiss, before he accidentally travelled through time and erased it. Where they’d finally exchanged their wedding vows after their planned ceremony was interrupted.
Her eyes stung, and Iris told herself it must have been due to the wind as she dropped her arms and pulled her gaze away from the sky. She heard laughter behind her, and turned to find a couple strolling by on the street. In response, she scooted a little further down the riverbank, not wanting to relinquish her moment of privacy just yet.
There were so many memories of herself and Barry, just the two of them. She couldn’t count the number of nights that she’d laid in bed, her mind reliving every detail of their time together. Sometimes those memories brought her comfort. Sometimes – like tonight – her memories of the past were an open wound that bled and ached with every beat of her heart.
Not long ago, Cisco had asked her if she regretted loving Barry, knowing she would one day lose him. They had been through so much together, and the truth was, it wasn’t the first time she’d lost him. Still, this was different, and Iris understood what Cisco meant but refused to say. Every time she lost Barry in the past – even when he sacrificed himself to the speed force – there had been a sliver of hope that he would come back to her. Even when that hope hurt too much to hold on to, it was there. But now? Barry had disappeared, just like the newspaper had foretold. Nora, their erased daughter from the future, had once revealed that he would never return. If the newspaper headline – the headline Iris herself wrote – was true, then didn’t that mean all of it was true?
Iris would never regret knowing Barry. Loving Barry. She treasured every single second he had been a part of her life. He used to talk about destiny as something to treasure, because it always brought him to her. For her, destiny had become something to hate, because it always took him away. Still, she could remember his voice in her ear the night before he disappeared.
“Promise me this isn’t the end, Barry,” she murmured, listening to the steady beat of his heart as they laid there in the dark. “Whatever happens tomorrow, promise you’ll come back to me.”
“I’ll come back to you, Iris. I’ll always come back to you,” he breathed into her hair, his voice cracking slightly from his sorrow. It made his attempts to comfort her even more heartbreaking. “What that newspaper says…it doesn’t have to be our destiny.”
Her fingers dug into his side as she pulled him even closer, as though she could protect him from the future if she only held him tight enough. “Don’t say that word. I don’t want to hear it ever again!” she swore vehemently. “I hate it! It seems every time we talk about destiny, it’s our destiny to lose each other. There’s no such thing as destiny, Barry! I don’t believe in it, and you shouldn’t either! We’ve changed the future before and we’ll do it again tomorrow.”
Barry shifted, and when she looked up at him, he pressed a kiss against her lips. “I don’t hate destiny. It was my destiny to love you. How could I hate anything that brought me to you?”
But she didn’t have his appreciation for destiny. Particularly when she thought about the nights they had curled up in each other’s arms and talk about the future they envisioned sharing in a lifetime of tomorrows. Tomorrows that would never come.
“He would love this,” she sighed as she stared back up at the sky. Like she had on that night, when he carried her out here to show her the stars. Had it really only been three months since she’d lost him? It felt somehow both like a fraction of an instant and an endless eternity.
“Come on, just a little bit further,” Barry urged, grabbing her by the hand as he led her to the edge of the water.
“You know, we could have gone anywhere. Somewhere we could see more than six stars, even,” she pointed out with a laugh. She loved the city she called home, but its bright lights drowned out most of the visible stars.
He shrugged and threw her an unrepentant grin. “I know. But this place has a special place in my heart. Can you blame me?”
The sun would be rising soon, but when Barry slid behind her and looped his arms around her waist, Iris decided it could take its time. She leaned back against his chest and sighed, feeling more at peace than she’d ever found herself to be with anyone else. As they stood in silence, he bowed his head and brushed a soft kiss against her shoulder, and she snuggled deeper into his embrace.
It was such a perfect moment, and Iris had reiterated her determination right then that nothing would ever change between them. That nothing could take him away. Even after everything that had happened between them over the years – secret identities, evil speedsters, time travel, death and disappearances and even imprisonment – she still had that feeling of peace and contentment when she was with him. Perhaps she always would.
There was something about Barry that had always come so easily to her. Which was probably why she couldn’t help but love him for most of her life. Even though she’d tried to deny her feelings for years because the very thought of loving someone that much scared her more than she could say.
A young Iris stared as the car lights disappeared around the corner. Her mommy had promised that her daddy would be home soon, before her voice cracked as she swore fiercely that she loved her very much. But now she was gone, and Iris was alone. Somehow, even at six years old, she knew deep down that her mommy wasn’t coming back. Her fingers pressed against the windowsill, and her breath fogged the window. Her little nose pressed against the glass, and she strained her eyes, trying to catch one last sight of the car.
When she could no longer see even a faint red glow, her eyes drifted to the sky. Her mommy used to sit with her beside this windowsill at night while she read her a bedtime story. And then, every once and a while, her mommy would point up at the stars and tell her to make a wish. She used to say that sometimes people got their wishes, but Iris was beginning to suspect that was just one of those things grownups told little kids, even though it wasn’t true.
But maybe it was worth one last try. Iris nibbled on the inside of her lip as her eyes scanned the sky, looking for a star that looked like it had promising wish-granting potential. She finally picked one that seemed to twinkle just a little bit more than the rest, and then she scrunched up her face and wished with all her might.
“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight…” she dutifully recited, lisping a little through the brand new gap left behind by a missing tooth. Technically, this wasn’t the first star she’d spotted tonight, but she hoped the stars wouldn’t mind. “I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
A little crease formed between her brows as she concentrated as hard as she could. She wanted her mommy to come back. She wanted her daddy to not have to work all the time, getting called away even on her birthday. She wanted someone to love her too much to leave her behind. Pressing her palms hard against the glass, she squeezed her eyes shut and whispered her deepest wish towards the sky.
For years, Iris had built defenses around her heart, had from the very thought of being in love. She’d accepted that love was great in theory, but it was terrifying in practice. To love someone and lose them…? She couldn’t think of anything worse. So when Barry had come along, she’d been his friend for years while telling herself she didn’t want anything more. And then…well, everything had changed. He was struck by lightning, spending months in a coma. It was the worst kind of heartache because he wasn’t even hers, and she’d lost him anyway.
When he awoke, she didn’t realize her feelings for him right away. But it wouldn’t be long before she did, and perhaps it was inevitable that she would. Her love for Barry had only grown year by year, until it was deeper than she ever could have dreamed possible. Loving him was both more wonderful and more painful than she’d ever imagined.
She’d been compelled to drive out to see the stars tonight after hours spent thinking about all the singular, insignificant events that, combined, led to the two of them meeting. Becoming friends. Becoming…something more. Falling in love. Finding each other again and again and again.
It was almost enough to make her wonder if it he was right, no matter how much she wanted to rail against the thought now. It wasn’t an accident that the two of them had found each other. That, perhaps, he was right about destiny.
“Why the sudden desire to see the stars tonight?” she asked, leaning against his solid warmth.
In reply, Barry grabbed her hand, linking his fingers in hers. Then he held them up so she could see. “Carl Sagan once said that every part of the world around us – every part of us – is made from the remnants of collapsing stars. That we’re made of starstuff, flung across the universe until eventually – miraculously – coming together to make us who we are.”
“That’s…kind of beautiful,” she breathed, turning in his arms and wrapping her arms around his waist.
“But think about it, Iris. The atoms that make up who we are came from hundreds of thousands of stars that died billions, maybe trillions, of light years away. They came all this way to create me and create you. And everything that we’ve gone through together, we’ve found each other again and again and again. If I lived a hundred lifetimes, I’d love you in every one of them.”
“I’d love you too, Barry,” she said with a puzzled frown. “But I’m not sure what that has to do with why you wanted to come out here tonight.”
He smiled, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Because if all those atoms travelled all that way to be part of me and part of you, then I can’t help but feel like it couldn’t have been for nothing. I was born to love you, Iris, and no matter what we face in the future, I’ll find you again. Whatever happens, when you look up at the stars, I want you to remember that.”
With a sigh, tilted her head back to look up at the sky one last time. She thought of fate. Of stardust. And of all the moments that had to fall into place for the two of them to find each other. Again and again. It was almost enough to make her want to believe in fate. And maybe even a little bit in magic.
“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight,” she murmured. Then she closed her eyes and wished, as hard as she could, that if the stars brought Barry to her once, they could do it again. That they could bring Barry back to her.
Hoping that, this time, her wish would come true.
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One of my fave fic writers has done it again! Check out @backtothestart02's story for 25 Days of Westallen FanFiction here: "Slow as Time, Fast as Lightening"
https://archiveofourown.org/works/16809151
So amazing, she never disappoints!
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Pass the happy! 💛 When you get this, reply with 5 things that make u happy and send this to the last 10 people in your notifications!
Oh wow! I got an ask to help spread joy! Yay! Let me do a Wally West happy dance. Thank you so much, @backtothestart02 ! Let's see, five things that make me happy:
1. My beautiful, smart, and ridiculously hilarious children.
2. My best friend since 4th grade who, unfortunately, lives 6 hrs away, but we talk all the time.
3. Lipstick, even if I keep buying the same color.
4. All of my otps being happy onscreen and in fanfiction.
5. Putting a smile on someone else's face because I know all too well about sadness and wouldn't want anyone else to feel that way.
Bonus: getting Tumblr asks! I don't bite...unless you want me to.
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April Fic Rec
The amazing fanfics I got to read these past few weeks (only 4 fics this time around, but I didn’t get to read much fanfiction when I was away, so bear with me) :
by @backtothestart02:
My Best Friend’s Almost Boyfriend (”AU - Barry Allen is an up-and-coming singer, and Iris West is the reluctant reporter who has to interview him.“ Cute and fun!)
by @barryslightningrod :
She Walks in Beauty (”Five Times Barry should have complimented Iris.“ So sweet, so cute, so true! :)
by @sophisticatedloserchick:
Blame It on The Rain (”Barry always knows how to make a rainy day better for Iris.“ Short and absolutely adorable!)
Welcome Home (”Barry and Iris spend their first night together after Barry is released from prison.” Aww!)
Enjoy!
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In the End, There Was Us - 6/? | westallen fanfiction
A/N: Been a while.
...
Chapter 6 -
It was barely dawn the next day when Barry’s rented limo came up over the hill to the Thawne house two blocks away. Nora and Bart were asleep in the backseat, itch-free thanks to the solution they’d picked up at the shack before returning home.
The whole way there Barry was grateful his kids were safe with him, but he was worrying like crazy over Iris. He didn’t care if she had a whole platoon of cops surrounding her and repelling any further earthquakes until the end of time, be it before the end of the month or centuries from now, he was still going to worry about her. He was in love with her, and he was always going to want to protect her, whether he stuck his foot in his mouth in the process or not.
In just a few minutes he’d see her again. It would be brief though. It would hardly mean anything, except maybe to him. And Nora, at the very least, would be happy to be rid of him. Which he supposed was his own fault. Being a writer hadn’t exactly panned out for him, and he’d lost his family in the process. He’d have been better off throwing his pipe dream back at the man who inspired it and valuing what truly mattered.
But some things couldn’t be fixed.
“Okay, guys,” he said, a little louder than a whisper, craning his neck toward the backseat. “We’re almost home.”
Nora and Bart shifted slightly but didn’t say a word as they opened their little eyes and watched their neighborhood appear outside the window.
“Rise and shine.”
A few seconds later, he pulled to the side of the road and unlocked the doors, so they could push their way out.
“All right, you’re free.”
Barry stepped outside of the car and watched as his kids ran to her mother, who was looking frantic and right at them. He supposed he wasn’t going to get any meaningful stare, not like the one he wanted to give, so he rounded the vehicle and popped the trunk to retrieve his kids’ bags.
“Thank god.”
Iris ran to little Bart who ran straight towards her calling, “Mommy!” and falling into her arms.
Nora was a little slower but not because she wanted to stay with her dad. She made a beeline for Eddie, who stepped out of the house shortly after. She hugged him around his waist, and he smiled.
“Hey, there, kiddo. Missed you.”
“Missed you too, Eddie.”
That hurt like a gut punch. To see such tenderness between the little girl that used to adore him and the guy that had replaced him. It was his own doing, and he knew it, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
What was worse was the way he let himself stand there staring at the little family that used to be his, and none of them noticed. Not once.
“Who wants pancakes?” Eddie asked, getting grins from everyone, even Iris.
“Me!” the two kids cheered, bouncing inside to get their breakfast.
And Barry was just about to go, just about to leave and see them again who knows when. If Harry the Madman was right, probably never. But what were the chances he was right? He gulped, wishing there wasn’t a small part of him that believed the guy.
But then it happened.
Iris looked at him.
“Thanks for bringing them home early.”
“Yep,” was all he could bring himself to say. He could barely look at her. She was too beautiful and too not his for him to be allowed to look.
“Pancakes?”
And his breath caught in his throat. And he stared. Stared like he wanted to for the rest of time. Willing her to know how much he still wanted and loved her and how sorry he was. Had he ever told her? Maybe once when she was really angry. It wouldn’t have mattered then. Honestly, he didn’t even remember.
It would be awkward with Eddie there. Barry would probably make it worse by not being able to hold his tongue against the guy and creating tension for the kids. Maybe he’d be asked to leave and wouldn’t that be so much worse than just leaving now?
But oh, the temptation to stay and maybe not make an ass of himself? Of having a nice meal with his ex-wife and biological children and the guy who had-
BZZ. BZZ.
Snapping out of the reverie of all the what-ifs, Barry pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw who it was. He winced regrettably, but maybe it was a godsend.
“Late for work.”
It was a Saturday, but that hardly mattered for the billionaire whose kids he chauffeured for.
“Yes, Hello?” he talked into the phone, trying his best to ignore the possible longing look his ex-wife was given him right before she walked back into the house after their children.
Or maybe there was no longing look. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.
“Allen, where are you?”
“Just getting back from vacation, Sir.”
The man was five years older than him, tops, but he knew that didn’t matter. A boss was a boss, and money made him a superior.
“Excellent. I will send the jet to pick up Will and Mia.”
“Understood,” Barry said, climbing into the car and turning the vehicle back onto the road.
“Allen.”
“Sir?”
“Get my children as fast as you can.”
“I’m hurtling towards you as we speak, Sir.”
“Excellent.”
Click.
…
It wasn’t Mia and Will’s fault they were so spoiled rotten. Their dad was a billionaire. He seemed to have no end to his luck. It just so happened that he was rarely around for his kids unless it was a life or death matter. The fact that Oliver Queen suddenly felt the need to be reunited by them probably should’ve stuck out to Barry, but it didn’t. His mind was still swirling from all things failed family related. He was just going through the motions at this point and wanted to get home.
He arrived at the Queen’s fancy LA mansion roughly half an hour later. Mia and Will were standing outside with their butler holding onto their suitcases. Barry hadn’t even opened his door before they lifted their hands to their identical watches and scowled at him.
“Allen, you’re late.”
Barry grimaced and got out of the limo, took their suitcases from the butler and shoved them into the trunk, ignoring the crude remarks he got from the boy and the complaining that the door was not already opened for her to get inside from the girl.
They were 12 and 13. He knew it would only get worse from here on out.
The airport was a short distance away, and Barry was eager to get rid of them. This time he was out of the car before they could even think to open the door and was delivering their luggage to them by ‘accidentally’ dropping it on their feet.
“Hey!”
“Ow!”
“You’re a little late, aren’t you, Allen?” the pilot of the ginormous jet asked, coming down the staircase from the cockpit.
Barry held his tongue to that.
“Have a great trip!” He waved, then muttered under his breath, “You little bastards.”
Mia spun around, not having heard what he said but definitely how he said it.
“You’re laughing now, but just you wait and see. We have tickets to go on a big ship. We will live, and you will die.”
“Hey!” The pilot harped at her, and she spun around to head up the stairs after her brother, delivering one more glare to Barry before he got back inside his car.
Despite himself and writing off Harry as a crazy man who’d truly lost his mind with conspiracy theories just the night before, Barry turned on the radio to his station and listened in.
“Folks, did you hear that? The authorities in L.A. say there's nothing to worry about. I'd love to see their dumb faces when Malibu and Beverly Hills get sucked into the gurgling maw of the Pacific. Where they gonna plug in their electric cars then? Ha-Ha-Ha.”
A rumbling vibration underneath the limo made Barry turn the radio off and open his door.
Another surface crack. He’d seen them around the city a lot recently. This one was relatively minor, nothing like the supermarket incident or even the one from the previous morning that the more popular radio stations had brushed aside with a laugh as an ‘inconvenience’.
But the pieces were falling into place. Maybe Harry wasn’t crazy after all. Maybe it was all coming to an end right here, right now, and if he didn’t make a plan, that would be the end for not just his family but all of mankind.
He bolted out of the limo and ran across a short distance to a hangar with a small private plane inside. A man stood there, presumably cleaning it up.
“Hey, is this your plane?”
“Yeah.” The guy looked dumbfounded, probably due to how frantic Barry was acting.
“A-Are you a pilot?”
He blinked.
“…Yeah.”
“I wanna rent it, okay? I'll give you anything you want.” He unlatched the pretty watch wrapped around his wrist and handed it over. “Here, take this. This is a very expensive watch. My editor gave it to me when he thought I was gonna be somebody.”
Miraculously, the guy took it as payment, stuffing the watch in his pocket.
“So, you want to leave now? Or…?”
“No. No, no, no, no. I’m going to get my family.”
He started backing away, heading in the direction of the parked limo before the ground erupted beneath his feet like it would no doubt do in under an hour, if he was lucky.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can!”
“But-”
“Half hour tops! I’ll speed!”
And then he did speed, right after he got in the car, closed the door behind him and left the sight of the airport in his rearview mirror.
But not for long.
I’m coming for you, Iris. I’m coming for my family.
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Written for the Westallen Meet-Up Fanfiction Event on @westallenmeetupffe‘s blog.
*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.
Also posted on FFnet.
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Can my fave fanfiction writers @thesloppyleft @latebarryallen @backtothestart02 @wanderer765 @gnimaerd @trufflemores write some westallen cuteness please. It’s been so dry. I beg. I beg.
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Before the Hood - 6/6
For @jade4813 from @backtothestart02
…
Epilogue -
Two days journey from Collin Woods, Barry began to fear he may have gotten lost.
He tried to follow the map Cisco had given him, but he was surrounded entirely by trees, and all of them looked the same. He’d been lucky enough not to come upon poor weather, but his food was running low and his mouth was dry for lack of water. He was weakening and growing more tired by the hour. It made him wonder if his family and friends had helped him escape one death to be thrust into another.
But he would not give up. He would be strong. He had sworn to Iris he would come back to her, that he would figure a way out of this mess he’d fallen into. He couldn’t do that if he died less than three days before he’d left. She’d spend the rest of her life thinking he’d abandon her. He couldn’t allow that to happen. He wouldn’t. This endless forest would not destroy the hope they both still had for a promising figure.
Iris was what kept him going, what made him take one step in front of another, and another after that. But by daybreak on Day 3, he was really starting to hope for some divine intervention.
Some hours later, around what he assumed was noon due to the heat, finally Barry saw some of the landscape start to change. There were some hilly ground, grass, and a very small pond off to the right. The trees weren’t so thick as they had been, and as unexpected as ever, a small robin flew right up to him and perched on his shoulder, tweeting away as if he were a tree that just happened to be moving.
Barry expected the bird to fly away within a few minutes, but it didn’t happen. The bird flew around him or beside him, but often he rested on his shoulder. Sometimes there were long period when it thankfully remained silent, but Barry found he enjoyed the company. It helped take his mind off his hunger pains and his life pains really. In fact, he became so focused on the bird and the pleasantly changing landscape, that he stumbled right over an elevated dirt mound and tumbled into a long sloping tunnel that ended in a large square room he could only imagine existed some several feet below the surface.
And sitting there across from him was who he could only guess was the man of legend. His fair hair was matted, and his scraggly beard grew past his chin. His shirt was sleeveless, though there were several other articles of clothing in the far corner, and his shoes looked large and solid and necessary for the type of life he was leading – Barry decided.
“Are you…” Barry tried. “Are you the-”
“Wild man?” the man finished huskily. “The one of legend?”
Barry’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide open.
“I suppose I am.” He reached for a tin cup and brought it to his lips that were barely visible through the hair. “Though I can tell you right now that I have never torn a bear in half.” He chuckled.
Barry’s lips twitched. “Yeah, I, um…never believed that part of the legend anyway.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“Not that I don’t think you couldn’t do it!” he insisted, to which the man slowly smiled.
“What’s your name, lad?”
“I, well, I-”
“No, don’t tell me. It’s better if I don’t know. Especially if you’ve come to me for help.”
“I have,” he said. “I need to start a new life far away from here, but…I don’t know how.”
“So you’re on the run.” The man picked up a pipe, lit it, and inhaled, blowing smoke out shortly after. Barry tried not to cough. “I suspected as much.” He contemplated the youth before him. “How old are you, son?”
“Fif-” He coughed. “Fifteen, Sir.”
“No Sir,” he corrected. “That’s too formal. We have to be at ease with one another or you’ll never trust me and I may never help you. In time you will know my name.”
Barry frowned, troubled.
“But you don’t want to know my name.”
“Your given name. I think I can help you just fine without it. You can stay with me for a few days, and then I can show you how to get on without me.”
“Okay, so what-”
A familiar tweeting interrupted him, and before Barry new it, his new friend had settled on his shoulder again.
The man’s eyes narrowed.
“I see you’ve let this scum get attached to you,” he growled.
Barry’s brows furrowed. “It was nice to have the company.”
“Hmm. You don’t like being alone, you say.”
“Well, not for days at a time,” he admitted. “And not without food in my stomach.”
The man chuckled. “I don’t doubt it. Looks like I won’t be alone while you’re here either. You’ll be as much of a pain as that bird is to you.”
“But the bird isn’t a pain.”
The man smiled through his matted beard. “Indeed.”
He dug around through some things sitting beside him and eventually held up an overcoat. It looked light and yet somehow warm, and it had a hood Barry knew would come in handy when it was raining.
“Here. Try this on.”
Barry did as he was told, the bird briefly taking flight until the coat was on and buttoned in front. He pulled the hood up over his head and delighted in the thickness and warmth of it in the cool underground where he was now contained. He glanced over at the little bird and smiled, oblivious to the way the man was analyzing him in the moment.
“I like it,” he said, and the man nodded.
“It suits you, Robin.”
Barry looked over at him. “I’m…sorry? That’s not my-”
“Don’t tell me your given name. It will do you no good,” he scolded. Barry closed his mouth. “Here you are Robin.” He smiled slowly. “Robin Hood.”
#the flash#westallen secret santa#westallen#barry allen#iris westallen#iris west#backtothestart02#fanfiction#the flash fanfiction#submission
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Swimming Lessons - 2/2 | westallen family fanfiction
A/N: Enjoy!
...
Chapter 2 -
It was about an hour’s drive out to the old Allen cabin on a lake. Luckily, it was also a Friday, so the West-Allen family decided to make a weekend vacation out of it and packed enough to last till late Sunday afternoon. Nora complained about the wait to get there, but both Barry and Iris were cheerful as could be when they answered ‘almost’ to nearly every ‘are we there yet’ their daughter delivered.
When they arrived, Nora raced out of the SUV and skirted to a stop on the back porch of the cabin overlooking the lake.
“Daddy, this is so cool! How come you never took us here before?”
Barry swallowed, a moment of silence for the memories he’d had here with parents that only now lived in his heart. Iris squeezed his hand and answered for him.
“We actually did bring you here when you were really little.”
Nora folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“How little?”
Iris tugged on her braids as she approached her.
“What does that matter?”
“I was in your belly, wasn’t I?”
Iris laughed and turned to Barry who was back to his old self and lifting their bags from the SUV.
“This one’s too smart for her own good, isn’t she?”
Barry smirked.
“Oh, definitely.”
Nora rolled her eyes.
“Can someone please unlock the door, so I can change into my swimsuit?”
“A bit demanding for someone who never wanted to swim again as long as she lived,” Iris pointed out, and Nora sobered up.
“I did say please,” she informed her mother.
“You did.” She chuckled, then turned to face her husband. “Bear?”
“On my way!”
He struggled with the luggage all the way to the front door and then dropped it promptly.
“You know, little lady, you could’ve at least carried your purple teddy bear that’s as big as you are, I think.”
Nora pouted as she walked to where her dad was.
“I thought I was your little princess who could do no wrong.”
Iris laughed.
“She got you there, hun.”
Barry muttered something under his breath, then got the door open before either of the women he so adored could ask for clarification.
“Whoa! This place is so cool!” Nora declared, immediately running inside and inspecting every room. “Which room is mine?” she asked after zipping out of the master bedroom.
“Not that one,” Barry and Iris both said without looking, to which Nora slumped her shoulders and went into the smaller bedroom across the hall. “I guess this one’s good too.”
Barry and Iris shared a look.
“Though I could do without the rocketship blankets…” Nora scrunched up her nose.
Barry cleared his throat and headed for his daughter after dropping the bags in the middle of the living room.
“Those would be mine,” he said, leaning against the door.
Nora spun around.
“Yours? Like when you were my age?” Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.
He nodded. “Just about. I used to come out here with my mom and dad every summer.”
And that’s when Nora grew quiet.
She knew the stories. She’d been told when she asked why she didn’t have two sets of grandparents like most kids the previous year that her daddy’s mom and dad had died before she was born. She wasn’t told how, and she hadn’t asked at the time, but she suspected it was something really sad because she could see how her dad changed when they were brought up. Whatever he said, the memory of his parents still made him sad because they couldn’t be here now.
Nora did the only thing she could think of to do. She walked up to her dad and hugged him around his legs.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, Princess.”
He bent down and hugged her more fully.
“Can we change into our swimsuits now?” she asked after a few moments of silence.
He chuckled.
“You bet. You want to grab your suitcase?”
She groaned, and he grinned.
“Hey, I brought it most of the way. And it’s not even that big.”
“Yeah, because you wouldn’t let me overstuff it like last time we went on vacation.”
“When the zipper broke, you mean?”
Nora glared but grudgingly stomped into the living room in her purple, fuzzy, unicorn flip-flops and grabbed her bag that matched, trudging back into her dad’s old bedroom and giving her parents a moment alone while she changed.
“You alright?” Iris asked, running her hand down her husband’s arm to soothe him from whatever memories still plagued him. He’d told her time and again that he’d healed from the death of his parents the night Nora was born, but she knew it still had to hurt that his parents weren’t here to watch their kids grow up.
It helped that Joan and Jay, who had no intention of starting a family at their age, had started coming around more and integrating with their family, but it wasn’t exactly the same. And nothing would be. So checking in with her sensitive husband was still a must, and she didn’t mind it one bit.
“Yeah.” He nodded.
“You sure?”
He smiled faintly and leaned down to kiss her.
“Positive.”
He moved away from her to find his swimsuit, and then he found her maternity bikini she’d insisted on bringing.
“You sure you don’t want to stick with the pretty summer dress you’ve got on? It’s not like there’s a railing or anything for you to hold onto.”
Iris frowned.
“You know, now that you mention it, I think I will stick with this for now. Maybe you and I can do some swimming after we put her to bed later though. Then you can be my railing.”
He smirked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“AHEM.”
They both turned to see their little girl standing at the front of the hallway in her lilac-colored sparkly one-piece swimsuit and bright pink floaties on her arms.
“Those are coming off today, young lady.”
Nora’s eyes widened, and she noticeably panicked, looking to her mom for help.
“Not right away though, honey.” She looked to her husband. “Right, Daddy?”
He softened.
“Of course not. Baby steps.”
Nora relaxed and then almost immediately stomped her foot.
“Why aren’t you dressed yet, Dad?”
“Oh, I’m just ‘dad’ now, am I?”
“Until further notice.” She tipped up her nose to the ceiling and walked through the cabin till she reached the back door.
Barry shook his head, and Iris chuckled.
“Take your time, Babe. I’ll keep her occupied.”
“Thanks.”
And yet, in a jiffy, he had run to the bedroom, changed into his swim trunks, and zipped past the two of them down to the beach.
“Daddy, wait for me!” She let go of her mother’s hand and chased after him. Luckily, Iris was near a cushioned wooden chair on the front deck and eased into it just in time to lose physical contact with her daughter. She had a water bottle with her too, so she knew she’d be good for a while.
Barry stopped and grinned, waiting for the seven-year-old to catch up to him.
Heaving and looking annoyed, Nora stopped when she reached him, hands on her hips, head tilted up and glared in his direction.
Barry only chuckled and held out his hand to her.
“Come on.”
She let him lead her up until she realized they weren’t going straight for the lapping water but for the dock meant for boats.
“Oh, Daddy, I dunno…”
He picked her up and held her in his arms the rest of the way.
“There are some rocks right at the shoreline, Princess. I don’t want you to hurt your feet. Down by the dock, it’s sandier, and you can swim freely.”
She gulped and clutched his shoulders tightly.
“If you say so.”
Iris watched them cautiously as Nora turned to look at her from over her dad’s shoulder, looking a bit panicked. She waved to her enthusiastically though, unsure if that made things better or worse. But she trusted Barry, and she trusted him with their child. She knew it would be okay.
“Alright, you stay here,” he said, setting Nora down on the edge of the dock. “I’ll go in first. Then, when I say, you jump into my arms, and we’ll begin.”
She gulped.
“O-Okay, Daddy.”
He got down on her level and gripped her chin.
“Don’t you worry, honey. Everything’s gonna be okay. And I won’t make you take your floaties off until you’re ready, okay?”
She took a deep breath and nodded.
“Okay.”
She watched then as her dad jumped down into the water. The water barely came up to his waist, so she knew it wasn’t that deep. Still, it was deep enough to be over her head, so she was glad she had her floaties on.
“Okay, your turn,” he encouraged, holding out his dripping arms.
Nora looked down at her reflection in the water.
“Is it cold?”
Barry gathered two handfuls of water and held it up to her for her to dip her finger into.
“Not too bad,” he assured.
“It’s freezing!” Nora countered.
“Not once you get in, I promise.”
“I dunno…” She hesitated. “What if there are sharks?”
“Sharks are only in oceans. This is a lake. And it’s just you and me, and your floaties. Plus, look at your mom.” Nora turned back to look at her mother. “She’s being a look-out. If she sees anything suspicious, she’ll let us know.” He craned his neck to look at his wife. “Isn’t that right, Iris!”
“Yep!” She called back, even though she hadn’t heard a word he’d been saying to Nora.
“See?” He looked back at his daughter. Then he held out his hands. “Trust me.”
Nora took a deep breath, then nodded.
“Okay.”
“Great!”
He grinned and took one step back. He kept his arms raised and watched as little Nora plugged her nose with one hand, shut her eyes, and jumped into the air and into his arms.
Water covered her little legs but only splashed onto both their upper halves, and soon enough Nora realized she’d had no need to plug her nose at all.
“Well?” Barry asked. “What’s the verdict?”
“It’s…it’s not bad,” she admitted.
He chuckled.
“Didn’t think so. Now, come with me.”
Slowly, he released her so she was solely supported by her floaties, but he held onto her fingertips, so he wasn’t very far away and together they floated out a little further into the lake. When they were at chest level for Barry, they stopped.
“Why are we stopping?” Nora asked, frowning.
“Because I want to make sure the water is above my head before you can really swim on your own. There’s a dip not far away, and we can’t both be in danger.”
“Right,” she squeaked.
“Which we’re not,” he soothed her. “Now come on, kick your little legs for me. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
And so they moved across about 10 feet in the lake swimming back and forth, Nora kicking as hard as she could under the surface and Barry tugging lightly on her hands to make her go even faster. Then he showed her again how to tread water, what she had to do with her arms and legs, how to float without floating, laying all the way back on her back and lying still, and how using her arms could make her swim fast too.
He showed her all that while keeping her floaties on, and then they came in closer to the shore so the water was at Barry’s hips. Then he asked if she wanted to try it without her floaties.
Nora’s eyes widened with panic.
“You don’t have to, Nora. I’m asking if you want to.”
She swallowed.
“Can we go in a little closer to where I can stand?” she asked. “Then maybe I can try it and see if it works.”
“Sure.”
And so they got closer to shore, luckily before the rocks really started showing up, and Nora was able to stand with the water at her waist.
“Okay, here you go.”
She took the floaties off daintily, and he tossed them ashore, making sure to lock eyes with Iris and nod, so she’d know he knew what he was doing. Then, he looked back at Nora and nodded too.
“You ready?”
She licked her lips and gave a quick nod.
“Yes.”
She pushed off the ground, started kicking madly beneath the surface, and even used her arms!
“You’re doing it! You’re doing it!”
“I’m doing it?!”
“Yes!” He laughed. “Keep going!”
And so, she did, though she was careful not to stray too far into the lake, and at one point when she got a little nervous, Barry was right there beside her, gripping his hands around her waist, and eventually encouraging her to climb onto his back and hold on as he swam with her a little deeper.
“I feel safe with you, Daddy,” she said, laying her cheek on top of his head.
“I’m glad, Princess.”
“But uh…I think I want my floaties back. Just for a little bit.”
He smiled softly.
“You got it. We can try more without them tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
And so, he swam back to the dock and helped her climb onto it. Then he followed suit, and they got her floaties back on, and he got some snacks for his very pregnant wife and growing daughter. Then after a while, Barry and Nora got back in again and swam some more. This time she kept her floaties on the whole time, but first thing the next morning she wanted to swim without them, and by the time the party came around a few weeks later – after returning to the cabin each weekend following to practice, she was ready to go and accepted the invitation.
Barry and Iris overheard Nora telling little Lia one day when she was over, and Lia asked what had changed.
“I learned how to swim,” Nora said confidently. “My daddy taught me.”
#westallen#westallen family#westallen fanfiction#backtothestart02 fanfiction#swimming lessons#chapter 2
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A History of Love Letters - 2/? | westallen fanfiction
A/N: Enjoy.
...
Chapter 2 -
Six months earlier…
The vast horizon stretched across the coat of Italy as Iris drove herself and her husband to their vacation home many miles away from their London abode. She ignored the particularly broody mood her husband was in, as she soaked in the roaring engine beneath her feet and the wind in her hair, her vision not even slightly impaired due to the fashionable scarf wrapped delicately around her head. She turned the music up in their car and laughed, enjoying every minute of the ride.
Eventually though, the coast was partially hidden from her as they drove through town to get to their glorious vacation home. When they reached it, the view of the sea called out to her, and she found herself drawing near it as soon as she’d put the car in park and grabbed her purse.
She inhaled the scent of the sea and closed her eyes before turning back to her husband who already had one foot inside the door of the house.
“What do you think, Eddie, Darling? Breakfast on the terrace? It has a magnificent view of the sea.”
“No, I shan’t think so. I have work to get to, and it’s already past 11.”
“Work? On holiday?”
“Darling.”
She held in a sigh.
“Lunch then.”
“Dinner will be fine. I’ll have plenty wrapped up by then. But you go and enjoy yourself. The world waits for no one, not even Iris Thawne.”
She wanted to smile, but he said it with a degree of pettiness that she almost didn’t want to go out and explore just to defy him or prevent any embarrassment.
“Maybe I’ll stay in to unpack my things,” she said.
“No need for that. Cecile arrived an hour ago and has already started her duties. You go ahead now. Just remember, there’s a reporter coming by tomorrow afternoon.”
“To interview you?”
“Yes. I shall meet him on the terrace, and then he will dine with us in the evening.”
“Alright. Shall I-”
“Just be your lovely self and keep to smiles and eating politely at dinner. You know how your attempts at conversation always backfire on you.”
Jolted, she took a step back. He didn’t have to be so cold about it, did he? The only reason her conversation points didn’t go well was because he insisted on talking over her whenever she tried to intervene.
“I’ll see you at dinner,” he said before she could respond, and she was left alone on the cobblestone, wondering what to do with herself to get out of the sour mood he’d put her in.
…
Right as rain, the following afternoon while she was lounging on a patio chair in her beach garb, a tall, handsome, young man approached her from behind.
“Excuse me? Mrs…Thawne, if I may assume correctly?”
She turned her head over her shoulder, the large hat she adorned needing a slight tip so she could see his face. She smile pleasantly and climbed off of the chair to greet him.
“You do. But please, call me Iris.”
She offered him her hand, expecting a brief peck on the back of it, but he only shook it cordially.
“And you are?” He opened his mouth to respond, but she answered for him. “Oh, I know. Going to write marvelous things about my husband.” She laughed coquettishly, and he forced a smile.
“Mr. Allen.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You can call me Mr. Allen. I like to keep things professional, even over here in this climate.”
“Oh? Where are you from?”
“London.” He forced a smile.
“Same as us. How charming.”
“Yes, I tried to reach you before you left but was unsuccessful, and my employer insisted on the interview, so here I am.”
“I’m glad you’ve joined us, Mr. Allen.”
“Looks like I’ve joined just you. Maybe your husband isn’t as marvelous as you pretend.”
She stiffened briefly, feeling defensive, though her husband hardly deserved her fierce loyalty to his image and reputation.
“He’s working upstairs. He’ll be down in a minute.”
“Hmm.”
She gave him a once-over, letting her disapproval be known and returned to her chair to put him out of her head. True to her word, only a moment later, Edward Thawne came into view and greeted their guest. They disappeared into the house, and by the time dinner was served, Iris had shaken her distaste for Mr. Allen off.
Throughout the dinner however, she could not help but give her two cents on whatever the topic was at hand. She was a gutsy, outgoing young woman, and no matter how much her husband disapproved, she would not be silenced at the dinner table to appease his ego or how he believed matters should be in their household.
It was not met well, especially with their guest sitting across the table, who shot a glance her way every time her husband spoke over or insulted her lightly, which happened more often than she cared to admit. Often enough that halfway through dinner, she was embarrassed into silence and forced to brush aside his remarks with an unmoved smile that she hardly felt.
Some time after dinner, she found their guest talking with one of the handful of friends they’d also invited over, and he was insulting her husband to the nth degree, not only for his political views and other opinions, but also for how carelessly he’d treated his wife, who could hardly get a word in without being talked over.
Once again, Iris felt the defensiveness and loyalty to her husband rise up, and she waited for Mr. Allen to finish his statement, drink in hand, before she called him out for his crude, unnecessary language and bid him not write that way when he printed his article, to maintain his professionalism at least that much.
Then she walked away, satisfied by the sound of no more chatter on her way back to the house.
…
The next morning, feeling fresh and rejuvenated once more, Iris set out to go down to the beach with her best friend, Linda, who’d also come abroad from London for the summer. Only they didn’t even make it to the street before finding a disheveled-looking, Mr. Allen heading straight towards them, a folded piece of paper in his hands.
“Mr. Allen, what are you still doing here?”
“I have come to give you this.” He handed her the folded note.
“What is it?” she demanded, not reaching for it in the slightest.
“A letter.”
She raised her eyebrows, amused.
“An apology,” he amended.
“Read it.”
“Iris,” Linda protested, and Iris tossed some of her hair over her shoulder.
“What? If he wrote it, he must be able to read.” She waited, brows raised again. “That is right, Mr. Allen, isn’t it? You can read?”
“I can read, Ma’am.”
He cleared his throat and unfolded the note, then proceeded to read the letter, which came across sincere, genuine and professional all at once. It also included an invitation to lunch in town for Iris and her husband to make up for his behavior.
After he was finished reading, Iris reluctantly took the note.
“I’ll think on it, and get back to you.”
Mr. Allen forced a smile.
“Great.”
“Now.” She took a breath. “As much as I’d rather not have you in my care, I assume you do not have a vehicle to get you to your lodgings.”
“I do not.”
“And I won’t have you wandering the streets and possibly getting sun poisoning. It’s going to be a hot one today.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Come along then.” She gestured to her fancy car. “Linda and I would like to get to the beach.”
…
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Iris accepted the lunch invitation from Mr. Allen on her husband’s behalf. It was a day Edward Thawne happened to be home, so he saw no objection in going. The first words to tumble out of his mouth, however, did surprise Mrs. Thawne.
“So, Mr. Allen, is there a Mrs. Allen.”
Mr. Allen smiled faintly.
“There is. Or was. She’s dropped my last name now, I believe.” Iris and Eddie shared a look with each other before looking back at him. “We’re divorced.”
“Ah. Any children?”
“One. A son. He’s eight now, and his name is Edward, after my ex’s father.”
Edward was about to respond when someone approached the table and whispered in his ear.
“Excuse me.”
After he had left the table, the person who’d approached him explained to Iris in the native language what the situation was. She thanked him, and he disappeared.
“Well?”
“Duty calls.” She forced a smile and fidgeted with her hands, then came to a decision immediately. “Say, how are your sea legs, Mr. Allen?”
His lips parted in a genuine smile, and Iris felt a rush of satisfaction spreading through her. Perhaps the afternoon wouldn’t be wasted after all.
In no time at all, they were out on her sailboat, taking in the sea and the distant hills surrounding the coast, even a little island in the distance.
“Do you travel much, Mrs. Thawne?”
She looked over at him, amused.
“On the contrary, my husband does all the traveling. I don’t see him as much as I’d like, but at least we come out here every summer. It improves my mood and my health immensely.”
“Are you unwell in London?”
“No, but it does rain an awful lot, doesn’t it?”
They both laughed.
“Ah, laughter. And here I thought you could only be serious.”
“My apologies.”
She smiled.
“Tell me about your son.”
“What more is there to talk about? I miss him. I wish I saw him more, but-”
“And why don’t you? If you don’t mind my asking.”
He hesitated.
“My ex thinks I will corrupt him and wishes as much distance between us as is possible.”
“How awful. What is so bad about your person that she wants you far away?”
He hesitated again.
“I was unfaithful.”
“Ah.” She paused. “I see.” She licked her lips. “Well, I’m sure you had your rea-”
“Don’t try to justify my actions, Mrs. Thawne. We were both young and thought we loved each other, but that’s no excuse. I was wrong, and I’m paying for my mistake.”
She was quiet for a few moments.
“What will you do now that your article is complete? Are you going home?”
“I might stick around for a while. For the weather, if nothing else.”
They both laughed again, and Iris found she quite enjoyed the sight of his smiling, laughing face. A part of her longed to keep that smile on his face as long as he would let her. But she didn’t know when such an occasion would arise again.
So, she relaxed into the boat and enjoyed the view of sky and sea for as long as her counterpart enjoyed them too.
…
The next day, Edward was gone on business indefinitely, and Iris found herself very bored. She set off to go to the beach on her own this time and found herself shocked by the sight of Mr. Allen lounging on a towel in business attire on the sand. Their eyes met, and she laughed as he waved, and that was when she wrote her first letter.
Dear Mr. Allen,
My husband has gone out of town for the foreseeable future, and seeing as you do not have suitable beach attire and would otherwise be mortified by more people noticing, I wonder if you might not mind spending some time with me adventuring into the countryside.
Sincerely,
Iris
His return letter came the following morning, accepting her terms and looking forward to what would become a most eventful summer between them. For days on end, they explored the Italian countryside. From bicycle rides, to perusing little local shops, to long walks along the coastline. They laughed and talked and enjoyed each other’s company. And Iris, speaking for herself, quite forgot about her husband entirely.
One afternoon, while they were picnicking out in the countryside, it started to rain. Not just rain, but a heavy downpour that had them dashing back to her car, his jacket over her head until they got inside. To make matters worse, the car wouldn’t start, and Iris was dismayed.
“It’s okay,” he said, taking her hand from the wheel and caressing it in her hand.
She wore no gloves on this day, so their skin was flush against each other, damp from the rain and slightly chilled.
“Let’s play a game.”
Iris tried to slow her racing heart, but it was impossible. Something had been growing between them over the past month together, and she’d been a fool to ignore it. His daily letters were one thing, but his care and affection towards her whenever they were together was quite another thing entirely. And he wasn’t too shabby to look at either.
“Alright,” she said, relief flooding through her when he released her hand, possibly sensing her unease at the realization of the sexual tension simmering in the front seat of her car.
“Close your eyes,” he said, and she worried he was going to kiss her, and she was going to let him, so she didn’t dare close them. “Close them,” he said again. “It’s a game I call picnic. I play it with my son.”
She felt better about that somehow, so she closed her eyes.
“Pick a spot.”
She licked her lips.
“Where we are today, except not raining.”
He chuckled.
“An excellent choice. And what is on our blanket.”
“Sandwiches. And fruit. And water, maybe some lemonade.”
“Do we have anything else with us?”
“Sunscreen?”
“An important commodity.”
They both laughed.
“Open your eyes.”
She did.
“Now try again.”
She turned the key in the ignition, and the car started. She should’ve been relieved, and she was, but something had changed between them.
“Barry,” he said, just as the wheels of the car crossed over from grass to gravel to road.
She stopped immediately.
“I’m sorry?”
“My name is Barry. You can call me Barry.”
She smiled faintly.
“Alright.”
And from that moment on, he signed all his letters with a B.
…
Iris was unspeakably nervous the next morning. Her husband had come home, and for the first time in their marriage, she had to pretend to be grateful for it. After breakfast, which they shared together, she made an inconspicuous exit with a letter gripped tightly in her hand over to Barry’s abode. She slid the desperate letter under his door, but moments later it opened. He was in only a t-shirt and slacks, which somehow made her heart pound even harder.
“Oh. Hello.”
“Does this letter contain details for our next adventure?” he asked with a smirk.
She shook her head, and he frowned, opening it.
“My husband has come home, just last night.” She moved into the room, scanning it for something to distract her before turning to face him. “He wants us to return to London immediately.”
Barry’s brows furrowed before smoothing over.
“And what do you want?”
Her breath caught in her throat.
How long had it been since she’d asked herself what she truly wanted, who she truly wanted. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears. She felt herself becoming faint. And as what she wanted, what she yearned for became all the more clearer to her, she closed the distance between them and lifted her ungloved hand to the side of his face.
He watched her steadily, then closed his eyes, intoxicated by her touch. When he opened them again, she was inches from his face, her lips were inches from his, and he knew if what they both wanted happened next, there would be no going back.
“W-Wait-” he tried to explain his predicament, but the horror was plain as day on her face.
“I’m sorry.”
She brushed past him and hurriedly made her exit back to her home, trying to hold back tears and slow the pounding of her heart.
On her return to London, there was a letter waiting for her, unbeknownst to her husband who almost immediately made himself scarce.
It read:
My Dearest Flower,
I wrote to you as soon as I could, but you had already left, so I had to scrap that letter for another. Please forgive my behavior during our last encounter. I was not rejecting you. I have never wanted to kiss someone so badly in my entire life.
Her heart leapt into her throat.
It is only that I know once we take that step, there will be no going back. I will be wholly yours, and I hope you mine. I cannot breathe without your existence near me. I beg, if you still feel the same way, meet me in Ponte Park on the 18th at 2 o’clock. The park is halfway between your abode and mine. And if you wish it of me, I will kiss you, and I will never stop kissing you. Forever.
Yours, Always,
B.
Iris slipped the letter back into its envelope and held it to her heart. Then she dashed into her room, shoved it into an inconspicuous book, and readied herself for the moment of her life.
It was the 18th and nearing 2 o’clock. She could hardly catch her breath she was so ready to meet this dashing man who would be her lover. She was so relieved, so…enamored.
She sped-walked all the way to Ponte Park, and there he was, the only inhabitant there, waiting for her.
She walked even faster, opening her arms to him as soon as their eyes met, and there their lips collided, freezing the moment in time and binding them to each other. Forever.
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