westallen oneshots

A Christmas Wish

(I stayed up until 4 am to write this so sorry if it's weird. Hope you enjoy anyway :))

Barry's POV

It was Christmas time. Filled with cold nights where you could see the lights hanging from the houses in the neighborhood while you're looking out the window. Piles of snow littered the wet ground while people on the street walked briskly, vapor coming out of their mouths and snow crunching under their heels. But in the West household, it was warm and bright.
In the kitchen I heard the clink of a glass and some cheerful laughing, then the sound of chair legs dragging across tile. Almost time for dinner. Behind me was a green tree covered in ornaments- the most recognizable of them was either the construction paper rainbow on a hook or the small frame near the top with young Iris and I smiling at the camera and whoever was behind it.
I smiled at the sight of it and memories of my childhood flashed in a slideshow. There was one at the playground, where I was on the monkey bars trying to impress her as she counted how many pull ups I could do. The record? I think it was 4.
Nearly every memory I could think of had Iris in it. Without her, my life would be a living hell. Actually, because of what I've been through, most people think it would be. But if I feel bad, I just look at her and instantly feel better.
This Christmas, I'm thankful for so much. Caitlin and Cisco, Wells, Joe, my dad, and of course Iris. As the years went by, I was more and more thankful for her. She's the reason I come back home. She's my light in a world of darkness and danger. I'm completely in love with her and I have been for about 10 years now. She's my life.
The only problem is that I don't know if I'm hers.
Just 3 days before Christmas, Eddie broke up with her because working at the force didn't leave time for the two of them. Then he transferred to a different city's force so he didn't have to face the awkward interactions with Joe. I'm not wrong when I say he's an enormous d-bag and Iris deserves so much better. So Joe, Caitlin, and Cisco were here at the house on the 24th to celebrate the season and also comfort her.
I made my way back to the kitchen and sat down for dinner. Iris wiped the corner of her eye with a napkin and Joe patted her wrist in encouragement. Caitlin looked at me with a sad smile and gave me a subtle thumbs up under the table. I could tell what she wanted me to do.
I moved my chair so it was next to Iris' and put my arm around her shoulder. "You okay, Iris? Do you need anything?" Then I hugged her and wrapped my hand around her smaller fist. She shook her head and stopped crying. "Thank you Barry, I'll be fine."
I shifted my chair back to its original spot. Joe cleared his throat and said, "now that we're all okay, let's think about our Christmas Wish."
The West family has a tradition that during Christmas Eve dinner, we all think of something we want to happen the next day. My usual wish is that everyone in town has a happy holiday and that Iris and Joe stay safe. But this year I would be wishing for something else.
I began a string of words in my head. "Please make sure Iris stays happy this holiday and please make her realize that I'm madly in love with her. Please make sure all of the family stays alive and safe. And please make sure everyone is happy today and tomorrow and don't let any bad guys roam around."
When I was done I raised my head from my daydream and everyone else declared that they were done. Then we started eating.
The whole dinner was excellent and it was like Iris was never sad. She was laughing and smiling and it was like seeing an angel that fell to earth. In that moment I came up with a plan: I would stay up and at midnight I would tell Iris about my feelings for her. Then a fraction of my wish would come true.
It was 8:52. I had a little more than 3 hours to keep Iris awake and happy.
After dinner we spent 2 hours talking about the "natural disasters" that happened in Central City. That's our code for "the metahumans are attacking our city but we can't say that supervillains are here because Iris doesn't know that Barry is the Flash".
Then it was 11:00. Caitlin and Cisco announced they were going to leave to do some late work at the lab. So it was just the family left.
After cleaning up, Iris announced that she was going to bed. It was only 11:30!
I panicked. I went to the shelf on my left and hastily grabbed Clue from the top shelf. "Are you sure you don't want to play board games?" Some of the pieces fell from the box and fell to the ground during the silence between the question and the answer.
She chuckled. "No, no, Barry. I've got to go to bed. Long day tomorrow." Then she sighed and hugged me goodnight.
I gave up. I could always just tell her tomorrow. I said goodnight to Joe and hopped into bed.
Right after I drifted into sleep I heard sniffling from the room next to mine. Iris'.
I opened the door and rushed into her room. She was rubbing her red eyes and was listening to music on her phone.
I ran towards her bed. "Iris, are you okay?" I took out her earbuds and wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace and rocked her so she would stop crying.
11:53.
"Barry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... Eddie's a jerk, y'know?" She wiped her eyes. Yes... I mentally noted.
She pulled the sheets over her pajamas for warmth. "For so long, I knew that our relationship wasn't going to go anywhere. He spent all his time at work. I thought he was cheating. But he said 'crime stopping was a full time job'. What an ass." Then she laughed. Like an actual, beautiful, colorful, laugh.
"And in that time, I realized something huge. I know we're best friends, I know Eddie knew that, and I knew he suspected things were going on between us. Now I realize that he thought something was going on because of the way you look at me. God, I can't believe I didn't realize it." Then she looked at me. "You're in love with me, aren't you?"
11:56.
Realization flashed across my eyes. "...Y-Yes, Iris. I love you. I love you so much. And nothing will change it. I've been in love with you since we were little. I was in love with you before I even knew what love was." A tear rolled down her cheek. Hopefully a happy tear.
"Barry, when I was having a hard time with Eddie, I was thinking about us. I realized that I care about you more than anything and I would do anything for you. I love the way you care for everything, I love the way you try to make sure I'm happy. I love that you are loyal to your friends. I love your smile, and your eyes, and your laugh... Barry, I love you. I'll admit, I had feelings for both you and Eddie when we first started dating but I didn't realize I loved you then. But I do now." Then she grabbed my hand and squeezed.
I was staring straight ahead in shock. It was like a knot had been untied. Like the sun came out after years of darkness. I looked at her and smiled. "Well, if you like that much about me, you'll love this."
I put my hands to her cheeks and put my lips to hers. She kissed back, and after a minute, we came up.
"What was your Christmas wish?" I asked.
"For you to tell me that you love me." A blush crept up on her cheeks.
"Same for me."
I checked my watch.
12:01.
"Well, it looks like both of them came true."