mel

West-Allen secret santa gift

For: @wasserkupd2

From: @dickandcr

Ratings: General

Warnings: None

December 19th

Barry sighed, rolling over, his front coming in contact with Iris's backside. He grunted lightly, his body still sore from the day before. He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her back into him knowing some of the pain would go away if his body was in contact with hers.

A few moments passed before Iris shifted onto her back. He shifted too, accommodating to her new position. Her arm came around his neck and her hands started to play with his hair. "You ok, bear?" He heard her ask softly, her lips moving against his forehead.

"Sore," he muttered against her bare chest. "Getting thrown around sucks,"

Her chest rumbled as she laughed. Barry adjusted his head over her heart, listening to the faint thump thump. It wasn’t hard for him to fall asleep again. Iris had started massaging his scalp and humming a tune, plus listening to her heartbeat always calmed him.

Barry woke up again to little footsteps on the floor, small huffs, and tiny dips of the mattress under each of her steps until he felt her sit by his head and poke his cheek. “Dadda,”

He smiled, placing his hand on her back and cracking his eyes open. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Hungry,” she whispered, leaning forward and laying under his chin. “Pancakes,”

Barry held her against his chest, moving the blankets back and getting up out of bed. He walked down the stairs, seeing Iris typing away on her laptop with the polar express playing in the background.

His sudden presence made her look up. A smile slid its way onto her face. “I see she’s woken you up for her daily christmas pancakes,”

“Indeed she has,” he kissed her swiftly and walked into the kitchen. Iris abandoned her laptop and slid into the kitchen seat. “So, tree picking today, what tree are we getting?”

“Tall,” Nora patted Barry’s head.

“A tall tree? Taller than daddy?”

Nora looked at Barry curiously then turned back to Iris. “Yeah,” she nodded. Barry handed Nora off to Iris, starting on the pancakes. “Are Joe and Cecile joining us this year?”

“Nope, Cecile is taking dad to her family for Christmas, Wally’s with Linda’s family, and Cisco’s with Cynthia, so it’s just gonna be us this year,” Iris played with Nora’s fingers, tickling her side.

Barry scooped three pancakes onto a plate and slid it over to Iris, knowing she’d want two and share the last one with Nora. He made his own and took the seat next to them.

“You know, we still have to get matching onesies,” Iris said. “And santa hats, and matching christmas socks,”

“Shopping before tree picking?”

“Yeah, that way I can sneak things in the cart,”

Barry chuckled. “You always sneak stuff in the cart,”

“You don’t complain,”

“No, no, I do not,”

Iris grinned. “What do you say, Nora? Should we sneak stuff in the cart while daddy isn’t looking?”

Nora looked up at Iris with her big brown eyes and nodded. “See?”

“That’s because she’s a mini you,” Barry pointed his fork at her. “You taught her to sneak stuff in the cart,”

Iris gasped in mock offense. “I did not,”

“Nora, where did you learn to sneak stuff in the cart?”

Her tiny finger points to Iris. Iris purses her lips. “tiny traitor,”

Nora only smiles innocently. Barry grins. “Told you,”

“Oh hush, Bartholomew,”

Barry had been the first one to finish his breakfast, as always, and gone upstairs to shower. “Do you think they have tiny Santa hats?” Iris asked as he came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.

“I think they have some for dogs,”

“You want me to get a dog hat for our daughter?” she raised her eyebrow at him. Barry shrugged lightly. “Well, if they don’t have baby ones,” he defended weakly. “She’ll look cute in it,”

“She looks cute in anything but a dog hat?”

Barry pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. Nora came running into their room with her brown bear onesie Barry had gotten her. “Bear, bear,” she clapped.

“I think she’ll like the dog hat,” Barry picked her up. Iris glared at him, obviously trying to suppress the obvious smile breaking through. She brushed past him to go into the bathroom. Barry waited until the door clicked shut then kissed Nora’s cheek. “You’ll like the dog hat, won’t you?”

“Doggy for christmas?” she asked, her eyes sparkling. Iris must’ve taught her that too.

“We’ll see,” he told her and left the bedroom.

Iris came down, securing some of her locs in a bun while the others swung across her back. “Alright, I made a list,”

“You make a list everytime and never use it though,”

Iris shrugged. “I will this time,”

She didn’t.

Barry pushed the cart while Iris ooh and awed at every christmas decoration in sight, putting in the cart, which, in fact, was not on her list. Barry peeked into the cart while Iris had started looking at the Christmas onesies. Food, baby, clothes, makeup, accessories, and a flash ornament. He was pretty sure they had five already, but if she wanted a lightning bolt on the tree, he wouldn’t complain a single bit.

“Alright,” Iris laid three onesies in the cart. “Babe, you’re an elf, I’m santa, and Nora’s a reindeer,”

“An elf?”

“Yes, elves are shorter than Santa, which means if I’m santa and you’re an elf, I’ll be taller than you technically,”

Barry blinked. “Really?” he smiled. “I love that you’re short,”

“Yeah, so you can tease me about it,”

“Guilty,”

Iris shot him a look and carried Nora to the toy section. Barry smiled watching Iris put Nora down, only for Nora to curl her small hand around three of Iris’s. He followed them around slowly, watching them whisper to each other.

On their way out of the toy section, Nora spotted a blonde lady with a dog. “Doggy, doggy,” she pointed, tugging on Iris’s fingers.

“Yeah, that’s a dog, it looks like a german shepherd,”

“I want a doggy,” Nora looked up at Iris. “Doggy?” she pouted. Iris looked at Barry, who had the same expression as her daughter. She knew what this was. They were cornering her.

“I’ll think about it,”

“That’s a yes,” Barry whispered to Nora, who beamed and started to skip. “I said think about it, you know,” Iris came beside him, keeping a close eye on Nora.

“We both know you’ve been wanting a puppy since we started dating,” he told her. Iris glanced at him. “You remember when I said that?”

“I told you I had a steel trap,” he tapped his temple. Iris snorted. “You barely remember when you’re supposed to be up for work,”

“Yeah but this is something you said,” he shrugged lightly. “If it’s you who says it, I’m always going to remember, whether it’s a day later or a decade later, everything you say is important to me,”

“Barry, do not make me cry in the middle of target,”

His arm slid around her shoulders and he tugged her into his side, kissing her temple.

“You love it when I’m romantic,”

Iris smiled softly. “I do,”

Iris and Nora wandered off towards the cafe while Barry paid. He thanked the cashier and rolled the cart over to where they stood. “Hey, what’d you get?”

“Hot chocolate,” Iris handed him a cup. “Nora saw the sign and wanted some,”

Barry walked behind his two girls. Iris with Nora planted on her hip and her cup in the other hand, her cheek pressed against Nora’s hood, whispering something to her. Whatever it was, it made them both laugh.

Suddenly, everything around him slowed down. Time slowed. The car that was coming from the left slowed down, the mom and daughter that were heading for the entrance, even the dog they saw earlier stopping in the middle of its walking, its feet merely inches from the ground.

He savored the moment. Drank it in. Iris’s smile was always big and bright, even when they were younger but it was something different about seeing it now. It was brighter. He couldn’t put it in words, and maybe he didn’t want to, because he knew what it meant. It was his to understand.

Barry breathed in, peace waving over his body, the soreness from his body gone, then exhaled and time sped up again. Iris walked at a normal pace and Nora’s little legs went back to kicking back and forth aimlessly. Her laugh disappeared but the smile never did.

He packed the bags into the trunk and climbed into the driver's seat. “I found the best lot for tree picking a couple miles from here, if we go straight there, we should get there before all the good trees are gone,” she scrolled through her phone.

Barry watched her silently. The locs that weren’t in the bun covered the side of her face. She looked at him, her eyes searching his. “You ok?” she asked softly, her hand reaching over to stroke his cheek with her thumb.

“I’m amazing,” he told her truthfully. “Let’s go tree picking,”

Iris grinned and he couldn’t help but smile back at her.

The lot with the trees was bigger than he had thought. It smelled like nature. Rain to be specific. Probably because it had rained the night before.

Barry held Nora this time, while Iris went from tree to tree inspecting and criticizing it. The saw she brought with them dangling beside her. Her winter boots left small footprints in the mud. He stared down at it. He never realized her feet were that small. “Small,” Nora pointed to it.

“Yeah, mama’s really small, isn’t she?” He poked her stomach. “I can hear you,” Iris said from a couple feet away. Barry smiled sheepishly while Nora giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I am not that small,”

He nodded silently. She was, but he wouldn’t say that outloud. He’d probably get mud shoved in his face if he did.

“Barry?”

He swiveled around to see his brother in law walking towards him. “Wally, what are you doing here?”

“Linda wanted to pick up a tree before we got on the road since her parents don’t have time,” he explained.

“Is she judging every tree too?”

“Oh yeah, our wives are very picky,”

“Amen to that,”

“I can still hear you, Bartholomew,” Iris called. His smile was sheepish again. “Sorry,”

“Iris is here?” Linda’s head popped out from behind a nearby tree. Her boots sludged against the mud as she made her way over to Iris, who was inspecting the tree leaves.

“They really go all in for trees,”

“For Christmas itself,” he turned back to Wally. “Iris loves Christmas. One time, back in high school, Iris stopped being friends with someone because they said halloween was better than christmas,”

Wally gaped. “You’re joking?”

“I am not, I was there,”

Wally’s shocked expression turned into a laugh. “Now that I think about it, it sounds like Iris,”

They watched their wives for a bit. Well, only one of them was a wife, but the other would be a wife soon enough.

“Did you start christmas shopping?” Wally’s question broke him out of his gaze as he looked at the younger man. “I have and I probably went overboard but I like to spoil,”

“We know,” Wally mumbled. “Iris’s closet says it all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her repeat an outfit,”

Barry shrugged. “I like to spoil my wife, sue me,”

Wally shook his head. “Completely whipped,” he muttered.

Barry made a face then turned again and watched while Iris and Linda hugged and Linda returned to Wally’s side. “We should keep looking before the lot closes, we’ll talk to you guys when we get to my parent’s house,” she waved as they walked away.

“Bear, look, this tree is perfect,” she ushered Barry over. Barry looked at it, then at the others. They were the same. “I don’t get it,”

“Barry,” she swatted his arm softly. “It’s different from the others, taller, more branches, more spaces for ornaments,”

“More branches? How’d you notice that?”

“The first thing I learned majoring in investigative journalism back in college was that journalists needed to have sharp eyes to scope out clues that regular eyes couldn’t, you know, notice the small details,” she said.

Barry felt pride swell in his chest. He knew exactly how much Iris had grown from his best friend reluctant to go into investigative journalism to his wife who had three pulitzers, her own building and staff, and her own news media outlet that outsold CCPN in its first year of running.

It made it even more special that he got to see her grow into the woman she is today and people would probably call him dramatic, but in his mind, it was a complete privilege that he got to call her wife. That he put that ring on her finger. That he’s the father of her kid that’s sleeping on his shoulder.

His high school self would’ve probably gone into cardiac arrest if he knew about what his future held with Iris.

“Here, you cut it,” she handed him the saw and in return, he handed her a sleeping Nora, who instantly adjusted to the change and went back into a peaceful slumber.

The tree tettered back and forth as he sawed until he reached the other end and he caught it before it could fall in the mud. Iris looked around. “No one’s watching,” she whispered.

Barry nodded, picked up the tree and sped away. Iris picked up the tag that had fallen off and paid for it at the small booth near the front then waited at the car to drive home.

But she guesses Barry had other plans because what once was the lot with a bunch of trees before her was replaced with the fireplace that sat in the middle of their living room.

“I thought I’d make it quicker,” Barry said, licking the door behind him.

“The car -”

“Is in the parking lot downstairs, don’t worry I didn’t leave it at the lot,” he stopped her, kissing her cheek, putting down the bags near the tree. Iris laid Nora on the couch, using the blanket they kept on the back of the couch to cover her with it.

Christmas music started to faintly play in the background whilst Barry unpacked what they bought, singing along to the song softly.

Iris listened. His voice was one of her favorite things. She would ask him to sing for her on random nights, just because she wanted to hear it. Over the years, Barry’s voice had gotten deeper, it added a slight rasp to his singing voice but somehow, that rasp made it better, more soothing.

Barry laid out the onesies and stuffed the bags into a cabinet in the kitchen then joined her in the living room. He took her hand and interlaced their fingers, his arm slithered around her waist and he started to sway. Iris leaned into him, her head under his chin, closing her eyes and swaying with him.

She cherished moments like this. With the flash and their jobs, they didn’t have as much alone time as they would like but when they did, they made the most of it. Moments like this were her favorites, the ones that stood out in her memories, the ones she thought about in the future and smiled.

Her hand left his arm and they hooked around his back. She slowly felt herself drifting while he continued to sing, one of his hands staying around her waist while the other rubbed her back.

Soon, she was asleep.

December 24th - Christmas Eve

“Barry,” Iris called again. Barry peeked from the kitchen, his eyebrows raised because he knew exactly what she was calling him for. She huffed and planted her hands on her hips, the ornament she was holding hung from her fingers. “Help,”

He grinned and crossed the distance, taking the ornament from her and placing it where she wanted. “Was that the last one?”

“Yeah, just the star is left,” she picked up the gold star from their christmas box. “Who wants to do it?”

“Me,” Nora raised her hand. “Me, me, me,” she said as she flinged the blanket, slid down from the couch then ran until she was standing in front of Iris. “Me.”

“Hold it carefully,”

Nora nodded, taking the star and holding it tight while Barry lifted her. She slowly placed it on the top branch and clapped as Barry brought her down and onto his shoulders. Iris plugged the lights and the star in, the bright light illuminating against their dimly lit house.

“It’s perfect,” Iris whispered, tucking herself into Barry’s side. “Yeah, it is,” he agreed, but he wasn’t looking at the tree. His eyes were on the woman leaning against him.

“Just perfect,”

December 25th - Christmas Day

Barry sunk into the softness of the sheets. He had stayed up to wrap all of the gifts he bought, placing them under the tree. He hoped that one especially had made it through the night.

Iris rolled over, her body slightly shivering from the cold. Barry’s hand instinctively found her shivering form and pulled her into his embrace. She sighed, relaxed into him. He liked how she always did that. How she was able to simply relax just by his touch. She mumbled something incoherently, her nose brushing his neck as she scooted closer to him, trying to soak his warmth.

Feet thudded softly against the floor outside. Barry turns his head, watching their door be pushed open and Nora runs through it, climbing up on the bed, which he’s still not sure how she’s able to do, and crawling over the blanket until she lands between them.

“Christmas,” she whispers. “It’s Christmas,”

“It is christmas,” he pushed her frizzy curls back. “Merry Christmas, my sweet girl,” he kissed her cheek.

“Merry Christmas,” Iris said tiredly, stretching. Nora reached over and pushed a loc back into Iris’s bonnet. Barry smiled at the interaction. Iris yawned and sat up, freeing her locs. They spilled down her pack and the ends landed in a heap on the bed. He loved them. It was another thing he couldn’t put into words how gorgeous his wife looked when she had these types of styles.

“Alright everyone,” she stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Up,”

Barry sat up straight. “It’s Christmas,” she paced back and forth with her hands behind her back. “Both of you, go brush your teeth, shower, put on your respective onesie and you,” she pointed at Barry. “Will cook the pancakes, christmas ones, with whipped cream,”

“Yes ma’am,”

Barry got out of bed and set Nora down, who instantly dashed out of the room and went towards hers. He quickly got ready and sneaked downstairs, glancing at the tree. His nerves settled. Everything was right.

Iris came down with Nora right as he finished the pancakes. “I’m taller,” she sang. Barry chuckled. He’d let her have this.

After breakfast, Barry put on a christmas movie as background noise while they opened gifts.

“Barrry Allen, how much shopping did you do?”

He sat down next to her. “I might’ve went a bit overboard but I think you’ll like everything,”

Ok, maybe he went a little bit more than overboard, but he didn’t regret it at all. Barry silently watched Nora pull the last box from under the tree, curiously looking into the holes carved into it.

“Hello?” she said into it, then the box shifted on its own. She gasped and stepped back. Iris glanced at Barry with a small smile. The box shifted again, and again, a third time then it fell over and the flaps that held it closed opened.

A light brown puppy rolled out and stood on its feet. “Puppy,” Nora cheered, crouching and holding her hand out. It sniffed her hand and bumped it with its head.

“It’s a girl,” he told her. “What are you gonna name her?”

Nora sat down, scratching behind the dog’s ear and tapping her free hand to her lips. “Roxy,”

The dog, Roxy, barked, her tail wagging.

“I think she likes it,”

Later, when Nora was in bed, Roxy sleeping in her dog bed next to Nora's bed, Barry turned out the lights and retired upstairs. “Hey,” Iris closed her book upon seeing him. “I think today was a good christmas,”

“I think so too,” he got into bed. “But I also think every year is a good christmas,”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said, curling his arm around her waist. “As long as you and Nora are here, it’s going to be a good anything,” he muttered into her hair.

“Stop trying to make me cry,”

Barry laughed and he kissed her cheek. “I love you,”

“I love you more,”

“Not possible,”

“It is so,”

“Technically not, your smaller than me which means your capacity to love is smaller than mine so therefore I love you more than you love me,”

Iris gaped at him. “I know you did not just bring science into this,”

He grinned unapologetically. “Just the facts,”

“Oh hush, I still love you more,”