I'll Be There in a Flash

32

I head over to Iris' house so I could help them decorate their Christmas tree. Me and my dad did ours the day December started and my dad decorated the house. I knock on the door and the door opens and I see Barry. "Hey." I say with a small smile. "Hey." he says and we both stand there awkwardly. Barry moves aside and lets me in. "What are you doing here?" Barry asks me and face him. "I'm here to help Joe and Iris decorate their Christmas tree." I reply and cross my arms. "I forgot to tell you both that I invited the other." Iris says and I glare at her. I told her that me and Barry broke up, so why did she invite me if she invited him too. I just wanted to get my mind off of him for a while, even though I still see him at S.T.A.R. Labs, I ignore him. Joe looks at us and he shakes his head, "This got awkward really fast." he says and I nod. Iris had walked into the kitchen and I look at the tree and see that they're not even half finished.

"By this rate you won't be finished until Easter." I say and Joe laughs.

"That's what he said." Joe says motioning to Barry and I look at him.

Barry has a smile on his face and I know what he's thinking. "Don't you dare." Joe says and Barry super speeds and puts the decorations on the tree lightning fast. "Ok, the only red-suited dude I want in this house right now is Kris Kringle, you got it?" Joe asks Barry and I laugh. Barry gets up off the couch and takes the decorations off the tree and sits back down and hands him another ornament. "You're so impatient." I say to Barry and he looks up at me and Joe laughs. "I'm the impatient one?" Barry asks saying that I'm the impatient one. "You're both the same, minus the science part." Joe says and me and Barry glare at him. He gives Joe another ornament and then Iris walks in with four mugs filled with eggnog. "Uh, these ornaments aren't gonna hang themselves." she says handing us the mugs. "Grandma Esther's famous recipe. Light on the burbon." Iris says again and she hands me the mug. "Thanks." I say grabbing the mug and taking a sip. Joe's phone starts to ring and we all look at him, "I always loved her definition of "light"." Joe says and I laugh.

"And the Christmas tradition continues." Joe says and he answers his phone.

We all stare at him waiting to hear what the problem is. "Sorry kids. DA wants to ask me some questions. Make sure there's nog left when I get back." Joe says and we nod. "No promises." Barry mutters under his breath and I smack him upside the head. "Ow. We're not even dating anymore and yet you still smack me." Barry says rubbing his head. Iris turns off the TV and we stare at her. "What's happening?" Barry asks and Iris takes the mugs out of our hands. She pulls Barry on the floor and then she grabs me and sits me next to him. "Oh. Come on. We're doing this already? Christmas isn't for a few days." Barry says and I nod in agreement. "I couldn't wait any longer. Here." Iris says handing us our gifts. "Ok. But I didn't bring my gifts for you guys." I say grabbing my gift from her and she shakes her head. "Just bring it later." she says and I nod. Iris wanted to be first and she opens it to find her mother's wedding band around a gold chain and I smile at her. "It's a replica. You were devastated when you lost the real one." he says and I remember that. "Our fifth grade field trip to the zoo." we all say together and laugh. "You cried for weeks." I say and she nods remembering. "I'll help you put it on." I say and she hands me the necklace and I put it around her neck.

"I feel like my gift sucks in comparison." Iris says and Barry shakes his head.

Barry opens his gift and finds a microscope. "It's supposed to be the best on the market. I thought you could maybe use a new one." Iris says and he smiles. "It's lame, I know." Iris says and Barry says no. "No. This is great. I love it." Barry says and I look down and play with my thumbs. "Tori's turn." Iris says and I look up and smile at her. "I feel bad that I'm getting two gifts right now and you guys only got one." I say and they shake their heads. "Open your gifts." Barry says and I open Iris' gift first. I find a microphone and I smile. "This one is lame too." she says and I put my hand on her arm. "I love it. Thank you." I say and hug her. Barry gives me his gift and it was small compared to Iris' and I open it to see a little black velvet box. I open it and find a ring, but not like a wedding ring, more like a promise ring. I look up at Barry and he smiles at me taking the box from my hand and picking up the ring and sliding it on my middle finger. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Iris covering her mouth and I look at the ring in shock.

"I know we're not dating anymore, but I still want to make you feel special." Barry says and I look at him and smile.

"Thanks, Barry." I say hugging him and when we pull away we stare into each others eyes and I feel butterflies in my stomach. Then we hear a knock on the door and we snap out of our trance. Iris opens the door and I see Eddie there. "Hey, Barry, Tori." Eddie says and I wave to him and sit on the couch with Barry. "I thought you two broke up?" Eddie asks and me and Barry look at each other then look away. Iris smacks Eddie's arm and I hear her whisper something to him, but I wasn't paying attention. I grab my eggnog mug and drink it. "So are we tree-trimming?" Eddie asks and we nod. After tree-trimming, Barry wanted to head to S.T.A.R. Labs to give gifts to Caitlin and Cisco and I nod.

*~*~

When we got to S.T.A.R. Labs, I grab the gifts for Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells, which I had to go back to the house for. I may not trust Dr. Wells, but I had to buy him a gift to not seem rude "Merry Christmas." I yell and they all laugh as I hold up the bag. "Just a small token of gratitude for everything you guys have done for us this year." Barry says and I nod. "So, not to be rude, but what's up with you two? You guys avoid each other like nothing's happening." Cisco says and I look down and rub my arm. "We broke up the day Oliver and the others were here." Barry says and I look at the three. "Oh. Sorry." Caitlin says and I shake my head.

Barry puts his bag down and takes out the thermos filled with the eggnog. "What's that?" Caitlin asks and me and Barry smile. "This is compliments from Iris." Barry says and I nod. "Grandma Esther's famous eggnog." I say and cross my arms. "That's what I'm talking about." Cisco says and I laugh. Caitlin looks down at my hand and sees the promise ring, "Wow, Tori, that looks beautiful." she says and I nod with a small smile. "Barry gave it to me for Christmas." I say and she looks at Barry then at the ring. "Well, it's beautiful." she says again and I nod. Dr. Wells says that he'll pass and we look at Caitlin and Cisco confusingly. "Did we say something wrong?" Barry asks for the both of us and they shake their heads. "No. It's just that this used to be his favorite holiday. Until the accident." Cisco says and I nod. Caitlin wanted to get him a present and hopefully it would cheer him up.