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Their first family dinner together with their daughter could have gone better, but what was a day in their lives without a surprise or two being dropped on them?
Iris still couldn’t believe that, “You stole. From the Flash museum.”
The way Nora’s mouth opened and shut was almost comical, like a poor fish flopping around on the ground.
“Well, I mean…” She shrugged and grinned sheepishly, no appropriate excuse up her sleeve, and Iris huffed a laugh.
“I can’t believe our daughter is a thief,” she said to Barry, but the look she threw Nora was fond. It gnawed at her, that she and her daughter, her child, seemed to be all but estranged in the future.
If only she knew how to prevent it. How to do it differently. Because the beautiful young woman sitting at the table with them, attacking her plate of Barry’s mac and cheese like it was the best thing she ever tasted, was so full of life and love that Iris couldn’t even imagine not being close to her. Not wanting to be close to her.
She sighed and took another bite of her pasta, sharing a quick look with Barry. It took him a second to return her smile, and Iris made a mental note to make him talk about whatever was bothering him later. Probably wasn’t a coincidence that he’d changed his mind so quickly about letting Nora stay with them for a while in 2018 after all.
“So,” Iris said after a pause that had gone on too long not to be uncomfortable, “didn’t your dad and I teach you not to steal?”
She meant it as a joke, but—there it was, the almost unnoticeable flinch by both her husband and her daughter. Iris cleared her throat, focusing on maintaining a neutral expression for as long as it took Nora to find a suitable reply. She did have her suspicions what their secrecy was about, but she wasn’t gonna panic before having them confirmed. She wasn’t. Whatever it was, they were going to figure it out, make it right. They always did.
“Well…” Nora smiled down at her food before looking at Iris, a spark of something like mischief flitting over her face. “You always did tell Lenny that letting me hang out with Auntie Lisa was a bad influence.”
Iris’ eyes widened, choking down a gasp at the same time as Barry’s fork clattered to the ground.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
“Excuse me, what?” Barry said faintly, gripping the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles turned white.
Nora’s eyes darted between them before it clicked. She blanched, spluttering, “Ahh, crap. It’s 2018. I was wondering where—So, he’s still d—Um. Can I just, uh, go rewind those last two minutes? Yes? I’m—”
“Nora.” Nora snapped her mouth shut at Iris’ voice, looking like a deer in headlights. “What do you mean? Do you mean…” She couldn’t make herself say the name on the tip of her tongue, too stunned.
The look on Barry’s face hurt a little. Where he’d been withdrawn, tired, almost sad around the eyes just minutes before, new hope was blooming now, eyes bright. The contrast was impossible to unsee.
“We don’t—” Iris’ breath hitched. “We’re not divorced, are we? Where you come from?”
Barry sat up ramrod straight in his seat, looking so startled like he hadn’t even considered the possibility. “Iris—”
“It’s fine.” Nora took a deep breath. “Everything is fine. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I said too much already. But you’re not divorced.” She gave them a wistful smile. “Don’t worry. Lenny’s been there as long as I can remember.” There was no way she didn’t mean Leonard Snart, as much as Iris didn’t want her to. Lenny. What the hell. When Nora continued, her eyes were on Iris and her voice was soothing, “He’s a good one. He’s… You love him, Mom.”
“Oh, boy.” Iris leaned back in her chair, covering her face with her hands. She peeked through her fingers, snorting when she saw that Barry was watching her, looking positively delighted. “I think I’m gonna need a glass of wine for this. Or three. The… the whole bottle.”
“Let me get it,” Barry said and stood up, dropping a soft kiss on Iris’ head as he passed her. “Love you,” he whispered.
“Love you, too.” She caught him by the sleeve and tilted her head up for a proper kiss, relaxing at the familiar feeling of his lips on hers.
“Blergh.” Nora grimaced, making both of them laugh. “Is there more mac and cheese?”
Iris raised her eyebrow. “This is a speedster household, honey. Of course there is.”
“Schway.” She flashed into the kitchen along with her empty plate, knocking the pan around in a way that had to be deliberate.
“Subtle,” Iris said, running her hand softly through Barry’s hair before he pulled away. “Are we gonna be okay, Barr?”
“Of course we are.” He made a move to finally get that glass of wine Iris was dying to have, but he hesitated, seeming to make a decision before crouching down next to her. His face was troubled, making Iris ache to be able to just wipe all his sorrows, all his worries away. He bit his lip, eyes reluctantly meeting hers. “I need to tell you something, Iris.”
“I know,” she said, flicking his chin lightly with her finger. “You’re almost worse at subtlety than our daughter. Is it about your future… or about Snart?” She grinned when his eyes widened, mouth falling open like he hadn’t expected her to address the elephant in the room. “Because the former I’ll be ready to talk about any time, but the latter… let’s not mention that, ever. Until. You know.”
Barry snorted a wet laugh, “About both, I think. But all right, I won’t mention it.” He squeezed her hand. “Let me get you that glass of wine and we’ll talk.”
“Yeah. Let’s talk.”