Chapter Text
The first stop when returning home to Central City had to be Jitters.
As Barry walked down the street heading towards the coffee shop, he looked up at the old familiar sign, and he smiled.
This place held many memories for Barry that he never ceased to remember whenever he came here.
Trivia nights, late nights working on assignments in high school, and chats with his best friend were all memories that surged to the front of his mind.
Remembering all these things, he kept his smile plastered on his face as he pushed the familiar door open and walked in, finding his place in the line that actually seemed shorter than he recalled it typically was.
As he stood in his spot, shuffling forward every once in a while as people in front of him got their prefered caffeinated beverage, he admired the building, which hadn't changed much since he was here last.
He started associating different places in the shop with different moments.
There was the table where he won his first trivia night.
There was the chair in the corner where he had stayed up till past 10 working on his King Lear essay that was due the next day.
And there was the spot that was his and his best friend Iris' spot. It was just a typical table with a pair of chairs, but they had many chats there.
They chatted there when Barry had broken up with his short-term high school girlfriend, Becky Cooper, Iris comforting him, as she always seemed to do.
They chatted there when Iris had asked Barry for help on coming up with a story to write about for the high school newspaper, and he had come up with the most amazing idea, which she greatly appreciated, and, wouldn't you know it, the story ended up being a success. Acclaimed, actually.
And they chatted there when Barry told Iris that he was going to be heading to Keystone City University to pursue his passion, forensic science. Barry recalled Iris being sad, but ever so supportive.
"Just don't forget to keep in touch with me, okay?" She had asked him.
Barry had smiled at her, cupping his warm hands over hers. "Don't you worry," he had said, "you're my best friend, Iris, and you always will be. Don't even question for a second if I will keep in touch with you. Of course I will. I promise."
But, the thing is, he hadn't, and for that, he felt immensely guilty.
He had meant to, of course, but it's just that...
Well, honestly, he could think of no valid reason as to why he didn't keep in touch with her when he had made that promise.
Every promise he had made to her he had tried his hardest to keep, but someway, somehow, that one slipped through his fingers, and he didn't know if he could ever make it up to Iris whenever he would see her again.
Barry must've been so lost in his guilt that he forgot he was in line for coffee.
"Hey dude, could you move up please? I don't have all day," the guy behind Barry said in a nasty voice.
Barry didn't say anything and just stepped forward, just now realizing that he was at the cash register.
And as his eyes drifted above the register, he saw a familiar face with familiar eyes looking back at him, and they looked just as surprised as he was.
"Barry?" Iris asked.
"Iris?" Barry asked.
"What are you doing here?" Both said in unison to each other, and then both laughing because they realized that their ability to say the exact same thing to each other at the exact same time hadn't changed.
It was a best friend thing.
Iris looked down at her watch.
"Hey, my shift is almost over," she said as she looked up, "I can get you your order and once I'm done, we can chat if you want."
Barry couldn't say no to that.
"At our spot." Iris added.
Wow, she remembered it too?
"I could never refuse that." Barry said, smiling at the sight of his beautiful best friend and the fact that she wanted to catch up with him.
She headed away to go make his or...
Wait, he hadn't ordered yet.
"Hey Iris," Barry said as she spun around, "how do you know...."
"Oh come on Bear," she said as she smiled, "best friends know each other's coffee orders."
Barry continued to smile as Iris made him his order and pushed it across the counter to him.
He was about to pay when she said, "I'll pay for you."
Barry's jaw dropped open.
"But you work here..." Barry said, confused.
"Anything for you, Barry Allen," Iris said, snarky, in response.
Barry just laughed his soft laugh as he picked up his drink and safely carried to his and Iris' spot.
He set it down on the table and sat in the chair, the same chair as the many times before, getting himself comfortable to wait for Iris to be done her shift.
And as he waited, he hoped that this time would be different than the last time he was here, and that this time, he wouldn't make a promise to Iris that he would later fail to keep.
• • •
"Thank you, have a great day," Iris said in her cheerful tone that typically was fake at this time of day, but was real today because as soon as this customer walked away, Iris would be off her shift and able to go catch up with her best friend who she hadn't caught up with in what felt like years.
The customer picked up his coffee and walked away.
There was now no one else in line, which was the perfect time for Iris to be done her shift and for one of her co-workers to take over at cash.
Iris quickly took off her apron, hung it up, grabbed a cronut (staff were allowed to take one at the end of their shift), and headed over to her and Barry's spot.
Every time Iris came into work she would look at that spot, and would immediately think of Barry and all the times they chatted there, about things ranging from Barry's obsession with anime to topics for Iris' school newspaper articles.
She hadn't sat there, though, since...
Since Barry had told her he was going to Keystone City University to pursue forensic science.
She remembered the moment he broke the news to her all too well.
Her best friend was leaving.
She was too sad to even cry, but was supportive of him regardless.
She would be a bad best friend not to be supportive.
"Just don't forget to keep in touch with me, okay?" She remembered asking him.
Barry had cupped his hands and put them over hers. Iris remembers how warm they were. "Don't you worry," he had said, "you're my best friend, Iris, and you always will be. Don't even question for a second if I will keep in touch with you. Of course I will. I promise."
Only he hadn't, and it broke her heart.
She had reached out to him multiple times, failing to get a reply.
She knew there had to be a valid reason as to why...Barry was always one to go through with his promises.
But she tried to forget about that now and how awful that made her feel as she approached their spot and saw Barry smile his typical charming smile.
She placed her cronut down, on top of a napkin, and then sat down in her chair that she had sat down in multiple times before.
"So...," She started, "What's new with you, Bear? What are you doing back in Central City?"
Bear was the nickname Iris had given Barry when they were young after Barry had moved in with her and her single dad, Joe. She started calling him it ever since they had really hit it off, and it just kinda stuck. Though now, it felt odd to feel it rolling off her tongue. That was the second time she had said it in the last half hour.
Barry was surprisingly chatty, and just dove right in to the questions posed head first.
Best friends, right?
"Well, I started the forensic science program at Keystone, as you know, and it was going well until, well, it wasn't."
"What do you mean?" Iris inquired.
"I just had a really hard time there," Barry said, "not with the program. That was fine. It was just...the area was so hard to get used to, and I was having a hard time making friends."
This confused Iris. Barry was super smart, and he was always so happy and full of light. How didn't he make friends?
"Were there any girlfriends?" Iris asked, and even to her it felt like she had just blurted that out without even thinking.
Barry was caught a bit off guard by the question, but quickly composed his answer in typical Barry Allen fashion.
"Yes, there were a few. Three actually."
"Three?!" Iris asked, seeming to catch the attention of everyone else around them, though they quickly all started to mind their own business once again.
"Yes," Barry said, "There was a girl from Star City, Felicity, though that only lasted about a day or so, then there was Linda, who was into journalism just like you, Iris. Sports journalism. And then there was Patty. We were kinda into the same forensic stuff, but we had to part ways because she decided to go to Midway City to continue her studies."
Iris was shocked as to how much Barry had opened up to her just then. But then again, they were best friends, even though it had been two years since they had seen each other.
She softly punched him in the arm.
"What? What is it?" He asked, kinda smirking.
"Barry Allen, you ladies man!" She said, trying not to laugh. But it was true. He was a ladies man. That had been obvious to Iris the whole time she had known him, and all she wanted for him was for another girl to see him for the wonderful guy that he was.
"Oh geez, stop trying to flatter me," Barry said, laughing.
And for that moment, it felt like they had never parted ways for as long as they had.
"So why exactly did you come back?" Iris said, turning serious, as serious as she could be around Barry, again.
"Central City is my home," Barry said, "I just missed it."
"Wait, so did you drop out of your program?" Iris asked. If he did, she would be upset. That would mean that she would have lost him for those two years for nothing.
"Well, I transferred my credit," Barry said, "to CCU."
A smile then took up as much of Iris' face as possible.
"So you're here for good?" She asked, trying to keep her composure.
Barry smiled softly, "Yes, I am."
Iris jumped out of her chair and immediately hugged Barry.
"Oh, it's going to be so good to have you back Bear! Just wait until I tell dad...," She said as she was quickly pulling out her phone to call him.
"Wait." Barry said, stopping her.
"What?" Iris asked.
"I'm already staying with someone. Someone in Keystone hooked me up with someone named Cisco Ramon? Apparently he works at S.T.A.R. Labs or something..."
Iris put her phone in her purse, sadly sunk back into her chair, ripped off a huge chunk of the cronut she had placed on the table but hadn't touched yet as she had been so enthralled in her conversation with Barry, and stuffed it in her mouth.
Neither said anything for a moment as Iris slowly chewed her cronut and Barry looked at her sadly.
Iris finally swallowed the chunk and said, "What's wrong?" Because something was definitely wrong and, from what she could tell, it had to be that Barry felt bad.
"I just feel bad." Barry said.
Well, that was predictable.
"I should've asked you and Joe about staying with you, it's just that..."
"Hey," Iris said softly, cupping her hands around Barry's in a very similar fashion that he had done to her on that heartbreaking day about two years ago, "It's okay."
"Thank you," Barry said, "Let me just call Cisco."
• • •
"Well, that's taken care of," Barry said, as he came back from the washroom where he had called Cisco, "I am now staying with you and Joe."
Iris smiled and said, "Well, you are going to have to do your own laundry, make your own bed..."
Barry rolled his eyes and laughed, "I know, I know."
"Okay. Good," Iris said, "I'll call him to tell him to get your old bedroom ready."
She pulled out her phone and headed to a quiet corner of Jitters to call Joe.
Barry was going home.