#people should know that you are a taken man (iris verse 02; feat unitcd)

[drunkonpotential]

@unitcd said: "please don't be in love with someone else." for Westallen bc damnnnnnnnn

Iris doesn't typically take personal days. She doesn't call out of work, she barely even gets sick. And when she does, she doesn't let it get in her way. She's always moving, slowing down is not an option. She doesn't let it be an option.

But she called out yesterday. Thanks to her refusal to miss work, she had enough leave saved up for it. And she's not mad at herself for calling out. A self imposed break is good now and then. She's mad at the reason she called out. She called out because a boy broke her heart.

Which goes entirely against her character, and she hates that she had to take a day to be able to digest her pain. Because it made her look weak. She's tough, she's good at her job. She keeps moving, life doesn't stop just because she might need a break. So she's kicking herself for letting something like this stop her in her tracks.

She doesn't date much, she doesn't have the time. She's married to her work, few men understand that. That's not enough of a loss to get her down. The thing that got her down is the fact that she finally found a man who understood that. Not only did he understand it, he supported it. He was the same way.

She made the first move. She asked him out. She's not the type to wait around when something she wants is right in front of her. And she wanted him. So she got him. She had him for months. And it was great. Perfect, even. She could practically hear the wedding bells. She's always said she'd get around to marriage someday, if a guy found a way to be worth it. And she thought she finally found that guy. So she took a leap, and she told him what was on her heart.

She told him she loved him. In his living room over takeout and a bottle of wine. He looked like he'd been struck by lightning, and not in a good way. And she suddenly, for the first time in her life, she felt like her bravery was a bad thing. Because she should've waited, right? She should've let him say it first, right? Because it's better to be the reciprocator instead of the one stranded in the middle of an awkward, unrequited moment.

She rushed out of there so fast that you'd think she had the powers of the meta-humans she spends her time chasing. She made up some excuse about needing to be up early for work in the morning. And then she left, not even letting him get a word in edgewise. He'd gone speechless, and that was enough of an explanation for her. And then she called out because she just couldn't handle seeing him the very next day. Not after that massive blunder of a love confession. It was humiliating, and Iris West does not wear humiliation well.

She's not surprised that he's waiting by the elevators for her upon her return to work. She pays him no mind, even as he's muttering apologies to her the whole way to her desk. And she really is not in the mood for his chatter. So she turns her attention to the desk adjacent to hers. She takes a case file off her desk, while Barry is still talking to her, and takes it over to the desk of a man she had a slight flirtation with in the past. And that seems to get Barry to finally shut up.

Iris isn't petty, okay? Well, not super petty. But he hurt her feelings, and she feels the need to hurt his so she can sleep a little better at night. She and the man have an exchange, he glances between her and Barry. The entire precinct knows they're together. And he seems to notice immediately that Barry is in the doghouse. And he plays along, shooting Iris a wink before she turns and walks back to her desk.

And then Barry mutters something else, and she nearly freezes in her spot as she sets her bag down under her desk. She's unbuttoning her coat when she throws a fierce, challenging glance in his direction.

"Excuse me?" She says, with a raised brow and a previously unseen contempt on her face. "Repeat that for me. I'm not sure I heard you right, CSI Allen."