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~*~
Iris was panicking. She burned the casserole. Again. She figured she’d try to do something nice for Barry on his birthday, especially since he’d had a lot going on at the CCPD and with Team Flash.
(Now that she thinks about it, Iris thinks villains should take breaks. It can’t be good for one’s mental health to be evil all the time. Iris pushes the thought aside. Not the time!)
But right now, she envies those chefs on Chopped. They can make a decent meal in about an hour with random ingredients provided. Pure creative genius. She can’t even make a simple casserole without messing up.
Her two previous attempts were completely charred, and they were taking up room in the trash can. She’s probably going to have to take that out later. Or she can ask Barry to do it tomorrow. She knows from experience it takes a little while for it to smell. She just has to block the trash can off.
Now, should she try again, or give Barry a banana and call it a day? It is his favorite thing she makes for him, anyway.
But he deserves so much better than a banana on his birthday. Heck, he deserves better than that every day. She just can’t do better.
So. Back to the original question. Does she try again or does she give him a banana? Then Iris gets a genius idea.
She gets him something else. Something better.
She can get him Big Belly Burger.
Specifically, his favorite order. Barry never really gets it, because they spend so much money on everybody else’s food, and his super fast metabolism makes him spend much more money on food, so he just gets the cheaper stuff. Yes, he likes the food, but not as much as his order.
His favorite order.
Iris smiles, cleaning up the kitchen. It looked like a warzone. There was flour on the cabinets. How did that even get there? Did she even use flour? Iris thinks that she really does need to get better at cooking.
~*~
Barry was almost done working. In a few minutes, he will be at home with Iris. He was almost done. He smiled. He gets to spend more time with Iris today. Singh let him off early for his birthday, with the promise that he would get the more important cases done tomorrow. That’s easy. He’s nearly done with them.
The clock seems to be going deliberately slower than normal. Just a few more seconds…
Finally! He packs up his stuff, and rushes as fast as he could at normal speed down the stairs.
~*~
Iris had barely gotten the meal on the plates before she heard the familiar sound and rushing of wind that meant Barry was home.
Iris announces, “I have cooked a gourmet meal for you, my love.”
Barry stares at the food dubiously. “Really? This looks like Big Belly Burger.”
Iris raised her eyebrow. “So?”
Barry is quick to backtrack. “I’m not complaining! I’m just saying you didn’t make it. Wait. Is that-”
“A bunch of Whoppers from Big Belly Burger? Yes.” Iris responds, pleased with her idea.
“Wow, I haven’t had these in forever…” Barry whispers. Iris sees the lightning, and guesses that Barry was eating the burgers at super speed. After a few seconds in her time, Barry is hugging her.
He plants a quick kiss on her lips, and says, “Thank you.”
“Is this better than the wallet I got you for Christmas?” Iris asks. She still feels guilty about that.
“Hey, I use that wallet!” Barry protests. He pauses. “Hey, what’s that smell?”
Iris panics a little. Did the smell leak out somehow? “Uh, what smell?”
“Uh, it smells kind of like- Did you try to cook before thinking of the whoppers?” He asks.
She drops the act. “Two botched casserole attempts! I tried to actually make something for you this time.” She was aware she was complaining, but it took so much effort to make those failed casseroles. She’s tired.
“It’s ok, at least you tried… Even if I do need to take out the trash now.”
In a flash of lightning, Barry was gone. But he’s probably just getting the trash. Iris feels bad for subjecting him to that. But hey! It was meant to be edible . She just can’t cook to save her life.
After a few seconds, he’s back. “Two completely charred casseroles! Completely black!”
Iris rolls her eyes but doesn’t say anything. He deserves to be happy on his birthday.