Chapter Text
“Well, that party sucked.”
Iris doesn’t argue, bracing herself against the metal pole as the train sets to take off towards midtown.
“..for once I would just like to go to a party that doesn’t involve glow sticks and people tripping on LSD where I’m being groped..” Linda gags, reliving the eager girl persistent on dancing with her. “Just once, I would like to be invited to a mature adult affair.”
Iris chuckles, unashamed, even as Linda throws her a look, “ -- what, oh come on Linda, we’re only 26, it wasn’t that bad.”
“That --,” Linda pushes up on her seat, not standing fully because someone insisted six-inch heels would go great with this outfit (and they do) but that was before mist, bubbles, glow sticks and a two-mile hike to the nearest subway station. “Are you serious?”
Caught out, Iris shrugs. The party was pretty lame; admittedly over the whole scene since college but it was one night wasted, and not even a whole one since Linda called it quits after an hour. “It wasn’t all bad, I saw you and Tony in the corner.”
Linda sticks her tongue out, not the least bit concerned with how immature she looks, “don’t remind me.” She drawls shaking her head, stupidly letting her ex talk her into a quick make out session turned the night from unbearable to worse. “I do dumb things -- why do you let me do dumb things?”
“Hey, who you deem worthy of your lips, is your business.”
Linda tsk. It wasn’t all bad kissing Tony. Actually, it was one of his few redeeming qualities among his many douche-bag like tendencies. The torrid part was the expectation of going back to her place. Like, ew, no. She grits her teeth, tapping her foot irritably because okay, it’s been a while but, no -- no. Definitely not worth the headache.
“ .. just because I don’t go around kissing --”
“Hey,” and Iris has to cut her off right there because she knows where this is going. “Stop.”
“I’m just saying.” the sports reporter sing songs.
“It’s not a big deal,” really it’s not. So Iris liked kissing, so what. It didn’t mean anything. “Kissing’s -- kissing,” she states so matter of factly and unapologetically, sticking to her guns that it was a hobby -- something she enjoyed doing with her significant other when time allowed and sometimes with people she had no intention of seeing again. It was fun, good harmless fun. Linda could learn a thing or two.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“One of a kind,” Iris taps the toe of her boot against the toe of Lindas’ leaving the conversation at a pause as the doors slide open at the next stop, addressing the presence of a new passenger.
“One of these days you’re going to meet your match and you won't want to kiss anyone else.” The train pushes to a start. Iris roots down, catching her balance as she shifts forward and grips her hands tighter to the pole.
Iris isn’t opposed to love. She was sure it existed, might have even experienced it once .. and for all intents and purposes wished those well who lived in it but the idea of being saddled down with one man for the rest of her life -- her stomach lurched at the thought.
“Eh .. ” she tilts her hand in the air, bobbing her fingers as if to say probably not.
“Next stop 42nd and west.”
“I’m telling you,” Linda smugly, all too knowingly said like the answers of the universe were held in her Neiman Marcus clutch.
Sticking her tongue out, Iris laughed, annoyed just a bit that they were back to this. It seemed like they always came back to her love life and its’ lack of existence since Eddie. Eddie was two years ago. In the past, where he belonged.
“It’s gonna happen,” dark eyes scaled the bright train, besides them only two other people occupied the cabin. A guy sitting rows ahead and an older woman with a dozen bags at her disposal across the aisle. “Maybe even tonight..” Iris doesn’t like the way that sounds, clearly seeing an idea form behind glinted irises, masked in mischief.
“No.”
“Oh, come on I dare you.” Linda lifts a finger in the direction of the man’s unsuspecting back. “Besides aren't you the one always saying it’s just kissing, no harm, no foul.”
“It is.”
“Well then, what’s your hold up?”
Oh, she could name a few: one) she generally like to be attracted to the person she locked lips with two) who’s to say this guy wasn’t a creep or a drunk or a weirdo -- literally Central City was full of them, the list was pretty endless and three) people she kissed were hand picked by her, not Linda’s willingness to prove a point, a point by the way, that had a 0% chance at success.
“ ..I’ll buy you coffee for the rest of the week, anytime you're little over-caffeinated heart desires..”
A perfectly manicured brow rose, cocking in intrigue, “..keep talking.”
“As much as you want.”
Iris shifts her weight, twisting her lips in thought, “..anytime?”
“Iris Ann West if you call me at 4 in the morning demanding coffee I’ll murder you -- but yes, between the hours of 8 am to midnight, all the coffee you can handle.”
“The good stuff, gas station coffee or that sludge in the break room don’t count.”
“Deal.” they shake on it, and Iris stands up straight, squaring her shoulders back and lifts the cups of her bra. When all systems are go she makes her move to Linda’s go get ‘em, girl.
“Hi.” she starts on arrival, relieved to find that her train companion for the evening isn’t ugly at all. In fact, he’s kinda cute especially with his glasses. If he had a lightening bolt scar, he’d look like a lankier - taller version of Harry Potter. “Mind if I sit?”
He pushes his frames up the bridge of his nose and turns to the empty train and it’s vacant seats, “um ..” for a minute she thinks he’s going to brush her away but after a brief shrug accompanied by an overly confused “okay,” he moves his bag to the floor, pushing it under his feet.
“Thank you, I’m Iris by the way.”
“ .. Barry ..”
“It’s nice to meet you, Barry.”
“ .. same?” green eyes, flummoxed and dark disclose more than the words leaving his mouth and Iris eases a bit, so .. maybe not a creep?
The train slows under them stopping with another announcement from the conductor, “42nd and west next stop 46th street.” They take off again and Barry folds his hands in his lap, watching the station outside disappear and Iris turns back to Linda who shoos her on.
“So,” she says when the scenery of graffiti and lights are replaced by the tunnel. “You want to play a game?”
“A game?”
“Yeah,” she turns, folding her leg in to face him fully. “I’ll tell you one fact about me and you can tell me one about yourself, yeah?” frozen he doesn’t say anything but the slight inclination of his brow is enough confirmation for her so she starts, “I’ll go first.”
“.. okay ..”
She taps a freshly painted nail to her chin, considering what aimless thing to share and goes with the first thing that comes to mind. “I sucked my thumb until I was seven.”
“Nasty habit,” he comments after a few minutes, smile a bit tight before taking a deep breath and throwing out, “I’ve seen Deadpool in theaters three times.”
“It was a great movie.” He seems almost taken aback, turning now to face her and Iris isn’t sure if it’s because she’s agreeing or that she has knowledge of who or what a Deadpool is. Some guys, scratch that, most guys say that she doesn’t look the type? Whatever that means.
“I’m a journalist."
“That’s cool. Um, okay -- uh, I can lick my elbow.”
“No, you can’t” flies outta her mouth before she can contain it and he must take it as a challenge because he lifts his arm, twist his forearm back and licks the point of his elbow. “Sonofabitch.”
“Aren’t you glad you didn’t bet any money on that? I made 100 bucks off this kid in college one time.”
“You did not.”
Barry ducks his head, smile growing as he lifts it, “so he owes me..” he laughs, “I didn’t have the heart, college is crazy expensive as is.”
“He probably used it on weed.”
“Probably.” she laughs with him this time.
“Hmm .. my zodiac sign is cancer.”
“Jul-yyyyyy ..?”
“June 24th.”
He nods, biting his lip before letting loose another maddening bright smile full of white teeth that any Colgate commercial would be proud of. “I’ve broken every bone in my right hand before.” he lifts his hand to show off his wide palm, lined with long fingers and clean nails, waggling them to show off their crookedness. Iris hisses, only imagining the severe pain that must have caused. “Tell me about it. Hurt like hell but at least it wasn’t my dominant hand.”
Now that he’s warmed up to her a bit, she figures now is as good a time as any to go in for the kill. “I’m a really good kisser.” She swears he looks like a sinner in church, it’s almost comical the way sweat pops around his hairline and how his mouth drops when she scoots closer casually laying her arm over the hard plastic seat, right at his back so that she can press into him. “Would you like to test out that theory?”
Normally, usually, guys are all over the opportunity but Barry gives pause, locking eyes with her and maybe she judged wrong but there’s coffee at stake so she leans closer and whispers against the outline of his ear, “don’t look but my friend dared me to come over here and kiss you.” His ears perk, burning red and he looks over his shoulder to find another girl with dark hair drawn tight in a bun watching them, “what the heck, I said don’t look.”
Barry straightens, neck hot and jokes, “sorry. I just wanted to see who we were putting on a show for.” He rubs his hands against the pad of his jeans assessing Iris again, “okay -- so is there like a time limit for how long or ..?”
“Are you always this awkward?” slash cute slash adorable?
“Pretty much, yeah.” he’s totally checking off on all her boxes, Linda couldn’t have hand picked a better person for her if Iris picked them herself and when he runs his tongue over his full bottom lip, green eyes amused as if he knows what he’s doing -- the devil -- Iris squints, locking his gaze with one of her own. Two could play this game. Reaching up, she pushes the brim of the hat she wore out tonight back, careful not to cock him in the eye with it and leans in. Up close like this, she can smell the scent of his detergent mixed nicely with his cologne and really where had he come from ? because his lips are soft and his tongue taste as good as the rest of him smells. And when he cups those large hands of his to her jaw gently drawing her closer, she’s complete putty in this man’s hands.
“46th street.” wakes her, eyes opening to reveal Barry’s fogged glasses resting above the most ridiculous, lopsided grin she's ever seen plastered on anyone's face. “46th and west approaching, next stop 50th.”
“T -- this is me ..” she mumbles. Iris never mumbles but here she is acting like a virgin on her first day of summer camp.
“Okay, well it was nice to meet you Iris.” he licks his bottom lip again and Iris follows it until he hides it away.
“Y -- you too.”
“Iris,” Linda calls from a distance, “c’mon this is our stop.”
“Yeah .. Yeah. Bye Barry.”
He waves, tipping his hand to the side as he follows her trek to the doors. He tilts his head in Linda’s direction and offers her one as well.
“So?” Linda asks, tugging the lapels of her jacket closer, and waits for Iris’ appraisal all the way up to the street level. “How was it?”
“It was good,”really good “but like I told you Linda, kissing’s just kissing.”