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"Hey, Ie."
Wally knew from that tone of voice that it wasn't great news. His eyes stayed on Iris as she smiled: fondly, a little tired, and knowing.
"Hi, Barr."
There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. "They've found new evidence and they're hoping it'll be a break in a case, so they need us running the labs all night."
His aunt chuckled softly. Wally knew she didn't blame Barry for it, but he was still upset on her behalf.
"I'm so sorry I won't be able to make it to the gala tonight."
"It's ok," Iris assured him. "I wasn't really looking forward to an evening of having old men stare at my boobs anyway," she joked lightly.
It was an automatic response. Someone mentions something, a body part, for example, you look. Wally had to keep telling himself that as he tried to tear his eyes away from where they'd fallen to her chest. That was his aunt!
Barry sighed. "Well, I can't say I'm not upset about that, but I know you were excited to get a chance to talk to some of the guests."
Iris shrugged. "There will be other opportunities-"
"I'll take you," Wally said, the words falling out of his mouth before his mind could catch up. (Shit-) His eyes widened but looking at Iris, he knew he couldn't take it back. "I mean, I'll go with you, if you want. If you want to go, I'll be your human shield."
"Wally…" Iris started.
"Yes!" Barry interrupted over the phone. "Then you can still go, but you have an excuse to not chat too long with any boob-starers."
Wally snorted and saw a flush appear high on Iris's cheeks.
"You don't have to do this," she assured him.
"No, no, it's fine. I want to. If you want to, that is." Never mind what a bad idea it was, if it made his aunt happy, that's all that mattered.
She smiled at him and he fought the urge to adjust his collar. Was it getting hot in here?
"I'd love that," she said, looking at him with warm affection in her eyes.
Wally cleared his throat. "Uh, hey, Uncle Barry? Think you got a suit lying around somewhere for me? One that isn't red and yellow? Don't want to embarrass your wife." The words felt like cotton in his mouth, but the giggle he got from his aunt made it worth it. Why did he feel like this?
With a laugh, Barry directed them to their closet and Iris pulled out a suit bag and handed it to Wally with a smile. He thanked his uncle, then grinned and winked at his aunt. "I'll take good care of her," he teased.
Both of them laughed. He didn't know why his stomach flipped at the sound.
"I give you permission to use your speed so you don't trip over your feet while dancing with my wife," Barry joked.
"Hey!" Iris exclaimed, trying for indignant, but her giggles betrayed her amusement. "You will not! No powers allowed outside of the suit!"
"Oh no, of course not. No, definitely not. Listen to your aunt, Wally, no powers outside the suit," Barry said with fake seriousness.
"I got you, Uncle Barry," Wally said conspiratorially.
Iris pretended to huff.
"Thanks, Wally, I really appreciate it."
"Oh," he coughed, "yeah, no problem."
"And Ie, I'm really-"
"Hey, no, don't say it. You go catch a killer, we'll try not to die of boredom from boring, old, snotty CEOs."
Barry huffed a laugh. "Alright, I gotta get back. You two have fun."
"We will," Iris smiled.
"Love you, bye."
"Love you, too."
Wally didn't want to think about why his stomach turned at their affection.
Iris shooed him out of their room shortly to get herself ready, telling him to try Barry's clothes.
The suit fit. (Too well.) Like it was made for him. There was something about slipping into clothes made for Iris' husband, almost like stepping into the role of her husband, as if the position were open to auditions. He wanted to throw up. He didn't want to think about why he felt like that. He knew. But he could lie to himself about and pretend he didn't.
He pulled the bowtie around his neck and tried to tie it, but his hands were shaking too much and he had to give up.
He knocked on Iris's door.
"Come in!" she called.
He pushed open the door and stopped breathing when his eyes caught on her.
Iris was standing at her dresser across the room, back towards him, as she held up different earrings to her ears and judged them in the mirror in front of her. She'd put her dress on, a beautiful, floor-length piece, complimenting her skin tone wonderfully, but apparently hadn't been able to reach behind her all the way because the zipper was still open, revealing smooth skin.
"Hey, since you're here, could you do me a favour?"
Her voice snapped him out of his daze and he found Iris smiling at him in the mirror.
"Uh, yeah, sure."
"Could you zip my dress up for me? Once upon a time I could do it myself but now it's more trouble than it's worth."
Wally didn't reply, couldn't. When Iris was back to comparing different earrings against her dress, he slipped into the Speed Force to wipe at his mouth, making sure he wasn't drooling. (That was his aunt, for fuck's sake!)
He stumbled over his feet on his way over, forgetting momentarily what speed was normal. He caught Iris's eye in the mirror again as she chuckled at him, used to his clumsiness.
His cheeks burned and his hands shook as he stood behind her and pinched the edges of the dress together, slowly dragging up the zipper. His knuckle traced her spine so he didn't accidentally catch her skin. (She wasn't wearing a bra, his mind traitorously pointed out.) He inhaled deeply and got a strong whiff of her sweet perfume. He drew the zipper up and clipped the hook carefully, stepping back when he was done, needing to put space between them. (He was fucked.)
"Thanks, Wally."
"Mhm." He was afraid if he spoke his voice would crack.
"Already stepping into the role of my husband, I see," she teased lightly.
There was no way she could know the torment her words had on Wally's mind, the effect she had on him. But, still it was torturous. He swallowed. He couldn't be feeling this way, he had to stop. He needed to nip it in the bud right now, but-
"Do you need help with your bow-tie?"
He nodded automatically.
-but he'd just signed away his soul to be his aunt's husband date for the evening, and he couldn't bare to disappoint her by bailing on her now. Not when he'd just said he'd go in Barry's stead. Not if it meant dimming the excited glimmer in her eyes. (He was fucked.)
His breath caught again as Iris's hands brushed his neck, chin, over his dress shirt on top of his clavicle, twisting the fabric of the bow-tie this way and that, completely unselfconscious of the way she was touching him.
(Of course, she didn't need to think about that. That was just his depraved mind going places it shouldn't.)
She patted him on the chest twice and he could've sworn his heart stopped.
"There," she smiled, "perfect."
"Thanks." He didn't know how he managed to speak without his voice cracking like a teenager but he was grateful it didn't. "Ready to go?"
Iris hummed. "I can't decide between these two earrings. I like these ones because they're small, simple, sparkly. But these ones are cute, too, and-"
"Those ones." The words escaped him without conscious thought.
"Yeah?" She held the second ones up again, small gold hoops with green gems.
He nodded. "They, uh, go nicely with your dress." And they make your eyes pop.
She smiled at him. "Thanks, Wally. I'll wear these ones."
"Yeah, I'll, uh, go… get the keys." He tripped over his feet again, her sweet laughter following him out.
Iris handed over the invitation and they were waved inside.
Wally concentrated on breathing evenly as he led them into the giant ballroom, trying to focus on the beautifully decorated space, the servers whirling around with trays of champagne, couples on the dance floor spinning around to the string quartet playing an upbeat song. Anything other than the feeling of Iris's hand in the crook of his arm.
"Where to?" he asked, getting less surprised each time his voice came out normally, but no less relieved.
"Hmm, let's head that way, there's some people I want to greet and we can end up at the dessert table."
"You know me so well." He grinned at her.
"I do."
He ignored the way his stomach fluttered at that and let her lead the way.
Just before they reached the dessert table, there was an enthusiastic exclamation of, "Ms. West!", that made Iris sigh next to him, before plastering a smile on her face and turning them around.
He followed her lead, content to be her arm candy until a moment might call for him to be her bodyguard or convenient excuse to leave the area.
"Ms West, I thought that was you! So good to see you here!" He shook her hand enthusiastically.
"Thank you, Mr. Johns-"
"And you must be the husband!" He grabbed Wally's free hand and shook it vigorously. "You must be a tired man trying to keep up with this one, eh? Goes all over the place like a bloodhound for a story, but she gets the work done. Always a good day when I see her name in the paper."
Wally's mind blue-screened. All he was able to do was nod and say, "I'm very proud of her."
Iris exchanged a few more words that he couldn't hear over the roaring in his ears before the man wandered off.
"You good?" Iris murmured, concern written all over her face.
"Huh?" Wally blinked a few times. "Yeah. Yeah, I mean, are you ok? I'm sorry I didn't-"
But Iris laughed, interrupting his attempted apology. "It's ok, it doesn't bother me. You just looked out of it for a second, I got worried." She looked at him with gentle eyes.
"Yeah, I'm ok." A lie, but what was he going to say? It was a screwed up dream come true to be seen as a potential partner for his aunt instead of just her kid nephew? Yeah, no way that was happening. But maybe if- "All good."
"You sure?" She raised an eyebrow.
No. He grinned at her to hide his pounding heart. "As long as you don't mind your husband showing you a good time tonight?"
Her head tilted back as she laughed. His gaze found her earrings, dropped to her neck, followed the smooth skin to where it curved and her dress covered.
Her other hand found his arm, too, startling him. He quickly tore his gaze away from his chest, hoping she hadn't noticed his staring. He held in a sigh of relief as she smiled, seemingly oblivious.
"Ok, husband dear. Show me what you got." Her eyes glittered in the warm lighting.
"Well, the best way to start a night, of course, is snacks." He turned them back towards the dessert table as Iris leaned into him, laughing again.
"Of course," she grinned.
What was he doing?
Later that night, after they got home and Wally disappeared into his room, Barry pulled Iris to their room, quickly shutting the door behind them.
He kissed her thoroughly, running his hands up and down her sides, feeling the smooth fabric of her dress. "You're gorgeous. My gorgeous wife," he murmured as he kissed down her jaw to her neck. "How was your night? How was it with Wally?"
"God, Barr, did you see him?" Iris let her head fall back as her husband, her real husband, the one she was actually married to, sucked marks into her skin. "He looked so good in your suit, could barely keep my hands off him."
Barry groaned, gripping Iris's hips firmly, but not painfully. "He did. You looked so good together. Wish I could've been there with you two, I was so jealous."
"He zipped up my dress for me."
Barry's head fell against her collar bone, breathing heavy at the mental image.
"Such a good fill-in husband," she whispered. "Always so helpful."
Barry kissed her again, deeply, hungrily, falling easily into their dirty fantasy of their nephew joining them.
"He's so good for us," Iris moaned.
"Such a good nephew," Barry agreed. His hands found the same zipper Wally had done up just hours earlier and slowly dragged it down her back. "I bet you could've kissed him right in the middle of the ballroom and people wouldn't've batted a eye because they thought he was your husband."
"Yeah," she moaned into his mouth. "I think he liked it. Caught him staring, too. Wanted to call him out on it, but didn't wanna scare him off. Didn't think he would've believed me if I said I didn't mind. That I liked it."
Barry kissed her bare shoulders as he slid the dress off her. "Yeah? You think he wouldn't mind doing that again? Being your husband? Taking you out on dates? Showing you a good time?"
She stepped out of the dress and kissed him once. Twice. Three times. "Wonder if anyone would bat an eye if the two Flashes started dating. If someone caught them making out, splashed across front page news."
Barry groaned, his hands shaking at her waist with effort of not slipping into the Speed Force. "Think he'd be into that?"
"Mhm." She kissed him again, hands swiftly unbuttoning his shirt.
"You sure? You don't think he'd mind if both of us started flirting with him a little more?"
Iris looked up as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders, giving him a no-nonsense look. "If you think we're going for a 'little' flirting, we are in two different books, dear."
Barry grinned. "So, full frontal assault it is, then." He kissed her deeply. "God, I love you."
"I love you, too. Can't wait to make him ours," she whispered into his mouth as they fell into bed together.