To avoid doppelganger confusion, I'm going to call Earth one Barry and Iris just Barry and Iris, and their Earth 2 versions will be E2 Barry and E2 Iris. I know it's annoying, but it was the best way I could think to write it. This will probably have a strong focus on Westallen (for both Earths).
The Refugees
They all stared at the breach, waiting for the moment when Barry would return. Cisco was only supposed to keep the breech open for 24 hours before closing it again. It made them all nervous that they only had one hour left until 8 pm, and Barry still hadn't come back.
They wished they had sent someone with him, but Barry had insisted that he go alone. He wasn't planning to face Zoom now. He was going to Earth 2 only as a scouting mission, to get more intel on the enemy. They knew now that he was actually Hunter Zoloman, a convicted serial killer on Earth 2, but they didn't know anything else about him. Barry wanted to see if he could maybe find something they could use against him, now that they knew his identity.
They were just lucky that Zoom wasn't waiting for them on the other side when Cisco opened the breach. Still, they all stood, guns ready just in case a speedster other than Barry came through the portal.
They all stood a little straighter when they saw someone suddenly come out of the breach. They all relaxed and lowered their guns slightly when they saw that it was Barry. It took them only a second or two though to instantly tense up again, realizing that the Barry that stood before them wasn't their Barry, but the Earth 2 version of him. Before they could question him or react, however, someone else came through the barrier, and suddenly there were two more people standing in front of them. Barry and another Iris came to stand next to the first man, all three of them breathing heavily.
"Close it!" Barry shouted at Cisco. Cisco quickly obliged, and the portal was closed a second later.
"Barry," Caitlin said, "What are you—?"
"I had to take them with me," Barry panted, bracing his hands on his knees as he caught his breath, "Zoom. He was hunting them."
They all stared at the newcomers who were just getting over the shock of jumping through different dimensions. Iris from Earth 1 looked at them with wide eyes. Barry still looked very much like the Barry she knew, but he had glasses and he looked very unkempt. He clearly needed a shave and his clothes were dirty and disheveled. Iris hardly paid him a moment's glance, however. Her eyes were more focused on the woman standing next to him. It was her, but at the same time it wasn't. She had her hair pulled back, and like the other Barry, she was unkempt and disheveled.
The other Iris wasn't looking at her though. She was staring at her father.
"Dad," she breathed. Without thinking, the Iris from another earth moved forward to close the distance between her and her father. Joe tensed when the woman who was not his daughter, but at the same was his daughter, wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. He hugged her back awkwardly.
"Er, hi, Iris," he said to her, not knowing what else to say. He glanced at his real daughter, who looked just as taken aback as he was.
"Sorry," E2 Iris said, pulling away from the hug. She wiped the tears from her eyes, "I know you're not him. It's just…you look so much like him."
E2 Barry came to stand next to his wife. He wrapped a comforting hand around her waist.
"Are you okay, baby?" he asked her softly.
"I'm fine," she said, tearing her eyes away from her father's face. They rested on her Earth 1 counterpart, who waved shyly at her.
"Wow," E2 Iris said, "This is really weird."
"I know," Iris said, giving her an uncomfortable smile. Somehow, looking at a real live version of yourself was extremely different from looking into a mirror. It was a bizarre feeling.
"Barry," Wells interrupted the moment, speaking to the young speedster, "What do you mean Zoom was hunting them?"
"It happened after you guys left," E2 Barry answered instead, "Zoom knew that we helped you and we were connected to you. It wasn't safe for us to go home. We've been on the run ever since."
"I'm so sorry," Barry apologized to them for what must have been the millionth time, "I ruined your lives. If I hadn't shown up there…"
"It was our decision to help you," E2 Iris said firmly, "Besides, it was only a matter of time anyways. My husband has been trying to track down Zoom for a year now. It was always going to catch up with us eventually."
"So, Barry?" Cisco asked excitedly, "Did you find anything out? Anything that can help us?"
"Yeah," Barry said, "I found some stuff about his parents. I think we might be able to use it. How, I'm not sure yet, but there's got to be something we can use to our advantage. I'll tell you about all of it in a bit. First, we should probably get them a change of clothes and something to eat."
The couple from Earth 2 smiled and nodded gratefully at him.
"Come on," Iris said, "You can come home with us and use our shower. I'm sure Barry and I both have clothes that will fit you."
They all laughed at that as they walked out of the room. Barry, Cisco and Caitlin all stayed at STAR labs to discuss Zoom, while Joe, Iris, and the young couple drove home. Iris sat in the front seat, next to her father who was driving. She snuck a quick peak at the couple in the back seat. They were holding hands and E2 Iris was leaning her head on her husband's shoulder. Both of them looked exhausted.
When they pulled into the driveway, E2 Iris whispered to her husband.
"Babe, look. It's our house."
When they walked into the house where everything opened up into the living room, the couple looked curiously around the room.
"It's so different," E2 Barry muttered.
"You live here? In this house, on your earth?" Joe asked. E2 Barry nodded, not looking him in the eye.
"Well, I guess you don't need me to tell you where the bathroom is then," Joe laughed, "Iris will grab you two some clothes, and you can shower. I'll get you guys something to eat. You look starved."
"Thank you, Joseph," E2 Barry said. Joe gave him a strange look at the name, but shrugged it off, turning to go to the kitchen.
Iris rummaged through Barry's closet and found a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt for E2 Barry to wear before looking through her own closet to find a set of pajamas for E2 Iris. They thanked her, and she went back down the stairs to help her father in the kitchen.
Barry came home just as the earth 2 couple were descending back down the stairs, wearing the clothes that Iris had provided them. The five of them sat down to eat at the kitchen table in silence. They all just couldn't stop staring at each other.
E2 Iris couldn't stop staring at her father's doppelganger who was still alive. Iris couldn't stop staring at the alternate version of herself with Barry's double as her husband. She couldn't help but notice how close they sat next to each other, their arms touching as they ate.
Joe felt like he was seeing doubles with two sets of the same people sitting in front of him. The entire situation was just bizarre for all of them.
"Thank you," E2 Iris said, breaking the silence, "We can't thank you enough for all you're doing for us. Taking us in like this, even if it's just for one night. It was hard on our earth to find people like that. Everyone is so scared and paranoid over there. You'd have to be nuts to let a stranger into your home where we're from."
"Well, technically you're not strangers," Joe said with a shrug, "Not really anyways. We sort of know you." He laughed at the complicatedness of it all, "And it doesn't have to be just for one night. You two can stay as long as you need to. You're practically family after all."
"Thank you," Iris said warmly. Her husband remained silent, staring blankly. Iris nudged him.
"What?" he asked, snapping out of it, "Oh, yes. Th-thank you, Joseph."
"Are you okay, hun?" E2 Iris asked him concernedly, taking the side of his face in her palm.
"I'm…I'm fine. It's just a lot. All of this, it's a lot to take in. I was still just getting used to the fact that other earths existed and that I'm a superhero on one of them," he said, gesturing at Barry, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "Now, Zoom is targeting us, and suddenly we're interdimensional refugees, and we're hiding out in your father's house, which is really our house, and—"
"Sweetie," E2 Iris said gently, "It's okay. Take a breath."
He did as she instructed, and she moved her hand from his face to take his hand that was resting on the table. "Everything will be fine," she said reassuringly, "I know it's a lot to adjust to, but we're safe now. You can relax. We have Barry here to protect us."
She smiled warmly at Barry, who blushed. E2 Barry let out a shaky breath.
"I'm just exhausted," he said, "I think I need to lie down."
"Me too," E2 Iris said, yawning.
"You both should really get some sleep," Joe said understandingly, "You two can take mine and Barry's rooms for the night."
"Um," E2 Iris said, "We don't need two rooms. We're married, remember?"
"Oh," Joe said, "Right, I guess then, um, you can just…"
"You can take my room," Barry said, saving Joe from his fumbling, "I'll stay on the couch."
"Are you sure, Barry?" Iris said, "We don't want to turn you out of your room."
"Yeah, it's fine," Barry assured them, "I'm sure you two will make better use of the bed anyways."
Barry blushed furiously, having realized what he had just said.
"What I mean is," he said quickly, "I usually end up getting up multiple times during the night for Flash stuff anyways. I don't get a whole lot of sleep, and—"
"We get it, Bar," E2 Iris said, cutting him off. She smiled at him, "We really appreciate it. Thank you."
"Thank you," E2 Barry said, looking at all of them. The couple then got up and climbed the stairs to retire for the evening. After the pair had gone, Joe, Iris and Barry all got up to clear the dining room table.
"Well, that was weird," Joe said. Barry and Iris laughed lightly.
"Yeah, having those two around is going to take some getting used to," Barry mused.
"Is it just me, or was the other Barry a little standoffish towards me?" Joe asked as he cleared the plates from the table.
"Give him a break, dad," Iris said, "His whole world just changed. Literally."
"No, he's right," Barry said, "He probably is going to be a little weird around you, Joe. Remember what I told you about how earth 2 Joe West didn't like me?"
Joe nodded.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that feeling was mutual," Barry told him, "Except now that's all complicated because that Joe is dead now, and Barry probably feels conflicted about the whole thing."
"Wow," Joe said, "As if this whole situation wasn't complicated enough already."
"Yeah, it's a headscratcher alright," Barry laughed.
"I think I should probably be going to bed too," Joe said, literally scratching his head. They said their goodnights as he departed, leaving Barry and Iris standing alone in the living room together. Barry leaned against the back of the couch and looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry if this is weird for you," he said.
"What do you mean?" Iris asked laughingly, but she knew exactly what he meant.
"Those two. The other versions of you and me. I know it's a bit weird having them here. They're married and together and we're…" Barry paused painfully, not sure where he was going with this or what he was trying to say.
"Well, if this is weird, then I can't imagine what it must have been like for you when you were over there pretending to be your other self," she said with a laugh Barry smiled.
"Yeah," he said, "That was probably weirder."
They both laughed. Iris made to go up the stairs, but she paused at the bottom step.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay on the couch?" she asked him, eyeing the couch uncertainly, "It doesn't look very comfortable."
"I'll be fine," he said, smiling warmly at her, "Goodnight, Iris."
She stared at him for a moment as he pulled a few blankets out and tried to make the couch more comfortable, not looking at her.
"Goodnight, Barry."