Chapter One: Because Eddie had known all along, he just believed that he was the only one.
Iris had told him. Not right away, though. No. It had taken five days of her distant staring and Eddie's constant badgering for her to finally admit what had thrown her off.
Surprise, surprise! It was Barry. The same Barry whose lab accident had Iris bawling her eyes out not 45 minutes into her and Eddie's first date. And Eddie knew that that wasn't anyone's fault, he really did. Anyone who had a brother trapped in a coma was perfectly allowed-expected- to have a few break downs.
Eddie continued his aggressive stride through the precinct hall: left hand in a fist by his side, right hand swinging persistently to propel him forward even faster. His thoughts still raced about Iris's adopted sibling. Because that is how she described him to Eddie- as her honorary brother.
Iris was miserable for so long; those whole nine months. And then- by some miracle (Iris's exact words) he woke up. In the weeks that followed Eddie came to realize that he had barely known Iris at all. The real Iris- the one with a Barry Allen-was so much more. She became brighter and more enthusiastic and more passionate- she became… lighter. She was just so damn happy.
At first Eddie thought it was cute. Their friendship was so strong that Barry's return had restored to Iris all of the sunlight that Eddie had not known her beautiful, sad eyes had been missing. Eddie had never loved her more than in those few weeks. It was a lot less cute now.
Now it was annoying. Because now, here they all were again- Iris crying, Barry responsible, and Eddie helpless.
Eddie rounded the corner and there was Joe, who just happened to glance up to see his partner's glare. Joe paused. Eddie kept pace and waited until he was just a few feet from the older man before he stopped abruptly. Eddie realized he really didn't know what to say to the man. How do you tell a man that his adopted son was unquestionably in love with his biological daughter?
Joe waited a few moments; Eddie still said nothing. Joe's eyebrows raised in a way Eddie had become quite familiar with. "Well, what is it boy? Last man that looked at me like that nearly broke my jaw. Should I be prepping for some sort of fight." His dry humor did not distract Eddie, who had finally found an opening to what he knew would be a stressful conversation.
"We need to talk about your son." There must have been something about the way that Eddie emphasized the word because Joe's face morphed instantly. His shoulders squared defensively, his jaw tightened, and his eye's squinted slightly.
"Ok," he said, "let's talk." And that's when Eddie finally realized- Joe knew too.
A/N: A series of one shots revolving around Barry Allen and Iris West. WestAllen. Because we finally have a FLASH TV show! Thank you for reading; hope you enjoyed it! All comments welcome!