Notes: For Flufftober - First Dance
Three Person Waltz
Eddie had danced with Iris a lot when it was just the two of them, before Barry woke up and became such an intrinsic part of their lives that 'us' came to mean not just Eddie-and-Iris but Eddie-and-Iris-and-Barry. He'd even danced a few times with Barry when they were friends and not boyfriends, still in that liminal space where they were figuring out how to be friends and starting to realize how complicated the feelings between all three of them really were. And of course, there was no telling how many times Barry and Iris danced together over the years that they'd known each other.
(And Eddie was in a place now where their history didn't make him jealous anymore. Wistful, perhaps, wishing he could have had them both in his life so much sooner. But the jealousy had passed when he realized they both chose him and he didn't have to choose between them either.)
But they'd been dating for a while now and had yet to have their first dance as a triad. Which Eddie had decided was a tragedy much in need of fixing.
"Okay, space has been cleared," Barry announced, having flashed about the room pushing Eddie's living room furniture against the walls, rolling up the rug to lean against one wall, and folding away the thin rug pad that, if nothing else, kept the rug from scooting around every which way.
"Music is ready," Iris chimed in. "A playlist of easy to waltz to music."
Eddie grinned, feeling all warm and fuzzy that they were making this happen just for him.
"So how are we doing this?" Iris asked.
"Ah." Eddie froze. He... had not considered that part. A three person waltz had sounded like fun. But Eddie hadn't really thought about the mechanics of how to pull that off.
"Well... we could all hold hands in a circle. And then one of us leads?" Barry asked uncertainly.
"Uhm..." Eddie flushed. He wanted the closeness of a waltz, which was why he'd suggested it specifically. But the three of them in a circle would have way too much space between them. He... kind of had a thing about waltzes and how they were so scandalous when the dance first started showing up because of the closeness it required between partners.
"Oooor," Iris drawled, "we form a line. One person leads, facing the other two. And someone in the middle getting zero personal space. And I volunteer to lead, you both suck at it."
"I'd be offended, but you're not wrong," Barry sighed. He looked over at Eddie. "I volunteer Eddie to take the middle. Since this was his idea."
Eddie's blush deepened. "Uh... uh, sure. Okay. That... that works." He actually wasn't bad at leading, all teasing aside. But the idea of getting to be in the middle was far too appealing.
Iris finally pressed play, letting a classical piece with a strong 3/4 beat that Eddie didn't recognize fill the apartment. Then she moved to the center of the room, Eddie standing in front of her and Barry behind him, flushing at the feeling of warmth that seemed to come from all directions. Their hands all came together and it just felt right as Iris led them into the dance. All of them swaying together as a single unit as they slowly moved around the cleared out 'dance' floor the living room had become.
It felt perfect. Exactly the sort of feeling Eddie had hoped their first dance all together would give them.
Barry's lips brushed the back of Eddie's neck softly. "This was a great idea, Eddie," he murmured.
"I agree," Iris added, pecking a kiss to Eddie's cheek.
"Thanks for going along with this," Eddie replied, feeling a little overwhelmed with how nice it all was. "Its everything I'd hoped it would be."
