Soft Tones in Which to Whisper

Barry made sure that Iris was wrapped tightly in his jacket when they left the café, her second cup of tea cradled between her hands to keep her palms warm. Her arms were through the sleeves this time, making her look absolutely tiny with how much she had to bunch it at the wrists to free her hands. Barry had also been able to slip her arm through his before she could stick it in her pocket, so she was pressed close to his side as they made their way in the direction of her apartment building.

Barry and the others had walked this street many times, but they'd never realized that their soulmate was so close. She lived between where he lived and where Dr. Fletcher's office was located, a comfortable walking distance between both. It made him wonder if that was the fate of the soulmark at work. Was she drawn to where he lived and instinctively moved close?

A particularly strong gust of wind nearly blew Iris's hood back but Barry was sure to catch it before it could expose her now-dry hair. He'd already finished his tea at the previous intersection, throwing in into the overflowing garbage can that was near the street-lamp.

"Thanks," she stuttered, shivering against the cold that went down her neck. His coat definitely helped, however, so she wasn't nearly as cold as she could have been. "I didn't really think before I left my apartment. Fletcher had called me and when I found out you were there, and you were struggling as bad as me…"

"I don't hold it against you," Barry assured. The smile that he offered made her heart flutter softly, clutching her cup a bit tighter between her hands. "You were worried about me?"

"Yea," she admitted, nodding against the urge to duck her head down in a mixture of shame and embarrassment. "I hated that I knew you weren't sleeping and it was because of me." A strong shiver wracked through her body, causing her entire body to tremble against his. "So I kinda ran out without a coat…"

His smile remained endearing as he gently tugged her arm to draw her in closer, feeling when she rested her head on his bicep. "Well I'm touched," he teased while she tipped her head enough that it was still resting on his arm but she could look up at him. "Are we close?" he asked calmly, turning to look around them. It was late enough that there was no one else out—even the road was empty of cars.

"Yea, right through the intersection," she answered while motioning ahead of them. "See the three story white brick building? I'm on the top floor, far right."

Barry looked over the building that she was pointing at. It wasn't anything fancy or expensive looking. The building had probably been there for as long as the city was around—he was pretty sure the walls were more paint than brick at this point. However, he also knew from the short hours that he and Iris had been talking, she was simple and easily pleased. She didn't want anything fancy or expensive, and comfort was found as long as it was her own space.

"How long have you lived there?"

Iris's lips pursed as she quickly backtracked the time she had spent in that apartment. "Just over three years this summer. The previous place I was in was great, but the landlord kept raising my rent more and more and eventually I couldn't afford it. So I left."

"How much are you paying for this place? If you don't mind me asking." Barry tapped the walk signal when they reached the intersection, able to see the building more clearly from the new vantage.

"Eight-hundred, all inclusive," she answered honestly, sounding slightly proud of herself. "I was almost at eleven-hundred at the previous place and it was almost the same size, so I'm rather happy with this one." Barry was relieved to know that she wasn't being too overcharged for her place, but he knew that small studio apartments were always more than they were really worth.

He was definitely relieved to be where he was, especially since there was enough space for each of the alters to have a room of their own. That thought made him wonder about bringing Iris over to the Zoo sometime soon, but he knew that he should wait for her to meet some of the others first. She knew they existed and she seemed okay with the idea, but it was very different to know something in theory than be faced with it in reality.

Once they had crossed the intersection to get to Iris's building, Barry found himself growing more and more reluctant to let her go. "I live just down that way," Barry started abruptly, motioning in the direction they had been heading all evening, passed Iris's apartment. "It's…a bit of a peculiar place to live, but we need a certain set-up for all of us, ya know?"

"Peculiar?" Iris repeated as her face scrunched up faintly in thought. What exactly did peculiar entail?

"Yea…" Barry sudden quieted, not wanting to bring it up. What kind of place to live was the old basement of a zoo? If not for Dennis that place probably wouldn't even be considered sanitary or liveable. "I mean, it's not any regular apartment, and we don't really have enough money for a house that would fit everyone, so-"

Iris interrupted his rambling softly with a call of his name, "Barry." Her hand came to rest on his cheek, still warm from her tea even though the cool wind had been battling against her bare skin. "I've lived my whole life with a 'peculiar' set-up. Believe me, I've come to live with a very…open mind."

"I…really?" Barry breathed in relief, letting his shoulders relax as he leaned into her touch ever so gently. Iris smiled up at him at the action, her whiskey eyes looking like amber beneath the streetlight. Her thumb stroked against his cheek gently to further calm him, while she openly stared up at him with surprising adoration.

Looking down at her now, he truly did want to do nothing more than protect her; to shield her from the world that they had been brought into—a world that was too much for Kevin. Wrapped in his large coat, her hand barely visible as it cradled her cup to her chest, the other continuing to caress his cheekbone, she looked so tiny and frail.

"Do you-" Iris began but stopped suddenly, almost as though she was second-guessing herself. Shaking her head, an action that told him she was trying to dispel bad thoughts, she continued, "Would you like to come up? I think it's time I was completely honest as well."

As though to stop her, Barry's hand came up to clasp the one resting on his cheek and held her in place. "What do you mean, completely honest?"

"I haven't lied to you," she assured, knowing how her words must have come across. "But…I assume Dr. Fletcher brought some things up that she knew about me and I feel I should be as open with you as you have with me. You told me the truth about the other identities—the other marks—and about Kevin and how you all came to be in order to keep him safe. I only want to return the favour, and be open with you in return."

Using the hand that Barry was holding, Iris turned and gently tugged him after her. Of course he could have stopped her if he was opposed to the idea, but in complete honesty he was just glad that they didn't have to part ways just yet. So, instead, he let her lead him into the building. It was relieving to see that the front door was locked, Iris only releasing his hand to briefly turn the lock before she had reclaimed it and was guiding him to the stairs. Once they were in the stairwell, away from the doors of the other tenants, she explained quietly that the building didn't have an elevator.

In turn, he had commented that it was no wonder she was so skinny.

She didn't release his hand until they had arrived to her floor, pulling out her keys once more as she quietly opened the door to her own apartment. Slipping in as though trying to hide something, she looked mildly hesitant when she glanced back at him before she offered a shy smile and stepped aside.

Having Barry enter her apartment only made the small studio look even tinier. He wasn't overly tall, maybe bordering on six feet, but he was still much taller than her and he was more than twice as broad. Her apartment wasn't too cold, but Iris almost immediately moved to turn on her little heater just to be extra certain. Once the faint hum of the heater filled the space, Iris turned to look over to Barry to gauge his reaction.

His attention was away from her for the moment, looking around the small space. Upon entering, her bed was only a few feet away and the kitchen sat a few feet across from the foot of the bed, one step up to elevate it from the 'bedroom'. The closet-alcove was to the right of the entrance—the kitchen to the left—and the bathroom was on the opposite side of the bed on the wall the headboard was pressed against. Two small windows allowed her to look out onto the street they had just been on, sealed tight and always locked.

"I know it's not much—it's absolutely tiny, really—but it's home," she mumbled while setting her cup onto the nearest counter and began to pull off Barry's jacket.

"It suits you," he answered in complete honestly, looking away from her simple kitchen to offer her a smile instead. "Where I live may be bigger, but I do share it with twenty-two others, so…"

Iris smiled in relief at his acceptance as her heart calmed. "Well, uhm…I don't suppose you want another tea?" When Barry laughed and shook his head, Iris flushed slightly and nodded in agreement. She'd been prepared to make him anything if he asked for it—she wasn't accustomed to having company over. "Well, you can get comfortable? Look around?" she offered, motioning to her sparse belongings. "I'll just be a minute."

Turning into the bathroom and quickly shutting the door, Iris took a moment to calm herself.

She'd met her soulmate.

She'd gone back for him.

And now he was standing in her apartment.

Knowing that if she stopped she was going to overthink everything, Iris just turned away from the door and barely glanced at her reflection on her way into the room. She hadn't properly wiped off her makeup from work so the black of her mascara and eyeliner had run down to make the shadows worse beneath her eyes, and her hair was an absolute mess from not having been brushed.

Instead of bothering to make herself presentable after having been with him as she was for so many hours, Iris just wiped her fingers beneath her eyes to remove excess makeup, and pulled her long hair into a tail over her shoulder.

Washing her hands and taking one brief moment to collect herself, Iris unlocked the door and stepped out. Barry was now standing in her kitchen as he looked at the wall of teas that she had been accumulating—majority of which were new from the past week of no sleep. He turned to look at her when he heard the door open and pointed to the display in front of him.

"That's a lot of tea," he commented in awe, getting a laugh from Iris that she tried desperately to smother and only ended up snorting through her nose. That only made Barry laugh as he looked at her sheepish face endearingly.

"I was hoping an herbal tea would help me sleep, so I went a bit overboard," she admitted with a timid shrug, tugging on the hem of her large sweater. "You sure you don't want one?" she asked again, however, he declined again. Instead, he politely excused himself to the washroom as Iris moved to the kitchen to take the kettle out of the sink from where she had dropped in when Fletcher called earlier.

It had only been a few hours but somehow it felt like days since the setback she had in the shower, and since Fletcher had spooked her into dropping the kettle. It also brought to her attention that she hadn't eaten dinner. However, the distraction of everything had her forgetting all about her hunger. The tea had at least filled her enough that her stomach wasn't a bother.

She had just placed her keys and cellphone on the counter when Barry stepped out of the washroom. Iris only gave a brief glance in her peripheral as he was stepping out, but she had to turn for a full look when she realized he had removed his gloves and beanie while he was in there. The sight of his closely buzzed hair, so close to being shaved that she figured it was probably just growing out. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting to be under the beanie, but somehow she couldn't picture him with any other style than that.

Barry noticed the stare she had on his head and reached up to self-consciously rub at it. The prickly texture was something he was still getting used to, having shaved it for so long. "Not the smartest hair-style for winter, huh?"

His comment made Iris realize that she had been staring and guilt tugged at her gut. "Maybe not, but it suits you," she assured with a smile. "And it's a good thing you look good with a beanie."

The unsure posture that Barry was standing with disappeared with her comment, the easy-going smiling coming back. "So, you wanted to be completely honest?" he prodded gently, returning their earlier conversation to the forefront. Iris was relieved that he had, otherwise she probably would have lost the nerve and tried to dance around the subject.

Motioning for him to sit on the bed, which was the only place to sit since she had no table or chairs, Iris joined him once she had kicked off her shoes and crossed her legs under her. "I said earlier that I hadn't finished school," she began, getting an encouraging nod from Barry when he remembered that particular comment. She'd been scared when she'd said it, he realized, but he would never judge her for that. "It's because I ran away from home when I was fifteen. I had to get away from my parents, so I just left."

Barry's hands clenched against the gloves he was holding, causing the tendons to pop out against the backs of his palms.

"I lived on the streets for a bit, saving all the money I could and working odd jobs. Most of the time I stayed in shelters. When I was eighteen, I worked really hard to get a permanent job so I could find a place to live. At first I worked as a hostess in a restaurant, but the people were so rude that I left. That's when I applied for Pages of the World, and I've been there ever since."

Barry's throat felt raw when he spoke up, "You didn't have a home?" he forced out, hating how the words made his chest ache.

Iris reached out to take his hands in hers gently while coaxing the death grip he had on his gloves to relax. "For two years, no, I had no home. But I learned a lot in that time. My parents taught me to love my marks, because nothing they could do would ever take them from me; and being out on the streets taught me to love and cherish the few things I had. That's why a tiny apartment with one good coat and some overpriced tea leaves is all I really need."

He released his gloves to turn his hands over and take her hands within his, letting his large hands cradle the small, delicate fingers that had tenderly brushed along his skin.

"You said you lived somewhere peculiar, so all of you could have space. I've shared bunks with girls younger than me, who ran from homes far worse than mine. I've slept in alleys before—and that did not always end well. But, again, I learned from it."

Thinking back to the time she had spent on the street, as brief as it may have been, made Iris's eyes burn with tears as memories flooded her mind. She had good memories of people she had met and things she had accomplished, but just like with her parents there were always things to tarnish the good memories—but only if she let them. Some things stuck around—she was still afraid of entering a room with a door too wide open because of the fear that someone will force themselves in behind her, or that her marks would be seen and she'd be chased across town by the unmarked.

Barry immediately caught on to the glistening of her eyes, instantly knowing that they were unshed tears. Releasing her hands to instead take her into his arms like he had in Fletcher's building, Barry softly shushed her as he shuffled in close to her body. "It's alright, Sweetheart, ain't nothing gunna get you now. You've got us on your side, and we protect our own."

Iris released a laughing sob as she nodded against his shoulder, but remained leaned in close. Barry didn't seem to mind what-so-ever and continued to hold her close as he rocked her from side to side, continuing to whisper assurances against her hair and into her ear. She shook faintly against his body as she leaned into him, her breath hot against the side of his neck as she tried to regulate her breathing to calm herself down.

Breathing in Barry's smell as she leaned against him to take in his warmth, Iris came to realize why so many people seemed to change entirely after they had met their soulmate. There was a shift in everything. The world faded back and they came to find the relaxation of having their destined other half there.

Iris had never felt calmer or more welcome than when she was being held by Barry, and she was sure that when she met the other identities it would be the same. Although she assumed they would all offer her different types of comfort; they would each offer her what they were meant to give.

Barry could feel when she began to relax again, her steady breaths offering her a reprieve as she leaned heavily against him. She felt as though she weighed nothing, so it was easy when Barry manoeuvred the two of them down to lay on the mattress with their heads hitting the soft pillows. Iris didn't react immediately, but she soon curled into him until her head was tucked beneath his chin once more.

"Will you stay?" she asked sleepily a few minutes later, lying nearly limp against him.

Barry, who was feeling the same lure of sleep, gave a sleepy smile against her hair as he nodded. "Couldn't chase me away, Sweetheart."

"Good," she mumbled, sounding as though she was just barely on the cusp of awareness. "Because I already messed up once."