Eddie and Barry happily chatted away, finishing the pizza he had brought for them. Eddie had to be careful, as her ribs were still sore from being shot in the vest and falling down the flight of stairs.
"This is so good, Barry, thank you!" Eddie enthused. "It's just what I needed."
"Well," Barry said with a smile, "it's the least I could do for you after a… rough couple of days."
Eddie let out a hearty laugh, grabbing her right ribs. The pain was still there, but, man, did it feel good to laugh. "I suppose that's one way to describe it." She then grabbed his hand, using her thumb to caress the top of his hand. "I never got the chance to truly thank you for picking me up from the hospital. It meant a lot to me."
Barry smiled. "No problem. I will admit I was surprised when your partner showed up."
Eddie winced, this time not from physical pain, but from emotional discomfort.
"Eddie," Barry said carefully. "I know he likes you. I'm a dude, I saw it."
"Barry – "
"Let me finish, please."
"Sorry."
Barry sighed, closing his eyes as if he was sending out a prayer. He opened them and said, "I want to be with you. Life is too short, you're never guaranteed next week, let alone tomorrow. Seeing you in the hospital after you got shot only confirmed that. I know we've kept it semi-casual, but I want to stop that right now."
He knew he had Eddie's attention.
"I want to us to make us official," he continued. "Call it boyfriend-girlfriend, call it whatever you want, but I want us to be together. But if you're not sure about me or you think you might have feelings for Jamie, I will walk away and we can just be friends who went on a couple dates only to realize we were better off as friends."
He held Eddie's gaze.
"But I'd rather be much more than a friend," he emphasized by putting his hand on her knee. "So much more."
Eddie felt her body go electric with Barry's hand on her knee. She felt it when she first kissed Jamie four years ago. But when they decided to keep it professional, she slowly felt the charge disappear. When she met Barry, she felt a spark that developed into a charge, an attraction she could not ignore simply because of one Jamie Reagan. It was an attraction that rivaled, no, surpassed Jamie.
He had his chance, she thought. He had plenty of chances. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for him, but…
"I want that, too, Barry," Eddie said softly, but determinedly. "I want you. I want us," she said, echoing Barry's usage of that word. She scooted to Barry on his side of the couch. She winced as her ribs still crackled with remnant pain.
"Eddie!" Barry gasped.
"It's okay," she said, holding up her hand assuredly.
She leaned towards Barry and they sealed the officializing of their relationship with a kiss. Eddie moaned as the electric charge flowed through her body.
Their lips parted. "Hold me," was all she could muster.
"I… I don't want to hurt you," Barry said. "That's the last thing I'd ever want to do."
Eddie smiled sweetly at her now-boyfriend. "I know. And you won't. Just hold me gently."
She leaned into Barry's side as they sat on her couch. This felt right. For the first time in a long time, her life felt right.