Reciprocal Altruism || Snowbarry College AU

Out of Airplanes Into Pools of Sharks V

"Hey, before we go, I just need to head to the ladies' room," Iris said. "Caitlin?"

Caitlin turned her gaze to the girl as Iris gestured in the direction of the restrooms. Throwing a confused glance Barry's way, she began to walk towards Iris.

"We'll see you boys outside," Iris informed Barry and Eddie as she and Caitlin began their trek.

Now, Caitlin was no stranger to going to bathrooms in pairs, but she had no idea what she and Iris would talk about all on their lonesome.

Iris pushed open the door to enter the restroom and found herself a mirror to look at while she began to reapply her makeup. "So, how's the double date so far?" Iris asked while she applied a layer of mascara.

"Yeah, uh, it's good," Caitlin answered, not really sure how to respond. "Are you enjoying it?"

Despite her weird, almost formal way of asking it, Iris answered normally, "I'm having a lot more fun than I thought I would, so I would say it's a success."

Caitlin let out a breath of relief. "That's what I was thinking too!"

"I know. Usually my dates with Eddie are so... ugh, I wish I could think of another word for it, but... it's boring. Like we barely talk and then we have sex and it's so monotonous and repetitive and dull and... well, you get the point."

Caitlin tried not to show her shock. "That was a lot of descriptive words..." she said, unhelpfully.

Iris furrowed her brow. "Sorry, that was kinda mean, wasn't it? I didn't mean to damper the mood like that."

"No, no!" Caitlin protested. "It's okay. I totally get the feeling of being in an unequal relationship where it just feels like one person is doing all the work and it's lost the passion and love."

"But that's just the thing! I feel like I'm the one losing the passion and Eddie is doing all the work, but I just feel... I don't know how I feel! I love Eddie and I know he loves me, but..."

Iris sighed, trying to find the words to express how she was feeling at the moment. "I consider myself a pretty passionate person and I've been in the same relationship with Eddie since I started college. It's been three years and I feel like I've changed as a person, but I'm stuck too. I want to study abroad in a country where I don't speak the language. I want to go skydiving or scuba diving. I want to have an experience that I'll look back on in fifty years and remember it as clearly as the day it happened. But I'm stuck. Stuck with the same friends, same boyfriend, same insecurities, anxiety, and..." Iris put down her tube of mascara and pursed her lips. "I love Eddie, I do."

Sensing Iris's watery tone and the look that meant she was close to tears, Caitlin moved closer to Iris and wrapped the girl in a hug. "You don't have to prove anything to me," she said. "Your feelings are your feelings."

Iris reciprocated the hug and pulled Caitlin in. "I'm getting mascara on your dress."

"Eh, I never wear this dress anyway."

Iris was the first to pull away from the hug. "I'm a bad person."

"You are not," Caitlin defended.

"Eddie is the perfect boyfriend and I'm crying in the bathroom over nothing."

"Iris..." Caitlin began.

"And then I saw you and Barry and you guys are just starting your relationship and it's all so new to you guys and there's real excitement and flirting and I just..."

"You think Barry and I are... real?"

"More real than Eddie and I," Iris huffed. "We were fighting as we drove here. That's why the two of us were 'tied up' and when we went to get the 'free bread'...that was another fight. Of course, it ended with us making out, but..."