Barry did as promised and walked Iris all the way to her work; unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to let him inside since the store didn't officially open for another hour, so they had to say their goodbyes as they stood outside the back entrance to the building. Iris already had her work keys in hand, the jingling of metal the only sound in the empty alleyway. He hadn't let her go since they'd linked arms, Iris only moved her arm when the chill had gotten to her fingers. Instead of letting her pull away, though, Barry had lifted his other hand and placed it over hers to protect it from the chill.
"I work late tonight," he started, sounding almost guilty for the way his schedule had been put. "I can't..."
"Don't worry," Iris assured immediately, stepping away from him so they were face to face as her hand moved down to link their fingers loosely. "Jessica and I finish at the same time today and she lives a street down from where I live; I'll ask her to walk home with me."
Barry relaxed and offered a relieved smile, squeezing her warmed fingers while simultaneously pulling her in closer. It was becoming second nature to her, willingly stepping in against that body—it didn't matter which soulmate it was, even if the body were to change with each one, the comfort was the same.
Barry's lips came to rest against her forehead again, bringing a butterfly sensation to Iris's stomach as she fought against a grin of unabashed happiness. "You're okay for your meeting, right? Please tell me you got some sleep." She sincerely hoped that this wasn't going to happen on a regular basis; the guilt of taking the night from Barry and the others would absolutely eat away at her.
"I'm just fine, Sweetheart," he soothed, using his free hand to stroke her hair gently. "I'll get some coffee on my way over, everything'll work out. Plus, I get tomorrow off so I'll catch up on some sleep then."
Nodding along, Iris tried to push aside her guilt as she glanced to the metal door that made up the back entrance of the store. "I need to clock in soon, so I should be getting inside." Glancing down at the keys in her free hand, she fiddled with them a moment to get the correct key between her fingers. There was only one deadbolt on the door itself, but there was also an alarm system that would go off if the correct code wasn't inputted within thirty seconds of opening the door.
"Remember; call me if anything happens," Barry pressed, looking down at the adorable expression of focus on Iris's face as she tried to select the right key without dropping the entire thing, all with one hand since her other was still linked with his in a warm, assuring hold.
Unable to resist one more chance, Barry leaned forward to kiss her cheek goodbye. Iris, unaware of his intention, turned her head to answer his comment in the same moment. His lips skimmed her cheek from the action, brushing against the corner of her mouth in the process. Her heart immediately sped up at the contact, causing heat to rise to her cheeks as a blush bloomed under her skin in response. Both of them pulled back suddenly, not having expected for either of their innocent actions to lead to an almost-kiss.
Barry looked ready to apologize, afraid that she would think something terrible of him—as much as the thought of kissing her was deeply appealing, he knew that someone as afraid and damaged as Iris would need time. And he was going to give her as long as she needed. However, she didn't look afraid or panicked; she looked flustered. Blushing and holding her breath, her lips were parted just slightly in shock as she looked up at him with an unreadable expression.
So, instead of apologizing, an amused smile quirked at his lips. "That blush is adorable," he teased gently.
Iris gasped slightly before she pursed her lips to hide her own smile. "I-I have work!" she declared suddenly, cursing herself for stuttering as she turned back to the door again.
Barry didn't let her get away that easily, however, and use their linked hands to pull her back to him as he kissed her temple as he had intended, his other hand cradling her head gently. She was so small, her cheek and jaw fit perfectly into the cradle of his hand, palm warm against her chilled cheek. "Have a good day, Sweetheart. Let me know what you're home safe?"
Her blushing cheeks burned as she promised to text him the second she was safely in her apartment. Barry finally released her and stood waiting as she unlocked the door before disappearing quickly inside with one final flash of a smile over her shoulder. The metal door fell between them with a resounding slam, the deadbolt sliding back into place and then the back alley was silent.
Releasing a breath to try and calm his racing heart, Barry closed his eyes and ducked his head as his hand came up to cover his mouth. He hadn't intended for any of that to happen, but there was no way he was going to regret it. The softness of her skin was branded into his mind, leaving him short of breath as he tried not to think too hard on it.
When BT's discomfort had been brought to their attention the previous night, all of the alters were left on edge. They may not have been the one in control, but to have something so obviously wrong left each of them in discomfort. They'd each done their research on soulmates and the bonds shared between them. In the case of multiples, the bond was usually stronger because of the many connections weaving and interlacing between several people.
Their situation was slightly different, since they were more than just a three-way or four-way soulbond—they were not bonded to one another, only to Iris and Iris to them. However, seeing as they did share one body, with Iris's many words covering the expanse of that body, the connection was more than likely just as strong. She has only met three of them. That would mean that their bond was three times as strong as someone with only one mark.
Her panic and fear had come through like a deep, uncomfortable feeling of forbidding to them. Fear and doubt sitting in their gut like poison all through the night.
She hadn't slept at all. He knew that; he'd known even before seeing her face. There was no way that the discomfort could have lasted through the night if she had slept; with sleep would have come even just a small amount of peace for her. That never came; he and the others would have felt it. Iris wasn't one to cover her face with makeup, either, so the shadows beneath her eyes and unhealthy pallor of her skin confirmed his fears as soon as he'd seen her leave her apartment building.
Turning away from the back door of her work, Barry made his way onto the main sidewalk once more, passing by the front window as he did so. Iris was nowhere to be seen, but he could see some lights on in the depths of darkness that made up the bookstore so early in the morning.
He wouldn't let this happen again. None of them would.
He'd been surprised that he was able to keep hold of the light after BT had passed it along to him. Dennis especially had been on edge, sitting more rigidly in his chair than Barry had seen in quite a while. He'd always been the one to take over when things were happening to Kevin, keeping their original identity safe and therefore assuming the role of protector over not only Kevin, but all of them.
The thought of Iris being in fear or in danger brought up the protective instincts like never before, and Barry had kept a careful eye on the shadowy form of Dennis while as he glared deeply at the floor in the center of their circle of chairs. Back straight, legs slightly splayed and arms crossed firmly across his chest, he looked a dangerous mix of patient and ready to spring up at any moment.
Sighing softly as he turned at a street corner, Barry knew that he needed to do something before Dennis did the same as BT and took off after Iris one day.
With her parents back in the picture, however, he knew that it was going to be nearly impossible to stop all of the alters from going against his orders.
Glancing back in the direction he had come, Barry silently wished for Iris's day to go on uninterrupted and safely boring.
Inside the store, Iris was humming to herself as she set up the register and double-checked who was going to be coming in at what time that day. She also sent out several emails to confirm shipments times and dates, her fingers flying skillfully over the keys as her lips mouthed the words that she was typing, all while she musically calmed herself and tried to distract against the terrifying silence of the store.
Hitting send on the last email, Iris had only just reached for her phone to check for any messages when it started to ring and Jessica's name popped up.
"Good morning," she greeted, trying not to sound too tired. She was already slouching down in her seat, ruining her posture but just too fatigued to do much about it.
"Hey, I'm at the back door. You already in?"
"Yea, just one sec and I'll let you in."
Jessica chirped a happy response before hanging up, letting Iris put her phone down and log out of the company email. Pushing back from the desk in the back office, she hurried back to the door that she had entered through shortly before and slid the deadlock aside to push the heavy metal open. Jessica was huddled into her too-thin spring jacket as she smiled at Iris in greeting, cheeks reddened from her walk over.
"Morning!" she breathed out, hurrying into the warm building as she shook out her chilled limbs. "Jeez, I wasn't expecting it to be so cold today!"
"Why on earth are you wearing such a thin jacket?" Iris responded, shaking her head. "It's not that close to summer! There was snow on the ground just the other week, remember?"
Peeling her jacket off as they made their way back into the store, heading for the breakroom, Jessica laughed at Iris's scolding, motherly tone. "Yea, mom, I know. I just hate the feeling of my winter coat, it's so huge. And by the time we get off work it's warm enough to not even need a jacket anymore." Hanging her coat and bag in her locker, she gave Iris the side-eye as she continued. "Us normal people, at least. You're always bundled up so tight I worry you'll get heat stroke!"
Huffing at the younger woman's tone, Iris leaned against the doorframe as she crossed her arms over her chest. Jessica's eyes darted down to her hand briefly, showing her amazing restraint when she didn't stare openly at the back of her pale hand, black writing on full display. Iris had forgone her usual work gloves, not actually needing them while she was only typing out some emails and arranging the register at the front.
"I've gotten used to it. I think if I wore sleeveless shirts now I'd freeze to death."
It wasn't really a lie, either. Her parents had always had her in long-sleeved tops since her first arm mark had popped up when she was a kid. They'd even use band-aids and semi-permanent make-up on the back of her hand. She'd spent so long with her skin covered; heat no longer bothered her like it once had. However, she'd had the unfortunate experience of passing out from heat-stroke a few times before that had happened. When the school brought up their concerns, they'd always spin it around on her. She just wouldn't leave the house without it!
Jessica stilled as she pocketed her work knife and marker, easily accessible from the back pocket of her jeans. "Iris...are you hiding soulmarks?" she finally posed in a quiet, hesitant voice while fidgeting with her shirt hem.
There is was; the question she'd been waiting for.
Iris's expression didn't change as she met Jessica's worried eyes. She didn't confirm, but she didn't deny, either. Holding one another's gazes across the space of the small breakroom, Jessica knew the answer to her question without Iris having to speak a word or flash an emotion.
"I have two, you know?" she continued after the silence stretched on with no sign of her manager deciding to answer. Iris blinked at the woman's confession, eyebrows rising slightly in a show of surprise. "One's on my leg, so it's always covered by my pants. The other's on my left side, near my pants. People sometimes see that one, but they're both pretty easy to just live life without people asking." Switching out her shoes as she spoke, Iris did nothing more than stand back as she listened to her coworkers words.
Glancing down at her hand, Iris wasn't exactly sure how to take the other woman's confession.
"I can't really speak from experience about having people know that I'm part of a triad, but those that do know don't judge. And they make up for the ones that do."
Iris sighed softly as she changed her posture to lean her back fully against the wall as her fingers carded nervously through her hair. "It's not that easy."
Nodding in understanding, Jessica remained sitting on the bench located in front of the lockers. "I know. But there's always somewhere to begin, you know? I hadn't met either of them yet, but I know that my friends are gunna be there for me when I do."
The florescent lights caught Iris's eyes as she looked up again, making them look amber in the artificial light. "It's not that easy," she repeated quietly, before pulling up the sleeve of her over-shirt. The first thing that Jessica saw was the long scar running through the mark along the outside of her arm. Her breath hitched at the sight, before she began counting. Wrist, outer arm, inner arm, back palm.
Four?
No.
Iris didn't stop. She pulled up the sleeve of her other arm as well, showing an additional two marks on her right forearm, also in different writing to show Jessica that there were at least six different soulmates for Iris. Another mark was then revealed on her bicep, winding around the thinly muscled upper arm. Seven. Jessica was left staring in awe at her friend's bared skin, stark white from lack of sun exposure and divided by the different clusters of black writing.
"See?" Iris asked quietly, holding out her arms as example. "Not that easy."
"Oh, Iris," Jessica breathed softly, finally understanding the way that the woman carried herself. "I'm so sorry."
Shaking her head, the brunette pulled her shirt-sleeves down to cover her bare arms up again, hiding the writing from Jessica's shocked eyes. "My parents are unmarked. I was never allowed to show them—it's a hard habit to break."
Swallowing thickly as she bowed her head, Jessica was suddenly so grateful to only have two marks. Her parents only had one another, but they at least had a soulmark that helped them to look passed their daughter having one extra. For someone with so many, having unmarked parents must have made life a living hell for Iris.
There were very few unmarked out there that were kind to those with soulmarks, but even those rare few would react badly to Iris's half-dozen soulmates. She'd heard of people who had more than three actually being attacked and murdered, all because they were destined to be with more people than the unmarked deemed fair.
Standing up and reaching for Iris, the younger woman took her hands gently and offered her a sad, sympathetic smile. "I know it's not much, but I'm here if you need me. I...I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you, and still like now. But I am here. No matter what other people say or do, I'll never turn you away because of this."
Using her thumbs, Jessica lifted Iris's sleeves up just slightly, exposing her wrist marks again. "If you have this many marks...just means you have more love in you than anyone else out there. You and your soulmates."
Simple though her words were, they warmed Iris's heart to know that not everyone out there were as cruel as some she had met in the past. So far, Karen and Jessica were the only ones that were not marked to her that knew of her many soulmarks—although, not the full extent of them—and had been kind and accepting. Even going so far as to offer help when possible.
Exhaling softly, Iris smiled back as she felt some weight lift off of her shoulders. Time and time again, she kept thinking how much her soulmates had changed her. This was yet another thing; she was no longer hiding in fear from her parents. He'd told her not to show her marks, so she'd left her apartment without her gloves, she'd shown Jessica some of the black on her pale skin, and she was determined to continue her progress.
"We should get back to work," she declared suddenly, pulling her hands back and glancing toward the clock that was hung on the wall. "Open's at eight, so we've got a few minutes."
"You okay, Iris?" Jessica called before she could escape the room completely. "I mean...after what happened yesterday, and now you're showing me your marks...what changed?"
Taking a moment, Iris decided that Jessica was someone she didn't mind telling. "The man from yesterday, the one who helped me, he's one of my soulmates," she confessed. Jessica expression lit up again and a smile came across her face. "He's one of three I've met recently, actually."
"That's great, Iris!" she cheered. "Congrats! I mean, I've heard about how great it is to meet them at last, so I'm kind of jealous now."
Iris's cheeks warmed at Jessica's excited outburst. "I just don't want to hide anymore. They're helping me to realize that I'm not alone. I'm not a kid anymore that has to do as she's told."
Jessica's excitement softened to a proud smile, her hands tucking into the pockets of her jeans as she nodded her head. "I'm glad, Iris. You deserve to be happy, and I'm glad you're finally getting your chance. I'm with you, too, so if you ever need to talk without worrying about soulmates getting too involved then I'm all ears."
If only she knew. Would she still think that way if Iris told her that her soulmates all shared the same body?
"Thank you, Jess."
Jessica smiled once more before she moved to unpack her lunch from her bag, while Iris went to check for any email responses before the opened for the day. They would be holding down the store for an hour by themselves before anyone else was so clock in, so they both silently prayed for a quiet start to the day that wouldn't overwhelm them.
Sitting at the back desk and logging in to the store's email, Iris realized that she had forgotten to ask Jessica to walk home with her at the end of their shift. Making a mental note to bring it up with the younger woman, knowing that Jessica often made plans after her shift, Iris let herself focus on the task at hand while keeping an eye on the clock for store opening.