Mirror Jitters

Iris looked around awkwardly. She held one arm over her chest, trying to ignore how one breast had slipped out over her wrist. She bit her lip as Eva walked in front of her.

For god's sake, she'd just skinny dipped stark naked in a fountain in a public part of Central City, her mind was already screaming at her at how exposed she was. There was a time she could never have imagined doing that - empty dimension or not, it would take a lot for her instincts and worry and nerves to listen to that fact. For all she knew, she could just pop out in the real world's version of this fountain as she was.

Iris glanced down at her clothes, then back at Eva. She wouldn't have thought she'd miss the tattered outfit.

Then again...

Iris gulped. Eva was always talking about how nudity here was as good as inevitable - Iris didn't want to believe that, but she was starting to see Eva's point. Her clothes were falling apart from constant use, and apparently the best place to freshen up or take a break was a fountain. She'd have to get used to it sooner or later.

Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she feared. Iris wasn't sure she believed that. Still, she sighed.

"I might... try it out," Iris said. "For a little."

Eva smiled broadly; Iris was glad of that. Not much seemed to make Eva so openly happy.

Then Iris tried to think about why Eva was happy. It must just be companionship, right? Maybe she'd been worried about Iris's future wellbeing if she couldn't face up to nudity - maybe she'd been afraid Iris was judging her for her naked ways. Iris did hope it wasn't the latter. She might have been a little weirded out by her only company being a very naked scientist, but she'd never judged Eva for it.

Face burning, and trying to distract herself from those thoughts, Iris crouched to pick up her clothes.

"Oh, you can leave those here," Eva said. "Not like anyone's going to take them."

"Not sure I'm happy leaving them that far away from me," Iris said.

"It'll be fine, just lay them out on the ground to dry in the sun," Eva said. "No fuss."

Iris hesitated. Then she shook her head, picking up the garments.

"I'll lay them out wherever we go," Iris said. "Where I can see them. Just in case."

She missed Eva's expression falling. Instead, Iris squeezed out what water she could.

"Where next?" Iris said.

"Why don't you tell me?" Eva said. "Any favorite places in the real Central City?"

"I don't know. Maybe Jitters," Iris said.

"The coffee place? Is it still around?" Eva said. "Good to hear it. I liked that place. Lead the way."

"What?" Iris said. She looked back sharply, eyes widening: "You want to go there?"

"Why not?" Eva said.

Iris opened her mouth, and faltered.

It was the same problem again. She couldn't imagine going to Jitters nude. She went there most days, drank coffee, met with friends; okay, there had been a couple of nightmares turning up there for a party in her birthday suit, but it had never been real.

Then again, the same could be said for walking through the city like this. Iris took a deep breath.

"I'll try it," Iris said.

She really hoped she didn't regret this... Iris took a step forwards, holding her clothes in front of her chest, behind crossed arms, as she walked; she let the legs of her pants drape down, letting her at least imagine they were covering her sex, batted about as they were as she took step after step.

Eva walked behind her, that time. Iris assumed she was just being followed - she wasn't going to think about how much Eva could see from behind her.

Jitters wasn't far. It just felt like it. As her body dried, Iris was even more aware of the breeze against her bare skin, how exposed her legs especially were.

The more familiar the street, the more flustered she felt. She squeezed her old clothes more tightly to herself. Urging herself on, she made it to the door of the coffee shop, and her nerve almost gave out as she looked inside.

Yes, it was empty, but it was so right. She'd worked on an article in that chair, she'd chatted to Barry at that table, Eddie at that table, and Wally over there... There were memories with friends and family in every inch of the place. And now she was walking inside with her only clothing clutched in her hands.

She froze in the doorway; Eva bumped into her. Iris jumped, and stumbled over the threshold.

Brushing past her, instants of contact with bare skin, Eva picked a fairly central table in the middle of the floor. She sat down comfortably, stretching out: she looked rather incongruous sitting there, nude in among the menus and tables. Smiling, she looked over to Iris.

"Iris?" Eva said.

"Give me a second," Iris said, nerves acting up.

She glanced around the shop. No one, she told herself. No one would see.

The door swung shut and bumped her butt. Iris couldn't help the nervous squeal; part of her wanted to run off just then, but she was too far out. At least being inside felt more... enclosed. At least that was what she told herself.

Her gaze settled on a table by the window. Carefully, Iris laid her shirt and pants out over it, straightening them out. She winced a little to see how far the tears had stretched. Still, she left them there to dry, and carefully walked over to Eva's table. She sat at a chair opposite her, again crossing her arms over her chests. After a second, she crossed her legs too.

"Still nervous?" Eva said.

"I'm used to being here with friends," Iris said. "Still feels like I'm naked in the real Jitters."

Eva's gaze unfocused slightly. Iris frowned.

"Eva?" she said. Eva blinked; suddenly an odd smile played at her lips.

"Did you ever think about it?" Eva said.

"What?!"

"Streaking, or something like it," Eva said. "If you knew you could get away with it - if you knew there'd be no consequences. Walk into your normal coffee shop with nothing on just because you could."

"No!" Iris said. She dropped her voice to a whisper, despite it being unnecessary. "I mean, nightmares, sure, but everyone has those. I would never have... Why, did you?"

Iris just wanted to change the topic. She didn't want to have anything else to fuel her imaginings of being naked in the real Jitters. She didn't expect Eva's cheeks to go pink.

"A couple of times," Eva admitted. "When I was working late, and everyone had gone home, I did wonder. Stray thoughts, you know. I could go from my office to the lab in nothing but my labcoat. Or less."

Eva's attention drifted.

"Did you?" Iris said. Eva shook her head.

"No. Well, not until I got here," Eva said. "Did it in the first week, for fun. Was too afraid of janitors or someone actually watching the security tapes in the real world."

Eva's flush faded; Iris stared at her for a moment, surprised. Part of her was just amazed Eva had ever been nervous about nudity, given how casual with it she was now.

"There was... one thing," Iris said. "Back when I worked at CCPN, I'd imagine... I don't know, having my own office, or going in for a meeting, and slipping my skirt down under the desk. Going bottomless, and no one on the other side of the desk would know."

Iris giggled a little, nervous. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, fidgeting, face warming.

She wasn't sure why she'd admitted to that. Apparently being stuck nude with someone lowered inhibitions on certain topics. Her face warmed more as she felt Eva's eyes on her.

"You should've done it," Eva said.

"No way," Iris said. "I wasn't risking being caught for that."

"I... er, right," Eva said. She seemed about to say something else when she caught herself, and coughed.

Iris squirmed a little. It was half embarrassment, and half just being uncomfortable staying in the one position for so long, arms and legs firmly in place. She loosened her arms slightly, cautiously keeping them in roughly the same place.

"So is that what you've done here?" Iris said. "Lived out public nudity fantasies?"

Eva laughed; it was such an odd sounds.

"Once or twice," Eva said. "The first year was all exploration. Figuring out how this place worked, trying the obvious things to get out, and the easy... experiments. Once I decided on being nude though, I locked myself in my room for the first month."

"But you got used to it?"

"Had to," Eva said. "I think I spent most of my second year exploring. Left Central City for months. Hiked as far as Starling City - always wanted to go there, see the sights, and there were no crowds. Found a nice club. You wouldn't believe what was in the basement."

"And you were... naked?" Iris said, eyebrows shooting up.

"If I hadn't been when I set out, I would've been when I got back," Eva said. "That much walking around would've put an end to my clothes for sure."

"I can't imagine going that far, or that long," Iris said.

Eva looked her up and down for a moment; trying to relax, show openness, Iris quietly dropped one hand on the table, other still supporting and covering her breasts. She was still thinking a little about the possibility her own reticence to go nude might have been making Eva feel judged - she didn't want to do that, not when they were all one another had.

Eva's eyes dipped down. Gently, she rested a hand on Iris's, and when she spoke, her voice was softer.

"Thank you," Eva said.

"For what?" Iris said.

"This," Eva said. "Feels... like I'm back in the real world. At Jitters, talking to someone. Imagined it for so long."

Eva faltered.

"I'm... happy. Thank you," Eva said.

"Um. Glad to," Iris said.

"When we get out, can we come here?" Eva said. "For real. Just for the memories."

"Sure," Iris said. She smiled; "You said 'when.' Like you really think I can help us get out of here."

Eva's eyes widened for a moment; she seemed almost scared for a second. Then she relaxed, pausing only briefly.

"I'd like to believe it," Eva said. "Though can you wait a while, before proving me wrong? Just let me have hope for a bit."

"Eva..."

Iris hesitated. She glanced around awkwardly.

"Though when we do escape," Iris said, "I hope our trip to Jitters isn't exactly like this."

"You can be naked. I wouldn't mind," Eva said.

Iris's face burned.

"I think I'll pass," she said.

Eva's attention wandered for a moment; Iris stared at her. She wasn't sure what to make of Eva, sometimes - sometimes she seemed so guarded, whether by accident or design, unused to opening up to people. For a moment, though, she felt like she had a glimpse of the real Eva.

Then Eva quickly stood up. She turned, and Iris averted her gaze - even if the sceintist didn't think twice about showing off her ass, Iris wanted to at least go through the motions of giving her privacy - and Eva walked over to the counter.

"One thing we do need. To make it more real," Eva said.

She came back, holding a couple of pastries. Iris blinked.

"Okay, I have to ask how that works," Iris said. "Even if I don't think I'll understand it."

"How what works?" Eva said.

She handed one over to Iris. Iris took it with her free hand. A little nervously, she used both hands to hold and eat it, trying to stop being so tense. She looked at her pastry, not wanting to imagine Eva being able to see her breasts.

"How there's food here," Iris said. "Let alone in-date stuff. Or if we need to eat it, with that whole photon thing you talked about before."

"We can eat it. We just don't need to," Eva said. "While we're in this dimension anyway. Still tastes good."

"And how it's here?"

"I think there's a... psychological component," Eva said. "This dimension is a reflection of the real world. A mirror dimension. The same place, just the reverse, including the reverse of all the people. It's not all natural, man-made structures are here, but not everything man-made, not everything in exactly the right place. The lab doesn't get rearranged by what people do, and the tech isn't a snapshot of six years ago, or ten years ago, etc."

"O... kay..." Iris said slowly.

Eva was speaking quickly now; she seemed to enjoy the science.

"Along with that, I think it reflects how people see the world," Eva said. "Both at once. It reflects the layout, it reflects the world, but also distorts according to what people see - there's no constant rearrangement of rooms or pens and books moving by themselves, because only a handful of people see them. It makes no imprint upon the public consciousness. But the whole city? Lots of people see the buildings, so they exist here."

"Which is why the lights can be on," Iris said slowly. "And the fountains work. People always see that."

"Yes!" Eva said. "But in houses, showers don't work because they're usually off, so that's the default state. And fridges are empty because there's no consensus on what's in them. But out in the world, a coffee shop is different. People are always used to seeing the same snacks laid out. Books are different because people keep thinking about what they know and, on some level, where they know it from. There's a little of everyone reflected in the mirror. They just aren't real, until they're made real. Like your double."

Iris still didn't understand that. Still, very little had made sense since that dark matter explosion. She nodded, content with the vague outline.

"You really know this place," Iris said.

"I figured out a lot when I was travelling," Eva said. "Were a lot of oddities to try and understand. Not completely certain, but it's what explains most of what I saw. Read what I could from what books I could find, after I figured out how to read them again."

Iris nodded; the books still hurt her eyes to look at, every letter perfectly reversed. They were through a mirror after all.

"Spent years theorising," Eva said. "What it would take to even theoretically get out. The stuff just... didn't exist."

Eva hesitated.

"Doesn't exist, I mean," Eva said.

"I hope you're wrong," Iris said.

Eva said nothing.

Iris finished her pastry. She relaxed a little, the discussion have distracted her for precious minutes from her situation. Eventually she got up, pacing over to her drying clothes, trying not to think too hard about the tables she was brushing past.

The vibration of a quantum string away, and there were probably dozens of people going about their day in this very shop. They still felt far too close.

Her clothes had dried a little. Not much.

"Let's stay until they dry," Eva said.

Iris jumped, turning around to see Eva watching her. she unconsciously crossed her arms again.

"Right," Iris said. "Right."

She had to admit, she still wasn't looking forward to the walk back.