Timeline: Before 1x07

Look After You

"Okay Barry, that's enough for one night," Dr. Wells said, looking down at his watch.

"Works for me," Barry replied, slowing down his pace on the treadmill. Grabbing his coat and bag from the floor, he looked up to see Dr. Wells leaving the room. That left him and Caitlin, who looked neck-deep in her latest experiment.

Walking over to her, Barry put on his coat. "Would I understand what you're working on right now?"

Looking up from her notes, Caitlin debated her answer, as he would technically understand, but it was supposed to be a surprise. However, it was impossible to work on this without him being around, so she supposed that there wasn't much point in lying. "I'm trying to perfect the alcohol that we gave you awhile back."

Barry's head jerked back. Of all the answers he had expected, that was not one of them. "You know that you don't have to do that, right?" She had amazed him enough by even attempting to do it. He hadn't anticipated that she would keep trying.

Honestly, neither did she, but the look on his face when it worked, no matter how short it was, made her want to figure it out. Then again, that wasn't the whole reason. "I know, but I…"

"What?"

She bit the inside of her lip, not surprised that he asked the question, but hoping that he wouldn't. "It's stupid," she replied before looking back at her work. She had every intention of trying to ignore him, but she couldn't ignore his stare forever.

"Caitlin," he said, as he was in no rush to leave just yet.

She sighed quietly as she gave in. "It's… fun."

Barry narrowed his eyes. "Are you drinking it?"

"Are you kidding me?" she replied with a light scoff. This was over 500 proof, not something she would even attempt to consume. "I'm a lightweight as it is." Her wonderful display of Felicity-esque slips about Eddie was proof enough of that.

"Then how is it fun?"

"You have your hobbies, I have mine." She had told him something like that when he asked if she had a blood kit in her purse, but the logic still applied. For her, science was her passion, her fun. It maybe wasn't normal, but she wasn't ashamed of it.

Barry sensed that, taking a step back as he remembered something. "Yeah, Dr. Wells may have mentioned your 'bug' study with Cisco." He laughed at the time, but in hindsight, Barry wished he didn't know. For that whole morning, he was conscious of it and a fly almost went down the wrong way.

"It's also a scientific challenge," Caitlin said, not feeling like she had to justify it with Barry, but she said it anyway.

Nodding, Barry grabbed the test tube in front of her. "Then let's test this one."

"Barry, no. It's not –" She never stood a chance, as it was gone before she had a chance to raise her hand. "You know, sometimes I hate that your ability is speed related." Granted, considering the guy was always late, she cringed at the thought of just how late he used to be.

However, Barry never heard anything she had said, the alcohol blocking his mind, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut. "Whoa," he said, dropping his bag to try and regain his balance in-between coughs. If nothing else, he regretted drinking it while standing this time.

Caitlin grinned, trying to keep herself from laughing as she caught the tube that also slipped out of Barry's hand. "Verdict?" She was tempted to add that it served him right to take it before she had a chance to perfect what she was working on, but she decided against it.

"Better," was all he could manage before he lost his balance. With his speed hampered, his hand had missed the table, causing Barry to fall over.

"Careful Barry," Caitlin said, immediately kneeling down to help.

However, it appeared that her help wasn't necessary, as after a blink, Barry planted his hands and got up easily without even realizing that she was there. Upon opening his eyes again, Barry held out a hand to help her back up. "I'm fine… thanks."

She was tempted not to take his hand, as she wasn't the one that needed assistance a few seconds ago. But as she overthought the consequences, she recognized that accepting help wasn't a bad thing. So she accepted the gesture, grinning at Barry before she swiped her hands against her pants to get any dirt off.

"You didn't just fake that for my sake did you?" she asked. Caitlin wouldn't put something like that past him. Barry did have a certain confidence about him and he didn't shy from silly pranks or showing off, but deep down, he cared.

He knew how happy she was to see his reaction after the first shot, that something she did made him content after a frustrating day. He also seemed impressed that she was still working on this, even if he cut her progress short.

In other words, Barry knew better than to lie to her. After all, in science, they share, even in the more unorthodox projects. "The fall? No." That was unfortunately real, as the timing on his speed coming back was just a little bit too late. Pointing to the empty test tube on the table, he added, "That was definitely a stronger hit, but the longevity still needs work."

Crossing her arms, Caitlin scoffed. "If you would have waited, I could have told you that." But it wasn't a complete loss. Now, she had a better idea of the progress she had made, as well as the effects on Barry's abilities and motor functions.

"Where's the fun in that?" Barry replied, knowing that she couldn't have minded that too much based on her smile. Grabbing his bag again, he put a hand on her shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

He got about two or three steps away when he heard her say, "I saw the suit in your bag. You're not going to see Iris, are you?" Barry turned his head, ready to explain, but Caitlin beat him to it as she turned around. "I meant what I said. Not to mention that if you keep this up, she's going to figure everything out."

She had no idea how Iris didn't know already. She grew up with Barry and somehow she couldn't read all the tells that Barry was still working to hide. But that was a detail that Caitlin would keep quiet, as it was easy for her to say while she worked with Barry both as himself and as the Flash. Heck, the name was about the only good thing that came from Iris writing about Barry's abilities. Anything was better than the Streak.

"I hate lying to her," Barry said, as he and Iris had shared everything as kids. Before all this, Iris was the person who knew him best, so it killed him to have a secret like this between them. But seeing the disappointment in Caitlin's eyes now wasn't any easier to bear, as they had become a lot closer over the past few weeks. Soon enough, Barry couldn't maintain eye contact. "This way, it almost feels like I'm not."

Caitlin got that it wasn't easy, but there was a problem that Barry refused to see. "And what happens when she does find out?" Because it was going to happen, whether it was through Barry's visits or not. Too many people around Iris knew the truth and it was only a matter of time before she put the pieces together. "You may not see it this way but you're practically taunting her."

Initially, those visits served a purpose. They was supposed to get Iris off the scent, but then he kept going to see her. They all knew it was a mistake, Cisco, Dr. Wells, but they kept quiet because they wanted to trust that Barry knew was doing. Now, Caitlin was convinced that wasn't the case and the fact that he was still staring at the floor was all the proof she needed.

However, that didn't stop him from denying it. "No, things are different. Things are…"

How was he supposed to explain that, for some reason, she looked at him differently as the Flash? That talking to her on the rooftop made him feel like there was a chance that maybe they could be more than friends one day.

Unfortunately, Caitlin knew that look. "Barry, she has a boyfriend." Not only that, but he was also someone who really cared for her. Coming between that wouldn't be good for anyone, especially because Eddie was Joe's partner.

"I know," Barry replied, and that was a tough pill to swallow, especially considering how much of an effort Eddie was putting into their friendship lately.

But that wasn't the only negative consequence that could come from Iris finding out the truth. "More importantly, you promised Joe." And Barry knew better than to cross the man who helped raise him.

"It's my fault she became a blogger," Barry fired back, bringing his head up, surprising Caitlin a little. He swallowed hard in consequence, but he couldn't just ignore this. It was Barry Allen that told Iris take journalism classes, not the Flash. At the time, he was just a regular guy, so he had no idea how that decision would turn out. He had no idea the amount of consequences that came from Barry wanting to protect Iris.

Seeing his guilt, Caitlin sighed, realizing that she had to take a different approach. "You can't change the past, but if you dwell in it or use it for your own advantage, you only make things worse." She shook her head. "I know that's rich coming from me, but trust me, these visits send the wrong message."

Nor did they help Barry. She liked Iris, Caitlin thought that she was a great friend and support system for Barry. But based on what she had seen, he was always a good person and he always wanted to help people. So if a red suit and speed were the only differences between Barry and the Flash that Iris knew about, what type of message did that send about her feelings for him?

Not liking the silence between them, Barry decided to change the conversation on her. "Okay, then what's your plan for tonight?" He was genuinely curious to hear Caitlin's answer, as he hadn't seen her have a lot of fun since he met her. That, and she was the one to bring up her own struggles, so it was fair game.

"Nice try," she replied, seeing right through what Barry wanted her to admit. "But there's nothing wrong with a simple night in."

"Except it's incredibly boring," Cisco called out from behind Barry. "Something told me you'd still be here."

"So are you," Barry pointed out. He frowned at their friend's interruption, as they seemed to have free reign on his life, but that never worked both ways. Looking at Caitlin, he could see that she knew that Cisco had bailed her out, likely on purpose.

"Except the difference is that I just got back from buying us movie tickets." Cisco smacked the ticket against Barry's chest before walking over to Caitlin. "That keeps you from sleeping here," he said to her before handing her ticket. Smiling, he turned back to Barry. "And you from making some questionable decisions in front of your not-girlfriend. I mean, someone has to look out for you two."

Staring down at her ticket, Caitlin's eyes narrowed as she realized something. "Just how much of that did you eavesdrop?"

"Most of it, but who cares?" All it did was confirm that Cisco had the right idea about tonight. "We've got 15 minutes and while Barry can get there in seconds, we don't have that luxury."

Someone has to look out for you two.

Barry grinned as those words repeated in his head. He supposed that was what they all did. They didn't have many other people in their lives that they could rely on, that they could unload on and that was all Caitlin was trying to do.

If anything, she was probably trying to return the favour in her own way. As Barry remembered going to the particle accelerator with her, he remembered the hard truths he gave her that day, the relief she felt as she let go a portion of the pain she held onto since Ronnie died.

So even though he may not agree with her today, it took a lot for Caitlin to tell him how she really felt about this situation and he respected her for that. "You got your ticket, Catlin?" he said, a smirk growing on his face.

"Yes, but –"

She never had a chance to finish that question, as the next thing she knew, Barry was right next to her. Caitlin hardly had enough time to hold on before Barry took off again.

That left Cisco behind in the room, knowing exactly what had just happened. "Not cool, guys. Not cool."

~0~

Feeling the strong rush of air stop, Caitlin tested her feet against the pavement and opened her eyes. Sure enough, they were right outside of the movie theatre. "Whoa."

Walking in front of her, Barry asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Standing still helped, but she doubted that she'd ever get used to experiencing Barry's speed first-hand. "Why did you do that?"

Barry shrugged. "Didn't want to be late for once. Plus, I figure I'll let Cisco sweat for a few minutes before going to get him."

Smiling in response, she supposed that their friend could take it. However, she knew what Barry was trying to do and that wasn't the complete truth. Now he wouldn't believe any excuse she would have for missing the movie. He stood there, looking at her with this big smile on his face and she couldn't help but think that it was because he had bested her this time. "What?"

"Nothing," he said.

Caitlin tilted her head before her smile widened. "Nice try, but that didn't work for me, so it won't do you any favours either."

He wasn't shocked that she called him on it, it was only fair. There were a lot of reasons for this smile that he wouldn't tell her. One was the fact that she didn't try to get out this after he let go, recognizing the compromise of their earlier conversation.

But Barry settled on one reason that had the least risk. "You're smiling more lately." Part of him didn't want to say it, because it would mean that she would stop smiling and sure enough, she did.

That was because the last time they talked about her frequency of that expression popped in her head. It was one of the first days that they interacted, one of the first times that Barry tried to get past of her defences.

"Yeah, I guess I am," she said, continuing to stare at him with the smallest of grins on her face. Caitlin wouldn't admit this out loud, but Barry had brought a lot of good to her life and she was grateful for that.

Seeing her grin, Barry nodded, knowing that any animosity they had built tonight was fading away. And that's when he realized something. Instead of mixing suspensions to make a stronger alcohol, or trying to protect him, Barry's way of looking out for her was moments like this. Moments when Caitlin allowed her walls to come down just a little.

After all, it wasn't long ago that she blamed him for Ronnie's death. Now, Caitlin grew to treasure Barry's friendship in her life. But when someone bumped her from behind accidentally, both of them were reminded of the reason they were standing here. "You… you should go get Cisco," she said.

"You sure? I don't –" Seeing her reaction, Barry nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right."

As he ran away, Caitlin flapped the movie ticket against her hand, her grin slowly growing to a smile that he wouldn't see. After a few seconds of waiting, she decided that she would meet the boys inside. Knowing Barry, they were going to need a lot of popcorn tonight.

~End~

Sera's Scribbles: I hope you enjoyed this, but to cover my bases, I want to make something clear: I'm not trying to bash Iris. I like Iris as a character, her friendship with Barry and I'm not even against Iris/Barry if the writers do it right. I just dislike the trope of the love interest changing her mind about someone because he's a hero or liking a person more only when he's said hero. That's all.