Okay, this is mystory for the SBValenfic challenge (Friendship). I didn't have much time to write it and correct it before the deadline tonight, so I apologize for any typos.
Valentine's day Grinch
When Barry phone rang, waking him up in the process, all the sleepy young man wanted to do was smash the device against the wall. Mentally cursing whoever was on the other end of the phone call this early in the morning, he picked it up. The evil caller identity was revealed when Joe's picture appeared on the screen. Barry also noticed the time above Joe's smiling face: 9 a.m. Okay, maybe Joe wasn't entirely evil. It was still Saturday though. That was when Barry spotted the date. Saturday the 14th. Oh no. He rolled his eyes and let his head fall back on the cushion.
"Hi, Joe." Barry finally answered in a sigh and a sleepy voice.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty, we have a case." Joe seemed a little too pleased to wake him up.
"Text me the address and I'll be right there."
Barry left his bed and sped around his room to get ready. Working on a case today could actually be a good thing since it meant he wouldn't have to witness all the fuss around V-day. He wasn't a Valentine's day Grinch of course, but he was just not fond of it when he was alone, which he had always been on that day. He had had girlfriends over the years yes, but because of some sort of curse by fate, he had always ended up alone this time of year. This year he actually thought he had a chance, his first date with Linda Park being the first week of February, but God did that went wrong.
Anyway, he was lucky today with this case and so he made his way to the address Joe had texted him, after getting some coffee in the way.
Barry arrived in front of what looked like a burned florist shop. He found Joe talking with Eddie and caught up on the story. Apparently Valentine's day Grinches were a real thing and one had decided to burn down not one, not two, but five florists in Central City since dawn. Joe decided that the two young men were "just smart enough to catch that nut job without adult supervision" and left them right were they stood.
Because investigating about that case was apparently not good enough for the universe, Barry had to listen to Eddie talking about his plans with Iris. No need to say that Barry's day was not going well.
His misery finally ended in the late afternoon when they caught the pyromaniac, a young lawyer whose girlfriend had sent him back the 500 roses he had sent her in the first place the day before. The circumstances of it all were still a little bit shady when Barry left the police station, but he had done his part and could not have cared less about the rest. He just needed to leave.
As he existed the building, he wondered what he could do with the rest of the day, something that would not involved any flowers, candles, cheesy music, creepy Cupids and anything else that could be associated with Valentine's day. It only took him a second to decide to spend the night with his friends at STAR Labs. Yeah, good idea, there was definitely nothing romantic about a night with Cisco and Caitlin.
When Barry arrived in a whoosh in the main lab, he was met with… no one. He looked around for a second, frowning. There had always been someone here, if not Caitlin or Cisco, at least Dr Wells. He was about to leave and call them when he heard a little laugh he had grown to recognize immediately. He followed the sound though the corridor and then to Cisco's stockage area, where the tech genius kept all his gadgets and toys they did not need every day.
"Okay Cisco, are you sure you left it here?" Caitlin's voice sounded half amused half annoyed as Barry entered the room. "I swear it's impossible to find anything in that mess."
"Hey guys," Barry greeted his friends while looking around the room to see what they were up to, his sudden appearance making Caitlin jumped a little.
"Hey man," Cisco mumbled still searching for something on the shelves and not really paying attention to his friend.
"Sorry about that," Caitlin walked towards Barry, "Cisco's losing his mind over a lost shirt. What are you doing at the lab anyway?"
Barry raised his eyebrows at Caitlin's explanations and shrugged of the information with a chuckle. Cisco's love for his shirts was probably more deep than his love for the Flash's suit. "I just left work and wanted to know if you guys were up for something tonight? Drinks, a movie…" He saw his friends exchange a look he didn't understand.
Caitlin was about to say something when Cisco spoke first. "You know I never say no to a night out with you, but I actually am this time, sorry dude. I have a date." Barry opened his mouth but no words came out of it and Caitlin shook her head, laughing at his reaction. "Jeez, thanks for the shocked face man!" Cisco pointed out smiling, not offended at all.
"No, no it's not that," Barry started, confused, and shot a glare at Caitlin who was still laughing, "it's just the sort of thing I would expect you to yell on the roof. But good for you."
"Thanks, but you know you can still do something together, right?" Cisco said glancing at Caitlin and then at Barry again. Caitlin stopped laughing.
Barry and her shared a look and they both knew what the other was thinking. The three of them hanging out tonight was one thing, but just the two of them, the night of Valentine's day? That was something else entirely. The problem was neither of them could say it because it would be acknowledging the idea that they could be something else.
Cisco noticed the elephant in the room. "Or not."
Barry looked back at him and realized he needed to say something. "No, yeah, I mean there's no reason why we couldn't hang out together tonight, right?" Barry awkwardly asked Caitlin.
"Nope, no reason." She admitted, her expression hard to read.
"Good." Barry told her with a shy smile.
"Good." She returned the smile.
"Good." Cisco added smoothly and with a knowing look directed at his friends, but they didn't see it, both of them busy staring at each other.
Barry used his super-speed to find the shirt Cisco absolutely wanted to wear at his date, even though the speedster still could not understand why the shirt was at the lab in the first place or why it was so important to wear a shirt saying "I would give up humanity for Number 6". After asking a few – a lot – of questions about the girl, Barry finally let his friend leave.
Caitlin was behind her computer when he joined her in the main lab. She was the first to break the silence: "You know we don't have to do anything, right?" Barry could tell she was nervous and it got him nervous too.
"Caitlin, if you don't want to spend the evening with me it's fine, I promise." He felt a little sad at the idea but wasn't quite sure why he was.
"It's not what I meant, I want to, really. But I'd understand if you find it weird…" She looked up at him and after a second that felt like a minute, they burst out laughing.
"We are the worst." Barry finally said. "We've hanged out just the two of us before, tonight isn't different."
Caitlin chuckled at their own silliness. "You're right. So, what do you want to do?"
"Uh… I don't know. I'd like to avoid any place that could be decorated with flowers and pink balloons though." At her questioning look, Barry told her about his day and she nodded in understanding once he was done.
"Don't worry, I feel the same." She didn't sound sad when she said that but Barry felt the emotions behind her words anyway.
"What about dinner at home with a movie, and we could even see if you managed to get worse at every boardgames?" He offered.
"Hey! We've only played at Operation, once, and that game was…" She stopped talking when she realized he was messing with her on purpose. "You're an idiot." Barry grinned with all his teeth at her reaction. She tried to glare at him as she stood up but all she could do was smile back and shake her head. "Come on, dinner won't cook itself."
Barry paused for second. He was thinking about getting something on the road, not actually cooking dinner. He was about to correct her when the image of them in a kitchen appeared in his mind and it looked nice, fun. So instead of saying it, he took her coat from the back of the chair and helped her put it on.
"Thanks," she said, blushing a little at his action, especially because he still had a hand on her back when they started to walk. "My place or your place?"
"Well, unless you want to spend the evening listening to Joe tell stories about all my failed Valentine's days, I'd say your place." Barry said as they left the lab.
Though she did want to hear these stories, Caitlin knew Barry did not. "My place it is then." She smiled and he did too. "I'm parked outside."
Barry laughed at that and Caitlin looked up to meet his eyes, hers silently asking him what she had said to make him laugh. He didn't answer but she figured it out on her own when she felt her feet leaving the ground and the now familiar feeling of wind and power rushing past her face.
Barry knew she would scold him for that later, but for now he was just enjoying the run and by the look on her face he could tell she was as well. He might have ran around the city a couple times to make it last longer, but no one could prove it.
He eventually lead them to her apartment and Caitlin did scold him, though she didn't sound angry at all, and she said something about being left without a car the next morning, but he assured he'd take her back at Star Labs then. The red on his face when he realized he had implied that he would still be there in the morning was the same red he wore as The Flash. Much to his surprise though, Caitlin said nothing and unlocked her door, all the while staring into his eyes. The look they shared was a look they had never had before and Barry wasn't exactly sure what it meant, or if it meant anything for that matter.
There was no flowers, no heart-shaped balloons, no grown man dressed as Cupid and no cheesy music. Yet, that night, Barry understood all the fuss about Valentine's day. He understood Eddie's excitement. And he was now sure that he could never be a Valentine's day Grinch. Sure, Caitlin and him were just friends spending the evening together.
But friends could become something else.
La fin.
I thought about writing the evening, but first I don't have the time today and the deadline is tonight, and second I think it's nice to end it here too. But who knows, I might write it later if you're nice.
Happy Valentine's Day (or not, if you're a V-Day Grinch yourself. I will not judge you.)
PS: if you understood Cisco's shirt, marry me.