A Little Piece of My Heart
By: Riley
Summary – A Valentine's Day one-shot of three short scenes showing the different kinds of relationships celebrated on this day. Has characters from my story Flash Fire, but isn't necessarily placed in the story's (or the show's) timeline.
Pairs: Ciscette, Barry/OC, and SnowWells
A/N: Before anyone asks, I'm not a WestAllen or SnowBarry shipper, so it's not presented in this one-shot.
While being the youngest member of the STAR Labs team, not having gotten to the point in his life where he felt that he particularly needed to grow up, Cisco still somewhat lived in a dream world. He waited in lines for the midnight premiere of his favorite video games, geeked out over the next summer superhero blockbuster, and searched the web for upcoming news of the latest comic book. All of this being when he wasn't working with Flash related stuff at STAR Labs or mechanical engineering.
And when he wasn't doing that…he was painfully aware that he was the youngest one of STAR Labs. Not that he didn't admire Harrison Wells in a mentor kind of way, or loved Caitlin like a sister, or regarded Barry as one of his best friends. He really did think that of all of them.
But having to listen to Barry agonize over being in the friendzone with Iris, Caitlin's worries over what was to happen now that Ronnie wasn't around, to know that Harrison had been married years before just reminded Cisco of how painfully alone he was. He didn't have anyone that was particularly close to him that he could share his life with. Every girl that he had tried to chat up, he ended up making himself look like a fool if not seeming to drive he away with his constant chatter about the things that interested him that many others that wouldn't be so inclined.
And as Valentine's Day drew closer and closer, he found himself irritated more than usual at the hearts and streamers decorated at nearly every store he passed. He was never one that would complain about it, as he usually tended to veg out at his apartment having the freedom to eat whatever he wanted. But was it so bad the wanted someone to share the day with? Especially as he never had before?
He had been plagued by the same thoughts, even going as far as to wonder what kind of person he wanted in his life for that reason, when he spotted a familiar face on the next street corner. He had glanced over at her simply because she caught his gaze while having checked both sides of the street before crossing. And as he continued towards her, his palms started to sweat and a goofy smile slid onto his face.
As he approached her, Bette turned to the side and gave a small smile as she caught his eye. She took a step back to allow him space on the street corner. "Hello, Cisco," she greeted him.
"Bette," he replied. "W-what...are you doing here? Not that…you can't be here, but I didn't think I'd see you."
Bette nodded and looked up as the light changed for them to cross the street. Cisco stayed put for a second, but noticing her look back at him, he quickly moved to catch up with her. "I'm usually not in the city," she admitted. "But there were some people I was meeting with around here." She turned to look at him. "How're things at STAR Labs going?"
"As fine as our days of chasing down evil and crazy metahumans can be," Cisco replied. He then blanched; his smile fading as he held up his hands. "Not you! I'm not saying you're evil and crazy. You're really nice and actually sane. And…very beautiful." As Bette's smile widened, a blush sliding onto her cheeks, Cisco stopped in his tracks, an expression of pure horror on his face.
Since when had he been so forward?
It must've been the nerves. His hands were now flooded with sweat he was surprised they weren't dripping on the ground, he shifted from foot to look, shook like a Chihuahua, and his smile continue to twitch at the corners he was surprised she hadn't run away screaming at that point.
"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have been so…I don't know," he admitted.
"Cisco, don't apologize," Bette reassured him. She turned back and placed her gloved hand on his shoulder, stepping closer to him with a grateful smile. "That was really sweet….it makes me feel…like I'm not a weapon. Like I'm not something that can be taken advantage of and used for someone else's gain. You make me feel like a person."
Her touch calmed him down a little, now causing a real smile to slide onto his face and the nerves to wash away. She seemed to really enjoy his company, not look at him as if we were…just Cisco. Not just the youngest member of STAR Labs.
"You're welcome, Bette." Cisco shuffled his feet for a second before brushing his hair back from his face and regarded her. Took in her beauty and the soft grace that had mesmerized him since the first time he set eyes on her. She was the first one to make him drop his air of being confident in everything he did, and make a bit of a fool of himself. "One thing I've realized, while doing what we're doing…no matter what sort of things people do with the powers they have, no one deserves to be used by anyone."
Bette's eyes softened and she ducked her hair, allowing her red hair to fall over her face. She then tensed, seeming to notice her hand was still on Cisco's shoulder for she quickly pulled it back, cheeks flushing a light pink.
Cisco noticed and felt his stomach do a flip-flop of happiness. Or…was he just hungry. Peering behind Bette, he looked into the restaurant they had stopped beside, a casual diner that was a hot spot in Central City.
"Bette, do you want to get some breakfast with me?" He asked before he could stop himself.
Bette looked startled for a moment before nodding, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'd like that, Cisco."
"Great."
Cisco motioned behind her and the two went over to the door of the diner. Cisco reached out and opened the door for Bette, receiving another smile as she passed by him. Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, Cisco went in after him.
Suddenly, the hearts and decorations didn't bother him.
Brady hummed to himself as he carefully stirred a mixture of eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl with a whisk. His jerky movements caused some of the mixture to spill out the sides of the bowl and slide onto the counter top, creating an ever expanding puddle that stretched out towards the tray that held a glass or orange juice—which a puddle of the sunny colored liquid resting around the bottom—and a bowl of oatmeal.
He looked up as there was a knock on the front door and dropped down from the stool he had been kneeling on. He picked up the stool in his hands and held it as he padded over towards the front door, only stopping by the bedroom door to peer in and make sure his mother was still sleeping. Placing the stool on the floor, he looked through the peephole.
"Who is it?" He called.
"Barry Allen," he replied.
"What's the password?"
"Uh…um…Bananas?"
Brady jumped down from the stool and pushed it aside as he unlocked the door and pulled it open to smile at Barry. "Actually, it was Popsicle, but close enough. What are you doing here?" He allowed Barry inside before closing the door behind him.
"I just wanted to stop by," Barry said. His eyes shifted around. "Where's your mom?"
"She's asleep. I'm making breakfast for her," Brady replied.
"It's almost noon."
"She told me not to wake her up."
"Oh." Barry chuckled. He knew how she felt. There were many times when he had to come off long days of working at the CCPD and then stopping whatever metahuman that popped up in the city on that day. All he wanted to do was get back to his apartment and sleep as long as his quick moving mind would allow him. But then he'd have to start the same routine all over again the next day. It became especially tiring when the metahuman ended up being tougher than originally anticipated.
Brady turned on his heel and marched with a purpose back into the kitchen. Barry, following him, frowned as he sniffed the air, suddenly recognizing the smell of smoke that hung into the air. Not enough to make the smoke alarms go off, but enough so that it was alarming. As he followed the eight-year-old, stopping in the doorway, he noticed the mess that lined the counters and island. "Oh good, the toast is done!"
Barry, noticing Brady moving towards the electric contraption where a small stream of smoke was coming out, used his powers to race over to it, unplug it, turn it upside down to shake out the blackened pieces of bread, and toss the bread into the sink as he flipped on the water. He then grabbed onto Brady and placed him on the clean counter on the far side of the kitchen before zipping around and cleaning up the mess that had been made.
"Did I do something wrong?" Brady frowned once Barry finally came to a standstill.
"Not unless you want to burn down your apartment," Barry replied. He crossed his arms as he stood in front of Brady. "And I can't help but think that your mother wouldn't like you trying to cook on your own."
"It's usually not a problem, since she can cook food in less than a minute with her powers," Brady admitted after a second. He hung his head, gently kicking his feet back and forth. "I wanted to surprise her with a Valentine's Day breakfast." He reached to the side and picked up a handmade card. "I made a card and everything."
"Well, it doesn't mean that you can't do it," Barry reminded him. "I'll just help out, to make sure that we don't have to worry about calling the fire department. Deal?" He held up his hand.
"Deal!" Brady beamed and slapped his palm against Barry's.
Barry smiled and ruffled Brady's hair before the eight-year-old jumped down from the counter and went to pull out the ingredients to make breakfast once more. The speedy metahuman helped Brady as much as he could, though leaving most of the work for the little kid. As the two waited for the last pieces of breakfast to finish cooking, the toast, Barry listened as Brady explained the mini Valentine's Day drama that was going on in his class as two guys liked one girl and she didn't know who to choose.
It reminded him of the times where his parents had still been around for Valentine's Day. He did things for his mother and father; made them cards, cooked breakfast in bed for his mother—under his father's supervision, mowed the lawn for his father, and bought them both small trinkets that he managed to afford with the money he managed to save after Christmas—which, admittedly, wasn't a lot. But it was day they had always reveled in as a family. But then when it was time for his parents to go out to dinner he would help his Dad get ready; choose which cologne smelled better, which tie looked better with his suit, which hairstyle was better. Then he would go to his mother and revel in her beauty as she finished putting on her makeup and perfume.
Those times were gone now, dwindled down to being separated by glass as he read his father the Valentine's Day card that he managed to pick up. Then the two of them would reminisce about the past Valentine's Days they had and tried not to cry as they thought of the woman that wouldn't be there to celebrate once more.
"Hey, what's going on?"
Barry turned to the side as Cadence walked through the doorway of the kitchen. Brady's face immediately illuminated, much like when Cadence would use her fire powers to light up a darkened area, and he grabbed onto his card before jumping down from his chair. "Mom!" He hurried over to his mother, who bent down to grab onto him as he careened into her, then lifted him up into her arms, balancing him on her side. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug around the neck. "Happy Valentine's Day! I made you a card!"
"You did?" Cadence beamed and took the card from him. "Let's see what it says." She opened the card then cleared her throat before reading aloud. "Hearts are red, the sky is blue, you're the only Mom like you. I love you. Happy Valentine's Day." The fire metahuman closed the card and set it aside. "That's really very sweet, Brady. Thank you." She gave him a long, loud kiss on the cheek before setting him on the ground as the toaster popped.
Brady scurried over and took the toast out and placed them on plates. "Barry and I made you breakfast, too."
"I was wondering whose voice I heard," Cadence remarked. She went over to her spot at the kitchen table and sat down in the chair that Barry held out for her, waiting until she was seated before pushing her back in. "What are you doing here? I figured you would have plans for the day."
"Joe gave me the day off," Barry replied. "He said if there was anyone that was going to work through the day it was going to be him." With a light laugh, he sat in another chair as Brady passed out plates of food and glasses of orange juice. "I hope you don't mind me crashing. Actually, I came by because I wanted to know if you wanted to come see a movie. I asked Cisco if he wanted to come, too, but he said he had plans."
Cadence paused, raising an eyebrow. "With a girl?"
Barry laughed loudly when Brady finished handing out the food before walking back over to his mother and climbing onto her lap. "Yes, with a girl. I don't know, I guess he met someone earlier today. But since Caitlin is busy tonight, I thought the three of us could hang out."
Now Cadence smirked at him. "What makes you think I don't already have plans?"
Barry seemed to panic, his lower jaw dropping slightly, eyes widening. "Do you? I didn't mean to imply that you didn't. 'Cause, you know, it's entirely possible that you do. Who wouldn't want to go out with you? I can leave if you need some time to get ready."
"Whoa, relax, Barry. I was just kidding." Cadence held up her hands, hoping the fast metahuman would calm down. "You know I don't date. I have too much trouble looking after this one." She gently bounced Brady up and down on her knee as he smiled, still biting into his food. "He's all the Valentine's plans I need. But I like that idea. A group of friends showing that you don't need to have a special date to have fun." She paused. "Though, if things turned out the way you wanted, I'm sure you probably had plans for a really special date."
Barry twisted his mouth to the side before shrugging. "We can't win em' all," he replied, voice a little flat.
"Hey." Cadence reached out and grabbed onto Barry's hand. "Today's a day to have fun. Not to dwell over what you don't have. You're going to be a great boyfriend to someone, Barry. Just give it time; someone will appreciate you for everything you are. Metahuman or not."
"I hope so," Barry agreed with a half smile. He squeezed her hand before she pulled it away. "So what movie do you want to see?"
"Can I come, too?" Brady piped up.
After a quick glance towards Barry to be sure it was okay, Cadence replied with, "of course you can, bud. It wouldn't be a good Valentine's day without you here." She paused. "Besides, it'll give me time to make sure your gift gets here." She paused. "Though I don't think there are many kids' movies out right now."
"That's okay." Barry waved a hand. "We'll just go to the plaza. I think there's a carnival going on around there."
"Great." Cadence beamed. "Now I can kick your butt in every game they have there."
Barry laughed. "What are friends for, right? To make sure they're not alone on Valentine's Day and to get into bloodthirsty fights over ring toss."
"Exactly."
Caitlin was actually one of the people that enjoyed Valentine's Day. She loved how people were so happy, how even thoughts that didn't particularly have someone special in their lives could still go out with friends and have a good time. It was a day to pamper yourself just as much as it was to spend on others.
She always made sure to remind herself that she was important on Valentine's Day as well. That's why, this time around she got great gifts for her friends—a set of t-shirts that had different signs and slogans of pop culture references for Cisco, a new watch for Barry, a friendship bracelet for Cadence, and designer shoes for herself. Hey, she needed something that was for herself, something that made her feel good.
And besides, she needed something that would look good with the dress that he had bought her. She had been surprised when she returned to her house to find a note on her front door. A note where the handwriting that she immediately recognized caused her heart to pound against her chest so hard she momentarily wondered if she had received powers of her own from the particle accelerator explosion. But with a trembling hand, she reached out and took the note off the front door and stepped inside her house, bringing her bags of gifts with her.
Flipping the note open, she read it for a moment before her eye was caught by something that was hanging from the door. Inspecting it carefully, her mouth dropped open when she spotted the dress that gently fluttered along with the light breeze from the running air conditioner. The little black dress that had a section taken out beneath the neck, but stopping right before the area where her breasts would show. A light flowery, lace design ran down the arms accompanying the light lace that rested at the hem. It was beautiful; something she would've loved to wear but never would've had the guts to do so.
And he had gotten it for her.
For the date that he had asked her on that night, if the note had any say. She didn't need to read it again, she knew exactly who it was from and how it was meant to be read. This was a date, the sort of date that she hadn't had since Ronnie had passed.
And since Ronnie had passed, she hadn't been so excited. Her cheeks flushed and a light, giddy smile came onto Caitlin's face as she took the dress off the back of the door—not worrying much about how he had managed to get it into her house, and hurried to her room, kicking off her plain old flats as she went.
In the few hours she had until the reservations, Caitlin did everything she could to make sure that she appeared worthy of that dress. She took a long shower to calm her nerves, took extra long to do her hair, made sure that her makeup was perfect, and spoke to herself, trying to calm herself down as her butterflies continued to multiply in her stomach, fluttering throughout her body.
Finally, she pulled on the dress, enjoying the way it clung to her thin frame, hugging in all the right places. She then pulled the rollers out of her hair and finished styling it before looking at her reflection in the mirror. She was surprised to see how energized she appeared, how…alive she felt. She picked up the note once more and took the gold necklace that had been placed inside, gently clasping it around the back of her neck.
Then she took picked up a jacket and headed out of the house, surprised to find a car waiting for her once she stepped out the front door. Beaming, she thanked the driver that held the door open for her and climbed inside. On the way to the restaurant, she ran her hands over each other, trying to wipe away the sweat that pooled in her palms. Why was she so nervous?
It wasn't like it was the first time they had done this before.
Just…one of the real first times in public, where everyone could see. Where they didn't have to really keep it a secret from anyone. And that was enough to send her into a bit of a tailspin.
Finally, the car arrived at the restaurant and the driver opened the door for Caitlin once more. She thanked him again and pulled her coat and purse tighter around her as she walked inside the five-star restaurant. He never likes to do things half-assed, she thought as the door closed behind her with a gentle 'swoosh'.
She spotted Harrison Wells at the same time he turned to see who had just come through the door. And the way his blue eye sparkled along with the excitement evident in his smile, caused Caitlin to beam as she strolled towards him. Harrison turned completely, pulling his hands out from the pockets of his slacks and held a hand out towards her as she approached.
"Caitlin," he said. "You look…stunning."
"Thanks." Caitlin smiled up at Harrison; still growing used to him out of the wheelchair, and took his hand, allowing her to pull her towards him. "For everything. For this, for the dress." She finally took in his appearance, a casual looking tuxedo. "You look great, too."
"Ah, but anyone would look better standing next to you."
Caitlin blushed, lowering her head so that her hair fell over her face. "Harrison…"
"It's the truth." Harrison reached out and tucked his thumb and forefinger under her chin, pushing her head back so that she was making eye-contact with him. "And I'm sorry that things had to happen the way it did for this…for us to happen. But I wouldn't trade anything, nothing I've ever accomplished in my entire career, for it. And I don't care who knows it."
As Caitlin's smile widened, Harrison leaned in and gave her a long, breathtaking kiss. The sort of kiss that she would've been embarrassed to allow the public to see when she had been with Ronnie. But being with Harrison had her open up in many ways; ways she had never thought was possible. And she couldn't have asked for anything else.
Even as she found her arms wrapping around his shoulders as her right foot slowly rose off of the ground, Caitlin cared more about the time she was able to spend with the man she had fallen in love with.
And she thought the best gift he had given her before, was him telling her the truth about his real identity as the Reverse-Flash.