It was an early, Spring morning in Central City, but the presence of Winter was still lingering onto the morning air, making it a bit brisk. However with their bodies moving steadily, jogging at an even pace, and the blaring Sun above them slowly heating up the city, Caitlin felt comfortable as she and the other participants of the Color Run jogged alongside each other, making their way towards the finish line that was close approaching.
Spring had just begun but she could feel it in her bones that this Spring was going to be a special one. The weather had been beautiful so far - not too hot but not too cold. Crime had been down and metas had been minimal recently, which gave her the chance to not only sign up for this run but also partake in it. Plus, everyone she loved and cared for were all in good places in their lives - for once - like the company she was with now.
Caitlin turned her head to the side, watching her running companion and friend, Barry Allen, jogging alongside her. His whole body was splashed with the various colors that had been fired at them during the race. His long, white shirt was now a perfect tie-dye of all of the colors, and his hair was tinged with yellow specs. His face was relatively clear of color, but maintained a ghost of red, even though he had religiously wiped at his face after each color station. All in all, he resembled a man that had been barfed on by a unicorn - if that sort of thing was possible - and yet he was still as handsome as ever. Hot, even - if you had a thing for men with strong calf muscles and an overall runner's physique - much like Caitlin apparently did.
He turned his head, a floppy grin morphing its way across his face as he caught her eyes, the sunlight above highlighting the red in his hair. "What?" he asked when her gaze persisted.
She shook her head, eyes darting to her front, making sure she wasn't about to run into anyone or anything. "Nothing," she assured him with a short laugh. She cleared her throat. "Just thanks for doing this with me. I know you must be bored out of your mind right now because you're running a lot slower than you are used to running."
He let out a carefree laugh, one that went straight to her heart and nearly melted it. "Are you kidding?" he started. "I'm having a great time. It's nice to slow down for a chance, soak in the atmosphere and smell the proverbial roses," he shared, his face turning to view his surroundings before settling back to her. "Plus, I get to hang out with my favorite doctor," he told her, finishing it with a wink that Caitlin tried not to read too heavily into.
As they finally reached the finish line, the duo walked off to the side, away from the majority of the other participants who were waiting for the post-run party to start. People were handing out water and towels, and one person was even running around the area topping people with flower crowns - Barry happened to be one of them, which they just laughed about.
"We should commemorate this day," Barry stated, fishing his phone out of his pocket, aiming it at Caitlin, prompting the bioengineer to smile as he took a photo.
"Let me see," she said, gently grabbing at his wrist so she could see the picture. "Barry!" she then hollered, seeing that in the photo her whole face was practically covered with green powder. "Why didn't you tell me I had this all over my face?" she wondered, causing Barry to snicker.
"You wouldn't have let me take the picture if I did," he unashamedly explained, and then dodged Caitlin's half-hearted swat.
She frowned. "I look like the Incredible Hulk," she morosely said as she took the sleeves of her shirt and tried to rub some of the green off.
Barry reached out, grasping a hold of her arms, stilling her actions. "You look incredibly cute," he told her sincerely, giving her a soft, close-lipped smile that was a scary-beautiful mixture of amusement and enamorment.
Her heart flipped. "Oh," she merely sounded, and suddenly she was very grateful for the powder on her face, hoping that it was doing a decent job of disguising her growing blush. "Um, thanks."
He chuckled. "Here," he said, stepping so that he was next to her. "Let's take a proper picture, but together," he offered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and leaning down so that their cheeks were touching. Phone in hand, he extended his free arm out so that the two were both in frame with their Color Run shirts clearly on display. "Cheese," he stated before hitting the button to take the photo.
He turned to her, a floppy smile a fixture on his face. "How do you like this one?" he asked, handing her his phone so she could look at the new picture.
She studied the image silently. She still had a decent amount of green on her face, but it was nowhere near as prominent as it was previously. But besides that, it was a great photo of them, one that she'd likely frame and put in her apartment somewhere. She was happy, and it was apparent through the photo and even behind the dull green powder that she looked genuinely happy. And as she looked at the photo a little longer, she noticed that Barry looked really happy too.
"I love it," she breathed out, before wordlessly handing the phone back to the speedster.
He grinned, taking the phone back to gaze at the picture too, his smile widening as he did. "I love it too," he shared, lifting his eyes to meet hers, steady but soft.
Barry cleared his throat after a few silent seconds, diverting his gaze. "We should hang out more, you know, just the two of us," he stated as he pocketed his phone, rubbing the back of his neck like a shy, little boy.
"Definitely. Maybe if I sign up for another run, we can do it together again," she told him.
"Yeah, I'd love that," he happily expressed, "But maybe, uh, maybe we could even hang out when it doesn't involve running?" he sheepishly offered, decking his head down and looking at her under his stupidly, long eyelashes.
She faintly smirked. "Like going to a bar during its karaoke night?"
He chuckled, nodding his head. "Yes, maybe something like that," he fondly voiced, but his gaze was thoughtful, "Or maybe to like a dinner and then a movie. Or maybe have a picnic on the beach. Or maybe play a game of miniature golf..."
Caitlin's eyebrows pinched together. "Those all sound awfully like date activities," she pointed out, a nervous giggle escaping from her lips as her heart pounded harshly against her chest awaiting his reply.
He licked his lips, smiling at her apprehensively. "Well...maybe I want to take you out, on a date…" he answered, shrugging as he looked at her expectantly with bated breath.
Caitlin pressed her lips together in an attempt to refrain from smiling too gleefully. "I'd like that very much."
A full-toothed smile immediately appeared across his face, his eyes crinkling and his laugh lines prominent. It warmed her insides and made her feel fuzzy. "Are you free tonight?"
Her nose wrinkled. "I am, but I don't think this green is going to come off of me by then," she pointed out sadly, gesturing to her face. "Still look too much like the Incredible Hulk here."
He lightly laughed. "And I look like the Kool-aid man," he commented, making Caitlin snort at the comparison - the red that was on his face really wasn't that dramatic. "We'd make quite the pair at a fancy restaurant."
She bowed her head, chuckling to herself. "I am not going anywhere in public today, Mr. Allen. So can we have our date maybe in a day or two - when I know this green will be gone?"
Barry playfully pouted, but his lips sprung back up only moments later, conveying the same cheeriness he had moments before. "Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there," he told her sincerely, grabbing the flower crown from his head and placing it delicately on top of hers. His hands then glided down until they were cupping her face, his thumbs moving softly and affectionately against her cheeks. "I've waited a long time for this, Dr. Snow, but a couple more days won't kill me," he shared with a wink.
Caitlin smiled gratefully at Barry as she wrapped her arms around one of his. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you wait too long," she assured him, leaning her head down on his shoulder contently as she led him in the direction to where she parked her car, "I've been waiting for this day for a while too."
She heard him hum out pleasantly. "Good," he murmured against her hair before plopping a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
Caitlin's whole body ignited at the small dose of affection, like a ray of sunshine had burst inside of her, simultaneously nourishing and blossoming a seed of love in her heart. She couldn't contain the smile that overcame her face and how a sense of pure, adulterated happiness took root in her soul. Yes, this Spring was definitely going to be something special.
A/N: Not entirely happy with this one, but it was for the Snowbarry Spring Challenge from SimplySnowbarry's tumblr page. Go check out their tumblr to see more stuff from this challenge and past ones. I hope you all enjoyed it regardless. Please let me know what you thought in a review! :)