So... this just happened! It was totally unplanned and unexpected, but sometimes the best things happen like this? I was inspired by a picture of Danielle & Tom from the CTV Upfronts which took place earlier this year, with Grant & Candice... but thanks to my dear friend TheBlackWook and her lovely comments, I ended up with... a SnowWells one-shot! I'm going to work on the other fic that I mentioned at the end of "Caitlin's Melody" but in the meantime, enjoy this? ^_^
It was close to midnight when the celebrations came to an end as all the guests who were in attendance at S.T.A.R. Labs said their goodbye's, having congratulated their esteemed director on his latest accomplishment. And in honor of this success, Dr. Harrison Wells had hosted a congratulatory party for everyone involved in the project; his main leading scientist being the brilliant Dr. Caitlin Snow, who was the last remaining person staying behind for a quiet moment. She had told Cisco and Barry not to wait for her, saying that she wanted some time before heading home and they had eventually relented. Caitlin truly believed that they all had achieved something spectacular and couldn't have been more happier; sighing deeply in content, she thought to herself about how peaceful her surroundings could be at such a late hour and wished she didn't have to leave just yet. Little did Caitlin know that she wasn't alone in the lab, standing there in the center of their command center in the dimly lit room, there was another presence nearby. It was only when she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around her waist, as a chaste kiss was placed on her shoulder, did she guess who had stayed back with her.
"Mmm... this is nice." Caitlin closed her eyes and turned around on the spot so that she could rest her head against a sturdy chest.
"You were wonderful tonight Caitlin, and you look simply beautiful in this dress." A soft voice whispered in her ear as those strong arms hugged her gently.
"Well, you did choose the dress for me." She hadn't felt this kind of peace in a long time and just wanted to stay here, frozen in this moment forever. "Blue is my favorite color after all." Breathing in the familiar scent, Caitlin wondered how she had managed to keep her hands off him for the whole evening, knowing that it was as hard for him to do the same, but now that they were alone, she wasn't going to let go.
"I know that." Breaking apart from the hug just enough so that he could look at the woman in his arms, he went on, "Have I mentioned how proud of you I am?"
Caitlin heard the sincerity in his voice and glanced up to see those bright blue eyes she woke up to every morning, gazing at her with such love that she found herself unable to speak for a few minutes. It amazed her how someone like herself had found someone like him, but given all that they both had been through together, it felt only right that they'd found each other.
"Only a dozen times in the last 3 hours," Caitlin replied at last, knowing very well that he meant it each time that he complimented her, "But I don't mind hearing it again." She added with a grin playing on her lips.
"Oh, really? Is that so?" Taking her hint, he closed the distance between them and taking both of her hands in his, he kissed them, "I"m very proud of you Caitlin." He said those words again and would say them all night long and every day after that.
"And I'm proud of you too, after all, I couldn't have done any of this without you." Normally, a girl like Caitlin wasn't prone to blushing very easily, but ever since she had been with him, it didn't take much for her to turn red and truth be told, she didn't mind it at all.
"We make a good team, don't we?" He stated as he brushed a lock of hair from Caitlin's cheek, tucking it behind her ear. It was tiny moments like this where he couldn't believe that this was real, that he had finally found someone to love and someone who loved him back just as much.
"Yes, we do." Caitlin wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed up, knowing that he was thinking about something, but didn't say anything just then.
The serious face was just one of the many that she'd been privy to over the last few years, but the thing about being with him was that she knew the difference between a very serious face and a not-so serious face, this one being the latter, so it was nothing to worry about.
"What?" It was as if he'd only just realized that she was staring at him and he didn't know when he'd fallen into this comfortable silence.
"Nothing, I'm just admiring your eyes. Do you really have to hide them behind these glasses of yours?" Caitlin mused; she knew that because of the party he had to dress formally, but since everyone had left, the suit jacket was discarded, leaving only his black vest and grey shirt. And the glasses. She didn't mind them, in fact, Caitlin found that he looked quite sexy with those black frames which enhanced his handsome looks.
Hearing her feigning disappointment in him wearing the glasses, he removed them immediately and then looked to Caitlin for approval, not knowing he was in for another surprise. She had stepped back to take in his casual look, with arms crossed and her lips pursed together.
"Something's missing." She said out loud, trying to pinpoint the problem. "Ah, yes! That's it." Coming back to where he stood, Caitlin knew she was taking a risk, but figured it would be worth everything.
Without saying a word, she reached up and using both her hands, ruffled his jet black hair into a tousled mess. Caitlin was well aware that he didn't really like anyone touching his hair but didn't care at this moment; she wanted to see how he looked now and was pleased with the results. What she hadn't expected was a silent reaction to her actions, for when she dared to meet his gaze, Caitlin was slightly puzzled by his seemingly... okay stance. That was until she found herself being grabbed by the waist and tickled!
"Oh! Don't. Ah... Okay... okay... oh! I'm sorry! I didn't... mean to... oh!" Caitlin couldn't stop the giggles as his fingers touched her shoulders, her waist, her stomach and continued to tickle her, "Harry!" She exclaimed in a loud yelp and then found that the tickles had stopped as soon as they had started.
"You only call me 'Harry' when you want something." He had a smirk on his face but gave up the tickling, figuring that was what she wanted.
In that moment, since she happened to be distracted as she tried to catch her breath, Caitlin didn't really realize that what he was telling her was true. Of all the people who would notice these minor details about herself, Harrison Wells was the first name on that list and if she knew him as well as she did, Caitlin figured this wasn't the end of her 'punishment' for messing with his hair. She didn't even have to wait that long, because as soon as she had calmed down, his hand was outstretched in front of her and a genuine smile played upon his lips now.
"May I have the honor of a dance, Miss Snow?" Harrison was prone to sudden changes of mind and Caitlin was used to it by now, but hearing him ask her to dance right then and there, caught her off-guard a little.
"Now? There's no music." She said pointedly, knowing full well that everything in the lab was probably powered down for the night, save for these lights and there was no way to play music in their office here.
Instead of saying anything, Harrison waited patiently until Caitlin finally gave in and placed one hand in his, before pulling her close to him and slowly began to sway to the unheard music. When it was just the two of them, there was no need for any song to be played; Caitlin draped her free arm on his shoulder and felt his hand on her waist as they danced a simple waltz together for several minutes although it felt longer to both. Neither one of them let go of the eye contact with the other, even when he twirled her around and then ended their impromptu dance session with a perfect dip. Bringing her up so that they were face to face once more, Harrison brought Caitlin close to him and kissed her forehead first before moving to her eyes, kissing them both and then gently kissed her cheeks, but when he reached her mouth, she only felt his lips brushing against hers for a brief second and just as she opened her eyes to protest, Caitlin felt his kisses on her neck and anything she had to say was turned into a soft moan.
"Oh! Harry!" His name was like a prayer falling from her lips, a sign that he had teased her long enough. With two fingers under her chin, Harrison finally kissed her deeply as his arms found her waist and they melted into each other.
"I love you Caitlin." He whispered when they broke apart seconds later, blue eyes staring into brown ones, his heart and soul bared to her for the first time ever since their relationship had changed into something more.
They'd never said it so explicitly to each other before, knowing that they needed their own time and space, but now that Caitlin heard those three words and eight letters from him first, she found her heart beats increasing rapidly as realization struck; he loved her. Harrison loved her. And without a doubt, Caitlin knew what she had to say in reply, but before anything else could happen, she found herself surrounded by a pitch black darkness and Harrison disappeared from her eyes.
"Caitlin? Caitlin..." Someone was calling her name, a voice that she knew all too well. He was still here.
"Hmm... five more minutes." She heard her own voice speaking, not understanding why she said that. A split second later, Caitlin's eyes snapped open as the cool touch of marble on her cheek was starting to get really cold!
"Good morning Caitlin." Harrison's voice drifted across her daze as she focused her senses on him; he was sitting in front of her in his wheelchair, with both hands pressed together while he observed her quietly, a small smile forming on his lips.
"Morning? What... I was... you said..." Caitlin vaguely remembered something about seeing Harrison standing on his feet and dressed very differently than his usual black t-shirt and jeans. "Oh my god!" What she had seen suddenly came rushing back to her - the hugs, the tickling, the dance, the kiss. Harrison had kissed her! And... "Oh my god." Caitlin's voice was barely audible but Harrison heard her exclamation of surprise.
"Are you alright?" He asked her, sounding concerned, but no more than usual. No differently than when he was talking to Barry or Cisco.
It finally hit her that she had fallen asleep. Which meant that if she had just woken up then... it had all been a dream? Everything had not really happened. It was a dream. The very real sounding confession of love was not real. Harrison was not walking or dancing or whispering sweet nothing's in her ear when they were alone. Caitlin was not calling him 'Harry' or ruffling his hair incurring the wrath of those slender fingers touching her. All of it was just in her mind. And yet, when she felt the familiar hand on her shoulder, breaking through the reverie of thoughts, Caitlin didn't know what to make of everything she'd just experienced.
"I'm... I'm fine... Dr. Wells. Sorry, I didn't realize when I fell asleep." Those were the words which left her lips but as soon as she saw him nod before leaving her alone to her thoughts as the new day of work began, Caitlin couldn't help but recall the very last seconds of her dream.
Harrison had said "I love you" to her and if only she hadn't woken up, then she would have said those words back to him, in an automatic response as would be normal. And yet, as she watched the man in front of her, going about his usual work routine, waiting for the others to join them before starting their day of dealing with meta-humans and researching Barry's abilities, she couldn't help but say to herself, "What if I did mean it?" The thought had finally made itself known and with a start, Caitlin realized that it wasn't leaving her mind, nor her heart.
Dun-dun-dun! Well... what did everyone think? Reviews? xD
