Once upon a time, Caitlin Snow had fallen in love with a tall, dark, handsome scientist named Ronnie Raymond. They were young and stupid and crazy about each other.
They had pretentious goals to make the world a better place, and they were going to do that by helping Dr. Harrison Wells build the particle accelerator. They would help people, get their names in the history books…and after that, they could live out their dream lives because who wouldn't want to hire people who worked on the Central City Particle Accelerator?
So much had changed since then. And somehow, Caitlin had convinced herself that all of that didn't matter. That she and Ronnie could be the people they were before…everything…or that the people they were now would fit just as well as the people they had been.
They'd gotten married in front of Star Labs and it was beautiful, spontaneous, and electrifying. She remembered being so happy. So, so happy…
"Don't you understand?! I can't do this anymore, Caitlin! I just want to forget about all of this!"
"That's not how it works, Ronnie! We have a responsibility to the people of the world, we have to protect them…"
"Easy for you to say! You weren't the one whose life was turned upside-down!"
He spat the words at her as if he'd forgotten that she'd lived almost a year believing he was dead. As if she hadn't mourned him. As if she hadn't all but let herself die with him.
"You will always risk your life to try and help people and I will always be the guy who runs into that pipeline for you."
It hadn't occurred to her then that those two types of people were not compatible. The woman who would always risk her life to keep people safe wouldn't be able to live with someone sacrificing himself to save her. Not when he wouldn't even be there if it wasn't for her.
With Barry, it was different. When he sacrificed himself, it was because he believed in his mission so strongly that he was willing to die for it. Just like Caitlin. But Ronnie would sacrifice himself for Caitlin in a line of duty he didn't agree with.
Caitlin knew, deep down, that it wasn't right. She knew it wasn't okay with her. She just didn't want to admit it because she loved him. She loved him so much.
But during the past year, things had changed. Ronnie was still mostly Ronnie – a few psychological scars and a little more wisdom, but still Ronnie. Caitlin, though…Caitlin had lost the love of her life. She'd watched her boss lose his credibility and had stayed beside him.
She'd nursed a very strange coma patient back to health and watched as he became the impossible. Then she'd followed him on a crazy mission to save the city from other impossible people. And somewhere along the way she'd learned to heal her broken heart and pick herself back up without Ronnie.
Once upon a time, Caitlin and Ronnie had been perfect for each other. But now…now, Caitlin wasn't so sure anymore. After all, fire wasn't quite compatible with ice.