Barry flashed to STAR Labs that morning, holding coffees for Cisco and Caitlin steadily in his hands. However when he walked into the cortex, he was met with a puzzling sight. Garland, Santas, snowmen, lights, and other decorations were all littered across the floor in a frenzy.

The scarlet speedster concluded it was mainly Cisco's fault for this because the vibing meta-human was the one currently unloading more from a box while Caitlin stood nearby reprimanding him for the mess he was creating. Barry couldn't hold back the laugh that stumbled out, causing both of his friends to face him.

"What is going on?" Barry couldn't help but ask. "What's with all the decorations?"

Caitlin let out an annoyed huff, folding her arms. "Cisco decided we should decorate the lab this year for Christmas," she explained. "But all he's doing is making a mess," she continued, this time talking more to Cisco than Barry.

Cisco rolled his eyes. "If Ms. Scrooge here would just start decorating like I asked, half of this mess wouldn't be here," the engineer replied matter-of-factly.

Caitlin gasped. "I am not Scrooge!" she appallingly exclaimed. "This is a safety hazard, is all."

"Right," Cisco dryly said back. "Well, I'm going to head back down to get more safety hazards," he continued, making his way out. "Can you try and persuade her to at least decorate the tree?" he asked of Barry before leaving.

The doctor shook her head, mumbling unpleasantries under her breath as she started picking up some of the decorations to organize them nicer.

Barry walked over to her figure. "Need coffee?" he asked, handing her coffee cup out to her with a cheeky smile.

She tiredly sighed, but by looking at Barry she couldn't help but let herself smile at his thoughtfulness. "Yes, thank you," she said appreciatively as she grabbed the coffee and immediately took a much needed sip.

"So…" Barry started, taking in all the decorations and the freshly cut Christmas tree off to the corner. "Why is Cisco going all Christmas mania?"

"I don't know," Caitlin answered honestly, laughing lightly at her own confusion. Barry cracked a smile at that. "And I really wouldn't mind, but he literally came to the cortex with a box and dumped it on the floor before going back for more. This place is such a mess. What if we have a meta-human alert? You might be fast enough to dodge in between all of this, but I'm surely not – especially-"

Barry's speed exerted a gust of air to Caitlin's face, causing the doctor to pause momentarily. Meanwhile, Barry zipped around the room, picking up the decorations to place them around the cortex and adjoining rooms before returning to where he was previously.

"…in these heels…" Caitlin finished her thought lamely as she took in the clean and decorated lab. "You know, if this superhero gig doesn't work for you, maybe you should try becoming a professional decorator. You have a knack for it."

Barry scrunched up his nose, his lips twitching in amusement. "I think I'll stick with the crime-fighting."

She laughed. "Maybe that's for the best," she agreed, her gaze zeroing in on the bare evergreen. "You missed the tree."

"No, I didn't," Barry told her as he held up the box with numerous tree decorations. "I thought we could do that together…" he offered hopefully, sending her one of his patented puppy-dog faces.

Caitlin eyed the speedster and then the decorations in the box before looking back up at him again. "Fine," she gave in, sighing exasperatedly as she went to take the first ornament. However, the smile she was sporting as she placed the decoration on the tree told him she wasn't as annoyed as she was letting on.

Grinning to himself, he placed the ornament box down closer to the tree and took out one to place himself.

They decorated in silence for a minute before Caitlin spoke. "I always loved decorating the tree," she commented quietly as she placed a red ball delicately on a branch. "My parents were both doctors, so decorating the house was kind of out of the question since they were always so busy, but my father always made sure to get a tree," she shared, her voice soft as she stared unwaveringly at the ornament she just hung up, her mind elsewhere, reminiscing on earlier Christmases with a small secret smile.

Barry watched her, smiling at the thought of her thinking about fond holiday moments. It made him think of the Christmases he could remember with his own mom and dad – and not of the presents or decorations but just of the love that was present.

Caitlin shook her head, her eyes back in focus. "What about you?" she asked conversationally, bending down to pick up more ornaments.

Barry blew out a breath, resuming his own activity. "My mom loved decorating," Barry confessed, placing a Flash symbolled, brass decoration on a branch. "We used to have boxes and boxes of decorations solely for Christmas, like every nook and cranny had to be filled. And the music," he started, a laugh bubbling up, "my mom would play Christmas music non-stop, starting in November – used to drive my dad insane."

Caitlin giggled, causing Barry to look over at her with a lazy smile spreading across his face. He loved making her laugh. The melodious sound that erupted from her was always so warm and sweet that it was hard not to get lost in.

"I think I would have liked your mother," she commented over her remaining laughter.

Barry's heart squeezed at the image that was suddenly conjured in his mind – Caitlin and his mother, talking and singing off key to the Christmas music, the twinkling lights from the Christmas tree bouncing off them heavenly as they decorated. What he would do just to experience that for one second…

"I think she would have really liked you too," Barry lowly spoke, his gaze heavy yet soft as he regarded her.

Caitlin bit her lip, the action hiding a smile that was daring to show. She turned to add an ornament up towards the top of the tree but quickly found that she wasn't tall enough to reach it.

"Here," Barry said coming up from behind her, his chest leaning over her back as he grabbed the decoration from her hands and placed it. "Good?" he curiously asked, looking down at her for approval.

She was still biting her lip as she looked at him over her shoulder, his eyes drawn to the teeth indenting her soft lips. "Perfect…" he heard her breathe out, making his eyes travel back to her own, which were watching him closely and questionably, her pupils dilated and enchantingly reflecting the lights from the tree.

The air felt dense and his body felt like it was being drawn to hers, like her coldness was luring his warmth closer. But Barry knew it had nothing to do with their powers, and all to do with who they were at the core. Two people who had been unlucky in love and loss so much in their lives to find each other – kindred spirits.

His head was slowly craning down, while Caitlin's seemed to be rising up. Her eyes fluttered closed once their noses touched, and Barry's followed suit shortly afterwards, right as his lips pressed against hers.

"Whoa! Somebody help here!" was suddenly heard, ripping the couple from their short kiss. Cisco was in the doorway of the cortex, carrying 3 boxes that were on top of each other and looked on the verge of falling.

Barry quickly ran over to his friend, grabbing one than another to place safely on the ground.

"Oh, cool," Cisco said, taking in the decorated lab. "Well, I've seen that you've two been busy!"

Both Barry and Caitlin noticeably blushed, causing their engineering friend to raise a curious eyebrow at their behavior. "Did something happen while I was gone? You two are acting funny."

Barry quickly looked over at Caitlin, trying to gauge her reaction. She merely looked at him with wide eyes and a bobbing mouth. "Nothing," they both said simultaneously.

Cisco cocked an eye at the two. "Yeah, like that was uber convincing," he said dryly. "Whatever," he resigned with a sigh, setting the box in his arms down to open it. "Be weird, I don't care, but leave some ornaments for me to decorate the tree with too. Decorating the tree is my favorite."

Barry and Caitlin caught each other's eyes, both smiling bashfully.

"Yeah, it's my favorite too," Barry couldn't help but add, amusingly smirking over at his personal physician who knew just what he meant.

A/N: Funny thing is, I wrote this before the mid-season finale, and I laughed seeing Star Labs all decorated. I was like, "Hey, it kind of looks the way I was picturing it in my story." But obviously my own Cisco had many more decorations, but still. Anyway...

So happy to see that everyone who reviewed liked it so far. Let me know how you liked this one in a review too! :) Also, suggestions/ideas for future oneshots are always welcomed.

REVIEW REPLY:

Thanks for reviewing: Guest 1, Guest 2, and Raquel!

Werejaguar: Snowbarry and a dog plus Christmas is the best scenario anyone can get. lol. Thanks for reviewing and for your suggestions - I will definitely see if I can do something with them. :)

Lina: So glad you enjoyed it! And here is more for you! lol. I hope you liked this one too. Thanks for reviewing!

ShanouNash: Thank you! It means a lot to me that you like how I write them. Thanks for reviewing!