Hey, everyone! Here's the November prompt, given by RandomFlashFangirl!
Julian looked around the dim pub. Why would Cisco send him here?The Brit shook his head as he remembered Cisco's words. "You might want to go here," the young engineer had said, giving him the address. "You both need it."
Giving up, Julian decided to head to the counter and get a drink while he was at it. Cisco had given a specific time window he was supposed to be here, and here he was, with nothing that interested him in his sight.
Julian glanced at the bartender, who was busy at the moment with another customer. He couldn't quite see her face, but her body language was obviously impatient and bored.
The bartender shook her head and let out an audible sigh, before grabbing a washcloth and mopping up a mess that had formed on the counter some time ago. Her white-and-brown curls fell over her face as she watched the cloth glide over the counter.
Julian cleared his throat. The bartender looked up. "Sorry, can I get you someth - " she broke off.
Julian felt his throat go dry as he stared at the woman in front of him. If he hadn't seen her face, he wouldn't have known that she was Dr. Caitlin Snow.
The blonde was speechless. How could she change in such a short amount of time? Her brown curls had streaks of white, her eyes were mostly blue with flecks of hazel, her skin was pale, and her outfit was decidedly not Caitlin-like.
As Julian ran his eyes over the light blue tank top with a low neckline, he felt heat rise up in his cheeks. "Er, Caitlin?" he forced.
Caitlin bit her lip. "Julian?"
Julian licked his lips. "Um, what are you doing here?"
Icy blue eyes narrowed. "I work here."
"What?!" Julian exclaimed, earning him and Caitlin a few glances.
Caitlin shot him a look, and Julian lowered his voice. 'Why?"
The meta-human avoided his gaze. "Why do you ask me that?"
"You're Caitlin Snow!" Julian stated. "You're brilliant and beautiful and talented and amazing and you don't deserve this kind of life. You deserve so much more."
Caitlin's grip tightened on the glass. Julian glanced at it. Frost formed around the rim of the glass. The Brit gently placed his hand on the glass. "Caitlin?"
Caitlin blinked and glanced down at the frosty glass. Muttering curses under her breath, she roughly set the glass away and grabbed a new one. "What can I get you?"
Julian raised an eyebrow. "And we're going to pretend that we don't know each other?"
"You came to the bar; I'm the bartender," responded Caitlin coldly. "What can I get you?"
"Caitlin, don't do this," pleaded the blonde. "I love you."
The meta-human gasped as her hand swiped the glass, accidentally knocking it off the counter and sending it shattering to pieces. She swallowed hard, kicked away the broken shards, and stormed out.
Julian ran after her, ignoring the looks and whispers he was receiving.
When he emerged into the streets, he saw Caitlin, with brown curls that didn't have a streak of white.
"Cait," he murmured, nearing her. He took her hand into his.
Caitlin turned towards him, her eyes shifting from blue to brown. Tears glistened in her eyes. "How did you get here?"
Julian wasn't sure if she meant the pub, Central City, or the U.S. He decided to answer all three. "I was visiting from England. Of course I went straight to Central City; where else would I go? Then, Cisco told me to come here. This specific time and place."
"Of course, that sounds like Cisco," muttered Caitlin. Julian was apalled to hear bitterness in her voice. Caitlin continued, "He just always has to interfere, doesn't he? He can't just leave me alone!"
"Caitlin," Julian said softly, taking her hand. "He won't leave you alone. He's your best friend. And if you think I'm going to leave you alone, you are horribly mistaken, Caitlin. You are too beautiful and brilliant and amazing to be abandoned; to be left alone; to be given up on. I will never give up on you, Caitlin. I will be here for you. Always."
The meta-human was obviously on the verge to tears. Her curls were more brown than white. Her eyes...though returning to their normal hazel color, still held a coldness that Julian couldn't ever imagine being in Caitlin Snow's beautiful brown eyes.
"You left for London," murmured Caitlin weakly. "Cisco called me. He said you left for London." Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I thought you left me, Julian! I thought you left me, like Barry left the team."
Julian enveloped her into a hug. "I am so sorry I made you think that. But I'm here now."
"You didn't even say good-bye," whispered Caitlin. Her voice was thin and ragged, as if she had run out of air to breath. Julian had no idea how much leaving for London hurt her.
"I was always going to come back..." tried Julian.
At that, Caitlin pulled back, her eyes turning pale blue. "No, you weren't," she countered in a frosty voice. "Cisco told me. He said you resigned from your job."
Julian had nothing to say.
He could see Caitlin's curls turning white, skin turning pale, eyes turning blue. He could see coldness and anger inside her.
"You were never coming back," she stated.
And the worst part was, it was true. He was spent after the events with Savitar and Killer Frost. So he ran. Ran to England and started to build a new mundane life there.
"Caitlin, I am so sorry," said Julian.
Anger flared up inside her. "Stop saying that! You left me, and I was broken. Then, I moved on and I was doing great, until you stopped by! Then it all came crashing down on me. And I remembered everything."
"What about Killer Frost?" Julian prodded.
Caitlin glared at him. "That's the problem! I've been working hard to sort of...come to a compromise. I'm half-Caitlin, half-Killer Frost. And sometimes I'm fully Caitlin, and sometimes I'm fully Killer Frost. But seeing you again...I can't. I can't anymore. There's too much differences between us."
Julian felt a bit of anger boil up inside of himself as well. This was unfair. He couldn't just take the blame. He shoved his anger down and tried to speak reasonably. "But why? Why is it so hard to keep each other in check? What's so different between you two that I have such an impact on?"
"Because Caitlin Snow loves you!" Caitlin yelled. Her eyes shifted from blue to brown to blue. "And I...don't," she admitted softly.
Julian swallowed hard, reeling from this revelation. Caitlin loved him. Caitlin loved him. It echoed in his head repeatedly
"Caitlin's still in there?" Julian asked hesitantly.
She nodded.
"I need her. I need her to tell me."
"No," the meta-human said coldly. "You messed everything up. Now we can't be in sync, because Caitlin here has discovered that she still has feelings for you."
Julian kissed her. He just jumped right in and kissed her. "Caitlin, I know you're in there," he said after they broke apart.
Blue eyes wavered uncertainly, but then...
Hazel eyes, brown curls, and rosy cheeks greeted him. "Caitlin?" he questioned, unsure.
The brunette looked at him, before pulling him into a hug. "Julian, I need you," she whispered. "This isn't a permanent thing. It depends on who can grab control first, and keep control."
"Caitlin, we'll figure this out," assured Julian. He kissed her lightly. "Together. And I'll be with you every step of the way."
Aaand...let's all pretend he never goes back to London. Hey, I can dream, can't I? ;
