AN:

Quick layout note – for the emails part of this chapter the text will be in italics.

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Barry whistled as he made his way through the precinct. He was currently on his way back to his lab to finish up a report that hopefully wouldn't take more than a few hours because then he was outta here. But not to head home or to go mooch some dinner off Joe like usual. Nope, he would be on his way to Star Institute and another meeting with Caitlin.

After their success at hand holding, he and Caitlin had debated about what to do next. She had argued about holding hands more but in different conditions whilst he had advocated for moving on to something else. In the end she had won, switching between scientific logic and sheer stubbornness to get him to concede the point.

It had been oddly cute.

They'd ended up spending the rest of their time together holding hands in different scenarios; standing, sitting across from each other, around each other's backs as they walked about the room. Any way they could think off that they would feasibly hold hands in a romantic situation and they re-created it. And never had they hurt each other.

It was liberating and exciting and Barry had been incredibly disappointed when the buzzer had gone off to say their time was up. He had very nearly forgotten where they were. But Star Institute had rules and they had to follow them. The disappointment of leaving hadn't been able to dull the elation of what he and Caitlin had managed to do and the potential it offered them.

All he could think about was that it was safe to be around Caitlin. His speed should never be able to hurt her because her powers would counter-act it; speed and cold were opposites and in their case pretty near equals.

There was one lone thought in his head that all they had done was hold hands, a very pedestrian action and one he'd managed to do with others in different situations; introducing himself to a colleague, meeting up with friends. But he'd never been on edge in those situations. Never felt his emotions so close to the surface and so intense. And that was when his loss of control happened, when his speed seemed to take over and he just reacted. In the room with Caitlin he'd felt on edge and nervous and excited and a whole load of other emotions. Yes, he'd been in control but there had been potential for him to lose it and now he knew that she would be alright if he did.

Which led his mind to think about what would most likely lead to a loss of control and then wandering off in a direction that was not helpful.

Right now though, he had to focus. He wanted to be out on time tonight and that was hard enough on a normal day due to his innate ability to be late for everything. Something which although his super speed helped with, it didn't stop. Though his speed would help with writing the reports that needed to be done.

Technically metas weren't supposed to use their powers unless their job stated they needed to do so and they had a special license. There were healer metas who were specialised doctors and tech metas who were paid enormous sums to work for the bigger IT companies. And then there were metas whose powers had nothing to do with their jobs or daily lives. He guessed he fell in the middle as he wasn't supposed to use his powers – no license for him – but the captain definitely turned a blind eye when they wanted a report finished as quickly as possible. And Barry's quick as possible was fast.

He wondered what Caitlin did. He knew she was a scientist, they had discussed too many geeky topics to not know that. But they hadn't shared any specific details. They weren't supposed to, a rule imposed by Star Institute as a security precaution to help protect the programme and their privacy. Maybe now they were partnered up properly and things were going well that rule would change? Barry wanted to know Caitlin. It already felt like they were on the verge of friendship just through their emails, now it was open to so much more.

"Barry!"

Barry stopped with his foot on the bottom stair, swivelling his top half to see Joe striding toward him. Normally he would head over to the older man but today he had to stay on task; if it was work related Joe could talk to him, if it was personal he'd have to save it until the weekend and the West's Sunday dinner.

"Have you logged the shoe prints found at the burglary yesterday?" Joe asked as he reached him. "We have a suspect who's alibi was he's been driving all night but as the incident happened at sunset it really means he's still wearing the same clothes. If the shoe prints are on the system then we can compare them to what he's wearing now."

"Yeah, they're on the system. I updated it this morning so you should be able to print off an image and do a comparison," Barry answered. "He really gave an alibi that actually implicates himself?"

Joe rolled his eyes. "There's a reason he's a two-bit crook and not the head of a criminal gang."

"Ok, well I'll see you later."

"Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you going to help?"

"I sorta did just help, by telling you how to get the prints off the system?" Barry asked as he started sidling backwards up the stairs.

"Ok," Joes said, giving Barry a strange look. "But as the forensics expert shouldn't you come and do the comparison?"

"Well you're perfectly capable, getting really good at this science stuff now really," Barry started to babble. "I'm sure you'll be fine and detect what to do, because you know, you're the detective. And I'll just be upstairs finishing off my reports so I can leave on time. Well, see you later!"

Barry didn't speed up the stairs because that would have been frowned on but he moved very quickly.

Rushing into his lab he went straight to his computer to check the status of his reports and which ones had been flagged as priority and that had to be done tonight. He knew there was one he had to definitely do but the others should all be able to wait. Scanning through the files he suddenly had an email alert ping and his heart picked up pace when he saw it was from Star Institute.

Quickly opening his email he read over the standardised lines that stated a personal message had been left on his Star Private Messaging account. He pulled up the page and typed in his login details, tapping his feet nervously as he waited for the account to load. There were only two people who had ever private messaged him; Dr Wells and Caitlin.

The page finally appeared and Barry's heart sank.

KF-lady has posted a message for you. Title – About Tonight.

Now torn between wanting the message open right now to find out what she was saying and in no desperate rush in case she was cancelling, Barry hovered over the track pad. But indecision never worked out well for him so he nevertheless moved the mouse to select the convo.

Hi Mr Scarlett (it feels strange to type that and not your name, now that I know it, but I suppose we keep up with pretenses in email?)

About tonight, I was thinking we should maybe have an agenda for the meeting? It would save us valuable time to have a schedule of positions that were pre-agreed upon so we can make the best use of our time together. Let me know your thoughts.

KF-lady

Barry let out a breath that she wasn't cancelling and seemed just as eager as he was to meet up again. Alright it wasn't in the words, but Barry would bet if he had watched her type that message she would have been biting her lip or just managing to keep a smile from tugging at her mouth. He felt he knew her that much already. And although he agreed with her that pre-planning was a smart idea, she'd left him an opening to tease that he just couldn't resist.

Positions KF-lady? I didn't know you wanted to move that fast, what with speed being my speciality. ;) But let me know whatever you're up for.

He hit send on the message before he could let himself overthink it too much and then tried to get back to his work. After all she might not be near her computer now so it might take awhile before she responded. He took himself to the microscope and told himself to concentrate. As he stepped away to prep another slide to run a test a ping sounded from the computer behind him.

I think you know what I was speaking of. And for future reference a lady never likes to hear about how speed is a man's specialty – it doesn't imply future feelings of enjoyment.

Back to the point, would you like to decide on our next step together or shall I make a schedule for us?

Barry grinned at her response. One of the first things he'd loved about getting an email from Caitlin was how she seemed to be so many things at once; she could easily rebuff an argument he made, respond to a joke and redirect them back to where the conversation had started if he'd taken them off track. It had made conversing with her really fun and now he had an image of her in his mind it was so easy to imagine her facial expressions as she read a comment of his or complied her response.

And responding to her was so easy.

Would you actually make a schedule…?

Quickly checking that nobody was anywhere near, Barry sped around his lab, prepping slides, ordering papers, re-stocking supplies and generally tidying up. He had a few more things to do for his last report but it was mostly test based and as fast as he was he still had to wait for the machines to do their thing in their own time. But everything else that was within his ability to speed up was going to be done as fast as lightningly possible.

Although it seemed improbable because it was already pretty high, his excitement level for tonight had doubled.

The ping sounded again.

Don't tempt me.

Barry snorted. "I just bet."

A grin pulled at his face but as he thought of what to say it faded slowly. His hands hovered over his keyboard thinking of what he wanted to put. He knew what he wanted his next step to be; it was what he'd argued for last time though he hadn't got around to saying it. A hug was a good next step. It was close in physical proximity, alluding to intimacy, but could also be used between friends.

Part of Barry knew that if he saw the programme all the way through to the end he would be practicing intimate relations with Caitlin. But another part of him just couldn't believe that was true; it seemed so preposterous. And as much as he felt a friendship with her they were, in reality, still getting to know each other, barely past the point of strangers. He knew he had super speed but he definitely didn't want to rush through this too fast.

Although would it be better if they did rush through? The point of the programme was to increase their control of their powers when in a particular situation – in his and Caitlin's case, intimate situations. Here he was thinking about friendship and getting to know her better but that wasn't why Star Institute had paired them up. As Dr Wells had clearly stated, they were here for the science, not the personal side.

Barry shook his head and told himself to stop over-thinking. He'd never been able to just sleep with someone and that wasn't about to start now. Besides part of his problem was caring too much about the person he wanted to be intimate with so for this to work he needed to care about Caitlin at least a little.

He didn't think that was going to be a problem.

But what to put back to her?

Okay, okay, I take it back. I think we've mastered hands definitely. How about a hug? It's full body, close physical contact, can be intimate but can also be just between friends. What do you think?

Barry hit send and then pressed the mute button on the computer. Time to get his head on straight and concentrate on something else. He walked around his lab checking slides, comparing test results and compiling the report, all the while ignoring the niggling instinct to check his email. He needed to focus on work for now and get this report finished.

His resolve lasted seven minutes.

Another message waited for him.

That's a good idea. I think that would be a logical next step and agree with your arguments. So tonight we will focus on hugs. I will bring a list of potential hug scenarios so we won't waste time arguing like last time. See you later.

Barry couldn't help the grin that took over his face. There was just something about Caitlin that he responded to. And he couldn't wait to hug her for it.

Great. See you tonight.

The grin stayed on his face pretty much for the rest of the day and definitely earnt him a strange look from Joe but he just didn't care.

He left the precinct on time, managed to hail a cab without having to be almost run over first, and gave the driver the Star Institute address. He tried running his hands through his hair to give it a semblance of looking alright but Barry knew one of his nervous habits was raking his hands through it so he was probably just messing it up more. He hadn't thought to bring a spare set of clothes to change into but today had been all lab work and no field so at least he didn't have any strange substances all over him.

He wondered what Caitlin would be wearing. Something that would give him a clue to her profession maybe? Or a slogan t-shirt with her favourite band on? This seemed less likely, even in his thoughts.

The cab made it to Star Institute and Barry did the usual procedure of signing in and going through security before he made his way to their room. His breathing had sped up and he tried to calm himself down.

'We're just going to hug,' he thought to himself but he had to stop before the door to the antechamber to make himself relax. Giving himself a nod he walked in, gave a flustered 'hi' tot eh woman reading the magazine at the desk and then walked into the room.

Caitlin was already there, sat at the table just off from the centre of the room. She was writing something down and Barry knew if he bet any money right now he'd make an easy return on it being the list of hug scenarios. She hadn't heard him enter yet, the door's soft hinges working in his favour so Barry took a second to study her.

She was wearing a cream top the seemed to droop at the front before being wrapped around the waist and a blue pencil skirt. Her hair was down and falling over one shoulder as she wrote. Barry knew he should say hi, make his presence known and start discussing the list but instead his impulsivity took over.

The door closed behind him, the soft hinges finally making a sound as a thud echoed in the quiet room. Caitlin's head began to rise as she responded to the noise and Barry moved.

He sped across the room, pulled Caitlin up from her seat and wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her tight against his body. His electricity crackled along his skin and swept over Caitlin's, static moving between them. His nerves felt on fire as Caitlin's weight settled against him, her body tucked close to his. Her sharp intake of breath blew out against his neck and shivers raced down Barry's spine.

Time seemed to slow and hold as Caitlin's eyes settled on his, a look of surprise and longing fluttering across her features. Barry's breath froze in his lungs as he reacted, feeling how close they were, as his eyes flickered down to Caitlin's lips, his hands tightening their hold on her waist. There was something racing between them. A current that was alive and powerful. A feeling that was intense and potent. His lightning surrounded them and seconds dragged as Barry stared down at her.

He'd never felt anything like this before.

Barry shifted and opened his mouth to say something, he didn't know what but he had to speak, acknowledge this somehow. But time snapped back into focus.

And ice flared, chasing after his lightning.

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AN:

Thank you for all the great reviews. Work has been incredibly hard this week and I've really wanted to get this next chapter out so getting reviews from you guys has been so supportive. The physical aspect of this story is going to get more prominent in the next few chapters so the rating will be going up, not sure when but we're definitely on that path now.