April Fools Day

Caitlin is about halfway through folding a load of laundry (towels mostly, with a few pairs of both large and tiny socks mysteriously intermixed) when she hears the faint sound of giggling coming from around the corner. Curious, she pauses mid-fold to listen more closely, smiling when she deciphers two distinct timbres in the happy sound: Barry and Ben. The giggles last barely a moment longer, their amusement fading away as abruptly as it had begun, only to be replaced a second later by the breezy rush of a whisper. Brow furrowed in, she tries to make out what Barry is telling their son, but the words are both (miraculously) too quiet to be overheard, so Caitlin shrugs off her curiosity and returns to her previously productive Sunday morning.

It's as she's reaching for the last jumble of towels that all hell breaks loose (a common enough occurrence in the Allen household, given their three children and her superhero husband). Like she usually does, Caitlin pulls out a clump of towels to drop on top of the dryer, intending to untangle and fold them one at a time, but as she's tugging the jumble out, something in the pile catches her eye. Grabbing at it, she erupts into a shriek when that something turns out to be a snake.

Of course, the peal of raucous laughter that follows her shout puts the pieces together rather quickly and Caitlin immediately realizes that the offending animal is in fact a (very impressive but very much rubber) fake. "Benjamin and Bartholomew Allen!" She shouts, gasping for her lost breath and using what Barry likes to call her 'mom voice' (it's a lot like her doctor voice, he enjoys teasing her, a fond grin twisting his lips playfully). Two sets of green eyes peer around the corner before she's even finished shouting their names. The rest of them follow soon after.

Her boys are wearing identical looks of poorly disguised amusement, both trying and utterly failing to appear innocent as they stand before her. Laundry abandoned, still half hanging from the dryer, Caitlin turns on her bare heel and splays her fingers across her hips, a pointed look drawing her brows up as her eyes take in the adorably guilty sight standing for judgment. She supposes they're at least trying to look chastised, even if their shared pride at having scared her is the dominating expression on their faces.

As she continues to fix them with a stern expression, they both seem to come to the realization that they're looks of contrition are falling short, so Ben instead puts on his widest, sweetest smile. "April Fools momma!" he shouts, completing abandoning the feigned innocence. She can't help it, her four year old looks so proud of himself that she breaks, scooping him into her arms to cuddle him close and tickle his sides. He squeals and squirms until he's breathless and she tugs him in to a tight hug. "Good prank momma?" Ben asks, sounding so very hopeful (so like his father that her heart flutters in her chest and she can't help but meet Barry's eyes over their son's mop of dark, messy curls).

Caitlin smiles at the expression she finds there (his own laughter replaced by something far more tender), then drops a kiss to the top of Ben's head as she settles him back on the ground. "A very good prank," she confirms, laughing when a delighted grin lights up his whole face. He looks just like Barry does after he's saved the day (Caitlin swears she falls in love with them all over again daily—their three perfect children and her ridiculous husband).

"Why don't you go try it on one of your sisters?" Barry chimes in.

Ben wastes no time in scampering forward to grab the snake, tearing off around the corner like a little bolt of four year old lightning (thank God, they often think, that Barry's powers hadn't been passed on to their children). The sound of his snickering laughter trails after the eager beat of his bare feet against the hardwood.

That leaves Barry and Caitlin alone in the relative quiet of the laundry room. Adopting the same wide, sweet smile as his son, Barry steps into his wife's personal space with a cheeky, "April Fools Cait."

She rolls hers eyes but lets him pull her in for a kiss anyway. "You do realize," she asks when they pull away, "that they're going to spend the entire day playing tricks on each other and fighting, right?" She's pretty sure someone will end up crying by dinner, maybe several someones.

Barry's eyes swim with mirth, even as he shakes his head and heaves a heavy, exaggerated sigh. "Caitlin Allen, do you not know me at all?" Her brow furrows and raises in turns, communicating her twin confusion and curiosity. Apparently not. "They're going to play all of two tricks on each other and then I'm going to convince them to plan the ultimate prank on Uncle Cisco." Who, no doubt, will think it's the best thing ever, because Cisco is even more a child than her children. It is, admittedly, a pretty solid plan.

Their laughter is interrupted only be a screaming voice—Kella—calling out, "Mom! Dad!" in that tone that means a day full of bickering might indeed be imminent and that the need for intervention is rapidly building.

Leaning up, Caitlin presses another quick kiss to Barry's lips before giving him a little nudge out of the room. "You'd better get convincing then superdad."

So I recently realized I got extremely behind on updating this series and figured I'd best catch up before the next holiday hits (Father's Day will be my next holiday fic to write). I always write and publish to tumblr first, then make edits after I've had a few days to look back over and get any feedback. But apparently I've been neglecting updating this series, so I'll be posting a Memorial Day fic either Sunday night or Monday morning so that I can get caught up.

Sorry about all that, but I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd gotten some requests for a little more interaction with Ben, so he's the sole feature on this one. I think I might focus in on Cara for the Father's Day fic, since I think she's the most like Barry but if anyone has any thoughts on that, I'd be glad to have them.

Take Care & Best Wishes,

AOR