After finishing up breakfast, Barry and Caitlin retreated to the living room, wanting some time to themselves. Under the pretense of watching tv, a Hallmark Christmas movie was playing. However, it was going on unwatched since the couple were instead tangled up on the couch, exchanging soft, languid kisses and touches.
"Mooooooom!?" she heard Nora yell from somewhere in the house.
Barry and Caitlin pulled back from their embrace enough for their eyes to connect, laughing once they did.
"You're being called," Barry pointed out, plopping a kiss on her forehead.
A soft grin swept across her face at the small gesture. "Yes, I heard," she noted, sitting up and giving her husband a pat on his leg. "In the living room!" Caitlin hollered back into the general vicinity of the house as she tried to straighten her appearance a little before their daughter came rushing in.
Suddenly, both of the parents heard the patter of Nora's feet running towards the living room. "Mom!" she exclaimed as she made her entrance, socked feet sliding along the hardwood floors with her face so bright with happy eagerness; it was in these moments that Caitlin could plainly see just how much alike she was to Barry, despite looking more like her little clone.
"What is it, Nora?"
"Do you want to build a snowman?!" she eagerly asked, practically jumping in place.
Next to her, Barry snorted.
She flicked a displeased look at her husband while elbowing him discreetly. "Did your Daddy tell you to ask that?" she inquired.
Nora furrowed her eyebrows, looking confused. "No...why?"
She waved her hand at it. "It's just a very old joke your father and Uncle Cisco insist is still funny," Caitlin quickly explained, forcing a grin on her face before her eyes looked at Barry pointedly.
The speedster had his lips pressed down tightly, clearly trying to constrain himself from laughing. "You know, honey, you really need to let it go," he said semi-seriously before breaking his facade by laughing.
Caitlin rolled her eyes as she got up from the couch, making her way to her daughter. "We can build a snowman if you want, but we have to do it now since Uncle Cisco will be here soon to pick you guys up," she told her, running her hand down Nora's hair. "Remember? He's taking you guys out for the day."
"On it! I'm going to get Nate!" she excitedly said before scurrying up the stairs where her brother was.
As Nora left the room, Caitlin turned back to Barry. "You going to help too, Olaf?" she asked dryly.
Barry jumped giddily to his feet, his hands snaking around his wife's waist. "I would love to, my dear Elsa," he said, kissing the tip of her scrunched up nose.
She groaned, but her sour mood couldn't last long with his contagious grin, involuntarily making the corners of her lips slowly inch upward. "Remind me why I keep you around?" she asked as she draped her arms around his neck.
"Because," he began, leaning in close, his lips hovering over her ear. He then proceeded to whisper the very naughty things he wanted to do to her once the kids left with Cisco.
Caitlin felt flustered as he finished, her whole body feeling impossibly hot and tingly, knowing red splotches were probably scattered all throughout her body. "Santa is going to put you on the naughty list," she teased laughingly, and a bit breathlessly, since she was still trying to recover from her husband's whispers.
His beautiful green eyes were a shade darker, swirled with a hint of mischief. "I think I can live with that," he told her, lips curling into a smirk as his hands descended from her waist to the back of her jean pockets. "When is Cisco getting here again?" he asked, his tone veily hinting towards his impatience and desperation
A laugh bubbled up her throat as she let her head fall against his chest. "Soon...soon," she promised in amusement, patting his chest lightly, as if placating him.
"Mom! Dad!" they then heard their children shout, prompting Barry to tear his hands from her back pockets with his lightning fast reflexes just as Nora and Nate ran into the living room. "Come on!"
.
After collecting some essentials around the house to accessorize the snowmen they were going to create, the Allen family made their way out to the back-yard, all bundled up in their winter clothes.
"How do we want to do this?" Caitlin asked Nora, since this had been her idea after all.
"Me and Mom vs. Nate and Dad!" she exclaimed.
"Ooh, so a little Boys vs. Girls type thing, huh? Well, boys are definitely going to win this one, right Nate?" Barry said, turning to his almost 5-year-old son, holding out his hand for a high-five.
"Yes!" Nate exclaimed with a wide-toothed grin, slapping his little hand against his father's. "Girls are poopy!"
"Hey!" Caitlin let out, exaggeratedly frowning towards her son.
"Except for Mommy," he quickly amended, to which the doctor merely chuckled at. "But Nora is still poopy!"
"You're poopy!" she fired back. "And we're going to beat you!"
"Guys," Barry cut in right before Caitlin was about to, "if you can't be nice to each other, we're not going to make snowmen at all."
The two instantly quietened, guilty expressions appearing on both of their faces. "Sorry," they both mumbled, and taking one look at Barry, she knew he too could hardly stand their cuteness, but the parents' expressions remained neutral.
"Alright," Caitlin ushered after a few moments. "And then maybe when Uncle Cisco comes by later to pick you up, he'll decide who the winner is, yeah?"
Everyone agreed, and Nate and Nora both scurried to opposite sides of the yard to start building their snowmen, leaving just Caitlin and Barry.
The speedster looked her up and down, sizing her up. "No using frost, missy."
"Then no speed, mister," she responded back with a curt nod.
He shrugged. "Fine."
"Fine," she said breezingly, before standing up on her tippy toes to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "Good luck, but you are going down," she said as she pulled back, smirking and eyes twinkling as she slapped him lightly on the ass before backing away impishly.
Barry's eyes followed her, especially zeroing in on the sway of her hips. "You're on the naughty list," he mouthed to her, shaking his head in good-natured disbelief, causing the doctor to giggle.
"What's funny, Mom?" the young girl innocently asked upon her mother's arrival.
Caitlin tore her gaze from her husband to her daughter. "Nothing sweetie," she said, dismissing it. "Let's win this snowman contest!"
Nora's face broke out into one of glee. "Yeah!"
.
20 minutes later, both teams were still working on their own snowmen.
"Mom?" Nora called out as Caitlin placed the snowman's head securely on top of its body.
"Yes, sweetie?"
Nora's lips pulled downwards. "Our snowman is falling apart," she pointed out glumly, and when Caitlin looked towards the bottom, she saw that their foundation, the snowman's base, was beginning to falter under the weight of the rest of it.
"Oh," Caitlin let out, frowning. "Well…let's try..." she began, picking up nearby snow to try and compact the clumps and sturdy it up again, but the base only sank further.
Nora leaned down. "Use your cold, mommy," she whispered inconspicuously.
Caitlin cocked her head to the side. "That would be cheating…" she said, looking at her daughter adamantly.
"Pleaseeee," she said, jutting out her lower lip and widening those precious green eyes of hers - Barry's darn eyes.
She sighed. "Fine," she gave in, and Nora clapped her mittened hands together gleefully.
Caitlin looked discreetly behind her shoulder at her husband and son. Barry was lifting Nate up so that the little guy could put the head on top of the snowman. Her face broke out into a loving grin, a warmth spreading through her chest at the adorable scene; her love for her boys exponentially growing.
"Mom," Nora quietly stressed, reminding her why she was looking in the first place.
"Right, right. Sorry," she said, guiltily. Getting back on track, Caitlin figured the boys were still preoccupied, so she deemed it safe enough to let frost emancipate from her fingertips, glossing over the snow and making it sturdier.
"Hey, hey, hey!" she then heard Barry holler from behind her, and she winced - busted!
She turned around innocently enough, plastering on a pleasant smile. "Yes, honey?"
Barry chuckled. "Oh, don't 'yes, honey' me. I saw you! You were cheating. You were using your powers!"
"I wasn't making snow...I - I was just...securing the structure…" she tried to justify herself, lamely, at that.
"That's still cheating," he roused tauntingly.
She pursed her lips and cross her arms. "Well you cheated too. Don't think I didn't see you guys building that snowman a little faster than usual, Bartholomew."
Barry scowled, turning to his son. "Uh, oh. She called me by my full name."
Little Nate's face scrunched up. "Your name is Fart-hulu-moo?" The girls immediately giggled.
The speedster frowned, shaking his head at his son. "No, it's bahr-thol-uh-myoo," he stressed, phonetically pronouncing the name.
"I don't know," Caitlin spoke up, gaining her husband's attention again, pressing her tongue to her cheek, amused, "I kind of like the way Nate said you name. I think it's more apt."
"Oh yeah?"
Caitlin looked him dead in the eyes. "Yes," she said with a quirk of her lips, while Barry looked on at her with a smirk of his own, and knowing by the mischievous rise of his eyebrows and the wicked glint in his eyes, he was planning something. "Barry," Caitlin started with warning, "Don't. You. Dare," she said each word punctually, but it only seemed to spur the speedster into action.
"Ahhh," she yelped with laughter when she saw Barry take off into a sprint. She scurried away as best as she could before easily being captured and tackled to the snowy ground.
"Gotcha," Barry said, sprawled out on top of her, a dopey grin spread wide across his face.
She playfully rolled her eyes. "It was hardly a challenge since you used your super speed."
His grin turned cheeky. "Well you're such a catch, it was hard not to."
Caitlin let her head fall back against the snow. "That was beyond corny," she groaned, but soon erupted into a fit of laughter as he tickled her sides, his smile only growing bigger the more she laughed. "Barry.." she said though the tickles, panting, "Bar-ry, st-o-p."
"Okay, okay," he conceded, chuckling lightly as he seized his tickles. He watched her adoringly as she regained her breath, his eyes bright and full of only her. "God, I could listen to your laugh forever though," he told her, caressing her cheek.
She melted just as easily as the snow did on a hot, sunny day. "That was pretty corny too," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, her nails grazing against his nape, slowly pulling him downwards. "But I think I'll let it slide."
He smirked, letting her pull him further, his eyes fluttering. "Oh you will, will you?"
"Mmhmm," she hummed out before Caitlin closed the distance between them completely. His lips were a tad cold from being outside for as long as they were, but they warmed up fast under the friction of their kiss. And as he opened his mouth and invited her in, it was like being wrapped up tightly in a comforter and place by the fire - so warm and comforting.
They tore apart after a few moments, giggling breathily against each other's mouths. "Urgh, when is Cisco getting here?" he asked again, his tone even more impatient and desperate than the last.
Caitlin snorted, but blushed, knowing exactly what her husband wanted to do the second the kids were off with their Uncle Cisco. And she couldn't blame him; her own libido was in overdrive.
"I'm right here," they heard Cisco say from nearby, making the couple jump at the sudden intrusion.
"Cisco!" Caitlin hollered in surprise as her and Barry scrambled to their feet, their faces as red as Barry's Flash suit.
Barry cleared his throat. "So are you ready to take the kids? They've been excited about visiting you."
Cisco looked his friends up and down, his amusement plain as day. "And I'm sure you're just as excited for them to be visiting me too."
If it was possible, Barry and Caitlin blushed even harder.
The mechanical engineer chuckled, taking pleasure in their embarrassment. "You know, I have to admit though, it's sweet - grossly sweet, mind you - but sweet that even after 12 years of marriage that you guys still want to jump each other's bones like that."
The couple briefly looked at each other, smiling awkwardly under their friend's gaze, but smiling proudly nonetheless. They were proud that their love had sustained villains and kids and time itself to the point that they were still head over heels crazy about each other like they were.
"What does 'jump each other's bones' mean?" Nora asked, catching all the adults off guard, having not heard her approaching.
"Cisco!" Caitlin chided, her nose flaring.
The mechanical engineer floundered for a moment. "Uh, it means, you know, kissing...and stuff…?" he let out unsurely, shrugging as he looked to his married friends helplessly.
"Ohhh," Nora drawled out, understanding taking over her features. "Yeah, Mom and Dad kiss A LOT," she shared, her nose twitching in disgust like most kids do about that sort of thing, causing all the adults to laugh.
"You guys ready for the best day ever!" Cisco exclaimed, quickly trying to change the subject, and Nora beamed, jumping up and down. Nate ran over and right into his Uncle's arms, shrieking with happiness as well.
"I think that's a yes," Caitlin commented with a giggle, watching the display so fondly.
Barry placed a gentle hand on her back as he turned to Cisco. "Let us know when you're about to bring them home."
Cisco shot them a knowing look. "Oh, trust me. I will give you plenty of notice, you two wild kids."
The married couple's faces colored, but nodded gratefully to their best friend nevertheless. "Thanks," Barry weakly let out, clearing his throat.
"Alright, let's get a move on," Cisco said, motioning for Nora to follow him, since Nate was still in his arms. "Earth 22 is da bomb! Seriously, you're going to love it," he told Nora, who giggled as the older man opened a breach to said Earth.
"Wait, Cisco!" Barry hollered out. Upon gaining his friend's attention, he had to ask. "Who won the Snowman contest?"
"Oh, that one's easy," he said flippantly. "Nora and Caitlin won," he answered before grabbing Nora's hand and diving into the breach.
As the breach closed, Caitlin turned to her husband with a smug, victorious smile overtaking her face. "I won," she sing-songed.
She saw Barry visibly trying to be upset, but under her gaze he crumbled. Instead, he laughed. "It's because you cheated," he playfully chided.
"It's karma for cracking those Frozen jokes earlier," she volleyed back.
"They weren't even that bad."
"Plus, you cheated too."
"For like half a second."
"Half a second is pretty darn long for a speedster, Fart-hulu-moo," she noted, purposely trying to get a rise out of him.
His eyebrows raised, a shocked smile pulling at his face. "You did not," he expressed exasperatedly, a similar wicked glint in his eyes from earlier resurfacing.
She bit down on her lip, backing away. "Oh, but I did," she said, scampering to the house as quickly as she could.
"Where are you going?" he hollered playfully. "You know I'm gonna catch you."
She stopped by the back-yard doorway, looking at her husband over her shoulder. "I know. I'm counting on it," she said with a wink, before running into the house, giggling as she felt the electricity and wind of Barry's speed almost immediately surround her as he sped them to their bedroom.
Today was going to be good one, indeed.
A/N: This was supposed to be just an innocent Allen family making snowmen oneshot, but it kind of turned into something else. I just love this idea of Barry and Caitlin still remaining so touchy and sooo in love years later. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it. Lol. Please let me know your thoughts because they honestly mean the world to me!
REVIEW REPLY:
SnowFan: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! It makes me so happy to also hear that you look forward to this. Thanks again!
Specks10: I can't help it. When I write AUs, I always have to give them the same connections as our Snowbarry has, hence the talk similar to the one in S1. Also, YES, I seriously love Grant's jacket, and it actually helped inspire this fic. And yes, Iris was definitely the one that hung the mistletoe, which I like to think either Eddie or Cisco helped with too! hehe! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!
Augusthippie1993: Yeah, to me, Barry is always that one person that can get Caitlin to loosen up. Just as Caitlin is always really good at getting Barry to look at things from another perspective. :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Chocolate X My Mouth: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Glad you enjoyed it!
CallMeMiles: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I agree, there is just something about college that does something to a fic in general lol, I don't know why, but I often feel it too.
Cat: Thanks for reading and reviewing!
ShanouNash: No, the side characters weren't extra important, but I don't like introducing anyone that won't mean anything, you know? So having Iris and Eddie and even Cisco was important because it was supposed to showcase that Barry had been talking about Caitlin since he met her and so when she came back to the party, they all conspired to help get the together. xD And yes, that's Grant jacket. lol. I love how most people picked up on that hahaha.
As for last chapter, WOW, you were thinking REALLY dark. lol. But yeah, I wouldn't go that deep for a Christmas fic. That's too sad for me. lol. Thanks for reading and reviewing though! I appreciate it! :)
supersnowbarry: Aww, I'm happy to hear you're liking them all as much as you are. Thanks for reading and reviewing! :)