Thanks for being patient! I've been really busy working on my other Snowbarry story (it's called Just One Night, you can find it on my profile!), so I haven't gotten around to my oneshots! Here's a quick one for you, I'll update with a longer one soon!
Prompted by anonymous
Rated: K
~J.H.
"Just how bored are you, exactly?" Barry raises his eyebrows, amused.
"Bored enough," Caitlin's bent over her work, hair covering her face, making modifications to the once-familiar game.
"Are you almost finished…?" He tries to catch a glimpse of her work, but her caramel-colored hair is blocking her view. He resists the urge to brush it away. She shushes him, but pulls back a moment later. On the table between them lies a diagram of the human body—an anatomically correct diagram.
"I'll still beat you," Barry says picking up the metal tweezers, "You know how great I am at Operation."
Caitlin snatches away the tweezers from him, tilting her chin up, "I know how great you were at child's game. I also know how great I am at giving real operations."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," she throws him one of her rare smiles, which is almost too much for Barry. Almost.
"I'll bet you anything I win," he says.
She's busy, surveying her handiwork, observing the various (anatomically correct) things she has to pick out of the diagram—tonsils, a kidney stone…Barry appreciates how much thought she put into this—and, he's pretty sure he'll like her version of Operation much better than the original version.
"If I win, you owe me a coffee," he hears himself say, regretting the words as soon as they come out of his mouth. What will she think of him now? Besides, he knows he's not going to win. There's no way he could ever beat Doctor Caitlin Snow at her own game.
She smirks, as if reading his mind, "Okay, but if I win, you owe me dinner."
Dinner…why hadn't he thought of that? He tries to swallow, but his mouth is dry. "Deal," he manages, holding out his hand for her to shake. She takes it, her small, soft hand under his large one. "Deal," she confirms.
"Close game," Caitlin says smugly, leaning back and crossing her arms.
Barry leans back, too, rubbing his eyes. It was definitely not a close game. Barry had managed to successfully extract exactly zero objects from the Operation bored. Caitlin's side of the table was littered with little plastic pieces—an appendix, one kidney, several wisdom teeth, even a baby. Caitlin had creamed him. Utterly and completely.
"So, are you hungry then?" Barry asks, quick to change the subject.
Caitlin looks startled, "What, now?"
He stands and offers her his hand, "Why not? Aren't you hungry?"
She takes his hand and stands too, "Well, yeah, I am. But we're not exactly…dressed for dinner."
Barry surveys her appearance…gently curled hair, a tight, business-like black dress, heels…she certainly looks good enough to go on a date. But, she always looks like that. He surveys his own appearance. He's wearing a t-shirt and his usual jeans and converse. Not exactly date-ready.
She's embarrassed of him. She's embarrassed to be going out with him.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Sorry. What was I thinking?" he says quickly.
She gives him a strange look, "Barry, are you alright?"
"Fine. See you tomorrow, I guess?" He's suddenly ashamed. What was he thinking—wanting to go on a date with Caitlin? She's obviously not interested in him. He was stupid to think he could ever be good enough for her. He walks towards the door, turning his back to her.
"Hey," she catches his arm, looking concerned, "I seem to remember a certain bet. Dinner?"
Okay, now Barry is really confused. Why does she suddenly now want to go to dinner? He clears his throat, "Uh, I though—"
"There's this really nice Italian place on 7th street. Think you can get us there?" Her hand is suddenly in his, tugging him toward the door.
"I—"
"You owe me a dinner, Barry Allen. Even if I'm not dressed for it, I am getting what I won!"
That coaxes a smile out of him, "You mean what I let you win."
"Barry Allen, we both know that I rightfully won—"
"Or maybe I just wanted to take you out to dinner."