The One with The Winter Wonderland

"Are we there yet?"

He asked for the umpteenth time that night, making her want to roll her eyes at him but she resisted the urge to do so. She knew he had not been his usual cheerful self these past few days but seeing that he's still not one to handle waiting well enough not to ask repeatedly (and tried to peek through the makeshift blindfold she's given him a couple of times) made her let out a loving chuckle instead, kissing his cheek before guiding him to a stop near the doorway.

"Almost there, Bar."

"Are you sure?" She noticed the way he raised a single brow from under the blindfold, clearly displaying his doubt before continuing on his protest, "Because you've been saying that for quite a while now baby but-"

She cut him off by removing his blindfold and letting out an excited, "Surprise!" with matching hand gestures and a beaming smile on her face.

His facial expression is enough for her to know that he is way beyond surprised; making her smile wider for she is sure her efforts had all been worth it. He tried to say something but just kept on closing and opening his mouth in disbelief. When the words finally came out, he was reduced to a babbling mess she has grown to love these past years.

"Wow…this-it's just…it's like-"

"Walking in a Winter Wonderland?" Her angelic smile still plastered on her face matched with that twinkle in her eyes so bright he just knew it would only take a second to mirror it in his own. Too stunned by the magical ice sculptures of a miniature castle, pine trees, horses and just about everything from a wonderland, he could only nod his head and replied a monosyllabic, "Yeah."

"Glad you liked it."

"I loved it." He was so mesmerized by his surroundings, taking in the white light coming off the ceiling, making the whole place look ethereal. He couldn't help but notice all the small details – the adorable snowman standing by the corner of the room, the sleigh made out of ice that has intricate details on the side, the few dustings of snow coming from one side of the wall that made him forget that this is actually their training area in STAR Labs. He knew it had taken much effort and time to pull all of this off so he couldn't help but wonder, "But how? I mean, it's been quite busy for the both of us these past few days so-"

"Questions will be entertained by the end of the tour mister. But for now, let's have some fun because I didn't waste using my powers to pass up the opportunity to hit the fastest man alive with snowball." She said smugly, making his competitive self come alive.

"Yeah? I bet you wouldn't even graze the side of my fa-aghh!" He was caught off guard by a snowball hitting him squarely on the face, followed by a hearty laugh coming from one of the pile of snow where she chose to be her hiding place. "That's cheating! We haven't even started yet!"

"You know for the fastest man alive, you sure are slow to these kind of things." She teased, throwing another snowball to his direction that he easily dodged this time. Using his powers once again, he made his own snowball and threw it at her. It hit her right on the chest, making him the one to laugh and her to protest.

"Bet you didn't see that one coming, huh? Yeah, I guess I'm that slow." He winked at her which only made her narrow her eyes at him in return.

"Hey! You used your powers. You're breaking the rule!"

"It's a snowball fight, Cait. There are no rules."

The way her eyes twinkled with mischief made him swallow hard, knowing ice is her forte and…well, they're pretty much in her fortress right now.

Before he could say something to take back his own words, the snow he's standing on moved abruptly, making him trip on his own foot. He landed on one of the ice sculptures face first, making her laugh harder than before.

When he had regained his balance, he looked at her directly in her eyes, game face on and declared to start the war with the words, "Game on, Dr. Snow. Game. On."

Just like the kids at heart that they are, they went at each other without holding back. Snowballs were flying everywhere accompanied by a zap of lightning here and there and a couple of ice slides coming out of nowhere. About an hour or so, they both were spent, laughing at their own child-like actions as they lay side by side on the floor making snow angels while still playfully arguing who won and who lost.

When their laugh has reduced to giggles and eventually to a comfortable silence, Barry couldn't remember the last time he laughed that hard since the Christmas season came this year. He was always the one to celebrate this particular holiday, always the one being overly excited and rejoiced during this particular time of the year but not this time. He couldn't help but be reminded of what he had lost, again, since this is going to be the first Christmas he will be celebrating without his father in this world. It was hard enough for him to associate this season with the passing of his mother but when it made him add his father to that long list of painful memories, it's like he has forgotten that part of him which always had been the beacon of light and hope to everybody.

That is until his light has been fueled back to life by a spark in the name of Caitlin Snow.

He gave her a sideways glance as she tried to compose herself after all the playing and goofing around they had very much indulged themselves the past few hours. The lingering smile still plastered firmly on her face, cheeks tinted pink and eyes glowing with glee as she stared on the lights hanging from the ceiling.

He just stared at her in awe, not quite believing that beautiful creatures like her could actually exist. She's gorgeous on the outside and pretty much everything a guy can compliment his girl but it's just the same on the inside if not more. She has this heart so huge and warm to everyone she cares about, always so forgiving and understanding that sometimes he couldn't help but think it's undeserving to people to actually have her share that purest part of her.

He wasn't aware when she had closed the gap between them and tucked herself on his side where he knew she belonged. Shivers went down his spine as her warm breath tickled his ear when she whispered, "You're staring."

"I am."

She's quite taken aback by his outright answer since they had this game they like to play whenever they catch each other admiring the other where they would tease each other to no end with subtle flirting and seduction until that one would actually admit it and they would end up too worked up they just had to act on all the tension building up.

Her eyes softened at his honesty and reached up to caress his cheek while she moved to place her body directly on top of his. She just laid there comfortably, rubbing her nose to his lovingly as she waited for him to speak up his mind. He had this deep-in-thought face on so she knew it'll only be a matter of time before he starts spilling his heart out.

She heard him sigh contently before cupping both her cheeks in his warms hands and made her look at him directly in the eyes.

"Thank you." He breathed, eyes glossy and smile watery for he knew too well the reason behind why she did all of this.

She just nodded her head in understanding, both aware that they don't always need words when it comes to each other.

"Always."

Was her simple answer as she was reminded of this particular time a year or so ago when he was the one cheering her up with a surprise dinner and an instant holiday setup on her own apartment when she had to fight an internal battle brewing inside herself. If it wasn't for him, she would still be in that dark place or worse but he has helped her through that phase to where she is right now with complete and utter control of her powers.

She could feel the intensity of his gaze and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he is up to so she leaned down as soon as he tilted his face to give her a searing and passionate kiss. He deepened the kiss to show just how much he appreciated all of this – all of her. Sealing his gratitude and admiration with the words, "God, I'm so lucky to have you, Cait. I love so so much baby."

"I love you too, Bar."

He was about to go for another kiss but she held up a finger against his lips, moving to straddle his body as she slowly dragged her finger from the corner of his lips down to his cheek then to his jaw before stopping to his pulse point on his neck. She leaned down and whispered to his ear, "You know, using my powers setting this place up really took a toll on me. I might need to find a good source of heat later on." She finished with a wink and a playful bite on his earlobe that made his heart pound faster than in already has.

"Yeah?" He asked with that knowing glint in his eyes.

"Uh-hmm." She hummed in response before standing up completely.

He would've quickly followed her actions if he wasn't bound to the ground on his hands and feet with cuffs made of ice. Confusion showered his features immediately but before he could utter a word of protest, she was already walking away with the words, "You better clean this place up before Cisco comes and bite your head off for making a mess in his beloved training area, Flash."

"Wha…" He trailed off, not knowing what just happened. One moment he felt like his heart would burst right out of his chest with utmost love and gratitude for her but then the next he was cuffed to the ground with ice when all he wanted to do was flash them home, take her to their bed and-

"Caitlin! I can't believe you just did that! I don't even know what to feel for you right now." He huffed and she only chuckled at the adorable pout on his face, trying not to stare too much as it would make the urge to kiss it away harder to resist.

"And I love you too, babe. See you later at home."

With that, she blew him a kiss and walked away while swinging her hips, making him groan more in frustration.

Later that night when it was just the two of them cuddled underneath the sheets with him lazily drawing patterns on her bare back with his fingers, he drew her impossibly close to his side once more and said, "Thanks again for everything, love."

She kissed his chest in response and asked with a twinkle in her eyes, "Even for when I had to leave you alone to clean up the mess I made?"

He chuckled knowing it was her plan all along to let him clean to set him up for yet another surprise. "I must admit it was cruel for you to do that but I guess something good came up while I was shoveling all those snow into a cart. I think Santa saw how this one naughty kid took advantage of this super nice kid that he decided to leave something somewhere in the pile of snow."

Caitlin had to contain her laughter when she pictured him manually shoving heaps of snow into a cart and tried to ask in a serious and unamused tone instead, "Yeah? So what has this super nice kid find?"

He turned around for a second to reach for their nightstand, opened the first draw to where he got a snow globe, and presented it to her. "This. Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful." She agreed with him, knowing he liked the gift she got for him.

"But I don't think I'm gonna need it anymore." He stared at the snow globe at his hand, looking thoughtful as he returned it back to the drawer.

She could only follow with her sight as he did so, confusion now showing on her face. "Why? Don't you like it? I thought you said it's beautiful."

"Yeah but it had a note attached to it and it says I should keep it so I could always have a little piece of Winter Wonderland with me."

"Don't you want one?"

"Of course I do."

"So why won't you keep it?" She had furrowed her brows at this point, shifting her body so she could reach up and look at him directly.

"Because why would I settle for a little one when I could have all to myself right here." He caressed her face with his hand, squeezing her body with the other before leaning down to give her a loving kiss. He pulled away only for him to drop a kiss to the corner of her mouth, "Or here." Then to her jaw, "Or here." Down to her neck, "Or even here."

She starts giggling at his antics before cupping his face in her hands to properly kiss him again on the lips. "I think you've gotten your point across, Mr. Allen."

"Yeah? But I want to keep going just to be sure, Dr. Snow."

He smirked before kissing her all over her body, sending electricity down her spine to her toes. He goes back to face her once again, eyes full of sincerity as he spoke, "You know you're more than just my Winter Wonderland, right Cait? I know I haven't been like myself this past few days and for sure I would've been for the next weeks or maybe months or so if it wasn't for you always being there to spark that light and hope in me. I just hope I could do the same for you."

"You already did."

She answered just as sincere, making him smile the way he used to with his eyes and lips altogether. He sighed contently, assured that whatever happens, they will always be the rock and refuge of each other.

Just as how it has always been.