I – Christmas Eve

Smilingly shaking his head over something Cisco just said, Barry walked into the West family kitchen to get more wine. His demeanor instantly sobered up, however, once he noticed his personal physician at the sink, elbows deep in water as she washed the dishes.

"Cait!"

She briefly looked at him over her shoulder. "Oh, hey, Barry," she greeted him nonchalantly, never missing a beat as she continued scrubbing at a dish from dinner.

He came up next to her. "What are you doing? You're the guest, you're not supposed to be doing our dishes."

She just laughed. "You guys have been so good to me over the years, so the least I could do is wash some dishes that had been piling up."

"Let me do it," he insisted, reaching for the scrub brush.

She held the brush out of his reach. "It's honestly fine," she told him. "I'm almost done anyway," she pointed out, showing the very few plates and utensils left in the sink.

Sighing, the speedster could tell he wasn't going to be able to convince her. "Then I'll dry," he told her as he picked up a towel.

"Fine," she said with a shrug.

"Fine," Barry indifferently repeated as he started picking up the dishes that Caitlin had already put on the drying rack. And although it was one of his least favorite chores as a kid, he was glad he had offered, especially once he noticed a smile slowly take over Caitlin's face out of the corner of his eye. It stirred a warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You missed a spot," Caitlin then told him after he had wiped down the last plate.

He scrunched his brows down, inspecting it closely. "What? Where?" he asked, only for Caitlin to laughingly flick some water in his face from the tips of her fingers.

Barry threw his head back in surprise before placing his hand under the running water, wetting it just enough so that he could flick water into his friend's face too.

"Hey!" she lightly shouted over a giggle.

"You started it," he childishly countered, poking his tongue out for good measure.

"Real mature," she responded, before sticking her own tongue out at him, causing the two to laugh. However, it wasn't long before Barry noticed something over their heads, abruptly ending his laughter.

"What?" Caitlin questioned, noticing his demeanor drastically change before she followed his gaze, her breath hitching as she caught sight of the green plant above them. "Oh."

Barry cleared his throat, his gaze constantly looking at anything but her for too long. "We – we don't have to, you know," he said, gesturing towards the plant, "that…"

"It's just a silly tradition."

"Absolutely."

"And we're good friends."

"Exactly."

"So, I don't see why it would matter if we kissed for a second."

"Righ – wait, what now?" he croaked, his brows hitting his hairline.

The young doctor shrugged. "I don't think it would be a big deal."

The speedster's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. "Me – me neither…"

"So doing this" – she paused to reach up on her tippy toes, hand coiling around his neck before pressing an innocent enough peck against his mouth, lingering for maybe a second too long to be considered innocent, only to lower herself back, tongue swiping over her lips as she stared at him hesitantly with her doe brown eyes – "it's - it's not a big deal," she whispered.

The feeling of her mouth was still lingering with a pleasant tingling sensation, the back of his neck where her fingers laid was burning, and his heart was beating manically inside of his chest. "Yeah…" he softly agreed. "No big deal."

II – New Year's

They were nearing the end of another year with only a couple more minutes left to go. Team Flash was gathered in the Cortex to ring in the new year together while also staying alert to any major crimes that may occur during the same time. They had even set up tables with food and drinks while one of the monitors played a New Year's Celebration special.

"Not a bad year, huh?"

Barry turned to find Caitlin walking up next to him. "Uh, yeah, I guess," he answered, ineloquently at that as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Truth be told, his mind went straight to the brief kiss they had shared a week ago. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal, but it was. He couldn't stop thinking about it. But Caitlin seemed unphased, acting like she normally did, so it seemed like he was the only one that felt something shift.

"Less crime and villains," she commented.

He nodded along in acknowledgement. "A bit boring though," Barry admitted. "I felt like we didn't do a lot of things for fun with the extra free time."

"Maybe that should be your New Year's resolution then," she said, playfully bumping into his side.

Barry laughed, his nervousness easing, if just for that moment. "It could be, for sure. But what about you, huh? What's your New Year's resolution going to be?"

She blew out a breath, shaking her head. "I don't know…maybe getting myself out there again?" she answered, eyeing him with uncertainty.

The speedster raised his brow, unsure what she meant.

"You know, try my hand at dating again. It's been a while."

He suddenly felt like he had swallowed a brick. "Oh…that's – that's…nice."

"Yeah…I think I'm truly ready to find someone and settle down," she told him, lips spreading into a small smile. "I just hope that he's ready for that step too," she added with a shrug, biting down on her lower lip.

Barry's eyes flickered to her lip, remembering its taste and how it was cool to the touch but electric all the same. "He'd be crazy not to be ready if he met you," he nearly whispered.

Her eyes turned shiny, her mouth quivering as she sent him a grateful smile.

"10 – 9 – 8…"

"Ohhh! It's almost time to ring in the New Year!" Caitlin exclaimed, turning to the broadcast as their teammates continued to count down.

Any other year, Barry would begin to participate himself, but right now he couldn't seem to look away from his personal physician. Seeing her face light up with enthusiastic optimism for the upcoming year was breathtakingly endearing and he had the hugest inclination to just wrap her in his arms and hold on to her like this forever.

"3 – 2 – 1…"

A chorus of their teammates joyfully shouting "Happy New Year!" was heard before they all turned to their partners to share a kiss. It wasn't until then that Barry and Caitlin realized everyone present were paired off with one another – Joe & Cecile, Cisco & Kamilla, Ralph & Sue, and even Allegra & Chester. They were the only single ones left of the bunch.

Barry and Caitlin looked at each other, amused yet bashful.

"Isn't – isn't there a superstition that failing to kiss someone on New Year's ensures a year of loneliness?" the speedster questioned.

Caitlin laughed. "Yes, I think there is..."

He scratched the side of his head. "And considering, you know, you want to find someone this year, you should probably-"

"Kiss someone?" Caitlin finished with a knowing smile.

Barry nodded his head swiftly, thickly swallowing. "Yeah…"

"Well, the world didn't implode the last time, I guess," she amusedly stated, before leaning up and kissing him once again, the electricity of it hitting him like a static shock. However, the kiss was over before Barry could even react. It was so brief, in fact, that he had thought he imagined it, but Caitlin's pinkening cheeks gave her away as she looked over him shyly.

"Happy New Year's, Barry," she softly told him, hand running down the length of his arm, before walking over to where the rest of the team had congregated, exchanging hugs all around.

Barry let out a staggered breath as he watched her walk away. He felt shell-shocked and disoriented and his heart was racing so hard that he felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest, but not just from the kiss, but what the kiss had uncovered in the recesses of his mind.

Kissing Caitlin was no longer a big deal, it was a ginormous one.

III - Because

"Barry?"

The speedster's heart stumbled over its next beat at the sound of her voice. "Ba-ck here!" he hollered out to his visitor, cringing at the croak in his voice.

His pulse quickened as he heard her heels clack against the station's floor, his breath stolen when her friendly face appeared around the corner, her signature smile dazzling the dreariness of his lab.

It had been three days since New Years, but with each passing day he felt like he was being overcome with more and more feelings for his personal physician. At first his heart would just race when she was around, but now his palms were sweaty and his legs felt like jello and it was becoming increasingly difficult to form coherent sentences.

"Hey," he softly let out.

"Hey," Caitlin greeted back, her smile widening as she set her purse onto the table nearby along with her coat. "So what's the problem you're having?" she asked, rolling up the sleeves of her blouse, her inquiring eyes scoping out what he was working on.

He gulped as she walked to his side, her perfume intoxicating his senses. "The - this person's blood is just...weird…"

Her eyebrows cutely furrowed, her lips pursed in confusion. "Weird how?" she asked, picking up the one test tube to study the blood sample.

"It keeps changing blood-type," he elaborated just as the color of the tube morphed from pure red to a light yellow with a red cluster. Caitlin's eyes widened at the phenomenon.

"All the tubes keep changing from this blood sample. One minute it'll be AB Rh+ and in the next it'll be completely different."

Caitlin shook her head in shock, mesmerised by the tube before her. "Have you studied the blood under the microscope to see how they mutate?"

"Y-yeah, but stuff like that is not exactly my forte, which is why I called you," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

She flashed him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out," she told him, laying a comforting hand over his on the table, but the suddenness of the affection in turn caused him to jolt from her touch like he had been burned.

She frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he stuttered out before swiftly shaking his head resignedly. "No."

"No?"

He sighed, his body deflating. "No, I'm not okay."

Caitlin immediately put down the test tube that she had been inspecting, giving him her undivided attention, the gears behind her beautiful chocolate eyes running as she quickly assessed him from where she stood. "What's wrong?"

"I…" he started, but trailed off, not knowing how to go about this. Caitlin was one of his best friends, and someone he usually could tell anything to, but that could all change if he admitted his growing feelings. But these feelings felt like they were demanding to be let out.

Without thinking much further, Barry cupped her face in his hands, pulling her lips up to his mouth, kissing her soundly and hoping to convey all what he was unable to say moments before. And just like the previous times, her lips sent an electric coolness though his body, and as she started to kiss him back, the sensation only increased tenfold, making him furrow his brows and curl his toes. The kiss was simply...ethereal...

"What...what was that for?" she asked, breathless, her eyes bewildered and hazy.

"Just because," Barry said with a shrug as he withdrew his hands from her face, trying to give her room to process. "I didn't want to wait for another excuse or a special circumstance just to kiss you again."

"You wanted to kiss me again?" she shyly wondered.

Barry nodded, nervously letting out a chuckle. "Since Christmas Eve...and, if I'm being honest with myself, I may have wanted to kiss you before that too…"

Her breath hitched. "Oh…"

He nervously licked his lips. "Look, I get if you don't feel the same, I mean, you said this would be no big deal, but I had to go and make it a big deal. Plus, I know you said you wanted to get out there again this year and settle down-"

"I was hoping that person would be you."

He swallowed. "You - you did?"

She nodded, smiling as her eyes grew watery.

"But you - you didn't seem phased, like at all. I thought I was going to trip over my own feet every time I was around you and you never missed a beat."

Caitlin giggled, wiping at a lone tear that escaped. "Just because I wasn't tripping over my feet or my words doesn't mean I wasn't freaking out internally. I guess I'm just a little better at hiding my feelings than you, Mr. Allen."

He smirked, though his eyes shone with so much affection. "I guess so, Dr. Snow."

She smiled at him, one filled with so much happiness that Barry couldn't help but mirror it himself. However, her attention soon caught that of the test tubes on the table nearby. "Why don't we figure this changing blood thing out, but then afterwards…"

"A date?"

Her grin only grew. "I'd really love that."

"Yes, me too."

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW with your thoughts about this. I thought this was an interesting concept and a little different from what I usually write for these. :)