Notes: For Flufftober - All the Hugs

All of the Hugs

So there were downsides to no longer sharing brain space with Caitlin, one of which was not knowing where her sister was at all times. Frost used to know where Caity was all the time. It was always exactly where Frost was.

And, sure, it was great to know that when she went into a dangerous situation that Frost was only risking her life now, not Caity's. Caitlin didn't want to be a hero. She wanted to be a scientist. There was a reason she didn't want to be an EMT, why she picked STAR Labs over going back to school a while longer for her MD. Why she preferred peaceful resolutions and de-escalating violence over a good punch to the nose.

Not that Caity didn't have a wicked right hook or hadn't invested in self defense lessons after being kidnapped for the umpteenth time. But. The front lines of danger wasn't where Caitlin belonged, but it was where Frost thrived. So she was glad to be leaving her sister safe where she could do her thing - which was important - and Frost could still do her thing too. It wasn't an either/or question anymore. And while Caitlin was safe, Frost wasn't distracted by the lingering worry that if she screwed up that she'd be dragging Caity down with her.

But the flip side was that when she wasn't in the midst of danger and didn't know where Caity was, Frost got... anxious. Where was her sister? Was she safe? Was she happy? Was someone being mean to her? What if Caitlin got kidnapped again? She got kidnapped a lot, it was a legitimate worry.

Of course, Frost was learning coping mechanisms for her anxiety.

Step 1: Locate Caitlin

Today this was easy. Caitlin was taking a break in the lounge and it only took Frost a few minutes to find her sister.

Step 2: Glomp

Well... flying hug attacks were only allowed when Caitlin was guaranteed to land somewhere soft. Surveying the scene told Frost that would not be the case today. So...

Alternate Step 2: Gently hug

Coming up on her sister from behind, Frost wrapped her arms around Caitlin's shoulders and nuzzled her face against Caity's back.

"Hi Frost," Caitlin said, sounding bemusedly resigned.

"I found you," Frost chirped.

"I wasn't hiding."

"You weren't in your lab, I got worried," Frost grumbled.

"Well, I'm headed back there now," Caitlin told her. "So if you could let go..."

"Nope." Frost shook her head and tightened her grip a bit.

Caitlin huffed in resignation.

Step 3: Continue hugging until you feel better

Frost did not feel better yet.

So Caitlin started walking anyway. Frost rocked back on her heels, not for the first time (or last) mentally congratulating Heelys on being the best shoe idea ever made. As Caitlin walked, Frost simply just... rolled along behind her.

"I love you, Caity," Frost muttered softly.

"Love you too, Frost," Caitlin replied, a smile in her voice.


Cisco frowned at the doorway. "What the..."

"Huh, something wrong?" Ralph asked.

"I just saw Caitlin walk past with Frost clinging too her and rolling on her heels," Cisco said. "I think. Or I'm hallucinating. Please tell me I'm not hallucinating, I don't want to deal with that this week."

"You just had brothers growing up, right?" Ralph asked. When Cisco nodded, Ralph said, "yeah, well, don't worry. That's totally normal sister behavior. Just roll with it." He snickered. "Get it? Roll with it? Because Frost was..."

"I get it, Ralph," Cisco interrupted with a groan.