Barry walked into the Cortex just like he did any other morning. However, this morning in particular was a little bit different. Mainly because Barry had a huge ridiculous-looking scarf wrapped around his neck.
Cisco looked at Caitlin and Caitlin looked back at Cisco, both raising their brows at the new look on their friend.
"Are you cold, Barry?" Cisco amusingly asked.
The speedster's face scrunched up. "No...why do you ask?"
"Oh, well you're wearing…" the long-haired man started and gestured around his neck.
Barry looked down and his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, right...the scarf…"
"Yeah," Cisco said over a laugh. "Are you trying out a new fashion statement or something then?"
He cleared his throat, eyes darting to Caitlin for a second. "Or something…" he mumbled.
This piqued the interest of his friends even more.
"Bartholomew Henry Allen, what are you hiding?" Caitlin asked, throwing her hands to her hips and staring the speedster down.
"Oooh, she said your full naaaame," Cisco warned. "That's when she's at her scariest."
Caitlin then directed her glare at Cisco, her eyes thinning.
"I - I mean, that's when she's at her...prettiest?"
She rolled her eyes, directing her attention back to Barry, eyes softening. "But seriously, what's with the scarf? Did you get hurt?"
"No...no…" he assured her. "I - I just...cut myself a little...while shaving, obviously…" he measuredly said, though it was clear that he was lying. "So I'm wearing this until it heals."
Because Barry had been focused on Caitlin as he explained, he didn't notice Cisco coming up next to him until the scarf was snatched from his neck, revealing multiple circular bruises up and down his neck.
"Or you're hiding hickies, you sly dog!" Cisco hollered with a laugh. "But wait, with your speedy-healing, I thought hickeys like that weren't even possible?"
"I don't know, okay!" he hysterically hollered, plucking the garment back from his friend to wrap it around his neck again, seemingly insecure with the appearance.
Cisco snorted and looked over at Caitlin. "You're being oddly quiet about this."
"Hmm?" she hummed out, eyes wide before shaking her head. "Right, um, Barry, why don't we go into my lab and see why this might be happening, yeah?"
Barry dipped his head, but allowed Caitlin to pull him into her lab. Once they got in there, Caitlin shut the door behind her and locked it, leaving a dubious Cisco looking at them from the other side.
"Doctor-Patient confidentiality," she hollered at their friend, ignoring the way Cisco rolled his eyes as she stepped into her doctor role.
Caitlin immediately directed Barry to take his usual seat on the gurney as she walked to the other side of the room to gather all of her usual check-up equipment. On her way back, she cast a quick glance over to where Cisco was to make sure he had left, sighing in relief as she noticed that he was now on the computer at the console.
However, as she turned to Barry, she bit down on her lip as she slowly unwrapped the scarf from around his neck. Once she caught sight of the bruises, she instantly winced. "I am so sorry, Barry," she said, cheeks pinkening as she gently ran her fingers over the surface of the black and blue marks. "I didn't think it would make marks like this and for so long!"
"It's alright, trust me, I am not complaining about how I got them," he said with a fond chuckle, eyes even getting a semi-dazed look as he thought back to that morning.
"But you're wearing a scarf!"
"Only because there are multiple hickies and that it would be weird for me to have any hickies considering no one knows I'm dating anyone, let alone that person being you…"
Caitlin pouted. "Which begs the question, why are they still there when I did this a few hours ago?"
Barry raised his arms, shrugging. "I mean, your nips were cold, but doesn't coldness usually reduce bruise swelling?"
"Yes, but...uh oh..." she started but interrupted herself with a thought.
"Uh oh...what?"
"The bites...they were cold…"
Barry tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, I said that…"
Caitlin shook her head. "No, they were cold, so I don't think I gave you normal hickies. I - I think I gave you frostbite…"
The speedster opened his mouth to say something, but no words ended up coming out.
Worryingly, her fingers brushed over the area again, testing the texture of the skin and its condition. "Luckily, because the frostbite was small and that you're a speedster, it seems like it didn't have a detrimental effect, just a longer than normal bruise…"
"So, I'll - I'll be alright then?"
"Yes, thankfully," she said with a sigh. "I'm so sorry, Barry. I won't do it again."
Barry's eyes immediately bulged. "No! Please, please do it again!"
"But the bruises-"
"So worth it," he instantly assured her.
"Bar-ry!"
"What? We'll just make sure we don't have to be anywhere anytime soon," he told her, winking.
The doctor just shook her head as she laughed under her breath. "We'll talk about this later. Regardless, what are we going to tell Cisco now? He's going to want an explanation."
"We could tell him the truth," Barry told her as he discreetly went to hold her hand.
"Then he'll know I did that!" she said, her cheeks flushing with a mighty red.
"Do you honestly think he'll forget about this by the time we do tell him?"
"No," she answered quietly with a pout. "But…"
"But what?" Barry softly prompted, his eyes wide and gleaming as he gazed down at her oh-so tenderly.
She crumbled. "But nothing," she answered. "Let's tell him."
Barry's face perked, his lips morphing into a dazzling smile that made her fall in love with him all over again. "For real?" he hesitantly asked, his voice trying to veil his excitement, but it was clear as day to the doctor.
"Really," she confirmed, giving his hand a squeeze, before the duo walked out of the lab and into the Cortex to tell their friend.
And if you heard continuous laughter from STAR Labs, well...that was just Cisco being really really happy for them.
A/N: This was very fun to write, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. Kudos to JaneDoe for suggesting this prompt! PLEASE REVIEW to let me know your thoughts! :)
