Barry walked down the hall where his children's rooms were, wanting to quietly peek in to see if they were sleeping yet.
As he looked into Nora's room, the speedster chuckled to himself as he saw her sprawled out comically with her blanket hanging hazardously off her bed. He amusingly shook his head as he fixed the blanket, wondering how she even managed to get in such a position as he laid a gentle kiss against her forehead.
He then checked in on Nate, and the little guy was curled up innocently in his bed. He looked like he hadn't moved an inch since he and Caitlin had tucked him in earlier. Barry lightly brushed through his son's hair, marvelled for a moment how dark it was getting now that he was getting older, before kissing him too.
Entering the master suite, Caitlin looked up from the book she was reading. "They finally asleep?"
He nodded. "Out like lights."
"Time to put out the presents then," she stated as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, getting up.
"Actually," Barry started, cocking his head to the side, "I was wondering if we could do something a little bit different this year…?" he suggested with a small shrug.
Caitlin raised a brow. "Different...how?" she measuredly inquired.
"I know this is like our thing," he stressed, "but Cisco told me earlier that Nate had asked him for a spy camera to install in the tree. He wants to see if Santa is real…"
His wife sighed. "He is 8, Barry. Maybe it's time he finds out."
"He could still have a good year or two left…"
She strode up to him slowly, wrapping her arms around his waist. "You have to let him grow up, honey."
"But Nora already did," Barry whined.
Caitlin laughed, fondly rolling her eyes, but nodded nonetheless, conceding. "What did you have in mind?"
Barry's face perked with excitement. "Okay, so, I got the full Santa ensemble," he admitted, untangling himself from his wife to grab a red Santa bag from under their bed, "and I thought that maybe if I put this on and deliver the presents with this that Nate will think I'm Santa and continue believing."
She looked at him for a moment, and he could tell she wanted to say something, but ultimately she held her tongue. "Okay..." she said instead, clapping her hands together. "Then you better go get changed. I'll start putting the presents in the bag."
"Thank you, thank you thank you!" Barry quickly trilled, coming forward to cup her face, kissing her mightingly. "You're the best!" he said over his shoulder as he excitedly dashed to the bathroom with his costume.
Getting the costume all on was simple enough. The body suit he got to give him the more traditional Santa bod was the hardest to strap together. Despite all Santa suits looking rather the same, the speedster liked to think his was more authentic looking than the typical mall Santa ones. The suit's material wasn't cheap and the fake beard didn't look like cotton balls.
"So, how do I look?" he asked as he walked back into the bedroom.
Caitlin was kneeling on the ground, nearly done packing the presents in the bag, when she turned to view him. Immediately a giggle fell from her lips as she rose to her feet. "Oh my…" she let out as she slowly made her way to him, her eyes looking over him humorously. "It looks better than I thought it would, but I have to say...I still prefer your other red suit, Mr. Allen," she told him with a wink and a loving pat to his chest.
"Mr. Claus," he corrected, chuckling as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, Mr. Claus, go deliver the presents. I want to get to bed early."
With a nod, Barry picked up the Santa bag filled to its capacity with their presents and slung it over his shoulder. As he took a step forward, however, he teetered to the one side, the weight of the presents throwing him off. "Whoa…" he let out, before righting himself quickly.
"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, her eyes assessing him with worry.
"I'm fine," Barry assured her, waving it off. "I just wasn't ready for the weight. I'm good now," he insisted as he then walked to their door, showing her that it was fine, though her face still held a sense of unease. "I'll be back soon."
Quietly exiting their bedroom, Barry tiptoed down the hallway, listening for any noises that would indicate his kids had woken since he last checked in on them, but all was quiet. He smiled with satisfaction as he reached the stairs, trying to take his time with the tremendous weight of the bag on his shoulder and the heaviness of his Santa boots.
When he finally got to the living room, he was grateful that it was only illuminated by the glowing Christmas tree in the corner. The darkness and shadows might help him pull this off. So, with the confidence he assumed Santa would carry, he walked towards the tree, trying to puff out his chest and walk tall. But just as he was about to take the bag down to begin unloading the gifts, he remembered the cookies that waited for him nearby. He thought he would start with that seeing that he was already growing an appetite from the little work he did - no wonder Santa needed fuel after every house!
However, while turning back towards the coffee table where the cookies and milk were neatly laid out, the momentum threw him off kilter once more, hitting the branches of the tree, making some of the decorations fall off with small thuds.
Barry's eyes widened as he noticed what he did. His attention quickly went to the stairs to see if anyone had heard and was going to come down to investigate. He stood there for a minute, just waiting, but nothing happened. Barry let out a sigh of relief, before gently placing the bag down and away from the tree.
Close one, he thought as he took a much needed bite of the cookies, and nearly moaned from the savory sweetness. Caitlin really outdid herself this time. He really did hit the jackpot by marrying her. And no, not just because she made amazing food, but like her willingness to go along with these ridiculous plans of his. He smiled, taking a swig of the milk to wash the cookies down. He'd have to think of a way to properly thank her later.
Having fulfilled one Santa duty, Barry then turned back to the tree to complete the other. Unfortunately, as he stepped forward, one of the fallen ornaments got caught under his foot, propelling him forward, making him dive headfirst into the tree, creating a huge bang as he and the tree both fell to the ground.
Before he could blink, a swirl of pink lightning was wrapping their extra Christmas lights tightly around him as two pairs of feet thundered down the stairs to see what all the commotion was about.
"Nora!" a hysterical Nate hollered as he ran in. "Stoooooop! You're tying up Santa!"
Caitlin then entered the room, turning on the main light. Once she saw the situation before her, her hand immediately went to her mouth. He thought she'd be mad, but it looked like she was instead holding back a laugh.
"It's not Santa," Nora told her younger brother, before ripping his hat and beard off his head, but instantly did a double take as she did. "Wait, what...Dad?"
"Ow…" Barry briefly whined - the beard had been semi-glued to his face. "But...heh...hi kids…"
Nate's eyes were wide. "Dad?" he started, his voice high in awe, "are you Santa Claus too?!"
Caitlin finally let out the laugh that she was holding back as she laid comforting hands on her son's shoulders. "No, Nate, your father is not Santa Claus."
The little man deflated. "Then...then why is he dressed like that?"
Caitlin sent Barry a knowing look over the head of their son, causing the speedster to sigh. His hand went to nervously rub the back of his neck. He knew he had to fess up.
Phasing out of the Christmas light restraints and taking off the belly, the speedster went over to the couch, gesturing for his son. "Come here, buddy."
Nate padded his way over to his father and Barry brought him to his lap. He couldn't help but wonder how long it'd be before he wouldn't be able to hold him like this anymore, but pushed that to the side for now.
"Uncle Cisco told me about the spy camera you installed."
Nate's eyes widened before he shamefully looked down. "Sorry...but - but Robbie at school said that Santa wasn't real, so I wanted to catch him to show Robbie he was wrong."
"I get it," he told his son, fondly rustling the back of Nate's head. "But I think it's time you knew that…" - and it was hard for Barry to say at first, especially since this truth made his little baby all the more grown up - "Santa Claus isn't real."
Barry's heart nearly broke as Nate slumped in his lap. "He isn't?" he sadly inquired.
Caitlin then walked over, kneeling in front of Nate. "Santa isn't real, but that doesn't mean the magic of Christmas isn't," she told him. "Being with family who love you is the real gift, and you'll always have that, right here..." she said, pointing to his heart.
Nate nodded thoughtfully at his mother, processing it all, before quietly asking. "Do I still get real presents though?"
Both parents laughed, before reassuring the little boy.
"You okay?" Barry eventually asked as Nate grew quiet once again.
Nate nodded his head, shrugging. "Yeah, I guess…"
Barry leaned over to kiss the side of Nate's head. "Why don't you guys go back to bed?" he suggested to Nate, and also Nora, who had been quiet in the corner, fixing the tree, as they talked to her little brother.
The parents watched as their two kids ushered towards the stairs, but not before Barry called out to Nora last second.
"Hey, Niz…" he said, causing the teenager to backtrack into the living room to face her father, "thanks for fixing the tree," he sincerely told her, "but also good job handling the situation. I'm really proud of you."
Her face broke out into a huge smile, beaming. "Thanks, Dad," she sheepishly said, before practically skipping out of the room.
"They're both growing up so much," Caitlin commented, following Barry's gaze as he watched their children go up the stairs.
"I know," Barry said with a sad sigh, before turning to his wife, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You want to have another one?"
She threw her head back with a laugh. "That boat has sailed, my love," she told him, but her eyes were soft as she regarded him. "Though there is a bonus to them getting older."
"Enlighten me."
"More time for just us. Together. Alone…"
Barry's eyes twinkled as he brought her into his arms. "I like the sound of that very much…"
She smiled into a kiss. "Come on, let's put the presents out, Mr. Claus."
"Lets," he answered her before chuckling. "I'm obviously disastrous when I try it alone."
A/N: If you're reading this, PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know what you thought about this oneshot. I definitely see Barry being the one that has a hard time letting his kids grow up lol!
