Barry and Caitlin were currently in his lab at the CCPD, wrapped up in each other's arms with enormous smiles on their faces. They had just come back from having lunch together - their first lunch date as a couple - and he was having such a hard time letting her go back to work. He had so much serotonin flooding his system from just being around her. He's had a week to process this new step in their relationship, but the fact that he could hold her like this still made his mind short circuit.
"Hey Rookie, you have a minute?"
The speedster softly groaned, slumping against Caitlin who merely giggled at his reaction to their friend's entrance.
"Oh hey, Caitlin," Ralph greeted as he noticed her, flashing her a smile.
Shooting Barry a look of reluctance, she extracted her arms from around his waist. "I'll let you boys at it," she said, giving him an affectionate pat on the chest. "Emergencies aside, I'll see you tonight though, right?"
Barry swiftly nodded his head. "Yeah, of course," he answered breathily, finding his breath constantly stolen from him when she was around.
"Good," she said with a sweet smile before laying a small peck against his lips. "See you later," she told them, waving goodbye as she left.
Ralph watched Barry tracingly watch Caitlin leave. "You guys are disgustingly adorable together."
The speedster rolled his eyes as he walked over to his desk, organizing some recent files.
"It takes guts though."
Barry's eyebrow quirked at his associate. "To finally tell each other how we feel?"
"Well, that too," Ralph answered. "But I was referring more to the fact that you got together so close to Christmas. I mean, I always refrained from getting together with someone too close to Christmas or Valentine's Day... or even their birthday if it could be helped..."
"And you wonder why you've been single for so long," he murmured with a shake of his head. "What's the big deal anyway?"
"Well, I guess in your case it doesn't matter. I'm sure your Christmas gift for her would've been appropriate as a friend or a boyfriend."
Barry's eyes bulged, his body freezing. "Shoot," he said under his breath.
"No?" Ralph questioned, his voice a little smug. "What did you get her?"
The speedster sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "A baking cookbook," he reluctantly told him.
The taller man threw his back with a laugh.
"She likes baking," Barry quietly said to try and justify his gift.
"That's the type of gift you give your grandma, Rookie. Not your friend, let alone your girlfriend."
Anxiety started to rise within Barry's chest. Christmas was just two days away, and if his initial gift was not good enough, would he even have time to find a good replacement? "Then what do I get her?!"
"Jewelry," Ralph flatly replied. "Jeez, if I didn't know you, I'd think you've never been in a relationship before, let alone married."
Barry rolled his eyes. "I know most women like that, but Caitlin doesn't care that much for jewelry."
The other man winced, visibly racking his brain for another alternative. "Um...um...what about…" - he paused as a slow-forming smirk came over his features - "lingerie."
"She has to open this up in front of my family, man!" Barry hollered, his ears flaming bright red just thinking about it.
"Right, right…" Ralph lowly murmured, again in deep thought. "What about...a purse or something? I don't know!"
It was then an idea struck his mind. "That might work...with a twist…" he said, pulling on his coat and ushering out of his lab to go shop, too preoccupied with his idea to even say goodbye to his friend.
Ralph stood there, arms raised in exasperation as he watched his friend go. "You're welcome!" he hollered after his speedy friend. "Not like I needed your help for anything either," he murmured to himself, before shrugging it off. Young love.
.
It was Christmas day morning and everyone was gathered around the tree at the West household. Joe was sipping on his coffee from the comfort of the lounge chair while Cecile began distributing everyone's gifts. Cecile's daughter Joanie was on the couch with Wally, Iris, and Iris' new boyfriend, talking about all of their various journeys their jobs had taken them since last year. Then there was Barry, sitting on the floor with Caitlin in between his legs, watching little Jenna fondly as she began to open her gifts.
Caitlin laughed at Jenna's exuberant reaction to a toy she had gotten, causing the speedster to grin to himself at the beautiful sound. Happily, he wrapped his arms around her stomach, pulling her just a little closer before laying a kiss to the back of her head.
She turned her attention away from Jenna to coyly eye him, her honey-brown eyes twinkling in the sunlight that was streaming over her face. "What are you up to, Mr. Allen?" she smilingly whispered.
He quietly chuckled, trying not to disturb what everyone else was doing. "Nothing," he told her. "I'm just really happy you're here, Dr. Snow."
He really was. She had been over at the West house more times than he could count, even on holidays, but this felt different, and not just because they were a couple now. It felt like everything in the multiverse was finally clicking into place. It felt right, and he felt truly at peace for the first time in so long.
Caitlin's face softened as her hands covered his, giving them a reassuring squeeze while she never took her eyes off of him. "I'm happy too."
A brilliant grin overtook his face, glee swirling around in his chest.
"Caitlin, this one is for you," Cecile said, pushing the bulky present over to the doctor. "Watch," she warned, "that thing is heavy!"
Suddenly his glee hit the breaks, coming to an abrupt stop in the pit of his stomach.
"Ooh, it's from Barry," Caitlin remarked as she read the gift tag, dragging it to her just a little closer. "Wow, you weren't kidding, Cecile! This is heavy," she commented. "What did you get me, Barry? A bowling bowl?" she joked, causing everyone else to laugh too as she ripped open the wrapping paper.
The speedster let out a weak laugh, his apprehension growing. After getting this idea, he had felt confident that she'd like it, but now he was doubting it all. More so, he was afraid of what would happen if she didn't like it, or didn't get it. Would everything he felt just moments ago be gone as quickly as it came?
She opened up the box, her head tilting to the side, and he just knew she was pursing her lips into a confused pout. "It's...a purse…?"
Barry cleared his throat. "You - you've been saying that you needed to get a new purse, so I thought I'd get you a new one."
She shook her head. "No, yeah, it's not the purse I'm questioning - which is beautiful by the way - but more so why this purse is so...heavy," she stressed as she lifted the purse out of the box with both hands. She then looked over her shoulder at him, eyebrow lifted.
"O-open it."
She narrowed her eyes at him, assessing him closely before directing her attention back in front of her. Soon the sound of her unzipping the bag was heard and Barry swore his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
"Ah, more gifts," she said as she began to take them out one by one. She first took out a salt caramel-scented candle, then a couple bath bombs, the baking cookbook he originally had gotten her, a new blood collection kit, Grease on blu-ray, and then a big mug that read: I'm a doctor. What's your superpower?
Caitlin was quiet as she looked at her gifts, her fingers tracing them over carefully. But then her shoulders shook and she started to sniffle. With speed as fast as his powers allowed, he went to kneel in front of her, his face falling and his gut twisting as he witnessed a few tears fall from her eyes.
"Shit, shit, shit," he worriedly trilled, taking the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Cait. I'll get you a better gift."
She then shook her head, a smile breaking over her face. "No, no, Barry, honey...these - these are happy tears."
"Happy tears?" he asked in disbelief, but the tightening in his chest began to subside.
Her smile only grew. "This is just so thoughtful. It's filled with so many little things from our relationship over the years…"
"I paid attention."
She giggled. "You really did. I mean, the candle-"
"was the same one that was burning when we first kissed," he finished for her with a fond smile.
"Yes, it was," she agreed as another few tears fell from her eyes.
"Here," Barry said as he opened up the front pocket of her purse to pull out a handkerchief, "I got you one of these too."
Her laughter doubled as she took the handkerchief and dabbed the wetness from her face. "Didn't want me to keep stealing yours?" she teasingly asked.
"I just figured that if you're dating someone with an 80-year-old soul that you might need it to keep up."
She shook her head, eyes playfully rolling.
"You really like your gifts?" he wondered once again, just to make sure. "I was just so worried it all wasn't going to be enough."
She reached over to lay her hand against his cheek, caressing it lightly. "Come on…" she said gently, offering him that sweet smile of hers that always managed to get him calm, "you know I don't care about the presents."
"I know...it's just-"
"- our first Christmas together as a couple," she interjected.
A breathy laugh escaped him as he stared at her, amazed at how well she knew him. "Yeah…I didn't want you to think I didn't love you if I only got you something so... simple and un-girlfriend like."
Her lips quirked. "Love, huh?"
"Huh?" Barry looked at her in confusion for a moment before his eyes bulged, not realizing until just then what he had let slip. "I - I...well...yes…I do...love you..." he clumsily confessed, mentally kicking himself in the head for how unromantic it came out. It was definitely not how he envisioned telling her that.
Her lips spread wider, pushing those nerves of his a little to the side. "I love you too, Barry."
"It's not too fast?"
"You're the Flash," she amusingly said with a chuckle. "I'm used to things going a little quicker than usual, but no, this feels...right."
A huge sense of relief went through him for the second time that day. It did feel right. It all did.
Smiling, he kissed Caitlin, which she reciprocated readily, before the sounds of Jenna giggling in the background met his ears, reminding him that they were still very much in the presence of his family...at Christmas.
He backed away, blushing, too embarrassed to even look to see if anyone had been watching. "Can't get too carried away right now, can we?"
She shook her head with a small laugh. "We'll have tonight though," she assured him, her eyes getting a tiny bit darker than their usual honey-brown. Her voice then lowered so only he could hear. "...then I can show you my gift for you…and afterwards, we can put one of those bath bombs to good use like we did after our first time."
Barry swallowed hard as he rapidly nodded his head, his imagination already running wild. "Sounds good," he croaked.
A/N: Annnnd that's the last day! If you're reading this REVIEW! Let me know what you thought of this one. Also, which one was your favorite? Love to hear from you! Keep safe out there! :)
