Disclaimer: I do not own The Flash.


Catalyst: Any substance that increases the rate of a reaction without itself being consumed by the reaction.

Inhibitor: A compound that blocks the action of an enzyme by reversible attachment in such a way as to prevent binding by the substrate or to prevent a reaction even if the substrate can still bind.


Her room had never been warmer. Caitlin hummed lazily, cuddling deeper into the warmth.

Then the warmth moved, adjusting his arm to bring her in even closer, as if that was even possible. But Caitlin complied anyway, adjusting her head down to fit snuggly against the warmth's chin and splaying her hands precariously close to his lower back.

She moved one of her legs so they fit in-between the warmth's legs and sighed happily. Best sleep ever, she thought hazily.

"So freakin' cute!" A voice squealed above her and the warmth's head.

Groaning, Caitlin rolled over in an attempt to block the noise, but found it to be a difficult task with a body sleeping right beside her!

Eyes widening comically, Caitlin took in her current state of dress (pajamas and a serious case of bedhead) and hurriedly tried to push herself off of Barry Allen, who had currently made his home in her bed.

Untangling herself from the deep sleeper took a long time and when she finally got herself free from his long, perfectly tanned, well-toned (get a hold of yourself, Caitlin) arms, she turned to face the other way only to be met by—

"Mornin'." Felicity Smoak, dressed in her professional work clothes and high heels, stared her right in the eye, a devilish smirk permanently stuck on her face.

Caitlin let out a loud yelp and fell unceremoniously off the side of her bed. On a positive note, that action finally woke the snoring Barry on her bed and he pushed himself to a sitting position and yawned nonchalantly as if he and Caitlin weren't caught in the act of literally sleeping together.

"Good morning, Barry," Felicity Smoak sang once she realized she was not going to get a coherent response out of her roommate.

Finally realizing the situation they were in, Barry pulled the blanket that had fallen up to his chest and smiled sheepishly, a light blush dawning on his face. "Morning, Felicity."

"Go away, Felicity," Caitlin grumbled, standing up from the bedroom floor and throwing her many fallen pillows and blankets, which she had tossed away in her sleep since Barry's heat was enough for her, back on the bed. "You're being weird again."

"I'm always weird, Caitlin, but you guys are so cute! I am actually obsessed with your love. I remember the good old days with me and Oliver and how it was in the beginning, all cuddly and shy! Check out these pictures I took of you guys while you were sleeping!"

"I hope you realize how creepy you sound," Caitlin deadpanned.

Barry leaned over curiously to look at the pictures on Felicity's phone, and Caitlin couldn't help but sneak a peek as well.

In the image, Barry was lying on his back with one arm falling off the bed and the other curled around Caitlin to pull her in closer as she laid most of her body weight on top of his. One of Caitlin's hands was placed right on top of his heart, feeling its slow, rhythmic beat, and the other hand had dug its way under his body and fit into his lower back, where his body heat was most reserved.

Caitlin looked quite peaceful in her sleep; so peaceful, in fact, that she could make out a little line of drool dripping unceremoniously down her face and onto Barry's chest, since she was fit comfortably under his chin.

Embarrassment filled her entire body and she was just about to grab her best friend's phone when Barry said, "Send these to me."

"Huh?" Caitlin asked, at the same time Felicity responded, "Sure."

She handed her phone over to Barry for him to put in his contact information and text the pictures to himself. "We look cute," Barry responded to Caitlin's silent question. "I might make this my screensaver."

"Please don't." Caitlin covered her face in shame and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Then I guess we need to take more pictures of us, so I can show you off," Barry said, flirting unashamedly.

"Oo! Oliver hates taking pictures!" Felicity exclaimed. "Caitlin, can we trade boyfriends?"

"You can take him for free."

"Hey!"

Felicity laughed. "Be nice to your boyfriend, Caitlin. It's his first morning with us, so we want to be as normal as possible before we show off our true selves."

"This is you being normal?" Caitlin grumbled, not used to Felicity being so supportive of her new (fake) boyfriend. She doesn't remember Felicity ever being this excited when she and Ronnie were a thing.

Very cleverly avoiding the question, Felicity asked the guest of honor, "So what do you think of our little home, Barry?"

"It's really nice! At least from what I've seen in the dark. A lot nicer than my place."

"Would you ever consider living here? We're always looking for someone to split the rent," Felicity asked jokingly. Caitlin squinted suspiciously at the blonde… at least she hoped Felicity was making a joke.

Barry laughed, taking Felicity's wild nature into stride. "Maybe in the future. You know, after we've dated for more than a month."

That's right, Caitlin realized. It had been less than a month since their first agreement. She felt like it had been forever.

"Anyway," Barry said, changing the subject with ease. "You guys have a bathroom?"

"Do we ever?" Felicity answered, "You'd be surprised to learn we even have a kitchen and a living room."

"You're being sarcastic, but I spent the first three years of undergrad in a tiny dorm with communal showers, bunk beds, and the campus dining hall, so bathrooms and kitchens are amazing things I will never take for granted again."

"Your apartment now has a nice kitchen," Caitlin said, "At least from what I saw from the couch."

"Hmm, yeah, I love to cook, so I really focused on the kitchen when I went apartment hunting. Everything else in my apartment is pretty crummy though."

"Maybe if you cleaned up and organized a little…"

"Bathroom, Felicity?" Barry interrupted loudly, so Caitlin wouldn't get back into one of her long rants about his organization skills (or lack of).

"Down the hall to the left. And there's a spare toothbrush in one of the drawers you can use."

Barry sprinted down the hall at lightning speed, leaving the two girls alone. Caitlin sighed as she stood up from bed and stretched. "Do you live to embarrass me, Felicity?"

"No, but it's truly one of the highlights of my existence."

They walked to the kitchen together and Caitlin sat at the tall chair by the kitchen pass-through, while Felicity began to make her morning to-go cup of coffee for work. "Why were you asking Barry if he wanted to live here?" Caitlin asked. "Is it because you're considering taking Oliver up on his offer to move in with him?"

Although Felicity didn't respond, her silence spoke volumes. "I know I was happy that you decided to live with me," Caitlin began cautiously, "but if you are seriously considering living with Oliver, I think you should go for it."

"If I'm always living with Oliver then…" Felicity said. "What if I start to feel caged in?"

"Does Oliver ever make you feel like you're not free when you're with him?" Caitlin asked concernedly.

"Well, no, but…" Felicity trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Okay, I've been thinking about it a lot for a while now so get ready for emotionally open, fully honest Felicity Smoak."

"I'm ready," Caitlin said determinedly and even though she had no idea where the conversation was headed, she knew she had to do whatever she could to help her friend with whatever was troubling her.

"So you know my mom," Felicity began, "I love her and she's done so much for me, but..." She furrowed her brow, a rare frown on her face, and contemplated her next words. "My mom was never around because of the mistakes of my dad."

Caitlin nodded in understanding. Though Felicity rarely talked about her father, she knew there were plenty of bitter feelings lingering around the man.

"His crimes and mistakes meant my mom had to be shackled to a job she hated, just so she could raise me, and her marriage to him was like a prison for her… and I- I know Oliver isn't like that. I know that Oliver loves me and I love him too and…" Felicity sighed. "The truth is… it's more than just living with him."

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked.

"Oliver didn't just ask me to move in with him." Felicity hesitantly reached into her purse and pulled out a small, sleek box; Caitlin vaguely remembered her fiddling around with that small container for the past few days. "He asked me to marry him."

Pin drop silence and then Felicity opened the box.

"Holy shit!" Caitlin exclaimed after being exposed to what was hidden in the capsule. "Oh my god! Oh my—"

"Shh!" Felicity hushed, making a quieting gesture with her hands. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Caitlin whispered loudly. "Look at the size of that thing! And you're an engaged woman now? This is the biggest deal!"

"I didn't say yes," Felicity admitted, placing her hands flat against the cool countertop and leaning her body against it.

"WHAT?" Caitlin yelled, all thoughts to neighbors and noise levels completely disregarded.

"I didn't say no either!" Felicity quickly established. "I told him I had to think about it."

"Think about it?"

"Yes."

"You kept the ring, though," Caitlin noticed, eyeing the shining item curiously.

"It's a pretty ring!"

"It is, isn't it?" Caitlin leaned closer to get a better look at the giant sparkly monstrosity sitting in the velvet case. "How many carats is it?"

"I didn't research it, Caitlin," Felicity retorted, but when Caitlin raised her eyebrows and gave her a questioning stare, she relented, "3.5 carats."

"Oh my god… Oh my GOD!"

"Caitlin! Shut the fuck up!"

"Felicity! Oh my god!"

"I know! Stop screaming!"

"Damn, he went all out! And I know Oliver never does anything half-assed. He must have prepared the proposal for weeks or months or— Wait, how did he propose?"

"Caitlin…" Felicity muttered, and only then did Caitlin notice that Felicity lacked the enthusiasm she usually did on just about anything.

"What are you thinking?" Caitlin asked in a tone that Felicity knew meant there was no judgement.

"I'm scared, Caitlin. I want to say yes. I want to say yes so bad it hurts. But I'm scared that I'll end up like mom and lose everything. I don't want to lose my freedom and being with Oliver is amazing. I feel free when I'm with him, but marriage is something else entirely. Dating is thrilling and it's a learning curve and it's fun, but marriage… Marriage is a commitment, you know? Marriage is…"

"Listen, Felicity." Caitlin bit her lower lip, considering her next words. "I'm not the biggest fan of marriage either. You're looking at the poster child for divorced parents who never got along, before and after the split. But I really think, and- and I want to believe, that marriage really depends on the person. It depends on who you're tying yourself with. Because I agree, marriage is a commitment and marriage means you're not just thinking about yourself anymore, you have to consider your partner in everything way more than you ever had to do while dating, but…"

Caitlin had a determined look. "Who says marriage can't be fun? Or a learning curve? I think marriage can be whatever you want it to be. You might be losing your 'freedom' and I mean that word in the loosest sense, but you could be gaining so much more. A life of love and commitment and trust! And sure it's a risk because there's always the chance you won't work out, but what's life without a little risk and reward?"

"So, what I'm hearing is you think I should say yes," Felicity stated obviously.

Caitlin nodded and explained further nevertheless, "I think you should be brave. You know, like how you constantly get me to do things I don't want to do because 'Trust me, Caitlin, it'll be fun. Be brave, Caitlin!'" Caitlin mocked Felicity's cheery voice.

"Be brave." Felicity let out a giant huff of breath. "I love him, Caitlin. I really do."

"Oh, I know you do." The sounds she and Barry made last night in an attempt to convince Felicity of their sexual expertise were nothing in comparison to the nights Oliver had spent in their home. Caitlin shuddered, trying to block out the memory of those nightmare noises.

"Okay. I'm gonna say yes." And it was like the clouds had parted and the sun shined through, because Felicity broke out into a huge smile and let out a breathy laugh. "I'm gonna get married!"

Caitlin hopped off her tall chair and squealed excitedly. "You're gonna get married!"

Joining hands with each other, the two of them jumped up and down squealing loudly.

"I'm gonna get married!" Still jumping, Felicity asked, "You're gonna be my maid of honor, right? I can't go through this without you."

"Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I'm gonna get married!"

"My best friend is gonna get married!"

"Woo!" Felicity screamed.

"Can we stop jumping?" Caitlin screamed back.

"Yeah!" Felicity stopped, reaching into her pencil skirt pocket, and pulled out her phone. "I'm gonna call him and tell him I accept."

"No way!" Caitlin blocked her. "Are you crazy? This isn't some job offer you're accepting, tell him in person after work and make it romantic!"

"Always the secret romantic." Felicity shook her head fondly. "Fine, but you better text me step by step instructions on how to woo him."

"I might not live the romantic life, but I have certainly read enough trashy novels about it to know how it goes. Trust me, Felicity, I already have a plan figured out. Now hurry up and get to work! You're already late."

"Oh, shoot! You're right!" Quickly, Felicity filled up her travel mug and ran out the door. Then, her head popped back in and she grinned. "You may not have lived the romantic life before, but now it's different, right? With Barry?"

"Yeah, different," Caitlin said. She supposed that now she was in a trashy romantic novel, but as the secondary love interest in the love triangle that everyone knew wasn't gonna work out, but was just there for the drama. Fun… "Now go, Felicity!"

"I'm gonna get married!" Felicity squealed one last time before the door shut.

Caitlin smiled to herself and turned to get back into the kitchen when—

"That was exciting."

With a gasp and an overdramatic hand to her chest, Caitlin found Barry standing in the hall of the bathroom with yesterday's clothes back on him. "I forgot you were still here."

"I know," Barry responded, walking past Caitlin into the kitchen. "I could hear the two of you screaming from the other side of the apartment. I didn't want to intrude though so I just hung out over there for a little bit."

"Listening in, you mean," Caitlin teased.

"I mean, it's kinda hard not to listen in with you screaming it to the entire building, Cait!"

Caitlin laughed and watched Barry make himself comfortable in the kitchen. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Making pancakes," Barry answered, opening drawers to find the right pan for the job. "You do have pancake ingredients, right?"

"Uh…" Honestly, Caitlin wasn't sure. The last dozen or so breakfasts she had consisted of cereal bars and fruit, if she even had the time or the effort to eat breakfast.

"Seriously, Cait?" Barry shook his head. "You have to eat more. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

So Caitlin watched Barry as he danced around the kitchen, picking flour from one shelf and sugar from the other, making himself right at home in her tiny kitchen. She watched as he measured and combined the ingredients, stirring happily while he hummed. "Cooking is like a science experiment," Barry said. "So you gotta take time to think things through and let the flavor develop."

"Take your time, huh?" Caitlin retorted, "Mr. Speedster?"

"Hey, I may rush through things in life, but I don't mess with food. Flavor comes with time."

While Barry flipped the last pancake, Caitlin began to take out the plates and cutlery, as well as strawberries and blueberries from the fridge. Then she set out the syrup and butter on the table beside them.

Once Barry divided their portions, they began to eat, and the sound of forks and knives clinking against their plates was the only noise for a minute or so.

"This is amazing, Barry," Caitlin said after she had a bite of the incredibly fluffy pancake.

"Fanks," Barry responded through a mouthful of breakfast. Caitlin wrinkled her nose in disgust as she watched a tiny piece of cake fly out of his mouth. He then proceeded to douse his pancakes in a third of the bottle of syrup.

Watching as the syrup soaked through the breakfast, Caitlin commented, "You may take your time with cooking, but I see eating is a whole 'nother story, huh?"

"Gotta eat it before it gets cold," Barry reasoned.

"I forgot you hate cold things," Caitlin teased.

"Well, there's one cold thing I'm actually quite fond of," Barry shot back, lifting his head from his stack of pancakes for just a moment to send her a quick wink.

"You are too much, Mr. Allen." Caitlin laughed, a pink blush growing on her face.

"And you still can't take a compliment, Doctor Snow."

It still surprised her how suave Barry could be when he wanted to. Their campus may have been large, but everywhere Barry went, he was recognized as the track star who beat university records and brought notoriety to the school. He was popular among the athletes and the STEM majors alike, as someone who could "do it all". Caitlin had certainly heard enough about him through her freshman dorm's rumor mill long before she had ever met face to face with her now fake boyfriend.

So many people wanted a piece of Barry Allen and his charm. He could literally have his pick of any girl he wanted. Any girl, except the one who never really noticed it.

"Tell me why you love Iris," Caitlin blurted out-loud, filling the quaint and quiet kitchen with the weighted request.

Barry coughed, choking on a blueberry before taking a sip of water. "And break Rule 18 about no personal questions? I don't think so."

"Oh, please." Caitlin waved her hands in a dismissive manner. "We've broken so many of those rules last night alone. Rule 13 about going to each other's houses, Rules 21 and 23 about unnecessary talking and talking about outside interests, Rule 71 about fake partners not meeting the other's non-mutual friends, Rule 74 about not sleeping in proximity to each other, Rule—"

"Alright, alright, I get it!"

"For this hour, and this hour only, I declare temporary suspension of the rule book. Free reign in our fake relationship. Except for Rule 12. Rule 12 still stands. No kissing except—"

"Except for cheeks and forehead." Barry chuckled as he took another bite of his breakfast.

"C'mon, tell me why you love Iris so much. You can trust me. After all we did just sleep together and according to you, we've had sex multiple times, which you so elegantly blurted out to Iris."

"Oh, god. I did do that, didn't I?" Barry rubbed his face in embarrassment.

"Yup," Caitlin remarked as she chomped on her strawberry, "So tell me. Why do you love Iris and why are you such an embarrassing blob around her?"

Barry hesitated, using his fork to poke gently at his pile of blueberries. "You really wanna know?"

"I really do. I gotta know why I'm committing to this act, right?"

"Alright," Barry sighed before beginning his explanation, "so you may or may not know, but… I've been asked out a lot. Like a lot. By a lot of girls."

"Off to a great start, Bare."

"Just listen," he said, "It wasn't always like that. When I was in middle school, I was like the most unfit person ever and I was a science nerd. That combination made me an easy target for bullies because they would chase me around for hours like it was just a fun game for them to hunt me down. Eventually, I got better at running away, but I still wasn't friends with anyone since I was a target for the bullies and anyone who was or wanted to be friends with me became targets as well."

Caitlin nodded in sympathy and Barry continued, "My middle school years were hell. In high school, I joined track and the bullying stopped, but I still didn't have many friends. Nobody really talked to me except Iris and that was because we lived together. But Iris…" Barry smiled fondly. "She's always been real to me, since we were in elementary school and way before the bullying started. When I got into college, Iris insisted I join track here as well since it was a fresh start and it really was. I love running and, in college, people actually like it when you're a science nerd cause everyone else is one too."

Barry laughed at a passing memory. "I remember the first time a girl asked me out my freshman year. I was so embarrassed cause I thought she was joking. But yeah, I've only been getting people's attention since I got into college, and I think that was when I realized that the other girls' attention didn't even matter to me. Iris and I have been friends for so long, since we were so young, and I just can't imagine anyone else being as important to me as her. I just want her to feel the same way about me."

"So you think girls are only interested in you now that you're more athletic and a STEM major?"

"Yeah, but not Iris."

"Yeah, she's just not interested in you at all."

"Geez, Cait, way to rub it in."

"I'm just trying to pick apart Barry Allen and figure out how you work. You're like an enigma."

"How so?"

"You're willing to go to great lengths to win the girl and you're willing to do anything except tell her that you like her to her face."

Barry contemplated her words for a moment. "Okay, you want to know even more about me?" He divulged a seemingly random fact about himself, "My favorite animal is a turtle."

She remembered their code word 'turtle' for playing with the others' hair and how Barry seemed to have an obsession with using it every chance he got.

"You? Barry 'the Flash' Allen's favorite animal is a turtle?" She questioned. "I thought it would be like a cheetah or a falcon or some other super-fast animal."

Shrugging his shoulders, Barry answered, "You know Aesop's fable, 'The Tortoise and the Hare'? It didn't matter how fast the hare was cause in the end, the tortoise won."

"And you like that story? Isn't that against your track honor code? I would think all you track folks are Team Hare."

"Nah, I'm totally Team Tortoise. It just reminds me that speed isn't everything. People always treated me like I was nothing before I joined track. I was a nobody. And… even Iris did sometimes. We would be friends at home, but at school she completely ignored me… and I understood why."

"You shouldn't," Caitlin cut in.

"It's fine, Caitlin," Barry soothed. "It really wasn't a big deal."

That was a big ol' lie and Caitlin didn't know who Barry was trying to convince. She could sense the pain in his voice when he talked about his early childhood years and she could imagine the loneliness he felt as a kid with bigger dreams than the block he grew up on. She imagined some of the bullying may have also come from his family's reputation and from his father's supposed crimes, which Barry didn't have the heart to mention.

There was only so much protection Iris could have given him, Caitlin realized. But maybe Iris was just unaware of all the turmoil and struggle Barry experienced at that age. At the same time, Iris was a popular girl, always was and always will be, so maybe both sides of the story purposefully avoided the truth that was staring them straight in the face so as to avoid trouble.

Barry didn't tell Iris how much it bothered him being alone at school so as to not be a burden on his best friend, and Iris spent little time with Barry outside their home so as to protect her reputation.

But now that they were in a bigger pond and at a university that acknowledged and even praised brilliance instead of stamping it out, Iris and Barry were a lot more comfortable and willing to be around each other in public. Although it may take a lot longer to build back what they once had, Caitlin supposed this fake dating idea of Barry's was to display himself as a viable partner in an open and public way, a way that Iris had never truly seen him before.

Barry cleared his throat. "Anyway, whenever I see a turtle, it just reminds me to take things slow cause I'm eventually going to get where I need to go. And it doesn't matter if Iris doesn't notice me yet and that she's dating other people, because I know eventually she's gonna see the turtle and the turtle's gonna reach the finish line."

"So you're the turtle, Eddie is the hare, and Iris is the finish line."

"Yes."

"You know, you are really bad at metaphors."

"I think that was more of an analogy, but go on."

"Barry, you were a somebody before all your amazing track accomplishments and your college popularity and you are a somebody now with all that. With or without those accolades, your accomplishments, and your speed, you're still you, Barry. And Iris isn't gonna notice you all of a sudden just cause you try to change things about yourself that aren't really you. Like… temporarily being with me, pretending like you don't see the finish line, isn't suddenly gonna make the finish line come any closer."

"But it's really…" Barry shook his head and clarified, "I'm not pretending to be a good boyfriend or anything. Really. All the things I do with you and the way I act, it would be how I would act with Iris if I could. Like how I act as a boyfriend."

"Then why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Act that way? Like a good boyfriend or someone that she could potentially like as a boyfriend."

"Cause she's dating Eddie?" Barry stated as if it was obvious.

"But, like, why don't you do the things you do with me that aren't necessarily romantic? Why don't you just do that with her instead of me? I'm sure that will probably work better than you trying it with me. Just good ol' quality friendship time."

"Iris doesn't like watching Doctor Who and discussing the intricacies of solipsism though," he joked.

Caitlin rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "That is so not my point."

"I get your point." Barry closed his eyes for a moment to find the right words. "It's just… I can't do those things without feeling awkward and weird around Iris."

"And when you date her, it'll be different."

"Yes, exactly!"

"And you'll stay true to yourself and you won't act differently just because you finally have the love of your life?"

"Yes?"

Caitlin sighed. "Just remember to stay true to yourself, Barry. You know, when you try to impress Iris, just don't try to be someone you're not. I know Iris already loves you like a friend and you want her love towards you to be different, but if you change yourself too much… aren't you scared she's not going to love you at all?"

"Well, I didn't even consider that before!" Barry set his fork and knife down and it was like the air had frozen around them with how tense it was. Caitlin really did not know where the conversation was headed when she asked the question and now she was slowly regretting putting Barry under the spotlight.

Trying to think of a way to turn the conversation around, Caitlin asked, "Do you remember Oliver Queen?"

"Hmm?" Barry mumbled, distracted with the thought of Iris not loving him.

"Oliver Queen. His name is practically plastered on all the buildings here since his parents paid like three-quarters of the donations this school receives."

"What about him?" Barry could distinctly remember a boy with a green hoodie who graduated a few years ago.

"I really didn't think he was a good person," Caitlin stated. "I mean, he had a reputation for beating people up in alleyways and not many people liked him."

"What's your point, Caitlin?" Barry asked wearily, rising from his seat to take his and her dirty dishes to the sink.

Following behind, Caitlin stood next to Barry as he began to rinse off the plates with soap and water. "I thought he had anger issues and was like the worst person on campus and he was only here on his parent's money."

"And?"

"And then he started dating my best friend."

Barry remembered Felicity talking about her Oliver and only then did it connect that she was talking about Oliver Queen. Similar to Caitlin, Barry was also privy to the rumors surrounding Oliver's unsavory vigilante escapades. He had heard about Oliver's violent outbursts, especially those surrounding the campus's drug dealing business.

"I tried so hard to convince Felicity that Oliver was a bad idea. I understood that Oliver hated the drug issue at our school and how the police and law enforcement did absolutely nothing about it. When his sister got mixed up into the ring, Oliver kind of just lost it, and I understood why, but at the same time, I wanted Felicity safe. I wanted her away from the danger I saw in Oliver."

"Yeah, he doesn't sound like he would be good relationship material," Barry muttered, trying to contribute something to the conversation.

"Right?" Caitlin said, "But one day, Felicity forced the two of us to talk. We all went out for lunch and Oliver paid, which duh, since his parents were loaded. It was really awkward at first cause we both really hate talking, but Felicity insisted we 'bond' cause we were the two most important people in her life. So we talked and tried to 'bond' and after some time, I really go to know who Oliver was as a person and eventually, I realized why Felicity fell in love with him."

"Why?" Barry finished washing off the plates and handed it to Caitlin, who then began to dry them off with a towel.

"He wasn't a perfect guy. That was for sure. And he definitely had giant anger issues about our school. But at the same time, when you really got to know him, beneath the rough exterior was a guy who was passionate about a problem and had no real means or ideas on how to fix it." Caitlin put the plates back up on the shelf. "He and Felicity actually met cause Oliver wanted a new start and a new way to deal with the drug problem at our school and she kinda pulled him back from the edge and set him on a new path."

"The Justice League," Barry remembered vaguely.

"Yep, that's how the Justice League organization was formed and our campus and city crime rates have been at an all-time low ever since. Aaaand now Felicity and Oliver are gonna get married and you're probably wondering why I told you their whole backstory."

"Maybe just a little."

"I didn't know anything about Oliver until I met him and saw the side of him that Felicity fell in love with." Caitlin paused for a moment and took in a breath. "I know you and your quirks and personality and I've spoken to Iris and I know what kind of person she is."

She fidgeted with her hands for a moment, while Barry watched her intently, before continuing, "I know why you love her so much. But… "

"There's always a 'but'," Barry sighed.

"But, I think we all have different ideas of how we see each other and our intentions. By looking on the outside, I didn't really have an idea of who Oliver was and I honestly think that you and Iris are looking at each other from the outside and the both of you have very different impressions of each other."

"I've known Iris my entire life," Barry cut in. "Since elementary school!"

"But you don't know anything about her. Not really." Caitlin answered quickly. "And can you really say that Iris knows everything about you?"

"Nobody can know everything about a person," Barry scoffed.

"Does she know the important things though? When was the last time you had a serious talk with her with just the two of you? When was the last time you ever opened up to each other and were actually, truly honest with her?"

"I don't know… I guess when my mom died…" Barry seemed lost in the memory. "I didn't really want to talk about it though when it happened and she… nobody believed me about my dad."

"What about the bullying in middle school?" Caitlin added, "Did you ever tell Iris how much it bothered you that she ignored you in school?"

"It wasn't her fault! Being around me meant getting bullied too. And she was my friend at home, so—"

"You're still looking at her from the outside, Barry. You're putting her on a pedestal and seeing her as this woman who can do no wrong and has no flaws. You can still love a person, even with their flaws, so why don't you try to actually get to know her? You might find out things."

Like how she doesn't really want to be in any relationship at all, Caitlin thought back to her and Iris's conversation in the arcade bathroom.

"Do you even want to find out those things about her, Barry?"

Love, in Caitlin's humble opinion, was knowing a person's story, their secrets, their insecurities, and their failures, and wanting to be with them anyway. Love was wanting to be a part of a person's story.

"I…" Barry muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I should go back to my place."

"Wait, Barry." Caitlin grabbed his hand before he could leave out the door. "I'm sorry for dropping all of that on you. I swear I did not want to have a conversation like this so early in the morning on a Saturday."

Barry smiled wearily. "I know, Cait, you always have a way of making me talk about things. And you're probably right. I think I do put Iris on a pedestal, but I've been doing that my whole life and I don't think it's something I can just turn off. I just need time to think, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Caitlin agreed. "And you got your fake girlfriend here if you need anything, got it? I'm not abandoning this thing we have just yet."

"Even if you think it'll never work," he stated resignedly, like he knew the answer.

Although Caitlin had never quite said it out loud and so outright, Barry had caught on pretty quick to her true intentions.

"I'm with you, Barry," she said instead of answering, "I'm Team Speedster or whatever your superstar track nickname is."

Barry let out a quick laugh. "Don't pretend like you don't know, Cait."

"Bye, Flash."


Caitlin and Barry spent the next two weeks like the big grown adults they were and avoided any mention of the conversation they had back in Caitlin's apartment. They still met for their weekly study sessions, but any outside conversations subsided almost completely.

There was a calm in both their fake relationship and the study sessions, mostly because it was that waiting period between having taken an exam and waiting on the test scores to be released. They didn't have much to study for and they didn't have much to fake about their relationship while Barry contemplated his lifelong loyalty to the girl he cherished like no other. Caitlin worried if it was the calm before the storm.

It seemed like Barry was an expert at denial and could not fathom the idea of seeing Iris as any less than perfection. But Caitlin was a little concerned about him. He seemed less energetic around her and a part of her wondered if maybe she had damaged their relationship forever. But then the realization came to her that her "relationship" with Barry was fake anyway, and Iris would always be a wall between them.

Inhibitors in chemical reactions stopped a reaction from moving forward. Catalysts, on the other hand, worked in the opposite direction and made it easier for a reaction to take place. Catalysts had the ability to speed up a reaction without being completely consumed by the reaction it was trying to help.

The idea of freedom was Felicity's inhibitor that had momentarily stopped her from moving forward with Oliver. Caitlin was the catalyst that pushed Felicity in the right direction and gave her the advice she really did know deep down, but just needed to hear from the right person. The right catalyst, or Cait-alyst, to speed up the Olicity reaction that was already bound to happen anyway.

Now onto the other love dilemma: the Westallen reaction was one that confused and puzzled Caitlin to no end.

Barry had asked Caitlin to fake date him so he could make himself a more viable partner for Iris in some twisted kind of thinking. But now that she had the time to really think about it and she had a sense of who Barry and Iris really were, she wondered if her being with Barry was actually inhibiting Iris even further.

Iris was not the kind of girl to steal someone else's boyfriend and though that was not Barry's intention, since he had wanted himself and Caitlin to real fake break-up before ever striking it up with Iris, it still unnecessarily complicated the situation.

Caitlin still had no idea what role she played in the mess that was Barry and Iris.

Was she Caitlin the catalyst, like Barry had hoped she would be?

Or was she making everything worse by getting into the mess and slowing Barry the tortoise down even more?

Would she be a Cait-alyst or was she more of a Snow-hibitor?

She wondered how far away the finish line truly was.

Terrible situations had a knack for bringing people together.

The city's deep-seated problems, with the heart of it being at the university, led to a team of the most passionate people working together to fight issues that even the higher ups were unable to (or refused to) solve.

Terrible situations could be great catalysts for change. Change for the better, that is.

It led to Oliver and Felicity working together, with Oliver overseeing logistics and finance and Felicity with the programming and evaluation. It also eventually led to them finally realizing their true feelings for each other.

But terrible situations could also inhibit great things from happening.

Caitlin didn't want to be the inhibitor that stopped Barry and Iris from finding each other. But if she truly was a catalyst to speed up Barry and Iris's feelings for each other, she wondered why she felt so absolutely consumed by the reaction.


Author's Note: Hey guys, I hope you're all having a great summer so far and staying safe! Please leave a review if you enjoyed reading this chapter cause it really encourages me to keep writing!