/
AN:
Thank you for the lovely reviews - taking the time to tell me what you think about this story is really appreciated! So just a note to say that I'm going to try to upload the right chapter on the right date but due to work commitments that might mean first thing in the morning or last thing at night and as I'm in the UK that could mean it registers as different days depending on time differences. There are twenty-four chapters for the twenty-four days of Advent though so it should all work out by the end. Hope you like this next chapter.
/
The One with Coffee and Chat
Caitlin sat at her desk at Star Labs, her new coffee brewed inside her new mug which was cradled in her hands. The aroma was divine and she was quite happily just sitting there, smelling it.
Of course she couldn't just enjoy it by herself.
"Whatcha got there?"
Caitlin looked over at Cisco. "A mug of coffee. Does it look like something else?"
"Look? No," he answered. "Smell? Yes. That is a good smell of coffee. Not saying the stuff we have here is bad-"
"Good, because I'm the one who always has to buy it," Caitlin interrupted.
"-but that doesn't smell like the coffee we usually have. It had a different aroma, a lovely aroma."
"Aroma?"
"What? I can use fancy words."
Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Yes you can, and you can use as many as you want right now but you're not getting any of this coffee."
"But Caitliinnn-"
"That hasn't worked on me since the first time we pulled an all-nighter working on the particle accelerator."
Cisco humphed and crossed his arms, the very image of a child not getting their way. Caitlin couldn't help the smile at the thought but she quickly hid it behind her mug. Her new, favourite mug.
"Fine, I'll just have to vibe over to Jitters."
"Funny how you don't mind doing that for yourself… but never offer it for other people."
"Hey! We don't use Barry for super-fast takeout so we can't use me for instant coffees, okay?"
Caitlin laughed. "I'm teasing Cisco."
Cisco rolled his eyes but smiled at her. "You're in a good mood."
"As opposed to my usual bad temper?"
"No."
"Am I not allowed to be in a good mood?"
"No, of course you are. Just-" Cisco sighed. "Things haven't exactly been smooth sailing for you around here lately, with your powers and family stuff. I'm just happy you seem to be happy."
Caitlin looked down at her mug and thought of what it represented to her. "I'm trying to just appreciate the little things," she answered. "Not sweat the big stuff I suppose."
"It's a good philosophy."
The two grinned at each other and Caitlin felt such warmth for her friend. She was so lucky to have Cisco in her life.
"Hey guys."
"Hey Barry," Cisco greeted. "You haven't been by Jitters by any chance have you?"
"No, why?" Barry asked slowly, confusion crinkling his brow.
"Caitlin's got good coffee but she's not sharing."
"Oh?" Barry asked, turning to face her with a grin.
"It's special," she answered. "It means a lot to me."
"I'm glad," Barry said softly, his eyes twinkling.
"Man you guys, it's just coffee. Get a room with it if you like is so much. Jeez," said Cisco.
Caitlin bit back her grin whilst Barry blushed. Wait, Barry blushing? Why would he be blushing? He wasn't blushing because of Cisco's comment, no he couldn't be. Because that would mean he had started thinking… Caitlin felt heat start to rise to her cheeks and very quickly took a large gulp of coffee to distract herself.
A sudden bleeping sounded from the computer and Cisco reached over to bring up the alert. "There's a fire down on 6th that the fire brigade are calling for emergency reinforcements. Looks like the entire building might collapse and the fire could spread to the whole block."
"I'm there," Barry said.
"Be safe!" Caitlin called out as he and his suit disappeared.
The Flash helped evacuate everyone and contain the fire. Then there was a bank robbery and an attempted kidnapping. The day passed in a blur of incidents, nothing too big but all were time-consuming nonetheless. It meant another day where Caitlin hadn't talked to Barry about the gifts. But as she went to bed that night she couldn't find in herself anything other than excitement for the morning.
She would find time to talk to Barry before too long. But right now she wanted to enjoy her gifts without having to think about what she would have to say. She'd have to ask him why he was doing it, if they ever talked about it, and he could say anything. What she wouldn't allow herself to worry about now was her response – because these gifts already meant an awful lot to her. Too much to her.
Sleep didn't come as easy that night but when it did she slept dreamlessly.
In the morning, the same as the day before, the first thing she did was run to her front door. Sat on her welcome mat was a small – much smaller than the others – wooden box with the familiar red and gold number on it; number 3.
Opening it up Caitlin found a trio of lip glosses, ranging from light pink to a deep red. She smiled at the pretty glass tubes and was about to pack them back away when miniscule writing caught her eye. Each lip gloss had its own name; the light pink was called 'icy blush', the middle red 'scarlet bolt' and the deep red was 'flash of crimson'.
What's in a name? she thought as she held a tube up to the light to get a better view of the colour. Well in each one of these three, it was something of one of them.
Now which of his colours should she wear today?
/