A/N: Hey there! Sorry for the late update, but I'm doing my best! Had 4 hours in a train today and did everything to finish up this chapter to post it before Christmas! I'm not giving up, I promise. There are just a couple of chapters left to this story ;) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

I don't own anything :)

Chapter 22. I Already Miss You

"Babe I already miss you
Sweetheart I already miss you
Sweeteyes I already miss you
And you only just walked out the door"

"I Already Miss You – The Kooks"

The last few days Caitlin spent in Ryker Neve were wonderful yet heartbreaking. Wonderful because they got to be together, catching up on lost time. Heartbreaking because separation was right around the corner. Caitlin didn't leave Barry's side that was for sure. The few times they weren't together were to spend some quality time with their family. The rest of the time, they enjoyed calm moments at his place, made short trips to the beach with Lily, went to dinner at Iris's and Eddie's place…

They blissfully savoured each minute with each other, not knowing when the next time would be. They didn't really make plans for the future, they actually didn't talk much about what would happen after she left, considering it made their brains hurt. Barry did promise her he'd come visit and Caitlin was planning on being back in Ryker Neve for her next holidays. But those weren't long time answers to their problem.

Yet they preferred pushing it to the next day, and the day after that, letting the future surprise them.

Until the day she actually had to leave and they couldn't really ignore the problem anymore.

"How is it possible that we always seem to end up at the same place?"

Eyes staring at her flight number and the departure gate indicated right next to it, Caitlin had crinkled eyebrows and was nipping at her lower lip. There was a lump in her throat that made it difficult for her to breathe normally. She had never really loved airports before. Even thought, in her opinion, they were the representation of freedom, of being able to go wherever you wanted. But now, they meant bringing her far away from the people she cared about.

Barry let a humourless laugh escape his lips. "Oh you mean at Ryker Neve's airport with you about to hop on a plane to the big city, leaving little-old-me behind?"

"Pretty much, yes."

Hand in hand, Caitlin and Barry were standing in front of the departure board, half smiles hanging from their lips. Barry sighed and turned to face her, slightly tugging on her hand for her to do the same. Softly, he traced her hairline with the tip of his finger and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know, I'm really starting to hate Central City…" He finally said, eyes staring at hers. "It always seems to be stealing you away from me."

A soft chuckled escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes. And then she turned serious again, squeezing his hand in hers once before answering in an unsure voice. "It's different this time, right?"

"Absolutely." He whispered before cupping her face with his hands. "I'm not done with you yet, Dr Snow."

Brushing her nose against his, she closed her eyes and smiled sweetly. "I'll hold you to that, Mr Allen." She whispered back. After a short moment of silence, she opened her eyes again to stare at his green orbs. "I wish you could come visit during the rest of the summer, though."

Barry nodded before dropping a kiss on her forehead. "I know, I know… but I promised Iris months ago that I would take care of Lily during the summer break as she and Eddie have to work."

"I know," Caitlin sighed, looking away to avoid feeling to embarrassed by her - according to her by-the-book convictions - selfish thoughts. "And I wouldn't want to take away from that little girl her favourite uncle."

"I am pretty cool, aren't I?" Barry gloated while his eyebrows bounced on his forehead.

The young doctor could only roll her eyes at that, before swatting him lightly on the chest. "Oh shush! Or do I need to remind you that you are literally her only uncle?"

The young man faked a gasp, his arms falling from her face to act as a protection in front of his chest. "You wound my feelings, doctor."

The grin on Caitlin's face almost made him forget about all his worries.

Until the intercom called for the passenger of Central City's flight to present themselves at the check in gates.

"This is me…" Caitlin said after glancing at which gate she was supposed to go. Her eyes seemed lost for a moment, craving to settle on his face while terrified about what they might find there. She was already on the verge of tears, she didn't know if looking at his face would help her much.

Yet she couldn't help it.

Teeth slightly biting on her lower lip, hands twisting her blouse between her fingers and a crinkled nose, Caitlin finally looked up at him. "This is goodbye, I guess."

Barry slowly nodded before softly cupping her cheeks between his two hands. "I'll see you soon, okay?" He asked in a firm yet low voice.

"Promise?" Caitlin whispered as she shyly looked into his eyes and bit harder on her lower lip. She hated how needy her voice sounded, but she could really use some kind of confirmation that this wasn't the end, that she wouldn't crumble to pieces once in the city, that she – they – would be okay.

Knowing words wouldn't bring her much more reassurance; Barry decided to show her how seriously he meant what he had said, today and during the past few weeks. Intently staring into her eyes, he brought her face closer until barely enough space to breathe was left between them. And then he kissed her as passionately as it was appropriate in public. Caitlin had to grasp at his jacket to prevent falling to the ground, as her limbs suddenly decided that caring her wasn't an option anymore. A jolt of electricity stroke at the bottom of her spine and travelled the whole way up to her neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind.

Pushing herself on her tiptoes, Caitlin gave everything she had into that kiss.

What started as a bruising interlude between two lovers, ended in a soft caress between two souls.

"I promise." He breathed against her skin, making her shiver all over again.

She nodded while staring at him lovingly, the tip of her fingers ghosting over her lips as if she couldn't quite believe she had shown so much affection in a public place. Her cheeks instantly turned bright red.

He sighed happily, enjoying her slight embarrassment a little bit too much, before bumping her nose with his again. "Now go on that plane and show them that hiring Dr Caitlin Snow was the best choice they have ever made in the history of Mercury labs."

"Yeah right." Caitlin snorted before pushing him away while rolling her eyes, dismissing his comment with way too much ease for his liking.

The young man wondered how it was possible she still couldn't accept a simple and truthful compliment without turning it into something meaningless. He had promised himself he would change that and make her realise how wonderful and amazing she was. It wasn't the right time now, but he still had a lifetime before him to correct that.

Caitlin bowed down to grab her bags before straightening up again and standing in front of him. For a few seconds, she stayed still, seemingly considering her next words. But then she simply shook her head, took a step forward, rose to her tiptoes and pecked his lips.

"See you soon, Mr Allen." She whispered before turning around and hurrying towards the right gate.

"Until next time, Dr Snow." Barry murmured under his breath as he watched her turn the corner and disappear in the mass of people, even though he knew she wouldn't hear him. When he lost sight of her, his head dropped, his shoulders sagging down in the process, chin resting against his chest as he closed his eyes. A tired sigh escaped as he tried to contain his tears from breaking free, lifting his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose between two fingers. He had done his best to act composed in front of her, but now that she was gone, he felt all his restrain falling apart.

The words he had said to convince her that everything would be okay, and that this wasn't the end of their relationship, hadn't only been for her benefit. He was trying to convince himself in the process. But she was his rock. How was he supposed to still believe in all of that when she wasn't there to remind him of it?

He should get out of the airport if he didn't want anyone to notice his teary eyes – well it wasn't as if anyone cared anyway, considering he was probably not the only one to be parted from a loved one. But he couldn't quite decide himself to move from his spot, as if something, an outside force more powerful than his human self, was keeping him stuck there like a lost soul.

That's when he heard the distinct sound of her heels in the middle of the airport's loudness. How he recognised that this precise and regular sound was coming from her, he had absolutely no freaking idea. But, as easily as he could recognise his name, he knew it was her, running towards him, the soft clicking of her heels resonating in his head.

He barely had time to raise his head to look for her that she had already cupped his face in between both her hands and crushed her lips against his. A second later and Barry had his arms circling around her waist while one of her hand was gripping at the lapel of jacket and the other one was tightly holding onto his neck.

After a very long and passionate kiss, they pulled apart, breathless but grinning like fools.

"Did you forget something?" Barry asked, mirth flying in his eyes.

A blush crept up Caitlin cheeks. "Kind of…" She trailed off while her teeth went to bite her lower lip. Her shiny eyes seemed to search something on his features before finally settling on his soft frown and beautiful green eyes. "I love you." She murmured and Barry felt like dying and flying at the same time.

His grin turned into a beaming smile as his hands went to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "You do?" He asked as if afraid his ears were playing a mean trick on him. Or that she would disappear and that he would wake up from a very nice dream.

She softly nodded. "I do. And I forgot to tell you… I couldn't leave without having you knowing it. So I had to come back to tell you." She paused to catch her breath before pulling him close again. "I love you, Barry Allen."

A relieved chuckle escaped his mouth and he felt like a hug weight, he hadn't even known he was carrying, had been lifted off his shoulders. "You have absolutely no idea how happy I am to hear you say that." He breathed out, amazed. "I love you too."

"I think I know how you feel." She pointed out, remembering how happy and elated she had been when he had told her the very, very, first time when they had been teenagers, but also a few days ago in the middle of trees and nature. It had been perfect both times. She hoped that he now felt at least half as good as she had felt during those two times.

The passengers of her flight were called once again and she sighed. "I really have to go or I might stay here."

"I'd be okay with that." Barry joked making Caitlin roll her eyed for what felt like the thousandth time.

They both knew he wanted her to go to Central City to get back control over her life, but he couldn't help wishing things could be slightly different.

With one last peck to his lips, Caitlin hurried back to where she had been going a few moments ago. And just like that she was gone.

A secret smile appeared on Barry's face and he sighed, more light-hearted now. And he left the airport.

They would be okay.

[A few weeks later]

The soft clicking of her heels lulled her thoughts into a comfortable sense of familiarity. She let her fingers run through her hair as a mild summer wind caressed her skin. Taking a deep breath, Caitlin looked around her with a satisfied smile curling up her lips. One glance to the left, one to the right, she engaged herself on the walkway without hesitating, determination resonating in each of her steps.

As she reached the sidewalk, a determined man walked straight towards her, phone in his hand, eyes staring at its screen as if his life was depending on it, feet loud on the pavement. With a swift move of her right shoulder, Caitlin managed to avoid the intercalation with the man, who by the way hadn't even noticed he were about to bump into her. Caitlin rolled her eyes and went on, that small event in no way messing up with her rhythm.

She was used to this, used to the big city and its population running around after time, used to the crowd, used to the danger that could be waiting for you at the corner of a street, used to the loudness of it all. Being back here felt like finding a piece of herself she thought she had lost. She didn't regret coming back here, her job was fulfilling and thrilling, finding her way back in her favourite streets felt like being reunited with an old friend, and on top of that, she was spending more time than ever with her best friend.

The little ring tone of her phone called out for her attention, and as she was making the turn on the next street, she fished the device from her handbag. The little notification announcing that a snapchat photo from Barry was waiting for her made her heart flutter in her chest. Without hesitating, she clicked on it, briefly glancing in front of her just to check she was still on the right track, before looking back at her phone. She found Barry and Lily staring back at her, goofy grins on their faces, big doe eyes and deer horns on their heads. As a caption, Barry had written: "Wish you were here, my deer" and Caitlin had to snort at that.

Her heart swelled at the sight and her hand flew to her lips to try and contain the stupid smile from appearing. She should know by now it wouldn't be effective, but whatever…

The picture disappeared and as fast as her heart had swelled, it crumpled, the ache she tried to push away coming back to haunt her. At the same moment, a man too absorbed with his phone violently bumped into her. Staggering on her steps, grabbing at her phone and bag like dear life, Caitlin stopped walking to gain back her balance and glared behind her at the man who hadn't even bothered to apologise or even take notice of her, still walking blindly in the street like a bulldozer.

"For Christ's sake…" She groaned under her breath before resuming her walk.

Just like that, the city lost part of its colour and she found herself missing Ryker Neve and its quiet and low populated streets, the clear sky with its soft sun during the day and uncovered stars at night. But most of all, she missed the tall dark haired cute science teacher that made that little town even brighter than it already was. Of course she loved Central City and it was part of who she was. But finding Barry again and being away from him did put everything into perspective. "Home is where the heart is" never made more sense to her than right now.

Another turn and Caitlin arrived in the street of destination. She glanced at her watch and smiled. Right on time, as usual, to her upmost satisfaction. She pushed the thoughts of annoyance brought by her little intercalation and did bigger steps to reach her goal.

A few seconds later, the young woman entered the little café and hummed in pleasure as the soft smell of coffee tickled her nostrils. After a quick glance at the room, she found Cisco sitting at their usual corner table near the street window. She waved at her best friend before heading to the counter to make her order. A couple of minutes later and a hot cup of coffee in her hands, Caitlin joined Cisco at the table.

The young man barely glanced up from the magazine he was reading. "Giiiirl," he cheered in a high voice, "you have to check out that show! The characters are great. The humour is on point. The references are awesome. And the storyline going on right now is. Mind. Blowing!" Cisco barely took the time to breath as he spread his words all over the table.

Caitlin chuckled at the state her best friend was currently in. "Okaay, slow down Cisco. How many cups of coffee have you had before I got here? And what show are you even talking about?"

Pushing the five fingers of his right hand on the magazine in front of him to then turn it around so that Caitlin could read it, Cisco explained in a very excited voice. "Supergirl, duh! Not to spoil you, but there's a great coming out story in it and it warms my heart. I love it so much."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the magazine. On a full page was the picture of a young woman in a red and blue outfit with a kind of an S symbol on her chest. "Oh really?" She asked as she looked back at him.

Cisco vigorously nodded. "Yes, also there's a hot bioengineer in it I'm sure you would perfectly get along with."

The young woman couldn't help but chuckle at his excitement. "You do know it's a fictional character right?"

He shook his head and crossed his arms on his chest. "What's your point, Snow?"

Caitlin bit her lower lip to contain the giggle that threatened to escape. "Nothing nothing, keep going."

Cisco squinted at her, considering carefully his next words. But then he just shook his head again. "Nah, I'll wait until you catch up on the show so we can talk about it." He said, suddenly appearing detached from the conversation.

"You are?" She asked in disbelief. It wasn't Cisco's type to give up that fast. "What makes you think I'm going to watch it anyway?"

Cisco uncrossed his arms and wriggled a finger in her direction "Oh you will. You just wait." He said smugly before slightly leaning over the table. "Season 2 is awesome and you won't regret it a bit!"

"Okay okay, I'm convinced." She shrugged before taking a sip of her coffee.

"You should watch it! I even agree to watch the beginning with you if you want and… Wait what?" Mouth hanging open, Cisco frowned as he finally realised what she had just said. "Well that was easy." He pointed out in surprise.

A sudden blush appeared on her cheeks. "Barry may or may not have told me a bit about it too…" she shrugged again as she explained herself, "and I was already planning to watch it."

Cisco's eyes instantly lightened up "Oho! You were? He did? Niiiiice!" He cheered with a huge grin. "Okay I like him."

Caitlin chuckled, pleased with herself. "You two would get along great, I'm sure of that."

He made a face, letting her know he wasn't completely convinced by her words. "Well he didn't quite leave me a great impression the first and last time I saw him."

A soft frown crinkled her brows. "I know, but I assure you, he isn't usually like that." She sighed, her heart slightly squeezing at the thought of him. "I promise, he's an actual human puppy, with a drama-queen-side sure, but that's beside the point. I'm sure he would be able to keep up with all your movie and TV series references."

That last comment seemed to spark his interest. "He would?" He questioned with excitement swimming in his eyes. "Someone able to keep up with all the memes I love?"

"The what now?"

Cisco shook his head in despair. "Well I'd give him a shot. Can't be worst than you. It's like you live in a cave or something."

"I do not!" Caitlin gasped at him, almost offended by his remark. She would've been if he hadn't just promised to give Barry a chance at redeeming himself. Which was one of the best things Cisco could tell her right now. And her smile showed how happy she was about that.

"Whatever." Cisco mumbled with a roll of eyes. "It's not like I'm going to see him again soon, considering he lives in another state."

Caitlin's smile instantly dropped down and her fingers tightened their grip on her hot coffee cup.

Watching her change of behaviour, Cisco put his hand on hers. "I'm sorry, didn't want to kill the mood by bringing this up."

A tired sigh escaped her lips as she shrugged. "It's okay, don't worry. It's just…" Her voice cracked for a moment. "I miss him, Cisco."

It was painful for him to see his best friend in that state. "He promised he'd visit, right?"

"Yes," she nodded, "but it's been almost two months and the summer break is almost over and then he'll have to work again…" She took a break to sip on her coffee. "When is he supposed to come, huh? And I've got such a busy schedule, I'm not sure when I'll be able to free some time up to fly over there."

Cisco squeezed her hand in his. "Hey Cait, I thought he managed to convince you you'd work this little problem out."

"He did, he did, and…" she sent him a sad smile, "what if he just said that so I'd leave without feeling guilty?"

He frowned, shaking his head. "You really think he'd do that to you?"

"Well no but… what if he changes his mind and what happened between us was just periodic?" Panic was palpable in her voice. "What if he met someone during the last few weeks? What if…"

"Okay let me stop you right there snowy, do you even hear yourself?" Cisco softly cut her off. He rarely had had the occasion of seeing her doubt herself so much. Actually, before seeing her in Ryker Neve, he had never known Caitlin Snow could actually be unsure about something. "I thought you parted on good terms?"

"We did…" She answered shyly.

"And I thought you called each other almost every day?" He continued to question her.

"We do…"

"So why do you doubt him so much?" He gave her hand another squeeze. "Give the guy a little credit, will you? He spent the last 8, hell even 10 years, waiting for you. You really think he's going to stop now that he finally has you?"

The blush on Caitlin's face was so intense by the end of his tirade that she could feel her cheeks boil. "No…" she mumbled like a little kid caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"See?" Cisco cheered. "So there's nothing to worry about! You'll work it out, I know it."

Caitlin's blush finally started to fade and beautiful smile appeared instead, going up until small wrinkles appeared at the corner of her eyes. "Thank you Cisco. I don't know what I would do without you."

Cisco shrugged and leaned back against his chair with a proud look on his face. "I know, I'm pretty great right?"

She arched an amused eyebrow while shaking her head at her best friend. "Anyway, enough about me! How are things going at S.T.A.R. labs?"

"Pretty great, honestly. I think Harrison decided to turn a new leaf and is trying to bring the lab back on tracks."

"That's nice."

Cisco cocked his head to the side. "You know, we could need your help…"

Eyes going wide, Caitlin shook her head. "I'm sorry Cisco, but you know I can't go back to work there."

"I know but…"

She raised one hand to softly cut him off before he could even try to convince her. "I would love to work with you again but what happened… what Harrison knew would happen…" She paused to take a long breath. "I can't work for him anymore…"

Cisco slowly nodded, completely understanding her point. "I get it… I do…"

A short silence settled between both friends as they continued to drink their hot beverages.

It was Caitlin who soon spoke again. "Okay, let's talk about serious stuffs! Didn't you go on a date last night?"

And it was Cisco's turn to become beet red. "I did…"

"Ssoooo? Tell me about it!" Caitlin squealed, leaning closer over the table, ready to hear all the latest news about her best friend.

And that's how the role were suddenly reversed and how the two friends spent the rest of their afternoon, sipping coffee and sharing personal experiences about dating and life in general.

Life was good.

But it could be even better.

A/N: There you go! Hope I did okay :D

I wish you all the best for the holidays, whatever you're celebrating! I hope you're having a great time to end this year :)