Like 17 people asked for a Valentine's Day fic!

Rated: T

AU in which they're already dating

~J.H.

Barry was used to doing half a dozen things at once, but he was still panicked. Nothing seemed to be going according to plan.

First, there was the flower situation. He'd ordered a dozen roses several weeks ago, only to remember today—Valentine's Day—that his girlfriend preferred "simpler flowers like daisies and zinnias" over roses. He'd frantically called the florist, asking if they had any other bouquets, offering to pick them up and deliver them himself, but the florist told him they didn't have anything left, and the delivery guy had already left to make his deliveries.

Then, there was dinner. He'd gotten reservations to this great Italian restaurant—and she definitely did like Italian, that he was sure of –but he found out she'd already been there, with Ronnie and he definitely wasn't going to try to compete with that or surface painful memories. He could cook a little, so he was currently frantically running around the kitchen, trying to find options. Joe suggested going on a picnic, but Barry vetoed that—even though it had been pretty warm lately, who wants to go on a picnic in the middle of winter?

Next, he had to take care of her present. He'd picked it out a couple weeks ago, when he saw it in the jewelry case at a small shop (Roger's Jewelry—Perfect for Every Occasion!). It was a thin chain, with a small golden lightning bolt, short enough that it would hang by her throat, and small enough that it wasn't, well, flashy. When he saw it in the store, he thought it would be sweet; wearing it would remind her of him, but Barry just now realized how corny it was, and his girlfriend definitely wasn't the corny type. He stuffs the white box that it's in into his back pocket, trying to forget about it.

Needless to say, he wasn't happy with how things were going. Ding-dong! The doorbell rings, and Barry glances at the clock. Caitlin was, unfortunately for him, just on time. He bites back a string of swear words as he looks around the messy kitchen and living room.

"I'll get it, Barry," Joe says from upstairs as Caitlin rings the doorbell again.

Another problem: Joe was here. Not that Barry didn't want him here, but when you're having a night in with your girlfriend, the last thing you need is a responsible adult breathing down your neck.

Barry opens his mouth to argue, to try to tell Joe to make himself scarce, but he doesn't have time as Joe approaches the door. Instead, he moves quickly, cleaning up the clutter in the kitchen and the mess in the living room in a matter of seconds.

"Good evening, Caitlin," Joe says, opening the door. Barry suddenly realizes that he's wearing jeans and a sweater, not exactly what he had planned for their Valentine's Day date. Before he even sees Caitlin, he rushes upstairs, throwing on slacks, a light blue button-down, and a black tie. He makes to the front door just as Caitlin's walking in, saying, "Hello, Officer West," and giving him a hug.

"Hey!" Barry says, trying to pretend everything's okay as she pulls away from Joe and turns toward him. He finds himself staring at her. "You look…wow."

She certainly did look "wow". She's wearing a loose dress, with a smooth fabric making up the bodice and lace covering the sleeves. It's a darkish red, a color that should have made her pale skin look washed out and gaunt, but somehow it just makes her glow.

She smiles at him, "You, too."

He doesn't answer; he's too busy staring at her, and she at him, each one taking in the other—he takes in her black heels that make the height difference between them less noticeable, and she takes in his smoothed-down hair, resisting the urge to reach up and ruffle it. He takes in the way her bright eyes are smiling, and she takes in how his are slightly on edge.

"…okay, then," Joe's voice says, trying to sound annoyed when he really just sounds amused and a little proud, "I guess I'll leave you two to it then." He winks at Barry as he exits the house, giving Barry one less thing to worry about.

"What time are our reservations, again?" Caitlin asks brightly. She's holding a wrapped gift tightly to her chest, he notices, and with a pang he realized he forgot to wrap the present.

"Uh," he wracks his brain quickly for an excuse, "the…restaurant called. And they said they had to give our reservations away."

He immediately regrets the words as Caitlin's smile drops, "Oh…did they say why?"

"No. They…" he can't think of a good enough excuse, "…no." He finishes lamely.

She raises her eyebrows, "Hmm." Barry's nearly sweating at this point—why did he think he could get away with lying to her?! She knew him better than anyone, she would definitely be able to tell if he was lying. "What was the restaurant called again?" She asks.

He tries a distraction, "Here, there's some wine in the kitchen." She allows him to escort her back, taking a place at the table as he bustles around, getting her wine ready. He pours them both a glass and then sits next to her, "Uhm, so I can cook a little. Or is that totally lame? I mean we could order takeout—no, no, that's even lamer."

The doorbell rings again, and Barry knows it's the florist. "I'll get it," he says as Caitlin begins to rise from her spot. He thinks of a quick fix to the roses, suddenly remembering their neighbor across the street—Mrs. Veach—had a garden of wildflowers in her greenhouse.

"Valentine's delivery for a Doctor Sn—" the delivery man says.

Barry snatches the roses, "Yeah, that's me, thanks." He'd paid for the roses over the phone a couple weeks ago already, and the delivery man hurries off, probably to deliver more and more roses to young girls.

He makes sure the delivery guy is out of sight before he rushes down to Mrs. Veach's house, exchanging a dozen roses for a bouquet of wildflowers. He makes it back to house, slowing down as he reaches the kitchen.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he says, a little sheepishly as he hands Caitlin the bouquet. Her face lights up as she takes them.

She takes a long sniff of them before turning back toward him, "So are you going to tell me about what really happened with the restaurant reservations?"

"I don't know what you mean," he tries again. She just raises her eyebrows, giving him that ever-so-familiar disbelieving look, and he knows he has no choice but to come out with the truth. He sighs, "We can still go if you want."

Caitlin's brow furrows, "If…I want? What, do you not want to go? Is there a reason I shouldn't want to go?"

"No, I mean, I was just asking if you wanted to go."

She gives him another quizzical look, "Barry, what was the restaurant again?"

"…Martellini's," he says, barely above a mumble.

She looks confused for a moment, and then her face morphs into understanding as she realizes why he didn't want to go. "I'm sorry," Barry says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down, not quite sure what he's apologizing for.

"Barry.." She rises, and goes to stand next to her boyfriend, "This doesn't have to be perfect, okay? It's just Valentine's Day, you don't need to make sure every little thing is absolutely perfect."

"Yeah, but…" he takes her hand, "I want it to be. I want you to have the best Valentine's Day ever." He thinks suddenly of his cheesy present for her, and decides that it's definitely too corny to give to her.

"Hey," she smiles a little, "I can't have a good Valentine's Day if you keep trying to make everything perfect. So just relax. I'm your girlfriend—you're not supposed to be this nervous around me. Got it?"

He looks at her, and she smiles earnestly at him, meaning every word she said. He reaches up and brushes a lock of hair out of her face, cupping her chin in his hand, "Got it." His hands find her neck and he pulls her to him, planting a soft, gentle kiss on her mouth. "I've got a present for you," he says, still a little sheepish.

"So do I," she breaks away, reaching into her purse and produces a small white box, similar to the one he takes out of his pocket. They trade, and, even has he feels his cheeks burning with embarrassment over his cheesy present, he opens the box Caitlin gave him.

"Oh!"

"Woah…"

Neither of them can say much more. Caitlin's gotten him a watch. At first glance, it looks just like a regular watch—nice, but nothing fancy. But, he sees etched around the edge of the clock face tiny snowflakes.

Snowflakes. For Caitlin Snow. So whenever he wore it, he'd be reminded of her. He slips it out of the box and takes a moment to try and get it on his wrist. "Caitlin, I don't know what to say—" before he can say anything else, she's kissing him, stopping his words. Her arms wrap around his back, bringing him closer, as if she can't get enough of him, and his hands find themselves tangled in her hair as their mouths taste the familiar warmth of each other. They pull back, each a little breathless. "You liked it then?" He asks, laughing a little.

In response, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses him once again. "Yeah," she says between kisses, "Definitely liked it."

Joe finds them both asleep on the couch when he comes home several hours later. Both fully clothed, thank goodness—that would have been awkward—and the TV is on, casting a blueish light on them as an episode of Doctor Who plays. Takeout boxes litter the floor, but, for once, Joe isn't bothered by Barry's mess. Barry is with his girlfriend, comfortable and happy, and that's enough to make it a good Valentine's Day for Joe.

I hope you all have a good Valentines' Day! I'm spending mine baking cookies and watching and watching Netflix!

~J.H.