The Speedster and The Spider
Here it is, the hopefully long awaited sequel for Peter-4, Caitlin, and Frost from "Four Peters Vs. The Sinister Six."
This fanfiction was inspired by reading What If Universe's "Flash and Spider-Man: Book 2 of the Spiderverse" and seeing "Spider-Man: No Way Home" between "The Flash" Season 8 winter break.
The chapters will be a lot longer than the previous story.
Flash is the property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. and Spider-Man is the property of Marvel Comics.
Chapter 1
Central City, January 1, 2022, Earth-1
(Pre-Brunch in the original timeline)
"Cecile, we're going to be late for brunch!" Exclaimed Captain Joe West in the foyer of his house. Waiting downstairs was Joe, Barry Allen, Patty Allen, Peter Parker, Crystal Frost, Cisco Ramon, Kamilla Hwang, Ralph Dibney, Frankie Parker, Miles Morales, and May Parker in the living room with Jenna West, Dawn Allen, and Tommy and Tina Snow-Parker.
"Don't worry Joe, we'll get there on time." Barry reassures him.
In the living room, Peter and Frost are talking to Aunt May.
"You're sure you don't want to come?" Peter asked her.
"No it's fine, I don't mind watching the kids." May responded.
"True, but you should get another adult, since you'll be looking after 4 toddlers." Frankie Parker said, noting that May would be babysitting.
"Five, and I am, the mother of the fifth is coming to help me." Just after saying that, then a breach opened in the living room, with Felicity Smoak and Mia Queen coming out. "Speak of the devil."
"'Sup Team SpiderFlash!" Felicity exclaimed.
"Felicity, good to see you!" Barry exclaimed as he hugged his friend and technically ex, as Mia hugged her Aunts and Uncles.
"Yeah, May texted and figured it would be best to spend the day with her and your kids."
"Well, thank you for this, Felicity. How are you?" Patty asked.
"Well, Mia and I went to Queen Manor and celebrated the New Year with Grandma Moira and Team Arrow. Mia even went to Oliver's gravestone and gave it a kiss, wishing her father a happy new year." She told them, seemed a little depressed to still be without Oliver.
"Actually, since you may talk for a while, I'm gonna hit the head." Joe told them before heading upstairs.
"You sure you're good? Still a lot for of kids for 2 adults." Cisco pointed out to May and Felicity.
"Well, maybe I'll call Harry for back up. Lord knows he doesn't want to be around Jessie and Wally's flirting." May teased.
"Well, since Joe and Cecile are upstairs," Peter said to everyone in a hushed tone then turned to Barry. "Barry."
Barry nods back and then speeds out of the house and returns with a jar half full of $20 bills.
"Alright everyone, another year, another chance to sweeten the pot. Cough it up." Barry said to everyone as he added a $20 bill to the jar and the others followed suit.
After the Crisis, Ralph realized that despite Cecile giving birth to Jenna and even though they lived with Joe (Jenna's birth father), Cecile and Joe weren't married and didn't seem to notice that they were or were not, nor did either of them talk about getting married. This started a bet between Team SpiderFlash as to when Joe or Cecile either pointed it out or one of them proposed. A stipulation of the bet was if a member of the team told Joe and/or Cecile they weren't married yet or about the bet, said member would be forfeit from winning. Since New Year's Day 2020, each member of Team SpiderFlash added $20 each to the pot.
"I say on her birthday," said Patty.
"I say Valentine's Day," said Frankie.
I say next Christmas," said Miles.
"I think it will be on their dating anniversary," Said Frost. "Maybe it'll make them realize they aren't married yet. Especially if a waiter asks them."
"I say on Dawn's birthday," said Cisco. "Maybe his granddaughter's birthday will make him realize that Cecile is legally not her grandmother."
"Well then, I say on Jenna's birthday, maybe he'll realize Jenna's Mommy and Daddy are living in sin." Kamilla teased.
"I think it'll be next year," said Peter.
"You're not using your Spider-sense to cheat, are you Peter?" Asked May.
"It doesn't work that way."
"Better yet, is Madame Web helping you? Can't she see the future or something?" Asked Frost.
"I haven't seen her since the Crisis. Besides, I'm not going to cheat. The bet is good fun."
"I'm with Peter, it won't happen this year. My money's on Jenna's high school graduation." Said Ralph, whose response got a laugh out of the group.
"Something funny?" Joe asked from the top of the stairs.
Before he made it down the stairs, Barry passed the jar to May, who hid it in Dawn's diaper bag. The two giving each other a wink that it was secure and hidden.
"Oh, just Peter making another quip." Said Patty.
"You guys have any New Year's Resolutions?" Kamilla asked everyone.
"I guess the usual, keep everyone I love safe and happy." Peter replied.
"I'm cool with that." Replied Frost, who then noticed that Cisco was about to say something. "You make a joke about my unintentional pun, you personally will get the return of Killer Frost!"
"Okay, got my resolution then. Piss off Frost less." Replied Cisco in a tone that sounded comically afraid.
"I'd prefer not at all, but I'll accept it."
"You sure it was a good idea to bring Frost instead of Caitlin?" Ralph asked.
"She thought that Frost hasn't gotten enough social time and that we mostly ask her to show up for superhero business." Peter replied.
"That's not a bad idea at all, which is a nice segue to my resolution: more family time." Barry responded, as he turns to Patty. The two blush.
"Love it, even if cheesy, "Dom."" Patty jokingly resounded, before she then gives Barry a peck on the lips.
It's then that Cecile finally makes it down stairs.
"Sorry, had a wardrobe emergency." She apologized.
"Well, get your coat, it's chilly in Paris." Barry informs her.
"Oh, now we eat in Paris!" Ralph complained. Most of Team SpiderFlash laughed at that.
"Ok, everyone link arms."
"Wait, are you speeding everyone to Paris?" Felicity asked.
"Um, yeah."
"Well, wouldn't it be less strenuous for you to use one of Cisco's extrapolators?"
"She has a point. Less whiplash and chance of anyone getting motion sickness. Plus, it hardly affects the batteries going that distance." Peter points out.
"But …I like running fast!" Barry points out, a little disappointed that people are going against his original plan to transport them there.
"It would also mean less of a bill." Patty pointed out. Barry looks at her. "What? I've noticed that you tend to eat more if you run us to places, than opposed to when we walk or drive to a restaurant."
"Oh, like Peter wouldn't pay for it. And I wouldn't have eaten that much. I've got plenty of Caitlin's protein bars on me just in case."
"Those bars cost a pretty penny for her to make." Frost pointed out.
"I also have plenty of money from what I inherited from Eobard."
"Barr, I love you. But given the choice, I'd prefer a portal to being whisked away at super speed." Joe told him.
Barry looked at Peter, who shrugged. Barry decides to let the Team win, to his begrudgement.
"Sometimes I hate when you're right, Peter."
"It was Felicity's idea." Peter pointed out.
"But you were the first to give it logic." Barry grumbles. "Okay fine." Everyone smiles as Felicity hands her extrapolator to Barry, who soon activates a breach. "But it's still cold, so bundle up."
Soon afterwards, everyone side from May, Felicity, and the children, entered the breach to Paris.
That's how it went from what I remember, but I witnessed an alternate version. A West-Allen version. God, I thought I was free from that nonsense.
Who am I? You sure you want to know? Hell, can you know? If somebody told you it was a happy little tale, if somebody told you I was just your average ordinary guy, not a care in the world... somebody lied. I think I'm a ghost now in a universe where my friends and wives don't know me. But in case you're confused, let's start from the beginning, one last time.
My name is Peter Parker and for the last 22 years (or is it 17, since I've been sent back in time from 2027 to another universe in 2024 and now in another one in 2022), I've been the original vigilante since the Justice Society, Spider-Man. I've worked alongside The Flash and Crystal Frost and I'm married to her and her original personality, Caitlin Snow (though now they're two people). We had three kids with a fourth on the way. I've been to several universes in the multiverse.
But after being abducted into a universe with a past version of my wives (back when they were one person with two personalities. Yeah, we have an interesting relationship), two doppelgängers of me and 5 doppelgängers of my rogues. We were brought there by my teen doppelgänger and a cocky wizard. After curing the bad guys, we were all sent home. Don't know what happened to the others, but I'm now in a universe where I don't exist or have never met Caitlin or Frost and Barry is still married to Iris. Ugh.
No one even knows I'm here. I'm invisible and intangible. Over the past week, I've noticed that I keep being dragged to wherever Caitlin or Frost go. I seem to have to be within a twenty foot radius of either of them. Fortunately, I can choose which of them to be in their radius.
But as bad as seeing Barry and Iris together, it broke my heart to hear that both Caitlin and Frost are dating other men. Caitlin is dating a botanist doctor named Marcus (don't know his last name), while Frost is dating a former criminal named Mark Blaine. Fortunately, I've managed to avoid them as Caitlin and Frost have taken turns going on dates. But it's only a matter of time before I see them. It's clearly my punishment to see the women I love with other suttors. This is my hell.
Peter followed (because he'd prefer not to be force pulled there or whatever causes to be forced places) Caitlin to the laboratory of the black guy Peter saw at Joe's on New Year's Day, who's name is apparently Chester P. Runk. Caitlin and Peter found him in his laboratory doing a Livestream about science for his fans, along with the Latina woman from Joe's, who's name is Allegra Garcia. Peter noticed on his way to Chester's lab that Caitlin was annoyed and all he knew was that it had to do with something that she saw on her phone.
"All right, how is this even possible?" Caitlin asked as she stormed into Chester's lab. "I've silenced my phone, I've turned off all the notifications, and look at what keeps popping up." She told them (and little did she know, Peter) as she pulled out her phone to show various pictures of Frost and Mark (who Peter can't see properly due to wearing masks and helmets) doing extreme sports like go-karting, paintball, skydiving, etc.
"Are those all from Frost and Mark?" Allegra asked.
"Oh, you mean my sister and her ex-con boyfriend?!" She replied in annoyance. "Yes, they are. Look at what they're doing."
"I mean, Tommy has wanted to have his next birthday party at a go-kart track, though Tina isn't sure. God, I hope I return home well before then." Peter said, mostly to himself.
He figured he might as well say most of his thoughts out loud, now that no one can hear him. Plus, it gave him practice to talk, try to stave off himself from going mad.
"Also, always wanted to go paintball fighting and I practically skydive off the rooftops when swinging all the time. I never knew she wanted to do stunts like this. God, I thought she was happy with our lives. Sure, she wanted me to love her on Valentine's day. But in the years we've been together, she never asked to go on dates like that." Peter pondered, wondering if he was a good husband.
"Looks cool." Allegra replied.
"No, it looks dangerous!" Caitlin practically cried out.
"Not even a Mom in this world, and she's already sounding like one." Peter said, now in a brighter mood, enjoying Caitlin's outburst.
"Hey, hey, Caitlin. Do you mind just taking a wee little step to the right?" Chester asked, before chuckling nervously.
"Are you Livestreaming?" Caitlin asked.
"Uh-huh, yeah."
Caitlin then goes over to his computer to read the comments. "WookieLover77 says, "Who's the girl? Her sister seems cooler."(?)" She read aloud, confused by that last sentence.
"Okay, that's it for today. Smash the like button." Chester nervously tells his audience as he ends his Livestream.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Caitlin apologizes to Chester. "I'm just so annoyed. Mark keeps taking Frost on all these ridiculous dates."
"Again, while I never really took her on dates like that, I unfortunately have to agree with this Mark guy cause the dates do seem fitting to her badass personality." Peter admitted.
"Well, maybe tonight will distract you. Don't you have a date too?" Allegra pointed out.
Peter looks at Allegra and back to Caitlin with wide eyes.
"YOU BOTH HAVE DATES TONIGHT?!" Peter basically yelled. He had managed to avoid seeing either Mark or Marcus by trading between Caitlin and Frost. But now he had no choice but to finally see one of the men dating one of his wives.
"Yes. Yeah, Marcus is taking me to the Spanish Hamper." She replied to Allegra.
"How'd he get you guys a reservation for the hottest place in town? That's impressive." Chester asked.
"Well, I got it for our anniversary, four years ago (or…technically, a few months from now), because I'm rich and own a successful tech company." Peter replied, trying to sound cool.
"Is it turning serious?" Allegra asked her.
Peter then looked at her with wide eyes. Worried that the answer might break his heart.
"I mean, he's really nice, and I like nice, so…that's nice. It's nice." She ramble-ly replied.
"Doesn't sound like love though. Maybe you just don't feel "the thing." Maybe you should break up with him instead of dragging him along. It's not fair to the both of you." Peter said with his "Friends" reference and his totally, totally unbiased opinion.
"Oh, man, I can see it now. He doesn't know we're on Team Flash." Chester realized. "But soon you and Marcus are gonna fall in love, and then he's gonna join us for, like, some crazy adventure, then boom!" He claps his hands together for dramatic effect. "He's on the team." He says with excitement, then wonders. "Hey, hey, maybe he'll learn how to control plants."
"Honestly, if the years of working with Iris have taught me anything, don't bring dates or spouses on to superhero teams. Unless we actually need them. Just make sure they don't try to become leader behind your back." Peter stated, half wondering if the latter is what's really going on.
"It's their third date, Chuck, so maybe just slow your roll." Allegra told Chester.
"Good point."
"Right, right. Reel it-reel it back." Chester deflated.
"Yeah, speaking of, I should go get ready. Night, guys." Caitlin tells them before leaving the room to head to her apartment.
"Have fun!" Allegra said to Caitlin before she exited.
"Bye-bye." Chester told her.
"I won't." Peter told them as he followed. Before leaving, he did a pretend gun to his head gesture, indicating the misery he's about to have.
Peter continued (still reluctantly) to follow Caitlin, this time with Marcus into a bar. Though Peter recognized it as the bar where Frost beat criminals up for info on Amunet. So far, Peter thought that Marcus was…ok. Just ok. But he knew Caitlin deserved great.
He once joked that if she could, she could totally get a boyfriend who looked like Ryan Gosling. But that was because Peter thought that Caitlin is the most beautiful woman in the multiverse. Sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but he didn't care if he was biased, this was his soul mate…and he had to get back to her.
"Seriously, Marcus, I am so sorry. I cannot believe I made a dinner reservation for next January." Caitlin apologized.
"It happens, even if it sounds like the sort of thing to happen in a romcom." Peter stated. "Also, why did you say that now in the bar and not during the ten minute hike from the parking spot?"
"Please don't feel bad. Last week at work, I screwed up the blooming cycle for the Selenicereus grandiflorus I've been growing. You should have seen all the pollen." Marcus reassured her.
"I can see now why Chester would think if you did get powers, they'd be plant based. Though don't turn evil and date Poison Ivy. Last time I visited Gotham, she and Harley made a cute couple." Peter said.
Caitlin laughs at how kind Marcus is. "Thank you. I mean, really, you're just such a trooper. This first round is on me. This place is a little seedier than I remember." Caitlin told him as they sat at a table as the beginning of "Cold as Ice" by Foreigner stated.
"It's fun. Plus, they've got karaoke." Marcus pointed out, who's stage was behind Caitlin and Peter.
"Next up, the Ice Pack!" Announced the DJ."
"There's that." Caitlin agreed, ignoring the DJ.
"Yeah." Marcus agreed."
"Man, we really should do karaoke again when I get back. I mean, with my Caitlin. Haven't done it since Cisco's going away party. I kinda like to count our nights at that karaoke bar as our unofficial first date." Peter said.
It's then that the karaoke singer started to sing the first line of the song.
"I'd recognize that singing voice anywhere." Peter says with shock. He then closes his eyes. "Please don't be on a date with Mark. Please don't be on a date with Mark." He repeats, hoping it'll come true.
But, it's then that the next line in the song is sung by an unfamiliar male voice to Peter.
"Please just be hanging out with a guy friend, who's not Mark. Please just be hanging out with a guy friend, who's not Mark." He also repeats. But he knows he can no longer avoid the inevitable, and looks over at them. It is Frost and Mark.
"Hey. Way off-key, but they're committed." Marcus points out.
Peter then walks closer to the stage to get a better look at Mark.
"Ok, I guess he's kinda handsome. But come on, Frost! The guy looks like a douchebag! This is seriously who you date in a world without me or where Barry's already married to Iris and not either of you?!" Peter stated, definitely not liking Mark.
"We need to leave." Caitlin tells Marcus.
"I second that!"
Caitlin then quickly stands up, but doing so causes the bar stool to be knocked down. Peter tries to catch it, but it painfully phases through his fingers.
"God damnit!" He yells in pain. "Whoever made me invisible, mute to the rest of the world, and made it so I feel pain whenever I phase through stuff has a really sick sense of humor!"
The crash of the barstool gets the attention of Frost and Mark, who stop singing to notice her sister and her date in the bar.
"Caity? What a coinky-dink! What are the two of you doing here?" Frost asks, happy to see Caitlin and Marcus as she runs off the stage to greet them with Mark following behind.
"Shit. This date night is now going to be a double-date." Peter groaned.
"We were just grabbing a casual drink, but I'm-it's too crowded in here." Caitlin replied.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, is this-is this the infamous Marcus, as in "Dr. Ficus?" Mark asked as he approached them and put an arm around Marcus.
"Um…yes?" Marcus awkwardly replied.
"Holy crap." Frost exclaims before realizing, "Hey, you two are here. Mark and I are here. We should totally make this a double-date.
"Yes!" Mark exclaims.
"Dear God, you are Mark." Peter groaned. "Caitlin, please leave!"
"Oh, no." Caitlin awkwardly replied.
"Yes!" Peter exclaimed, jumping for joy.
"We'll let you get back to it."
"Why? They've got great food here. Well, if you like to live dangerously." Mark pointed out.
"I don't."
"She doesn't. Let's head back to the apartment, order a pizza, and Netflix and chill. Though I am in the mood for some Disney+, maybe Max."
Mark laughs at Caitlin's remarks and his arm around Marcus starts to look more like a wrestling hold.
"You wanna stay, right?" Mark asks Marcus. Peter wasn't sure if Mark was threatening Marcus just then or trying to befriend him, like this was the sort of thing bros do. He eventually lets Marcus go, still trying to sell him on the double date. "We can workshop some plant-y ice puns."
"Well, I've heard a lot about Frost. It'd be nice to have a person to go with the stories." Marcus said, trying to please everyone.
Mark laughs at that and Frost smiles at how nice Caity's boyfriend is as the two sit down at Marcus and Caitlin's table.
"Great, let's double-date" Caitlin and Peter unknowingly said in unison, both not wanting this (though Caitlin is far enough away from the others and whispers so that they can't hear her). Peter realizes that he and Caitlin just said the same thing and has a small smile about that.
A few minutes later, Frost comes back to the table with their drinks.
"Right, I got a "Dark and Stormy" for Marcus, Chardonnay for Caitlin, and a whiskey for Mark and me, on the rocks, of course." She says as she hands out the drinks. After the last one, she turns to Mark.
"Thanks, snowflake." Mark thanks as they move in to kiss.
"Oh, God." Peter says as he covers his eyes with his hand, though not in time.
"Also, that's my nickname for her!" Peter says as he points to Caitlin, still with his eyes covered, annoyed to be the fifth wheel on a double-date with doppelgängers of his wives. After they finish their kiss, Peter sees that Caitlin is uncomfortable and drinks the majority of her wine in one sip, hoping to get drunk faster.
"I envy you right now." He says to Caitlin. He then decides to be petty and tries to grab Mark's whiskey, even though he just painfully phases through the glass.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow." He repeats each time he does it. He knows if they could see and hear him, they'd find it funny…or pathetic.
"You know, there's a cactus plant that makes great cocktails. The pads of the Opuntia cacti pair perfectly with an agave spirit." Marcus tells them.
"I bet it would really cover the taste of the strychnine too." Mark replies.
Marcus laughs at that, believing Mark made a joke. ""Strychnine."" he repeats to Caitlin.
Peter mockingly laughs. "We get it, you and Frost also share a dark sense of humor."
"Wow, a genius botanist who can mix drinks? I like him already." Frost stated.
"So, how did you two meet?" Marcus asked Frost and Mark.
"A question I'm curious about too." Peter stated."
"Oh." Mark awkwardly states.
"Well, we met here, actually. Mark was-" Frost said before Caitlin interrupted.
"-pouring beers by day and…murdering delivery men by night." She bluntly tells them.
"What?!" Peter exclaims. "You're willing dating a douchebag murderer?! Also, Caitlin, please tell me you only just remembered that he worked here. Because otherwise, we could have avoided him altogether!" He yells.
Frost looks a little upset that Caitlin insulted her boyfriend, but still tries to look like she is still having fun.
"What? It's true."
"She's exaggerating it." Frost says, trying to save the situation.
"Well, not exactly." Mark jokingly admits
"EVEN HE ADMITS IT! WHY ARE YOU DATING HIM?!" Peter yells.
"Okay, fine. Mark and I each spent some time on the wrong side of the law, but I believe I paid for my crimes, and Mark turned state's witness against some really bad guys." Frost admits.
"Yeah, and the DA expunged my record." Mark tells them as Caitlin rolls her eyes. "So now, as clean as a whistle."
"Unless you killed more people working for Savitar and Amunet, I somehow doubt you two are equal on this front. Is that seriously why you're dating him? Because you've both been criminals? Sure, he helped the law catch more bad guys, but I've seen over the past week that you're just as much of a hero as my Frost and have saved this city countless times." Peter stated to Frost.
"And just because your record is expunged doesn't mean you were never not a criminal. How do we know you've really changed your ways? I've seen Oswald Cobblepot go from rich socialite to criminal to mayoral candidate, and then back to criminal." Peter then states to Mark.
"Well, seems like you've turned over a new leaf." Marcus says, trying to be understanding.
Mark and Frost are both happy that Marcus likes them.
"Hey! Dr. Ficus. There he is." Mark says with joy.
"So good!" Frost agrees.
"Even if that's true, you still look like a douchebag and Frost can do better." Peter complains.
"Hey, I kind of like that." Marcus says about his new nickname.
"Listen, Frost and I are going skydiving again next weekend. Double date, round two?" Mark asks the other couple. "What do you say? I mean, you seem cool, man." Mark says to Marcus.
"Well, I do miss web swinging and that's probably the closest I'm gonna feel like that again. And if you're both going, might as well." Peter says in begrudgement.
"No, no, I've always wanted to go skydiving. Yeah, I'm game." Marcus replies as Caitlin takes another big sip of her wine, still trying to get drunk. "What do you say, Caity?"
She then looks over at Marcus seriously. "Marcus, did you know that when Mark got out, he seduced my sister so that he could steal a weapon out from right under her nose?" She informs her boyfriend.
"Seriously? How could you-why would you date someone who previously did that to you?!" Peter asks in anger and confusion.
"After he helped us save the day." Frost explained.
"Not really helping. If anything, it proves he can't be trusted!"
"And she was so upset, that she just kept moping and crying and even needed to take a sabbatical." Caitlin pointed out.
"Seriously? To be with someone who does that to you is so toxic! Or does Barry and Iris' relationship make you think it's normal?!"
"Caitlin-" Marcus is about to say, trying to stop a fight.
"I apologized for all that. We-we-" Mark tries to defend himself.
"And I accepted it." Frost explained.
"Oh, God!" Peter says before putting his head on the table. "I could understand if this made him an ally, maybe even a friend. But stuff like this is really not something you should be okay with before dating the guy, fling or steady."
"Frost, I mean, how naive can you be? He's already betrayed you, and yet you're out there Livestreaming the two of you jumping out of airplanes and making out on cliffs." Caitlin replied.
"She's right, as usual. Though I'm that glad I didn't see that photo."
Frost and Mark didn't pay attention to that last insult, only the memory of what she said.
"Remember Mount Shasta?" Frost asks him.
"Hell yeah." He replied, before the couple fist bump.
"Frost, what is wrong with you? You're acting like some stupid teenager falling in love with this guy who's already hurt you and, guess what, is definitely going to do it again. Caitlin points out.
"A good point, you're smarter than this!" Peter also points out.
"And you know what? When that happens, I am not picking up the pieces, because I am done with broken hearts, you got that?!" Caitlin states.
"Okay, a little harsh."
Before, Frost tried to smile even though the whole time her sister insulted her life decisions and boyfriend. But what Caitlin finally said made that smile drop.
"Hey, you know, we got it. You don't like me. But Frost is an adult with her own life. And so long as she's choosing to spend it with me, then you need to deal with it." Mark replied defiantly, with Frost looking at her man defending their relationship.
Caitlin scoffs that the boyfriend of her sister just insulted her. "Are you really going to let him talk to me that way? Your sister?" She asks Frost.
"Yeah, I am." Frost quickly responds. Didn't even need to think about what she just told her. "'Cause he's my boyfriend, and anything else is none of your damn business."
She then gets up and leaves the bar. Peter still stays put, rather being with Caitlin than Frost, even after her outburst. Caitlin looks sad that Frost chose Mark (who then finishes his drink in one sip and then follows Frost) over her.
"Damn." Peter remarks.
Marcus looks over and tries smooth things with Caitlin. "Hey…"
"I think I'd like to go home." Caitlin tells him.
"I'll pull the car around." Marcus tells her, knowing she may want to be alone.
"Yeah."
Marcus then leaves to get the car as . Peter looks over Caitlin (who then finishes off the rest of her wine). He wishes he could comfort her. He starts to think that maybe the most painful thing than seeing Caitlin dating someone other than him, is seeing Caitlin all alone.
A few minutes later, Caitlin (and Peter) go over to sit at the bar while waiting for Marcus. Peter notices Mark is back and walks up to her.
"Oh great, more drama. I swear I'm going to re-watch "Animaniacs" next chance I get. God, I need some humor." Peter states.
"Pardon moi, Madame." Mark says as he sits next to Caitlin (though fortunately, not in the same seat Peter is in). "There room here for two to pay their tab? Wouldn't want this fine establishment to think I'm a thief." He asks.
"Meh, I've met thieves who were honorable." Peter says, thinking of Snart.
"So, you disappear when people want you to stick around, but you stick around when people want you to disappear." Caitlin states.
"I'm all kinds of complicated, Caitlin. Maybe that's why you can't see how much we have in common." Mark replied.
"How? And dear God, please don't be trying to get her to have a threesome with you and Frost, even I wouldn't do that with my wives!" Peter states.
Caitlin scoffs at Marks…well, remark.
"Yeah, believe it or not, both of us care about Frost."
"People can still like each other in a toxic relationship. That does not stop the relationship from being toxic. Again: Barry and Iris!"
"Yeah, and that's why you abandoned her." Caitlin points out.
"I-fine. I screwed up before." Mark admits. "But Frost is special, so I'm making up for it as best as I can. I'm even putting time in with her family."
"Even so, that's the kinda shit you do BEFORE you enter a relationship with the person you like!" Peter states.
"Yeah, and what do you know about family?" Caitlin asks.
"Uh, I know that mine's dysfunctional as hell." Mark points out. "And the way you went off in there, you kind of reminded me of them. Yeah, you sound just like my grumpy, backstabbing nana at every Blaine family reunion ever. I mean, talk about cold." He says as he snickers at the joke he just made, but then shivers at what he said. "Congratulations, you actually gave me flashbacks."
"Except, unlike your nana and if this Caitlin is anything like mine, she fought like hell to get Frost back. Caitlin loves Frost so much, that's why she doesn't like that she's chosen a toxic (even if formerly) boyfriend." Peter states.
"I'm sorry I blew up." Caitlin apologizes. "But if you care about Frost as much as you say you do, then you'll agree that she deserves someone who-"
""Accepts her, warts and all?" Just like I do?" Mark asks.
"I did, though I should have done it a lot sooner." Peter says, thinking how much he messed up with Frost post-Battleworld and Valentine's Day.
"Caitlin, like it or not, Frost and I are all in. There's no holding back or hiding pieces of ourselves. Like you."
"Oh, joy." Peter says sarcastically. Before realizing what Mark just said.
"What are you talking about?" Caitlin and Peter say in unison. Peter then realizes they both did it again.
"Damn, twice in less than an hour."
"Come on. I used to tend bar, remember? This isn't about Snowflake and I."
"Yes it is. And again, that's my nickname for Caitlin. Didn't really have a nickname for Frost other than to point out her attractiveness."
"This is about you being more focused on hating me than focusing on your own date. You've been holding back all night 'cause you're afraid to go all in with Marcus. Am I wrong?"
"So, basically, she ought to spend a little more time dealing with herself, a little less time worrying about what you did or will do. Thank you Charlie Sheen from "Ferris Bueller!" Peter replied sarcastically. "But to be fair, it could have gone better if someone remembered where the guy she hates worked at. Also, it's the third date, not many people know if they want to go all in or are still testing the waters."
Mark and Caitlin both sigh at that.
"Look, it's-it's okay to be scared. But at some point, you've got to take a leap of faith, like I did with Frost and like she's doing with me. Trust me, it's the best decision that either of us have ever made." Mark continues. "And one more thing. Marcus is a really good guy. So maybe stop thinking about what it is you have to lose and start thinking about what it is you might gain, you know? But I don't know. Thanks." He tells her before he gets up and starts to leave.
"For what?" Caitlin asks
"Gotta go." He says as he leaves.
As much as Peter doesn't want to admit it, Mark got him thinking about things.
Back at Caitlin's apartment, she paces the living in a bathrobe as Peter sits on a chair, waiting for Frost to return. She later does, in a huff, marching to the refrigerator to grab a couple of drinks for the road.
"Can we talk?" Caitlin asks.
"Mark's downstairs. We got tickets to an underground rave in Keystone City." She replies.
"Seriously, did you want me to take you on dates like that?" Peter solemnly, starting to doubt if Frost really loved him or should be with someone like Mark.
"It'll just take a minute, please. Look, I acted like a total bonehead tonight, and I was rude to you and to Mark. I am so sorry." Caitlin apologizes.
"To be fair, you were just being a worrying older sister. You do have a valid point to be angry at him for his past. And while he was nice to you, he also owes you an apology."
""Bonehead?" Try jackass. What is your deal?" Frost asks.
"I guess I have a lot of baggage to unpack when it comes to dating." Caitlin tells her as she sits down on the couch.
"Ya think?" She replies sarcastically.
"The reason I've been afraid to go all in with Marcus is…because the last time I did, I lost everything." Frost realizes she's trying to be more earnest and sits down opposite her on the coffee table. Peter looks at Caitlin with wide eyes, realizing what she's saying. "And that's why it's so hard for me to see you with Mark, 'cause I envy how honest and free and effortless your relationship is."
""Effortless?" I'm sorry, that's not what I'd call the roller coaster that is "FrostBlaine. "You're aware I stabbed him, right?" Peter laughs at that, glad to hear that Mark got some sort of comeuppance aside from imprisonment, even if temporary.
"Yeah. You make it seem easy, at least. And Mark helped me realize something."
"Mark? My Mark?"
"Yeah. Mark showed me that if I'm gonna have a chance at finding the same thing, then I need to take a leap of faith at finding the same thing, then I need to take the same leap with Dr. Ficus. So, I'm gonna do it."
"Hmm. That's great. I'm happy for you." Frost replied, glad that things are starting to improve for her sister.
"Thank you, and I'm happy for you and Mark, even though he is…himself."
"So does this mean we can do that whole double date thing for reals?"
"I need to patch things up with Marcus, but after that, I'd love to."
"Great." Frost says as she stands up. "Mark and I signed up for a roller derby on the weekend, and we need two extra players, so…you have a mouthguard, right?"
"Uh, I could probably find one, maybe."
"Cool, practice starts tomorrow, 8 am, don't be late." She tells her as she leaves the apartment.
Caitlin looks both happy for the future, but also sad to let some things go.
Peter continues to stare at Caitlin.
"You're still getting over Ronnie, aren't you?" He realizes.
All the talks of leaps of faith and Caitlin moving on stirred a memory for Peter.
"Peter, there's something I never told you, it's before Ronnie died." Caitlin tells him and Peter looks to her confused.
Caitlin begins to tighten her lips, "Well, this is it, you made it to the cliff, now it's time to jump." She then speaks, "Ronnie asked me to marry him...and I told him I couldn't do it." Caitlin tells him and Peter is shocked to hear this now.
"Why couldn't you do it?" Peter asks her and now Caitlin wrestles with the feeling in her stomach.
"Peter, ever since I lost Ronnie, you've always been there for me...help me regain my hope when it's lost. You know how to make me laugh. How to make me feel better when I'm down..whenever you're around, I feel the weight on my shoulders...disappear, and I want to keep having that feeling." Caitlin says and knows there's only one thing left to say. "Peter, I love you." She finally tells him.
Peter doesn't say anything and stares to his friend who just spilled her guts out to him.
Caitlin sees him not responding and looks away seeing she made a mistake. "Look, I know you probably don't feel the same way. I just had to get this off of my chest after two years of sitting on them, I'll be okay just being your friend, so we can-"
Caitlin didn't get to finish that though when Peter suddenly did something unexpected...he kissed Caitlin Snow. She is shocked for the first second, but that's replaced when she starts kissing him back.
Caitlin doesn't know how to explain in words how it feels, but she can say it's about a thousand times better than the kiss she received by Everyman from last year.
Peter kisses Caitlin and it feels better than when Frost kissed him and froze his lips. After a few seconds the two finally break apart. Caitlin looks to him waiting for an explanation while the spider hero has a big grin on his face.
"I've been having feelings for you ever since I returned to Central City last year, and I never told you because I thought your heart would always belong to Ronnie. But I'm glad you feel the same way." Peter tells her.
Now it's Caitlin's turn to be speechless as she looks to her friend. She's even happier now she knows Peter feels the same way and responds the only way she knows how, she grabs Peter by the face and pulls him onto another kiss, they stayed like that until they break apart while breathing heavily.
Back in the present, he makes another realization.
"Without me to help you move on and be "crazy for" (as you once put it), you accepted Ronnie's second proposal."
He then walks over to her and sits next to her on the couch.
"Cait, as much as I hate seeing you and Frost with other people, I don't want you to end up alone. I want you to be happy and loved. Marcus seems like a nice guy, though maybe a bit of a push over." He joked, starting to tear up. Not noticing that Caitlin was starting to turn her head towards him. "Mark, I'm still wary about him. Sure, he seemed nice before we left the bar, but he still screwed up more than Oliver Queen did with his relationships, pre-island, and looks like such a douchebag (Mark, not Oliver). But you especially need to move on. And though it'll break my heart to see you happy with Marcus (seriously, you ladies couldn't date guys named Luke and Lucas?) and though you don't need it, you have my blessing to move on."
He then notices that Caitlin is looking at him with wide eyes. After a few seconds she screams at seeing him. Peter in turn, screamed at the surprise of her screaming.
"Who the hell are you and how did you get in my apartment?!" Caitlin demanded as she reached for her phone to alert Barry and Frost.
"I-" He starts to say before realizing… "Wait, can you see me?"
At CCPD, Barry Allen just revealed his identity to his boss, Captain Kristen Kramer. He then hears a beep from his suit.
"What is it, Chester?" Barry asked over his comms.
"Caitlin just pushed the "help" button on her phone. Get to her apartment!" He tells him.
"On it." Ending the call, before turning back to Captain Kramer. "I've got to-"
"I get it, just go." She tells him before he speeds off.
"So, how did it go?" Mark asked as Frost approached his car, parked in front of the building.
"Well…" She starts to say before realizing, "You knew she'd apologize!"
"Well, I hoped after our talk, she would."
Frost then smiles at her boyfriend and leans in to kiss him. But just before they do, her phone makes a notification tone. She then reaches into her purse to check it.
"What is it?" Mark asked.
"It's the alert for if someone on Team Flash is in danger, but it's coming from Caity's phone. But I just saw her two minutes ago."
It's then that The Flash arrives next to her.
"Got the alert, I'll meet you upstairs." He tells her as he speeds up to Caitlin's apartment.
"Uh, raincheck on the rave? Maybe even roller derby practice?" She asked.
"Oh course, now go save her!" Mark understandably replies.
She then runs back into the building. As she leaves, Mark starts to feel less understandable, like he has a bad feeling about what's about to happen.
To be clear, I don't hate Mark Blaine's actor, Jon Cor. Just the character of Mark Blaine.
Fun fact: Jon had a small role in the film "The Rocker" with future Oscar winner and Gwen Stacy, Emma Stone.
Fun fact: Chillblaine was killed in the comics by Captain Cold as revenge for killing Golden Glider. God I missed the Snarts.
The flashback is from chapter 41 of "Flash and Spider-Man: Book 2 of The Spider-Verse" by What If Universe
While Mark Blaine aka Chillblaine is a character from the comics, Marcus is an original character. So I have to ask, did the writer really make both of Caitlin and Frost's boyfriends have similar names or was it a coincidence that they didn't notice? I'm assuming they named Marcus so they could do the Dr. Ficus bit, but like my example, why not go with a name like Lucas?
This chapter was mostly my feelings first watching the episode and how fans of Caitlin and Frost ships (not with each other, but each or both sharing a ship with a different love interest, like Peter, Barry, or even Steve Rogers) felt watching these new relationships when we didn't want them (if you did, fine, but this likely won't be the fanfic for you). Also, with how much the creators were starting to integrate Mark to the cast and relationship with Frost (as well as friendship with Caitlin and later, crush on Khione), I wanted the "Flash and Spider-Man" Peter to have a rivalry with Mark, much like the minor one he had with Julian Albert in the original What If Universe story.
While I've written more chapters, it's still going to be a while before I update.