(The Flash) Frozen Flashpoint: Chapter 11 – Proposal Under the Stars

Chapter 11 – Proposal Under the Stars

Summary: Frost and Quick's training is showing on the field. Right after the fight, the final piece falls into place, and an important question is asked.

Barry kept evacuating civilians from the mall, but each time he had the opportunity, he used his speed to glance at the hero duo fighting their latest meta threat.

Traver Simon, a twenty-five-year-old man who still lived at his parents' house and played video games, had the meta-ability to turn anything he touched with all five fingers into dust. Their current theory was that his palm closed some kind of circuit that accelerated the entropy in the object, living or not. Simon had no qualms about using his powers for destruction.

A year ago, Barry caught him causing property damage and brought him to the police, where Simon was placed under house arrest, which lasted until a week ago.

Angry about losing to the Flash last time, Simon dyed his shoulder-length hair grey, wore a hoodie, and attacked the mall.

As far as Barry knew, Simon had tried to kill the guard, but the man moved just in time, causing Simon to destroy the chair he was sitting on. The guard understood what was happening and warned everyone, including Team Flash.

Against his better judgment, Barry decided to let Frost and Jessie handle him. His speed would be better suited to getting everyone out of danger, and after five months in the field, it wasn’t like either of the two heroes were newbies anymore.

As Barry kept running around the different floors of the mall and speeding everyone outside to the police barriers, he kept an eye on the fight.

Through the comms, he heard Simon screaming, “You’re cheating! It was supposed to be a two-player game! It’s not fair that the Flash turned it into a party game.”

Barry could practically hear Frost’s eye roll as she shot back, “Geek out all you want—you’ll still be the loser here.”

Then Jessie’s voice chimed in, much quieter. “Hey, Frost, I have an idea. Think you can freeze the floor around him without him noticing?”

Not wanting to reveal their plan, Frost hummed her agreement.

Barry had just returned to the main floor of the mall, where Simon was blocking the escape of about five people. It had been five times that number only minutes ago, but between Frost’s ice walls and Jessie’s speed, Barry had managed to get most of them out of the building.

Frost stood a few meters away, her palms pointed at the criminal. She was wearing her hero suit, which included deep blue pants and a shirt that showed a small amount of cleavage, along with a silver coat that covered her from neck to knees. To complete the look and keep her identity secret, she wore a mask the color of her hair.

Frost stomped her foot on the ground and shot two icicles from her hands.

With a smirk, Simon caught the two icicles with his five fingers, turning them into dust a moment later.

As he laughed, Jessie picked up speed and ran circles around the deranged man.

In response, Simon turned to the duo. “That’s what happens when you send two newbies on a high-level quest against someone with far more XP points.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. We’ve done our fair share of missions and gained some points,” Jessie shot back, revealing her geeky side.

Simon was about to retort but frowned as he noticed something at his feet: he was standing in a puddle of water.

What he hadn’t realized was that Frost’s icicles were a mere distraction while she used her foot to create a thick layer of ice around the spot he was standing on. Jessie’s speed caused the ice to melt, and the air pressure kept the water in a pond shape with Simon at its center.

Knowing that if she aimed a lightning attack directly at Simon, he would dodge it and charge at the civilians, Jessie aimed the lightning at the puddle he was standing in.

The moment the lightning hit, a shockwave traveled up Simon’s body, and a moment later, he collapsed, knocked out.

Barry wasted no time gathering him up and delivering him straight to a cell in Iron Heights.

When Barry returned to the mall, he couldn’t find either of the girls, so he decided to head back to STAR Labs. But before he could run off, something caught his eye.

Barry moved closer to the display window and saw what had grabbed his attention—a silver band with three gems in it. The main one was clear blue, so transparent it reminded him of the ice Frost could create. The other two gems, on either side of the main one, were deep red, and when the light hit them, Barry could swear he saw lightning flash inside.

He was so focused on the ring that he was startled when a voice called, “Blur, what are you doing over there?”

Barry sighed. Cisco loved to annoy him with that damn name. Turning to face him, Barry replied quickly, “Nothing, Vibe, just lost in thought.”

Even behind his glasses, Barry could see Cisco raising an eyebrow as he followed Barry’s previous line of sight. When Cisco noticed the ring, a smirk appeared on his face. “Finally, man! It’s about time you got her one of those.”

Barry waved his hands frantically. “What do you mean ‘finally’? What makes you think I want to buy one?”

Cisco snorted. “I heard you practicing in the speed lab, you know. You had a couple of good openings, but from what I heard, you need to keep it short and to the point.”

Barry blushed, embarrassed at being caught practicing his proposal to Caitlin and Frost. He quickly changed the subject. “Where are Frost and Quick?”

Vibe shrugged. “They said they had things to do, so I opened a breach to STAR Labs for them and came here to help with the cleanup.”

Barry nodded, then found his gaze returning to the ring. He felt Cisco’s arm around his shoulder. “Come on, man, just buy the ring and ask her the question. We all know what her answer will be.”

“Did you see how much that ring costs?” Barry hissed.

Cisco raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget about the millions you have from fake Wells’ accounts and the ownership of STAR Labs? You can easily afford this ring.”

Barry glared at the shorter man. “You know I keep that money for your salaries and equipment. I’m not going to spend it on personal stuff.”

“I see you’re looking at the engagement ring,” a voice said beside them.

They both turned to see a woman with dark skin, black hair streaked with grey, and wearing a fancy pantsuit, smiling at them from the doorway of the store.

Barry gave her a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry, ma’am. We’ll move along now. Have a good day.”

The woman chuckled. “Not at all, Mr. Flash. My name is Rossie Lavender, and I own this shop. May I assume you’re looking for something special for a certain cold heroine?”

Cisco snickered behind him, while Barry blushed. It was common knowledge in the city that the Flash and Frost were in a relationship even before her debut, so her guess wasn’t exactly far-fetched.

When Barry didn’t answer, Mrs. Lavender giggled and said, “I dare say this ring would be the perfect choice to symbolize the union between the two of you. Give me a moment.”

Before Barry could react, the woman went inside the store, and a few minutes later, the ring disappeared from the display window. Mrs. Lavender presented Barry with a fancy ring box.

Barry immediately shook his head. “I don’t have a way to pay for it right now, and there’s no way I’m taking it for free.”

The woman’s smile didn’t falter. “I thought so. Don’t worry—I put a receipt inside. I trust you’ll find a way to pay when you have the option.”

Barry, wide-eyed, slowly took the box from her and whispered, “Thank you.”

She shook her head. “If I can’t trust the superhero who saved my life today, who can I trust? I do hope to hear an official announcement soon, Mr. Flash.” With that, she disappeared back into the shop.

Vibe opened a breach and began shoving Barry toward it. “Come on, man, we still have things to do today.”

When they arrived back at STAR Labs, Barry opened the box to look at the ring and the receipt. When he unfolded the paper, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Amused, Cisco asked, “More expensive than you thought?”

Barry shook his head, his voice shaky. “She cut the price in half.”

Cisco froze for a moment before shrugging. “I know you don’t like it, dude, but you saved her life today. People tend to be grateful after that kind of thing.” Then he smirked. “It’s a good thing tomorrow’s date night. You’ve got the ring—time for more practice, I think.” He laughed as he left the cortex, leaving Barry standing alone with the ring in his hand.

FF FF FF FF FF

Barry was sitting in the Cortex, playing with the fancy ring box he was holding, and thinking back on the last six months.

After starting a relationship with both Frost and Caitlin, things became more… intense. Frost convinced Caitlin that, after Barry had been living in the apartment for almost a month, even though most of the issues with Iris were solved, there was no reason for him to go back to living apart.

So, with that said, a week later, Barry carried some of his more important belongings from the West house to Caitlin’s—well, now their—apartment. He was officially moved in with his girlfriend and was finally allowed to sleep in the same bed as her, which was a serious upgrade from the couch.

These days, Iris was much calmer about the whole thing between him and Caitlin, but she was still trying to minimize interaction between the three of them. This meant Barry saw very little of her. Iris had been somewhat relieved when Barry told them he was moving in with Caitlin, but there was still something off about her every time they were in the same room. In the past month, Barry had begun to worry about it.

But returning to the matter on his mind—after their first kiss, Frost began to take over outside of training so she could have date nights with Barry too. About two weeks into their new arrangement, Caitlin came to visit him at the station. The problem was, Frost did the same thing two days later, and neither of them hid the fact they were his girlfriends. Considering how similar they both looked, Barry had been getting odd stares from his co-workers for a couple of months after that.

But what really defined their relationship was during the debut of the new heroine, Frost. Barry was dealing with a meta who had pyrokinesis and severe burns all over his body, so there could have been no better meta than Frost to deal with him.

After saving the day and securing the pyromaniac, Frost jumped onto him and kissed the Flash for an entire minute in front of reporters. By the next morning, there was no one in Central City—and likely many other cities—who didn’t know that the Flash was dating the new ice heroine, Frost.

And so, it became common to spot the Flash on dates with Frost, while Barry took Caitlin on their own, more private dates. Of course, every once in a while, Barry and Dani (the name Frost used as a civilian after her debut) had their own private dates as well. To this day, it still shocked Barry how just a small mask on her face could stop people from recognizing Frost as Dani, while he had to hide almost his entire head under the cowl.

A couple of months after her debut, Caitlin and Frost decided they wanted a bigger place so Barry could move all his things from the West house as well. After looking around for a few weeks, Barry managed to find the perfect place for them—a loft on the upper side of the city. It had a large living room, three bedrooms (one for sleeping, one for Frost’s personal lab, and one guest room), and a very comfortable kitchen. The minute Caitlin and Frost saw it, they fell in love with the place. So, as of the past month, they had finally finished moving into the loft.

For the last month, Barry had also been toying with the idea of proposing to his girlfriends. He felt that things were relatively calm now, and their relationship had reached the point where this was the only logical step forward.

Barry watched as Harry worked with Wally on something, while Jessie hung in the background, most likely there to protect her boyfriend from her still overprotective father.

Feeling desperate, Barry took a deep breath and called, “Hey, Harry?”

The man turned his head toward him and asked dryly, “Yes, Allen?”

After some hesitation, Barry asked, “You were married. How did you propose to her?”

Harry blinked at him twice, while Jessie tried to cover her mouth (whether to stop her shock or laughter, Barry wasn’t sure), before he answered with a wistful smile, “We were working in the lab. I took a piece of metal and turned it into a ring before asking her to marry me while she was wiring some new design.”

Barry wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, so he settled for, “That sounds sweet?”

Jessie just shook her head with a smile and said, “Barry, just do your thing. Caitlin and Frost will love it no matter what.”

Then Wally pointed to the watch on his wrist and said, “Isn’t your date in, like, half an hour, bro?”

Barry glanced at the clock on the screen in front of him and saw that Wally was right. Without another word, Barry ran out of the Cortex, using his powers.

He had something he’d been toying with in his mind since that morning. Feeling more secure with that plan, he made sure to take care of the necessary arrangements.

FF FF FF FF FF

Caitlin was enjoying herself. After the mission that morning, she was already in high spirits. Then Jessie reminded her of her date night with Barry, and Caitlin decided to head home straight away to start preparing.

She took the day to relax, chose a dress, and put on makeup. She had just finished putting on the final touches when Barry called to her from their living room, “Cait, I’m ready whenever you are.”

Caitlin couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. The last six months had been like a dream to her. Everything seemed to fall into place. Yes, there were still meta threats, but with Frost and Quick now in the field as well, there were far fewer injuries, and all those fights ended a lot faster, allowing Caitlin to focus on her research and her loving boyfriend.

‘Stop staring at yourself, Caity. Can’t keep Handsome waiting for too long,’ a voice in her head drew her back to reality.

Caitlin closed the last of her makeup kits, grabbed her purse, and headed toward the door of their bedroom.

Caitlin had initially been worried about Frost’s part in their relationship, but Frost had truly made things easier. With her as the girlfriend of the Flash, most of the fangirls backed off from him, making life much easier for all involved. And that was just one way Frost had helped improve their dynamic.

As she stepped into the living room, she was surprised to see Barry dressed quite fancy. He was wearing a suit, though without the jacket or tie, which was very different from the usual polo and jeans he wore on their dates.

With a teasing smile, Caitlin commented, “Aren’t you dressed sharp today?”

Barry gave her a wide smile. “I had to try and match the beauty that’s accompanying me tonight. But I see that even now, I fall far too short.”

Caitlin could only blush and take the offered arm Barry extended to her before leaving their loft with the sound of Frost’s laughter in her head. ‘Who knew Handsome had that much game.’

Two hours later, Caitlin and Barry were walking down the beach. They had eaten at a fancy restaurant that Caitlin had wanted to try for some time, and then Barry had taken her to a museum exhibition she’d heard about and had hoped to see. She had been confused when he suggested the beach, but, deciding to go with the flow for once, she simply smiled and followed him.

Suddenly, all the lights around them turned off, and Caitlin tensed immediately. She turned to Barry, ready to let Frost out, when she felt something cold land on her head. She looked up to see one of Cisco’s breaches open above them, with snow coming down through it.

Before she could comprehend what was happening, the darkness of the night was replaced with an orange light from a lightning streak that kept circling her and Barry.

Now completely lost, she looked toward Barry to see if he had any idea of what was going on—only to turn and see him on one knee, holding up an open box with a ring inside.

When the image finally sank in, everything else fell into place, and Caitlin realized what was going on. Without realizing it, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She could even feel Frost frozen in shock in the back of her mind.

With his usual goofy smile, Barry spoke gently, “Caitlin Snow, the last six years have been the best of my life. I’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong. Since that day on the porch, you’ve made my life better each and every day. And when you, Dani Frost, came into it, it felt like the final piece that was missing finally took its place. Will you make me the happiest man in the multiverse and marry me?”

Before Caitlin could form a thought of her own, Frost’s voice screamed in her head, ‘Don’t even think about refusing! Say yes, say yes, SAY YES ALREADY!’

Caitlin had no intention of refusing Barry and needed no push to nod her head as happy tears leaked from her eyes. She finally managed to say, “Of course I will!”

Barry grabbed her left hand, slid the beautiful ring on, and stepped closer to her.

Before Barry could reach her, Caitlin launched herself at him and kissed him as hard as she could.