(The Flash) Frozen Flashpoint: Chapter 2 – Our Own Happy Ending

Chapter 2 – Our Own Happy Ending

“The party’s over?” Barry asked emotionlessly, his head still leaning back so he could look up at her.

Caitlin tilted her head, her eyes widening in surprise at his tone, but she answered in the same soft voice, “No. Harry just called Cisco. Jessie wanted to speak more with Wally, so they’re on their way too.”

Barry frowned in confusion. The fact that she was talking to him at all made him want to scratch his head. “So why are you here?” he asked wryly.

Now Caitlin began to frown, her voice slightly confused as she answered slowly, “Because you were gone for a while and I began to worry.”

Barry bit back a snort and replied in a careless tone, “Didn’t think anyone would mind.”

Caitlin was now fully frowning, her voice taken over by confusion. “Barry, what are you saying? Of course, we care—you’re our friend.”

This time, Barry couldn’t hold back the snort and the sarcastic response that left his lips. “Oh yeah, I noticed.”

Barry hoped his attitude would push her away and allow him to go on with his plan, but his eyes widened when she ran her hands over her skirt before sitting down next to him on the steps of the house.

Barry tried to focus on the sting he still felt from the betrayal rather than the warm feeling of being so close to Caitlin again.

Her face was a mask of pure remorse as she said sadly, “It’s about what happened before the race.”

Barry just raised an eyebrow, as if to say, “What do you think?”

But Barry was caught off guard when he heard Caitlin sniffling with her head bowed. After a moment, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Barry blinked and asked, his voice filled with confusion, “You’re sorry?”

Caitlin nodded slowly before she raised her wet eyes to Barry’s face and tried to explain. “Like Cisco said, not all of us were on board with Iris’s plan.”

Barry frowned. He was under the impression it was either Joe’s or Harry’s idea, so he asked to make sure he got it right. “It was Iris’s idea?”

Caitlin nodded absentmindedly before she went on as if Barry hadn’t spoken. “Harry immediately agreed with her, and after she explained her line of thought some more, Joe did as well. Me, Cisco, and Jess tried to protest, but Iris kept pushing and pushing. She insisted that she knew you best and knew what was best for you.”

Barry pushed himself off the pillar with a glare in his eyes as he said in a hard tone, “That’s just a lie. She hasn’t known me best for a long time now. You and Cisco do.”

Caitlin gave him a small smile before she returned to her serious expression and finished. “Jess was cowed by her dad, and after a small talk between me and Cisco, we realized you’d go with what Iris said anyway, so we got on board.” She let out a heavy sigh and added, “In my defense, I tried to point out that locking you up alone after what happened would make things worse, but I was ignored by the authority around the lab.”

Now Barry was frowning again, and he gave her an odd look. “You know better than anyone that I’m the authority in the lab. You watched with me when fake Wells passed that on to me. And when I signed new contracts for you and Cisco, you became my employees and authority when I’m not around.”

Caitlin’s eyes widened as she considered this. A moment later, she shook her head and replied sheepishly, “Yeah, you’re right. I did notice my checks this year increased; it was easy to forget with everything going on.” She then gave him that warm smile of hers that melted his heart and said, “Thank you, Barry. But you didn’t have to do it.”

Barry gave her his trademark determined look and replied, “Of course I did. You left your work at Mercury Labs for me. I asked Cisco, and he told me how much you were paid, so I increased both your salaries to match.”

Caitlin just shook her head fondly, knowing there would be no point arguing with him. Instead, she turned her gaze to the dark horizon of the night sky.

Barry allowed himself to stare at her for a moment longer, noticing her shivering from the chilly wind outside.

Barry took off his jacket and put it around Caitlin’s shoulders. She did nothing more than smile softly, her eyes still locked onto the horizon.

Barry felt better now that he knew Cisco and Caitlin didn’t willingly betray him. Especially Caitlin. It felt like a stone had fallen off his heart. Harry always dealt in extremes, for better or worse. Joe surprised him a little, but he was never good at saying “no” to his daughter. Jessie—he really couldn’t expect much from her; he was glad she was listening to her dad at least.

Iris, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter. He wasn’t sure why the fact she finally realized he was crushing on her for all those years gave her any right to make decisions like that for him. And to say it was what was best for him—that was just arrogant on all accounts. He would have to talk to her later about a lot of things.

Caitlin let out a content sigh and said quietly, “It’s nice. It’s been a while since we sat like this. Just us.”

Barry chuckled and agreed, “Yeah. I missed it too.”

Caitlin looked back at him with a reminiscing smile and asked, “Do you remember our Shawna stakeout?”

Barry laughed and began singing, “Summer lovin’…”

Caitlin groaned and said with mock anger, “I told you never to mention it again, Allen.”

Barry laughed a little more before a faraway look appeared on his face and he said without noticing, “I remember how pretty you looked.”

Caitlin’s entire face blushed; Barry could tell thanks to the porch light. Then he realized what he said, and his own face heated up.

Barry wanted to say something else, but he was afraid. Then a thought struck him—he was going to change the timeline anyway. So why not air everything he wanted to say?

With a deep breath, Barry added in a confident voice, “I remember wanting to kiss you that night.”

Caitlin’s eyes widened as she searched his face before she asked in a choked voice, “Why didn’t you?”

Barry tilted his head back and shrugged before he answered, “It was when we both admitted we wanted to move on. I didn’t exactly realize what I was feeling at the time, but when Linda offered me her number, I did. By then, you were already drunk, and it wasn’t right to take advantage.”

Caitlin’s eyes slowly returned to their normal size, but she still managed to whisper a question, “Why not after? You didn’t want to anymore?”

Barry’s eyes met hers, and he smiled bitterly. “I did. I waited for you near the elevator, remember? But you had a hangover, and then Cisco dumped the whole ‘Ronnie alive’ thing. And from there, things got away from me very fast. Ronnie came back to you, and you went straight for him. Not that I blame you. Then he died because of me, and I pushed everyone away. Then Jay came in…” Barry let his voice drift off when he noticed her flinch at the name.

Caitlin shook her head and asked with a slight edge to her voice, “And what about Linda? Patty? Iris?! All of them in the last year alone.”

Barry narrowed his eyes at her and retorted, “Okay, first of all, you have no right to accuse me of anything like that. You didn’t show any interest in me either, so just like I didn’t accuse you of running back to Ronnie on first sight or dating Jay after knowing him a month, you don’t get to judge me for who I dated and when.”

Caitlin hung her head in shame and nodded her agreement.

Barry might erase this conversation soon enough, but he wasn’t going to sit here being accused as if he hurt her feelings on purpose.

Still, Barry wanted to explain himself. “I’m not sure what went on with Linda. She was the first girl to show interest in me in a long time, and I was confused between what I felt for Iris and what I felt for you. So I went for the safe choice.” With another sigh, he continued, “Patty… I guess she was in the right place at the right time. Iris was ignoring me, and you were dating… well, you know. She was nice, smart, and we had a lot in common. I don’t regret what we had.”

Then Barry frowned as he spoke in a voice devoid of emotion. “Iris… that’s difficult. Cisco already told you about Earth-2, right?” At Caitlin’s uneasy nod, he continued, “Well, then he probably told you I was married to Iris there and had to play that version of me. For a moment, I thought my greatest dream could be real, but it felt off. That was when I realized I didn’t love Iris; I loved the idea she represented.”

Caitlin gave him a confused look. Barry looked off into the distance as he explained, “Home. Since my mom was killed and Joe took me in, Iris was there, and in my mind, her presence and the idea of home mixed into the same thing. You were the first to show me, but Patty was the one to convince me that I could get that feeling, that I could be happy without Iris.”

Caitlin gave him a small smile and reached for his hand, but she seemed to rethink it at the last minute and pulled her hand back under his jacket. Instead, she just told him with a gentle tone, “I’m happy for you, Barry. But it looks like Iris is into you now, so maybe you could have both things.”

Barry shook his head with a frown. “It’s more than just that. Once the ideas separated in my mind, any desire I had for Iris went away. We have nothing in common, and now that I think about it, she’s far too bossy for my liking. Then there’s the fact she noticed my crush on her only after she had no other good options but me, and even then it took her months to decide I was worth the attention. Toxic relationship much?”

Then he turned to Caitlin with a small smile and added as if in afterthought, “Not to mention that Joe adopted me, which makes Iris my sister. Kind of creepy.”

Caitlin chuckled before she said in an amused tone, “Me and Cisco didn’t want to mention it, but the thought did cross our minds.”

Barry let out a short laugh as well.

Caitlin waited for another moment before clearing her throat and asking tentatively again, “You didn’t mention what you feel now. There’s still something you haven’t told me, isn’t there?”

Barry looked at her from the corner of his eye before answering slowly, “It’s something I realized after I gave my speed to Zoom.”

Caitlin looked at him oddly, obviously not wanting to think about that day but still pushing herself to figure out what he wasn’t telling her. “And what was that?” she tried asking again, stronger this time.

Barry turned to look at her face. He tried to move his jaw to say something, but he couldn’t. And soon enough it would be irrelevant anyway, so instead he settled on saying, “It wouldn’t matter in a few minutes.”

Caitlin frowned, her eyes narrowing as she asked suspiciously, “And why is that?”

Barry began to feel slightly uncomfortable, but he managed to hold back and repeated calmly, “Doesn’t matter.”

Caitlin glared at Barry, probably already figuring he was about to do something stupid. The longer Barry stayed silent, the more pointed her glare became.

Finally, Barry couldn’t stand her glare anymore. He was never good at hiding secrets from Caitlin, so he shouldn’t be surprised he suddenly blurted out, “I plan to run back and save my mom.”

Caitlin gasped, her eyes wide. Barry wasn’t sure if the reason was panic, fear, or concern. After a moment, she mastered her expression into something softer and began saying, “Barry, it’s—”

Barry didn’t allow her to finish. Now that she knew the secret, he had to justify himself so she wouldn’t try to stop him. “The only way, Caitlin. Can’t you see? My dad suffered so much in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and when he finally gets to be free, he’s murdered. My mom never got the chance to see me grow up.”

This time, Caitlin reached for his hand, grabbing it tightly in hers. Barry thought it was for comfort just as much as it was to make sure he wouldn’t run away. She spoke gently, “It’s awful, Barry, I know. Neither of them deserved any of it. But what you want to do will have huge consequences, not just for your family, but for everyone.”

Barry looked at her desperately now. “And isn’t that a good thing? Think about it, Caitlin. Don’t we all deserve a better life? You can have the life you always wanted with Ronnie; the real Wells will stay alive. So much will be better—you have to realize it.”

Caitlin shook her head sadly and said, “And you need to realize that what you’re saying are just possibilities. Yes, maybe we have a better life like you imagine, but maybe we don’t. Maybe Cisco gets his powers and turns into another villain like he was on Earth-2. Did you think about that? And what about the Flash? What if you don’t get your powers but the villains do?”

Barry felt like someone had just dropped a boulder on his shoulders. He slumped, his entire body bowed down as he spoke with quieter desperation. “What about us? Don’t we deserve a happy ending after everything we went through? This past year was hell for both of us—didn’t we earn ourselves that?”

Caitlin squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. “We did. And we do. But we both know neither of us will ever be happy knowing it came at the price of someone else’s.”

Barry sighed heavily. He could feel the tears starting to fall from his eyes, and his spirit slowly dying. Caitlin was right. He was about to run with just a simple idea without thinking a step ahead, hoping everything would just play out his way. When had that ever happened? With his luck, the worst-case scenario Caitlin described was the more likely.

He would have to let go of his dream to see his mom and dad again. The dream of him and… His line of thought was cut short when he felt a soft, cold hand on his cheek, trying to turn his head.

When his almond eyes met her hazel ones, Barry’s breath caught in his throat, which was for the best because a moment later his view of her eyes disappeared, and instead he felt a new pressure against his lips.

It took a moment for Barry to process what was going on. By the time he did, Caitlin’s face was in his sightline again with her usual lopsided, soft smile. Caitlin Snow had just kissed him on the lips!

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t have our happy ending here,” Caitlin told him in her most gentle tone before adding in a more hesitant voice, “If that’s what you want, of course.”

If Barry wanted?! His secret crush of the last few months knowingly and couple of years unknowingly had just kissed him and implied she wanted to date him. Barry shook himself mentally before giving a small smile and said, “Yes. Yep. Totally what I want.”

Caitlin’s hesitant look was replaced by an amused one, and she chuckled. She dragged herself a little closer to Barry, and the speedster didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around her.

Caitlin gave another happy sigh and said again, “It’s been so long since we sat just us. Why is that, Barry? Were you embarrassed?”

Barry shook his head slightly, not wanting to hit her head with his own before admitting with a pained voice, “After you came back to STAR Labs, you would flinch every time I tried to get near you. My dad told me you went through trauma with a speedster and that right now you needed some space from me. So I did as he said. I just wanted you to be happy.”

Caitlin raised her head to look into Barry’s eyes and replied gently, with a lot of gratitude, “Thank you, Barry. Not many would have done that. Your dad was right, and don’t get it wrong—I was never afraid of you or your speed. It was the memories it triggered that were the problem. Your dad helped me a lot; I’m a lot better now.”

“I’m glad,” was the only response Barry could muster.

Caitlin let her hand find his cheek again, and when Barry’s eyes focused back on her pretty face, she asked, “Can I ask you something?” At his nod, she continued, “When did you start liking me like this?”

Barry got a faraway look in his eyes, debating with himself what he should say to her. Deciding that the entire truth was the only real option here, he opened his mouth and spoke, “Well, I realized it when Zoom took you away. In that moment, I regretted giving away my speed because it meant I couldn’t save you. But when I thought about that, I guess I started having a crush on you during the karaoke night.”

Caitlin’s cheeks blushed deeply at the second reminder of that drunken night, but there was still a small smile on her lips as she responded to his confession with her own. “I don’t remember much of that night, but I know that after that, I looked at you differently too. I wanted you to kiss me that night as well, and I remember feeling jealous before the end.”

Barry was confused; something wasn’t adding up in his mind. He looked at her and asked, “But Ronnie…”

Caitlin sighed before averting her eyes sideways and said, “It’s complicated. I was overwhelmed when Cisco said Ronnie was alive. I had just started to realize I had feelings for you, and you still seemed to hang on to Iris, so I went for the familiar and safe. I had my own guilt issues with Ronnie, and things ended up the way they did.”

There was silence after that for a long moment until Barry cleared his throat and asked tentatively, “Where does that leave us?”

Caitlin raised an eyebrow at the speedster and asked sincerely, “Where do you want it to leave us?”

Barry used the arm Caitlin wasn’t leaning on to rub the back of his neck and answered slowly, “Well… I would like… I mean, I… Iwantforustobeacouple.” He ended up rushing out.

Caitlin gave him an amused look and said with barely repressed giggles, “You want to try that again without using your powers, Barry?”

Barry could feel the heat in his cheeks. She didn’t have to make fun of him. He took a deep breath and repeated, “I want for us to be a couple.”

This time Caitlin did giggle and looked deep into his eyes and said, “I’m glad to hear it. I want it too. So how about a kiss to seal the deal?”

This time Barry might have used his powers without noticing because the next thing he knew, he was kissing Caitlin Snow, his girlfriend, on the porch for a few long moments.

When they broke apart, Barry had a dreamy look on his face. Caitlin chuckled slightly, but then she sobered up and asked seriously, “So no more crazy plans to change the past, right?”

Barry gave her a look as if she was insane and answered in a scandalized tone, “And risk losing this? No way. Give me some credit, Cait.”

Caitlin patted his cheek with her lopsided smile and replied, “Good. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

Barry sighed in relief, but then he noticed the frowning face of his girlfriend as she asked dangerously, “By the way, did you just call me Cait?”

Barry gulped nervously and was about to open his mouth to apologize when the façade cracked, and she began laughing. “Oh, you should have seen your face, Barry. Relax, you’re my boyfriend now; you’re allowed to call me nicknames.” Barry sighed in relief, but Caitlin’s eyes narrowed while her smile remained as she added, “When we’re alone or with friends. If it’s work-related or something like it, it’s Dr. Snow to you, mister.”

Barry chuckled nervously, not sure if his girlfriend was joking or not. He just replied, “Yes, Dr. Snow.”

Caitlin shook her head fondly before she laid said head on his chest with a tight hug. Barry just hugged her back with a wide grin on his face.

Then he heard Caitlin saying quietly to him, “I will always be here for you, Barry. We will move on from the past. Together.”

Barry buried his face into her soft brown hair and nodded. She was right. The past was a complicated thing for him; it would be better if he focused on the future. Especially now that the future looked so much brighter with Caitlin by his side.