Reciprocal Altruism || Snowbarry College AU

Out of Airplanes Into Pools of Sharks I

Thermodynamic Equilibrium: When two objects are placed in contact, heat (energy) is transferred from one to the other until they reach the same temperature and are in thermal equilibrium.

***

Her makeup was perfect. Felicity made sure of that. That, paired along with the cute, black dress that accentuated her figure nicely, made her look "smoak-ing hot" (Felicity's words, not hers).

Still, it didn't do anything to stem the onslaught of nerves bubbling inside of her as she waited outside the diner they were supposed to have their (double) date at.

There were a lot of things that she was worried about.

One, Caitlin worried that she might be the fourth wheel during the date. She had seen how Barry and Iris interacted and predicted that the entire date would just be an awkward "sit there politely and smile" kind of night for her. She and Barry weren't even in a legitimate relationship, so she wondered if it even counted as a date.

Two, she worried that this date or rather, fake date, would actually work in Barry's favor and cause Iris to fall in love with him. Of course, that was the endgame they had in mind, however, Caitlin still needed her unofficially official life-coach/tutor/therapist to help her through the semester and she couldn't have him quit their altruistic deal right when it mattered most.

Part of her knew that even if Barry did end up dating Iris, he wouldn't back out of his deal with her. She knew he would have continued tutoring her despite being in a relationship with someone else, but the jittery, anxious part of her overtook all sense of logic.

Three, she worried—

That was when she saw him.

He wore a light blue sweater and dark jeans, so not very different from how he usually dressed, but still different enough that it looked like he was making an effort. His face was scrunched up while he hyper-focused on his phone. Muttering to himself and sweating lightly, Barry looked like an absolute nervous wreck.

As soon as she spotted him, it was like anything she was thinking about before, any worries she might have had, disappeared in his presence. Barry had enough anxiety about the double date for the both of them. He had comforted her earlier that morning before the big exam, so it was time for her to return the favor.

"Barry!" she called out, right in front of the door to the diner.

At the sound of his name, he looked up and caught her eye. In a split second, his expression changed from anxious to excited to shocked as he took in the rest of her.

"Caitlin," he said, his tone sounding surprised and slightly out-of-breath. "Wow."

"What?" She asked self-consciously, pulling down her tiny dress in an attempt to look more modest.

"What?" He looked up at her face quickly, trying to convince himself he wasn't looking anywhere else. "Nothing." Then he bashfully blushed. "You look... really nice."

Sure, he had called her "beautiful" once while he was talking to his grandma, but she figured he was just saying that then to make his old relative happy. This time it was him being a hundred percent honest with her since it was just the two of them there and he had no real reason to lie. Barry saying she looked "really nice" made her way happier than she would have liked to admit.

Trying to play it cool, she quipped, "I don't always dress like a high school principal."

Okay, so it was Felicity's suggestion, after she found it deep, deep, deep inside her closet and after practically wrangling it on her, Caitlin had to admit it was a nice pick.

"We should find a seat inside and wait there," Barry suggested. "Iris just texted me saying that they're both running a bit late."

"What a Barry move," Caitlin joked while the two of them were seated at a booth.

"What do you think they're doing?" Barry asked as he took a seat across from her.

She shrugged. "Maybe it just takes longer for them to get ready."

Barry nodded thoughtfully, taking a nice, long sip of the lemon water provided for them.

"You feelin' okay, Bare?" she asked kindly.

Barry nodded unconvincingly.

"Tell me what you're worried about," Caitlin said. "I'll find a way to dispel your negative thoughts." She waved her fingers like a she was holding an invisible magic wand.

He considered it for a moment before agreeing. "Okay." He paused again for a second, contemplating whether he should bring his insecurities to life. "What if I embarrass myself?"

"You've had... how many years have you known Iris?"

"Since we were kids," he replied.

"How many times have you embarrassed yourself in those years?" she asked.

He let out a short laugh. "More times than I can count."

"And how did Iris react to your countless embarrassing moments?"

"To be completely honest, I don't even think she noticed most of the times I was by her side just dying of embarrassment. But when she did, she always laughed it off or tried to make me feel better."

"So what makes you think that if you embarrassed yourself now, it would be any different?"

"Cause it's in a different setting," Barry argued. "And- and it's a date and..." His expression darkened as he said, "Eddie would be here too."

"Eddie is basically Iris 2.0. He wouldn't be mean about it either and you know that. He's a good guy."

"How could you say that?" Barry exclaimed as if she had just betrayed him.

"Are you saying Eddie is a bad guy?" Caitlin responded. "What did he do wrong except date your crush?"

"Well..." Barry was at a loss for words. "He... uh..."

"Uh-huh." Caitlin crossed her arms and leaned back. "Just because you want Iris to date you doesn't mean the guy she's currently dating is bad. Sure, you could think that he and Iris might not be the right fit and that you and Iris could be, but that doesn't make him bad as an individual."

Barry groaned, face planting into the polished table. "Why do you have to look at everything so detached and impersonal? Why can't you look at it emotionally and irrationally like me?"

"The scientist in me just thinks like that, but trust me, Bare, there are plenty of times when the irrational and over-emotional side of me comes out. Plenty."

"Just let me brood in peace, Cait," Barry muttered pitifully.

Caitlin laughed, sliding her hand out towards him; Barry's hand met her half-way, though his face remained half-hidden, pressed into the table.

She rubbed her thumb soothingly over his knuckles. "You're not gonna mess this up, Bare," she said calmly and assuredly. "I won't let you."

"Promise?" He peeked one doe-eye up to look at her.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Yes, you giant sap. I promise."

Barry hummed contentedly, closing his eyes and resting on the table, while Caitlin continued to rub reassuring circles on his hand.