SNOWBARRY: Sometimes Runs, Sometimes Can't

Chapter 2 - One More Step

Caitlin felt her chest tighten as realisation hit her. 

She knew exactly what Barry was about to see. And when he did, there'd be no taking it back.

 Joe and Cisco had gone for the day, and Barry decided that with his speed, scanning the footage wouldn't take so long, so he'd finish it tonight.

Every instinct screamed at her to go or to disappear into the deepest part of the ocean or to melt into the walls. Anywhere would be better than standing here.

But running wasn't the right thing. The right thing was to stay. To face him. To try to make this right.

Her hands gripped the edge of the workstation. "God... I can't look. I can't even imagine what happens next..." she murmured, voice barely more than a tremor.

Barry was already striding toward the desk, his easy pace a cruel illusion. At his speed, the truth was only seconds away. Seconds. That was it. She had to get ahead of it, to explain before he-

"Uhm... Barry," she began, forcing the words out like they weighed a ton.

He didn't slow down, still scanning through the feed.

"I need to tell you something before you-"

Too late. His fingers froze over the keyboard, and the scrolling stopped. His eyes locked on the screen.

He stared for a moment, frowning, and then turned to her. "Wait... when did we? How did we?"

And then it hit him. The pieces came together in his mind with some awful clarity. The footage was right there, sharp and undeniable: Everyman, wearing Barry's face, leaning in and kissing Caitlin.

Her kissing him back.

Barry's confusion lingered for a second too long, then shifted into something harder, something guarded.

The silence in the lab thickened until it felt like it had weight. Neither of them moved. Neither could look away.

Caitlin's mind scrambled for words. She could tell him she thought it was him. She could say she was caught off guard. She could even laugh it off. But what she could never admit, not here, not now, was that she had wanted to kiss him for months. That this mistake wasn't just a trick of a shape-shifter... it was the one thing she'd been too afraid to do herself.

***

Barry's thoughts raced just as fast.

If she hadn't known it was Everyman, then she had wanted to kiss him, the real him.

And the realisation that she'd wanted him ignited something inside him.

It wasn't as though the idea had never crossed his mind.

Sometimes he'd look at her and wonder if anyone could be that perfect and that brilliant at once.
He'd catch her biting her lip in that quiet, effortless way of hers, and the thought would linger.

He'd look after her, save her from evil dresses, hold her hand when she was scared, and wonder if there could be more.

So, having a stranger walk in and kiss her while pretending to be him. That struck deeper than he could ever explain.

He took a slow breath, forcing control over the anger rising in his chest. "Caitlin, I'm... sorry you had to". He stopped, realising he didn't even know how to finish that sentence.

Her gaze lifted to his. In those eyes, he found awkwardness. Confusion. 

"Why are you apologising for something you never did?" she asked quietly.

The question lodged in him like a shard of glass. His pulse spiked.

How can someone steal my face, walk into my lab, and kiss my... ehm. Caitlin?

She stood her ground, but he could hear it, the quick, uneven rhythm of her heartbeat. 

He swallowed. "Would you change it... If you could?" The words slipped out before he could stop them.

What was wrong with him? He should be asking if she was okay, not that.

Caitlin's lips parted as if she'd speak. Her heart screamed yes. But nothing came out. 

Her mind held the line. They were friends. They couldn't cross that line, no matter how much she wanted to.

Barry stepped closer. Close enough to see the faint rise and fall of her chest, close enough to catch the warmth of her breath. He studied her face like it was a map he'd never read properly until now.

Beautiful.

The way she stood and looked at him. 

He understood now. He finally saw it. The anger wasn't about an impostor's kiss. It was about the fact that the kiss hadn't been his.

It hit him like a jolt of lightning.

He wanted it. In this moment, he needed it as desperately as breathing.

The air between them shifted, and that pull between them. Magnetic.

He could almost taste her. One more step, and she'd be in his arms. One more step and he'd do it.

But he didn't move. Neither of them did. 

The air between them stretched like the thinnest thread. And they both knew. One wrong move, and it would snap.