Bulletproof // Snowbarry

one // edited

"The moment I took your hand was magical"

Barry is currently in a large crowd looking for a meta-human. Cisco's meta-human alert app indicated there was a threat in this area but everything seemed to be normal. People were walking about their day in the large crowds that normally filled the sidewalks of Central City. Just as he was about to give up, he locked eyes with someone. The unknown person smirked at him and began to walk into the crowd. Suspicious, Barry followed but it was hard to keep his eyes on the person while maneuvering through the rush hour crowds. When at the corner of the sidewalk, the meta-human did something all too familiar, she put her hand on a man and morphed into his look alike. 

"Hannibal Bates?" Barry whispered in a confused tone. 

He quickened his pace to be sure he wouldn't lose sight of Bates. The crowds thickened as he turned the corner making it increasingly difficult to catch up. A family walking out of a store stopped Barry in his tracks and blocked his field of vision. When he was able to see in front of him again, Bates was gone. Frustrated, he ran back to STAR Labs. 

"I heard you say Hannibal Bates," Caitlin said a little uneasily.

"Yeah, I think it was his Earth 2 doppelganger," Barry explained.

Caitlin let out a sigh of relief causing confused looks from Barry and Cisco. Before the two boys could question her about her unusual manner surrounding this meta-human, the West family joined them. The team informed Joe that the notorious Everyman's doppelgänger was roaming the streets of Central City. 

"Everyman?" Wally and Iris asked simultaneously.

Barry told the story from his first year of being The Flash to clear up the confusion. Along with this, he also thought it was fit to mention that Earth-one Hannibal Bates died after being used by Eobard Thawne which is how they know it has to be his doppelgänger. Wally and Iris both nodded in understanding. 

"I am going to ask around Picture News and see if there are any reports of a shapeshifting person in the streets," Iris volunteered.

"I'll check the police station with Wally, see if he's robbing people like he did last time" Joe volunteered.

With the West family out gathering intel, Cisco asked Caitlin if she could make the same serum that stopped him from shapeshifting that she did last time. Of course, she said yes but also informed the team it could take a while and that everyone can go home if they'd like. Cisco happily obliged and went home. Barry, however, noticed Caitlin wasn't being herself and stayed to check up on her. She is his support system and doctor so he wanted to be there for her when she needed it too. 

Barry walked up behind her as she was putting the serum in the centrifuge. Caitlin tensed up as she recalled when Hannibal shape-shifted into him and kissed her in a moment almost identical to this. 

"Are you ok? You seem a little tense anytime we mention Hannibal," Barry asked as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Caitlin nodded as she took the serum off the wheel. She didn't realize how close behind her Barry was and bumped into him accidentally as she walked over to the other table. Unconvinced by her answer, he gently turned her around to face him. A very wide-eyed Caitlin sighed in relief as she realized he was too far away to kiss her. 

"You're not fine," Barry paused and as Caitlin gave him a quizzical look, "You're doing that biting your lower lip thing you do when something's bothering you."

She sighed in defeat. He was not going to back down from this as much as she would have liked him to. Barry softly encouraged Caitlin to tell him. 

"Well... hewasyouandhekissedme," Caitlin informed him quickly and without a space in between her words.

Barry was at a loss for words when this revelation came about. After a long, awkward silence between the pair, Caitlin walked to a different part of her lab as she continued to work. With it obvious there was nothing left to say, he said goodbye before grabbing some pizza as he headed home.

At home, Barry was in a completely different world. The voices of Joe and Wally conversing were loud yet muffled behind the thoughts in his head. Despite this, he could feel the tone of the room change, no one was laughing or talking anymore, it was silent.

"Barry! Barry! Are you alright?" Joe asked as he waved his hand in front of Barry's face.

He took a deep breath in and assured them that he was doing just fine. The tone of the room changed back to the happy and fun environment it was before as he drifted back into his other world. Barry only came back to real life when his phone rang. Caitlin had texted him an address. Assuming that was where Earth 2 Everyman was, he ran to put on his suit and grabbed the finished serum. 

As per usual, the location Barry was sent to was crowded. In the mix, were some obvious tourists, city dwellers, and reporters. With all the reporters, he spotted Iris who was distracted by a conversation she was in. A man in the crowd brushed past her and then transformed into her.  

Luckily, Barry was high above the scene so he was able to watch every moment Everyman/Iris made. Everyman separated himself from the crowd, allowing Barry to move in.

Last time, it wasn't this easy but, having been through this before combined with new strength, injecting the serum was a piece of cake. Within minutes of spotting Everyman, Barry was on his way back to STAR Labs to lock him up for good. 

Caitlin was straightening up her desk after the whole ordeal in a nervous, rushing manner. Barry put his hand on hers to make her stop. Normally it was Cisco that kept her calm but tonight he couldn't make it here in time to help with the mission. At the tough of his hand Caitlin stopped and looked up at him. They locked eyes for a moment but when he removed his hand, their eyes lost each other. 

"Maybe you should go home for the night and get some sleep," Barry suggested, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, you too," Caitlin said awkwardly, getting her purse.

The two left STAR Labs and went back to their respective residences. Wally was on the couch, watching the news when Barry walked in. He sighed as he sat on the couch next to his brother. 

"What's wrong? You just saved a whole lot of people," Wally pointed towards the news story on the TV about The Flash taking down yet another meta-human.

He assured him it was nothing but exhaustion. To avoid any further questions, Barry decided to call it a night and go to bed. Wally seemed confused but didn't think anything of it. 

As he was trying to get to sleep, Barry lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling. He knew what he was looking for, he was looking for answers to his feelings that he had hoped was somehow weaved into the paint. He had dated Iris for a day before his dad was killed by Zoom and thought he felt something stronger than just sibling love, but his moment with Caitlin today made him second guess his feelings for Iris. His moment with Caitlin made him second guess everything. He was starting to realize that he wanted Caitlin to be more than a friend. Barry went over his thoughts more and more until he drifted off to sleep.