Chapter Text
With the sound of chatter and the heartbeat of the unravelling city around him, Barry had nothing but the breeze to accompany him. On typical days, he'd learnt to slow down, use the bus and walk to places like any other human. A piece of advice he'd taken from a friend. It wasn't like he needed to - he was still the fastest man alive after all. But if he spent all of his time running, he'd never have a chance to bask in the beauty of the slowly growing world surrounding him.
The speedster came to a sharp halt in a rather filthy alleyway, the stench that filled his senses caused his face to wrinkle in disgust. His eyes quickly flickered over his figure in a smudged reflection of a window, dusting himself down before he made his way towards the grand restaurant where he knew one of his favourite people was impatiently waiting. Barry threw a smile towards the hostess as he wandered into the establishment, the woman seemingly eyeing him up before she spoke.
"May I help you?" The blondes voice was slightly cold, hesitant almost that the dark haired man figured she wasn't having the brightest of days.
Barry sent a quick glance over the woman's shoulder, spotting a familiar auburn haired woman a few feet away, a smile gracing his lips. "Uh, yeah, I'm with that woman on the far table over there. I think the reservations are under the name, Ramon?"
The stranger's eyes fell upon a sheet on the pedestal before her, the ink of her pen drawing a line over the name as she gathered up an extra menu. As the woman headed down the aisle of tables and chairs in the dimly lit room, Barry followed in toe. The two came to a stop before the woman seated on the opposite side, whose attention was captured the moment they stepped into her line of view. The hostess handed over the menu to Barry before excusing herself, leaving the two to reunite. The slender man grinned, sliding into the empty chair, his sea-green eyes flitting around the room, eyebrows knitted together when he came up empty handed. Barry's eyes looked expectantly towards his close friend.
"Apparently Cisco had some important business to attend to," Caitlin answered for him, knowing he was looking for the final member of Team Flash. The brunette's eyes dropped momentarily to her friend's perfectly fitted suit, a soft smile dancing across her lips. "Remind me to dress more formally next time."
Barry looked down at his outfit, a blush running along his cheeks when he'd noticed Caitlin's casual black jeans and white blouse. It seemed he'd over dressed for the occasion. The man shot her a short lived laugh, his hands moving to nervously toy with the utensils on their napkins.
The events that occurred over the past week passed through his thoughts, they'd only recently returned from Earth two. The realisation that there were more than one of them almost sent Caitlin spiralling. All the years of believing they were the only ones in existence - but of course, the multiverse basked in ensuring people were wrong about things they thought were impossible. Only a few years before there had been no such thing as the fastest man alive, and now here they were.
When Barry's eyes looked up, finally allowing himself to take in the beautiful woman sitting before him, her nose buried in the menu. It was almost like the rest of the world faded into the background, Caitlin being the only real thing he'd laid eyes on all day. Usually his mind ran a million miles per second, and yet when the brunette was in the room. Everything stopped, his attention focused solely on her.
"It's incredible, isn't it? That the resemblance is uncanny."
"Hm." The young doctor hummed in response, not entirely listening as she scanned the menu, none of the options taking a fancy. Barry continued, despite knowing she wasn't paying much notice. The taller man's own menu lay flat on the table before them.
"It felt like my heart had crawled into my throat when I saw her," Barry spoke, picturing the woman he'd been marvelled over. The wistfulness in his voice, broke the auburn girl's trail of thoughts. Her brown eyes now meeting Barry's at the mention of another female. "It was almost as though she'd froze me, giving me a moment to take in how different she was...the blue eyes, white hair, all of the physical differences."
"I'm going to assume she was trying to kill you." The brunette interjected, her own cold chill coursing through her body at the mention of her otherworldly self. "Killer Frost is a villian, I doubt she was giving you a second to check her out."
Barry shook his head, "I should've known that, I shouldn't have given her time to take the first hit. But I did - all because I thought for the slightest second - that she might be you."
The words that left his lips left the usual warm feeling in her chest, Caitlin's heart beating rhythmically as it began to pick up. It killed her that she harboured such feelings for one of her best friends, she'd never intended her heart to think of Barry as more than a friend. It took weeks before her body started to react to him differently, with every touch it felt like fire trailing her skin, every reassuring talk and friendly gesture a set of butterflies released themselves in her stomach. The way her eyes lingered happily on him whenever he was doing something remotely heroic.
"You're almost the complete opposites. It's mind boggling," The man mused, his mind full of all of the possible copies of them out there. "If you're ever thinking of dyeing your hair white, please don't, your brown hair has a special place in my heart."
"I'll keep that in mind." Caitlin noted, shooting the green eyed man an amused smirk.
As a comfortable silence began to fill the space between the two, the physician returned her gaze to the wide selection of wines available. Not noticing the way Barry watched her intently, noting the look of dismissal towards the conversation and deciding to switch the subject onto something he'd hope she'd engage more in.
"What are your thoughts on Earth two Barry?" He asked, silently cheering in victory when Caitlin glanced back up a spark of interest lit up behind her eyes.
Caitlin thought the question over for a moment, "He was nice...almost exactly like you, except his innocence. I've never met someone so shy, the way he seemed to hide whenever he spoke his opinion was different." She smiled softly, almost to herself as she sunk into her thoughts. A light giggle left her lips, "I was half expecting him to zip off to rescue some stranger."
"I guess that god complex didn't brush off on him," Barry joked, nudging Caitlin playfully with the tip of his foot.
A content sigh left Caitlin as she folded up her menu, slotting it in it's stand. The brunette uncharacteristically slouching back in her chair, something very much frowned upon in restaurants. The action was typically something the brunette did when she was preparing a debate, a situation Barry tended to steer clear of. No-one won a debate against Caitlin, Harry had almost come close, but after tripping over his own words. Caitlin led herself to victory.
"So," The brown eyed girl dragged out, eyes falling onto her lap, "Did she hurt you?"
"Killer Frost?" Barry asked, his question earning a nod from Caitlin, indicating he was right. "No. I'm much faster than I look - even when someone's throwing icicles in my direction."
Caitlin scoffed, "Figures, she'd try to kill even you. It makes me wonder if one day, I might become that cold..."
"You couldn't hurt a fly, even if you wanted to." Barry chuckled deeply, unable to picture Caitlin the way he could picture Killer Frost. The woman was incapable of violence, she couldn't even stay in the same room as them when they were interrogating a meta. "She helped us. Cait. If it wasn't for her, we'd still be trapped in that hellhole."
"Well, if I ever get turned into a meta, lose control or whatever. Make sure to throw me in the pipeline, I don't want to become something people fear."
Barry's expression softened, he could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't messing around. But he couldn't even fathom the woman before him, becoming some icy, cold killer. The speedster reached across the table, taking up the glass of soda he'd ordered just ten minutes ago - pausing midway through a gulp. Caitlin could see the hesitance behind his eyes, his mind fighting on whether or not to ask a question lingering in the back of his mind.
"Go ahead." Caitlin urged, giving him permission earning a confused look from the man across from her. "I can see you're dying to ask me something, so go ahead."
The man took in a breath, an unfiltered expression of sadness washing over him. "Did you, you know...prefer the other Barry?" Caitlin's eyebrows furrowed in concern at his words.
"Why would you ask that?"
The man just shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "I mean, Earth two Iris appeared pretty bothered by you, saying the two of you were too much alike for your own good." Barry confessed, picking at the skin hanging of his thumbnail. "I admit that I was scared you were going to stay, I'd never seen someone so mesmerised before."
"Iris was jealous of me?" Caitlin howled in disbelief, she never thought she'd see the day. A slight wave of pride hit her all at once, for the first time it wasn't simply her being the one who was jealous.
"From what it sounded like, but Caitlin - you didn't answer my question." Barry prompted impatiently, stirring the straw around his half empty glass.
Caitlin sighed, making sure the two met eyes, "I'd never choose anyone else over you...even another version of you, Barry."
Caitlin smiled as she watched the corners of her friend's lips curl into a smile. The man clearing his throat as he lifted the menu he'd barely glanced at.
"We've been staring at these menus for half an hour, how about we go grab some real food?" Barry suggested, placing the menu in its stand.
His hand extended for hers to take, something she didn't hesitate on doing.
The pair darted past the hostess, a laugh leaving their lips as they pushed open the door of the restaurant. The two accidentally brushed past a couple who shot them a curse of annoyance, but in this moment, where it was just the two of them, they didn't care. They were both happy.
"My mother would turn her nose up at us right now," Caitlin chimed up, slightly out of breath from running. "Wasting a reservation for some cheap side street food."
The woman hid her face in Barry's shoulder, stifling a laugh, "Wow, you never speak of your mother. Does she not live in the city?"
The happiness that once radiated from the woman in his arms, dissipated. "I don't talk about my mother for a reason, Barry. If you'd met her before my dad died, you'd have loved her...but she's different now, she can barely look at me."
Barry tried to search Caitlin's expression, wanting more answers than he had. But it was useless, he may be the fastest man alive but he wasn't able to read minds. He knew the subject of family was a bitter spot for Caitlin.
"How can anyone resist those brown eyes? Come on, how about we visit her?"
"That's a bad idea, Barry. Besides, it's late." Caitlin stalled, doing her best to try and stir the man from wanting to visit her isolated mother.
Barry's eyes flickered down to his watch on his wrist, "It's five past seven, with my speed we can get there in less than a minute. Come on, Cait."
A long winded sigh passed her lips, "Main street, twenty-fourth floor, room three hundred and fifty-six, Coast City."
Within seconds, the two were standing before a towering apartment complex. Caitlin cradled in Barry's arms, her hands gripped tightly around his neck. The boys eyes widened, having never seen a building that shone in such glory. As the doctor slipped from Barry's arms, a feeling of hesitation washed over her.
"Barry, I haven't seen my mom since Ronnie died the first time," The brunette confessed, her nerves getting the best of her as she shot a look towards the man. "Even then, when I cried...she barely acknowledged me."
"Cait," Barry began, tugging the woman into his side for comfort. "We'll help her. She won't be like this forever, she's broken...that's nothing we can't fix together."
Barry's instinct had always been to save anyone that was hurting, it's all he'd known in his time as the hero of Central City. She knew he wouldn't give up, so giving in seemed like the best chance of getting him to drop it. Caitlin's hand fell into his as he flashed the before the door reading 356. Barry waited for Caitlin to give the nod of approval before raising his fist, hovering it before the door as he tapped three times. Silence clung to the air as he got no answer.
"I told yo-"
A click at the door interrupted Caitlin's sentence. The two came into view of an older woman, her dark hair framing her face to cover the drawn in cheeks, her startling blue eye looked as though she was looking straight through them. It was like staring at a ghost. Without a word, the woman turned and slowly dragged her feet towards her living room. Caitlin shared a worried look with her close friend, the woman following her mother into the apartment.
It took a few seconds before a familiar scent flooded her senses - her fathers favourite aftershave. Caitlin knew her mother kept stashes of the scent in a cupboard somewhere, wanting to ensure the memory of her husband stayed alive.
The pair paused as they watched her mother sit in her usual chair, facing the fire with a book in hand. Barry couldn't help but wonder if that was how she always answered her door, leaving it open for just about anyone to waltz in. Sick of the silence, the speedster took a step forward making his normally light footsteps thump heavily against the floor. For the first time in years, Caitlin saw a flicker of something in her mom's eyes when Barry crouched before her.
He extended his hand towards her, introducing himself. "My name is Barry Allen."
"Carla Tannhauser." The woman replied, clearing her throat to avoid it sounding hoarse.
"Mom, Barry's one of my colleagues at S.T.A.R Labs." Caitlin informed her, ignoring the fact that her mother didn't meet her eyes when she spoke. But she didn't miss the hint of a smile on her lips.
"It's an honour to meet the mother of Caitlin Snow," Barry beamed, tossing a warm smile towards his doctor before his attention returned to the seemingly frail woman before him. "She's an incredible scientist, I assume she got that from you?"
"Thomas had the brains in this family, that's where Caitlin got it from." Carla barely uttered, the man had to inch forward just to hear her better. "She looks just like him."
"I'm guessing that's why you've barely looked at her since we've walked in." Barry spoke, momentarily breaking eye contact when he heard Caitlin leave the room. A flash of guilt morphed along the older woman's expression.
"It was never my intention," Carla sighed, uncertainty laced beneath her voice. "I miss her father everyday."
"Caitlin does too, but she doesn't dismiss the fact that she still has you." Barry argued, his expression drawn in a line, wanting her to know he was serious. "I lost my mother when I was ten, I know the pain that comes with death. If I didn't have my step father to lean on, I'd be in the same position as you."
The woman almost hung her head in shame, "I'm sorry about your mother,"
"The man who did it got what he deserved."
"Do you miss her?" It was a stupid question, but Carla reached for his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze as Barry's throat hitched.
"Everyday."
A wave of exhaustion crept over Carla, the tears she'd been battling for years brimming in her eyes. The woman taking in a sharp inhale, "We used to be so happy. Even when her father was busy, Caitlin would bound into his office, climb into his lap and babble about her day. They were inseparable."
"I'm sure he was an amazing man, it would've been a pleasure to meet him." Barry consoled, returning the squeeze before he rose to his feet. Allowing Caitlin's mother to take a moment to collect herself, "I'm just going to check on Caitlin."
Barry followed the slight sound of a rustle, making his way down the long hallway that led to several rooms. He pressed his ear against one of the doors, upon hearing a sound that resembled a soft crash, he popped his head around the door. The auburn haired girl stood over an old box, torn partly at its edges and in her hands she held an oversized cotton jumper. As the man got closer, he soon noted the 'Father of the Year' print.
Caitlin's face seemed to crumble at the sight of it, her eyes pressed closed as her tears fell. The musky smell filling her nose as she held it close to her face, wishing it was her father she was holding instead. Her best friend was at her side within a second, his arms enveloping her as she buried her face in his chest. For a few minutes he remained quiet, allowing her to calm down as he rubbed her back, but when it was clear she'd settled, he sparked conversation.
"You'll be happy to hear I got your mom talking," He grinned goofily, hoping it would light up something within the disheartened woman.
"How did you manage that? She only ever speaks when she's working." The woman still tucked in his warm embrace asked.
Barry shrugged, "I just smiled and-"
"Say no more, that charm can pull anything out of any woman." Caitlin laughed lightly, her dampened mood lifting as she stepped out of the hug. "I can't count the amount of times I've told you something I shouldn't have."
Barry smirked at that, a little flutter erupting in his chest at her words. "Come on, you and your mom have some catching up to do." He flashed out and returned with a handkerchief, gesturing to the woman to wipe the mascara that had smeared from the tears.
The moment Caitlin returned to the room, the atmosphere became tense. Carla had got to her feet, a photo frame of her family clasped between her hands as she stared at her daughter. Barry had never seen blue eyes that shone so brightly, her eyes red almost as though she were high.
"Caitlin..." The older woman choked out, a flood of tears tumbling down her cheeks as she outstretched her hands for her daughter. "I-I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve this...I should never have...I can fix this, I promise."
The words hit Caitlin like a collapsing building, an ocean of emotions taking over her as she fell into her mothers arms. It felt like she was a child again, holding her mother as though she'd grazed her knee. It both lifted and broke her heart. But in the end, who was she to deny her mother of a relationship with her daughter? It was all Caitlin had longed for after all these years.
"It's okay, I understand...more than anyone." The brown eyed girl said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I forgive you."
"After all we've been through?" The woman questioned in disbelief, holding her daughter's shoulders to look her in the eye. Fearful that her daughter was lying to her.
"I've been angry with you for so long," Caitlin admitted, her voice wobbling as she continued. "I don't want to be anymore, I've lost too many people, I don't want to lose you too."
The woman swallowed tears as she returned her tight hold on her daughter, missing the sensation of holding her child. Barry could only smile as the scene played out before him, a mother and daughter reunited. If he'd been an emotional man, it might've brought him to tears too. The sound of a ringtone broke through the moment, Barry patting down his jeans to pull his cell from his pocket, stepping into the hallway to answer.
"Barry, you have to get to the lab now!" Cisco's voice echoed through the phone in panic. "Zoom's here, he's circling the building."
The blood ran from Barry's face, an inkling of fear and anger seething through his body. He was getting sick of this guy. The dark haired boy re-emerged from the hallway, Caitlin's eyes finding him, instantly reading him like a book.
"I'm sorry, Ms Tannhauser, something came up, I have to go. It was lovely meeting you, truly." The boy rushed, overwhelming the woman with his quick words. All she could do was nod as he started towards the door.
But the second he readied himself to run, the feeling of a hand on his wrist forced him to a stop. His gaze follows the culprit to meet a set of earthy brown hues.
"Cait, I have to-"
"Take me with you." She interjected, frowning as she watched Barry shake his head.
"No, you have to stay here. Zoom is back and I can't have him taking you again," Barry said sternly, his other hand releasing her grip from his. "I'm sorry, Caitlin. I can't lose you again."
"Barry, don't you dare!" The brunette cried out, but it was too late. A gust of wind caused her to stumble as the man that was once before her vanished.
A sudden growth of worry began it's way towards her heart, chipping away slowly as thoughts began to cloud her mind. Barry was no match for Zoom, it was why she'd allowed the man to take her hostage in the first place. Before she knew it Caitlin had slumped against the door, her hands covering her eyes as she sobbed. She felt helpless.
There was no chance she'd be able to stop whatever happens, not after she escaped the man. Zoom was back to finish what he'd started, a part of her knew that was tonight.