A Long Five Years

Getting out of his car, Barry took a moment to look at the two-storied house in front of him. He took in the sereneness of the quiet suburbian night and the lingering scent of the freshly mowed grass. The curtains were drawn, but he could still make out that the lights were on downstairs, and he wondered if she was idly reading or watching the news. Eventually, he began walking along the path of stepping stones that led to the pristine white porch. As silly as it was, he could feel butterflies starting to flap around in his stomach, multiplying with intensity as he got closer to the front door.

With a small grin, he knocked, and with it a mixture of exhilarating anticipation overcame him as he thought of the person that'd be opening it. His feet were mid-shuffle, the board underneath him slightly creaking, when she finally opened the door.

"Barry?" Caitlin let out in confusion, her head titling and eyebrows furrowing adorably.

Suddenly his breath felt like it had catapulted out from his body. His mind couldn't focus on anything besides how utterly beautiful she looked casually opening the door. Her hair held its usual wave, her makeup was done modestly, and the outfit was something he had seen on her numerous times, but she somehow looked even more radiant than when he saw her last.

"Barry? Hello?" she said, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes, breaking him from his trance.

"Sorry," he apologized with a blush, clearing his throat. "What were you saying?"

She humorously chuckled, as if she knew what he was thinking. Maybe she did. "What are you doing out here?"

"Five years is a long time," he started before taking a step closer to Caitlin, brandishing a bouquet of her favorite flowers from behind his back and extending them to her, "so I think it's long overdue that I took you out on a real date."

"Five years?" she mused as she took the flowers, chuckling into them as she took a whiff of their scent. "You're exaggerating."

"I'm not."

"We went to the movies last weekend."

"Yeah...with the kids...to see Paw Patrol."

She shook her head with a laugh as she set the flowers on the table beside the door. "Well we...we went to that ball last year - at the Wayne Center."

"That was for a mission. We didn't even get to dance or take a sip of wine!"

"Well...uh..."

"Face it, Cait, when was the last time it was just you and me, dressed a little fancy to go out, with no kids attached to our hips or one of our teammates in our ears?"

Caitlin stilled, taking a moment to think, before a realization quickly dawned over her features. "Oh, my god, it's been five years..."

Barry nodded with a groan. "See?!"

"I guess that's what happens when you have villains to fight in between taking care of two little ones...which, by the way, where are the kids? I thought you were picking them up from the daycare on your way home from that burglary?"

"I dropped them off at Joe and Cecile's. They said they could watch them overnight."

Her eyes bulged. "Overnight? They've never had them for a whole night," she worriedly stated, her teeth treacherously biting down on that lower lip of hers. "I mean, the kids are a little older, but still can be a handful. Do they have all of their favorite toys? What about their favorite bedtime stories? Does Joe know to make the silly voices when he reads like-"

"Cait," he interrupted as he cupped her face in his palms, smiling down at her in an effort to placate her, "it's going to be alright. Joe and Cecile have everything the kids will need. It's not like they haven't raised kids before."

She sighed as she leaned into his touch. "I know...I just - I worry. This would be the first time we've been gone from them overnight like this, away from home, and urgh," she paused to groan, "this is why we haven't been on a date in five years, because I'm an overprotective mother who can't let her children out of her sight!"

He chuckled as he proceeded to gently caress her cheeks with his thumbs. "You're a worry-wart - have been since the day I met you - but it's one of the many reasons why I love you. They'll be fine. We'll be fine. We can do this."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," he told her, dropping his hands from her face to settle them on her waist. "I love our life. I love that we get to keep the city safe every day. I love our kids as much as there are stars in the sky."

"I do too," Caitlin chirped in, causing Barry to grin.

"But I also love you just as much," he told her. "So if someone can watch the kids and we're not under a massive meta-human threat, I just want to have you to myself for a little while. I think we deserve a little us time in between all of the chaos..."

Her lips twitched into a smile. "That does sound nice," she admitted wistfully, her free hand palming his chest, her fingers fiddling along the buttons of his shirt, all the while looking at him with those big doe eyes of hers that left him weak in the knees and his blood pumping.

He cleared his throat; they needed to leave or he may not want to leave the house at all. "So, right, yeah...well, so, with that said, Dr. Allen, would you give me the pleasure of going out with me tonight?"

Serenely, she smiled. "That sounds perfect, Mr. Allen," she answered before sealing it with a short peck. "What did you have in mind?"

With a grin, Barry took her hand and gently pulled her outside. "I have it all planned out," he told her as he shut their front door and locked it.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Maybe a month...or two?" he estimated with a shrug as they began walking hand-in-hand to the car, "but it's going to be great. I'm aiming for something romantic but still fun, and I think you're really going to like it."

"I don't doubt I will," she told him as he rounded her side of the vehicle, "but let's not have too much fun though, okay?"

Barry paused as he looked at her across the car roof, eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?"

She snorted. "Because I'm pretty sure that on the last real date we went on, we ended up conceiving child number one..."

The speedster did some quick mental math, before numbly nodding his head. "We'll have a safe amount of fun," he amended before entering the car, and Caitlin could only amusingly shake her head with a laugh as she followed him.

Notes:

This one-shot is for Snowbarry Week with the "Five years is a long time" prompt. I wanted to write something a little different than what people generally assume when they hear this phrase, so I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts in a comment! :)