AN: I just wanted to try something new, so don't kill me if you don't like it. I'm not good at writing fanfics, but this didn't leave my mind since 1x12 aired. Well…have fun?

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Caitlin looked at him with big, pleading eyes, silently begging him to stay with her. He should say no. He should get up, call Linda and set up a date right now. He should leave Caitlin to her drunken rambling and forget all about undressing her, about getting her out of her dress, noticing her red panties and her perfect body. This was no way to think about a colleague, a friend! Especially not if said friend was still pinning after her dead fiancé that could burst out in flames and fly while he, Barry, was still in love with his best friend/foster sister who had just moved in with her cop boyfriend. This was beyond complicated, it was a potential catastrophe.

But he couldn't say no to her, so he simply sat down on her bed and gently stroked her hip. God, this was really inappropriate. Her hip shouldn't feel this good, should it?

"Your hand is really warm Barry, do you want to cuddle a little bit? I'm cold, I could use your hotness."

Thank God she was drunk and probably wouldn't remember anything tomorrow, she'd kill herself for this. Her hand was tugging at his arm, and even though he could've resisted, he let himself be dragged over her and onto the bed. After he kicked off his shoes, Barry hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. The closeness felt good, it made him feel calm and peaceful, something he hadn't felt since being hit by lightning. Caitlin gave the cutest snore and curled herself even further into him. One of her hands grabbed his shirt and wouldn't let go, even when he gently tried to remove it. Obviously, she was already fast asleep.

It was time to leave her now, he should sleep in his own bed in his own house. Tomorrow she should wake up on her own, not with him next to her and wondering what they'd done the night before. Barry managed to untangle himself from her, but the hand that held his shirt in a death grip couldn't be loosened. Okay, he didn't really try that hard, he secretly enjoyed lying here and cuddling. Something he hadn't done since High School. A yaw escaped him and all effort was lost. He simply closed his eyes, pulled her fully onto him and let himself drift off to sleep.

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The first thing Caitlin noticed was that it was incredibly hot and her pillow was way too hard. And it was moving, why was her pillow moving? Last time she checked, her pillow was a dead object, not something that rose and fell as if it was breathing. Oh God, my pillow is breathing! I took a guy home last night! Groaning she tried to roll away from this incredibly hot guy (temperature wise, not…you know….looks wise), but unfortunately the rest of her bed had disappeared over night and she hit the floor with a loud thud. Pain shot through her entire body, her head felt like it would explode any minute now, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She couldn't even find the strength to lift her arm and rub her temple. Then, suddenly, a hand touched her cheek and someone spoke to her.

"Are you okay?" a male voice asked, and why was he yelling at her?

Afraid of who she would face, but too nosy to keep her eyes closed, Caitlin opened her eyes. Barry was there, kneeling over her and touching her face. His hair was all messed up, even worse than usual, and he looked really tired. As if he'd just woken up. Oh God, he HAD just woken up, with her on top of him, abusing him as her personal pillow. Could this get any worse?

"I think so…Barry, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure if you really want an answer to that."

The solemn tone in his voice told her that he wasn't joking. What have I done? Or did something happen? Did somebody die?

"Tell me, please."

Suddenly she was in her kitchen, on a chair, with a glass of water in her hand and some pain killers on the table in front of her.

"Okay, but first you need to drink that and take those pain killers. I guess that you've got a pretty bad hangover, and I'd like to have this conversation with you….sober enough not to hit me. If that makes any sense at all….I'll just make some pancakes, is that okay?"

She nodded and watched him work. In less than two seconds, the pancakes were in the pan and his attention was back at her.

"Last night we went out for drinks and some…fun. You got real drunk real fast, and I couldn't exactly stop you. You're rather bossy if you want something, do you know that? At one point you decided that it was a good idea for us to try karaoke, and so you called me on the stage and we embarrassed ourselves in front of a lot of people. Then you needed to use the bathroom, and this girl started talking to me. She even gave me her number and asked me to call her. You came back, and you needed to throw up. So I took you outside and held you hair back. Getting vomit in your hair is messy, believe me. Iris had a stomach bug once, and she threw up for three days. Washing her hair was the most disgusting thing I've ever done. Anyway, I took you home and we talked, and suddenly you started undressing. I turned around, of course, but you kinda got stuck….your dress got stuck, and you needed my help. So I sorta undressed you and helped you into your pajamas, before tucking you in. At that point you had decided that I was a nice bedfellow and told me to stay. And since you had a death grip on my shirt, I spent the night. No harm done, right?"

"Right."

Caitlin couldn't believe that she'd done that. So much about being a smart scientist, a woman who had her emotions in check and took great care of herself. Now she had undressed in front of Barry, and probably scarred him for life! She wasn't Felicity, was she? This was something Felicity would do, but not HER! Not Dr. Caitlin Snow, the single most responsible woman in Central City. Well, single most responsible woman until last night. Now she was nothing but a drunk that annoyed a friend who had helped her in her time of need. Great.

"Barry, I'm so sorry you had to see that. I don't usually drink, like at all, and I guess I drank a little bit too much. Or a lot, if your story is any indication. And now I've kept you away from a potential hook-up with your girl from the bar, when we had just decided to start moving on! This is so not good. Do me a favor and shoot me? Or ship me off to Antarctica, I couldn't harm any unsuspecting friends in Antarctica, could I?"

Barry just grinned and shook his head.

"You're something else, Caitlin Snow. Now get your cute little ass into some clothes, we're going into work."

She didn't even dignify that with a response, she simply turned around and went back into her room, this time without Barry's help or super speed.

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Cisco and Dr. Wells were already waiting for them by the time they arrived at S.T.A.R. labs. If they noticed something off about the pair, like how Caitlin tried to avoid any kind of eye contact or how Barry tried to keep at least a foot distance between them, they didn't say anything. And as soon as they had the latest update on their current case, Caitlin and Barry were back in business, all serious and professional.

After their case was solved and they'd caught Shawna, Caitlin found Barry sitting on her chair and staring at his phone.

"Linda called me." he explained softly when she sat down next to him. "She wanted to meet up and was worried that I didn't call her."

"What did you tell her?" Caitlin asked and sat down in a chair next to him. She wasn't exactly sure if she really wanted to know the answer to this question, not after everything that happened the night before. She remembered now. The memories had started coming back to her when Barry had fought Shawna on the bridge. Why that particular scene had triggered her memory, she didn't know. But the brain is a curious thing and did some unexplainable things every now and then. Usually she would be ashamed of the singing and stripping and cuddling, okay she was a little ashamed, but it felt so good, so right, that she couldn't regret it.

"I told her that she seemed really nice, but that I'm sorta hung up on someone else."

"Iris."

"You."

The scientist still nodded in confirmation, at least until she finally registered what he'd said.

"Wait, what?"

Barry grinned and grabbed her hand.

"I don't know how much you remember of last night, beside the things I've told you, but I had a great time. I haven't felt that good for a long, long time. Not even when Felicity was here and Iris tried to set me up with her. Or when Iris and I were really close. Purely platonic, of course. But with you it feels so different. And I know you still love Ronnie and want to save him, but I'd like to give us a chance. Or at least see if we can get along even better. I don't want to assume anything, but I don't want to not assume anything. Do I make sense? I probably don't, so don't mind me….I better get going. See you tomorrow!"

Thanks God he didn't use his super speed to get up and run towards the door, because this way Caitlin could catch up with him easily. She grabbed his arm and spun him around, grabbing his shirt and yanking him towards her. And before he could so much as protest, her lips were on his and she was kissing him like her life depended on it. When they ran out of air at last, Barry pulled back and gasped.

"Yes Barry Allen, I'd like to go on a date with you."