It was a little after 2 o'clock in the morning on Christmas Day. The streets were deserted of people and the only cars visible were the vacant ones parked in people's driveways. The air was crisp, his breath coming out in short puffs as he secured his winter coat around his frame a little tighter as he walked up to his home, eager to be in his warm house after a tiring but successful Flash mission.

He quietly unlocked the door and stepped into his home, trying to keep his actions quiet so he didn't wake up Caitlin or the kids from their slumber. The whole place was nearly pitch black, but a stream of colorful light seemed to be coming from the living room on his right, which Barry quickly surmised was probably the Christmas tree lights still on.

"That's weird," Barry mumbled to himself, knowing Caitlin religiously shut the tree lights off before she went to bed every night. But maybe Nate had been a handful getting to bed and she forgot, he reasoned. So he went to go in and shut them off for her, knowing she'd appreciate it come morning.

However, as he entered the area, his eyes immediately saw his wife peacefully sleeping on the couch. Barry's lips instantly fell open into a tender smile as he knelt down by Caitlin side, admiring her as his heart bloomed. He swore every time he looked at her, he somehow loved her more than the last.

Her nose scrunched up and she moved every so slightly in her sleep, causing a strand of her hair to fall onto her face. The speedster reached out to gently push it back to where it was, but the action unfortunately caused her to blearily open her eyes.

"Barry?" she groggily wondered, her eyes struggling to stay open to absolutely confirm it for herself.

"Yeah, it's me, Cait," he told her soothingly, reaching out to caress her face.

She dreamingly smiled, feeling his touch. "What time is it?" she asked.

"A little after 2," he answered. "What are you still doing down here, honey? You should get to bed."

With all the energy she could muster, she sat up, rubbing at her eyes. "I - I was waiting for you," she told him, yawning.

Barry fondly chuckled at his wife, finding her utterly adorable, especially in this moment. "I can see," he said, glancing at her form on the couch, "but why?"

"Because...we always put the presents out together..." she told him, her speech still a bit laggy. "It's your favorite tradition...and I didn't want that to end."

Barry quickly looked over his shoulder at the tree, and it was only then did he realize that the presents were not there. He turned back to his wife, a rush of affection overcoming him. For someone whose powers could freeze things in an instant, she nearly melted him. "You're the best. You know that?" he told her before cupping her face with his hands, pressing his lips sweetly to her forehead.

"Mmm," she hummed out. "I've been told once or twice," she answered brazeningly with a small giggle, lifting her head to look him in the eye. The Christmas lights were being reflected back in her orbs, making their sparkle just a little more magical. "Plus, I wasn't going to eat all those cookies by myself," she joked, nodding to the plate on the coffee table that was still littered with chocolate chip cookies - the ones the kids had left out for Santa.

The speedster laughed. "Well, let's get to it then," Barry said, standing to his feet and holding out his hands to help Caitlin get up from the couch.

The duo then took the next several minutes lugging the presents out of the basement and then laying them out under the tree. One side of the tree was for Nora, while the opposite side was for little Nate's gifts. The center was for the few presents Barry and Caitlin had gotten each other.

Standing in front of the tree, admiring their work, Barry put an arm around his wife's shoulders, pulling her closer to his side. "We make quite the team," he commented.

"Because we're quite the pair," she added, craning her head to look at him with a blissful smile pulling at her lips.

Barry grinned back. "That we are," he agreed as he swooped down to lay a small peck against her mouth. "Now for the cookies!" he whispered excitingly against her lips.

Caitlin let her head fall to her husband's shoulder, chuckling amusingly. "I swear, this is your favorite tradition just because it gives you an excuse to pig out on cookies."

Barry let out a small laugh as he sat down next to the coffee table, tugging Caitlin's hand for her to join him. "I also like it because it gives me some quiet, quality time with my favorite person," he shared as she took a seat next to him.

Her eyes immediately softened as she squeezed his hand. "That's why it's my favorite too."

After a moment of staring into each other's eyes lovingly, Barry tore his gaze to look at the plate of cookies. "Plus," he began, plucking one of the circular desserts and taking a bite, "mmmm, you're cookies are to die for."

She giggled at the speedster. "Nora actually helped me make them tonight."

"Oh?" Barry inquired with a raised eyebrow as he polished off another cookie.

"She claimed she was old enough and was very insistent that she help," Caitlin detailed with a good-humored shake of her head. "She's actually quite good – she picked up on everything very quickly."

"Maybe we'll have a little baker in the family," Barry mused. "I'll gladly volunteer to test out all her concoctions if that's the case. For support purposes only, of course."

"Riiight," Caitlin said, her tone humorous but also colored with disbelief, "and not at all because you have a serious sweet tooth," she pointed out, lightly swatting Barry who was already on his 5th cookie while she was still munching on her 1st.

He smirked at her, shrugging his shoulder sheepishly. "Still love me?" he asked, his mouth still slightly full with the dessert.

Caitlin rolled her eyes, but reached out to wrap her one hand around his neck, playing with the hair there. "I will always love you, sweet tooth or not."

Barry beamed. "Good," he said, before letting out a yawn.

Caitlin eyed him. "I think it's time for bed," she said, getting up from the floor. "You haven't gotten any sleep yet, mister, and you know the kids will be waking us up in a couple hours for presents."

"Okay, okay," he relented, standing up to follow his wife. However, when Caitlin was about to go up the stairs, Barry caught her hand, stilling her actions. "Wait, Cait?"

She turned around, confused. "What?"

"Thanks for waiting," he told her sincerely.

A slow and radiant smile made its way across her face before she rose to her tippy toes and laid a simple peck against his lips. "Always."

A/N: Well, this is it! It took my nearly 2 months more time, but I finished it! lol And I thought it would be nice to end this story on something short but sweet. I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought about it in a review! ALSO, what was your favorite one shot out of the 12? Very curious to know!

Also, I'm going to be honest, I don't know if I'm going to write this series next year (...this year lol). It depends on the state of the show but also if I have the motivation to write them. This year it was really hard, as you can tell. So we'll see...

AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR READING! :)

REVIEW REPLY:

Thank you for reading and reviewing MayaMarie, Cat, ellek and pmbb

AGuyWhoUsedToWrite: Well you didn't have to wait for long, now did ya? lol ;) Thanks for reading/reviewing!

Raquel: Oh no! I'm happy you did see it though. Thanks for reviewing and reading! :)

CallMeMiles: It's because when they say Dr. Snow and Mr. Allen, it's used in such a soft tone that it could DEFINITELY be used as a pet name. lol. These two are just unique! Thanks fore reading and reviewing!