prompt: exes to lovers + Halloween

summary: "I guess the answer would be a, 'Yes'."

Characters: Barry Allen & Caitlin Snow

Autumn air slightly blew her scarf, the sweet smell of coffee and latte invading her nostrils that elicits a bright smile on her face as she walks down the busy street.

Caitlin Snow was in a good mood, quite excited to buy her favorite pumpkin spice latte from the cafe and enjoy her traditional autumn strolls.

The ringing of the store bell signals her arrival, greeted by warm lights and small jack-o-lanterns decorating the shelves, fake cobwebs made of cotton on the corners of the building, and small paper ghosts on every table.

She falls in line with her hands tucked inside the pockets of her blue sweater, barely containing her excitement for her beloved drink.

It's been a busy week for her, endless line of patients asking for medical expertise day and night with a couple of sleepless scenarios. It was such a tiring task, but having to live by the Hippocratic Oath by heart and a nature to help anyone in need; Caitlin does her job with such passion and even sidelining herself if needed.

"Good day, ma'am. What would you like to order?" The barista asks her, "A plate of your Frankenstein-shaped cookies and one pumpkin spice latte."

The barista frowns reluctantly, "Sorry, ma'am we're currently out of stock with the pumpkin spice latte. There was a large order this morning and we're still waiting for supplies."

She nods and gives a small smile, "Oh. I'll just have some jasmine tea and the cookies. Thank you." Walking to an empty seat, Caitlin maintains a smile.

"This is probably one of my unfortunate days..." She mumbles, checking her phone aimlessly while ignoring the fallen expectation of taking a sip of her favorite drink after a busy day of work.

In the opposite corner of the café, a man was enjoying his plateful of ghostly cheesecake together with a warm cup of mocha espresso. He was wearing a dark blue hoodie together with a pair of glasses, Bartholomew Henry Allen had his face veiled from the public.

As a famous model from a globally known clothing brand, he was sick of the continuous paparazzi following his every intake of breath and move, badgering him with thousands of questions about everything; he needed an escape from the world of celebrities.

"Wear that." Cisco Ramon, one of his closest friends, told him as he hands the man with a pair of glasses.

Barry scrunches his brows, "Glasses?", he asks in confusion while staring at it with disbelief.

The curly haired man smirks, "Glasses. Dude, trust me that would work. 100%." He rolls his eyes at the disbelief painted on his famous friend's face.

"Look, Clark Kent concealed Superman just by glasses. You can do the same, Barry." Cisco said with excitement, grinning widely from ear to ear.

Barry shrugs and puts on the glasses, "So, how do I look?" the curly haired man claps his hand, "Clarkish Kentish but totally needs more muscles." He chuckles and playfully punches the man's arm.

He smiles to himself, mentally reminding himself to go the genius engineer's in his company some time. Taking a sip from his espresso, eyes wandering around the coffee shop and admiring the Halloween decorations put up.

"Oh, have you heard about the Autumn Fair?" He turns his attention on the table beside him, unconsciously listening to a young couple talking.

The guy shakes his head, "Not really. But it sounds fun, want to go later?" The girl barely contains her squeal, grabbing the guy's hand and squeezing it tightly while nodding her head enthusiastically.

"Really?!" The guy chuckles and smiles at her, "Yes. Anything for you." She grins back as they continued talking and laughing, Barry looking at them with a melancholic feeling wrapping around him.

He shakes his head, "Autumn fair with someone special? Sounds like something familiar." Chuckling to himself, he looks towards the door and emerald green eyes widen in recognition.

Near the entrance was a table where a lady with chestnut brown hair with a sour face sat alone, sipping her drink and seems to be staring daggers at her Frankenstein-shaped cookies.

Blinking in disbelief, he felt a warm thrumming inside his heart reminding him of those magical and unbelievable hours, seconds, and days spent with the woman he was gawking at. He looks away, unusually nervous and having second thoughts of approaching the auburn hair beauty, a few tables away from him.

Should I… Barry readies himself for the apparent snow fury he might get as he musters up the courage and walked towards Caitlin Snow, his ex-girlfriend.

Doe brown eyes glued to her phone, browsing aimlessly through her social media sites.

I meant to spend this day of relaxing, to relax and not sulk quietly because I didn't get my favorite pumpkin spice latte. She sighs, hands stopping at a photo promoting a famous clothing brand in Central City.

She looks at the picture, noticing the familiar emerald green eyes and the perfect handsome grin that she loves to see so much.

Realization hits her, "Loved, I guess." She mumbles and smiles at how his career turned him into one of the biggest models of today and had a lot of fans loving him.

"I hope you're happy." Caitlin scrolls past the magazine cover, eyes casting down on her half-full drink with her heart surrounded by a heavy feeling wanting to crush her down into a million pieces.

She shakes her head, laughing quietly at these silly emotions rising just because of his stupid photo.

"I'm not ready to see you, Ba-" Her head looks up, brown orbs widening at the face she gazes at.

He flashes her a familiar wide smile, tugging at the strings of her heart just like the old times when...

"Can I sit with you?" She clears her throat then nods sheepishly, failing miserably to maintain eye contact with the man smiling at her.

"Cait?" Barry starts to say,

"What are you doing here?" Caitlin cuts him off, not meaning to be hostile or angry at the man.

She finally looks at him, looking at the familiar and handsome features he had, "I read online that you barely got time to escape the limelight of being a worldwide famous model."

He smiles a little, "I got ways to escape the limelight, you start to learn it as time goes by." The auburn-haired woman nods, taking a sip from her tea that suddenly tasted bitter and bland.

"I'm flattered you're reading articles about me." Barry points out, staring at the soft-looking curls of her hair, her lips painted with a light red shade and those eyes looking at him with a little bit of frost.

Caitlin shrugs, hiding the fact that she always looked him up online, "It was just out of curiosity, some of my co-workers always talked about you here and there."

The man nods looking around them and fixing his glasses, "And since when did you wore glasses?" She asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

Barry chuckles and moves closer to her, "These are fake glasses, courtesy of Cisco. I didn't want to get noticed when I'm out in the public. He told me to wear glasses, just like Clark Kent did to hide Superman."

A small chuckle escapes her mouth, failing to maintain a straight face at what he had just explained to her. "Really, Clark Kent?"

The man rolls his eyes, "Hey, it works. I've been doing this for years now."

Caitlin simply nods, smile still present, "Once a big Superman fanboy, always a superman fanboy even if you're that famous, huh?"

"You remember that?" He asks, surprising himself with the happiness running inside his chest.

She stays quiet for a while then, "Yes, I do. I remember things, some I like and some I hate." Barry nods and releases a sigh, "Look, I just want to say—"

"Please, that was five years ago, Barry. We should move on." Caitlin said with a forced smile at the man who was quite taken aback by her statement.

"We fell in love, then out of love, you went your way and I did too. What can we do, right?" She continues, shaking her head in confusion while struggling to keep the tears from falling.

I am not ready to see you right now, Barry. Please, leave. She tells in her mind, like a mantra. Her hands tighten around the tea cup, "Cait, I'm sorry." He says in a broken tone, looking at her as if he just broke the most beautiful creation of the world.

"Please, don't call me that. I…" Caitlin closed her eyes, ignoring the unsteady beating of her heart and lost the ability of forming coherent words to push away the man before her.

She opens her eyes; Barry was looking at her with worry and sadness was reflected in those beautiful emerald eyes she used to love staring at.

"Caitlin?" She blinks her eyes, realizing Barry didn't call her but another voice belonging to someone else.

"Caity." A chill runs down her spine, recognizing that nickname and eerie baritone voice. Turning to her side, Caitlin was greeted by a raven-haired man wearing a twisted smirk at her recognition.

He chuckles and glances at Barry, who was glaring at him, "So, what's all these? You and him, again? You gave this crap a chance again, Caity?"

"Don't call me that, Francis." She said venomously, "We broke up, I don't need to explain to you what I'm doing here with Barry. I'm leaving anyway."

Caitlin stood up, glancing at Barry then walks away only to be grabbed by Francis.

"You can't walk away from me! I'm still talking to you, icy bitch." He said, gripping her arm with such force and forcing her to turn her face to his.

"Damn, you're still fucking beautiful. Give me another chance, Caity. I swear I'll love you better, better than him." He glances at Barry who remained sitting, but eyes staring daggers at Francis.

The doctor tries to shake his grip off, "Let go of me, bastard." She mumbles icily, conscious of the eyes turning to them.

Francis grins, "Shut up. I'm taking you back home. I missed you and how you tasted, Caity."

"Stop talking to her as if she's some doll you can play with." Barry stood up, who had enough of listening to the man and how he talks about Caitlin.

The raven-haired man turns to Barry, "You're not included in the discussion, four eyes. I know you're Caitlin's last boyfriend, maybe she broke up with you because you're not man enough."

He walks to the disguised model, "Just a handsome face who treats his woman like a princess. You're a dick, man. Fucking embar—"

In the blink of an eye, Francis's face was met with Barry's knuckle hitting him straight in the jaw. Stumbling down, "Barry!" Caitlin gasped, looking at the knocked man on the floor then glancing back at Barry.

Everyone was looking at them, "He was badmouthing my girlfriend, sorry for the unnecessary violence. We'll leave now." Barry explained, smiling uneasily at the unnecessary attention they've gotten.

He grabs holds of her hand, shocking the auburn-haired woman, "Let's just go." He mumbles, practically dragging Caitlin out of the café.

"Thank you." Caitlin gets the ice pack then goes out of the convenience store, still not believing the turn of events today.

She just wanted a cup of pumpkin spiced latte while enjoying her day off and munching on cookies. But of course, things took quite a turn as she just saw not one but two of her exes. Plus, they also caused quite a scene at the café.

Reaching the jet-black car at the parking lot, Caitlin sees Barry staring at his slightly swelled and reddish right knuckle. She knocks on the window near the shotgun seat, "Thank you." The man said with a small smile while reaching for the pack of ice and lightly pressing it on his knuckle.

"I'll do it." The doctor in her kicking in, grabbing the ice pack and holding Barry's hand as she presses it on the latter's injured knuckle.

The pair stayed quiet, ignoring the warmth from each other's palm as they stayed like that for quite a while. "I'm only holding your hand, because I want to fix your knuckle. And also, a 'thank you' despite your reckless action of knocking him out." Caitlin explains, eyes fixed on the task at hand.

Barry exhales deeply, "You're welcome. I'm glad I saved you from your weirdo of an ex. I just you knew how unhealthy the relationship both of you had, right?"

She looks at him, "Yes, I know. But punching him straight in the jaw? Don't you think that was an overboard?"

He meets her gaze, "Badmouthing you and treating you like some toy, don't you think that was an act worth of a good punch to the jaw?"

Caitlin presses the ice harder, resulting to a groan from the man, "And you almost risked getting your identity discovered, Mr. Supermodel."

"That's why when you throw the punch, you make it a good one." He retorts with a small smile at her roll of eyes. She shakes her head, "Cait, did you and Francis get back together?"

She looks at him with a weird expression, "No. He was before… you. A piece of crap that I regret even dating."

Barry nods, "So, after me…"

"After you, there was no one." Caitlin finishes his sentence, doe brown eyes meeting with emerald green orbs. She removes the almost melted ice, opening the bandage and placing it carefully on Barry's hand.

She looks at her work, "All done." Then finally removes her hand from his, missing the warmth from earlier.

"Thank you, Cait—Caitlin." He mumbles, watching the auburn-haired woman who fixes the ice pack and bandages that were used.

"Where should I pu—" Barry cuts her off, "I'm sorry, Cait."

She looks at him, "Sorry for what?"

"For everything." He answers back, eyes glued to the floor.

Caitlin sighs, "For everything? For leaving me back then? I told you, move on, Barry. You need to forget about the past, we're way beyond that now."

"No. You keep saying to move on, forget about the past, the past where we had each other so close to one another as if we're glued by what we had back then. But…"

She looks at him, eyes stern, "But what? Like you said, 'What we had back then', back which is the past. Yes, we were glued by that in the past. Now, we're just strangers barely held together by the memories we shared. So, move on."

"Have you moved on, Caitlin Snow?" Barry asked with interest, "You keep telling me to move on, are you sure you've moved on and I'm the only one looking at the past and wishing for it to come back now? Am I the only one—"

Caitlin dropped the pack and bandage, "No! You're not the only one wishing for us to be 'us' again, now! Are you happy, now? I answered your silly question, Barry?"

"Moved on? I moved on carrying the baggage of being unable to forget about you and what we shared five years ago. I couldn't move on, Bartholomew Henry Allen. That's why no one followed after you, just the ghost of you haunting me for God knows how long."

She turns to Barry, who was watching her with wide eyes, "Why did you have to be like that, huh? Why did you have to be such an amazing, unforgettable, and irreplaceable person inside my heart? It's all your fault!"

Her hands hit his chest, not physically painful but something else. "I understood that you left me for your career and I didn't care, I let you walk away not caring if I lose a cherished part of my heart."

"I know you wanted to become a well-known model and I supported you despite my heart breaking into pieces and my mind going astray. I was so selfless but I still couldn't hate you." The tears finally fall down, her walls crashing down.

"You left but I couldn't hate you. You didn't leave me with something to hate, just something to miss." She shakes her head, wiping her tears.

Barry remained silent, "God, I just wanted a cup of pumpkin spiced latte today and what did I get? I met two of my exes and now I'm crying like a stupid teenage girl."

He fishes out a dark blue handkerchief from his hoodie, "Here."

She looks at him and stifles a laugh, "Really, a handkerchief? What are you, eighty?"

He smiles, "Do you want it or not?" Caitlin grabs it, wiping her tears, "You know several of these would kinda help back then, when you left."

"I'm sorry for leaving you and pursuing my career." Barry mumbles, looking at his steering wheel.

Caitlin sniffs but shrugs, "You had to do it, it was your dream, Barry. I didn't want to lose you but I won't be someone to stop you from doing what you want to do."

"Still, I shouldn't have broken up with you like that. It all happened in a flash, I was at the door and you were wearing your best smile to hide your worst pain."

She nods, "I needed to do it. If I chose to be weak at that moment, letting you leave would've been impossible."

Barry glances back at her, "Can we go back?"

Caitlin gives him a head tilt, "Back when we were still together? I don't know. Can we?"

Silence hung in the air as their eyes looked at each other, searching for something that once was so magical and serene but now…

He starts the engines, roaring into life, "Where are you taking me?" She asked with no venom but pure curiosity in her tone.

"To the Autumn Fair downtown, to have a good time, to forget about the painful memories brought back by our encounter. Is that alright, Cait?" Barry asks in a gentle tone almost inaudible.

She simply nods at his suggestion, heart beating fast and behind the voices of doubt and hesitation; a small part of her yearns to go and take the risk of spending a moment with this man beside her.

As long as it exists, go and take a dive in the pool full of risks for love.

Her lips were in between her teeth, barely containing the laughter wanting to erupt inside her mouth as she gazes at her companion in the annual Autumn Fair.

"No words, please." He blurts out with closed eyes while breathing in exasperatedly, hand placed on his chest.

Caitlin clears her throat, a smile on her face, "If its any consolation, you still look good despite being terrified of the not so high Ferris wheel that you insisted on riding on."

Barry turns to her, eyes slightly narrowed, "No need to be ferris-trated, Mr. Allen."

"For real?" She smiles at him brightly, sitting on a bench near a large tree with brown and orange leaves that are being blown by the wind. Taking out a small wrapper of the burger they bought from the food stall, Caitlin started eating happily while smiling a bit with the events of their Autumn Fair.

#

#

Once Barry parked his car, the super model was dragged along by an excited Caitlin to have three rounds of bump cars ending with the doctor always being bumped by Barry who was laughing loudly at her breathtaking glares all directed to him.

Next, they went to a pumpkin patch owned by an old married couple who had grown big and plump pumpkins with some of it turned into jack-o-lanterns.

"This garden of ours isn't just a display of how much we love pumpkins, but this is also a product of our own love cultivated and nurtured up to our wrinkly age now." The old lady said, smiling at Barry and Caitlin who nodded smiled back.

The old man walks to Barry, gesturing him to move closer and whispers to the young man's ear, "You take care of your beautiful girlfriend here, alright? She looks like a keeper so don't waste this chance, slugger!" He gently pats him on the back, the model grinning and nodding vigorously.

Caitlin watches the pair from afar, smiling to herself, "Your boyfriend is handsome, you know?" The old lady blurts out while smiling at the auburn-haired doctor.

She laughs awkwardly, "H-H-He's not my boyfriend, ma'am. Just… a friend." Biting her lip nervously, "That's what they all say, you know? Even I used to tell that lie to myself and look at me now?" The old lady smiles warmly at Caitlin then goes back to tending her pumpkin patch.

The female doctor chuckles softly to herself, watching the old couple working and talking with bright smiles on their faces.

"Do you think they'll give us some jack-o-lanterns as souvenirs, Cait?" Barry asked, eyeing a medium sized pumpkin that has a light inside it. She turns to him and rolls her eyes, "Come on, stealing a pumpkin isn't a good look for a supermodel."

She drags away the young man with glasses, groaning in protest while looking at the pumpkin with a forlorn gaze. In her mind, the words of the old lady kept echoing like a catchy tune and evoking a smile on her face, Maybe she's right.

"You sure you want to ride the Ferris wheel? Aren't you afraid of heights, Barry?" Caitlin asked with perplexed eyes, watching as the man shakes his head vigorously and smirks at her.

He puffs his chest lightly, "I got over my fear of heights, Dr. Snow."

"You got over your acrophobia?" She asks in disbelief, the man rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Dr. Snow. Thank you for your diagnosis. Come on!" He grabs her arm, pulling the auburn-haired doctor to the empty seat of the humungous ride filled with lights.

She looks over the glass edge, greeted by the miniature view of the town, "It's not that scary, Mr. Allen."

An annoyed sigh was all she heard, Caitlin smiling and turning to her "companion" who had his whole body glued to the seat and not daring to look through the glass.

"Take a look outside, its breathtaking." She says with a smile, looking back at the view outside.

"That's why I took you here in the first place." Barry mumbles quietly, feeling his knees shake a little. His hands were gripping the handlebars with such strength, veins visible on his hands.

Caitlin turns back her attention at him, "What?"

He grins at her widely, despite his acrophobia, "I wanted to take you here so that you can appreciate the amazing view."

She smiles at him, "Thank you. Too bad you can't see it."

Barry shakes his head, "No problems. I've seen a more breathtaking view. "He watches her smile widely, doe brown eyes awestruck as she gazes at the view from below.

Beautiful. Just like before. He whispers softly, his fear slightly lessening.

#

#

"Thank you for bringing me back home." Caitlin thanks the model, looking at him with a warm bright smile. Barry chuckles and shrugs, "The pleasure's all mine. I guess this is the part where I say good bye, right?"

A soft sigh escapes her lips, "Good bye and good riddance?" He taps his finger on the steering wheel, "I hate goodbyes."

Caitlin nods in agreement, "Yes, you do. All good things come to an end."

Barry looks at her, "But that doesn't mean you can't do it again, right?"

Gazing back at his stare, "I guess so. Good bye, Bartholomew Henry Allen. Thank you for everything."

He frowns a little but quickly replaces it with a smile, "Good bye, Caitlin Snow. Thank you for this chance."

A smile finds its way on her face, "Goodnight. Drive safely." She steps out of his car, heart suddenly heavy and sight a little blurry.

"Sweet dreams. Don't let the bed bugs bite." He blurts out, lightly chuckling at her amused face. Then he drives away, gave up and let the tears fall.

- the next day –

"Dr. Snow! Why didn't you tell me!?" Caitlin looks at her assistant weirdly, "Told you about what specifically?"

Kelly shakes her head and places a large bouquet of roses on her table, "That you have a secret admirer! Beauty and brains, huh? Oh, this was also included with the roses."

"Who sent this?" She asks in wonder, "No one knows, Dr. Snow. I just saw it placed on my table and the note said to Caitlin Snow." Kelly excuses herself, walking out of her office.

The female doctor took the note, noticing the familiar handwriting of her name. She opens the card, reading the words as a smile appears on her face.

"I guess the answer would be a, 'Yes'."

She puts down the note, grabbing the white plastic tumbler and took a sip, smiling widely at the familiar taste of her favorite pumpkin spiced latte.

Hi, Dr. Caitlin Snow.

I'm Bartholomew Henry Allen here. Your Barry. I wanted to ask this, "Can we start all over again? This time, I promise, I won't leave." Here's a pumpkin spiced latte too, not to bribe you or anything but I can give more than lattes and sappy notes.

- good things may end, but it can always be done again –

A/N: Probably my last entry for the Snowbarry Week 2019? Probably? Who knows. ;) See you soon! Thank you for reading.