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The elevator glides to a halt, the numbers above the door show that it has reach the intended destination of the 600 level. With a ping the doors glide open allowing Harry to exit into the hall.
He makes his way down the familiar corridor until he turns the corner and enters the cortex. Familiar voices drift out to him, inside he finds Iris sat at the main console, doing an excellent job of ignoring Cisco and Ralph as they argue.
He stops beside Iris, looking down at the screens in front of him that are running scans of the city before glancing around the lab. It looks a lot better than it did the night before, not at all like a bomb had gone off.
"Clean up went well I see. The lab looks good," he pauses to tap his knuckles against the desk. "New/old desk?"
"Yeah. The guys finished it up this morning. At least we can work in here now, get things up and running again."
Harry looks over at the two men across the room. "What are they arguing about now?"
Iris rubs her forehead, an exasperated sigh falling from her lips as she looks up at the older man beside her. "Cisco didn't appreciate Ralph crashing his coffee date with Kamilla."
"Nothing of importance then," Harry quips. He jerks his head towards the computer screens. "Anything new in our search?"
"Nothing yet," she says with a shake of her head. "They've just disappeared. I put out an article but nothing has come of it. The satellite is scanning for dark matter but again, nothing on that either."
"What about your father and CCPD?"
"He's working on it, Cicada hit the department after a case file. They went to the hospital too but it seems no one else besides Ambres was working with him. Oh and the starchives were broken into."
It seems things are not falling to their side, everything mounting up against them which isn't anything new for team flash so they shouldn't be surprised. "Was anything taken?"
Iris throws up her hands, shaking her head. "Well, nothing and something. Thawne's time sphere. Long story short, it was stolen from the future and used by a Cicada from the future, who in turn travelled back."
Harry stares down at her. "From the future?"
"Yep."
"Fantastic," he says sarcastically. "This just keeps getting better and better."
"You got that right." Iris leans back in her seat, the noise from the arguing duo across the room is starting to give her a headache. "How's it going with Caitlin? Has she found anything that could help?"
Harry shakes his head. "Not when I left but she's working on it."
Iris gestures to his hands. "She send you on a lunch run?"
Harry looks down at his full hands. "If I don't feed her, she'll just live to pizza pockets and coffee."
Iris smiles up at him. It's kinda sweet to see this side of Harry, his relationship with Caitlin offering them a glimpse of a man they hadn't seen before.
Across the room, the bickering pair have finally fallen silent. Thank God.
Cisco looks up from his phone as he walks towards them. "Barry needs my help at a scene. Needs me to vibe something connecting to Cicada. See you dudes later." He gives a salute as he heads out the door.
Watching Cisco walk away, he looks down at the woman sat beside him. "We'll let you know if we find anything on site," Harry says, taking his extrapolator to open a breach back to the Tannhauser off site where Caitlin is currently running tests.
"Same here."
Harry steps into the breach exiting the cortex and steps out on the other side into the lab at the Tannhauser site.
Caitlin turns away from the computer she's standing before, looking pleased at his return as she drops into her chair. "You're back. Any news?"
Harry shakes his head, moving towards where she sits at a large desk. "Nothing good."
Caitlin pauses while taking off her gloves. "What's happened now?"
Harry snorts, amused that she immediately knows more shit has hit the fan so to speak. "CCPD was hit by the new Cicada, a case file stolen. The starchives was broken into, and nothing has come of the search so far. Oh and Disney ruined Ramon's date."
"Why's that important?
"It isn't," Harry says, sliding a takeout bag towards her. "I just found it amusing."
She slaps his chest. "Don't be mean," she tells him sternly but they both know she's just teasing. "What happened at the starchives?"
"Iris said that nothing was taken here, but in the future Thawne's sphere had been stolen and used by our new Cicada to travel back."
Caitlin stares back at him in disbelief. "From the future?"
"I had the same reaction." Harry digs into his own takeout bag. "The team are working on it, there's nothing we can do until these tests come back."
"It shouldn't be too long."
"Great because it's absolutely freezing here."
Caitlin rolls here eyes. "Eat your lunch, that will soon warm you up." Reaching into her takeout bag, she pulls out a container of soup and a wrapped sandwich. Her favourite grilled cheese and tomatoe herb soup from her favourite deli a block from the lab. She also accepts the coffee he slides her way with a grateful smile. "Thank you for this."
They both know that the freezing cold Tannhauser off site isn't the most suitable of places for a lunch date but they make do.
Harry drops down into the seat next to her, the cold starting to chill his bones. "My pleasure. I have to keep my woman fed."
With the sandwich hovering before her, she turns and raises her eyebrows at him, a playful yet challenging glint in her eyes. "Your woman?"
"That sounds quite possessive, doesn't it?"
"It does but... I like it."
"You like it huh?" He drops his voice low like he knows she likes it.
Caitlin rolls her eyes. "I do. Don't let it go to your head." Despite her words she leans sideways to kiss him gently. "My man," she teases as she pulls away, earning a smirk from him.
After that they fall into comfortable conversation about the tests she's running and what's occurring back at home. It's after they've finished lunch, as Caitlin goes back to work on the tests that Harry takes a moment to just watch her. She's brilliant and beautiful and badass. She's kind, loving, caring and sexy and she's his. Except she's not his, not really. That brings up something that he had long ago given up on, buried down deep and forgotten about. Until now, until her, until he had embarked on this wonderful relationship with this equally wonderful woman. She's brought such happiness and contentment to his life, after everything he thought was lost when he'd lost his mind and regained it. She has made him feel more alive and whole than he thought possible. He wants that, with her, for the rest of his life.
"When you said you liked being mine, did you mean it?"
Tapping away on the keyboard, his words make her pause and she looks over at him. His handsome face is serious. "What?"
"You like that I call you mine."
"I do," she answers slowly, not really knowing where this is going.
Harry nods, dragging a hand over his face. He contemplates what he's about to say, wondering if he should when he decides to do so. He'd promised her he'd be truthful with how he's feeling, especially about stuff like this. "What would you think about-- getting married?"
She stills, staring back at him. "To you?" She asks rather dumbly.
He chuckles and stands from his seat. Moving over to stand at her side, his hands reach out and settle on her hips. "Yes, to me."
"I-- I never really thought about it after everything with Ronnie."
"Me either," he admits quietly. "It wasn't something I could think about, the idea of moving on and dating someone else was hard enough but... you changed all that."
Caitlin bites her lower lip, something she does when she's nervous or unsure. "Harry?" His name falls softly from her lips. "To clarify, are you asking me to marry you?"
Yes, he is but he doesn't want her to feel rushed or trapped by the question. This is such a massive step for him and such a big one for their relationship. "Yes and no. I just think that this is a conversation we need to have. I want to know what your thoughts are and..."
"And what?" She prompts again softly, her fingers curling into the thick material of his coat.
Harry decides to be honest about how he's feeling. "I want to marry you, I want a life with you."
His words take her breath away, her heart thuds wildly in her chest. His gaze is both soft and intense, she can't drag her eyes away. Everyday this man continues to surprise her more and more and she wants the opportunity to discover everything there is about him. Keeping her gaze locked onto his, she nods her head. "You're right, this is a talk we need to have and I agree with you, I want a life with you too. So when the times right and you're ready to ask me that question, the answer will be yes."
He freezes as her words hit him. The answer will be yes. Feelings of love and happiness rise up as he stares back at this woman. He never fails to wonder how he got so lucky with having her in his life. Leaning in, crossing the gap between them, he presses his mouth against hers. He kisses her slow and deep, pouring everything into it, hoping she can feel it as he pulls her closer.
There's a sense of security in knowing that's she's his, in knowing that her answer will be yes when he asks.
They're moment together however doesn't last as long as they'd like because the computer chimes, signalling the results are back from Caitlin's latest tests.
Looking down at the screen, Caitlin nods her head. Finally, something they can use, albeit however small. It's a step in the right direction. Looking back at Harry, she smiles.
He smiles back, knowing that they've got what they came here for. Which he's glad of because it's absolutely freezing here and he can't wait to get back to the lab.
But suffering the cold was worth it, to spend time with her and to have this talk, because he knows now her answer will be yes.
The end.