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The sound of the rain hitting the window pane fills the silence of the bedroom. Droplets of water run down the glass and the random patterns they create are quickly renewed, one after another after another. It makes for a soothing atmosphere.
She's always loved the rain.
Across the floor, clothing rests having been abandoned. The only light comes from out in the hall, casting a low cosy glow through the open doorway. On the bed, the sheets are a tangled mess and buried beneath them lie two naked bodies. Sated and relaxed from the love making they had just shared.
With a sigh, Caitlin stretches and slips her left leg between his to settle more comfortably against his side. His fingers are gentle and soothing in her hair, alternatively playing with the strands to pressing the pads of his fingertips to her scalp. Her own fingers draw patterns across his chest almost as randomly as the raindrops as they fall against the glass.
She buries herself further in his embrace, pressing her lips to his chest.
This is what she needs after a day like today. So much has happened and there is no better way to end a day like this than to lose herself in Harry. He has a way of brightening even the darkest of days. Even so, she still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong, like something is coming.
"You okay?"
His voice asking her that draws her attention away from her thoughts of impending doom and back to him. She hums low in her throat in answer before asking him something in return that has been bothering her since earlier. "Do you think he was right? Barry, I mean. To take Nora back to the future."
Harry looks away from the window, turning his head until his mouth rests against her crown. "I don't know."
"Yeah," she sighs sadly, "me either."
She arches into him when he runs his hand slowly down her spine.
"I can understand why because he doesn't trust her but the decision should have been made with Iris."
"I know. That's always been a downfall with Barry. He makes decisions based on his emotions regardless of the consequences." She only has to remember the disaster that was flash point as enough evidence of that. "I just hope he can work things out with Iris."
"I think from time to time we're all a little guilty of that, making decisions based on how we feel but Barry more than anyone," Harry says quietly. "He and Iris will work things out, their strong and in the mean time, we need to focus on what's important and that's defeating Cicada."
Caitlin closes her eyes. "I still don't understand taking Grace from the hospital. What do you gain from kidnapping your younger self?"
"I don't know, maybe future Grace took present Grace so she could protect her, to keep her out of our reach."
"That makes sense." She has to concede but still, there could be any number of reasons and theyou are no closer to finding a solution. The drama surrounding the West-Allen clan isn't helping or the idea of what Thawne could possibly be up to. "Today has been another bad day in the history of bad days and why do I feel like it's only going to get worse before it gets better."
Even though he has a feeling she's correct about that, Harry shifts until he can look down at her, wanting to shift the subject away from what they face at work. "Hey, it hasn't been all bad today."
And of course, it hasn't. The memory of their lunch earlier in the day at the Tannhauser off site and the talk that followed drifts to the forefront of her mind. She can't help the smile that blossoms onto her face. "No, it hasn't been all bad."
His right hand moves to her face, fingertips tracing down her cheek. "See, even on the baddest of days, there's always room for a moment of happiness, however small it may be. We have to take them whenever we can."
His words hold a truth she cannot deny. Caitlin holds his gaze and shakes her head. "It wasn't small, it was big and wonderful and meaningful. I love you all the more for it."
The way he smiles down at her makes her heart thud in her chest.
Harry tilts his head just slightly to meet her lips, drawing her into a slow, deep kiss. When he finally pulls away, he rests his forehead against her own.
"So, you haven't changed your mind?"
"Changed my mind about what?"
"That when the time is right and I'm ready to ask you that question, that your answer will be yes?"
Caitlin swallows hard against the sudden lump in her throat. This time she closes the gap to kiss him. "The answer will always be yes," she murmurs her promise against his lips.
He draws back enough to meet her eyes, a smile on his face.
After that Caitlin tucks herself back against side, pausing to place a delicate kiss over the scar on his chest, where the bullet Patty had fired had pierced his skin before resting her head on his shoulder. Her eyes flutter shut and she draws comfort from his embrace, feeling beyond grateful that he's here and he's hers. "Thank you for always being here, for making my days better."
Harry presses a kiss to her hair, tightening his arm around her. "No thanks needed."
Yes there is but she's not about to argue the point. Instead she stares out the window, watching the rain splash heavily against the glass panes. In the distance a rumble of thunder could be heard announcing the arrival of the incoming storm the weather forecasters had predicted.
For awhile they stay like that, just holding each other.
Caitlin shifts her head on his shoulder, flicking her eyes up to find him staring down at her. There's a heat behind his gaze, dark and wanting but there's also love. It's an intoxicating mix. Pushing aside the sheets that cover them, she moves to straddle him. His hands coming to rest against her hips as her lips meet his own.
Every move after that is slow and deliberate.
And here for now they allow themselves the precious moments of solace and privacy that their home offers them, wrapped up in each others embrace as they begin the art of making love once more. Blocking out the rest of the world around them and everything that awaits with the rise of a new day, all of that falls away.
Except for the sound of raindrops against the window, the lightening that lights up the night sky, the accompanying rumble of thunder in the distance that follows and the touch and taste of each other.
The end.