Chapter Text
It's one of those warm spring days that make Mick Rory get out of the house in short sleeves without much worry about the visible scars on his hands and arms. It also was Farmer's market day, and he wouldn't have anything to buy if only Lisa hadn't looked at him with those puppy blue eyes that meant 'Mick, don't you think it's a beautiful day for some of your delicious beets Gnocchi?', and you've got to understand that the girl had a hold on him ever since he first laid eyes on her (she was about 18 months old and had just started to talk. She also was the reason why Len couldn't go out, so he invited Mick over to babysit. She walked straight to his arms within five minutes and had a lot of serious baby talk to tell him for about a hour before falling asleep on his chest).
So Mick was at the farmer's market that morning, which, to be fair, was one of his hobbies, sorting through sweet potatoes to mix with the beets in order to get the right texture for the Gnocchi while also keeping an eye on the green leaves, because he was pretty sure that a fresh pesto would go just perfectly with the pasta when he heard her.
"How can you tell which avocado is better for a guacamole?" The woman asked the farmer by Mick's left, and the arsonist looked over to see none less than Caitlin Snow. "You see, it's my friend's birthday and we're planning a prank-"
That was quite the surprise, and Mick couldn't help but chuckle, which caught the Doc's attention. As soon as Caitlin saw him, her eyes widened and she gave one step to the side.
"Hi, Doc," he greeted. It was not like she didn't know about his time with the Legends, he even had to save the Flash's ass a couple times since he came back home, but he also couldn't blame her for being careful around him. Mick Rory had made quite the first impression on her.
"Mr. Rory," Caitlin replied, still wide-eyed, hands gripping her market bag fiercely.
"Fancy seeing you here," Mick joked, and turned back to his potatoes, separating the last ones he'd need before he'd go to the basil.
"You're at the-" she stuttered. "Hm, this is the farmer's market."
"I'm aware."
"What are you doing here?"
Mick glanced at her quickly.
"Shopping."
She said nothing. He had nothing else to say. He chose his basil, nutmeg, some spinach and thyme just in case, and paid for everything with a fifty. When he turned around to go look for some parmesan cheese, Caitlin was still on the same place, still looking at him, but now with curiosity instead of the usual layer of fear.
Mick stepped closer to her and this time she didn't move, so he reached for one of the avocados in front of her, looking for spots in its dark skin and giving it a gentle squeeze to see if it was mature enough. He hummed satisfied and handed the fruit to her.
"See how the skin is clean?" He asked, and Caitlin needed a couple of seconds to diverge her eyes from his face to the avocado in her hand, and then she nodded, turning it around. "Now squeeze, just a little bit of pressure. See how it's soft?"
"Yeah," she said low, a few lines between her eyebrows. Caitlin looked up at Mick again, just in time to see him put on his sunglasses.
"That's the right kind of avocado you'll need for your guacamole. It goes particularly well with that Ají amarillo chili," he pointed the yellowish pepper on the neighbor stand. "Even though it's not how the receipt goes. Trust me, it's good. See you around, Doc."
He walked by her, and he didn't look back to see if she was looking, but he did hear her say, maybe a little too late-
"Thanks, Mick."
-which was very polite, and made him wonder if maybe, just maybe, he could break that first impression on her and build a new one.