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Barry focuses on not overcooking the steaks; it’s typically not difficult for him, but he has a lot on his mind to worry about. He’s still ticked off about having to lead his team remotely, sure, but he’s more worried about whether he’s overdoing this. He looks behind himself at the set table, the rose petals that lead to his foyer, along with candles scattered around his living room. It was definitely overkill for an official third date, but he and Elenore still spent a lot of time together at work. Barry turns back to the sizzling pan and slides a thermometer into both of them. He remembers Elenore saying she prefers her steak medium, so he keeps hers in the pan as he takes his own out and onto the plate, next to the steamed broccoli and green beans. He knew this was romantic, but the pressure was still on him since it would be the first time she would be coming over to his place; neither of them have yet been over to the other's place, so this seemed like the next step. He bites his lip, wondering if asking her to be official and exclusive so soon was acceptable.
He’s forced out of his head when his phone vibrates: Elenore messaging him that she’s left her house and that she’ll be there in five minutes. Barry forces out a heavy breath and rubs his hands on the tea towel, already sweating. Curse his sweaty hands. He messages her back quickly, telling her to just come in since the door is open. He puts the phone down and goes over to his shelf, pulling out his Synchronicity vinyl from The Police so they’d have some ambience as they ate.
He comes back over to the stove and turns it off, plating her steak and carrying the two plates to the table. He sets them down and double checks the setup: plates, 2 mini-jugs of peppercorn sauce that he’d dyed pink, two wine glasses, a bottle of red wine, a candle in the middle and a small arrangement of flowers on the edge. He nervously straightens the red tablecloth before making sure his white, long-sleeved button up was clean. It was stupid to wear it while cooking, but at least it was clean. His red dress pants were also clean, thankfully.
Elenore will be walking into the foyer any moment now, so he walks back into the conjoined kitchen and picks up the bouquet of black roses he’d prepared in advance. He’d had to drive all the way to Colorado Springs to even find a shop that sold black roses, but he didn’t want to sell himself short by giving Elenore a boring and predictable red bouquet. He’d used those for the petal path, and he’d stung himself on the thorns more times than he’d prefer to admit. He turns off the lights in the kitchen, making the candles and a lone lamp the only light sources in the house, which was cosy. He checks himself over in the mirror and breathes out steadily, hearing shoes walking up the steps to his front door.
Barry hears the door open slowly, and a small snort of disbelief, and it makes him smile. The door shuts, and he hears her take her shoes off before following the path to his living room, and by God, does Elenore look gorgeous. “Good evening, Barry,” she says, walking to the middle of the room, next to the dining table.
To their past dates, she’d worn dresses and jewellery, but they’d agreed to being less fancy for Valentine’s since they didn’t want to go to the same restaurant for the third time in a row. “Oh, wow,” is the first thing that Barry says, marvelling her up and down. She was leaning on her usual cane but wore a rosy pink lipstick rather than black. She wears a blue, short-sleeved and silky button-up, unbuttoned enough to leave the rest up to imagination, along with black, boot-cut trousers, similar to the ones she wore to the lab but without the tie overhang she always had on her drawstrings. Instead of a drawstring, she had a sleek black belt with a golden buckle. It felt reminiscent of the outfit and lipstick she’d worn back in Keystone, which was definitely intentional. Elenore was an intentional person, after all. Barry shakes his head slightly as Elenore crosses her arms with a slight grin, her head cocking to the side. “I mean– good evening! You just look,” he trails off again. “Beautiful, Elenore.” Only then does Barry notice the small gift bag in her hand. He walks over to her, and she uncrosses her arms, letting Barry take her unoccupied hand and lift it to his mouth to kiss the back of it gently.
Elenore tsks at the gesture, still feeling bashful over how open Barry is with his romantic gestures. “You look handsome, too, Barry,” Elenore says. “You’ve truly outdone yourself with the set-up.” She looks around the living room and the dining table, and Barry is glad that she’s appreciative of it. He only wants the best for her. He puts her hand down and gives her the bouquet of black roses as Elenore hands him the small gift bag. She looks surprised at the roses, knowing how difficult it was to find these, especially in the middle of nowhere in Colorado. Her grin morphs into a genuine smile at the effort Barry shows towards her. “These are gorgeous, where did you get them?” Elenore asks, looking up at him.
Barry meets her smile. “Colorado Springs, it was worth the drive. Black is your favourite colour, so I presumed that would translate to roses too,” he explains before looking into the gift bag and laughing shyly. He pulls out a new wallet along with a tray of different types of chocolate. She’d complained about how his wallet always looked like it was on the verge of disintegrating for months by this point. He’d kept putting it off and forgetting about it. It almost seemed like payback since, for her birthday last year, he’d also given her a new wallet for the same reasons. It was always funny how she complained about his wallet when she wasn’t too much better. They were both rather forgetful of their personal belongings.
“What was it that you said to me before?” Elenore muses for a second, looking at Barry dead in the eyes. “‘It was starting to be painful to see you with that’,” Elenore repeats back what he’d said on her birthday. Barry looks at her with a foolish smile before they both look down to laugh at each other. “Vase?” Elenore asks when they finish laughing, not wanting the roses to dry out. Barry nods and takes the roses into the kitchen, putting them in a vase and filling it up with water. He places it on the ledge separating the kitchen and the dining/living room area. He puts the new wallet and the chocolate beside them, then walks back up to Elenore and pulls the chair out for her. Before sitting down, Elenore leans her cane against the table and places a kiss on his cheek. Elenore waits for Barry to sit down before taking the mini-jug and pouring the sauce on the steak. Elenore chuckles as she pours it, noting the pink colour to it. “This all looks amazing, Barry, but did you seriously put food dye in this?”
Barry also pours the sauce on his steak with a playful sigh, “it’s meant to be on theme – you know, Valentine's.” He knew it was corny to do that, but he wanted to personalise the dinner more to the occasion, and he really didn’t want to cut the steaks into heart shapes. He reaches over and opens the bottle of Tempranillo, pouring her glass first. It was the wine she’d gotten on their first two dates, and the last few times when they’d gone to dinner when they were both out on conferences together outside Colorado. Elenore clearly approves of his choice, giving him a knowing look. She picks up her glass and tastes it, humming graciously, before putting it down to cut into the steak.
They both take a bite into their steaks, and Barry is glad that they came out so well and that the food dye didn’t overpower the peppercorn sauce. “I said this already, but you really have overdone yourself,” Elenore says, appreciating the date and meal. Barry truly is grateful that she likes it; she wasn’t one to mince her words or to be nice to not seem rude, and it gives him additional confidence to ask her the question after they finish. Elenore eats a floret of the steamed broccoli and continues, “perhaps you missed your calling as a chef, a scientist who is good at cooking definitely is rare. Lucky me.” She grins and looks across the table at Barry, and his heart skips a beat.
The compliments on his cooking made him feel warmer than any compliments made towards his scientific smarts. He always believed physics was straightforward, that one could learn without truly understanding it, but cooking was an art that needed hours of dedication to make something taste good. “My mom taught me how to cook since I was twelve or so, I always finished homework quickly, so I’d just watch her make dinner until she let me try with her. It was one of the only constants I had whenever we moved around,” Barry confesses. His relationship with his mom was miles better than with his dad’s; he found it a waste that Barry was interested in science and cooking rather than sports and the gym. “To be honest, it saved me from eating out too much when I attended M.I.T..” His undergraduate days were difficult, but he loved the freedom he had away from his parents and the constant worry of when he’d move next. It gave him a taste of stability he always craved.
Elenore listens and hums; despite working together for the last two years, they didn’t bring up their parents often. Barry was more open about it, but didn’t hide the strain he had with them, particularly his father. She often saw Barry dodge calls from his mom. “It must've been nice to bond with your mother like that. My mother,” Elenore visibly considers her next words, and Barry keeps his eyes on her. Elenore brought up her mother twice in the last two years, once when she was showing Barry her calculations in the beginning, and the other in an offhanded comment that she’d wished Elenore a happy birthday. “My mother and father were always busy with work, both scientists in a research lab outside of Boston, but at least we didn’t move around, apart from right after I was born, but even then, that was just from Worcester to Boston. My grandmother lived with us, and she taught me how to cook the basics: chicken soup, potatoes, you know. It’s how I got interested in my grandfather’s work, she’d talk about him occasionally.” Elenore takes a sip of her wine. Barry nods at that, it was domestic to talk so mundanely with her and to find out more about her younger years. “My dining house at Harvard had great food, so I barely cooked.”
Barry takes another bite of his steak, smiling. “You know, it’s funny how we could’ve walked past each other during undergrad and didn’t know it. We were, what, two miles apart?” Elenore nods at that, wondering if they did do that. She doubts it, considering how she never really went down by Charles River, but Barry did say how he made friends with some of her upperclassmen at Harvard.
They both continue to eat, and their conversation topics jump around comfortably. They talk about work, but Elenore pointedly avoids the point of contention surrounding the leading of the initial team, and Barry doesn’t try to push her about it since she already made up her mind. Any silences between them are also comfortable, and Barry couldn’t be happier that they were. He constantly shoots her heart-eyes that he hopes aren’t too obvious whenever she looks down at her plate. Barry finishes his plate first and puts it to the side, this time letting her catch him staring at her. Elenore takes a final bite of the steamed vegetables and slowly pushes her plate to the side, looking at Barry weirdly. “Is there something on my face?” Elenore asks, taking her phone out to see if any of the sauce somehow got on her face.
Barry giggles slightly and immediately refutes that, “no, don’t worry. You just look so beautiful tonight, Elenore. I mean, you always do. It’s just… This is nice. Not to say that our last two dates weren’t, but this feels like more with you coming over. I guess it’s why I tried so hard to make this nice.” He looks to the side and rubs the back of his hair, feeling his hands grow sweaty again. Elenore really did make him feel like he was a teenager with his first crush again.
Elenore smiles at that softly and puts her phone down on the table, running a hand through her hair. “I’m not surprised at that. You always try so hard in the lab. Don’t think I didn’t notice you planning our first date in the lab last month, you looked like you wanted to set the paper on fire,” Elenore snickers at that, but it turns into a full laugh when Barry starts laughing at it. He didn’t think he was that obvious, but Elenore was nothing if not observant. It’s one of his favourite traits about her, if he were being honest. He also finds her laugh to be endearing; she’s always very matter-of-fact and serious that he counts it as a win whenever he gets her to snicker or snort while they work. She’s much the same on their two dates, but is more open with her emotions, even if just marginally so. If he wasn’t already in love with her, he would be falling hard, but he knew saying something like ‘I love you’ so soon could scare her away. Rationally, he knew she wouldn’t get scared over something like that, but they weren’t even official yet.
Barry stops laughing first and looks at her again, his face more open and tender. She stops laughing too and keeps her gaze on him, curious about the sudden silence between them, only cut through by the low music that was still playing. Barry swallows and fiddles with the fabric of his dress pants under the table before speaking, “I’ve wanted to ask you something. I don’t know if this is too soon, but I do hope you can at least think it over.”
Elenore sighs, exasperated, and puts her face in her hands. “Barry, I already told you that my decision about leading the team is final. No amount of flattery or how good the dinner is will change my mind on this, and–”
Before she can spiral even further, he interrupts her vehemently, “what? No, Elenore, God, no! I know you won’t change your mind now, and I can wait for the next time. I couldn’t imagine asking you out on a date on such an occasion, just in hopes of having you change your mind. I value you so much more than that.” Barry reaches over the table to wrap his hand around her forearm gently. He couldn’t imagine using something so delicate between them for his gain at work, but he sees how it might’ve seemed like that to Elenore, even if it stings slightly that she thinks he would do that. Elenore apologises and looks back up at Barry, lowering her arms but moving her hand so that they’re holding hands across the table. Barry looks down at their joined hands and moves his thumb against her skin soothingly. He’s not sure if he’s trying to soothe her or himself, but decides that it’s now or never to ask her. “I know we’ve only been on three dates now, but we are constantly around each other,” he starts out slowly, choosing his words carefully. “You are special to me, both as my lab partner and friend, but I do feel more than that towards you, and I can only hope that you feel the same, or can see yourself feeling the same about me in the near future. We’ve both obviously had fun on our dates and spending time together outside of them, too. What I’m asking you, Elenore Thawne,” Barry says and looks up at her before carrying on, “is whether you will be my girlfriend? I would want to make what we have as official and for us to be exclusive. Even if I haven’t been talking to anyone but you for the last month.” Barry gulps and straightens up.
Elenore is obviously taken aback, like she really didn’t expect Barry to ask her out like this and so earnestly. She looks so different to the usual, confident Elenore – even on New Year's, she wasn’t this taken aback – but she doesn’t look any less stunning and attractive, it’s cute, too, actually. It’s a few nerve-wracking moments for Barry before she replies, “to be honest, I already thought we were dating since the first date.” Well, it was Barry’s turn to be taken aback. They keep looking at each other with the same wide eyes. “But if you’re asking, then, of course, it’ll be a yes,” she adds quickly and squeezes his hand. Despite her naturally colder body, Barry feels her own palm grow muggy against his fingertips. Worry was the one emotion Barry never really expected from Elenore, and it takes him out of his daze that Elenore Thawne thought they were already dating.
Barry squeezes her fingers back reassuringly instantly, his face beaming. He was worried over nothing, and God, did that feel good. “I’m glad,” he says, voice barely concealing his excitement. Elenore’s expression also shifts into a tentative smile, her eyes sparkling. He stands up immediately but keeps his hand holding hers, and walks around to her chair. She stands up as soon as he does and wraps her other arm around his neck when he wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. They’ve kissed twice before, on New Year's and after their first date, but this kiss felt more earnest and like this is what they were looking for. The vinyl continues playing in the back as their fingers interlace, the song transitioning to a slower song, ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger’, Barry supplements in the back of his mind. It didn’t particularly fit them, but the tone fit the mood. They pull apart slowly, and they both have smiles on their faces, obviously happy at how much more romantic the evening had become.
Elenore moves her arm down so that her hand can caress Barry’s face, her thumb caressing his prickly jaw from his scruff. “I don’t want to go home yet,” she mumbles, and Barry couldn’t agree more. He can’t imagine her leaving so soon.
“We could watch a movie, it’s barely eight,” Barry mumbles quietly but loud enough over the vinyl. Elenore’s hand squeezes his hand once again in agreement and pulls him as she walks over to the couch, but first, turning off the vinyl player. Barry sits down and grabs the remote as Elenore sits beside him, leaning into him with her head on his shoulder. Barry keeps his arm around her waist and kisses her hair as they settle in, searching for some movie that they’ll inevitably ignore in preference to making out soon.
“For the future, we’re in our 40s, girlfriend-boyfriend is juvenile. Let’s just refer to each other as partners,” Elenore says into Barry’s shoulder, looking up at him. Barry snorts at that, but he definitely can’t disagree; Elenore is so much more than just a girlfriend to him. It would also give a small double meaning when they introduce each other to others, how sweet.
“Partners, I do like the sound of that, El,” Barry agrees before putting the remote on the coffee table and kissing her again.