Through Dangerous Times

Birthday

Caitlin slowly came to her senses, having just woken up, having slept in as they both had had a very busy day the day prior. She looked to her left and saw Barry mysteriously missing from her arms, so as a result, instead of cuddling up closer to him, she shifted out of bed and dragged herself down to the living quarters, feeling too tired to change out of her pyjamas. The station was mysteriously quiet, Cisco no longer being here, having left the QAN and returned to Earth successfully two days ago, so just Barry and Caitlin were left on the ship alone, however at the same time, together. As a result of this, they had both been taking advantage of this, not having to worry about being caught by anyone or making anyone feel somewhat awkward when they were either in a make-out session or something else along those lines. As Caitlin left the elevator leading to the quarters, she caught a strong smell of something that she couldn't quite pinpoint, being tired and all, but she certainly knew she liked it.

The station was currently in the process of orbiting the darker side of Earth, now visibly closer to the planet than when the trio first boarded the ship. It was only a few days time until both Barry and Caitlin would have to start on the grand repairs on the ship, doing a lot of non-stop constant work, which would certainly be hard however they were somewhat prepared for it, and over the next few days they didn't have anything to do, so had planned to use the time to brace themselves for the upcoming events. They had only had one communication with Cisco ever since he had returned to Earth, in the form of a simple message transmission, telling them that he had successfully returned to the planet safe and sound, no major problems along the way.

As Caitlin stumbled into the dining area, she saw Barry in the kitchen, walking out with a fresh plate of pancakes.

"Happy Birthday Cait," Barry said, looking over at Caitlin and smiling.

"Wait, is that today? Woah, thank you so much," she replied, walking over to him and giving him a quick hug as they both migrated over to the dining table, Barry handing her the plate.

"So, how are you today?" Barry asked.

"Good, tired but good, also these are perfect, thank you so much!" she exclaimed, momentarily resting her head on Barry's shoulder, before sitting back up to eat her food.

"Well, that is good. Also, I woke up early to complete all the work we had to do today, so you can relax for the day, you shouldn't have to do anything on your birthday," 

"Really? You didn't have to do that, but thank you!" she said, a smile growing on her face.

The pair then continued to spend the morning together, spending most of their time cuddled up on the sofa, Caitlin's head on Barry's shoulder, as they watched a movie together.

It was nice having these moments of simple peace and quiet, as they were the only two on the station, the quiet was usual, yet sometimes it really made for a nice atmosphere. Just simple time together, that was something that really did make for a nice setting.

As the credits began rolling, Caitlin let out a deep breath, before pulling herself away from Barry and standing up. 

"I think I should go and take a shower, do you want to join me?" She said with a small smirk, with a somewhat suggesting tone.

"Okay, if that is okay with you," Barry replied, stuttering at certain points throughout saying it through a slight level of awkwardness.

"Of course it is okay," she said, taking hold of his hand as they both walked over to the bathroom, interlocked in a passionate kiss, and it wasn't long before this changed into more of a make-out session, leaving a trail of clothes along the hallways as they backed into the shower, turning it on and letting the warm water flow over them.

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The pair were back in their bed, waking up after about an hour or two long nap, waking up after having stumbled there after their shower. They both woke up in a strange synchronisation, looking over at each other and smiling, a visible pink glow in the form of a blush appearing on each of their cheeks, causing Caitlin to bury her face in Barry's neck, her hand placed on his chest.

"Thank you, Barry,"

"What for?"

"This has probably been one of the best birthdays ever, thank you," she said, sounding both genuinely thankful and very slightly suggestive at the same time.

"No problem," he smiled back, the pair closing all possible space between them as they cuddled underneath the sheets. They had around three days left until they needed to do any other major work, so they had both subconsciously planned to spend those days together, just enjoying themselves, before they would have to go through the stress of the newly called 'Ramon Manoeuvre' which was the plan which was thrown together by Cisco and many people at NASA to prevent the QAN from colliding with the planet.

After about an hour, the two were up and ready for the second time in that day, it now being around early evening. They were sat on the sofa as they often were, just as Barry stood up and took Caitlin by the hands.

"I have a small surprise for you, well, not so much a surprise as we have done it before, however it is still something."

"I'm sure I will love it, what is it?"

"Well, I booked a premium meal at the restaurant in the Concourse, just us," he smiled, as she stood up smiling as well.

"Thank you! You know I love it there!" she exclaimed, the two beginning to walk over to the restaurant. As the walked down through the concourse, the light settings turned to night, the usual bright blue and white lights turned to more of a dark blue and black lighting scheme. They headed into the restaurant, which was lit with a red-orange light, filled with holograms of many aesthetic designs and objects above the seating booths.

"Wow, this place has really changed," Caitlin said, walking into the room and looking around, amazed.

"Yeah, it has, it's actually quite nice,"

The pair dealt with the robot waiters, being led to sit down at one of the booths, immediately being asked for their order, so they did so, the android moving away to process it.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's really nice, thank you, this really has been a great day," she smiled, taking hold of Barry's hand, resting them on top of the table. The booth they were sat in had really come to life, a candle sat in the middle, letting off a nice orange glow, with the holograms above them making for a nice effect. The light being let through some of the windows was giving the room a faint blue glow, combined with the orange of the candles, as they were now on the brighter side of the planet, the blue light reflecting back onto the ship.

After the couple had finished their food, they slowly walked out of the restaurant, hand in hand, as they exited the concourse and returned to the living quarters.

"Barry, thank you for this, it has really been a great birthday," she said, looking over at him with a smile.

He simply smiled back, before taking a deep breath and looking back at her.

"Come with me, I have something for you,"