Alter Egos

Platinum

Prompt idea from @daydise on Archive Of Our Own. (Posted with their permission.)

...

Caitlin Snow looked in the mirror, as a girl with stark white hair stared back at her. She immediately looked away and continued getting ready for work.

She hated her hair.

It was a constant reminder that she was no longer herself. It made her feel like she stuck out.

Though her powers remained, everything, for the most part, had returned back to normal. Her eyes were no longer the almost white, her personality shifts had long since gone away, and she now had good control over her abilities.

After Barry's return, she had even been welcomed back to the Labs with open arms. Though Caitlin wasn't sure she would ever fully be who she once was, she had resumed her work. She had been hoping her hair would return to its normal, darker shade, but it hadn't so far.

Over the past several weeks Caitlin had been trying to make it less obvious. She had put it up in a bun, or pinned it back a certain way, but it was to no avail. She had even worn a scarf on her head the previous day. That was until Barry had pulled her aside and tried to assure her that her hair was fine.

Still though, as she stood in the bathroom she found herself seriously considering picking up some hair dye after work. Caitlin sighed heavily and put the finishing touches on her appearance. She twisted her hair into a tight bun.

Caitlin gave herself one last look in the mirror. Then a small layer of frost appeared on it, causing it to crack. She turned out the light and left for work.

She hated her reflection.

...

The elevator doors that lead to S.T.A.R Labs opened and Caitlin stepped inside.

"Morning, Caitlin," Cisco called from his lab.

"Good morning, Cisco." She echoed back.

Guilt still constantly hung above Caitlin like a cloud. After all that had happened, after everything she'd done, she couldn't understand how they had welcomed her back so easily. Why they had been so quick to trust her again. She shook her head to clear it and immediately headed into her office, her shoulders sagging just a little bit more.

Caitlin swiped a clipboard from her desk and began to pour over the data on the papers. She slowly walked back towards the lab, still focused on the pages in front of her. She needed something to occupy her mind.

As she did so, Cisco walked by, carrying some new piece of equipment he had been working on. Caitlin saw something in her peripheral that made her look up at Cisco in shock. It wasn't the new tech he was carrying, nor was it anything he was doing at that moment.

It was because Cisco's shoulder-length hair was now platinum blonde.

Caitlin's eyes widened. "What happened to your hair?" She blurted.

Cisco glanced at her. "Oh this," he gestured to his head. "Just trying something new." He shrugged.

Caitlin furrowed her brow skeptically. "Really, and you're telling me it's a coincidence that it's the exact same shade as mine?"

"Maybe I just like the color." Cisco defended, as he sat down in his office chair and spun around in a circle.

Caitlin was about to reply when a gust of wind swept through the lab, signaling Barry's arrival.

"Morning, Cait." He greeted as he stopped beside them.

"Barry!" Caitlin practically screeched, "Not you too." She stared at his also white hair.

"What?" Barry shrugged. "I think it suits me."

"This isn't funny, guys." Caitlin crossed her arms.

"What are you up to? Are you...making fun of me." She crumpled in on herself a bit. "Or did you lose a bet or something?"

"What? No, no, that's not it at all." Cisco pipped up.

"It's just, it's been pretty obvious that you've been trying to hide your hair the past couple days." Barry continued, "We just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable or like you don't fit in." He added.

"You did that for me. Even after everything." Her expression softened.

"Of course, Caitlin. We're just happy to have you back. We missed you."

Caitlin still looked uncertain.

"Listen, we forgive you for everything, and you should forgive yourself," Barry answered sincerely.

Barry gently put his hands on the sides of her shoulders. "And you should know that it doesn't matter whether your hair is dark brown, or white, or even purple."

Tears began to well in Caitlin's eyes, and she gave Barry a slight smile.

"You're still our Caitlin, even if you are a little bit different. We would happily dye our hair for the rest of our lives if it meant you felt better." Barry assured.

"Thank you," Caitlin whispered, her voice breaking slightly.

Barry immediately opened his arms and Caitlin stepped forward wrapping her arms around him. He gently rubbed a calming circle on her back and kissed the top of her head.

Barry and Caitlin then reached out to their other arms to let Cisco in as he joined the embrace as well.

For just a few moments everything felt right, as the three white-haired Team Flash members, shared a group hug.