A Smiley Face On A Dull Day (snowbarry)

part 32.

So O2 stopped working so i didn't have data yesterday or this would've been done during my lunch break.

But here you go, I hope you enjoy it 🌹🌹🌹

Caitlin sat perfectly stright as she braved through the convasation gripping on to Barry's hand like it was a life line.

"So..." Carla began in her typical basic bitch voice "what possessed you to elope? Do you have any idea how this looks?" She said her voice raising.

Caitlin swollowed "uh-I um- I we-"

"We love eachother" Barry said cooly "very much Caitlin wasn't going to be happy with Myron and you know that and I was miserable without her" Barry
"Barry, are you sure you want to tell them?" She said softly knowing his homeless period was a rough spot to talk about.

"It's okay Cait" he said softly and squeezed her hand tighter "they desserve to know"

She nodded slightly and ran her fingers over his knuckles soothingly.

"...after I went away-"

"Ran away" Henry corrected

"After I ran away" Barry continued "I rented a small apartment outside of central city and got a job as a waiter thats how I lived my life for about 4 months but my landlord lost my apartment and I had to move out but I couldn't find anywhere else to live, I lost my job and then suddenly I was homeless"

Nora's breath caught in her throat "my poor baby" she said in a broken whisper

"...I was homeless for almost 2 months until I met Caitlin, I woke up one day to find a to go coffee cup with a smiley face drawn on the side" he smiled at Caitlin and rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand "I learnt to sleep during the day, becuase it was safer then becuase it was daylight and there was peolple around... a few days later Caitlin walked up to me and asked if she could sit with me i thought she was a bitch, doing it for a dear or something and that she was going to take a photo of us and say I was her charity case she promised not to take pictutes and she gave me coffee in a to go coffee cup with a smiley on then she sat with me and she talked i was very rude and refused to tell her my name we actually didn't know echothers names until about a month later so I called her smiley face and she called me-"

"Eye guy" she said lovingly

Barry nodded and kissed the top of her hand "soon enough it was time for me to change location it's not safe to stay in one place for long and I was alresdy getting verbal abuse and whrn Caitlin sat with me they looked at her like she was crazy so I gave Caitlin a false adress I decied it was best to remove her from my life for her own good...I took a few wrong turns ended up in the wrong neighbour hood and I got attacked and mugged I had a broken wrist and leg and a couple bruised and fractured ribs and a black eye... I couldn't call an ambulance, i couldn't make it to the hospital by myself so I found Caitlin at the false adress I gave her... I woke up in the hospital a few days later and she was there, smiley face but she wasn't smiling" he turned to Caitlin and smiled sadly and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear "you looked so worried and after going for months alone knowing that no one cared if I lived or died it was like you were the only light in the darkness"

Tears burned her eyes and she leaned into him "Caitlin freaked out when a nurse came in becuase she didn't want to know my name she came back a few minuets later with more coffee and i could've sworn that was the only thing I'd ever seen her drink, a nurse had told me that I was going to be realsed in to my friends Caitlin's care at first I didnt want to but I had no choice becuase it was either going home with her or coming back home with no pride and I just couldn't do that so I agreed, I told her my name and a few days later Caitlin was bringing me to her apartment and making sure I took my painkillers... i found out who she was when her friend used her dull name and I wanted to tell her who I was but I never did becuase I thought she'd kick me out and push me away and by now I was already in love with her so i kept it a secrete and felt bad about it everyday... when i healed I thought dhe was going to me out but she didn't even think about it and wr argued then kissed and then we were kind of together... then the call csme that Arthur didn't have long left and you knoe what happened next"

Everyone was quite nit knowing what to say.

"Thats a beautiful story" Nora said with an unreadable exapression.

Barry grinned and wrapped an arm around his wife "tell me about it, you can't make this stuff up"

"You should've come home once you'd lost your apartment" Henry said faltly "what you did was stupid and reckless, even if it did lead you to Caitlin we're your parents we dont care about what you've done or what you've been through we will always love you and try and guide you in the right direction"

"Well you weren't acting like my parents before I left" Barry began and he felt Caitlin tense "all of you used us like we were pawns in a game, did it ever occure to you that we were able of choosing who we wanted to love? You could've just asked and set us up on a date or something you didn't have to plan out our future" Barry sounded angry but not for himself, for her.

The room fell silent.

"We know why you did it" Caitlin began "and we know that you think it was in our best interests" she looked directly at her mother "I know you didn't have a choice when it came to Marrying dad" she said softly "and I know you didn't love him but I know you tried, I'm not like you, I'm not able to spend my entier life with some one I don't love and it would be selfish to turn to my children for that love, I'm your daughter not a something you can mould into being perfect"

"...I- I did it becuase I love you"

"I know"

Carla's exspression was unreadable and Caitlin turned to her husband "I think we said everything we came here to say" she said softly

Barry nodded and stood up and held a hand out to help her up, the gesture came naturally to them and they suprised their parents by mature and calm they were being.

The burnett turned to Nora "maybe we could do lunch tomorrow?" She turned to her mother "all of us? We could talk about the wedding maybe plan the dinner and reception?" She smiled slightly and felt Barry's hand slip around her waste.

Her mother pursed her lips "I'm making the funeral arrangements tommrow"

Caitlin swolled and nodded "do you want help?"

"He was my husband" she snapped "I may not of loved him but he was still my husband and I will do this by myself"

Her smile fell away and she nodded.

The funeral should've been weeks ago but there were lots of papers that needed to be sighed and Carla was trying to plan the grandest funeral with guests from all over the world so her fathers body is in cold storage pumped with chemicals.

Barrys hand tightened on her waist and she looked away from her mother.

"That sounds great" Nora said "you should come to the house I'll make lunch"

She looked at Barry and he nodded slightly "that sounds nice"

"Come on Cait, it was nice properly meeting you Dr.Tanhauser"

Carla had changed her name as quickly as she could once her husband had died, like she was trying to scrub every part of him away.