Written around New Year's before the new set of episodes started up. Title from the song "Auld Lang Syne" of course - one of the approximately ten million different translations from the Scottish.

Someone bumped his elbow, and Cisco turned to find Caitlin standing there with two glasses of champagne in her hands. "Heyyyyyy!" he said, jumping up to hug her. "You came."

"I did," she said, handing him one of the glasses and settling herself onto the broad window seat next to him. She was wearing a purple dress, cut low in the back but with long sleeves that covered her power dampeners, and a subtle sparkle around the various edges. She looked gorgeous, but she generally did.

"Well, I'm glad you did," he said. She'd been talking about a night of hot cocoa and old movies on her couch for New Year's Eve, and a ten o'clock bedtime, like jeez, Caitlin, you're not dead yet.

He looked around Barry and Iris's new apartment, stuffed full of people for their combination New Year's Eve/housewarming party. "Did you see the whole place?"

"Mmhm. Iris gave me the grand tour."

"It's a nice place. Barry did good."

She smiled around a sip of champagne. "And you get your living room to yourself again."

"Not to mention my kitchen and my bathroom." He made a face. "Dude has super speed, you'd think he could get out of the bathroom quicker."

"Well, that's Iris's problem now," Caitlin said.

Neither of them brought up how nice it would be to have a Barry-free space in his life again. Cisco could feel the rage and hurt dissolving around the edges, and there were whole stretches where he and Barry could talk like they used to. But he hadn't completely let go of it and everyone knew it.

He leaned over so he could see the TV, which had the Times Square festivities on mute, past Captain Singh's elbow. "Nice timing," he told Caitlin. "You've got twenty minutes until midnight. What's your plan, you gonna hang around until the ball drops and then ghost?"

"Nnnnnooooo," she mumbled in a way that meant not anymore. "I've been here for half an hour already. I've mingled."

"Ooooo, mingled," he mocked and she kicked his ankle. He winced. Damn, those shoes were a weapon all by themselves.

"Anyway, are you ready for the new year?" she asked.

He twisted the champagne flute in his fingers. "Eh," he said.

"That sounds enthusiastic."

"It's just - I dunno. Nothing is really going to change just because it's January, will it? We're going to have all the same problems we do now. Savitar's still out there and HR is still talking and - " he avoided looking at the lights on her wrists. He also avoided looking across the room at Barry, talking animatedly to Joe. "- you know. Stuff. Nothing's going to magically change just because the clock ticked twelve."

"Well," she said after a moment. "I'm glad I'm at a party full of police officers, because I need to file a missing persons report. My optimistic friend Cisco has clearly been kidnapped."

"Your optimistic friend Cisco has been through some shit this year!" he said. "And so have you, in case you forgot."

Her arch expression drooped like melting wax. "No, I didn't forget," she said quietly, looking down into her own champagne flute. "And I'm not saying any of our problems are going to go away just because we switched out the calendar. But there is something about new beginnings. An injection of energy. Possibilities. You still believe in those, right?"

He looked at her and thought of all the things that had rained down on both their heads over the past few years. And here they were, still standing.

"Sure," he said. "Yeah. Of course I do." He clinked her glass. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Always," she said, and clinked back. "By the way," she said, bright-eyed and chirpy in the way that meant she thought she had a brilliant idea that was about seventy-six percent likely to go tragically wrong. "Speaking of possibilities, I noticed that detective is here. Danny Cho? The possibly bisexual one you think might be flirting with you? Your chance to find out at midnight."

"Yeah, he's here," Cisco said. "And so's his date."

She winced. "Oh, I missed that."

He nodded. "Upside is, his date's name is Jason, so that intel is filed away for future reference, but it doesn't help me tonight. What about you?" He nodded over toward the Christmas tree (of course Iris had put up a Christmas tree even though they'd moved in on the 27th, and it wasn't coming down until the sixth, because she was a right-thinking human being). "Julian's over there. Something tells me he'd kiss you in - " He checked the time again. "Six and a half minutes."

She wrinkled her nose. "Don't you think that would be just a little weird? After certain recent … chilly events?"

He conceded the point.

"Anyway, he's nice enough, but I'm still not entirely sure we should trust him, and I had enough of that last year."

"May I remind you that you invited him to Christmas Eve?"

"Because he looked lonely! Being kind doesn't mean I trust him, and it certainly doesn't mean I want to make out with him." She settled back against the window, weirdly unconcerned with the chill of the glass against her bare back. He tried not to notice it. "Guess we're both going unkissed tonight," she said.

"Don't be like that," he said. "I'll kiss you. Two birds, right?"

She turned her head to study him, visibly turning the idea over in her head. "Okay," she said.

"One minute, everybody!" Barry called out, and turned on the sound from the TV.

Caitlin jumped to her feet and reached for his hand, tugging him up. "Come on!"

They watched the ball inch downwards, joining in the chant of "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five!"

Against his will, and for the first time all evening, Cisco felt a flutter of excitement in his stomach. There really was something about new starts, even when all the same old shit was hanging off your shoulders. You felt like you could carry it easier.

Caitlin turned her head to smile at him as she yelled, "Happy New Year!" along with the rest of the party. Fweee! went some of those party horns.

"Happy New Year," he said, and clinked her glass again before leaning in to press a quick smooch on her lips.

The flutter of excitement morphed into a jolt that shot through his whole body. He pulled away to find Caitlin wide-eyed, her soft lips parted.

They stared into each others' eyes from extreme close range, their noses brushing. "Was that just me?" he asked her.

"No," she breathed.

He set his drink down and put his hand to her neck, slow and careful, giving her time to pull away if she wanted.

She didn't.

They kissed again, slower, softer, as someone (probably Joe) started singing "Auld Lang Syne."

"Should old acquaintance beeee forgot and mumble mumble miiiiiiiind, should old acquaintance beeeeee forgot and mumble mumble mumble lang syyyyne."

He put his free hand on her waist and felt her arms slide around his shoulders as their bodies pressed together. In spite of the chilly winter air just a pane of glass away, warmth danced all over his skin.

Okay, nothing changed in an instant. But maybe it only took an instant to realize that it had.

FINIS