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“Hey, Bar…?” Cisco’s voice is quiet, echoing softly through the cortex. It’s almost eerie when it’s already so late in the evening. He tucks his hair behind his ears, trying his best to avoid making any eye contact with his best friend.
Barry glances up from his computer screen, deep in concentration on finding DeVoe’s location for the past few hours. He blinks a couple of times, as if he’s just now realizing that he and Cisco are the only ones in the lab. “What’s up?” he asks.
Cisco swallows down the lump in his throat. He doesn’t want to bring up the subject, he doesn’t want to have an awkward conversation with his best friend about any possible romantic feelings between the both of them. Since there’s none, he tries to convince himself. It’s been four years, they’re as close as ever, so why would Leo Snart, of all people, imply that they’re a couple?
After the whole situation with Fallout, Cisco also noticed that Barry is acting a little weird around him. Jumpy whenever Cisco speaks, stumbling over his words (and feet), going red in the face whenever they’re in each other’s personal space. Cisco knows that it’s not because his friend is struggling with DeVoe, but maybe he’s...embarrassed that Leo mentioned something so ridiculous, like the very idea of the two of them being together romantically is so bizarre?
The thought makes Cisco’s heart start to ache a bit, so he has to bring it up. He has to know. “Uhm. What did you think Leo meant when he, uh, said if we could...make it?”
Barry blinks again, slowly raising an eyebrow, and it makes Cisco want to ask him to go back in time and rewrite the past 10 minutes already. “I, uhm...I…” Barry starts to say, but he chews onto his bottom lip, running his hands over the legs of his jeans. “I’m pretty sure he was implying that we, uh--”
Cisco waves his hands in front of him. “Y-yeah, yeah. I got that part,” he says, feeling the heat rising into his cheeks. “I just meant...
why
? Why would he...say something like that? N-not that it bothers me, or anything, I was only wondering…” He moves his hair out of the way again, but he’s tempted to hide his face behind it so that he doesn’t have to witness Barry’s reactions.
“Oh, no, it doesn’t bother me either,” Barry says rather quickly, a rosy red color appearing on his own face. “I-I get it, though. It’s...it was weird that he would, uh...joke about that.”
“Weird?” Cisco repeats, folding his arms over his chest, hoping that Barry doesn’t hear how loud or fast that his heart is beating. “So...are you saying that the idea of us...would be weird?”
At this, Barry’s eyes go a bit wide, the blush expanding to his neck and the tips of his ears. “Wh-what?” he nearly squeaks out, which makes Cisco let out a sigh. Barry stands up from his chair, his shoe getting caught with one of the wheels. “Cis, I-I…” He curses under his breath, before he takes a step toward Cisco. “It’s not like that,” he tries to reassure him, but it’s not very convincing.
“What d’you mean, then?” Cisco asks before he could even think twice about it. “Dude, don’t think that I didn’t notice how off you’ve been after...that. I know that the idea of us being a couple would be ridiculous, because you’re you and I’m...me. I just need to know, so that we could go back to being friends.”
He can feel his eyes beginning to water, especially because he
knows
that Barry is gorgeous and tall and talented with a sunshine smile, and he’s, well...he’s the funny, chubby guy. Barry is and always will be so out of his league that it would never,
ever
happen. God, why does he care about that, anyway?
However, Barry is taking another step closer to him, giving him an absurd look. Cisco wants to open his mouth to tell him to forget it so that he could retreat back into his workspace, but Barry speaks first.
“Cisco, you...you know I think of the world of you.” His voice is soft, lowered in pitch. His eyes are staring right into him, never wavering.
Cisco doesn’t stop himself from releasing a small gasp, letting his arms fall to his sides. He can feel the body heat coming from the taller one once he realizes how close they really are.
“You’re amazing,” Barry continues, giving him a slight smile. He looks down, and it has Cisco’s own eyes follow--their hands are nearly touching, the tips of their fingers grazing against each other’s skin. “You’re super smart and talented and...you keep me safe. I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you. I mean, hell, if it weren’t for you, I’d still be stuck in the Speed Force. You’re my hero, Cisco. You always have been, I meant that, y’know.” He finally takes a hold of Cisco’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
A couple of tears start freely fall down Cisco’s cheeks now, but it’s not because he’s hurt or sad, it’s because Barry is being his incredible self as usual, comforting him and reassuring him. He looks back up at his best friend, the one person who’s been there for him since day one, his heart swelling.
“Holy crap, I think I like you,” Cisco says, and the both of them let out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure I...I’ve had these feelings for four years. Almost five if you count the nine months you were in a coma.” Barry chuckles, a blush appearing on his face once again. “Leo was right...dammit. He
cannot
know about this, or else I’ll never hear the end of it. He’ll probably stop by more often just to tease us.”
Barry smiles wide at him, taking Cisco’s other hand and bringing it up to his lips, kissing Cisco’s knuckles softly. “Ah, let him. I don’t even care. I think I like you, too, Cis. It...it probably took me a while to realize that, but after today...you were running through my mind all day.”
Sniffling, Cisco returns the smile, his face blushing again from how
smooth
Barry is. “Pun intended?” he says, grinning.
“Pun intended,” Barry confirms, winking at him. Then he’s glancing down again, a comfortable silence settling between them as they take in each other’s presence.
After a long moment, Cisco open his mouth to speak. “Can I kiss you, Bar?”
Barry meets his friend’s eyes with an enthusiastic nod. “
Please
…” He starts to lean in close, and Cisco leans in the rest of the way, their lips pressing firmly together as they wrap in one another in a tight embrace. The kiss is wonderful, it’s...electrifying. It feels as if nothing could disturb this perfect moment.
Until the alarms in the lab start going off, indicating that there’s a meta on the loose. The two part, breathless and beaming. They look at the computers in front of them before they start grinning.
“Flash and Vibe teamup?” Barry says, almost vibrating from pure excitement--Cisco wonders if it’s from the kiss or the upcoming fight. Probably both.
“Flash and Vibe teamup,” Cisco confirms, already putting on his goggles. “If Leo and Ray could make it--”
“So could we,” Barry finishes for him.