Chapter Text
Things were going wonderfully, even with the occasional hiccup – she was getting faster, Team Flash was getting better.
Like right now, for instance. They were working together in pursuit of the 'Royal Flush' Gang, a group of elite criminals who had a playing card motif, right down to their code-names. The fact there was multiple targets weaving in and out of traffic on motorcycles made things....interesting.
“Oh, Carrie, there's an intersection coming up,” Caitlin alerted her. “Hurry!”
“This should slow 'em down,” Cisco quipped and faintly she heard his fingers clacking over the keyboard; the traffic lights instantly went from green...to red.
Unfortunately the thieves adapted, separating and she skidded to a halt. All around her car horns blared and she pressed a hand to the comm on her ear. “Guys, which way?”
Simultaneously Caitlin and Cisco spoke:
“Left.”
“Right.”
There was a beat as Carrie groaned. Again they spoke in unison...giving completely different directions. Again.
“Right.”
“Left.”
“Oh for---! Stop! You two are telling me two different things,” she grumbled in exasperation before calling out, pleading in her tone: “Harrison!”
“I'm here,” he reassured her. “Now, Carrie, listen up and listen carefully. Here is what you're going to do--” Confidence replaced her confusion as his voice washed over her. “Now, the Queen is trying to make it to the bridge--” Carrie sped away for the intersection, taking off towards the bridge, even as he continued, “--but I have a shortcut. Wait for it... And left--” she swung a left, keeping going until-- “left--” another left and then-- “--right.”
There she was! Excitement thrummed through Carrie's veins. “I see her!”
“Make her go west before Fremont,” he advised.
She blinked. “Okay, how?”
The smile was just about audible in his voice. “I'd recommend a detour...”
Eyes landing on a group of temporary traffic barricades she felt a grin stretch across her face as an idea struck. In a blur, she pulled the barricades over to block off the street, forcing Queen to detour just as Harrison had suggested. As Queen turned, so did she.
Harrison's voice continued, confident and reassuring in her ear as she sped along. “Now, the King is headed for the entrance to the interstate...”
There was a delivery truck, the back door open and keys still in the ignition – it was easy to move it to block King's intended escape route. There was a hint of smug satisfaction as she purred: “What entrance?”
His chuckle was husky in her ear, sending a thrill down her spine and causing her breathing to hitch. “That's my girl.”
They all ignored Cisco's grumbling about flirting and not defiling his suit, Harrison's eyes on the monitor, tracking as the criminals were being herded by Carrie into an intersection.
“Check...” he drawled.
In a crackle of gold, Carrie swooped in around the three thieves, snatching the keys from the ignitions of the three motorcycles right as several squad cares pulled up. “Got the keys!”
“...mate,” he chuckled.
They turned as Carrie returned to the Cortex, pulling her cowl back – Cisco was bouncing out of his chair and the pair high-fived one another. Giddy with excitement, Carrie did a little spin before plopping down into Harrison's lap.
His lips quirked up in a smile as she grinned at him, her blue eyes sparkling and cheeks tinged pink. “Efficiently done, Carrie.”
“Couldn't have done it without you,” she replied, her hands lifting to frame his face as she leaned in and kissed him, drawing a contented sound from his throat as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Not in my suit!” Cisco complained loudly, only to yelp as Caitlin popped him on the shoulder.
Carrie lifted her head, resting her forehead on Harrison's shoulder with a laugh.
The engineer rubbed his shoulder with a huff before perking up as an idea came to him. “We need a picture.”
Harrison lifted a hand with a 'what?' expression in the direction Cisco bounded off in. He looked over to Carrie and she arched her brows at him and shrugged.
Turning on his lap, she called over to the engineer as he went through his coat pocket. “Pretty sure rule number one of having a secret identity is not taking pictures of yourself in your super suit without a mask on.”
He was unlocking his phone to access the camera app as he approached them. “Oh, come on, please! This is just for us. This is to document all this.”
“Who knows? Maybe people in the future will want to know how all this happened,” Harrison agreed with a reluctant shrug.
Seeing he had consented, Carrie rose from his lap, looking at the trio. “All right, well, if you want the future to have the whole story, then we all need to be in it. We should probably also do a nice, more professional one, with everyone else too. I can bring my camera and tripod from work and develop the pictures myself here in one of the labs...” Warming up to the idea of documenting everything she added: “Maybe we should do some random candids too, you know of us working and being around the lab!”
“Candids? You'd have let me put on some makeup. In fact, I need to put some on now!” Caitlin said in a sudden panic.
Abruptly self-conscious, Carrie nodded in agreement while running her fingers through her hair. “Makeup and a comb. Stupid cowl-hair. I should cut it shorter...”
“The future does not care about your makeup.” Cisco retorted in the direction of the two suddenly preening women. “Or your cowl-hair.”
“Well we do and if you want this picture, you'll just have to deal with it!” Carrie retorted as she tried to get the short bob to look artfully teased instead of a cowl-head mess. “What if they think we're slobs or something?!”
“They won't,” Harrison reassured her as she unzipped her suit jacket enough to reach into the hidden inside pocket for her tinted lip balm.
“Your hair's going to be messy again with you zooming around,” Cisco pointed out as she applied the lip balm.
“Keep it up and I'll strip you for the picture so you're in your boxers,” she huffed back at him as she replaced the lip balm and zipped the jacket back up. She held out a hand and he passed her the phone. “Okay, everyone stand around Harrison...”
After everyone straightened their hair and clothes, she went around the computer console and lifted the phone. “Okay, everyone ready?” At the chorus of agreement, she grinned. “Good. Now big smiles.” the countdown started: “Three...two...one.”
She pressed the button on the touch screen and slipped into speed-time, zipping over to stand behind Harrison, her hands resting on his shoulder and she leaned forward as the phone's flash went up. Confident the picture took, she raced back over to catch the phone. “Ha!”
Caitlin looked at Carrie, her head tilting in curiosity. “Does that count as a selfie?”
“Absolutely!” she replied, passing Cisco his phone.
“Sick!” Cisco chuckled as he checked the picture while walking away with Caitlin. “It came out good.”
“Thanks again for talking me through things out there,” Carrie said as she moved to Harrison's side. “I was getting frustrated.”
“My pleasure,” he chucked as she returned to her place on his lap; his arms encircled her waist possessively. “You know I can't just leave you all...frustrated.”
Laughing at the innuendo, she leaned in, kissing him, her gloved fingers lacing into his hair. After they parted for air, she snuggled into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. His fingers gently stroked down her back.
“You did great out there,” he said softly and grinned faintly. “I have to say it was a bit of a rush feeling like a--”
“A hero?” she interjected with a smile, shifting slightly to press a kiss to his jaw.
“Yeah.”
“You're pretty good at it,” she told him. “I can't really do this without you.”
His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb beneath her chin and he leaned in, kissing her deeply. A soft sound escaped her as she shifted on his lap, her hands gripping his hair.
As his hand was sliding down from her cheek to reach for the zipper though---
“Stop defiling my suit!” Cisco howled from the next room. “We can see you, you know! And don't think I won't spray the whole place down with Holy Water, I know a priest!”
Harrison's head dropped down to her shoulder as he muttered. “I guess we should consider this practice for the future when we have kids?”
She laughed in a mixture of amusement and embarrassment into the crook of his neck.