Chapter Text
Two Weeks to Launch
Cisco Ramon had started coming to Jitter's coffee shop regularly when he found out that the cafe had extended evening hours past 9pm. It was less hectic after nine with less than ten patrons all working quietly at their tables and booths. There was only one barista and he was alternating between cleaning and refilling coffee.
He had finished his Americano and subsequently switched to decaf coffee to take his nerves down a notch. Or five notches. He was incredibly stressed about the looming deadline hanging over his head.
Cisco sighed and stepped outside. It was three weeks till the launch of the Particle Accelerator at STAR. labs. At this point he was just running different equations to confirm that the launch was completely safe and no combination of variables could influence the success of launch. Unfortunately, that set of variable was unlimited and therefore completely engulfing his life. He was dreading the work he would be doing on environmental factors influencing the launch. Yay, weather.
He had been working on the same complicated equation for the past hour and a half. Something involving the force and inertia of torrential weather storm hitting a building at different angles and its reaction of bouncing off the building. It was simple physics for him, but there was a lot to calculate when including so many different types of storms. Plus, his work was being checked by none other than stupid-Hartley Rathaway, which added to his nerves.
When he returned to his mess of papers that were covering his laptop he noticed a cronut on a plate and a handwritten note ‘there was one left over, hope it helps : )’. Cisco looked around and noticed the barista who was fiddling with the espresso machine. He smiled softly then unfortunately went back to work.
Nine Days to Launch
He stumbled into Jitters' at a quarter past nine. He was exhausted. He still hadn't solved his set of equations but he was pretty sure that Hartley had. It was beyond frustrating the cockiness of that man. He just wanted to prove to Dr. Wells and to himself that he was a capable engineer who deserved to be at STAR Labs. He was worth it and solving these equations would prove it.
There was no line this late at night and Cisco opened his mouth to order when a tall barista behind the counter greeted him cheerfully.
"Good evening! Your Americano is almost ready and I have a fresh pot of decaf roasting as we speak!"
Cisco blinked. Was this man a mind reader? "How do you know that?"
The other man laughed softly, "You’re one of my regulars. You come in every night around 9:15 and order the same two things. You sit at the same table by the window and stay until I close. You’re Decaf/Americano guy."
And Cisco instantly flushed. How had he never noticed the taller man who knew him as a regular? He had never spent too much time noticing the man behind the counter. Who now on inspection was good looking. Very good looking. He was tall and had really broad shoulders, his skin was pale with a few moles speckled on his neck that were uncovered by his apron. He had a bright smile and dimples. He was mentally kicking himself in the face for not recognizing the beautiful barista behind the counter.
"And you don't recognize me..." The other man trailed off disappointed.
Cisco bit his lip and thought of a creative way to get out of the situation. But nothing came to mind.
"I'm Barry." the man said softly and rang up Cisco's order. Barry had stopped smiling and in that moment Cisco knew that he would do whatever was possible to keep a smile on the taller beautiful man's face.
"I'm Cisco." He said and dropped a five dollar tip the in the jar. And on queue Barry lit up and smiled at him. Cisco felt warm, being in the direction of a smile that bright was like starring at the sun.
Seven Days until Launch
The next time Cisco saw Barry was two days later at 9:15pm sharp. He felt almost obligated to continue being Barry’s regular customer. It was kind of silly that he wanted to impress Barry but at the same receiving Barry’s approval was an internal need of Cisco’s. He always wanted people to like him and be the funny guy. And that’s why Hartley bugged him so much. He instantly hated Cisco without even giving him a chance to dazzle.
He walked to the counter and instantly Barry smiled to greet him
“Hey Barry,” Cisco started really enunciating Barry’s name to prove that he remembered the tall barista now.
“Hey Cisco! The usual?” He said grinning and pushing at the touch screen between them. Cisco nodded and took a breath. This was going to the moment where he showed his sweet flirting moves.
“Yeah!” He shouted and winced. Okay bad first move, but there is room for improvement. “I mean no, I want to try something new. Uh-what do you recommend?”
Barry stopped and looked at him, “My favorite drink we make is this orange mocha. It’s not too sweet and I make a little orange design from the foam on top. “
“I’ll take two.”
Barry looked at him, head slightly to the side. “Why two?”
“One for me and one so you can join me during your break.” And whoop, there it is. Cisco smiled and fortunately Barry smiled back at him.
“Absolutely! I’d like that. I can actually take 15 right now if that’s okay?”
Within 10 minutes of Barry’s break, Cisco found out that Barry was a senior in college, studying both Physics and Chemistry. Which made Cisco's heart swell. He always had a thing for smart beautiful men. Barry had an internship at the Central City Police Department and would be applying to become a Forensic Assistant in three months. Barry Allen lived with his adopted father while his sort of sister was living in a dorm at Central City College where he attended too but was two years ahead of her despite being the same age. He learned that Barry preferred espresso over coffee and always brought home leftovers to his adopted Dad because he worked too hard and forgot to eat.
“So what do you do? Something important right? That’s why you’re always here working.”
“I’m actually an engineer at STAR Labs.”
“Shut up.”
Cisco smiled, “No way, I really am. I’m working on the Particle Accelerator.”
Barry’s jaw couldn’t get any lower from shock.
“Get out of town.”
“I’m serious!
And Barry didn’t stop smiling at him until his fifteen minutes were over.
Six Days until Launch
When he arrived at Jitters, his mind was rushing with the big news Ronnie had dropped him at work an hour ago. They were running tests deep in the core of the Particle Accelerator when Ronnie grabbed a box from his coat pocket and opened the velvet container to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.
“Ronnie, things are just moving so fast.”
He snapped the box shut and gave Cisco a look of mild amusement and annoyance.
“Cisco, I think I’m going to propose to Caitlin tonight. After everyone’s left. I have these candles and I have a reveal prepared. Do you think she will say yes? Is the ring too big? Is it too small?” Ronnie was rambling and Cisco’s brain was slowly catching up.
“Dude! You’re gonna propose to Caitlin??” He finally responded with excitement. He had grabbed Ronnie’s arms and was jumping.
“Oh my god, she is going to love it. She loves you so much!”
Ronnie smiled and they eventually went back to their work. Both of them more focused on the proposal than the core.
“Can I be the best man?” Cisco had brought up mostly joking but when Ronnie confirmed he was even more excited. He could already imagine all of shenanigans at the bachelor party. The speeches he would prepare to embarrass his favorite couple. And Barry as his plus one at the wedding. And that was probably a big step. But hey if Caitlin and Ronnie could find love maybe Cisco could too.
The café was quiet as usual, soft music playing from what might be Barry’s phone playlist. He was starting to remember recurring songs. Speaking of Barry, he was at the counter looking intensely at a large textbook and several papers scattered between the register and the espresso machine.
“Hey Barry...” Cisco said softly leaning on the balls of his feet.
Barry’s head snapped up, clearly breaking from an all too familiar work trance.
“Hey Cisco, sorry about the mess. I have midterms in a few weeks for my Physics of the Body class. It’s going to kick my butt if I don’t finish this study guide and figure out how to find the variants in these equations.”
Cisco wasn’t a specialist of Bio-physics but he had a pretty good grasp of what Barry could be working on. He saw his chance and he swooped in.
“You know… If you needed some help, I am just going to be sitting over there…” He stopped momentarily to read Barry’s face. “All night,” and he wiggled his eyebrows. “Available for questions.”
“But you’re busy.” Barry introjected.
“I always have time for my favorite barista.”
And Barry smiled and poured him his drinks trying not blush.
Five Days until Launch
The next day Cisco felt a little silly coming into Jitters. How was he supposed to act after sitting next to Barry last night helping him his homework? He could have sworn that Barry had been sitting closer than he needed to and had reached over him to solve equations a lot. It had been really nice but he had forgotten to grab Barry’s number, again. He literally was the dumbest man in Central City. He walked up to Barry who was talking with a beautiful woman in a tight gray dress. In the back of his mind he vaguely remembered seeing her in an apron during the day. And he realized she must be Iris West. Barry’s sort-of sister.
“It’s fine. Don’t even worry.” He overheard Barry saying to her.
“I just think you should be really clear. Think about how long it took to go on a first date with Becky Cooper?”
“Iris!” Barry snapped and Cisco noted how the tips of his ear flushed when he was embarrassed.
She laughed and that’s when they noticed Cisco standing a few steps behind them, awkwardly.
Barry flushed even further red and Cisco smiled at him.
“Hey Barry.”
Before Barry had the chance to greet him, Iris turned a full 180 and gave him a full look up and down. And suddenly he felt as red as Barry. He wasn’t dressed up to impress. He was just wearing blue jeans and a tee-shirt. His normal clothes. But he felt plain and underserving of Iris’ approval. Which in his mind correlated to how much Barry would potentially like him.
“You must be Cisco. Nice to meet you, I’m Iris. Barry’s sister.” She said extending her hand and he shook it trying to shake her hand with confidence and purpose.
“Barry has told me all about you.”
What had Barry told her? Did he talk about his job at STAR labs or his coffee addiction? He mentally berated himself for not being cooler with Barry. But then his worries faded away because Barry spoke up.
“Cisco this is Iris, but she was leaving. I have your drinks ready, over here. “He said moving his head in the direction of the pickup counter. Iris smirked and grabbed a koozie for her drink and did in fact leave after telling Barry something in what could only be defined as weird brother-sister code. Whatever they said, she smiled and he blushed.
“Sorry about that… Iris comes on really strong.”
“No worries! But unfortunately I can’t stay tonight. I’ll need my drinks to go. Duty calls. “
Barry smiled, “Engineering duties?”
Cisco struck a quick superhero-esque pose causing Barry to snort and then flush in embarrassment. Which warmed Cisco’s heart. Maybe he wasn’t the biggest nerd. They talked briefly about the launch before Cisco ducked out wishing that he had more time to spend with the beautiful barista. And shit! He still hadn’t got his number.
Four Days until Launch
“Hey, Barry, I wanted to give you my number in case you needed more homework help. “ He suggested, proud of his control of tone and not sounding like he had practiced the line on repeat on the way over from work.
“Yeah! I would love that, I’ve been giving you my number for the past week but I haven’t got a text. I was starting to think you didn’t want to talk..:” The taller man replied nonchalantly as he erased a large piece of writing on his page under assignment 2a.
In shock, Cisco almost fell out of his chair next to Barry.
“When?”
And Barry looked up lifting the pencil to drum softly on his lips. Which Cisco noted were very pink. He would give anything to reach over and kiss them. But he refrained.
“I’ve been writing my number on all of the to-go cups you get.”
Disbelief. Frustration. Depression. Sadness. Cisco was an idiot. But he didn’t feel as dumb when Barry reached over him and programmed his digits into his phone. Slightly staying in his space after he gave the phone back.
Three Days until Launch
It was late, only three days before the launch of the Particle Accelerator when Cisco got a wild idea. He could invite Barry Allen as his plus one to the reception. Not only would Barry be great company but would look amazing next to him. He could imagined Barry in a suit jacket and blue jeans. Or maybe Barry would wear a complete suit. Either way he was giddy with the idea of Barry Allen in STAR labs. Barry Allen meeting his boss, Barry meeting Caitlin and Ronnie. His heart was beating faster at just the idea.
Barry took his 15 minute break and sat next to him at one of the high tables. They were sitting close and Barry was sipping his drink. He was wearing a long gray sweater with a blue button up underneath. He looked subtly gorgeous.
“So… Are you gonna watch the launch?” Cisco started, deciding which route to go to ask Barry on a date. It was dangerous territory from inviting a friend and inviting a friend.
“Yes, actually Iris and I were going to go the debut of the Particle Accelerator at STAR Labs. We got some General Assembly tickets.” Barry answered smiling.
“Well I was wondering if you wanted a better view? “ He stopped and Barry cocked his head slightly sideways. Okay, so this route to asking Barry out was too subtle.
“Like you know, with me. At the launch party?” He continued smiling big. And then suddenly Barry was wrapping arms around him with a smile as large as his. It was a short hug but it was nice and Cisco could feel the heat from Barry’s arm on his.
“Really? I would love that!”
He stopped and decided that this was the do-or-die moment. This was the moment he was going to tell Barry Allen that he wanted to go on a date with him.
“Because I would really like you to be there with me.” Cisco paused. “You know with me...” He annunciated each syllable while staring at Barry pointedly.
And Barry didn’t even take a beat to catch a breath. He was shocked when Barry had gently pressed his lips onto his own. It was less than a second but he instantly flushed and wanted to kiss Barry again.
“Yes! Absolutely! Oh my god. Really??? Thank you!!”
Cisco smiled and Barry didn’t stop rambling.
“What do I wear to the launch of the biggest event in modern science?”
“Anything really.”
“And ohmygod Harrison Wells is going to be there. I’ve read his autobiography three times.”
Cisco just gazed as Barry ranted about the importance of the event and how he hadn’t stopped touching his arm since the initial hug and the buzz of contact from their chaste kiss. It felt hot on his arm and was causing him to smile funny. He felt so lucky.
Day of Launch
Cisco was about to call Barry from his apartment. He was going to swing by Jitters’ to pick up Barry so they could walk over to STAR Labs. But it had started to rain like crazy for the past hour. Maybe they should get a cab considering... His entire apartment building felt heavy because of the rain. And his hair felt heavy and was starting to curl from humidity. His least favorite thing. Maybe it hindsight it was sign.
The entire city seemed to be in suspense for the event. Several roads were closed and the roads were starting to be engulfed in rain. And on each block there were protestors and counter-protests, causing traffic to be delayed even further.
Despite the weather and his bad hair day, Cisco was excited. Nervous and jumpy and he had combed his hair down for the tenth time to try to calm his nerves. Cisco was wearing a suit jacket over his favorite blue tee-shirt and jeans. Caitlin had recommended the suit jacket as an extra precaution to woo Barry. He felt like he looked good overall.
He looked at his phone and there was a text from Barry.
Call me when you can.
“Hey Barry, I’m about to head over, shouldn’t take me longer than 10 minutes.”
“Cisco… Jan couldn’t make it in. Her train was delayed from all of the traffic and the rain. I can’t leave until she gets here.”
“Barry…”
“You should go ahead of me and I’ll meet up with you at the after party…”
Cisco paused. He really wanted Barry by his side during the speeches, but he also couldn’t tell him to ditch his job. That wasn’t cool.
“Yeah. I’ll put your name on the list.” He signed woefully.
“I’ll be watching you, uh it on the TV until the minute Jan gets here. Then I’ll literally speed over there. As fast as I can.”
Cisco laughed slightly in the phone. He briefly remembered Barry telling him about his lack of athletic ability and the image of tall, lengthy Barry running was really funny. “I know. And I can’t wait, see you then. “
“Right. Well good luck.”
Cisco hung up and looked in the mirror in his apartment foyer. He wasn’t mad or anything. These things happened, even on the most important days. Just it was the most important day of his life. And it sucked. It was superficial, but having a plus one to the launch would really boost his confidence and show up Hartley. And also he wanted Caitlin and Ronnie to meet Barry. Having all of his favorite people in one place would be really nice. Also he really wanted to kiss Barry again and a fancy dinner party would be an awesome excuse.
And for a second he thought of missing the launch to spend it with his favorite barista at Jitters Café. He could imagine the rush on running into Jitters and surprising Barry as they watched the news reporter announce the success of Accelerator. He pictured Barry kissing his cheek as they toasted the evening. But then he received a text from his phone.
Cisco. We need you. Something is...off.
The Launch
Barry was grumpily standing behind a counter of a deserted Jitters. Most everyone had gone home except for the occasional straggler. The rain was hitting the glass walls and hitting the building loudly. It would be a great studying environment if he hadn’t been so stressed out about Jan’s tardiness that he couldn’t even sit without having to move again.
It sucked that he was missing the launch. In the past week he had started to really develop a crush on the STAR labs scientist. He was silly and confident in a way he personally couldn’t pull off. Plus his conditioner game was on point. He really wanted to run his fingers through his hair next time they kissed.
On top of Cisco being an amazing guy he did want to support him on his work on the Accelerator. Blasting the atom in half would create endless possibilities for the advancement of science. Kind of like Cisco’s and Barry’s possible future. So far it was small, but each time they interacted it got bigger and bigger. And frankly Barry was starting to feel a little smitten. But then poor Jan and her terrible commuting and the awful weather ruined his first date.
Barry sighed and glanced up at Channel 8 where the new headline read that STAR Labs was being evacuated due to weather. His eyes widened and he turned the volume up on the screen that was hanging on the wall. The two patrons would just have to deal with the noise.
“STAR labs has asked everyone to evacuate the building because engineers can’t regain control of the Accelerator.”
Barry’s stomach dropped. Cisco was one of those engineers. In fact, Cisco was the engineer in control of the accelerator. He started dialing for Cisco when the rain knocked out the lights. The TV went out and the two customers groaned. Clearly disappointed. The phone was ringing but Cisco wasn’t picking up.
“Come on… Come on…”
Then it connected.
“Barry!” It was rushed and Cisco sounded miles away. Like the phone was being held in a tunnel.
“Cisco!” He replied back instantly.
“Barry? I can’t hear you?”
Barry grumbled and hopped the counter to run outside. The door was heavy against the wind and the rain was pelting down on him. But the connection sounded slightly clearer.
“Are you okay?”
Then there was a loud boom. Barry looked up but couldn’t see anything past the skyscrapers surrounding the skyline. Then he saw a wave, a wave of light. And that didn’t look good. His phone was completely silent and the entire city block was dark. The lightening from the storm creating flashes of light every few seconds. There was another loud crash of thunder from a strike of lightening hitting the top of a building a block down. His eyes danced wildly between his phone and the sky. Then for a second he could swear a giant flash of light was coming for him.
And then it all went dark.