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The first time Cisco had a vibe about him and Barry, he didn’t think twice about it. The clothes were really old, sure, and they were very obviously married, but there was always a possibility that they were together on another earth.
The second time Cisco had a vibe about him and Barry, he started to get suspicious. The blue tinge that usually accompanied his vibes like an Instagram filter wasn’t there. The only reason he noticed its absence this time was because he wasn’t just watching the memory play out. He was participating. The glowing hazel-green of Barry’s eyes in the yellow candlelight warmed Cisco to the core. He heard himself say something and Barry laughed. Full out, without-a-care laughter that brought the wrinkles to the corners of his eyes. And that was it. The memory stopped there.
The third time Cisco had a memory flash about him and Barry was when he finally figured out that these were memories. So he called Kendra. The only other person in the world that had gone through anything remotely similar to what he was going through now. So they had dinner; takeout from the chinese place down the block from Cisco’s apartment. They finally watched The Princess Bride and caught up on each other’s lives. It was almost midnight when Cisco finally mentioned his memory flashes. Kendra almost choked on her ice-cream.
“Hey! This is not funny!” Cisco protested, nudging her leg with his foot.
“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” she said, putting her empty bowl on the coffee table. “But you have to admit it is a little ironic that you’re coming to me about this.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he sighed, “I don’t know what to do.”
“I think you need to tell him.”
“I think you’re crazy.”
“You’re talking to an reincarnating hawk-goddess.”
“Yeah...I should tell him.”
The fourth time Cisco had a memory flash about him and Barry, Barry was there with him. They had reached that scene in their Wrath of Khan Movie Night™ and Cisco had turned to deliver The Line when it happened. They were still sitting on his couch and they were still watching Wrath of Khan , but Barry wasn’t curled up on the other end of the couch anymore. Memory Barry was laying down with his head in Cisco’s lap, looking completely content in one of Cisco’s t-shirts and a pair of Star Labs sweatpants. Cisco was running his fingers through Barry’s hair and Barry was smiling up at him like he had hung the sun and stars. Then he was back, and Real-Time Barry was staring at him in confusion.
“Cisco? Cisco, was that a vibe? Is everything ok?” Barry said in a rush, reaching towards Cisco.
“Yeah, uh, that wasn’t a-” Cisco started, his gaze falling to Barry’s hand on his knee. Barry followed his gaze and pulled his hand back slowly, letting it hover between them for a moment before letting it fall to the couch cushion. Cisco leaned forward and rubbed his palms against his eyes. “Barry, you remember Kendra and Carter, right?”
“Yeah, the reincarnating Egyptian hawk-people.”
“You remember how Kendra kept having flashes of her other lives with Carter?”
“Like your vibes, but with memories,” Barry said nodding. He paused for a moment and tilted his head. “Is that what that was? A memory flashback?”
“Yeah,” Cisco laughed. He looked over at Barry. “They’re about us.” Barry’s jaw dropped.
“Really?” he asked softly. He looked over at their empty glasses and bowls littering the table and Cisco could see the gears turning in his head. “What were they?” Barry asked. He looked back at Cisco expectantly.
“Well, uh,” Cisco started. He dropped Barry’s gaze and instead stared down at his hands. He sighed again, feeling Barry’s gaze still on him. “They’re of us,” he repeated, “Together.” He paused. “Romantically.”
He was expecting some big reaction from Barry. He wanted Barry to do something drastic to validate how outrageously nervous he was to tell him. But Barry just sat there staring at him with a confused look on his face. “Ok, you’re killin’ me here,” Cisco laughed in an attempt to the break the silence he had categorized as awful. “Please say something.”
“Are we soulmates?” Cisco turned in surprise. Barry was looking at him with something between hope and confusion on his face. “I mean, we don’t know if the memories you’re seeing are from our past lives or if they’re the memories of us on different earths.” Barry paused. “Do you remember when I told you I thought the universe wants us to be bros?” Cisco nodded. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wants us to be something more.” It took Cisco a second to realize exactly what Barry was saying. When his brain finally caught up and he realized the look on Barry’s face said that he was waiting for Cisco to make a move, Cisco slumped over into Barry, pressing his face into the side of Barry’s neck and wrapping an arm around Barry’s waist.
“I can’t believe you’re ok with this,” Cisco laughed. He felt Barry wrap his arms around him. One hand slid into Cisco’s hair and the other gripped his far shoulder and Barry leaned back into the couch cushions, pulling them into a comfortable position.
“It feels...right.” Barry curled his legs over Cisco’s lap and Cisco’s hand found its place on Barry’s thigh.
“Yeah,” Cisco sighed contentedly. He closed his eyes to the end credits of the movie and relaxed into Barry’s embrace.