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“He still out?” Joe questioned as Caitlin walked back into the cortex. She nodded with a frown; It had been twelve hours since Barry had been knocked out fighting the latest meta. Joe ran a hand over his face. “It’s not another coma is it?”
“I don’t think so,” Caitlin replied. “It’s related to her for sure, but I haven’t been able to isolate what happened from the suit data.”
“Could we just ask her?” Iris asked.
“So, you call yourself Jinx right?” Cisco asked. She sighed and didn’t answer. Cisco glanced at her lawyer. “Please let miss Jinx know that the more she helps, the less likely her punishment will be super harsh.” The lawyer opened her mouth to pass that on, but Jinx sighed, standing up on the other side of the de-powering glass.
“Yeah. I’m Jinx,” she said. “You caught me robbing a department store, big whoop. What do you want?”
“The police have some questions about what allegedly transpired between you and The Flash,” the lawyer told her.
“He won’t wake up,” Cisco clarified. Jinx scoffed.
“Of course he won’t, yet. It’s a jinx - you gotta play along.”
“Take it off!” Cisco exclaimed. The lawyer glared at him but Jinx seemed unmoved.
“He was pissing me off, talking about powers being gifts and using them for good and all that,” she said with a shrug. “He doesn’t know me.”
She was young - probably not even 20. She was young, alone, scared, and had really intense powers she was still getting used too. Barry probably knew her a bit better than she thought.
“So,” she continued. “If he thinks life is a freaking Disney movie, I put a Disney princess curse on him.”
“Can you break it?” Cisco asked.
“Can you get me out of here?” Jinx returned.
“They’re prepared to offer a reduced sentence with mandatory training,” he lawyer said. “You could be looking at less than 6 months.” Jinx was quiet, considering this for a few seconds.
“I can’t break it,” she admitted after a pause. “But I can tell you how to.”
20 minutes and several hushed conversations later, and the lawyer exited the room.
“She accepts,” she said. “She says to break the curse The Flash needs ‘true love’s kiss’.”
“What?” Joe said.
“It’s what she said,” the lawyer replied with a shrug. “She said - and I quote ‘like in old Disney movies, whoever the Flash’s stupid little heart desires most of all can break the jinx with a kiss.’”
“Hm,” Joe said. “We can work with that. We’ll call you with an update.” He nodded at Cisco and the two made their way to the car.
“Hah! Well this will be easy,” Cisco said from the passenger seat. He pulled out his phone. “I’ll text Iris.”
Iris met them at the door to STAR Labs.
“She told you how to wake him up?” She clarified as Cisco badged them in.
“Yep!” Cisco said with a grin.
“I thought you told her,” Joe said, frowning.
“Hey! In my defense, that’s a weird thing to text.” Cisco pointed out.
“What?” Iris said.
“We need you to kiss him,” Cisco told her.
“What?”
“Well, it turns out our little pink-haired spell caster is fond of the classics; so… true love’s kiss. And since Barry’s adored you with his entire nerdy little heart forever…” Cisco trailed off.
“I don’t want to kiss Barry - especially not when he’s passed out!” Iris said.
“Well that was kind of harsh,” Cisco said, eyebrows raised. They’d made it to the cortex and Cisco pressed the button to open the door to Barry’s current room. “We can get him some breath spray.”
“You know what I mean, Cisco,” Iris said with a sigh.
“Well we’re not going to ask you to do anything you’re not cool with,” Cisco said. Iris frowned at Barry, still sleeping soundly to the steady beat of monitors.
“But if I don’t, he’s going to stay like that.” She finished.
“Not forever!” Cisco insisted. “We’re scientists, I’m sure we can find a way around it.”
They watched the speedster for another beat.
“Fine,” Iris said. “I’ll do it, of course I’ll do it; but if this shows up in your blog, you’re toast,” she added.
“What boo—“ Cisco started. “Right, no specifics, got it.”
“So just a kiss?” Iris clarified, walking over to Barry’s side.
“Yes,” Caitlin said. “One kiss on the lips, according to Jinx just a peck will do it.”
“Right,” Iris said. She let out a short breath and leaned down, putting her lips to Barry’s.
It was very poetic, Cisco could practically see Iris in shining armor. Cisco watched Barry closer for any reaction, fighting the urge to look away for privacy.
Nothing happened.
“Cisco?” Joe asked. Cisco shrugged, looking at Caitlin.
“Anything?”
“No change,” Caitlin said with a frown, inspecting the monitors. “Are we sure we can trust this Jinx girl?”
“Well, she is technically a super criminal,” Cisco acknowledged. “But she seemed pretty eager to take the deal.”
“I’ll give the precinct a call, see if I can get another meeting,” Joe said, pulling out his phone and walking to the hallway.
“Well what if I’m not his one true love?” Iris asked. “Maybe someone else needs to kiss him.”
They pondered this for a beat.
“Caitlin,” Cisco said. Caitlin looked up from the monitors and frowned at their expressions.
“What? He’s my patient!” She protested. Why people were so against kissing Barry Cisco had no idea. If he could hear any of this, his boy was going to need some serious ice cream and alcohol.
“Yeah, and maybe our boy has a little Florence Nightingale going on and there’s a little crush,” Cisco said.
“I did it,” Iris pointed out. Caitlin sighed, but stood and walked over.
“Fine,” she said. She looked back at them. “This is awkward enough without you two watching,” she said, arching an eyebrow. Cisco glanced away and saw Iris do the same.
(though Iris’ gaze did seem to be on one of the reflective panels lining the ceiling)
“… well?” Cisco asked after a few seconds.
“Nope,” Caitlin said. “looks like I’m not his prince charming.”
“Talked to the meta herself, says she wasn’t lying. Whoever Barry’s into should be able to wake him up,” Joe said, walking back in. Cisco groaned.
“And it’s not Iris. Do we have any ideas?” he asked, turning to her. Iris shook her head.
“No, he hasn’t mentioned anyone,” she said with a frown. “I guess… I’ll call Linda?” she suggested with a shrug.
“I’ll see if Patty can get out here,” Joe said, pulling his phone back out.
“I’ve got Felicity then,” Caitlin said.
“I’m going to try to communicate through a breach to call the most adorable alien ever,” Cisco said with a sigh.
“So what are we here for exactly?” Oliver asked, crossing his arms.
“Why couldn’t it have been Kara,” Cisco whispered sadly to Iris. She patted him on the shoulder.
“Well… Arrow,” Caitlin said. “We need Felicity to kiss Barry.”
Oliver’s eyes narrowed, though he really looked more confused than angry.
“It’s actually a really funny story!” Cisco offered. “And we’ll totally tell it… later.”
“Does this have to do with why he’s passed out?” Felicity clarified.
“Yeah,” Iris said.
“Will it help him wake up?” she asked.
“… possibly?” Caitlin offered.
“Well it’s hardly the strangest thing I’ve done since running around with people in tights,” Felicity said with a shrug. She walked over to Barry’s side. “What do you need?”
“Just a quick kiss on the lips,” Cisco said, edging a bit further back from Oliver. Felicity leaned down and kissed Barry.
Nothing happened.
“Any chance he’s faking sleep to avoid Arrow’s wrath?” Cisco asked. Caitlin checked the readouts and shook her head.
“Nope. No changes,” she said.
“What the hell Barry,” Cisco said to the conked out super hero. Barry didn’t respond. Cisco looked back to Caitlin. “Now what?”
“Ol - Arrow, you try,” Felicity suggested, waving him close.
“What?” Cisco said, even as Oliver loyally padded over. Iris frowned.
“She’s right, it’s been so long since he’s talked about a guy we just completely ignored the fact that he’s bi. We suck,” she said.
“Well he’s only dated girls in the past like two years,” Felicity assured her.
Oliver leaned down to kiss Barry and Cisco decide to watch his feet instead.
“Who else could it be?” Caitlin asked after a few seconds.
“If we have to call Snart, Barry is never leaving the house again,” Joe said firmly.
“Hey Harry!” Cisco called. Harry tuned his chair to face them.
“Allen’s young enough to be my son. If it does work, he won’t want to wake up.” he said drily.
He had a point.
“Well we can’t just cruise around asking the hot Jitters baristas to come give the Flash a kiss!” Cisco pointed out.
“Who all have you tried so far?” Harry asked. He’d had the misfortunes of returning on day two when Patty had visited. On the plus side, she hadn’t shot him again.
“Well, Iris of course,” Cisco started. “Caitlin, Linda, Patty,”
“Kara, Felicity, and Oliver.” Caitlin finished. She frowned. “Should we call Hartley?”
“Wait - Cisco,” Iris said suddenly.
“What?” Cisco asked.
“No - you.” Iris said. “You haven’t tried to wake him up yet! I just assumed you’d had, but…”
“Hold on,” Harry said, standing. “Are you telling me it’s taken three days for you people to realize that all three people he sees most of all should try?”
“Me?” Cisco clarified. “Barry’s… Barry’s not into me.”
“I tried?” Caitlin offered after a few seconds as Cisco fought off his internal panic.
“Right,” he said. “Yeah. I just… forgot.” Totally not on purpose. Totally not because he didn’t want confirmation of what he already knew. He walked over and shook out his shoulders before leaning down and pressing his lips to Barry’s in a gentle kiss. Then he straightened up and took a step back.
“Well, back to the drawing boa— oh my god!” He squeaked out as Barry suddenly jolted up with a gasp behind him.
“Where am I? What Happened? Why… is everyone.. here?” Barry asked, voice quieting as he glanced around.
“You’re awake!” Joe exclaimed, rushing over to give him a hug.
“How long was I out?” Barry asked.
“Three days,” Iris told him, walking over and squeezing his shoulder.
“Three days?” Barry clarified.
“Jinx cast a - believe it or not - jinx on you,” Cisco told him.
“Your vitals are fine though,” Caitlin said with a smile from the monitors.
“What was the jinx?” Barry asked, turning to Cisco. “Did we get her?”
“Yeah we got her,” Cisco assured him. “The two of you managed to knock each other out at the same time.
“Oh great,” Barry grumbled. “I bet that’s on Youtube already.”
(it was.)
“All that matters is that you’re okay,” Joe told him.
“Why are Felicity and... The Arrow here?” Barry asked, giving them a confused wave.
“That’s a fun story!” Felicity said brightly. She turned to look at Cisco, who widened his eyes and silently begged her not to say anything. She turned back to Barry. “We took the train!”
“What?” Barry asked, eyebrows furrowing.
“We thought we might need their help waking you up,” Caitlin offered.
“Do you remember anything?” Iris asked. Barry winced, rubbing at his hairline.
“I was going to hit her with that stun dart Caitlin gave me and she was yelling something about like… Snow White maybe?” he frowned. “Then I woke up here.”
“You didn’t miss much,” Joe assured him. “She passed out when you did and we took her in.”
“So what was the jinx?” Barry asked.
“Just your standard Sleeping Beauty Snow White type of thing,” Felicity said with a casual arm wave. “No big.”
“Wait,” Barry said, face coloring. “Who kissed me?”
“Actually Barr, they all did,” Joe told him. Barry buried his face in his hands.
“Hey, don’t be embarrassed!” Iris said. “We were helping.”
“Oh god,” Barry muttered.
“Yeah,” Felicity said. “And we weren’t expecting anything on your end. I mean, you were passed out; totally not indicative of how good or bad of a kisser you may be. Actually —“ Oliver nudged her lightly and shook his head with a slight wince. Felicity bit her lip.
“It was a specific spell though,” Caitlin pointed out. Cisco whirled around to will her to stop but she just raised her eyebrows at him and looked back at Barry. “It didn’t actually work until you were kissed by the person you wanted to kiss most.”
Barry looked confused, then horrified, then he turned bright red, glanced at Cisco, and darted from the room.
“I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever seen him go,” Oliver commented. Felicity swatted his arm.
“I guess… I’ll go talk to him,” Cisco said.
“He’s probably — “ Joe stared.
“At his lab, yeah,” Cisco finished. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Caitlin, I feel like a drink - how about you?” Iris said as Cisco walked off.
“Drinks sound nice,” Caitlin said. Cisco sighed, drinks did sound nice.
“How did you know I was here?” Barry asked as Cisco walked into his lab a good 20 minutes later.
“I didn’t,” Cisco replied. “I just assumed. My workshop is my go-to place when I’m avoiding people, so…”
“Sorry,” Barry muttered. “I just sort of panicked.”
“Yeah I gathered that,” Cisco said with a laugh. “I’m sorry,” he added.
“For what?” Barry asked.
“Well. Having your secrets told in front of like most of your coworkers seems like it would suck.”
“… yeah,” Barry said.
“So, “ Cisco said, walking over with his hands in his pockets. “How long?”
“How long what?” Barry asked, spinning around in his chair.
“How long have you been into me?” Cisco asked. Probably not the best place to start - Barry turned red again and looked like he was going to bolt.
“Cisco,” he said, rubbing at his neck. “Can we just forget about it?”
“Well that depends,” Cisco said. Barry raised his eyebrows, “What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“I was just planning a Netflix binge,” Barry replied, eyeing him carefully. “Why?”
“The old drive-in is showing Casablanca, and if I’m remembering right, you’ve never seen it,” Cisco said. When Barry was quiet for a few seconds, he clarified. “I’m asking you out. Like a date, full-homo.”
“No, yeah, I got that,” Barry said. “But Cisco, you don’t —“
“Do you remember the first time we tested your speed?” Cisco asked. Barry blinked, effectively cut off. “You were in that ridiculous red get-up and your were super pumped. Caitlin and Wellsobard were arguing about if you were crazy or not, and your broke your arm and it healed scary fast. Remember that?”
“… yeah?” Barry said.
“There was this moment, just a split second - where I was getting you set up with the helmet and I thought… ugh, this is embarrassing,” Cisco muttered, running a hand over his face to steel himself to continue. “Okay. So, I was setting up your helmet and I glanced up at the same second you were looking down and for a brief moment my brain thought you were going to kiss me,” Cisco finished.
Barry looked surprised.
“So,” Cisco said. “Since then, I’ve… ah, I’ve had what I basically thought was the world’s most hopeless crush.”
“Really?” Barry asked, still wide-eyed. Cisco nodded.
“Really. Caitlin knows, Joe knows, I’m not sure how or why but Harry knows. I don’t think Iris and Felicity do, but I can text them if you want,” Cisco said, pulling out his phone.
“What?” Barry asked with a laugh. “What are you talking about?”
“Your crush got revealed to everyone, if I tell everyone mine then we’re on equal footing,” Cisco explained. Barry covered his phone with his hand.
“I don’t think you need to do that,” he said.
“No?” Cisco asked. Barry shook his head.
“No. They’ll probably figure out that you like me too when we start dating,” he said with a wide smile.
“Oh?” Cisco clarified, his own smile growing.
“Yup,” Barry said. “Turns out - I am free tomorrow night and I have never seen Casablanca.”
“Well that’s a tragedy,” Cisco said.
“I’ve heard,” Barry replied. “I’m sure whoever corrects the injustice will be a real hero.”
“Sounds like quiet the responsibility,” Cisco told him. “We sure I’m up for it?”
“Positive,” Barry told him.