#Barry is freaking the fuck out because CISCO'S BEEN DEAD FOR OVER A YEAR AND NOW HE'S BACK LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED

[icedteaandoldlace]

K, so as much as the rest of season 1 and the entirety of season 2 would suck with Cisco being dead, now that this thought is in my head, I can't stop thinking about how wild that would be if they literally killed him off for just that period of time, with the intention of bringing him back via Flashpoint and keeping him on for the rest of the show, but making the audience think he was gone for good for a whole entire season. That would've been CRAZY, yo.

[fanahrts]

i hope you realize you're exactly like him. Exactly. Like. Him. going through the receipts, suicidal guilt tripping just like a certain someone. "he would purposely give u his attention like a rollercoaster to keep you on" just like a certain shitty ex boyfriend.

Hi. This is a very dead blog, and this is not the previous owner - I am his current boyfriend. This account will go right back to being inactive after I post this.

I have a lot to stay, and I'll try to keep it as brief and concise as I can, but I think it's incredibly telling that you would be willing to compare a mentally ill autistic teenager (teenager at the time, at least) who, at the time, did not know better (and no one bothered to tell him either, everyone kept their mouth shut until it was time to dogpile, it seems!) to someone who manipulated and abused him for months on end - emotionally, psychologically, sexually, and I'd even argue physically (causing someone multiple seizures, accusing them of lying about having them, and then continuing the behavior that caused the seizures could be classified physical abuse, could it not?).

It's also incredibly telling that you'd be willing to take the side of someone you're actively admitting to being an abusive person.

Those two freaks have been actively stalking him for over half a decade at this point. Half. A. Decade. Following him around from platform to fucking platform in order to try to run off any friends or community he has. In the time that I have known him, Barry (or whatever name the freak goes by now) has done this twice.

They want to claim to be victims, but that is not the behavior of victims. Victims do not actively seek out their supposed abuser multiple times over the span of six years to actively antagonize them and the people who associate with them. They generally have a tendency to avoid their abusers at all costs, actually - I would know, I am a victim of abuse myself.

Everyone involved in this situation back in 2017 are now adults. Fucking act like it. The fact that there were anons from one of them on this very blog as recently as October of 2021 is just pathetic. Grow up, go to fucking therapy, get a life, something, please.

This next bit is specifically for Barry - who I assume at some point will be reading this as he's clearly deranged and actively sends anons to a blog that's been dead for years: You are genuinely one of the most vile people I have ever witnessed. And I say witnessed, because I have seen you in action twice now. It's bad enough to abuse someone the way you have, but it's next level evil (and I do not say that lightly) to proceed to obsessively stalk this person for the following 6 years, and try to continue to abuse them. I get angrier thinking about you than I do thinking about the people who have personally caused me severe trauma throughout my lifespan.

You disgust me. Blaming your extremely abusive behavior on a stigmatized disorder and refusing to take any steps to better yourself so you don't hurt those around you and just expecting them to accomodate abusive behavior is not what a victim does. It's what an abuser does. I'd say to get help, but I genuinely believe you are beyond help at this rate. I hope you stay far, far away from other people.

And for Cisco (or whatever name he goes by now) : I am not your biggest fan either, not by a longshot (in fact, I think you are highly abusive as well in your own ways, and enabled Barry) but I'm going to say this, because I think that you need to hear it, incase you are still with him: He is abusing you. Everything I have heard of how he treated you is textbook abuse. And I think you know that to some degree, based on the way you have seemingly sent asks to this blog begging for it's owner to come back years after the fact. I think you knew when sending those anons that you were in a bad situation, and that you wanted someone else to come back and help deal with that abuse as well. That is selfish, and cowardly, but it is a sign to me that you are in over your head. If you are still with him: leave.

Overall, I have witnessed first hand the effects of what you two did to him. I see the uncertainty in relationships, the flashbacks, the PTSD and OCD, the nightmares, the self-doubt, the alters who split in order to merely hold the trauma that was caused, the paranoia and fear, etc. I see it all first hand. You are not the victims here, and I think you fucking know that - unless you are actually completely delusional. Barry, I know you are stalking my twitter account - or were, at some point, that is - because I know that is how you found him the last time. You are completely fucking deranged and either need serious help or to not be in any interpersonal relationships with anyone.

Go ahead, call me a p3do apologist or whatever it was you called people who stuck by him in the past. You two wouldn't know p3dophilia if it struck you in the god damn face, it seems, considering you are grown adults spreading around a callout from over half a decade ago that contains screenshots of a then-17 year old talking sexually about himself. I don't know, maybe it's just me but that seems awfully similar to distribution of CP, hm?

I'm pleased to say that neither of you can access him, or hurt him anymore. And your last couple attempts to get the people he cares about to leave him failed. Miserably. He has me, and he has friends who have stuck by him and will stick by him. I hope that fact bothers you, you fucking miserable, pathetic freak. Go fuck yourself.

[thedc-verse]

Spreading The Love (Harrison “Harry” Wells x Reader x HR Wells)

Summary HR, Reader and Harry wake up in the same bed.

Warning: F-Bomb, implied sex, swearing, talk about sex

Note: Found some old request that I thought I had posted. Sorry it's taking me 500 years. Shits happened. Also I'm considering writting for Supergirl and Batwoman. I know I've been mostly flash and DC Lot but I'm finally expanding... Slowly.... I'm sorry... I wish I was more active. I genuinely do. 💔.

 ________

You're not sure how it happened but you, Harry, and HR had woken up in the same bed. Your bed. You would have never known the two men were laying next to you in your queen-sized bed had it not been for the loud crack of thunder that awoke you that morning. The rumble was explosive, setting off car alarms all down the streets of Central City. The thunder waking you with a jolt, you sat straight up momentarily confused by your abrupt consciousness. When you fully grasped at what happened you heard a small yet clear groan from the floor, you had managed to knock Harry out of bed. Not a moment later HR stirred. "Harry?" You asked confusedly. "Why are you in my house?" He sat up still on the floor, he looked past you at a sleepy HR. "HR?" He asked now even more confused. You raised a brow and followed his line of sight. Your eyes widened at the shirtless HR. "What the f-" Lightning truck the ground outside your window. With the momentary burst of light, you noticed the rest of HR was just as bare.

Quickly turning away from him you look at Harry, also naked and exposed you averted your gaze. Quickly you clutched your sheets to your chest but it was no use. Your chest had been exposed far too long to leave anything to the imagination. The three of you sat for a moment, no one spoke or looked at each other. You panicked, trying to recall any of last night, but it was as if last night hadn't occurred. As if you all had the same idea at once, which you most likely did, you all stood up ignoring each other and start searching for your clothes. The awkwardness was unbearable.

“How did this happen?” Harry grunted as he grabbed his pants and slipped his right leg in them. You tried to turn on the lamp but nothing came on. The electricity must have gone out. You couldn't see well and you didn't want to walk across the room to get new clothes while naked.

Moonlight shining threw your bedroom window was the only source of light. You finally found your shirt on the floor. It was almost completely under the bed. “Psst.” HR whispered. "Hey," He whispered a little louder to get Harry’s attention from the other side of the bed. He had put on his shirt and scarf and now held up a pair of pants in his right hand. “Harry.” He whispered again. “What!” Harry snapped breaking the trend of whispering. “Those are my pants.” He pointed to Harry who had the jeans halfway up his legs. “What?” Harry paused his movements. “These are yours.” HR raised his hand that held the pants. "Harry well that makes sense. I knew these were too tight." Harry glanced down at his legs contemplating if he should take off the skinny jeans. “. . . Fuck it.” He shrugged pulling the jeans up to his waist. His double watched slightly surprised, after all, Harry did hate skinny jeans. Once Harry zipped up the pants HR shrugged putting on the more breathable pants.

”What happened to your face?” Harry asked finally looking at him. “What happened to yours?” HR retorted seeing the black around his eye. You pulled your shirt over your head before reaching further under your bed and blindly slapping your hand around until you felt a familiar plastic handle. You smiled to yourself pulling out your camping lantern and turning it on, your loft glowed insignificantly brighter. You frowned slightly remembering it was brighter during the last blackout.  

“What the hell happened?” Harry whisper-yelled at HR. “Me? What makes you think I know?” Hr placed a hand over his chest defensively. “Because whenever something goes wrong it's usually your fault!” Harry argued, to this HR rolled his eyes, shifting so his back faced Harry. 'They act more like brothers then doppelgangers.' You thought with a sigh as you grabbed your pants. The two men bickered as you put on your pants. You were getting a headache from all this chaos. You rubbed your temples as you walked downstairs. “This is ridiculous, Harry. I did nothing wrong.” You heard HR protesting voice fade as you made your way down the steps.

'No, what’s ridiculous is waking up in bed with two men, or was it one? Same man different bodies. . . I need an aspirin.' Walking into the kitchen section and opening the fridge you grab a water bottle. As you opened the medicine cabinet you made a mental note to reorganize it. "What a mess." You grumbled finally finding the aspirin. You heard quick footsteps come down the stairs as you swallowed the capsule. You glanced at the clock on your stove curiously. The clock was blacked out. "Great..."

“So I’m guessing you don’t remember last night either?” HR asked entering the kitchen. “Not really... All I know is that the three of us must have had sex . . .” You squinted at them not liking how that sounded. Nor sure if that was the best way to word it. "I mean doppelgangers are technically the same person... so was it actually a three-way?" Harry averted his gaze to stare at the floor, hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Well yes and no..." He trailed off. You handed placed both the aspirin bottle and your water on the countertop for them to use. HR wasted no time grabbing the medication and taking two tablets. He tried to hand the bottle to Harry but he pushed it away annoyed. “Gross. I’m not drinking after you.” He spat. You patted his shoulder tiredly. “No telling what you did last night. Just drink it.” You said heading to the couch. HR offered then now disturbed Harry the drink again. Harry glared at HR while he ripped the bottle from his hand harshly. He rolled his eyes as he drank from the bottle. After he finished his drink he opened the front door and left. HR grabbed his hat and followed after him.

________

You were running late. You overslept big time. 'I knew I shouldn't have tried to squeeze in a nap. I rest everything but the alarm clock. Smooth.' You scolded yourself. As you stepped onto the elevator your phone pinged.

New Message from Cisco: WHERE ARE YOU!!!!

"Oh great." You muttered hitting your floor on the elevator. You glanced at the clock as you typed a response back. 'Holy shit. 8:40. I'm two hours and forty minutes late. That's almost three hours! Three! That's way too many. Can I get fired? But I love this job! My friends wouldn't fire me, right? Barry is kind of too nice and a push over...No, of course, they wouldn't fire you. Just calm down. You're only freaking out because of what maybe-no-definitely happened last night...' You stepped off the elevator and headed to the Cortex.

As walked in you were greeted by Cisco. “Hey, Y/N," He said smiling cheerily as he slings an arm around your shoulder. "Let’s threesome this afternoon.” You stopped walking. “I’m sorry, what?” Barry, Caitlin, Harry, and HR turned around curiously. In doing so you could now fully see Harry's deep black eye and HR's bandaged up nose. “Let’s do something this afternoon?” Cisco repeated confusedly, his voice going high pitched as he let go of you. “Oh, No thanks I can barely stand.” You said walking to your desk. You placed your work files and laptop on the desk. “Why can you barely stand?” He asked rather loudly. You paused again, internally swearing, you glanced at the doubles before turning around to face the others fully.

HR suffocated on his coffee gasping for air at Cisco's words. Harry squinted questioningly at HR not sure why he had suddenly inhaled if favorite beverage. You saw the connection click in his eyes as they both turned to you. “How come I what?” You raised a brow, playing dumb. This time Barry spoke up. “You said you can barely stand. Why?” You glanced from Barry to Cisco to Barry. The speedster made a face as if asking, 'Are you gonna tell us?’ as he shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “No, I said I can barely stand... today. As in if I’m this tired now, how would I have any energy to do anything tonight. I'll tell you how." You pointed at them. "I won't. I’ll be dead asleep.” You laughed awkwardly. "Anyways we need to make up for the lost time. Barry, hurry up." You attempted to change the topic smoothly, but when Cisco opened his mouth to question you, you grabbed Barry's hand and dragged him out of the room.

You just wanted the day to be over and you would like as little questioning as possible. Even if you wanted to answer, which you didn't, you couldn't remember anything anyway. For all, you know the three of you decided the room was too hot, took off your clothes, and then passed out drunk. Maybe nothing happened and this would make for a funny story later. You think back to this morning. After the doppelgangers left without a word you sat on the couch for an hour trying to make any sense of the situation. Part of you wished you'd just stayed asleep, you'd have never known anything happened and life would be fine.

Once you had entered the speed lab Barry couldn't help but ask, “What was that about?” You glared at him as you took your position behind the monitor. “Just run.” He raised a brow curiously but did as he was told. While Barry was running you tried to focus on his speed but your mind kept drifting off. A few laps into the test you started to remember bits of last night. It flashed through your head so fast and on loop until the fragments made a story of what had actually happened the night before.

HR had shown up at the bar where yourself, Caitlin, and Cisco were drinking. He must have a bunch of coffee because he was talking way to fast to understand what he was saying. You honestly couldn't remember a word he said. You vaguely remember ordering a drink before Harry showed up. His hair was ruffled as if he'd been running, his cheeks were red and he was out of breath. His chest puffed in and out clearly taking deep breaths as he scanned the bar rapidly. He looked determined. His eyes met yours and then suddenly the three of you were at your loft. 'HR was kissing me or was it, Harry? . . . It was HR. He was wearing a scarf.' The three of you managed to get up the stairs without falling, 'I was laying on my bed and... HR and Harry got into a fight? What were they saying? Leave? Just tell her?' Tell me what?' HR pushed Harry onto the bed, his back hitting the mattress. They wrestled, Harry got on top for a brief second before HR flipped them over... 'Kind of looks like they were... oh god! Wait-! Where did Harry’s shirt go? Where are my pants? Harry’s pulling me to him...HR’s taking off his shirt behind Harry.

“/N. Y/N!” Barry yelled as he walked out of the track. “Are sure you're ok?" He asked. “I’m fine.” You huffed. You might not remember what happened after that but your body did. It was reacting in ways not safe for work. You crossed your legs instinctively.  

________

It was now the end of the day and you had to work up the courage to get the work you left in the Cortex, which is where both HR and Harry would most likely be. When you walked in you were alone, the cortex being completely empty was rare so a quick beeline for your desk was suitable. No one around to question why you're in a hurry and you didn't want to waste this opportunity. HR popped out of nowhere, you flinched in surprise at his bright smiling appearance. Which at this point shouldn't be a surprise, showing up out of nowhere was his thing. “I remember.” His smile grew. “What?" Both you and Harry blurted. Jumping again at the sound of another voice entering the conversation. Your face flushed embarrassed your not a jumpy person but clearly, you were more on edge than you thought.

“You told me you didn’t remember,” Harry growled as he approached you both. “Well when you asked me if I remembered, I thought about it and it started coming back to me. I don’t see what the big deal is you almost died when you got your memory back. Muttering “I’d never do that.” and then you glared at me.” He shrugged. Your head snapped to Harry. “You remember? How much?”

“You say that like you want to know.” Harry scoffed turning to leave. “I remember how you got your black eye and how HR broke his nose.” You smirked crossing your arms over your chest. "How did either of you explain that to the others?" Harry turned to face you. His mouth opened but HR cut in. “And what happened next was quite a sight-” “Don’t!” Harry's voice cracked as held up a hand to his doubles mouth. “Oh, so you remember that too?” HR smirked, 'Since when did he smirk?'

“I’d rather not,” Harry grumbled as he stared at the floor. “So where does this leave us?” You asked. “What do you mean?” They asked in unison. “Aren’t we gonna piece the night back together, figure out what lead to this?” Harry glimpsed at the entrance. “It was a one night stand.” Harry deadpanned. "A one time mistake." He stated firmly before brushing past you.

You watched him leave.

[lockewoodandco]

Crossover is Bad

This is not a gr8 review, i’m just throwing my thoughts down after first watch (cause hell no im not watching it again and i have no patience to even torrent it for a review i don’t have my full faith in cause im not actually a reviewer). I’m also not jewish so this won’t go into depth about how they handled that cause i don’t actually know anything more than the history aspect. 

I should also mention that even though I riff on the writers a lot, I doubt it’s all their fault. Although this whole thing can basically be summed up by I Complain But Also Give Everyone The Benefit Of The Doubt so you know, make your own opinion. I don’t know everything and if you do, you’re lucky. Impart to us your wisdom, maybe. 

also shout out to the first time I have an opinion on tumblr.

if its not apparent already, spoilers.

Crossover is Worse Than You Think

First order of business, let’s get through the problems with the mechanics of the show before we go into the fact that the whole premise is Bad.

 The way everyone just... appeared? Bad. you have all these writers and none of them can think of a way to explain absences and appearances? If you’re working with so many characters, that should be your first order of business. Assign certain people to keep track of certain character if you have to. Why aren’t certain characters at the wedding scene? (*cough* RAY) Why was Mick at the wedding when anyone in their right mind would expect it to cause more problems than it did? Why didn’t Mick bring Ray or Amaya? Despite his grumbling, I would think it would have made sense if Ray was asked to be Mick’s +1, as Ray would be the perfect buffer, and given their history as acknowledged on screen, it would show how far their friendship has come especially after Ray disappeared during their trust fall. Also, why weren’t all the legends invited? Why wasn’t all of team arrow invited? Why wasn’t all of team flash invited? Dibny? gone. did they even invite him? are you telling me he didn’t clock in at all when there were very obvious Nazi’s literally swarming? what is his excuse?

the problem is, these characters have no excuses for being absent. No one mentions why Dibny is awol, no one mentions “oh, [character] couldn’t make it” or “[character] is [possibly comics throwback]”. When some characters just magically appear halfway through like “oh, we were just waiting for you to call even though we gave no reason for us not to know about the nazis especially since we already seem completely briefed.” no mention of a previous anachronism or baddie they were busy doing while most people were at the wedding. Nothing like “we just got back fighting [baddie/in year] and now we gotta punch some nazi’s.” where was everyone? apparently just waiting offscreen for their turn to kick ass. 

another missing character that definitely should have been invited; Hartley Rathaway. there's not a single mention of him. he’s good now!!! where is he!!!! I want a scene where cisco sneaks away and calls him up like, “i know you and barry are awkward considering everything but he invited you so i think you should be here!!!” have Andy call in his roll, maybe have someone shoot a sound thing off screen and think it’s canary when it definitely isn’t! This man still exists in canon as a friend of team flash, at least mention why he couldnt make it!!!!! 

I’m not that great! I don’t know shit! I’m an amateur writer barely making it through writing his first book! But I do know that instead of humanizing Nazi’s with love, you could have spent a little more time fleshing out the world your main characters are in. i mean seriously. bringing in just a mention of hartley rathaway? Bam. a question everyone’s been asking is answered AND your universe feels more real by the fact that this character is now probably doing something completely independent of any storyline.  there are ways to use these characters even when their actors are not available. you own the rights to use these characters!!! the actors dont own them!!! they arent automatically off the table, especially cause a lot of them have masks on, put them in a background shot my dude! like i said before, you don’t even have to have any part of them or their costume on screen to show they still exist! this! is! not! news! this is working with what you got, and you got a lot more than you think you do! if you actually don’t have the power to do that, then you must have the worst contract negotiator known to mankind. 

that was longer than i anticipated me going on for, but next problem: Leo

once again, appeared out of nowhere, this time in a fully populated area where he should have come barging in, obvious signs of cold chaos behind him, probably moving quite similar to his counterpart. maybe give barry more of a shock, instead of just a look of, “oh, he’s nice this time, thats kinda unexpected.” why? cause it’s not unexpected. not for Barry at least. 

you know what i dont buy? aloof Leonard Snart. Sure, it makes a good act, but is it one that Leo would hold up next to Mick? especially when he seems to drop it for his boyfriend. Do you really think that Leo would not notice the way Mick refers to him, and not try to give him some form of comfort besides a passing sentence that feels like the equivilant of “get over it.” they both lost each other, leo may not be as close to his mick as mick was to len, but we already know that Leonard Snart is far from emotionally stunted, his last iteration was full of emotion and you can tell that this Leo is the same, if not even more, so where even a single second of understanding before the scene cuts. It feels like you did this to address a fan concern, without seeing it as your concern. guess what? it is your concern! why? cause its a loose thread, and it was pointed out for a reason. The script is getting on the level of a daytime soap my dude. whatever internal problem is causing this lack of quality, it needs to be addressed. And don’t let me hear about it cause I don’t want to know! I just want to see it improved! 

A bit of good that came from that scene, Mick struggling to figure out how he should verbally react to the way he died on Earth X. 

Also, giving Len a boyfriend, pretty good. i have nitpicks but they arent important to this.

Alex

Sex is not character development! If you gotta have it, it should have been after the heart to heart with Sara! I do get it to a certain extent though, but the way it’s handled leaves a lot more to be desired. you get this pickup to a good minor plot that just can’t be completed. I can’t even see how this helped Sara grow as a character in any way, even though it was probably supposed to be about seeing damien darhk again and dealing with him, but you don’t hear that! Just a little line about Laurel. Minor complaint, they missed out on mentioning Sara also has the whole, my sister has an evil doppelganger thing, Although I don’t think she knows so I’m mourning the loss of the impossible on this one. Circumstantial humour there. 

The Ray

have we seen him before? on any dctv show? I dont know! i have no clue! He looks familiar but I even googled it and nothing! (doesn’t help that he shares a name with Ray Palmer) He’s supposed to be from Earth 1, right? Where is he! please tell me, I wanna know. He looks familiar but I could just be giving you the benefit of the doubt! you can’t just be like “oh he’s also from earth 1″ and just leave it there. How? And then he doesn’t stay and I doubt that the rest of the team really cares but I care! i care a lot!

also, why is Eobard Thawne the same Eobard? i mean, I forgot how much i enjoyed Tom’s performance as Eobard, good on you, you almost got me distracted, but like, he cant just (say it with me guys) appear. also, he has no motivation! cool! i hate it! the only thing i could possibly think of is he just wants to see his earth again but also he hates the time period so what!!! literally just make him a different Eobard! you don’t need to explain why his face is Tom because you already explained that Earth X is just Earth 1 with Nazis! (which um, also time doesn’t work that way, especially with mass genocide and jewish characters)

with leads me to my next problem!

time doesn’t work that way, especially with mass genocide and jewish characters!!!

also, you mean to tell me in a world where everything’s the same except nazi’s, that Kara Zor-El did not immediately rage against the machine, especially if the who earth looked like a burning sepia photograph. also, dead bodies! same on any planet! She’s gunna freak! you can’t escape death and wholeheartedly accept genocide like that! not without a very good reason. really, instead of giving kara/x a dumb love thing, maybe make it about what shaped each of their beliefs despite coming from the same beginnings cause once again, it was established that everything’s the same except nazi’s, so krypton still died. and since you gotta shoehorn arrow in Bad Town, make it an unrequited love! cool! Cause Nazi’s portrayed on tv don’t deserve happiness! Sadly I can’t stop actual Nazi’s from finding love! Wish I could! Also why is Oliver the weak link when he’s the Fuhrer? its dumb, really dumb. also, Overgirl’s death is dumb, especially since it should have killed Kara as well. Basic logic says if a blast kills your doppelganger and you’re pretty close to next to them (guessing that Kara was able to escape a ways even though they were shown to be basically next to each other) you’re going to get more than a little falling action.

Also, you know what happens to jewish characters (and basically anyone who’s not a cis straight aryan at that point) on Earth X? pretty fucking obvious. You know what happens when you lose that much of a population and try to compare it to an earth without that loss? You realize you lose a lot more than you think, and a lot more things change. you probably don’t even have to think about it that hard, someone’s probably already done that thought experiment!

Here’s one I gotta shoehorn in,

Joe mentions the fact that Iris and Barry are both his children in a speech when they’re about to get married. Heres an option: Dont! Say how much he enjoyed seeing them grow up together without mentioning any familial bond that connects the two people getting married. Cool! You know why? Crossovers pull in new viewers! Also Supergirl has a younger audience! These! People! Don’t! Know! Any! Better! 

Killing a Canon Jewish Character in an Episode about Nazi’s

There’s no way to paint this in a way that’s not shitty, especially when he didn’t have to die. You could have let him go back to his family. I can’t imagine what the thought process for this was. Shock value?! I don’t know. Maybe, because everyone expected Victor’s end to be Stein going home to his family. If it was, this really wasn’t the episode to do it in.

Next Up! Nazis!

Not good! Trying to backpedal and make your main villains have a non-nazi-ish reason for conflict? Worse! Nazi’s don’t deserve sympathy! They aren’t just a group of people in history! They’re a group of people in history who advocated for and took part in the absolute slaughter of millions. The numbers I checked agree it was near a billion when you include beyond just those who were jewish. What makes it worse is that this stain on human history has not died out. Sure, we all love punching Nazi’s, but as I understand, theres a lot more to it than that. Now we get into the part where my expertise lacks. As I understand it, one of the biggest problems in the comics is jewish coded heroes fighting as Nazis. How well did they avoid this? I don’t know! Someone please add to this! I want to know! 

So, if I hated the crossover, why did I watch it?

The flippant answer is that i hate-watched it. watched it for the sole purpose of leaving a bad review. That’s not really the reason. If it was, why would i complain on tumblr of all places? i think the real reason was that I just had to know. I just wanted to give the dctv the benefit of the doubt because I love the flash so much, and that love ends up extending through a lot of the other shows and characters, and I wanted to trust that even though the whole premise was Bad, that they had a handle on it. I keep coming back because I’ve grown attached to these characters so much, leaving feels like leaving a part of me. But that’s just me, a lot of other people have their reasons for staying, and a lot of it is no longer about the quality of the show itself. It means we’re all holding on by our fingernails desperately trying to hold on to that magic or pretend it hasn’t faded. Eventually we’re going to let go. What does that mean for the show? Are they just going to lose a small portion of fans, or a whole sector? How many are going to find the changes better than the previous season and take our place? I dont know! i live in an internet bubble my dude! Tumblr isn’t great for gathering analytics! All I know is, bad writing doesn’t make or break a cw show. It’s the cw, I mean what do you expect? I signed up for this, i made my bed, i’ve chosen to lie in it, I can get up whenever i want, its just a matter of when because some day, I’m going to get fed up. You might have my view for a little while longer, but you won’t have my confidence, you won’t have my support.

[officialtitties]

flashvibe/barriscowest one shot; ‘adjusting’

author:  @officialtitties​ aka @lysswrites​ // (allie)

beta’d: first like 2 thirds were beta’d by @spidergweb​ (kait). she is so amazing!! thank you so much buddy!! you have been an immense help

summary: Cisco starts noticing some things that are off about Barry. AKA A season 3 AU, in which, barriscowest was canon in the original timeline, and Dante died in both timelines.

notes: the first in a series of connected barriscowest one shots. !! will post on ao3 when it’s been Refined more lmao (i.e edited not at 4am)

tags & triggers: implied self harm (so subtle you might miss it), angst, polyamory, flashvibe, barriscowest

wordcount: 2037

Things seem normal to begin with (Or, at least... as normal as they can be given Dante’s death)  but the more Cisco interacts with Barry, the more consciously he begins to notice something is off.

It’s little things, mostly.

Like the first day Barry doesn’t have to go to work since moving in.

He makes his usual ‘guilt breakfast’ (as Cisco has to come to think of it). He attempts some clearly too-cheerful conversation. And, when the part comes that he’d usually zip off to work he turns.... speechless.

Barry’s mouth opens. Then shuts. Clearly lost for words, he compensates with a forced smile, stammering out some long-winded story about charging his phone, and flashes into his room.

Cisco’d have chalked it up to Barry being Barry if it wasn’t for the fact that he could see his charger on the kitchen bench from where he was sitting.

**

He considers that something is wrong again about two weeks later. Barry has just made a confession to the entirety of Team Flash: he created an alternate timeline. He went decades back in time and fucked up their world, but not for him. Not for him even though he begged and cried, and has been grieving inconsolably for almost a year. He is beside himself with hurt and confusion.

Cisco is pretty confident in expecting to get home to Barry holed up in his room, not anywhere that Cisco has to deal with him. However, he opens the door to a gush of wind so strong, the flowers by the door wilt at its mercy.

There are a pair of scissors cluttering in the sink, and fresh finger-prints on the stainless steel.

All too conveniently, Barry is nowhere in sight.

Cisco’s knuckles curl white, and his tense frame all-but-marches over to the door of Barry’s room. However, before Cisco can even contemplate which of Barry’s possessions would make the most lasting bruise if thrown angrily in his general direction, he realises Barry has left the apartment completely.

Barry’s eager avoidance is practically expected in the face of him telling Cisco about flashpoint.

But in all honesty, even if there was something a little un-barry-like about the rushed exit. Cisco’s too angry to care.

**

Their apartment feels empty.

Even emptier than it already felt when Cisco didn’t know why Barry was avoiding him.

It seems that whenever Cisco’s there, Barry’s not.

And though it is with out a doubt what Cisco asked for ("Barry I just need you to give me space, okay? A lot of it. Like a ‘take-notes-from-the-lightyears-of-space-stars-give-each-other’ amount of space.”), there’s a part of him that’s just tired with being angry.

So when Cisco takes a step at reconciliation, bringing up one of their in-jokes about cell-structure as he chews avidly on a gummy worm, and is met with a scrunched brow...

Well, he’s disappointed to say the least.

What should have been a huge victory for them only reminds Cisco of every reason he is mad at Barry in the first place.

An awkwardness lingers tangibly between them, as Barry realises what’s just happened. Before he can correct himself, however, Cisco up and leaves with a dismissive shake of his head.

**

They don’t talk for a while after that.

At least, not in a way that inspires any sort of insight into Barry’s side of things. Cisco thinks he’s done a good job at making how he feels about hearing it pretty damn clear.

But, they do see each other.

With their line of work, not to mention their living situation, it’s sort of unavoidable.

Barry hovers around him like he’s walking on egg shells. Constantly looking over to him, trying to gauge his reaction. He’s always looking to test the waters: trying to toe the line between not breaking boundaries, and not unnecessarily distancing himself from Cisco.

And despite the big part of Cisco that just wants to push Barry away, there’s a bigger part that wears down, feels like its breaking every time he does.

Even before they go out into the field, and Vibe only arrives in time to see Flash get two major organs kebabed, Cisco knew that the time for holding grudges was long past.

**

It takes half a second to portal them back to Star Labs.

But Barry’s already so pale, and losing a lot of blood very quickly.

He watches as Iris holds Barry’s hand, and Caitlin pulls a rusty steel bar out from his stomach.

Cisco’s chest is tight, like he can’t breathe.

He’s only just decided he’s ready to forgive Barry, and now what? He might not ever get to? In what universe is that fair?

He watches Barry writhe and sweat, eventually blacking out from the pain.

**

When he wakes up, Cisco is sitting by his bedside, chewing gum.

Barry shifts up, already offering a tired apology, but Cisco simply shakes his head, reaching for his hand.

The acceptance goes unspoken.

There’s a croak in Barry’s voice as he breaks the tension, his lips lifting in a nervous smile “So uh- cell structure...”

Cisco’s smile copies Barry’s, reaching his eyes in a way Barry hasn’t seen since he got back.

**

They get a long better after that: watching movies when they should be doing work, throwing popcorn into each others’ mouths, playing Mario Kart with Iris on weekends.

Sometimes Barry will smile so wide at him, he feels his whole chest light up at the very sight.

Cisco can’t help but wonder, though, with the way Barry acts sometimes: the longing looks, the too long touches, the nightmares.

In fact, pretty much whenever Cisco's not tossing and turning himself, he can hear Barry doing the same.

***

Things come to a head one night when Cisco wakes up from a dream. It’s one of the recurring ones he’s been having lately, about a life so close to his own he knows that it probably was.

This particular one had involved Barry and Iris holding him after Dante’s funeral. They were in an unfamiliar, but oddly homey living room.

He’d been crying into Barry’s shoulder, feeling like he could barely breathe, when Iris started running her fingers through his hair, rubbing slow, comforting circles into his arm. They were only just getting him to calm down when, very jarringly, he is woken up.

Still disorientated from the dream, Cisco doesn't quite process the loud crash, and the defeated whisper of “Fuck” that follows it. Instead, he stumbles into the living room, confused. He pulls the parts of his hair that have fallen in the front of his face behind his ear, and squints his eyes a little in order to see properly.

“Barry?” He whispers.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I’m cleaning it up, you can go back to sleep.”

It’s dark, but he can hear the shakiness in Barry’s voice, and make out the large gash on the palm of his hand.

He sighs deeply, because it’s clear something is wrong. Something bigger than a once-off, middle-of-the-night freak-out.

He grabs a paper towel from their kitchenette, twirling the paper around his hand and ripping it from the roll. Then, gestures for Barry to stand up, and move away from the broken glass:

Barry closes the few steps between them, cradling his injured hand to keep from bleeding on their tile.

He can’t seem to make eye contact, but he winces slightly as Cisco presses the towel to the cut.

“What’s wrong?”

“What? Nothing. It stung a little”

“Barry. You’re crying,”

Barry shrugs dismissively at that, wincing again as his movement chafes the cut, “Okay. It stung a lot,”

Cisco raises a disbelieving brow, which Barry can’t help but smile at when he glances up.  “It’s fine, it’s just... I’ve been having trouble sleeping. Since I came back.”

“Came back?”

“From flashpoint.”

Cisco can’t seem to meet his eyes at that, he just nods at the ground, “Oh”

Barry swallows, pursing his lips to stop from crying as he looks anywhere else other than in Cisco’s direction.

“Barry,”

Barry begins hurriedly wiping at his face with his good hand, rushing to correct himself. “No, I know. I know, I’m sorry.”

There’s a beat of silence, and Cisco wants to say something to make it better but there’s nothing: he’s grabbing at straws.

“C’mere,” Cisco pulls Barry against his chest, holding him tight with one arm, as his other keeps grip on his injured hand.

Barry tightens up under the close contact before falling into it.

They stay pressed together, until Barry takes a short stuttering breath and pulls away.

“You’ve vibed it, right?”

“Huh?”

“The other timeline... the original one?” Barry looks almost guilty asking.

Cisco bites his lip, “Oh... yeah. I wasn’t gonna say anything,”

“How can you look at me?”

The hint of desperation in Barry’s voice pulls Cisco’s insides into knots. His mouth forms around words, but a silence lingers just a little too long for it to be comfortable.

There’s no denying it, the innate wrongness of everything, how Cisco had wished Barry dead more than once in the heat of initially finding out what he’d done.

“I ruined everything-” Barry continues, “even if you don’t wanna be with me. You and Iris, you were so happy. And now it’s like you were never even-”

Barry cuts himself off just before his voice breaks, pressing his lips together and looking away.

“Barr, look at me”

Barry does. A little quicker than is strictly human. His eyes are heavy with something indescribable. It makes Cisco's chest ache.

Cisco presses the paper towel a little more firmly into Barry’s hand, where the cut on his palm is healing. Then, wraps his fingers around it to keep it from trembling, never breaking eye contact.

“I’m mad at you.” He deadpans, suddenly feeling like he's let go of a tonne of bricks he's been carrying around with him for months. “I’m so fucking mad at you I can hardly stand it. You made a mistake of epic proportions, and the fact that you made that mistake for you when you couldn’t make it for me... it hurts. A lot.”

Barry seems to shrink at the words, but he doesn't look away. “But... what’s done is done. You can’t keep trying to fix it, force it back how it was. And you can’t keep beating yourself up over failing at this impossible task you’ve set for yourself... You can't keep trying to restore a reality that doesn't exist anymore.”

Barry looks down again at that, ashamed.

“It’s not gonna be like it was for you,” Cisco says, because it has to be said, but with the way Barry's trying to hide how much it hurts to hear, it feels like pushing glass up his throat, “And you’re just gonna have to live with that.”

Barry nods, still not meeting Cisco's eyes. His face is wet with silent tears, and his lips are tilted upward in a forced smile.

Cisco lets up the pressure on Barry's hand, removing the napkin to see the cut is scarring.

There’s a moment of stillness between them before Cisco walks the bloody paper-towel to the bin, and Barry goes to pick up the rest of the broken glass.

Just as the conversation seems to be over, Cisco standing with his back to the kitchen in the arch of his bedroom door, and Barry quietly cleaning the rest of the broken glass shards, Cisco speaks: “It’s... different. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t still love you, Barr. You’re my best friend." Barry tenses at the last words, but manages to school his expression enough that Cisco doesn't feel like he's said something wrong.  “I love you... Even when-" He cuts himself off. Then, as if reaffirming the thought, he continues, "I love you. And...”

Cisco exhales deeply, with his entire body, as if letting go of the weight of the world.  “I wanna forgive you.” He says, his hand spread gently over the doorframe, “But, if we're ever gonna move past this, you’re gonna need to figure out how to forgive yourself.”

[itsclydebitches]

Summary:

“Good things come to those who wait… provided they know what they’re waiting for.”

Moments in Barry and Cisco’s lives as they slowly and surely fall in love. It’s simultaneously the easiest and most complicated thing they’ve ever done.

(Part of the “Worth the Wait” series.)

Fandom: The Flash (TV show)

Words: 18,392 (so far) 

Warnings: None

Pairings: Barry/Cisco

This Section: Cisco deals with the fact that trivia might not be the only competition he’s entering tonight... 

Where to Read it: Below the cut or on AO3 (AO3 recommended for formatting)

Fierce Competition

Cisco recalled with the abruptness of a car crash that he really wasn’t the wooing type.

Let’s face it, in the obligatory ranking system that was life he wasn’t exactly on the top ten Soulmate list. Or twenty. Fifty. Cisco wasn’t even in the freaking running. He was a Puerto Rican American with too long hair, too short a body, and absolutely no muscles to speak of. (He still hadn’t forgiven Barry for just waking up with abs, that bastard). His family had always been too poor, too brown... and Cisco had always been too smart for the rest of them. It had been made abundantly clear to him in school that being a nerd—even a genius nerd—would never score him any points. Working at STAR Labs should have been the revelation. Here they are! My people! Revealed to me at last! But even those people turned out to be assholes (Hartley), or snobs (Ryan in bio-tech), or just incapable of getting over the fact that the world’s foremost mechanical-engineer might choose to wear novelty t-shirts on a daily basis (literally everyone Cisco had ever met, with the exception of Dr. Wells. He could appreciate the man’s simple attire even if it was perpetually stuck in an emo-teen stage.) The point was he’d never been a catch and Cisco saw no reason why that would change now. Especially for someone like Barry.

It wasn’t like he was luring in small fish here. He was going after the goddamn white whale.

You know, minus the leg eating, murderous intentions.

“This analogy isn’t working,” Cisco muttered. “I’m losing my mind.”

He’d been losing a lot more than that. After his weird-ass (yet surprisingly uplifting) conversation with Dr. Wells, Cisco had gone to hide out in his workroom instead, under the guise of being productive. Rather, he was really just pacing between the door and his Sleep Depravation Cot, pulling at his hair and reciting an endless stream of, “Oh holy fuck, dude, what have you gotten yourself into” because honestly, what the hell was he supposed to do now? Be himself?

“Ha!” Cisco finger gunned an imaginary audience. “Like that’s ever worked.”

The only other option then was to be better. To somehow be more for Barry.

Cisco thought he could do that.

He just needed a little help.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he whispered even as he sat his butt down in the chair and jabbed at his laptop until it decided to cooperate. Info was just a few keystrokes away, even if Cisco did cringe at his own search choices.

In for a penny though, and all that crap.

“Hey there, Cosmopolitan. For the love of God please help me.”

***

Primp before going out and keep on the cool side. Confidence is practically catnip to men!

***

Barry was practically jumping out of his skin.

He knew he’d always looked a bit like a caffeinated junkie (if they had a thing for soft sweaters and the occasional bowtie), but it had gotten so much worse since the accident. He hadn’t known how to describe it until Cisco gave him the words: “Things didn’t slow down, dude. You were just going so fast that it only looked like everyone else froze.” And that’s how it was now, twenty-four seven. He might not always be using his superspeed, but Barry was constantly aware of just how slow everyone was. People walked at a molasses pace, car rides were pure torture (even more than they’d been before), he could stretch a blink into a five minute performance and oh my god just do it, just do it already.

Barry’s life was a Shia LaBeouf meme and it resulted in a lot of fidgeting. Sure, there was a lot going on in Jitters already—colorful decorations, people milling around in costumes, mounds of company-approved snacks, a judges table loaded with prizes—but even amongst all that Barry felt like he stuck out. He was currently rattling the table slightly with his bouncing knee.

Eddie leaned and caught his eye across the table. “Easy there, Allen. You okay?”

“Oh yeah, fine. Just excited.” Barry got a smile going because, well, that was true enough, wasn’t it? He was excited.

Eddie grimaced though. “I’m not. Did I tell you guys I’m not much of a trivia person?”

“Yep. Over nine-thousand times!”

Eddie stared. “I just missed some reference, didn’t I?”

“Yep again. Check out Dragon Ball Z sometime.”

“...I’ll be sure to do that.” His tone made it very clear that Eddie was going to do nothing of the kind and Barry chuckled. He had to admit, Eddie was a pretty chill guy once you got to know him, a lot more relaxed than Barry had first assumed. They could be friends. If only there wasn’t that pesky little problem of—

“There she is.”

Barry recognized that tone as well. Sure enough he turned as Iris walked through the front, somehow managing to make Jitter’s sticky floors look like a runway. She wasn’t in anything out of the ordinary—jeans, lightweight sweater, nothing, Barry hadn’t seen her in a million times before—but each time he did it might as well have been a new experience. That pesky thing about everything seeming too slow? Yeah, Iris slowed things down to the max... but Barry didn’t mind in the least. She was glorious to watch. She was everything he’d ever wanted.

Everything Eddie wanted too.

Barry tried not to grimace at the kiss they shared—and he largely succeeded. Iris hugged him and that, at least, felt familiar.

He’d missed this while he was in his coma. He couldn’t remember that he’d missed it, of course, but Barry knew he had.

“Look at this place,” Iris said. She raised her arms only to let them drop heavily, seemingly overwhelmed by the coffee shop’s transformation. “Can you believe they got this all set up in a few hours? If Becca put half as much effort into serving people as she did decorating she might actually make a half-decent waitress.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Eddie stage whispered and the three of them craned necks over the crowd to get a good look at Becca. Tall, stocky, and with a permanent ‘resting bitch face,’ she looked more like ex-special forces than someone who served up coffee every day. Iris and Eddie exchanged exaggerated looks of horror while Barry chucked a pretzel at them.

“She’s nice,” he insisted.

Iris pulled a face. “You think everyone’s nice.”

“She gives me free blueberry muffins!”

“Because no-one else wants them, Barry. They’re awful.”

“Are not,” he said petulantly, tracing his finger over the tabletop. It pulled a laugh out of Iris, just like Barry knew it would, and he grinned in triumph.

Score one for him. That’s right, it didn’t even matter who Iris dated because Eddie would never have this, the intimate, easy-going conversation of those who’d known each other for forever. A part of Barry felt guilty about starting up a ‘competition’... a larger part of him really didn’t care. He’d dated others after all, a fair number actually, and none of them were Iris. Besides, didn’t he deserve something good for once? His mom, his dad, missing out on the particle accelerator launch (which had honestly been a tragedy at the time), getting struck by lighting of all things, and now he was giving himself to the city not just as an forensic scientist, but as a freaking superhero too. It wasn’t like he was asking for a reward exactly... just something. A karmic IOU maybe.

Barry looked at Iris’ enraptured expression and thought that maybe the universe was actually looking out for him now.

Or not. Turns out she wasn’t looking at him.

“Wow,” Iris breathed.

Barry wrenched in his seat and then very nearly fell out of it. Because Cisco stood in the doorway and he, he…

...‘wow’ was right. Barry had never seen Cisco looking like that before.

Words like “vision” and “unexpected” were warring in his head. Cisco wore pressed black slacks and slick shoes that made him look taller than he actually was (Barry was sure). Cisco still had one of his trademark graphic tees on (reading “Got Trivia?” in curled, fancy script) but it was accompanied by a grey, tailored jacket that probably cost more than two months of Barry’s rent. Cisco had clearly just shaved—he could smell faint traces of the cream from here, like cedar-wood and eucalyptus fused together—and his hair had the fluffy look of a recent wash, braided neatly and hanging over one shoulder. Barry’s hands twitched in his lap.

He wanted to touch Cisco’s hair. More than that, he wanted to actively run his hands through it, like some sap in a rom-com, because Barry was sure that it would be soft and tangle free and look absolutely fantastic if it was a mussed up a bit.

Which was a crazy thought all around. Not because Barry was wrong about the look—Cisco would be stunning with some well-crafted bedhead—but the fact that he was thinking about this at all. Barry couldn’t remember the last time he’d thought about a guy like that, even briefly. It had probably been back in college, the four years he’d been separated from Iris and actively aware of what it meant to ‘experiment.’ Not that it had been experimentation for long. Not that coming out as bisexual had made him love Iris any less. It was just another aspect of his identity—alongside “scientist” and “son” and ironically “brother.” As far as Barry was concerned that attraction was a dead end because who could he want but Iris? She was already his everything.

So. This was just a simple, entirely objective analysis that Cisco Ramon looked stunningly hot in that outfit. Barry could deal.

“Barry.”

He jerked, the world speeding up and suddenly Cisco wasn’t across the room, he was there. Right there in front of Barry, close enough that the cedar-wood was overwhelming and he could see the tiny, decorative stitches on that jacket. Somehow Iris had gotten a hand on his shoulder, shaking Barry to try and grab his attention and wait, when exactly had all this happened? The three of them were staring at him like he’d lost his mind—which maybe he had—because a good chunk of time had obviously passed without Barry noticing. He clacked his teeth together and realized with dawning horror that his mouth had been hanging open for god only knew how long. There was a bit of drool on his chin.

Barry hastily wiped it away. He sat back so he was leaning against the table, his whole body feeling jittery. Right. Objective observation:

The world had slowed down for Cisco too.

Shit.

“Heeeey,” he said. “You look... good. Really good.”

Cisco started to smile, that bright grin that Barry was beginning to associate with the lab and candy-colored lips, until it suddenly slipped away. Barry blinked, feeling oddly bereft. In its place was a smirk that crawled onto Cisco’s face, settling there unnaturally. He raised a hand flippantly.

“Duh. You don’t really think I always wear crap t-shirts and jeans, do you?”

“Um, no?”

“Exactly.”

Cisco cast Barry a look he couldn’t quite decipher and slid onto his stool. It might have been a suave move if he hadn’t sat so fast, over balancing and nearly toppling to the floor. Eddie caught him at the last second, keeping Cisco upright by grabbing him by the lapels. Barry couldn’t help it: he laughed at the comical look of horror on Cisco’s face. He noticed and shoved Eddie off him, too rough.

“I’m fine,” he snapped and sat up straight. Cisco folded his arms over the table, then in his lap, before finally resting his chin on one hand and tapping the fingers of his other along his knee. Cisco stared out over their heads while Barry and Iris exchanged concerned glances. Eddie just looked pissed.

“You’re welcome,” he said. Cisco ignored him.

“Hey, we’re super glad you could make it. Here,” Iris grabbed hold of the tiny chalk-board with their team name on it, shoving it towards Cisco. “Maybe you can make sense of this nerd nonsense. Help us non-geniuses out. E = MC Hammer?”

Barry groaned. “C’mon, Iris. Because E = MC squared. And MC Hammer. And can’t touch this. I’ll have you know it’s brilliant and the hour I spent coming up with it was well spent.”

Eddie’s smile was coming back—and his eyebrows were reaching his hairline. “I’m really not sure it is. Brilliant, I mean. Or worth it.”

“Exactly.” Iris nodded seriously. “I mean, how ‘brilliant’ can something be if no one gets it?”

“I get it!”

“You’re not normal, Barry.”

“Okay, fair, but Cisco gets it too, right Cisco?”

Barry had been watching him from the corner of his eye and Cisco definitely got it. His eyes had lit up the second he’d seen the board and he’d bitten down hard on his lip, clearly stifling a laugh. Barry had known that he of all people would appreciate the pun... but the second he asked it was like Cisco disappeared. Barry watched, a little stunned, as the bright-eyed amusement was snuffed out and Cisco adopted that stiff manner again. It was weird. Like he couldn’t remember how to sit right. Cisco gave the board a disdainful once-over and shrugged.

“It’s fine I guess,” was all he said.

“...alright then,” Eddie muttered and hid behind his coffee.

Barry felt that tone. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but the initial punch of seeing Cisco all dolled up was fading, replaced by the worry that he didn’t actually want to be here. After all, he looked bored as hell and a little grumpy to boot. Five minutes in and Cisco was just... sitting there, not commenting on the decorations or asking about the competition. While Iris tried to strike up another innocuous conversation with Eddie Barry leaned a bit to the right, into Cisco’s space.

He placed a hand on Cisco’s arm and felt him jump. Barry’s fingers tightened. “You okay?” he whispered. A quick glance confirmed that Eddie and Iris were otherwise engaged. Or at least good at faking it. Cisco was just staring at Barry’s hand though and he snapped it back, suddenly self-conscious. “Look, do you want to leave?”

“With you?” Cisco blurted.

What?

“What?”

At Barry’s puzzled look Cisco’s cheeks developed a warm glow and with his hair pulled back Barry could see the tips of his ears turning red. He wasn’t sure why, but Barry felt his own body reacting in sympathy, making what was apparently now an awkward situation ten times worse. The only difference was he was pale as milk and had the fire truck coloring to match. This happened whenever things got weird. Barry was sure he looked like an idiot now.

He didn’t want Cisco to think he was weird. Of course, Barry was, but that was kind of beside the point. Bad weird. Creepy weird. The kind of weird you gave a side-eyed look at before hastily crossing the street. He really didn’t want that from Cisco and holy shit he was spiraling, what even was the conversation again?

“You can go,” Barry clarified. That didn’t seem to make things better. “I mean, I kind of pressured you into this? Maybe? So if you want to take off I’m not gonna be like, upset or anything. You just look...”

“I look...?” Cisco echoed, leaning in just a bit. The t-shirt beneath his jacket was a little large and it dipped, giving Barry a fucking wonderful glimpse of Cisco’s chest.

‘Hot,’ his brain supplied and Barry mentally shrieked, stabbing at it with an imaginary fork.

“...bored,” he finally said. Barry’s mouth had gone dry and it was with the courage of the Assuredly Doomed that he reached back up to pat Cisco’s shoulder. It was warm, firm, and stupidly soft from that jacket. Barry kept patting him like a loon. “You look bored, man.”

Cisco stared. “I’m not.”

“No?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“I’m... sure, Barry.”

“Okay. Um, glad to hear it?”

“Oh thank god!”

The four of them jumped out of their skin, Barry catching the guilty look that flit across Iris’ face (oh hell, had she been listening? Of course she was listening they were right there) when Felicity flew into view, heels clacking and her arms coming up to smoosh Cisco hard against her chest. Barry could still make out the tight black dress she was in though, complimented by some fine, silver jewelry. Cisco floundered in the embrace as Felicity dug her chin into his head.

“I thought I was the only one,” she whispered. “Oh, Cisco, you are a life safer. I got here and thought, ‘Wow, Felicity. Great work! Way to totally overdress for this, you loser,’ but now look at you.” She pulled back to indeed look at him, giving Cisco such a sultry once-over that Eddie choked. “You look great.”

“...Thanks.”

Except Cisco didn’t sound very happy about the compliment. One would think he’d be thrilled with a woman like Felicity giving him her stamp of approval... or if he wasn’t into that (was Cisco into that?) Barry would have bet on an, ‘aw shucks’ grin and a fistpump in thanks, because this was Felicity Smoak, hacker extraordinaire giving him a compliment—who cared what the compliment was about? Cisco just looked sullen though and when he took in Felicity’s own outfit his expression soured even more.

“Ten minutes, folks!” Becca was standing at the back of the shop where a judges’ panel had been staged, complete with prizes for the champion as well as first and second runner up. Barry had his eye on that card for a free month at Jitters. Not that he needed it—Dr. Wells was footing all food expenses nowadays and Barry really had to thank him again for that—but he could bring a whole mound of coffee and donuts into the precinct tomorrow, maybe get Singh back on his good side for once. Barry looked around at all the other teams: stereotypical nerdy types, some decked out in cosplay, a sole group of business men who seemed to have gotten dragged here as a team building exercise... not that any of it mattered. They had two of the greatest scientific minds on their team, Barry was no slouch when it came to science or nerd-dom, Iris was the binge queen of TV, and Eddie...

...well, Barry wasn’t sure what Eddie brought. A detective’s instincts? Maybe.

“Plus you’ve got Wells on speed dial, don’t you?” Felicity said. She’d scooted in on Barry’s left, across from Iris, and he gapped a little at the mind reading skills. She just shrugged. “No big. You’re meeting the woman who invented the ‘size-you-up’ look. C’mon, you do have Wells’ number, don’t you?”

“He does,” Iris confirmed.

“That is so cool.”

“It’s listed under ‘My BFF Forever’”

Barry reached across the table to smack her as Eddie and Felicity laughed. “Okay one, you’re a liar. Two, you just basically said ‘best friend forever forever’ which is stupid.”

“But accurate,” Eddie drawled.

“And three, we are not cheating with Wells.”

Felicity pouted. “Just a quick little text? I bet he’d love this sort of thing.”

“We’re winning this fair and square people.” Barry pounded the table with his fist. “...and we’ll drag Dr. Wells along with us next time.”

“Yes. I’m totally flying back for that.”

“Don’t bother.”

They were small words, muttered soft and clearly not intended for the rest of them, but Jitters wasn’t that loud. Four heads swiveled to stare at Cisco who adopted a very deer-in-the-headlights expression.

“I—I just meant it’s a long shot, yeah? Wells isn’t really going to come out for this...”

A lame excuse and Barry was surprised by how much it hurt him. He was about to say something when Iris’ hand shot out, landing squarely on Cisco’s arm.

“Let’s grab coffee for the table, Cisco. Before the contest starts.”

“Uh...”

Cisco was staring at Iris’ hand like it was a massive, dangerous spider. Her suggestion, while innocuous, was said in such a sickly sweet voice that it sent the hairs on the back of Barry’s neck rising up and when Eddie opened his mouth—no doubt to point out that most of them already had coffee—the whole table shook as Iris kicked him.

“C’mon,” Iris bared her teeth and Cisco nearly fell again in his desperation to follow her. You didn’t argue with a tone like that. Barry watched them go, mouth hanging open.

“What the hell is going on?” he whispered.

Felicity pet him on the head. “Don’t worry about it, sweetie. Now, tell me what I need to do to demolish these nerds.”

***

“What the hell are you doing?”

Cisco made the most un-masculine ‘eep!’ noise as Iris practically threw him into Jitter’s supply closet. He landed on a box of napkins, found a rag left in the corner, and starting wringing it for all it was worth. It wasn’t much of a shield, but anything was better than facing Iris’ ire entirely defenseless. Cisco tried to scooch back as she inched closer and realized he had absolutely nowhere to go.

“Well?” she demanded.

“Dude, chill out yeah? I don’t know—”

“Francisco Ramon heaven help me, if you say ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ I will personally make it my mission to embarrass you in front of Barry until you can never look him in the eye again.” Iris’ gaze softened slightly even as Cisco gapped. “Because this is about Barry, isn’t it?”

“Um...”

“Cisco.”

“It’s not entirely...”

“Cisco.”

“Okay! Okay! Put your hand down already! God you’re terrifying.” Cisco wasn’t trying to butter her up, but Iris seemed to take that as a compliment. She nodded regally, lowered the hand that looked like it was about to start tickling him (no), and sat herself down on the box next to him. She kicked Cisco lightly in the shin.

“Spill.”

He grimaced. “Well, since you bring up embarrassment...” Reaching into his jacket pocket Cisco pulled out the crumpled sheet of paper he’d printed off earlier. He handed it over and Iris only needed one look at the heading to start laughing her head off.

“Yeah, yeah,” Cisco muttered. “Get it out of your system.”

“Cosmo?” she choked. “Oh no, Cisco, please don’t tell me you...”

He just gestured vaguely, telling Iris to read the highlighted sections. She only got through “primping” and “confidence” before she set the paper back down, giving Cisco a pitying look so strong that he kind of felt like he was melting.

Goddamn. If this was love it could go hang. Screw this.

“You dressed up for him,” Iris stated, not bothering to let him get in a confirmation. “Then you acted like a dick because supposedly that’s ‘cool.’”

“I didn’t—” Cisco cut himself off at Iris’ look. “Okay yeah. Total tool out there. I just...” he muttered something too soft to hear.

Iris leaned in closer. “What was that?”

“...wanted to be like James Bond,” Cisco muttered.

“Oh my god.”

“I don’t know, okay!” He threw up his hands. “I just wanted to be...be something more tonight. Something other than nerdy Cisco Ramon.” Cisco gripped his hair briefly, mussing up the braid. “Wait, c’mon, how do you even know this? Please don’t tell me I’m that obvious.”

Iris snorted. “You’re obvious alright. To a girl. Eddie doesn’t have a clue, bless him.”

“Dr. Wells knew,” Cisco said thoughtfully.

“Geniuses don’t count.”

“Barry is a genius.”

“Barry is a moron. I don’t care how much science mumbo jumbo you two manage to spout together, he lacks a little thing called common sense.” This condemnation was said with so much fondness that Cisco felt his heart ache. “If it makes you feel any better Felicity is a genius and a girl, so I’m sure she gets it. She’ll forgive you for being a massive ass back there,” Iris bumped his shoulder to take the sting out of her words.

Cisco nodded, drawing in a massive breath. Then he plunged in. “You’re taking this well.”

“Mmm.” Iris smiled. “I’m not your competition, Cisco.”

Oh c’mon. He immediately wanted to rile against that. How was she not? Except Cisco took one look at Iris’ expression and promptly snapped his mouth shut.

“Funny how no one considers that there are two people involved in this nonsense,” she drawled. Then Iris sighed. She took the rag out of Cisco’s hand and started it wringing it herself. All at once he could see the toll this was taking. “Look. Full disclosure?”

“Full disclosure,” Cisco agreed. His mouth felt stupidly dry.

“I love Barry. Barry loves me... but we’ve never loved each other in the same way.”

Iris looked down, scuffing her boot on the floor. “I thought things would get easier once we split into different classes in High School. Then when he went off to college—I know he dated a lot there. Then I thought, ‘Hey, he’s got his own job now. Maybe a co-worker?’ but no. Barry keeps... keeps coming back to me. Even now. With Eddie.” Iris smiled, a little wistfully. “Barry gets caught up in doing whatever he set out to do, no excuses. Normally that’s great. Triple major in four years? Done. Youngest tech to work at the CCPD? Easy. Hell, he even met Wells like he promised, though he went about it in a crazy enough manner.”

Cisco huffed. “Tell me about it.”

“Uh huh. Barry is optimistic, to the point of stubbornness, and now I’m starting to think to self-delusion too.” Iris shrugged, a very ‘what are you going to do?’ gesture. “I’m his best friend. His sister. I love him, but not in the way he wants me too, and I never will. You, however,” Iris pressed a fist into Cisco’s arm, making his squirm. “I wouldn’t mind having you as part of the family.”

Cisco could feel his eyes widening. He heard a startled, awkward laugh and realized that was him. "I would?"

"Uh, yeah. No shit, Sherlock. I've seen you and Barry together. Its been, what? A few weeks? And you two are already thick as thieves. You're brilliant, caring—I mean, c'mon. How many guys in Barry's life would keep him company through seven months of coma nonsense? Did you forget that I was there, Cisco? You did everything for him."

He ducked his head. "Dr. Wells—"

"Hired you to keep Barry breathing," Iris interrupted. "Not make him playlists of all his favorite music. Or spend your Friday nights watching movies with him. Or reading every last coma-related article you could get your hands on even though that's obviously Caitlyn's field, not yours. Yes, I saw the folder on your desktop. That's amazing, okay?”

It was weird to say the least. First Caitlyn, giving Cisco an obvious amount of space with Barry, both before and after he woke up from his coma. Then Dr. Wells freaking dragging him for being a lovesick fool. Now Iris, who Cisco had thought was both rival and Big Sister Barrier, all but shoving him at Barry with a 'GO CISCO' sign held up in her arms. It was super weird. More nuts than a squirrel's winter pantry. Cisco leaned back into Iris' shoulder, half expecting the contact to wake him up from some fevered dream.

It didn't.

"Full disclosure?" he asked again. Iris nodded. "I'm sort of freaking out here a bit."

Iris' lips twitched. "You look pretty calm."

"Oh, that's just my normal, handsome facade. Trust me, there is some full, boiling panic going on in here."

"Don't panic," Iris whispered.

"Easy for you to say."

"Keep calm and carry on."

"Oh my god."

"Seriously, we'd better get back before they think we're making out in here."

It was such a startling, ridiculous image that Cisco laughed. Iris nodded, grinning, standing, and offering him a hand to help Cisco to his feet. He swayed there, a little overwhelmed. Iris steadied him and then seemed to hesitate.

She finally drew in a massive breath. “Okay, also, it’s not my place to say why… but you don’t need to worry about Felicity either. None of us are competition. This isn’t some stupid teen drama, Cisco. We’re family.”

Cisco felt like he’d finally found some kind of footing. He ducked his head so Iris wouldn’t see how stupidly bright his eyes had gotten. "That’s great, yeah," he said, a little choked. "But what exactly do I do?"

Iris pinned him with a serious look. "First? Drop the 'cool guy' act. You don't need it. Barry likes you, and I think he can learn to like you even more… if you follow this advice instead..." Iris unfolded the wrinkled piece of paper, pointing to another highlighted section of the text.

"Right," Cisco breathed.

Iris quickly leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "Not all of their suggestions are trash."

***

Get him talking about something he’s really passionate about. After a while he’ll start associating those good feelings with you!

***

"Did they get lost?" Barry asked, pushing off the table to try and get a look over the crowd. He seemed to be the only one concerned with Iris and Cisco's disappearance. Eddie had given in and fished out his phone, texting someone rapidly. Felicity fiddled with a straw and absently pat Barry on the back.

"It's fine," she said, not for the first time. "They'll be back in a sec. Iris is just handling a Situation. Don't worry about it."

Barry shot her a massively confused look. "What are you talking about?”

"Surely your massive brain can understand the meaning of 'don't worry about it’?"

Felicity's grin was cheeky, she was begging for some sort of retribution, but at that moment Becca took the microphone and—after some initial, ear splitting feedback—announced that the games were underway. Eyes drawn to the back of Jitters, Barry caught the exact moment Cisco and Iris came back into view, with Cisco looking more... Cisco-ish.

As in, he'd mussed up his braid enough that little tufts were poking out, like they would if he'd been hard at work on a project—and it did look amazing. The sleeves of his nice jacket has been rolled, revealing grease stains and a faded note in green sharpie down near his wrist. Cisco suddenly looked more natural, carefree….but more than this he was glowing, walking confidently back to their table with a real smile on his face. Idly, in the back of his mind, Barry wondered when he'd started paying such close attention to the little details that made Cisco Cisco. That little voice was drowned out by the flood of relief though. Things had felt wrong before.

Now, somehow, they were right.

"Hey," Cisco breathed it, scooting right back into Barry's space. He leaned to catch Felicity's eye. After a second Cisco included Eddie in the look too. "Sorry. Wasn't at my best back there. Can we rewind by like fifteen minutes and start again?"

Eddie had an unfathomable look on his face though Felicity immediately made a whirring noise like an old VCR, essentially erasing those fifteen minutes as asked. Iris smiled and Eddie shrugged and honestly, Barry still didn't know what was going on, but then Cisco clapped a hand on his shoulder and that hardly mattered at all.

"E = MC Hammer together. You ready to kick some ass?"

"Yes—" Barry began but then the game was underway.

It was exactly as he'd remembered it. Though he and Iris had never participated before (their friend group never had enough nerds, according to Iris), they'd watched plenty of times over the years, enjoying the quick-paced, almost cut-throat nature of the game. The first half was always a free-for-all, with Becca reading off a question ("No answers until I'm done!") and then calling on the first team to buzz in. Even Barry was surprised when the little light on their table lit up first try, Eddie's thumb still depressing the buzzer.

"Cop's reflexes," he whispered. "I don't even know who Jar Jar Binks is though, let alone what movie he first appeared in."

Barry and Cisco exchanged a look. It was glorious in its simplicity: who the hell is this fool and why is he friends with us? They looked to Iris and Felicity only out of courtesy.

"I'm a Star Trek girl," Felicity said, completely unrepentant. Iris just nodded for the two of them to go ahead, seeming to get a strange amount of satisfaction in their teaming up. Barry grinned.

"Phantom Menace," they answered in unison—and so it began.

The questions, of course, got harder as the game went on, though they quickly realized that Eddie's speed wasn't just a fluke. He got them first dibs on most of the questions, struggling only against the group of Star Wars cosplayers (who were understandably disgusted about how the first question had gone down). Felicity, for reasons Barry couldn’t fathom, moved to sit beside Iris instead and the two of them seemed more than happy to let the boys run the show, sipping coffee and occasionally whispering in one another's ear. Alright then. Great, even. Barry and Cisco easily led the team and as they did Barry discovered a natural, warm camaraderie he wouldn't have expected to find on an otherwise normal Saturday night. Not to say that he and Cisco hadn't been friends before, of course they were, but it hadn't been like this. They hadn't been on such an exact wave-link, so to speak; easy agreement and teamwork all around, the sense that they just fit together, in ways outside of fighting crime. Like they could really be buds, not just close-knit colleagues.

They could be something.

Most people laughed at competitions like this and they would have howled at Barry's thoughts, the ones about 'fitting together' and 'complimenting one another,’ the ultimate sappiness of it all... but it was true. Cisco pulled out all the Sci Fi and dystopian knowledge that Barry had avoided over the years ("It's just all so sad,") and Barry knew dated shit like what U.S. soap opera first aired in 1956 (and he didn't get any heat from Cisco when As the World Turns flew a little too quickly from his lips). They took turns shouting out the answers, passed the bowl of pretzels without being asked, Cisco had his arm around Barry's shoulders for most of it. It was a comforting weight, just reminding Barry that he was there and they were having fun. Together

However, when they finally embodied the cliché of Barry finishing Cisco's sentence, he had to stop, because one fully-fledged thought had torn through his head like a wrecking ball:

I thought I only had this with Iris.

She was bent close to Felicity, the two of them hunched over their score sheet and gleefully tallying the points. Eddie had turned in his stool and was leaning against Iris' shoulder, his buzzer held faithfully in hand. Barry noted, in a shocked sort of way, that their physical comfort with one another looked like how his and Cisco's felt. And, with a pang, he realized that he'd basically forgotten that the others were even here.

"It's 'Freed' right?"

Barry startled, coming back to himself. Cisco still had one arm warped around his shoulders, the other pointing insistently towards the stage.

"Huh?"

"The book, dude." Cisco tightened his grip in slight panic. "Look, I promise to judge you later for any love you might have for that shitty, abusive series, but we've got fifteen seconds to answer—" His hand waving got more intense, garnering only an eye-roll from Eddie. "It's Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades...?"

Barry would always update his dad on the latest book craze when he'd go to visit, so yeah, he'd entertained him with James' fiasco too. Amidst the drab interior, in an appreciated moment of playfulness, his dad had commented that it was a good thing those texts hadn't been published twenty years ago, otherwise Barry might have ended up with an unexpected sibling. His reaction had been something between a squeal and a shriek.

Now though... totally different context. Barry's brain grafted 'erotic romance' onto 'Cisco' and started heating up like an ancient laptop, sparking and letting out clouds of smoke.

"Y-yeah," Barry cleared his throat. "That's right."

Cisco shouted their answer over the tops of thoroughly aggravated heads and Barry could only stare, wondering when things had gotten so complicated. It had happened in less than an hour, right? He'd gone from simplicity, complete understanding of what he wanted and needed... to this. Barry wasn't even sure what 'this' was. Except it had come on fast and was already taking room within him. It didn't want to leave.

Barry watched the dimpling in Cisco's cheeks as he smiled and cheered. Or maybe, he thought, it started when I got struck by lighting.

(Wasn’t that a metaphor for love?)

They'd made plans after this. A movie. Barry had supposed it would be at the Labs.

But maybe...

"Hey!" Barry had to practically shout over all the commotion—it was now clear who'd be winning and the other teams felt no need to keep their displeasure quiet. "Hey, Cisco!"

"What's up?"

"Want to catch that movie at my place?"

Cisco froze, his expression sobering, and for one horrible second Barry thought he'd made a colossal mistake. Then a new smile came. It wasn't manic or exuberant like the others, it wasn't even very big, but it felt massive and Barry was a little off kilter just looking at it.

"Yeah?" Cisco breathed.

"Yeah."

"...well alright then."

Barry didn't catch the look Iris and Felicity shared, or the over-exaggerated yawn that Eddie let loose. He was focused solely on Cisco, the world slowing down once more until Barry could see every crease in his face, every path his hair took as it fell over his shoulder. The only thing that permeated was sound—Becca yelling some joke about clear winners.

Not that Barry cared. Inexplicitly, he felt like they'd already won.

***

Get him to do something daring. Push him to try new things... you never know what that could translate to in a relationship ;)