Cisco Ramon is polyamorous aromantic bisexual and he is queerplatonic partners with Caitlin Snow who is polyamorous biromantic asexual and there's nothing you can do about it
https://archiveofourown.org/works/27605090
tagging @icedteaandoldlace because they’re the only other person I know who hcs Cait as ace
Daily reminder that I love all ya killervibers for being tolerant, respectful, patient and chill and not stirring up madness or discriminatory nonsense. We may be small but we’re mighty 💜
Let me just say that Cisco was visibly much more upset than Julian when Caitlin died (as to be expected because he’s known her for much longer and despite never actually being in a romantic relationship their relationship was much more developed than Caitlin and Julian’s) and he still cared enough about her to respect her wishes. She literally said she would rather die than become KillerFrost. I guess Julian didn’t care about that.
I got inspiration from the musical episode and decided to write a Killervibe fic about how Caitlin discovers that Barry isn’t the only one in Star Labs who can carry a tune, but then it kinda spiraled into something longer, so anyway just read and enjoy :)
-
HR was the one who came up with the whole plan, and surprisingly, it turned out to be one of his better ideas.
It was after a long day of working at Star Labs, and everyone was tired of conducting tests and analyzing speed patterns, so HR had suggested that they all go out for drinks to relax a little and relieve some stress. Now, it was entirely possible that when saying ‘drinks’ he was referring to coffee, but the rest of the team had something a bit stronger in mind, and that’s how they all ended up in the bar just down the street, tipsy enough so that everything was hilarious but sober enough to remember what was going on. And it just happened to be on that particular night in that particular bar, that there was open mike karaoke going on, and before long almost the whole team had gone onstage to preform something or other.
Barry, as everyone had suspected, was a perfect natural at singing, and managed to sing so beautifully that by the end of the song nearly everyone in the bar was cheering for an encore - drunk and sober and all. But Barry, being a gentlemen, had politely declined and offered the mike to the next member of the team who had yet to preform, which just so happened to be Cisco.
No one was expecting for Cisco to have such an aptitude for singing as Barry did, but when he began to sing he proved to be just as talented as the Scarlet Speedster, and rendered the whole team speechless when he finally sung the last chord of the song. After the sudden shock had sunk in though, they all immediately cheered and applauded, amazed that Cisco could have kept such a talent hidden from all of them for so long.
Eventually the night drew to a close and people began to depart; first Barry and Iris, then Wally and HR, and lastly Caitlin and Cisco (Julian wasn’t there for he had been gone for a while visiting relatives back in England).
Caitlin, who had drunken barely anything, insisted on being the designated driver and escorting Cisco back home, to which Cisco had no objection to.
Once they pulled up to his apartment though, Caitlin had turned to him and said in an almost accusing tone, “Why did you never tell me?”
Cisco was confused at what she was referring to. “Tell you what?”
“That you can sing!”
Cisco shrugged. It had never really been something he was trying to keep a secret; he had just never found the need to mention it before. Perhaps it was because Dante had always been the musically talented person in his family, and he had never wanted to have to compete with him, knowing that no matter how hard he tried, he would never measure up to Dante in his parents’s eyes.
“I don’t know,” he answered, deciding to say that rather than go into depth about the reasons behind never telling anyone.
“Well, you should’ve told me! You were amazing Cisco! I even thought,” she leaned closer, as though about to share a secret, “you were better than Barry.”
Cisco could scarcely believe that that was true, but the way Caitlin was smiling at him made a small seed of pride begin to bloom inside his chest. “You really think so?” he asked, wanting to hear her say the words again.
“Of course! I would much rather hear you sing over Barry. You should do it more often, though - I like hearing you sing.” She smiled sweetly at him, and Cisco could only smile in return.
“Thanks,” he then said to her for both the compliment and the ride, and then bid her goodnight as they parted ways.
From that moment on, Cisco sang more often. Whenever he and Caitlin would be working alone at Star Labs, he would turn on some music and sing along, although making sure the song was quiet enough so that his voice could be heard over the musician’s. He did the same thing whenever they carpooled together, or whenever they were at each other’s apartments for the evening. And every time, without fail, Caitlin’s face would light up in a smile, and her eye’s would sparkle with delight at the sound of his voice.
That was the main reason Cisco did it: for Caitlin. It was a sobering fact that Caitlin was never as happy or cheerful as she used to be, and if singing along to a song would get Caitlin to smile, Cisco would do it in a heartbeat a million times over.
Slowly the months passed, and when the time came the Star Labs team managed to defeat Savitar, and afterwards there was much celebration and triumph over the facts that Iris had been saved and that Barry had changed the future. Only a few short weeks later Barry and Iris announced their wedding date, and the time up until then was spent preparing and organizing for what was to be the most spectacular wedding any of them had ever attended. What was unexpected for Cisco though, was when Barry came up to him a few days before the anticipated event and asked if he was wiling to sing a song for the couple to dance to. Cisco, surprised at the fact that Barry even remembered that night in the bar all that time ago, readily agreed, willing to do anything for his friends on their special day.
After searching and searching, he found the perfect song that seemed to fit the couple, and by the time the big evening had arrived, Cisco was ready to preform. After the ceremony the dance floor was full of people swaying to the music, including Barry and Iris - who looked like royalty among the rest of them - and when the time came he caught Barry’s eye, Barry nodded, and Cisco proceeded towards the mike where the live orchestra had been playing. After tapping it a few times and gathering everyone’s attention, Cisco gave a short speech in dedication to Barry and Iris’s happines and good fortune, and after everyone had raised a toast to the two of them, he began to sing.
He had chosen the song, ’Because You Loved Me’ by Céline Dion, and had practiced it nearly a thousand times to make sure that it felt more personlized for his friends when he sang it. Halfway through singing, as he was watching Barry and Iris smile at each other and enjoy the moment, his eyes drifted over to Caitlin, who was watching him with a smile gracing her lips, her eyes aglow in wonder. Their eyes met, and Cisco found he couldn’t look away. As he sang the next verse, he couldn’t help but feel as though the song could almost be describing them, and everything they’d been through.
“You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shinning your love into my life
You’ve been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you…”
But of course, it wasn’t supposed to be about them; it was for Barry and Iris. Cisco finished the rest of the song and was awarded with a thunderous round of applause from the audience. It didn’t amount to anything though, because even though the song wasn’t for or about them, he found the real praise coming from the proud and joyous smile Caitlin gave him, looking happier than Cisco had ever seen before. And for the moment, that was all that mattered.
Once again time began to pass by slowly. Various different people entered and exited their lives, the team grew and shrunk until it was just Cisco, Caitlin, Barry, Iris, and Wally. New villians emerged and were defeated. Life just continued on.
Caitlin was still herself, though lately she’d been having trouble with her dangerous alter ego Killer Frost. It was after a particularly frightening instance in which she had lost control and nearly destroyed the main entrance to Star Labs when Cisco knew he had to do something. Caitlin had been more than frightened to say the least, and she would barely let anyone come within a ten foot radius of her, which is probably why she had shut herself up in her apartment and wouldn’t let anyone in, too afraid she’d hurt them. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time Caitlin had done this, but after lots of talking and persuading, she finally allowed Cisco to come over so he could help her advance the power inhibitors in her necklace and in the earings she now had to wear too. Thankfully, Cisco was successful in upgrading his technology, and Caitlin was back to normal again, or as normal as one could be after that type of experience.
But Cisco could tell she was still scared; she was still worried that she was going to lose control again, and it made him sad. He only wished Caitlin could see how much he and everyone cared about her, and that they weren’t scared of her. It had been so long since she’d smiled or was happy, too. Just thinking of these things gave Cisco an idea though, and he immediately went to work on it. For a whole week he spent all his spare time on coming up with the perfect thing to make Caitlin happy again, and finally he had finished it.
Later that evening, it was safe to say that Caitlin was beyond confused when Cisco showed up at her apartment unannounced with a guitar and large grocery bag in hand.
“What’s all of this?” she asked curiously as he entered her room.
“Operation M.C.H.” he told her, which only befuddled her further, but after watching him unload a gallon of ice cream and other varoius unhealthy snacks, she figured he must be trying to cheer her up somehow, though the guitar was still a mystery.
All throughout the evening Cisco tried to make sure that Caitlin was happy. He watched some of her favorite movies with her, made her favorite ice cream sundae, and was on his goofiest behavior, and turned out to be successful in making her both genuinely smile and laugh. As the hour grew late, Caitlin finally brought up the question of what the guitar was for.
“That was my big finale,” he said while grinning.
“To what? You’re operation A.B.C. or whatever? ”
“M.C.H.” he corrected, and then added in a softer voice, “Make Caitlin Happy.”
Caitlin looked surprised, but smiled sweetly at him and said, “You didn’t need to do all of that, Cisco. I am happy.”
Her words didn’t quite convince him, and it didn’t look like they had convinced her either, so Cisco grabbed his guitar and sat down in front of her in the living room. “I, uh, haven’t played in front of people for a long time, so don’t judge,” he instructed, and then slowly began to play. It was a soft melody that was pleasing to the ears, and Caitlin was completely captivated by just watching his fingers skillfully pluck at the guitar strings when he began to sing. His voice sang out loud and clear in the quiet room, and as the tune went on each note sounded more beautiful to Caitlin’s ears.
“…I’ll be there next to you through it all
I’ll help you stand back up when you fall
You should know that I’ll always come when you call
No amount of ice or snow or frost
Will ever make you lost
To me
You’re irreplaceable…”
Cisco sang the last few lines of the song and then it was over. When he looked up, he was alarmed to see Caitlin had tears running down her face, but then she gave a big smile, one thay conveyed more than just happiness, and Cisco relaxed again.
“Cisco…” Caitlin breathed after a few seconds. “You wrote that song…for me?”
Cisco nodded. “I wanted to see you smile. And it worked.” He hadn’t been sure of what she was going to do in response to that, but he sure wasn’t expecting her to kiss him.
Granted, it was on the cheek, but the feel of her soft lips on his face and her hair tickling his ear made his skin tingle. Her lips lingered on his cheek for longer than was probably necessary, and when she finally did pull back Cisco could feel her warm breath ghost across his face. His heart began to thump faster as he watched her move away, and emotions began to contort inside his chest. What was he feeling? Was it happiness? Uneasiness? Love? It was just a kiss on the cheek, so why was it making him feel like his insides were on a roller coaster ride? But by the time Cisco had managed to have these thoughts, Caitlin had begun speaking again, so he focused on her instead.
Whatever it was that he was feeling, Cisco knew that it would change something between them. Just the look in Caitlin’s eyes could tell him that. But for the time being, Cisco knew that one thing would never change: no matter what they faced or went through in the future, they could always look back on this memory and this song, and know that it would be forever theirs. And for the moment, that was all that mattered.
Killervibefanficweek18 Day 2: Undercover Missions!
Notes: This is a future fic that really took a life of its own!! It’s fluffy and I had a lot of fun writing it, enjoy!! <3
The (God)Parent Trap
Cisco knew this was a bad idea the moment this club’s DJ decided Rebecca Black’s Friday was worthy of being played.
Cisco shot Caitlin an agonized look.
Caitlin winced sympathetically, and opened her clutch for her phone. “I’m going to text Barry to let him know we made it in. You can try to fix the music.”
Cisco straightened his tie and marched over to the DJ’s booth with the determination of a soldier. “Oh, I’m three steps ahead of you,” he called over his shoulder, and grinned at the fond yet exasperated look on her face.
The DJ is a lanky, nerdy thing, very much similar to old pictures of Barry Iris showed Cisco from their days in high school. He tapped the kid on the shoulder, waiting for him to stop bopping to this horrible excuse of a song and remove his headphones.
“I’m sorry, Friday? What year is this, 2011?”
“I think it’s pretty rocking.”
Cisco groaned. “Okay, how much are they paying you for this gig? Fifty? Eighty? One Hundred?” Cisco slid over several twenty from his pocket. “I will double whatever they’re offering if you play something better. I’m desperate.”
The boy looked at the cash longingly, but shook his head.
“Sorry Sir, this song was requested.”
“By who?” Cisco cried, trying to forget that this dude called him sir. He may not be twenty-three anymore, and he may be wearing an itchy fake mustache, but god forbid anyone actually starts treating Cisco like an old irrelevant man.
The DJ pointed out a bossy girl teetering in heels wearing a flower crown.
“Oh Lord, she’s just as crazy as her father,” Cisco muttered under his breath. Of course it had to be Yelena, Dr. Sinister’s fourteen year old daughter.
Cisco rolled his eyes and left the DJ to his horrible life choices, maneuvering around the cheering pre-adolescent children on the dance floor as they slosh their orange crush over the rims of their red solo cups.
“It’s no use,” Cisco grumbled to Caitlin, who was leaning against the wall as Friday faded out and Miley Cyrus circa 2008 started next. He grabbed two drinks from a passing caterer tray.
He peered into the first glass.
“Shirley Temple?” Cisco guessed, handing the pink concoction to Caitlin.
“Thanks,” she said. She took a careful sip, grimaced, then rolled her eyes at finding Cisco covering his ears like a child.
“What do you expect?” She said, and Cisco let out a long tired sigh. He hates when she excuses crazy situations they get themselves into with logic. “This is a teenage dance hall converted into a makeshift club for the birthday party of a 14 year old who happens to be best friends with the daughter of Barry’s newest arch nemesis.”
“What I expect is to not have to fear that my brain will bleed out of my ears before the end of the day!”
“You’re being so dramatic,” Caitlin laughed, “As if you don’t love Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.”
Cisco scoffed, offended. “I’m sorry but Poker Face cannot even compare to Fly On The Wall and you know it.”
A teenager came up to them then. “Excuse me, are you two the chaperones?”
Caitlin bended down, “Yes! My name is Katherine Rodriguez and this is my husband, Arlo. We’re Sonya’s parents.”
The kid gave Caitlin and Cisco a once over. “You two don’t look anything like her.”
They shoot each other a quick look before both replying at the same time.
“She looks like her grandmother.”
“She’s adopted.”
Caitlin stepped on Cisco’s foot. “Uh, what we mean is we adopted Sonya when she was three but we were told she looks like her maternal grandmother.”
The girl snapped her gum, “Yeah, whatever. We’re, like, not friends or anything.”
Cisco tilted his head to the side and squinted. “Is there a point to this or…”
The girl seemed to remember the reason why she came and perked up, “Oh this is, like, tbh, really awkward now, but I just wanted to let you know that I caught her picking on Yelena. Maybe you should go and see what’s going on.”
Yelena Sinister. Dr. Sinister’s daughter. Perfect. The plan was working.
Caitlin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and blinked innocently. Cisco snorts. Is that how Caitlin thought it looked to be motherly? He’d tease her later about it if he didn’t find it so weirdly endearing. “Oh, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding,” Caitlin said, placatingly.
The kid looked skeptical, but put her hands up as if to say Oh well I tried and turned back to the buffet table.
“Arlo?” Cisco exclaimed, scandalized, once the girl was out of earshot.
“It rhymes with Cisco!” Caitlin defended, peering over the crowd for Nora. “It should be any moment now.”
“Are you sure she knows what she’s doing?” Cisco asked.
Caitlin nodded, “It’s Nora. She practically begged us to let her do it. Besides, you know she’d do anything to help her dad with a mission. Even if it means crashing a lame party and going by the terrible fake name Sonya.”
Cisco stopped sipping his club soda to retort, “Like Sonya is so much worse than Arlo.”
Cisco could feel they were just about to get into an epic bickering match over names when a man about five years older than Cisco comes towards them.
“Excuse me,” The man interrupted politely.
He was tall and somewhat handsome, but very obviously not naturally blonde. However, Cisco supposed it wasn’t fair to judge. Caitlin was sporting a ginger wig, like she was channeling a young Molly Ringwald and Cisco’s own fake mustache and goatee Iris forced onto him made him laugh so hard the first time he saw himself in a mirror, they almost flew off his face.
“Are you the other chaperone?”
The question was pointed at Cisco.
“Yes, I’m Arlo,” Cisco introduced himself, and he really did have to fake the smile. He shook his hand, “And this is my wife, Katherine.”
“Oh!” The man flushed pink and began to stutter. “Oh, we met before.”
Caitlin began to flush too, and Cisco sensed he was missing something.
“Really...When was this?” Cisco asked.
“I believe you were with the DJ. You know, it’s so refreshing to hear our children listen to appropriate songs, thank you for reminding the DJ of that.”
Caitlin hid her laugh in a cough as Cisco’s fake smile turned into a pained expression.
“Well, yes. That’s my job, protecting the children,” Cisco said smoothly.
The man turned to Caitlin.
“I’m so terribly sorry, Katherine. I didn’t know you were married or else I never would’ve said those things.”
Cisco raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry, what? Wait...Were you flirting with my wife?”
Cisco found himself getting ticked off, and it was weird, how he didn’t even have to pretend to feel vindictive. How he had no real claim at all over Caitlin but he still wanted to put his arm around her waist and drag her the hell away from this man.
Cisco didn’t like the way he looked at her. Cisco didn’t like the way she looked at him either, especially with her all flustered like this.
Caitlin put her hand on Cisco’s arm, sensing his discomfort. “I thought Eric was being friendly, I swear. It didn’t click until just now.”
Caitlin’s explanation felt sincere, and Cisco felt himself unwind when Caitlin kissed his cheek, for show, obviously, but still, it was a nice gesture for him...Or was it for Arlo? Cisco was starting to get confused.
For what it’s worth, the man truly did seem like he wanted a hole to swallow him up.
“I’m so sorry I flirted with your wife, man. I was just saying she looks so young to have a teenage daughter.” Eric paused to look at Cisco, “I mean, so do you. Also, I couldn’t help but notice neither of you wear wedding rings.”
Oh damn. Cisco knew they forgot something.
Caitlin smiled tightly. “We’re both allergic to gold, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Of course. Again, my apologies. Anyway, whose parents are you again?”
“Sonya.”
“How old is she?”
Cisco and Caitlin both spoke at the same time. Again.
“Eleven.”
“Fourteen.”
This was why Cisco and Caitlin hated working undercover.They sucked.
All three chuckled awkwardly.
Cisco cleared his throat, “We adopted Sonya when she was three...” He began, and Caitlin continued on for him when he began to falter.
“Exactly, so she’s really fourteen in age but we’ve only had her for eleven.”
They linked their arms together, smiling charmingly.
Speaking of their fake daughter, Cisco was hoping Nora picked up the pace so they could call Dr. Sinister already and get him out of his lair. Barry must’ve been staked out there for over two hours now.
Nosy Eric, as Cisco began to call him in his head, even though he probably doesn’t deserve it, frowned. “My daughter never mentioned her before. How does she know Vanessa?”
“Who?” Cisco frowned.
“Vanessa? My daughter.” Eric began to grow impatient, “The birthday girl.”
“Oh, right, I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you over this wholesome music!” Cisco replied, snidely.
Caitlin jabbed an elbow into Cisco’s rib. “Sonya was invited by Yelena. They go to piano lessons together.”
“I see. Wait a minute...Yelena doesn’t go to piano lessons. She does ballet.”
Thankfully, Nora swooped in and saved them when a loud crash followed by shrieking caused everyone to swerve their heads to see what the commotion was.
Cisco, Caitlin and Eric ran over to the dessert table where Nora was bent over, hands on her knees, laughing her ass off at Yelena who was on the floor, covered head to toe with hot melted chocolate from Vanessa’s chocolate fountain.
“You little bitch!” Yelena cried, slipping in the gooey mess as Vanessa stood several feet away completely stunned.
“Language!” Eric scolded at her, but it became very clear he agreed.
The snitch that advised Caitlin and Cisco crossed her arms over her chest and sighed loudly, “I warned you.”
All of their friends were pointing and laughing, which would’ve made Cisco feel a little bad if she wasn’t the spoiled brat spawn of one of Earth’s most despicable metahumans.
It was time to spring to action.
Cisco offered Yelena a hand as Eric began to scream at Caitlin about Nora ruining his daughter’s party.
“Your daughter did this?! I thought you said they were friends!” Eric accused, snapping at the teens to put their phones away.
“I can’t believe Sonya did this, I’m so sorry,” Caitlin apologized profusely, pretending to be aghast.
Cisco looked at his goddaughter straight in the eye and mentally psyched himself to sound as fatherly and as angry as possible when all he wanted to do was laugh. She quirked an eyebrow challengingly with a mischievous smirk.
“Sonya Isabella Rodriguez how dare you,” he scolded, “Your mother and I raised you so much better than this. Have you not one ounce of shame? This behaviour of yours is out of hand!”
Nora pinched her fingers together discreetly, telling him to tone it down a notch.
“But Daaaaaaaaad!” Nora whined, “You would’ve done it too if you knew what she’s like!”
“I don’t care,” Cisco said, “You’re coming home immediately. Apologize to this poor girl right away. Also you’re grounded.”
Caitlin rushed to the table to get napkins and wiped off the chocolate from Yelena’s hands.
“Here,” she said, whipping he phone out where it was conveniently left at the dial page. “Call your parents, honey. They’ll pick you up.”
Smart move, Cisco thought. Now Caitlin will have Dr. Sinister’s cell phone number, a valuable asset for tracking him in the future, and potentially finding out where else he goes.
Teary-eyed and humiliated, Yelena took Caitlin’s phone gingerly and called her father. She began wailing into the phone, and Cisco continued to fake berate Nora until she hung up.
“My daddy is coming right away to pick me up,” Yelena sniffed, picking her wilted flower crown from off the sticky floor.
Cisco shuffled Nora towards her. “Yelena, Sonya has something she’d like to say.”
Caitlin grabbed her cell back, texting Barry that Dr. Sinister should be leaving any minute, and that he should go ahead the moment the coast is clear.
Yelena shot Cisco a death glare she definitely learned from her father. “Your daughter is a fake ass wannabe weirdo who doesn’t even go to our middle school! I never invited you! Nobody knows who you are! How dare you crash Vanessa’s party!”
Nora’s jaw dropped, “Yeah, well you’re a prissy princess daddy’s girl! Even worse, your dad is a total psycho!”
Yelena gasped, then lunged at Nora, slapping her right across the face.
Cisco sent Caitlin a panicked look. Name calling and slapping fights that could end up exposing their fake identities during their undercover mission was not part of the plan.
“Okaaay! That’s enough! We’re going home now!” Cisco said in a rush, dragging Nora away by the collar of her skater dress. Quickly, Nora sped the three off to the dance hall’s lobby where Cisco opened a breach and they all quickly jumped through it and into Star Labs.
~.~
Iris startled at the control board of the cortex. She surveyed the three of them catching their breath and narrowed her eyes.
“Why is there chocolate all over my eleven year old daughter’s hair?”
Nora threw both her hands up in the air, “You were the one who said Uncle Cisco and Aunt Caitlin needed me to get into the party!”
Iris opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “Well... Yes, but it was their job to end the party and get Dr. Sinister out of his lair! Not yours.”
“Hey,” Said Cisco, putting a hand on Nora’s shoulder. “We were the ones that let Nora get involved in the mission, and she did an excellent job, if not slightly carried away at the end, but who could blame her.”
Iris massaged her temples, “You couldn’t have pulled the fire alarm or something?”
Caitlin shrugged sheepishly, “...We didn’t think of that.”
“Sweetie, come here,” Iris said to Nora, but at that moment Barry’s voice crackled over the intercom system, requesting Iris and Cisco for help.
He must have found something in Dr. Sinister’s lair.
“Ah crap,” Iris sighed, “Caitlin, do you mind?”
Caitlin shook her head and beckoned Nora over to the Med Bay, “Here, let’s get you cleaned up.”
She made Nora sit on the examining table and wet some paper towels to wipe the chocolate out of her hair.
“That was fun,” Nora said happily.
“I”m glad you thought so, but I’m sorry you got hit. Does it hurt?”
“Not really,” Nora reached towards Caitlin’s head to take off the red wig. “You looked like Kim Possible.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Caitlin smiled.
“Aunt Caitlin, can I ask you a question?”
Caitlin turned off the water faucet, and turned towards her, all ears.
“Sure,” Caitlin replied.
“I saw that guy talking to you. Why didn’t you get his number?”
Caitlin raised an eyebrow at the little speedster. This wasn’t what she had in mind when Nora asked to chat.
“It would’ve blown the cover. I was pretending to be married to Uncle Cisco, remember?”
“But you’re not in real life!” Nora objected.
Caitlin handed her a junior sized Star Labs sweatshirt and sweatpants to change into. Nora hopped off the table to get dressed.
“Yes,” Caitlin agreed, “But that man didn’t know that. I didn’t want his number anyway.”
“Why not?” Nora asked innocently.
“I just didn’t.”
“So if you’re not with anyone, and you’re not really with Uncle Cisco, then why haven’t you or Uncle Cisco ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend?”
Caitlin paused, taken aback. It was true that she had been single for a long time, but coincidentally, Caitlin had never been more content in her life than she was now. She had her life back in order, she had struck up an unlikely friendship with her alter ego, who had been less Killer and more Frost for several peaceful years. She made amends with her mother and was in fact really proud of her work with Barry, Star Labs and her personal research.
“I can’t speak for Uncle Cisco but I’m happy with my life as is. I don’t need anyone new.” Caitlin looked out the window at Cisco, giving Barry directions of what kind of tech to look for in Dr. Sinister’s lab and sighed wistfully.She was right. She didn’t need anyone new. It was an old friend that she had wrapped around her finger.
Nora followed her gaze.
“You looked awfully happy pretending to be Mrs. Rodriguez, though,” Nora pointed out.
Caitlin blushed. It wasn’t lost on her that there was a lot of truth to that statement. “I was playing pretend,” Caitlin insisted, knowing how weak that sounded..
Nora put a hand on her hip sassily, pursing her lips a lot like her mother.
“Were you, though?” She pressed.
Caitlin ruffled the damp hair of Nora’s head, shutting down the conversation all together. She loved the kid, but she sure was Barry Allen’s daughter, meddling in personal affairs. “You’re all good to go. Why don’t you run home to your brother. I’m sure he misses you.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Caitlin opened a drawer and handed her a lollipop. Nora rolled her eyes. “I’m too old for these.”
Cisco peeked his head in at that moment, his faux facial hair all gone, “No no,” He admonished, “You’re never too old for candy.”
He snatched Nora’s lollipop out of her hand, unwrapped the plastic and plopped it in his mouth. “Your loss my gain,” he said, muffled around the candy.
“Just think about what I said,” Nora told Caitlin, then sped out the building.
Cisco leaned forward. “What was she talking about?”
Caitlin fiddled with her medicine drawers. “Um,” she said lightly, shaking her head like it was no big deal, “Just about us being Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez. She didn’t quite believe that we were acting.”
Cisco sat in down heavily in Caitlin’s office chair. “But you told her we were…”
“Of course.”
Cisco sighed. “Right.”
Caitlin turned around, curious at Cisco’s tone of voice. “Why, you wish we weren’t?” She felt overly conscious about the way her heart sudden quickened in pace.
Cisco made a contemplative humming noise, “Weeeellll,” he dragged out the word, avoiding Caitlin’s gaze. He toyed his dress shoes into the floor as he swiveled left-right-left in her chair and removed the candy from his mouth.
“Arlo might’ve been a little jealous that a man was interested in his wife. It made him feel a bit stupid. Arlo has this amazing beautiful woman and he never really tells her enough what she means to him, he always kind of assumed she knew.”
“Ah,” Caitlin responded. Cisco glanced up at her, vulnerability written all over his face. “What does Katherine think?”
Caitlin lifted a shoulder, nonchalant. “Katherine was too wrapped up in her feelings about Arlo to even notice that another man was interested. Katherine felt silly that she lost her touch. And then she felt not so silly, because who was she trying to impress, if Arlo cared about her so deeply without her even having to try?”
“Really?”
They weren’t joking anymore.
Caitlin nodded. “Yeah.”
“I do,” Cisco breathed. “Care about you deeply. So much. For so long.”
Caitlin felt like she might die. In a really good way. In a ‘I ate three belly burgers and had one milkshake too many but I’m so very happy’ way.
“Is this Arlo talking or Cisco?” Caitlin teased, holding her breath.
Cisco stood up and grabbed Caitlin’s hand, tugging her towards him. “It’s Cisco,” He said softly, seriously. “It’s me. I’d be lying if I said you’re not who I want. Who I think about all the time. Who I’d want to be my partner in crime not just when we fight crime.”
Caitlin squeezed their joint hands. “That’s a relief. Caitlin feels the same way.”
Cisco moved closer, following Caitlin with his eyes, beaming. He leaned in just as Caitlin placed her hands on his waist when Nora zipped back into the Med Bay with her twin brother in tow, scaring the two half to death.
They jumped into each other’s arms as Nora crowed in victory. “Thank you speedforce!” She exclaimed, “I did it! You owe me ten bucks!”
“Congratulations,” Don cheered as unenthusiastically as a kid could sound. “No offense, but I thought it was never going to happen.” He handed Nora a crumpled Hamilton.
“See, I told you it would work!” She stuck her tongue out at Don smugly.
Suddenly all the puzzle pieces clicked. “Wait a minute…” Cisco said, shaking his head at Nora, impressed. “We’ve been bamboozled! You were the one that put the idea that we should be your fake parents in our heads! You set us up!”
“To be fair,” Nora pointed out, “You are our godparents, so it’s not like it’s that unrealistic.”
Caitlin tilted her head, thinking that reasoning over. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“Who cares!” Nora cried, “You’re together now!”
“Okay, thank you, we owe you. Now let us have our moment!” Cisco said, ushering the Tornado Twins away.
They zoomed off, and Cisco could hear Iris yelling after them as he pulled the curtain around the bed.
“Now,” Cisco said, winking, “Where were--Mmmph!”
Caitlin cut Cisco off, finally bestowing him their long awaited kiss.
