Imagine being an amateur game developer and having Flashpoint Cisco Ramon as your boyfriend helping you with your ideas complete with a gaming session with Caitlin?
You groaned asanother bit of code flickered on the screen. You couldn’t believe that this washappening. After so long it was the little things that seemed to be getting inthe way. The harder bits, the bits that you could practically do in your sleep,were fine. It was just these little details.
‘You’reoverthinking it,’ said Cisco, pulling your attention away from the screen andtowards him. He was standing in the doorway, loosening his tie with one handwhile the over was wrapped around a glass. There was a small smile on his face,the one that he always seemed to wear when you were working, when you were lostin the world of developing a game. Or at least, that’s what Caitlin had toldyou. Your best friend apparently had seen the look that you completely missed,usually.
‘How?’ you asked,frustration obvious behind your voice.
‘You told me,’ hesaid, moving to sit beside you, not caring about rumpling his suit, ‘that youwanted them to move like they were old school graphics, right?’
You nodded. He’dhelped you with that idea. It was something that might make gamersunderestimate them when really they had the most attack power. It was sly, amove that you thought made the whole thing more interesting.
‘But you’re stillthinking with the graphics of the game.’ He poked the side of your head gently.‘Go back to when you were starting out with all this. When you thought that aslong as you had something on the screen it was all right.’
You huffed. Thatwas harder to do than you thought. Every time you tried to think back the newthings that you’d learnt swept over the old stuff, refusing to be ignoredbecause they were the latest.
Cisco was silent asyou thought, his attention helpfully on the game instead of you.
‘Got it!’ you said,hastily moving to work on the game once more.
He placed a gentlekiss on your temple. ‘Knew you would. Don’t work too hard.’
You shook yourhead. ‘Love you too,’ you told him, knowing that was what he meant.
He chuckled softlyas he stood up, leaving you to continue with the game unless you needed him.
‘You did it?’ askedCaitlin as you stepped through her front door and into the corridor. You couldsee the excitement on her face, practically felt it crackling through the air.She was dressed in comfy clothes, knowing that the two of you were going to beat this for a while. You half wondered if she’d already got all the food ready,but of course she had. This wasn’t your first gaming session, and there was noway that it would be the last, either.
‘I did it,’ youassured her, holding the game out for her.
‘But you don’t knowall the ways to win?’ She coked her head a little to the side, and you could tellthat she was doubtful about that fact.
‘Well, I might knowwhere some of the hidden levels are,’ you admitted, holding your hands upquickly when she turned to you. ‘But if I didn’t I wouldn’t know where all thegood bits were!’
She chuckledsoftly, shaking her head as you dropped onto the sofa and she put the game intothe console. ‘You sure you want to do this?’
‘Of course,’ youassured her, grabbing up one of the controllers. ‘I need someone to play itwith me and work out all the kinks.’
She beamed at you.Both of you knew that Cisco had helped you make sure that there weren’t anyproblems. That he had been with you when you needed it. But this was the worldfor the two of you. Gaming sessions were always the best with Caitlin. The twoof you got lost in the world unfolding on the screen, in talking to thecharacters despite knowing that they coulnd’t hear you.
‘Ready?’ you askedas you clicked through the menu, hovering over the “Stat game” button.
‘Always,’ sheassured you, beaming as you pressed the button. You half wondered if you weregoing to complete the game in one sitting or not, but it didn’t matter. As longas you were playing it with Caitlin, that was all that mattered.