PREFENCES
" HOW YOU MET "

INCLUDED:
Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Iris West, Wally West, Julian Albert

BARRY ALLEN

"Hey, Barry. Pick up my phone for me? I'm kinda preoccupied." Cisco called out to his friend, who had been lounging around behind the control panel of the lab, throwing a stress ball up and down.

Barry looked over to Cisco, where he was tinkering away with an upgrade for his Flash suit, before shrugging, and looking down at the phone which was blaring a ringtone of the 'Ghostbusters' theme song. The phone showed the name 'Y/n ❤️', and a picture of Cisco and a girl at Comic Con as the background.

Slightly confused, and fully intrigued, Barry picked up the phone, accepting the call.

"Hey, Cisco! How's my best boy?" You exclaimed as soon as you stopped hearing the dialing tones.

He raised his eyebrows while looking over at the other man, who looked up at him expectantly, wanting to know who it was on the other end of the line.

"Um . . . actually, this is Barry on his phone." He told you sheepishly.

"Oh, hi. I've heard a lot of good things about you! Can I speak to Cisco for a moment?" You asked kindly, the sound of your voice easy on Barry's ears. He couldn't help but smile slightly when he answered your query.

"Sure." With that, he passed the phone off to his friend, who put his tool down and took it, grinning upon realizing that it was you.

Barry watched his actions with pinched eyebrows, contemplating if he was in a secret relationship that he hadn't told Barry or the team about. He was tilting his head at the thought alone.

Once he zoned back in, Cisco's phone was discarded on the tool tray, and he was back to working on his project.

"Who's (Y/n)?" He questioned curiously, going to stand next to the engineer.

The side of Cisco's lips tugged at your mentioning. "A friend." He indulged. "My best friend."

"That explains the heart next to her name." Barry observed, leaning against the counter next to Cisco.

"What?" He looked up at Barry with a questioning smile. "You thought I had a secret girlfriend or something?" He laughed at the thought of dating you. Not because there was anything bad about you (no, in fact; you were intelligent, hilarious, and beautiful), but because you'd been his best friend for countless years, and it would be way too weird.

"I guess . . ." Barry admitted, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "But now I've learnt that you just have a secret best friend."

Cisco didn't peer up at him again, but chuckled nevertheless. "Well, she's bringing me my lunch later; so maybe she's not-so-secret after all."

__________

Only an hour later, you showed up at STAR Labs, Cisco letting you in and walking with to the room where Barry and him were previously hanging around. You two hadn't seen each other in a while, so you were planning on catching up over some Big Belly Burger.

Entering the large room, you couldn't help but spot everything that you'd heard stories about. Your were best friends with Cisco, and that meant knowing about most of the things he did around there. You were his confidant, and he needed the emotional support from you after all of the Flash drama.

"This place is awesome!" You looked over at him, grinning.

Cisco slapped your arm playfully, mirroring your expression happily. "I knew you'd like it." He looked all too pleased with himself. "And hey, where's Barry?" He peered around, only to see the meta coming out of one of the medical rooms off to the side. As soon as he saw you, his eyes widened, and he managed to trip over nothing, almost falling over, before he caught himself.

Cisco was laughing at his misfortune, before getting out: "This is Barry Allen."

You were laughing under your breath too, trying not to be rude in front of the guy that you'd just met. But it was just so cute how he looked embarrassed (red cheeks and all), and how he was brushing nothing off of his clothes. "I though that the Flash would be a lot let clumsy."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Cisco asked rhetorically, a distinctly Ramon smirk on his face.

Barry just smiled shyly at you, before saying: "You're (Y/n), right?" He enquired, approaching you, making sure not the fall over anything this time. He couldn't help that your beauty literally had him falling for you, though.

"Yeah, that's me." You shook his hand, noticing the sparkle in his eyes.

You couldn't seem to look away from it.

__________

CISCO RAMON

"I don't know . . . " Cisco shook his head. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Why not?" Iris asked, crossing her arms in a way that showed how stubborn she was on the subject. "It'll be great! C'mon, she's really excited to meet you."

He sighed, tugging on a strand of his dark hair. He was nervous, no doubt; and he had reason to be. "Fine . . . but what did you tell her about me?"

"Just the good stuff. That you're really smart, funny, all that junk . . . " She trailed off, looking at his stressed out expression. "Calm down, Cisco. She's really cool."

He didn't look convinced in any way, shape, or form.

"She makes movie references all the time, and she's really clever. She works at Mercury Labs. And besides . . . she's super pretty." Iris listed off, and watched on as her friend seemed to warm up to the idea. Well, at least not look that uncomfortable.

__________

"(Y/n)?" He asked as he approached you, watching hesitantly as you turned your head from where you were sitting.

When you smiled at him, he was done for already. The way your eyes squinted just a little, and how you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear when you did so . . . Let's just say, he sorely underestimated the beauty of Iris' friends.

"Yeah." You stood from your place at the booth your were sitting at, holding your hand out to greet him. A sheepish expression pulled onto your face as you said: "Nice to finally meet you, Cisco. I've heard some wild stories about you."

"All good I hope." He remarked, and watched as you slipped back into your seat. He soon found his place in his, after a moment of processing what was happening. How did he get so enchanted by you saying his name alone?

"Of course." You reassured.

"Well . . ." Cisco started, eyes constantly flickering from you, to the table in front of him. "I hope this isn't too forward, but . . . you look really beautiful."

Your cheeks filled with a soft pink colour at his compliment, and as you looked up into his unsure brown eyes, you couldn't help but smile again. "Thank you."

__________

CAITLIN SNOW

You weren't too sure how it happen. One moment you were walking to an event you'd be attending, and the next moment, there was an ear-ringing explosion to your left. You tried to shield yourself from whatever it was, by flinging your arms up, but it didn't matter, because when you opened your eyes, you were across the street from where you stood before.

"Are you okay? Ma'm, are you okay?" The Flash asked you, hands on your shoulders to keep you steady.

You were disoriented, and were kind of freaking out, but you managed a small. "I-I'm okay."

When you looked over at where you were standing before, you saw that the buildings glass from had completely shattered, and the sidewalk was black from the blast.

"Don't worry, no one got hurt." The Flash reassured, watching on as you sighed in relief. "I have to go now . . . Just, be careful." He looked over at a few of the pedestrians that had watched the explosion happen, and made eye-contact with one specific woman.

As soon as he sped off, you stumbled in your place, the woman immediately rushing up to you.

"Are you okay?" She asked, red hair swaying slightly in the breeze.

"I-I'm fine." You assured. "Just in shock, I think."

"Okay, well, I'm Doctor Caitlin Snow. Can I do a few tests on you to make sure you're alright?" She asked softly.

All you could do was nod, and allow her to walk you over to a nearby bench, where you sat down together.

As she began to inspect your face for any noticeable, hand on your chin, she asked slowly: "Why're you wearing such a fancy dress? Am I making you late for a date?"

You chuckled slightly, shaking your head as she moved her attention from your face, and down to your left arm. Much to your disappointment, of course. You liked seeing her pretty eyes. "No, nothing like that. I'm . . . the keynote speaker at this science expo down the road."

Her eyes immediately met yours, and she began to smile. "You're (Y/n) (L/n)?"

"Um, y-yes." You answered truthfully, seeing her smile only grow larger. It was really beautiful, you had to admit.

"It's an honour to meet you, really. I was just about to attend the expo you're talking about." She informed you, and for the first time since you'd interacted, you looked down at her outfit to notice her dress.

"Oh." You blinked. "Care to be my date, then? As retribution for you helping me."

You could see her blush, just because you were so close together, and you thought it went so nicely with her hair.

"Um, sure. I'd love to."

__________

IRIS WEST

Iris hadn't had a new person at her  work in the entire time that she'd been there. Even when Pam had retired last year, no one replaced her.

So imagine her surprise when you arrived bright and early on a Monday morning, coffee cup in hand, and a pleasant smile on your face.

Her boss, Mr. Valdez, was leading you around, introducing you to people, and showing you things. Iris' gaze kept on flickering from you to the empty desk directly across from her's, where the old woman used to sit.

Clearing her throat, she decided to concentrate on the article that she was meant to be writing about the Flash. It was kind of weird saying all the stuff about the superhero, while knowing who was really behind the mask already.

"Hey, Iris." Her boss said from above her, attracting her attention. "This is (Y/n) (L/n). I figured that it was bout time we filled Pam's space, and she seems to be the perfect fit." He grinned in that charismatic way he did, gesturing towards you.

"Iris West, it's a pleasure to meet you. Your articles are always so well-written." You smiled easy, balancing your box of things in one hand, holding out the other hand for her to shake. She obliged, trying to hide how flattered she was that someone like you were complimenting her.

"You too. I love your articles about the Arrow especially." Iris told you, and watched on as your smile only grew.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it. (Y/n), this is your desk right here." Mr. Valdez patted the one across from Iris, before finally leaving.

You placed your belongings on the table, before sitting down in your chair with a sigh. You'd been walking around the whole morning, and it was nice to finally sit down. Iris watched on in amusement as she sunk into her own chair.

You began to reach into your box not moments later, pulling out files and sticky notes and other decorations for your table. The last thing your brought out was an 'Arrow' mug.

"So, why'd you decide to come to Central City?" Iris asked you over her computer.

You shrugged, looking down at the green, bow and arrow adorned cup in front of you. "For a fresh start, I guess." You answered vaguely, mysteriously.

Iris tilted her head, watching the way your hair fell in your face slightly, the way fumbled with your papers. And from that moment on, she decided: she was going to figure you out.

__________

WALLY WEST

"Hey, (Y/n)?" Your new partner, Joe West, called. You immediately flickered your gaze up to his, wanting desperately to get into the good books of the highly respectable man.

"Yes, Detective West?" You asked back, turning your body to face him properly.

"Please, call me Joe." He smiled good-naturedly. "My daughter suggested that I should invite you for dinner tonight, as a welcoming to the precinct. My whole family will be there, including Barry. Care to join?" He enquired, taking you by surprise. Joe West was a very warm and kind man, but the proposition still managed to shock you slightly. But if your newfound friend Barry would be there, then it couldn't be that awful, could it?

After a momentary pause, you smiled up at him from where you were sitting. "I'd love to." You nodded slowly.

__________

You turned up at the West house about two minutes late, but no one seemed to notice as Barry opened the door with a huge grin.

"Hey, (N/n)." He greeted, pulling you in for a warm hug after closing the door behind you.

When he realized you'd entered, Joe stood from his couch in the living room, and went over to greet you with a firm handshake and a pleasant smile.

"Kids." Joe called out, grabbing the attention of the two other people in the den. "This is (Y/n) (L/n). (Y/n), this is my daughter, Iris, and my son, Wally."

They both stood up to say hello. Iris approached you with a welcoming smile, shaking your hand just like her father. "(Y/n). The youngest graduate of the Central City police academy. We've heard a lot."

You couldn't help but blush at the comment, because you were really proud of it, and it's mentioning flattered you rather easily.

Next Wally came over and gave you a hug. You were never one to do that upon meeting someone, but you admired people who did, so you excepted it open-heartedly.

When you two pulled away, Wally had a lopsided grin on his face, welcoming brown eyes burning with something you couldn't quite place.

__________

"Let's make a toast." Barry raised his glass, everyone else joining him enthusiastically. He looked over at you, beaming, before saying: "A toast to new partnerships, and new friends." He said.

"Here, here." Joe echoed as everyone clinked their glasses together.

When you peered up to clink glasses with Wally, you saw that he was already looking at you. He shrugged slightly. "To new friends?" He offered, making your lips twitch upwards.

"To new friends." You confirmed.

__________

JULIAN ALBERT

"(Y/n)?" Julian asked curiously, looking down at the image that Cisco had pulled up.

"What? You know her?" Barry asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah . . . well no . . ." He couldn't rip his eyes away from you familiar face, having aged beautifully since he'd seen you last. "We were in the same class in university. She was the only person to ever score higher than me in the finals." He explained.

"Looks like someone's still carrying a flame, though." Cisco observed with a slight smirk.

"I am not." Julian denied, finally tearing his eyes away from the photograph of you. "It's just . . . good to see that she's around."

Barry and Cisco made eye-contact at the same time, sharing a look that clearly portrayed that they weren't buying it.

"Originally, I was going to be the one that kept her away from our meta, but I suppose you could do it." Cisco told him slowly, leaning back in his chair.

This peaked Julian's interest. "What would I have to do?"

"Just keep her distracted, and inside the coffee shop." Barry said, watching as the British man pondered it for a second.

"That's it?"

"That's it." He confirmed.

Julian ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he looked back over at the image of you. "I suppose it wouldn't bad to reconnect . . ."

__________

Just as you were about to rummage for money in your purse to pay for your late-night coffee, you heard someone say behind you. "I've got it."

You turned to see a man that you immediately recognized, but you couldn't quite place from where.

"Make that two of what she's having." He added, placing a bill on the counter for the woman behind it to take. He then peered over at you. "Sorry. I don't know if you recognize me, because we never really spoke; but we went to university together. We were in the same forensics course."

Your memory slowly clicked, and then you were smiling. "I remember." You confirmed, which made him smile back. "Julian, right?"

"Right." He confirmed, nodding.

"You were the one person in the course that almost beat my scores." You remember, taking your coffee cup that the woman had placed on the counter, Julian doing the same.

"And you were the one that I could never beat." He added, which made you laugh lightly.

"Care to join me at a table? I'd love to hear what you did after school." You asked, chewing on your lip as you awaited an answer from the man in front of you.

"I'd love to." He replied honestly. And pretty soon, you two were sitting across from each other, discussing everything that'd happened since your time as graduates.

__________