— 𝑆 —

"𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒?"

Sophia looked up from the computer screen to see Barry entering the room, two to-go cups from Jitters in his hands. "You sound like a creep at a bar."

"Sorry, babe." He chuckled as he placed one cup in front of her, then kissed the top of her head before sitting beside her. "What're you working on?"

She gestured to the computer screen with one hand, taking a long, much-needed sip of her usual caramel latte with the other. He gave a nod of understanding.

The rendering of the city map had finished only a few minutes after her talk with Cisco the night before. Orange glows had dotted the entire map—there were about fifty-two breaches in Central City. And worse, one was located right in STAR Labs.

"You need a little distraction?" he offered. "We could go for a walk or something."

Sophia frowned at the screen for a moment. She had been staring at this map for the last hour—maybe it would do her a little good to spend a little time away from it; refresh her mind a little. She was certain her eyes would thank her for it. Besides, it was rare for her to get quality time with Barry nowadays.

She turned to Barry, who was waiting with raised eyebrows. She let out a sigh and nodded. "A walk would be nice."

Sophia hadn't even realized the Sun had set until they walked outside. Somehow, she hadn't noticed when the Sunlight pouring through the windows had died down. 

She wrapped her hands tightly around her coffee cup, trying to warm her hands from the chilly wind that had already broken through her coat. The arm that quickly snaked around her waist warmed her a little more, and she leaned into Barry's side.

The Moon was being rather shy that night. It hid behind the thick grey clouds that covered nearly all the stars—though Central City was never really a good place to go stargazing.

"So," she started as they began to head down the sidewalk. "How was work?"

"Pretty slow. Nothing really happened—though I guess that's a good thing." He shrugged. "How come you don't come to CCPD often anymore? Trying to avoid me?"

She rolled her eyes at his playful grin. "Obviously not. But now that the Flash wants us back on his team" —she elbowed his side, and he chuckled— "there's a lot more work to do at STAR Labs. Captain Singh doesn't really notice—Cisco and I still get our shit done, anyway."

"Okay," he rebutted, "but I miss you."

"Nothing's stopping you from visiting during your lunch break!"

"Fine, true," he sighed dramatically. "But it'd be so much better to see you all day."

She giggled, and she was glad that she could blame her rosy cheeks on the frosty weather.

"Anyway," he said, his grip tightening on her waist, "what were you up to all day?"

"Oh, just the map thing," she lied. "Boring day."

She glanced up at Barry, who seemed to have believed her. She let out a small sigh.

It wasn't fully a lie. She had spent some of her day studying the map and breaches, and trying to figure out how to close them. But the other part of her day she had spent thinking of Cisco, trying to figure out whatever the hell was going on with him.

It was frustrating to have what seemed like an unlimited amount of knowledge in her head, yet have absolutely no clue in the least about what was happening to one of her best friends. Especially since it was causing him to have one of the biggest internal freakouts she had ever seen him have—one which he had to hide from everyone else.

Their best theory was still the first thing that Sophia had thought of—that he had been affected by the particle accelerator explosion, but, for some reason, his powers hadn't been activated until the Reverse-Flash had killed him in the other timeline. She had no fucking clue how a different timeline had affected him, but there really was no other working theory at the moment—not that it really even mattered how he got his powers. All that mattered was that he had them.

And as much as she wanted—needed—to rant about all this to Barry, she had to keep her lips sealed. Cisco still didn't want to tell anyone about it, despite the fact that Sophia was sure that at least Stein might be helpful. She wasn't sure when he would be ready, but she wasn't going to push.

"Soph?"

"Hm?" She snapped out of her thoughts, turning to Barry, whose eyebrows were furrowed.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"No, sorry," she admitted bashfully, holding her coffee closer to her chest. "What was it?"

"I was just asking if you were doing anything this weekend."

She pursed her lips for a moment, tilting her head up toward the sky. "No. Why?"

"Just thought we could go for dinner or something—assuming there are no emergencies." He shrugged. "You okay, though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured him, putting her most convincing voice on. "Just tired."

She took a long sip of her coffee. It had cooled a little bit by now, but it was still warm enough to spread a cozy feeling through her chest.

When they reached the end of the street, they were faced with two options: cross the street ahead into a neighbourhood, or go to the park on their left. They opted for the latter.

Sophia sat at the nearest bench, and Barry quickly settled beside her. She wasn't shivering for long; he wrapped his arm around her, and she snuggled into his embrace.

"Snowpea," he murmured, pressing a kiss onto the top of her head. When she hummed in response, he continued, "Random thought: When will I get to meet your parents?"

She frowned. It had been a long time since she had even talked to her parents, aside from the weekly 'How are you?', 'Good.' The last time she had even visited must have been over two years ago—it was before she even started working for STAR Labs. When she had moved to Central City for university, she had been pretty good about going back home and doing daily video calls. But as soon as she started working for Dr. Wells, working on the particle accelerator was all she ever spent her time doing. And now, with the unpredictability of attacking meta-humans, she couldn't exactly book any vacation days.

Besides, they had no clue she was working for the Flash—or that she even had powers herself. She was sure they wouldn't react badly, but still, the thought of them finding out terrified her. She would rather keep that a secret. 

"I'm not sure," she finally said.

"What, you don't want me to meet them?" he teased. "Afraid I'll embarrass you?"

"Of course not," she scoffed, adjusting her head so that she was looking up at him. "There's just never really any time. I mean, I can try setting up a Facetime, but what if there's a meta-human attack or something? They don't know you're the Flash."

"Then I'll come up with some lame excuse—but that's only if it happens," he pointed out. "I'm gonna have to meet them one day or another, you know."

"Yeah, I know—and I want you to meet them. They're great." She smiled, and then she placed a kiss on his neck. "And I want to show them how great my boyfriend is, too."

"I am pretty great," he agreed with a grin.

"Okay, then." She took a sip of her coffee. "I'll set it up."

A cold breeze swept past them, and she snuggled further into Barry's side. A smile crept onto her face as she felt the kiss he pressed on her head.

She wished moments like these would last forever. Of course, she wouldn't trade their lives for the world—but she had to admit, she very often got sick and tired of the constant running around and fear. It was nice to imagine a life where they worked their nine-to-fives and then got to spend the rest of their nights and weekends together. Where they could go out for a dinner or a trip without worrying—knowing—that their date would be cut short by a meta-human attack or revelation that required their immediate attention.

She shifted her head up and lifted her eyes to his face. As soon as his gaze met hers, he matched her smile. She was just grateful to still have him.

Suddenly, the heat of his face warmed hers as he pressed his lips against hers. She straightened up a little, resting her hand on his cheek as she kissed him.

The arm that was wrapped around her waist pulled her closer into him. He swiftly broke the kiss before pressing his lips along her jawline.

He pecked just below her ear before whispering, "Do you wanna go back to my place?"

She laughed softly. "Isn't Joe home?"

He frowned. "Your place?"

She planted a kiss on his lips as she drew her phone out of her pocket. When she saw the time, she sighed. "I wish, but I have plans with Cisco."

"Ditching me for another guy?"

"Shut up, it's Cisco." She playfully slapped his chest, and he laughed. "Raincheck?"

He kissed her cheek. "Of course."

Her playful mood vanished the moment she arrived outside of Cisco's apartment.

He looked like a mess when he opened the door. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, which adorned the same mustard stain at the collar of his grey shirt, and his expression was nothing short of exhausted. She was sure he had been up all night.

"How've you been feeling?" she asked as she stepped inside and closed the door.

"Fine." He quickly crumbled under the glare she gave him as he collapsed onto the couch. "Okay, not fine. Stressed. Horrible."

She sighed as she sat beside him. She hated the look of despair he wore as his head hung back. "I wish I could tell you I have a solution, Cisco, but . . ."

"I know."

"I still think we should tell someone," she said, wringing her hands. "Caitlin, Stein, someone."

"Soph, if you—a literal super-genius—can't figure it out, no one can."

"That's not true," she argued, which she whole-heartedly believed. "Stein knows so much about all this . . . theoretical, meta-humanish stuff."

"I . . . Just . . . Not yet. Not anytime soon." Cisco dug his face into his hands, a loud groan accompanying. She placed a reassuring hand on his back and rubbed it gently. "You haven't told anyone, right?"

"No."

"Not even Barry?"

"I always keep my word, Cisco," she chided. "You know that."

He just let out a soft grunt in reply, his face still hidden in his hands. Sophia frowned, shifting a little closer while continuing to rub his back.

She hated seeing her best friend like this—but she had no clue how to deal with this other than reassure him. She sure as hell could hardly figure out a solution—and there was no sympathy card that read along the lines of 'Sorry you developed powers that terrify you.'

He finally lifted his head, and his eyes met hers; she just now noticed the darker hue that tinged underneath. "So you didn't come up with anything?"

She let out a long sigh as she shrugged. "All I can really think of is that your powers were dormant, and Thawne killing you in the other timeline triggered them to wake up. I mean, your visions go across space and time—you saw things that happened in the future. Maybe you have some connection to other dimensions, too. I can't think of any other reason."

Cisco groaned and shoved his face into his hands again. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I can't get rid of this, can I?"

She scoffed in amusement. "Cisco, if someone had figured out how to get rid of their powers, we'd have a lot less problems."

"Yeah." He rubbed his face and leaned back on the couch. "What now?"

"I guess . . ." She pressed her lips together. "We figure out how to control it."