Technical Delays (Sequel to Technical Difficulties)

Before the Fall

Chapter 1: Before the Fall

Leah's POV

"You guys were awesome!' Cisco told us as Ronnie and I stepped into the cortex.

I giggled before throwing myself at him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, he wrapped his around my waist and pulled me against him. I buried my face into his shoulder as I felt him nuzzle his nose against my neck. I breathed him in, missing his scent of sweetness- literally, sometimes he smells straight up like candy as if he rolled around in some jolly ranchers. And he was warm, just as I remembered. I fit perfectly in his arms and my body seemed to mold perfectly against his as he held me as close as possible.

"Hey now, watch where you put your hands on my sister," Ronnie lightly threatened before swooping Caitlin up into his arms.

I watched them giggle as he twirled her in the air with a huge grin on my face. He deserved to be happy, they both did. I buried my face into Cisco's neck this time, pressing a light kiss to his skin and grinning when he shivered at the feeling.

He chuckled before quietly telling me, "Hey, your brother has already threatened me to keep my hands off you, don't make it harder on me to follow orders."

I laughed into his shirt before kissing his cheek.

He gave me his cheeky grin, the one that reaches one ear and travels to the next, where he squints his eyes to show the laugh-lines all over his face and exposes all of his teeth. My heart fluttered at the sight of it. It gets me every time.

"I like that, though." He told me before kissing each cheek and then my forehead, and then my nose. He continued to do this, going faster and faster, peppering kisses all over my face. I laughed and tried to lean back, but his hands on my waist held me close.

"That suit looks great on you, by the way," he added as the kisses came to a stop.

"Why, thank you," I smiled before teasing, "My boyfriend made it for me."

"Your boyfriend seems awesome."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my forehead against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat under his shirt and I smiled. "He is."

"He's pretty lucky to have someone like you, too."

The whole cortex was filled with chatter and laughter. It felt like we had all won for once and we were all happy. I leaned in to kiss Cisco, but the rush of wind that sped by caused us both to jump and forget what we were doing. And the light atmosphere died as soon as Barry zoomed in. He took his mask off and faced all of us with a solemn expression.

"Barry, we won!" Caitlin informed him, trying to remind him that it was okay.

Barry used his speed to change out of his suit. He still looked unhappy and I had a good guess why. Especially since Ronnie and I had just got back, it was an odd, sinking feeling to know that Harrison Wells was the bad guy that had been terrorizing the city for so long.

"I want to speak with him." He deadpanned. The circles under his eyes were never as clear as they were in that moment.

"Barry, we just caught him." Joe pointed out, "I think we all deserve a break, especially you."

"I need answers."

"Tomorrow." Iris suggested. "For now, I think we all deserve some rest."