Away // Snowbarry

XV

"Cisco, I told you that I am fine and Caitlin is fine," I rolled my eyes as I listened to Cisco's worried voice over the phone.

"If you need anything I'll be there ASAP," Cisco urged.

"I know, but we're totally good here," I told him confidently.

"It's been so long man," Cisco smiled at me.

"This is no time for a cute reunion. We need to find the others," Caitlin interrupted.

We got the little information Cisco could give and went over the leads we already had. Unfortunately, there were no new developments and we were back to where we were before we found Cisco.

"The best we can do right now is to wait for his name to pop
up as used in a transaction of some sort," Caitlin suggested after we'd exhausted all our options.

"Why don't we go get some coffee to clear our heads and then come back to this," Cisco offered.

We all agreed. Some time off from thinking about this whole ordeal would definitely be beneficial to Caitlin and I. I'm sure Cisco could also use a distraction from all the pain he had endured lately too.

With that being said, we arrived at Jitters. The aroma of coffee filled the place. Cisco took an audible deep breath in and let it out in a sigh of relief. He might not have been gone for long but it affected him in ways I couldn't even begin to understand and that was clear.

Caitlin got in line to purchase our coffees while Cisco and I grabbed a table.

"You look older, wiser," Cisco studied me.

"Domestic life has its sets of good and bad. It taught me a lot," Caitlin joined our table, "and this beautiful girl keeps me on my toes."

She looked at me lovingly and gave me a quick peck on my cheek. At this moment I realized how much I missed our domestic life. It was free of worry and full of love, just what I needed.

"What are we gonna say when we find them?" my mood turned somber as this thought escaped my mouth.

They're life recently was clouded by my death and I feared telling them I'm alive would have consequences I wasn't ready to face yet.

The table was silent. No one knew. It would take a while for them to understand why we did what we did and they both knew that.

"Getting them back alive and safe is what matters right now," Caitlin put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me, "I'm sure when you see them you'll know what to say."

Her touch, her presence, was the most calming thing. Just the simple gesture of her putting her hand on my shoulder lifted a huge weight off me. She could genuinely fix any problem of mine just by existing.

"So tell me a fun story from your guys' time away from me," Cisco lighted the mood quickly with his giddy smile

"As an April fools day prank, since he was the newbie, the other CSI's at the precinct locked Barry in a cell. I was sent pictures and videos and I could not stop laughing. He looked so mad," Caitlin laughed as she searched through her camera roll for the content I'd rather not have shown.

As we watched the video, I remembered that day. I remembered how badly I wanted to use my speed to phase through those bars. I was still new to not using my speed so it felt so unnatural. A brilliant thought then crossed my mind, "how are the holding Wally?"

Their eyes lit up. Wally couldn't be held like a regular person since his speed would allow him to go fast enough to get through any type of restraint or cell. Anything that they would use would have to generate a large amount of energy, an easily traceable amount .

"I knew it was a good idea to get coffee," Cisco took one last sip before we rushed back to STAR Labs.

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