Open Post 2016 2017 Edition

[likeabulldozer]

☻Pick one of my characters or drop any of your characters in and get a random choice.
☻Pick a scenario or use RNG (or make one up if you don't see what you want here).
☻Have fun!

I. Roadtrip

1. BREAK DOWN. Oh snap. Your car decided to break down out in the middle of nowhere. WHAT DO? Is that Leather-face? Will this be "Children of the Corn"?
2. HITCHHIKERS? Is this even a good idea? Threads may also have a third participant. Go wild.
3. WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST HIT? Dude, I hear deer mess up cars... Or I think that was a deer...
4. DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND. Alas. You're the parent or disgruntled friend who has had it up to here with all the fighting in the back. This thread may also have a third or even fourth participant, if you can wing it.
5. OMG, I WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS LANDMARK! No, no, and no. You tell that person that they're going to be driven around and they're going to like it.
6. THE GREAT ESCAPE. Either dinosaurs or the moth-man is chasing you. Don't stop now.
7. MAKE OUT. For whatever reason, the person you're traveling with in the car. You would love to make out with them and then some.



II. Cuddles

1. SWEET DREAMS. It's been a long day and all you want to do is sleep or just rest your eyes for a bit. Hopefully whoever is close by doesn't mind if you use them as a blanket.
2. STORMY WEATHER. The heavy rain, thunder, and lightning won't be letting up anytime soon. Luckily, it's the perfect weather to stay indoors and snuggle up close and keep warm.
3. SLOW DANCE. It's the end of a party, or maybe it's only the two of you, but the tempo is slow and the lights are low. Let your dance partner take the weight and just sway.
4. SURPRISE ATTACK. Time to invade someone's personal space. Are they working too much and need a distraction? Maybe you just wanted to brighten their day. Either way, they won't see it coming.
5. MOVIE NIGHT. It can be on the sofa or in a darkened theater, but you've got your popcorn and someone to settle against during your favorite movie.
6. I LOVE YOU, MAN. It's totally platonic, really. You're just very good friends, no matter what people like to think. But you just love your friend so much you want to hug them, whether they like it or not.
7. JEEPERS CREEPERS. Welp. You were just frightened. Was it a spider in the washroom, a ghost in the attic, a bad dream? Either way, you're looking for someone to cling to right now, and who better than that person right there?
8. HURT AND COMFORT. Whether you're sick in bed, just been dumped, or suffered a traumatic event, you need someone to wrap their arms around you and make everything go away.
9. SUNDAY MORNING. Maybe you just had a wild night. Maybe there's just not enough space at your place and you need to share your bed. Or maybe you just got really tired and someone else happened to be there. Doesn't matter because now the person with you looks way more comfortable than any blanket or pillow. Drape to your heart's content.
10. MOMENT AFTER. You just had incredible, vigorous sex and if you weren't a cuddler before, you are now. You're probably too exhausted to do anything else anyway. Just enjoy the moment.
11. PLAYER'S CHOICE. Pick one or make up your own!

III. Hurt/Comfort

1. INJURY. You've been injured. Broken bones or bleeding out or maybe just a tiny little paper-cut. The choice is yours.
2. SICKNESS. You're sick and laid up in bed, at home or in a hospital. The severity is up to you.
3. FEAR/ANXIETY. Something is happening and you're scared beyond belief.
4. LOSS OF SENSES. Sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell, etc. You've lost some important sense or ability and now you're left to deal with it.
5. DESPAIR. Nothing is good or right anymore and you can't shake the depression. Maybe that friend of yours can help though.
6. MAKE UP. Fight or break up, it's time to make up.
7. RESCUED. You've just been held captive and/or tortured for however long and finally, someone has come to the rescue.
8. BAD ROMANCE. Fight, cheat on, abuse, whatever the case is, someone else can clearly see you need comfort from someone who isn't your terrible lover tonight.
9. LOSS. You've experienced a loss of some kind and need help getting through it.

IV. Texts from Last Night

1.Go here
2. Make Magic happen

V. Intimacy

1. PHYSICAL INTIMACY. It might just be innocent touches or it might be foreplay.
2. LONG CONVERSATIONS. Honest words can be more intimate than touch.
3. DRUNK. You're over-sharing or simply maudlin.
4. FORCED INTIMACY. Magic. A truth serum, whatever - you didn't mean to bare your soul, but that is precisely what you're doing right now.
5. SLOW-DANCING. There is something inherently intimate about trusting someone else to lead you, and someone trust you to lead them.
6. OTHER. Intimacy can come in many forms. Pick your poison.

VI. SENTINEL GUIDE

Prompts
oo1. The Meeting:
How did you meet? Was it at an event organized specifically for finding your other half? By accident? Did you follow a mystical calling to them? Some other way?

oo2. Rejection:
Sometimes Sentinels or Guides propose a match but it's just not perfect. You don't feel the pull or maybe you think there is someone better or maybe you're already claimed. Maybe you were claimed and someone better came along?

oo3. Protection:
Sentinels are meant to protect Guides, any Guides, but it's even worse when they feel their Guide is in danger. They go feral; blind to anything but stopping and killing whoever threatened their Guide or the bond. Maybe someone attacked your Guide or you haven't bonded yet and you feel threatened or maybe you're the one doing the threatening. Whatever the reason, Sentinels in a feral state are dangerous and only their Guides can stop them.

oo4. Lost:
Sentinels often lose themselves in their senses. Either you're a Sentinel who has lost themselves or a Guide that has stumbled on one or a friend trying to draw them out. Unbonded Sentinels will find it hard to escape without a Guide. Or maybe you're bonded already which means you just need yours to come home.

005. Persecution:
Sometimes normal people or the government fear the power of Guides and Sentinels. Guides are empaths, feeling the emotions and sometimes passing thoughts of others and it can make people feel violated. Sentinels often have enhanced strength, which can make them dangerous. So they scorn them, hurt them or in the case of governments, regulate them.

oo6. Old-School:
Guides used to be treated on the same level as slaves. Unable to work unless their Sentinel said. Not allowed out on their own. They used to wear collars and couldn't own land or inherit money. Maybe the old ways haven't completely fallen out of style.

oo7. Unbonded:
Nothing sucks more than being an unbonded Guide or Sentinel. Always looking for your other half to fill that empty feeling but you probably have friends that aren't your match or who are trying to set you up with someone. Maybe you're skeptical about the whole love at first sight thing and haven't been looking.

oo8. Wildcard: Some mish-mash of the above or anything else you can come up with!



Other Options
Don't like any of the above? Here are some other options:

1. Picture Prompt: go here or any of your other favorite picture sites. Leave me a few pictures and I'll set something up.
2. Pick a prompt from this prompt tumblr or try googling OTP prompts
3. Insomnia! One or both of you can't sleep. Be awake together.
4. Leave me a scenario, lyrics, a word or a quote

Comments

[namegenerator]

Cisco can't help laughing. "Gracie, nobody wants to see that," he replies, amused, as he pushes himself up on the couch a little so that he's not hurting his back slouching with the way she's settled against him. "You'll ruin your view of me, like, immediately."

His hand settles at the top of her head, fingers moving over the hair that's pulled back at her crown. "...we are not making much progress toward going," he points out, although he has made and isn't going to make any attempt to move. Not with her head in his lap like that. He's loving this, her being so close to him and comfortable with him.

[dorkify]

She reaches up, running a finger down the middle of his chest. "Who says I was talking about you wearing the spandex?" she teases him. "I'll be Spider-Man, you can be Mary Jane."

She closes her eyes, humming contentedly at the way his hands drift over her hair. She laughs a little at that. "Oops," she says quietly, enjoying being close to him this way, enjoying this easy comfort that has developed between them over such a short period of time. She finally sits up, then stands, holding her hands out to him. "Come on. Otherwise I'm going to start believing the lab and the job is a myth," she teases him.

[namegenerator]

A hearty laugh escapes him at that. "While I am one hundred percent into you in spandex, I honestly can't decide if being Mary Jane is better or worse for me in this scenario, what are you trying to say, Gracie?" he jokes.

Cisco just lets them both sit there for a bit, contented to remain right where they are. But when she moves, he takes her hands and gets to his feet, too, grinning. "I promise it isn't," he swears.

They make a quick stop at Jitters for breakfast sandwiches and Flashes, and then Cisco takes her to STAR Labs. "Okay, so...it's going to look like there's not much here at all until I get upstairs, because there's only one team of us here anymore. So...I mean, it'll be a little creepy quiet until we get to my lab, don't panic. It's just we never really reopened officially after the Particle Accelerator explosion." He doubts anyone would've wanted a job even if they had.

[dorkify]

She considers his question, a smirk teasing at the corners of her lips. "Gender doesn't define you? Oooooor maybe I just want to be the guy who hangs upside down while you're the brainy damsel in distress." Though, let's be real, Cisco has waaaaay more distress coping skills than Gracie, who will likely alternate between screaming and mouthing off paired with more screaming.

"You're going to have to back that up," she jokes. She's never doubted that any of it was real, but teasing him is fun.

She gives him a dubious look. "Is this the part where you kidnap me, chop me into pieces and turn me into Borg?" She remembers hearing about the Particle Accelerator Explosion. It had been all over the news, but she hadn't known anyone in Central City at the time so she hadn't paid that much attention. "Does it worry you now, working here?" Because she can see how it would, and then: "Is it dangerous?" Because she's shifted from curiosity to real concern here. She'd rather Boyfriend not get blown up into pieces or become an evil villain.

[namegenerator]

"I'm going to go with door number two on that one," he says playfully, because he has a feeling she just likes the upside down part too much to resist. Hey, he's game for a good old fashioned gender role swap if it means Gracie in Spandex. No complaints, here.

Laughing, Cisco pulls her closer and gives her a little kiss, because he still just loves that he can do that.

Cisco's expression is drawn in seriousness that he doesn't feel — not to mention there's amusement dancing in his eyes in spite of the rest of his face — and his tone is deadpan as he nods at her question. "...yeah, pretty much. It's been fun," he says. Then he grins as he leads her through the abandoned lobby and toward the elevator.

He presses the button to let them in and looks over at her, shaking his head. "Nah, that thing is toast. It's cool now." He assumes her question is mostly concerning the Particle Accelerator, so he doesn't point out that he does worry, working here and it is dangerous, but that's not because of the Particle Accelerator. Not anymore, anyway.

Leading them into the elevator, Cisco hits the button to the lab floor and then the door close button to hurry the process. "You wanna see my stuff first or meet Caitlin and, maybe, Barry. Barry works at the precinct, too, like I do. So he's not always at the lab. She is, though."

[dorkify]

Okay, she kind of does, though she hasn't thought much about how she's going to get upside down. She'll have to show Cisco that episode of the OC because Gracie would probably end up being Seth in that scenario, but it had all ended well, right? She's sure this will end well too. She won't make him wear the mini skirt.

That gets a little contented sigh out of her because that really is amazing.

"Just make sure you give me really good upgrades," Gracie quips. Really, if she had any fear of Cisco hurting her, she wouldn't be in Central City in the first place. Besides, she'd googled him. She does stick a little closer to him though. This place is creepy and empty. Yes, she's also the girl that scoots closer during horror movies.

Well, she's got no idea that she needs to be worried about anything but the particle accelerator. If she did, she would. The whole metahuman situation does worry her, but as far as she knows, he stays in his apartment like a sensible person when they know there's a metahuman danger lurking about.

"I want to see your stuff first," Gracie says without hesitation. It's not that she doesn't want to meet his friends, she does, but she wants to see what he does first and hopefully dispel some of her nerves about meeting his friends. "They know how you met me, right?" You know, on the internet, not some porn site which is kind of how she makes it sound when she asks.

[namegenerator]

Cisco couldn't ever hurt Gracie. There's nothing he can think of that would make him ever want to; she's everything he's ever wanted in a girlfriend and, more over, everything he loves having in a best friend. He'll never hurt her if he can help it, it just won't ever happen. That's why, he supposes, it's easy to make jokes like that, not only because he never would, but because he suspects that she knows that.

"My stuff it is," he agrees. That makes his life a little easier, actually. It also gives Barry and/or Caitlin time to finish hiding anything that they don't want a civilian to see. Then all they have to do is hope that Joe or Iris doesn't come waltzing in spouting off sensitive details without looking at the whole of the room because they assume that they don't ever need to. It's not like they have visitors in the lab a whole lot and, actually, the only people who ever have just visited were Felicity and Ray and they were both pretty much Team Arrow back then anyway.

The elevator stops and Cisco walks out with her into the hallway, starting down the corridor and he nods, laughing a little. "Yeah, they know we met on Youtube, it's cool. Don't worry. You make me really happy; that's kind of all you need to earn their seal of approval, trust me."

[dorkify]

Yeah, if there were any fear in her in regards to Cisco, she wouldn't be making jokes, or at the very least, she'd sound more nervous about it. She considers herself just as lucky as he does himself. She doesn't think she's ever met anyone that was such a perfect match for her, anyone that she gets along with so well. She's as attracted to him physically as she is mentally and emotionally. There's no little voice in the back of her head telling her that he's a bad guy or that he's going to break her heart. Him physically hurting her is completely out of the question as far as she's concerned.

She relaxes a little, pleased to have a little more time before she meets his friends. She wants to meet them, she's just nervous. She wants to make a good impression. She wants them to like her and for them to believe that she deserves Cisco.

His reassurance gets a smile from her. "Really happy, huh? So tell me how you really feel," she teases him.

[namegenerator]

If Cisco had any idea that she was nervous, he'd be trying to reassure her. Undoubtedly, he'll be going through the same thing when he gets a chance to go out to visit Gracie on her turf, because he'll be thinking the same thing: that he wants her friends and family to like him and think that he deserves her. Cisco isn't planning on taking Gracie to meet the family. His mother will adore her, he's sure of it, but his mother is soft-spoken these days. Dante is the loud mouth and Dante won't like her. She's too much like Cisco. He'd really rather avoid putting her — or himself, honestly — through that uncomfortable meeting.

"Really happy," he agrees. A snort of laughter escapes him as he pulls his badge out from under his t-shirt where it's clipped to one of his belt loops with a retractable spool and he swipes it through a key card reader attached to one of the doors in front of which he stops. "You make me feel like there's hope for humanity, yet, Gracie," he says with a smile, leaning over to give her a quick kiss before pushing the door open after the badge reader beeps to unlock the door.

Inside, there's a lab, but it's largely unused. Mostly, Cisco doesn't work down here that much; he brings his work upstairs, so this office is mostly storage for his old projects, both finished and unfinished. Around the room, there are glass cases every several feet, some which are encasing suits not too unlike the Flash's: unfinished commissioned projects from before the Particle Accelerator explosion; back when law enforcement and public service departments trusted S.T.A.R. Labs to provide them with the newest and most advanced forms of safety equipment for their employees. In other cases, there are weapons or little gadgets and gizmos on pedestals. All of the glass cases are displaying something, except for two: the heat gun and the cold gun stolen by Leonard Snart and his partner, Mick Rory. Cisco's still salty about that, even if they have switched sides and have started trying to help save the world.

"Ta da," he says in a low voice with a bit of a smile. "These are...all mine. Or were. Some aren't finished."

[dorkify]

She won't subject him to her family on his first trip. Eventually, he'll have to meet her mother, who will be polite and probably passive aggressive. At least her stepfather, Nick, will be fantastic. Her dad will like Cisco because he makes Gracie happy, but he's in Chicago and probably won't meet Cisco until things are very serious between the two of them. She'll understand not being introduced to his family and she won't mind once she realizes that Barry and Caitlin are more Cisco's family than anything.

She grins at his response, glad for the quick kiss. "Hope for humanity. That's a good one. I think I'll keep you for the compliments alone," she teases him.

She steps inside the lab, letting go of his hand to walk around the room and inspect the cases. She stops in front of each one, looking at every project with more and more awe. She finally turns back to face him. "And your brain. I'm keeping you for your brain," she tells him, that awe still in her voice.

She walks back over to him. "You're amazing, you know that? Possibly also a mad scientist, but amazing."

[namegenerator]

Cisco grins. "I can deal with that. Shouldn't be too hard to keep them coming," he replies.

Watching her look around the lan, Cisco can't decide whether to be anxious for feedback or worried that she'll be overwhelmed and uncomfortable. It's...a lot of weapons and, sure, some aren't finished, but still. He's been working on them. He's invented some of them. ...most of them.

Her compliment and the awestruck tone in her voice has Cisco blushing and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not that amazing…" He's not used to this kind of reaction. Barry and Caitlin are always appreciative when he develops something new to help them, but they're never surprised. His family doesn't even know what Cisco is capable of. Neither at work nor with the metahuman stuff. ...at some point, he's going to have to tell Gracie that he's a metahuman, he just...hasn't found the right way to say it or the right time.

[dorkify]

It is overwhelming, but in an amazing sort of way: the way that Disneyland is overwhelming when you're five. If she were worried about Cisco's violent tendencies or if she hadn't already known what his job was, maybe it would be uncomfortable, but because neither of those are a concern, she's going with amazed and oh so proud that this is her boyfriend.

She can see that hint of pink to his skin and recognize the awkward body language. She crosses back over to him, arms going around his neck as she leans into him. "You are that amazing and more," she assures him before tilting her head up and kissing him. She'll handle the metahuman stuff alright. She knows about the existence of metahumans and she's not worried that Cisco is dangerous. Mostly, she'll worry about his safety and be concerned if she doesn't hear from him regularly.

[namegenerator]

The fact that they've only been together in person for a few days and Gracie's already learned to read his body language and expressions is impressive to Cisco. He'd be less impressed to note that he's probably learned to read hers just as well, because he can't not look at her. She's beautiful and it's hard not to find himself watching the side of her face instead of a movie they've picked on Netflix or watching her sleep when he can't get quite settled in the middle of the night.

Her arms move to circle his neck and his move around her waist to pull her closer. He loves that he can do this. He loves that she wants to do this. Cisco returns her kiss in kind and smiles into it a little at her sentiment.

When they part, he presses his forehead to hers. "I love that you feel that way about this stuff and it doesn't like freak you out or anything. Because this is...like a big part of who I am." Not as big a part as Team Flash but he isn't allowed to tell her about that. Eventually, he's going to break that rule. Barry's broken that rule too many times already: Iris, Felicity, Joe, Wally; Ray, by extension via Felicity. Cisco just needs to make sure that Gracie is in it for the long haul before he shares that secret and even then, he still won't tell her that Barry is the Flash. That isn't his secret to be sharing.

"You see the empty ones?" he asks, finally stepping back a little and gesturing. "I had a legit flame throwing gun and a for real freeze ray. They got stolen." He pauses and sighs. "I keep meaning to rebuild them and other things keep sort of coming up." Like trips to Earth 2. So not telling Gracie about that or how Killer Frost and Reverb (or, evil Caitlin and evil Cisco) nearly killed him. He has a feeling she wouldn't appreciate that story all that much.

[dorkify]

She's also got the benefit of several hours of video chat with him, but yeah; she's paid attention to him; she's watched him and it's become one of her favorite activities. He's expressive, animated, incredibly handsome and a lot of fun to watch. They probably spend a pretty equal amount of time watching each other rather than the movie. She doesn't spend a lot of time watching him sleep simply because she's a good sleeper and once she gets to sleep, she's usually asleep for the long haul.

Everything about this has turned out better than her expectation. She twirls her fingers through his hair as he talks, leaning against him. She sighs dramatically. "I don't know. It's going to be a real hardship having a genius inventor for a boyfriend." She takes a sharp breath because she's so very in it for the long haul and head over heels in love with him and she's pretty sure it's way too soon to tell him that. She's going to worry about him. She's going to want to see him when something happens, to assure herself that he's okay. She'll be scared for him, but never of him. She's going to want to move closer, or have him invent a teleport machine so she can see him more often.

When he steps back, she lets her hand slide down his arm, fingers interlacing with his. She looks to the cases he gestures to, that proud smile getting bigger. "Can I just keep kissing you? You made a freeze ray and flame throwing gun. That is very sexy. I'm pretty sure I'm a sapiophile and didn't even know it." She pretends to consider that a moment. "Nah, I think it's just a ciscophile."

Yeah, she won't appreciate that story mostly because he was nearly killed.

[namegenerator]

Her particular brand of humor in moments like these is almost identical to Cisco's. Dry and playful, feigning the fact that she might be put off by something. He likes the way her fingers move in his hair and it's the first time in forever he's been grateful for his long hair rather than just indifferent or slightly more pleased with it than indifferent to it. Cisco doesn't actually think about his hair much, but the way Gracie's playing with it just then makes him smile. Keep it long, he tells himself, no matter what Dante says.

"I will probably never ever tell you that you have to stop kissing me," he points out when she asks whether she can just keep kissing him. Although, they probably should get up to the main lab sooner than later, he thinks. He's sure that Caitlin is upstairs antsy to meet another female — there are so few she gets to spend time with, these days; mostly just Iris — and Barry's dying to see for himself that this girl really looks this hot and Cisco hasn't been trolling him with pictures of some model or something this whole time when he's been sharing pictures of his girlfriend. God he loves the sound of that: his girlfriend. That'll never get old.

For the moment, though, he's kind of okay with just staying right here. "I did. I did make a freeze ray and a flame throwing gun," he agrees with a nod, looking very impressed with himself, as if he isn't the one who brought it up in the first place. "I don't think ciscophile is a thing, but it should be. I'll take it," he adds with a smirk.

He pulls her back in and wraps his arms around her again. "Okay, maybe just a few more minutes," he relents with a smirk before leaning down to kiss her again.

[dorkify]

Maybe that's why she likes his sense of humor so much. He should never cut his hair. She likes being able to play with it, to twine it around her fingers and to run her fingers through it. She'll tell Dante that Cisco should never cut it if she gets the chance.

"You're just adding to the list of things I like about you," she tells him as she leans in to kiss him, drawing the kiss out, making it lingering and gente because they do have some place to be and people waiting on them. It's not the time to get into anything heated and sexified. Really, model doesn't apply but she's pleased Cisco thinks so.

He should be very impressed with himself. His girlfriend is. "You know, my friends are going to think that I'm talking about another fictional boy when I tell them my boyfriend did that." She's not really teasing. Her co-workers are well acquainted with her book boyfriends. "It's a thing now 'cause I have it," she tells him.

That makes her laugh against his kiss. She wraps her arms tighter and him, leaning into the kiss. Maybe a little heated and sexified would be okay.

[namegenerator]

"Well, I have to pile on the things you like about me so that it'll take you longer to get to the things you don't," he points out. He's only kind of kidding. Everyone has things about them that other people find obnoxious. He and Gracie are in their "honeymoon phase" right now, so they're both too blind to notice one another's. Eventually, though, they'll get there if this thing is real and has any lasting power. Cisco likes to think that it will.

He smirks a little at the comment about the fictional boyfriends. He remembers them from the vlogs. "Yeah but I'm better than those guys, right? I mean...look, I don't see Peeta Mellark making freeze rays and Tobias Eaton didn't design the Flash's supersuuuuoooohhhhhh, man, I was not supposed to say that out loud," he says, looking as horrified as he is by the fact that he's spilled that particular secret while trying to peacock over fictional characters. Awkwardly, he clears his throat and gives her a sheepish sort of look. Maybe she didn't catch that.

[dorkify]

"And so by the time I get to all the annoying little things, I'm already in too deep, huh? That's how this works?" she jokes with him. She's only kind of kidding as well. She knows that eventually they'll get to the point where they do notice each other's flaws. She happens to think they will as well. She wants to anyway.

She's nodding a little as he talks, ready to assure him that he is so much better than those guys, also real, when he flubs. She gasps, eyes going wide. "Francisco Ramon," she tries to act offended, but it doesn't last. Somehow, she's unsurprised that he designed Central City's personal super hero's suit. After all, he designed a freeze ray. Finally, she laughs, shaking her head. "Also, you're real and I'm not surprised." She illustrates her point by looking around the room at all the glass cases.

[namegenerator]

Nodding, Cisco gives her a look that is unadulterated sorry not sorry. "Pretty much, yeah. See? You've already got me figured out, why is this even a question you have to ask?" he jokes.

"Oh no you did not full name me, Grace Cannell," he shoots back a little playfully. He lowers his voice then, the levity falling away. "Seriously, you can't tell anybody I told you that, though, that's supposed to be under wraps big time...I didn't mean to say that."

[dorkify]

She gives him a slight almost resigned sort of smile. "Because maybe I'm already drowning." It's a serious answer to a joke and possibly not a conversation they're ready to have yet.

"Cross my heart," she tells him. "I won't tell anyone." She smiles at him. "Besides, I'm going to be too busy convincing them my amazing boyfriend is actually real this time."

[namegenerator]

"In the best kind of way?" he asks, his own tone softening. "I feel your pain." She's everything he's ever wanted in a partner and she's real; he doesn't have to dream up her existence because she's right there in front of him. She has the same sense of humor. She's got similar interests. She's beautiful. She's funny. She's smart.

Cisco nods a little, his forehead pressing against hers. That's a relief and he actually believes that she won't tell if she says she won't. The latter part of her reassurance startles a laugh out of him. "Good luck with that," he says with a grin.

Finally, Cisco kisses her again and then takes a step back, taking her hand in his. "Okay we should get up there, we'll pick this up later," he promises.

[dorkify]

His words reassure her and turn that smile into something happier. Impulsively, she hugs him a little tighter, her head going to his chest for just a moment before she pulls back. It's her own little sort of reassurance and thanks all rolled into one.

Later, when she thinks about it, she'll worry that having designed the Flash suit could end up getting him hurt. As far as she knows, the weapons and things he makes are for the police, but the Flash has enemies who might want to know how his suit works. Yeah, she'll worry and she'll be very careful not to say anything. She'll tell Gemma about the lab and what Cisco does, but she won't breathe a word about the suit. "You're definitely going to have to come visit in order to convince them."

She nods a little at that. "Right. I have friends and co-workers to meet. I mean, this could all still be some big ruse, but once I meet the friends, well...it's harder to convince people to go along with your story," she teases him, content to let him lead the way.

[namegenerator]

"I'll find a way, I promise," he tells her and he's careful not to attach even a tentative when to that promise because it's one that he'd very much like to keep. He intends to. Barry would absolutely give him the time off, and he's only a consultant for the precinct, so getting the time off itself isn't the problem. It's getting the time off when he's not needed to help with metahuman crises that's the hard part. Taking the time off while Gracie is here is simple because he's still in Central City if they need him in a few minutes' notice. When he goes to visit her, though, the same will not be tre.

Things go pretty well, if you ask Cisco, with Barry and Caitlin. Caitlin talks Cisco up like it's her job or something, as if she's a little worried that he might need it, because she sees how happy Gracie makes him and she wants to make sure that he doesn't lose her. Barry, on the other hand is too busy looking dumbly impressed that Cisco finally delivered on all the "I can get any girl I want, watch the master" garbage he's always spewing when they go out to the bars. It's been a while since those sentiments have come out of Cisco's mouth. Now, Barry knows why.

As they're heading back down the elevator and out of the lab, Cisco puts an arm around her and pulls her close, kissing the top of her head. "Well, that's one half the battle. My friends know you're real..." he jokes.

[dorkify]

"I know you will." And she does believe him. Yes, she'd rather it be sooner rather than later, but he's got a real job, an important job and she thinks that even without knowing about his involvement with the metahuman crises. She fully accepts that she's probably going to have to be the one that travels here more than he travels there because her job is retail and she's a lot less necessary to the bookstore. He really needs to get on that teleporting device.

Gracie thinks they go pretty well too. She's nervous, of course, but Caitlin seems nice. She likes that Caitlin is a huge fan of Cisco (and that much is obvious), but she didn't need to talk him up. Gracie is sold. Barry had been...nice, though she didn't know Barry and Cisco together well enough to really understand the looks that were happening between the two of them. Gracie is super happy to hear that Cisco is no longer trying to get any girl he wants at the bars.

Gracie leans against him, a pleased smile curving her mouth. She winds her arms around his waist and rests her cheek against his chest. "Do you think they liked me?"

[namegenerator]

The elevator doors open up and Cisco starts to lead her back into the eerily empty lobby of the building as she leans against him. "I think they definitely liked you," he assures her. He knows it's probably hard for Gracie to get a read on either of them because she doesn't know them like Cisco does, though, so he elaborates a little as they make their way back out of the building.

"Sorry about Caitlin, it's just...she knows how much I like you and I think she was trying to like...create an insurance policy or something; maybe sure you know all the reasons you should like me just as much as I like you or something. She means well."

Cisco stops when they get outside and he locks the building behind himself. Everyone who needs to get into STAR Labs has a key or, in Felicity Smoak's case, typically calls ahead. His arm moves back around her and he pulls her in against himself again once he's put his keys away again. "And Barry, I think, was just shocked that I hadn't been bullshitting him all this time and that you're an actual person rather than a construct of my imagination," he laughs.