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The loft had never been so quiet. Iris hadn't been so cognizant of her every footstep, or how her breath hitched when she heard the door unlock. Somehow, against all hope, she had believed that Barry had fought the Force and run right back to her.
But she glances up, realizing that it's Cisco. A welcome and familiar face, certainly, but not her Bear. It's weird. After the first couple of weeks, she thought this would get easier. She could throw herself into her work and be the best journalist the world had ever known. She poured over scientific journals, forcing herself to understand how the human body worked under pressure, how the act of running depleted calcium reserves – but she was no scientist. Issues of the Lancet might as well have been a foreign language.
("You're looking for a ghost,” Linda had patiently told her, before prying her off and forcing her to go home. “Trust me, Iris. He's gonna find his way back to you.”)
She forces herself up. In a rare moment for her, she's dressed plainly in sweats and a hideously oversized t-shirt (one of Barry's, because it still smells like him).
“Hey,” she says, managing the faintest of smiles. “I hope you brought ice cream.”
But she glances up, realizing that it's Cisco. A welcome and familiar face, certainly, but not her Bear. It's weird. After the first couple of weeks, she thought this would get easier. She could throw herself into her work and be the best journalist the world had ever known. She poured over scientific journals, forcing herself to understand how the human body worked under pressure, how the act of running depleted calcium reserves – but she was no scientist. Issues of the Lancet might as well have been a foreign language.
("You're looking for a ghost,” Linda had patiently told her, before prying her off and forcing her to go home. “Trust me, Iris. He's gonna find his way back to you.”)
She forces herself up. In a rare moment for her, she's dressed plainly in sweats and a hideously oversized t-shirt (one of Barry's, because it still smells like him).
“Hey,” she says, managing the faintest of smiles. “I hope you brought ice cream.”
It breaks his heart a little, every time he comes in the door and he sees that look on Iris's face, unmistakable even when she's on the complete other end of the loft. He's come to know it well, that tiny sinking of her shoulders, that look of faint disappointment. It'd be enough to hurt a guy's feelings, if he didn't know what it was. Every time, she was hoping he was Barry, back from the Speedforce and ready to scoop her up in his arms and declare everything okay again.
But everything's not okay, of course. Barry has been gone long enough for the shock to wear off and for the dull ache of missing him every day to start to sink in. Cisco's feeling it, too. Not in the same way as Iris, of course, but enough. Which is why he's here. If the two of them are going to be hurting and lonely, they might as well do it in each other's company.
When she asks if he's brought ice cream, Cisco makes a tsscchh sound, adds a sarcastic, "Girl, please," as he hefts up what he's holding - a plastic grocery bag with no less than three different flavors of ice cream in pint containers. Despite his heavy thoughts, his voice is light, playful, and he smiles a little as he makes his way over to the couch, flopping down onto it and setting the bag down on the coffee table.
"It's like you don't even know me."
But everything's not okay, of course. Barry has been gone long enough for the shock to wear off and for the dull ache of missing him every day to start to sink in. Cisco's feeling it, too. Not in the same way as Iris, of course, but enough. Which is why he's here. If the two of them are going to be hurting and lonely, they might as well do it in each other's company.
When she asks if he's brought ice cream, Cisco makes a tsscchh sound, adds a sarcastic, "Girl, please," as he hefts up what he's holding - a plastic grocery bag with no less than three different flavors of ice cream in pint containers. Despite his heavy thoughts, his voice is light, playful, and he smiles a little as he makes his way over to the couch, flopping down onto it and setting the bag down on the coffee table.
"It's like you don't even know me."
Misery certainly loves her company - even moreso when he brings her favorite kinds of ice cream. Iris knows, deep down, that the pain of losing Barry has taken its toll on Cisco too. It's been rough on all of them, in big and small ways.
Her empty loft is the biggest one. With Cisco, it feels lighter, more like home - but only for those brief moments, and then it gains an awkward, heavy silence that's more than she can bear. It would've been one thing were Barry off to save another universe, or even if his job as a CSI had taken him outside of Central City. It's another to not know when (because it has to be when) he'll run back to her.
"There's only one proper way to drown our sorrows," Iris insists, adopting that same playful tone and forcing herself to smile. The sugar rush'll make it real soon enough. "And that's with a ton of ice cream and Netflix bingeing."
Parks and Rec, maybe? Or whatever new comedy catches their eye? She doesn't know, but she wraps her blanket tighter around her as she rushes to the kitchen for spoons.
"Your choice, since you brought the eats."
Her empty loft is the biggest one. With Cisco, it feels lighter, more like home - but only for those brief moments, and then it gains an awkward, heavy silence that's more than she can bear. It would've been one thing were Barry off to save another universe, or even if his job as a CSI had taken him outside of Central City. It's another to not know when (because it has to be when) he'll run back to her.
"There's only one proper way to drown our sorrows," Iris insists, adopting that same playful tone and forcing herself to smile. The sugar rush'll make it real soon enough. "And that's with a ton of ice cream and Netflix bingeing."
Parks and Rec, maybe? Or whatever new comedy catches their eye? She doesn't know, but she wraps her blanket tighter around her as she rushes to the kitchen for spoons.
"Your choice, since you brought the eats."
Cisco turns on the couch, watching Iris as she goes into the kitchen, his smile dimming slightly. It... worries him, sometimes. How well she's been handling Barry being gone - or more accurately, the fact that she keeps acting like she is handling it well, whenever people are around. It can't be good for her, not having an outlet, keeping it all inside, putting up a strong front for everybody. And it can't last forever. There's going to be a crash, one of these days. And he just hopes that when that happens, she'll know she can turn to him.
But they will cross that bridge when they come to it. For now, all he can do is try to bring a little brightness, try to add something genuine into her smiles.
So he picks up the remote and starts to scroll through the options on Netflix. Some of these are obviously remnants of when Barry lived here, because of course, there's no part of this place that isn't littered with reminders of his presence. Cisco calls over into the kitchen as he hears her clattering the silverware:
"Oh, goodie, Star Trek marathon it is..."
He puts selects the thumbnail for the show, makes a big production of slowly lowering his finger towards the 'enter' button, waiting for the objection he is sure will be coming.
But they will cross that bridge when they come to it. For now, all he can do is try to bring a little brightness, try to add something genuine into her smiles.
So he picks up the remote and starts to scroll through the options on Netflix. Some of these are obviously remnants of when Barry lived here, because of course, there's no part of this place that isn't littered with reminders of his presence. Cisco calls over into the kitchen as he hears her clattering the silverware:
"Oh, goodie, Star Trek marathon it is..."
He puts selects the thumbnail for the show, makes a big production of slowly lowering his finger towards the 'enter' button, waiting for the objection he is sure will be coming.
Edited 2017-09-13 00:28 (UTC)
"Wait, what?"
When she'd given Cisco free rein, she hadn't expected him to indulge in all things nerd. Iris had never counted herself among them - even though she'd grown up with Dad and Barry, even though she'd been dragged along to Central City's Comic-Con, and even though she watches way more Sailor Moon than she cares to admit. (Loving Serena doesn't make her a nerd! It just doesn't!!)
For perhaps the first time in months, she's rushing back towards the couch, holding out those spoons as if they're a deadly weapon. There's actual life behind her expression, and not the kind she's been faking every single time he steps through the door.
"Cisco Ramon, if you press play on that whole series..." She lets out a huge, dramatic sigh that's somehow totally genuine and yet overdone at the same time, "I swear, I will hide all the spoons in this apartment."
When she'd given Cisco free rein, she hadn't expected him to indulge in all things nerd. Iris had never counted herself among them - even though she'd grown up with Dad and Barry, even though she'd been dragged along to Central City's Comic-Con, and even though she watches way more Sailor Moon than she cares to admit. (Loving Serena doesn't make her a nerd! It just doesn't!!)
For perhaps the first time in months, she's rushing back towards the couch, holding out those spoons as if they're a deadly weapon. There's actual life behind her expression, and not the kind she's been faking every single time he steps through the door.
"Cisco Ramon, if you press play on that whole series..." She lets out a huge, dramatic sigh that's somehow totally genuine and yet overdone at the same time, "I swear, I will hide all the spoons in this apartment."
Cisco breaks into giggles as Iris comes hurrying back, brandishing spoons at him, looking aggravated, in a friendly sort of way, which was exactly the response he'd been hoping to provoke. He halts the slow progress of his finger towards the remote, but only so he can point it at her and say, eyebrows raising, "Try me. I will open a breach directly into a CVS and be back with 100 plastic spoons faster than you can say 'make it so'."
But when he turns his attention back to the TV, grinning from ear to ear, he moves on, scrolling through the options there and trying to find something that will actually entertain the both of them. They have some ground rules - a few unspoken, others explicit. No sob fests. No documentaries. Nothing with time travel. Nothing about drunk drivers.
Cisco sees something that gives him pause, looks up at Iris to ask, "Jumanji?"
But when he turns his attention back to the TV, grinning from ear to ear, he moves on, scrolling through the options there and trying to find something that will actually entertain the both of them. They have some ground rules - a few unspoken, others explicit. No sob fests. No documentaries. Nothing with time travel. Nothing about drunk drivers.
Cisco sees something that gives him pause, looks up at Iris to ask, "Jumanji?"
"Cheater." Iris can't even find the energy to be truly mad, even as she's swinging two of those spoons like they're silver spoons. Of all the metahuman powers she's witnessed, Barry's and Cisco's truly were gamebreakers. Capable of rewriting time and space... or manipulating the mundane to get them whatever they needed.
She flops down beside him, setting down the spoons before she tightens her bun. It's hard to feel listless around him - and honestly, she thinks he needs her company too.
"Sure?" She shrugs. "Fair warning, since I know the remake's coming up soon: I've actually never seen it."
She has, however, seen that spiritual successor Zathura, and Jumanji can't be that different, right?
She flops down beside him, setting down the spoons before she tightens her bun. It's hard to feel listless around him - and honestly, she thinks he needs her company too.
"Sure?" She shrugs. "Fair warning, since I know the remake's coming up soon: I've actually never seen it."
She has, however, seen that spiritual successor Zathura, and Jumanji can't be that different, right?
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. Seriously? Like, never? I can't believe I didn't know that. Well. Now it's obviously gotta be Jumanji. This just changed from movie night to mandatory cultural education night."
Cisco hits the button to start the movie, and then reaches forward to open the different flavors of ice cream. He arranges them along the low table, and then grabs the coffee flavored one, digging in as the opening scene begins. The couch is huge, but Cisco pulls his feet up and leans so that his shoulder is resting against Iris's.
"I was raised on this movie - and yes, before you even say it, I know, probably explains a whole lot."
This is how the two of them usually are - never watching things silently, but chatting their way through them. It had sometimes driven Barry up the wall, when Cisco would do that. But he's found that Iris doesn't mind.
"You best brace yourself for some serious 1990s special effects."
Cisco hits the button to start the movie, and then reaches forward to open the different flavors of ice cream. He arranges them along the low table, and then grabs the coffee flavored one, digging in as the opening scene begins. The couch is huge, but Cisco pulls his feet up and leans so that his shoulder is resting against Iris's.
"I was raised on this movie - and yes, before you even say it, I know, probably explains a whole lot."
This is how the two of them usually are - never watching things silently, but chatting their way through them. It had sometimes driven Barry up the wall, when Cisco would do that. But he's found that Iris doesn't mind.
"You best brace yourself for some serious 1990s special effects."
So my co-worker's a vampire.
[ that's it, that's the text. No pleasantries this time! ]
[ that's it, that's the text. No pleasantries this time! ]
"I was gonna say it explains nothing," Iris quips. "Seeing as all I know about this is that Robin Williams is involved. Somehow."
Movies and commentary, in Iris's mind, are like peanut butter and jelly. Her family had always talked their way through the stories they consumed - it was how they engaged with the material. Barry, bless him, had never been able to stomach it.
Iris never understood why. Questions meant that someone was paying attention, and commentary was just another way to enjoy a story. (Cisco's was particularly entertaining; he reminded her of cousins she barely saw, much less interacted with.) She reaches for the chocolate chip cookie dough, taking small, quick bites and savoring every moment.
"Are we talking like, aged-well special effects?" She's thinking of Jurassic Park. "Or the kind that clearly were CGI?"
Movies and commentary, in Iris's mind, are like peanut butter and jelly. Her family had always talked their way through the stories they consumed - it was how they engaged with the material. Barry, bless him, had never been able to stomach it.
Iris never understood why. Questions meant that someone was paying attention, and commentary was just another way to enjoy a story. (Cisco's was particularly entertaining; he reminded her of cousins she barely saw, much less interacted with.) She reaches for the chocolate chip cookie dough, taking small, quick bites and savoring every moment.
"Are we talking like, aged-well special effects?" She's thinking of Jurassic Park. "Or the kind that clearly were CGI?"
pics or it didn't happen
[ Cisco is assuming this is just a joke about someone's fashion sense. ]
[ Cisco is assuming this is just a joke about someone's fashion sense. ]
Like I'm going to ask the white girl to bare her fangs.
They're always the first to snap, Cisco 😩
They're always the first to snap, Cisco 😩
😶
wait hold up for real
i thought you were just saying there was some new mall goth graphic designer or something
or some lestat looking dude
are you telling me there is a person actually saying she's a vampire???
wait hold up for real
i thought you were just saying there was some new mall goth graphic designer or something
or some lestat looking dude
are you telling me there is a person actually saying she's a vampire???
"Well, we'll just have to see if you've revised that opinion once it's over, how 'bout that?"
Cisco is a little surprised she doesn't even know the main conceit - a board game that causes havoc and you have to win to be free of it - but any sort of jokes that he could make about it seem like dangerous territory. He knows, after all, that Barry has seen this movie, at least enough times to be able to passably quote it. If things were different, he would make a crack about how Barry had been negligent not to get her to see it. But... if things were different, he wouldn't be here.
"Actually a lot of it aged super well, but there's definitely a couple moments that are gonna make you laugh."
As the first scene unfolds, Cisco points at the screen with his spoon, saying animatedly, "See, this is where they mess up! You find a creepy-ass ancient-looking board game, do you open it up and play it? Hell no! Just toss that shit in a dumpster and never look back!"
Cisco is a little surprised she doesn't even know the main conceit - a board game that causes havoc and you have to win to be free of it - but any sort of jokes that he could make about it seem like dangerous territory. He knows, after all, that Barry has seen this movie, at least enough times to be able to passably quote it. If things were different, he would make a crack about how Barry had been negligent not to get her to see it. But... if things were different, he wouldn't be here.
"Actually a lot of it aged super well, but there's definitely a couple moments that are gonna make you laugh."
As the first scene unfolds, Cisco points at the screen with his spoon, saying animatedly, "See, this is where they mess up! You find a creepy-ass ancient-looking board game, do you open it up and play it? Hell no! Just toss that shit in a dumpster and never look back!"
lol no!!! I'd send pics if someone went all emo :')
Tbf she didn't say she was a vampire so much as I caught her in the act.
Never going to a CCPN blood drive again.
Tbf she didn't say she was a vampire so much as I caught her in the act.
Never going to a CCPN blood drive again.
Edited (im so sorry about your inbox) 2017-09-18 15:41 (UTC)
😱 😱 😱 😱 😱
i demand details
was she just sipping out of a bag like it was a capri sun????
i demand details
was she just sipping out of a bag like it was a capri sun????
UM YES 😭 😭 😭
She was classy. Had a little straw and everything.
But who tf sips blood?? In the middle of the day???
She was classy. Had a little straw and everything.
But who tf sips blood?? In the middle of the day???
i don't know why but the straw makes it so much worse
also what vampire has a job at a newspaper????
shouldn't she be running a club for goths or, idk, living off the money she made over the last hundreds of years or whatever???
also what vampire has a job at a newspaper????
shouldn't she be running a club for goths or, idk, living off the money she made over the last hundreds of years or whatever???
The kind of vampire who used to be a cheerleader. (Her life would've been a great YA novel, JS.)
idk, she's way too blond and perky to be a goth. Or a recluse.
I just want to know why we have vampires on top of metahumans........
idk, she's way too blond and perky to be a goth. Or a recluse.
I just want to know why we have vampires on top of metahumans........
wait.
hold up.
WAIT.
is her name, like. caroline??????
hold up.
WAIT.
is her name, like. caroline??????
Oh, Iris has heard the main conceit more than a few times. But it's like Dragonball Z and Pokemon Green and all of Barry's animes - in one ear and out the other.
"Yeah?" She grins, leaning back and growing comfortable by pulling her legs up under her. "Sounds like a challenge."
Admittedly, not a particularly hard one considering how rough these past few weeks had been. Her favorite comedies had brought smiles, even if they were short-lived ones, and this movie was one of Barry's favorites. (Figures she'd finally cave after he ran straight into the Speed Force.)
"White people," she says without missing a beat, shaking her head and letting out a full, hearty laugh. "You gotta love those non-existent survival instincts. It's like they want to be haunted."
"Yeah?" She grins, leaning back and growing comfortable by pulling her legs up under her. "Sounds like a challenge."
Admittedly, not a particularly hard one considering how rough these past few weeks had been. Her favorite comedies had brought smiles, even if they were short-lived ones, and this movie was one of Barry's favorites. (Figures she'd finally cave after he ran straight into the Speed Force.)
"White people," she says without missing a beat, shaking her head and letting out a full, hearty laugh. "You gotta love those non-existent survival instincts. It's like they want to be haunted."
Actually, yeah.
Did you hear it in a vibe or something...?
Did you hear it in a vibe or something...?
it is a story so long and weird it cannot be conveyed by text but the tl;dr is i'm friends with her boyfriend.
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