Cisco stepped out of the taxi that had shuttled him from his house to the hotel. He grabbed his suitcase from the trunk and walked to Barry, who was leaning against the wall near the hotel's double door entrance.

"Hey!" Barry beamed as he saw Cisco approach.

"Hey, man." Cisco smiled back. "Ready to do this thing?"

"Yeah." Barry pushed off from the wall and grabbed his own bag which had been laying near his feet. They entered together.

They made their way over to the main desk in the lobby, where a young, pretty brunette was typing on her computer. She stopped once she saw them, and greeted them with a big, exclusively-customer-service edition smile.

"Hello! How may I help you guys today?" She asked.

Cisco stepped forward. "Hi, we just need to check-in to our room."

"Alrighty, and what's your name?" She swiveled to her computer screen.

"Cisco. Cisco Ramon."

"Alright, Mr. Ramon, I have a two night reservation for you, one room with one queen. Is that correct?"

"Yes, m'am."

"Okie dokie, here are your card keys. Your room is on the second floor, number 218. If you or your boyfriend need anything, there's always someone down here so don't hesitate to call and ask the front desk. Enjoy your stay!" She waved them off and returned to her work.

Barry's eyes were wider than normal, and his cheeks were slightly red. He looked at Cisco as they walked to the stairs.

"Boyfriend?" He whispered. "Why did she just assume we were dating?"

"Maybe because that's what we're trying to make her think we're doing?" They ascended the steps.

"I know, but, like, she didn't have to just assume-"

"Dude." They stopped outside of their room, Cisco opening the door. Cisco set his bag down on the bed, Barry following suit as he shut the door behind him. "Okay, first off, we are literally undercover right now on a case, investigating the meta that seems to only be targeting couples that have stayed in this hotel. The more people think we're dating, the more likely we are to draw it's attention onto us. Second, is there something wrong with dating me? I'm cute, I'm funny, and I'm smart. With exception to my height, I'm, like, perfectly acceptable to be someone's boyfriend."

Barry sighed. "Yeah, yeah, anybody would be lucky to have you, it just bugs me that she assumed it instead of asking, probably based solely on the way we look."

"Or based on the fact that I reserved a room with one bed instead of two for us?" Cisco raised his eyebrows. "Speaking of that, rock-paper-scissors for the couch."

"Um, dude," Barry looked around at the room, which now that he was really paying attention, was rather small. "There is no couch."

"Aw, what?" Cisco looked around now, too. There was a dresser across from the bed with a TV on top of it, one floor lamp, one nightstand with an alarm clock on it, and one very small armchair in the corner. Barry was right.

He turned to Barry and shrugged. "Well, you know what they say: sharing is caring, and if you hog the blankets, I will kick you onto the floor."

"Okay," Barry chuckled, "but same goes for you."

"Deal." He smiled.

Cisco busied himself with unpacking and setting up his monitoring equipment. Barry plopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

When he agreed to go through with this plan, he'd thought that he'd be going with Iris or Caitlin or someone else that was female. Not Cisco. His best buddy. His bro. His male friend who occasionally sent dirty thoughts running to the front of his mind when Cisco sucked on lollipops as he watched Barry train.

But it had to be Cisco. No one else knew how to operate the equipment (besides Harry, but no way in hell would he agree to play house just to find a meta, besides, Barry would rather not do that with him), and the equipment was necessary to find the meta. The thought of pretending to be in a relationship with Cisco had sent equal amounts of nerves and butterflies through his body. And now they had to share a bed. Great. Barry prayed to any gods available that he would keep his hands to himself while he was unconscious.

"Hey, ground control to Major Barry." Cisco poked his cheek. Barry snapped his eyes away from the ceiling to Cisco, who was leaning over him.

"What?"

"I said, do you wanna go grab dinner?" He patted his stomach. "My tum-tum needs yum-yums."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

The hotel had a restaurant attached to it; reasonably priced, a variety of food options. Perfect for an out-of-towner's first night in a new place. Or perfect for pretending to be an out-of-towner dining in a new place.

As they approached, Cisco slipped his hand into Barry's. Barry looked from their hands to Cisco's face, confused. Cisco gave him a look that said just go with it.

They arrived and a host seated them in a small booth. They sat across from each other. Cisco propped his menu up like a screen and leaned in.

"Heads up, whatever I do tonight, just go with it. But if I cross a line, the magic word is 'cacao,' got it?"

Barry nodded, vaguely suspicious of what he meant by that. Cisco leaned back just as the waitress came. They ordered and she left.

Barry's mind drifted. Absently, he noticed the dim lighting. It made Cisco's eyes sparkle. Barry mentally ran away from that thought, sweeping his eyes over the other patrons in the restaurant to distract himself.

The waitress brought their food and Barry thanked her. They began eating, staying fairly silent. Barry could feel Cisco eyeing him from across the table.

Barry glanced at him. A pause. "You okay, dude?" Cisco asked. "You're being all Mad Max on me; y'know, silent, broody, staring off into the distance."

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." Cisco raised an eyebrow, ready to pry, but decided against it. They fell silent again.

"So what did you order?" Barry asked, to break the quietness of their table.

"Butternut squash ravioli. It's pretty good. Do you want to try a bite?" The words were innocent enough, but the way Cisco said it made it sound more like an invitation to a challenge. Barry accepted.

"Sure."

Cisco smiled. He picked a ravioli up with his fork and leaned over the table, bringing it to Barry's mouth. Barry allowed Cisco to feed him, ears tinged with red.

"Pretty good," Barry said as he chewed and swallowed. "Want some of mine?"

"What is it? Just a plain ol' burger?"

"Yep. With barbecue sauce and bacon."

"Ooo, watch out, gettin' fancy over here!" Cisco grinned. Barry rolled his eyes and nudged his plate towards Cisco.

Cisco obliged and took a bite. He swallowed. "Not bad. For a fancy burger." Barry noticed some sauce on Cisco's chin and saw an opportunity.

He leaned over, getting as close to Cisco's face as he could (which was pretty dang close). He brought his thumb to Cisco's parted lips and ran it along the bottom, just barely touching him, until Barry swiped down to get the sauce off. He stared Cisco directly in the eye as he licked off his thumb, barely a hand's length away.

Barry wished he could take a picture of Cisco's face. His eyes were widened, his lips still slightly agape. Barry knew his own cheeks were burning, but all he could think of was how much he wanted to just lean in, a little closer, and...

Barry pulled back. "Uh," he cleared his throat, "you had a little sauce on your face."

Cisco recovered, blinking the shock out of his expression. "Damn dude, I didn't think you'd be able to do something like that."

"What? Why?" Barry was mildly offended. Not really, but he pretended.

"Well, I mean, you don't really seem like... you're comfortable. With, y'know." 'Your sexuality' was implied. Now Barry was actually offended.

"I'm comfortable with that!" Cisco gave him a uh-huh, sure you are look. "I am!" People were glancing over at their table now. Barry lowered his voice. "Just wait, honey, I'll prove it. Think you can keep up?"

"Is that a challenge?" Cisco grinned. "I accept, babe."

Barry had no idea what he'd just started. Had he just challenged Cisco to... a gay-off? Barry went over their conversation again in his mind. Yes, yes he had. Oh god. He was going to lose wasn't he?

They finished dinner, and as per their pre-arranged agreement before the mission (Cisco would pay for the hotel room if Barry paid for the food), Barry covered the check. They stood up and got out of the booth.

Cisco took a step towards Barry. He stood on his tip-toes and pulled Barry's head down a little so that he could reach, then kissed him on the cheek. He smirked at the way Barry went wide-eyed.

"Thanks for the meal." Cisco walked out and Barry followed after. He caught up to Cisco.

"Well if we weren't a target before then we definitely are now." Barry whispered in his ear.

"All the better, right?"

For the rest of the evening, they lazed around the room. Cisco occasionally checked the readings on his equipment for any signs of irregularities. Barry layed on the bed and flipped through TV channels, hoping to find something that was even mildly interesting. There was nothing they could do tonight until the monitors picked something up.

On his fourth time going past Tarantula (original 1950's version, terrifying special effects), he decided to call it a night. He changed into some jammie pants and a plain shirt, then brushed his teeth. When he came back into the room, Cisco was changing.

Barry stopped in his tracks and let his eyes drag down Cisco's shirtless torso. Cisco was by no means muscular, but when Barry saw the chub on his stomach, he could only think about how cute it was. And now that Cisco's arms didn't have sleeves or a hoodie covering them, Barry could see that they were surprisingly toned, fitting the stocky build Barry was used to observing. Cisco saw him out of the corner of his eye and quickly brought the shirt he was holding up to cover his bare chest.

"Oh, uh, sorry, I thought I was good." Cisco said.

Barry couldn't pull his eyes away. "You are! I mean, you, um, 'cuz I was... i-in there. Um. Sorry. I'll turn around." God damn it, Barry, pull yourself together! They were both men, seeing Cisco shirtless wasn't a big deal, right? Right? He wanted to slap himself.

"Okay, I'm decent." Barry turned around. Cisco sat on the bed. "Sorry, I'm a little self conscious about..." he gestured at his body.

"You shouldn't be." Barry blurted. "I-I mean-"

Barry stopped short as he heard a woman moan/scream through the wall. Then creak, creak, creak. The human voices got louder and lewder. There were names and being called out, along with more than one "yeah, baby! harder!" They turned to share growing looks of disgust with one another. Then Barry saw something flash across Cisco's face.

"Hey, Barry," Cisco smiled, mischief in his eyes. "Wanna have sex?"

Barry choked on his own spit and started coughing. His eyes were as round as the moon and he immediately felt the blood rush to his cheeks.

Cisco crawled to the middle of the bed, then stood up. He winked at Barry and started jumping.

"OOHH, BARRY!" Cisco shouted at the wall that Sarah and Victor were behind (they'd learned the couples' names the hard way). Cisco motioned for him to join him on the bed.

Barry hopped up and started jumping, using the wall to steady himself.

"FASTER! FASTER!" Cisco panted.

Barry moaned in return, trying to be extra loud. Cisco leaned in.

"Come on, dude, that the best you got?" He whispered between breaths. "OH GOD! Fuck me HARDER!"

Barry swallowed and took a deep breath. "Oh, yeah, Cisco! YOU LIKE THAT?" It sounded more like an uncertain question than dirty talk, but it worked.

Cisco covered his mouth to stifle laughter. "Right there! OH YES!" Cisco threw in a few breathy moans for good measure. "Your DICK feels so GOOD inside me!"

Oh god. Now it was Barry's turn to hold back laughter, mostly because he was so scandalized that he couldn't do anything else. They jumped and moaned each other's names for a few more minutes. If they were going to get revenge at that couple by having fake loud sex, then it was going to be long and good fake loud sex.

The other couple knocked on the wall a few quick times in succession, obviously annoyed.

"Cue the finale." Cisco panted in a low voice, extremely out of breath.

"Barry, I'm almost there! Oh! OH! BARRY!"

"CISCO! I'm gonna- UNH!" They slowed their jumping to a halt.

They collapsed in a tangled heap onto the bed, panting. Their eyes met and they dissolved into laughter.

"Really, dude? 'You like that?'" Cisco mimicked him, barely able to get the words out between giggles.

"Coming from you, Mr. 'Your dick feels so good inside me!'" Barry laughed.

"Hey, that's a legit thing to say during sex!"

"So was mine! Probably. Kinda." Cisco looked at him. "Okay, maybe not in that tone." They started laughing again.

They stayed there a moment, too tired to move while they caught their breath. Cisco layed on Barry's chest where he had collapsed, letting the movement of breathing carry him up and down. Barry wished they could stay like that forever.

But like all good things, it had to end. Cisco rolled off of him and went to brush his teeth. Barry dragged himself to his side of the bed and got beneath the covers.

Cisco switched off the lights as he came back. Barry felt the bed shift as Cisco layed down, and tried not to think too hard about how close he was.

Barry's mind drifted to what had just happened. He couldn't get Cisco's moans out of his head, especially the ones with his name in it. Barry had to admit, Cisco had sounded pretty hot, even when he was being over the top with everything he'd been shouting.

Barry tried to will the thoughts away. He closed his eyes, and, eventually, fell asleep.

Barry woke up with a heavy weight on his chest. He tried to move his arms, but one was pinned to his side by someone else's. He squinted his eyes open and looked down.

Cisco was on top of him. He was laying diagonal, arms wrapped around the other's sides, and one leg curled around Barry's. His head was on Barry's chest, while the rest of him was mostly on the remainder of Barry's torso.

Barry brought his free hand to Cisco's head. He ran his fingers through Cisco's hair, brushing it away from what little of his face that wasn't buried in Barry's chest. Barry sighed.

He moved his hand to Cisco's back and rubbed slow circles across his shoulder blades. Cisco blinked his eyes open to a bleary squint.

"Morning." Barry half-whispered.

"G'ornig." Cisco groaned and buried his face even further. He shifted his weight and pushed himself even further on top of Barry, snuggling even closer. They layed there for a few more minutes, silent.

"Hey, Cisco?" Barry looked down at him.

"Hnn?"

"I can't feel my arm."

"Mm." Cisco didn't move.

"Buddy." Barry rubbed his back. "I need you to get off of me."

"M'on you?" Cisco pulled an arm out and ran it along Barry's body, stopping at his jaw. It took everything Barry had not shiver under his touch.

Cisco looked up. "Oh." He blinked. "Oh!" He scrambled off of Barry. He let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry."

Barry sat up and stretched. "It's cool."

Cisco scooted to the edge of the bed and got off. He walked to his equipment and began checking the readings.

"So..." Barry said. "What are we going to do today?"

"Same thing we do every day, Pinkie," Cisco replied, impersonating a certain cartoon mouse, "try to take down the meta-human!"

Barry cracked a smile. "Okay, Brain. Did you find anything?"

"Just a little some-some I like to call..." he turned one of the screens towards Barry, showing a hot spot of energy on a blue-print of the hotel. "An approximate location."

"Nice! When can we check it out?"

"Probably tonight would be best, when there aren't as many people walking around, 'cuz it's in an office area."

"Right. So... breakfast?"

"Definitely."

They mostly wasted the day lounging around the hotel room, switching between watching movies and playing video games on their portable consoles. When they got bored of all that, they explored the hotel so that they would have a better understanding of where to go once night came. And it came quickly.

Cisco was checking the final readings on all the machines, making sure that they weren't about to go on some wild goose chase in the wrong spot. Barry waited on the bed, checking the time every second or so. He wanted to get going on this mission. He tapped his feet impatiently and glanced at Cisco.

"Yo, happy feet, can you maybe chill?" Cisco gave him a pointed look then went back to the screens.

"Sorry. Are you almost done?" Barry stood up. "I just want to start looking already."

"Yeah, I can tell." Cisco pressed a button on the side of a machine. "Alright, now we're good." Cisco grabbed a small bag of what Barry assumed were tools for the investigation. "Let's go."

Barry held the door open for him. "After you."

Cisco left and Barry followed. It was just past one in the morning as they reached the bottom of the stairs. They crept along the carpeted halls, to the offices in the back of the hotel.

"Okay," Cisco whispered, stopping him in front of the door that led to the 'employees only' section. "Pick the lock."

Barry nodded. He used his speed to vibrate his hand through the lock and un-jam it. Cisco pushed the door open and pulled Barry through.

It was very dark. So dark you could barely see the ground in front of you. Cisco grabbed Barry's hand and led the way, using his phone as a flashlight.

Barry happily let himself be pulled along. Cisco's hand was warm around his; it felt good. He was glad for the darkness at that moment, as the faint little smile he had on couldn't be seen.

Keys jangled. A door opened. Cisco stopped.

He turned off his flashlight. The footsteps were coming closer. Shit. Barry looked around. He could just make out a door beside them. He tried the handle; it opened.

Barry pulled Cisco inside and closed the door as softly as he could. The footsteps grew nearer, then passed.

Cisco fumbled in front of him to find Barry. He pulled Barry's head down to his height and, using touch, found his way to Barry's ear. Cisco was so close that his lips tickled against Barry's skin.

"This is a closed area, wait til we hear them leave." Cisco spoke so low that Barry could barely hear him over the blood pounding in his ears. He nodded.

Barry went to step back, but couldn't. He reached out to the walls. He couldn't even extend his arm halfway without running into shelves of stationary and other office materials. A supply closet. Great.

The footsteps drew near again. They slowed in front of the closet. Cisco instinctively grabbed Barry's upper arm and pressed himself closer. Barry let the hand of the arm being held rest on Cisco's waist.

Barry's heart was beating fast, even for a speedster, and it wasn't just because there was someone outside the door. Cisco was so close to him, Barry could literally smell the shampoo in his hair. And it was damn good.

Was the closet getting hotter? His skin felt hyper-sensitive everywhere it came into contact with Cisco. The air in here was stifling. Barry hoped Cisco couldn't feel that his heart-rate was well above normal.

The footsteps faded. Barry felt Cisco relax his grip, but neither tried to pull away from each other. They heard the door close. Barry breathed a sigh of relief.

Cisco let his hands slide down Barry's bicep, then opened the door. He peeked out, then took a few steps outside. He turned on his flashlight again and shined it on Barry.

"Come on- woah, dude, you okay? Your face is really red." He whispered.

"Uh, I'm- I'm fine, yeah. Let's just-" Barry pointed down the hallway. Cisco shrugged.

They continued down the hallway until they arrived at someone's office. Barry looked at the name plaque. Amara Gain.

Cisco opened the door and looked inside. He waved Barry in.

"So this is where the energy is most highly concentrated, which means this lady is probably the meta. Can you do a quick search?"

"Yeah." Barry used his super speed to zip around the office, reading files, letters, and anything else he could find. Meanwhile, Cisco used one of the gadgets from his handy dandy tool bag to clone the hard drive on her computer.

Barry finished. "Possible motivator for the attacks: being bored to death from work. That stuff is terrible. But it looks like she supported the particle accelerator being built and was definitely there on the night it exploded. So, yeah, I'd say we found our meta."

"Alright, maybe we'll find more on her computer, like a list of victims or something." Cisco wiggled the device in his hands. He put it back in his bag and looked at Barry. "Ready?"

Barry nodded and went to the door. They snuck back through the offices, stopping every few steps to listen, hardly daring to breathe. They reached the initial door separating the public access from the private.

Cisco opened it and stepped out, Barry close behind. Cisco slowly closed the door, holding the latch until it clicked into place and locked automatically.

A light shined on the wall across from them. The person from before was just around the corner. They had about 10 seconds to either run or hide, and they were at a dead end. Though he knew it wouldn't work, Cisco tried the door. Locked.

Barry's mind raced. He looked at Cisco, looked at Cisco's lips, and had a plan.

"Just go with it." Barry whispered. He took a deep breath and leaned in.

"Wha-" Cisco squeaked in surprise as their lips met. Barry backed him against the wall, one hand tangled in his hair, the other pressed into the small of his back, pulling their waists closer to each other. Barry couldn't believe he was doing this.

To his surprise, Cisco kissed back. Cisco ran his hands up Barry's chest, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt.

Their lips broke apart and surged back together, taking gasps of air as they did. Barry ran his tongue along Cisco's bottom lip as Cisco moaned into his mouth. He tasted like liquorice.

Was this really happening? It seemed too good to be true. Barry knew they were just faking some cover, but damn, it felt real. It felt good. Amazing. Every nerve in his body seemed to be aware of where Cisco was against him, burning his touch into Barry's memory.

"Oh!" The security guard had them in full view, her light shining on them. "Uh, excuse me boys, but you can't be over here."

Barry pulled away from Cisco and licked his lips. He cleared his throat. "Sorry, m'am. I think we got a little lost coming back from the bar."

Cisco got the cue, and started giggling.

"Baaaarry! Don' stop nowww!" He leaned in to Barry's ear and whispered loudly enough for the guard to hear, "We still have all night..." he giggled again.

"O-kay, time to get you back to our room!" Barry laughed awkwardly, putting an arm around Cisco's shoulders and pulling him away from the wall. Cisco stumbled into him. "And our room is..."

"Rooms are back that way," she pointed around the corner, "Take a left down the hall and you'll be in the lobby. Goodnight boys, be careful." She waved at them as they passed, giving Barry a look of pity as he struggled to keep Cisco's feet moving in the right direction.

"Thanks. Goodnight, m'am!" Barry smiled at her as they rounded the corner.

Once out of sight, they hurried back to their room. Barry opened the door for Cisco then walked in.

"Oh man," Cisco said, heading towards a lamp, "that was crazy."

"Yeah, no kidding." Barry sighed. "Nice acting, by the way."

"Oscar worthy?" Cisco switched on the light.

"Definitely." Barry smiled, watching Cisco with a dreamy look. Cisco smiled back and plopped onto the bed, laying his head on his arms.

"So," Cisco let his gaze drift to the ceiling, "about that- OH HELL NO!"

Cisco jumped off of the bed and pointed at the ceiling, at the dark corner nearest the door. Barry looked to where he pointed. There was a woman. On the ceiling.

"What the-" She lunged at Barry. Internally screaming, Barry used his speed to dodge and pin her to the bed. She kicked at him, trying to get loose, but Cisco was already at Barry's side with a pair of power-dampening handcuffs.

Once restrained, Barry changed into his suit and ran her to a cell at the lab. He sealed her in after asking a few questions to verify that she was the meta they had been searching for. After, he sped back to the hotel room, where Cisco was breaking down his equipment.

"That was her. Amara Gain." Barry said, pulling his mask off.

"You mean... Arachne?" Cisco grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

"God, you're such a dork." Barry half-sighed, half-laughed. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back onto a wall.

Barry watched Cisco pack up his things. The kiss flashed into his mind. He craved to be that close again. But there was no way Cisco would want that. Barry was sure that, in Cisco's mind, they would only ever be friends.

"Are you gonna stay the rest of the night here?" Barry asked. "I just mean- the reason for staying is gone, so, I was just wondering."

"Yeah, I'm too tired to haul this crap back. Besides, I'm paying for the room, might as well use it." Cisco frowned. He paused. "...Are you? Staying?"

"Yeah, why not." Barry shrugged.

"You don't have to."

"I want to."

"Seriously, dude, I don't want you to feel obligated-" Barry used his speed to change into his PJ's, then flopped onto the bed.

"Too late now, I'm already in my pajamas." He smiled at Cisco, smug.

"Hey! Cheater." Cisco pulled a pillow from the edge of the bed he was nearest to and threw it at Barry.

Barry caught it and threw it back, hitting Cisco in the head. Cisco scowled at him, fighting back a smile.

"Hey man, don't dish it if you can't take it."

Cisco abandoned his equipment and jumped onto the bed, smacking Barry with the pillow as he did. They rolled around, trying to hit and dodge. It turned into a half-assed wrestling match, with them barely able to control their laughter.

Cisco came out on top. Literally. He straddled Barry, sitting on top of his stomach while Cisco had an arm on either side of his head, looking down into Barry's face.

Barry was lost in Cisco's eyes. The way they sparkled, and crinkled up at the corners when he smiled, their rich brown color, warm like the earth. Barry tried to make himself stop, but couldn't.

"Barry," Cisco began, his voice soft, "earlier, when we... was that... um, was any of that real? Like, feelings-wise?"

Barry froze. If he told Cisco the truth, it could end their friendship. It could make Cisco feel awkward, and like he wouldn't even want to be near Barry, and then Cisco would leave Central City, and it would be raining, and Barry would be crying, and-

"Nevermind, that was a dumb question." Cisco sat up straight and brushed his hair behind his ears. "Just, for a second, I thought you might... I don't know. Nevermind."

Cisco got off of him. Barry sat up and swiveled his body to face Cisco. He was probably going to regret doing this, but-

He kissed Cisco, slow and soft. Barry cupped his hands on Cisco's jaw. Cisco brought his arms around Barry's neck and pulled him closer, accidentally sliding into his lap as he did so.

The world slowed down around them, and for once, Barry didn't want to go fast. Barry let his hands travel down, feeling Cisco's body beneath his fingertips. Barry pulled away, so that his lips just hovered on Cisco's.

"I love you."

Cisco smiled. He pressed his forehead to Barry's. "I love you, too."

Barry pulled him closer and smiled.

"See, Cisco? I told you I was comfortable with my sexuality." Cisco laughed and nodded.

"Uh-huh, sure. You totally lost that though."

"What? No way."

"Yes way. You-" Barry silenced him with a kiss. He broke it and looked at Cisco, taking in every little detail and grinning.

"Looks like we both won."