He was tired. So incredibly tired. More so than usual.

Barry Allen hasn't gotten sleep in three days. Or has it been four? He's not sure.

The people of Central City have been acting very strange lately. So strange that many of them have been engaging in not-so-legal activities. Between the regular metas acting up, and now non-metas causing more crime than usual at his day job, he's not sure how much more he can handle.

"Barry?" a voice startled him, and his eyes fluttered open, "Barry did you hear what I just said?"

Iris West-Allen was staring at him with a deadpan expression. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she didn't look happy.

"Yeah," he coughed and sat up a little straighter on one of the spare office chairs STAR Labs seems to import regularly.

"Ok, then what are you still doing here?" She crossed her arms, and one of her eyebrows cocked up- challenging him.

His shoulders slouched as he signed, unable to play the part of a hero today. He put his hands to his face and tried to rub the exhaustion from his eyes.

"Sweetheart," he started.

But Iris wasn't having it. Not today.

"Barry!" His ears were ringing from the hertz, "I know you're tired, I get that. Believe me, I'm not well rested either, what with the spike in crime and everything…"

If Barry weren't a smart man, he would have rolled his eyes. Try fighting it, he thought to himself.

"But we all have responsibilities to follow around here. This is the fifth time that you have ignored me this week, and I'm so tired of having to direct you only to have you question my leading abilities!"

What?

His shoulders straightened, and he stood up, "What are you talking about? Nobody is questioning your leadership on the team!"

"But you are, Barry!" He hated hearing her stress his name like that. It sounded like venom from her mouth.

"Well maybe" his voice was harsher than he intended, "if you had an inkling of an idea what it's like to be me…"

He tried to ignore the way both her eyebrows shifted upwards, "What it's like to have powers and constantly have people depend on you…"

She cut him off, "Of course I do! We are a team, Barry. You aren't the Flash! The Flash is bigger than you! And until you start understanding that you're going to keep having these issues."

He couldn't believe what was happening. Since when have he and Iris fought like this? Since when have they been at such diametrically opposed intersections in anything, let alone this. But, somehow, he couldn't stop himself.

"Iris, we aren't The Flash!" he yelled, "I appreciate you looking out for everyone, but nobody asked you to quit your job! You weren't thrust into this responsibility, you chose this. And it's driving me crazy because I can't seem to breathe without you telling me I'm doing it wrong!"

The room fell into silence. He hurt her. That much was certain. They stared off at each other in quiet battle, neither seeming to give in. The fire in his chest seemed to grow hotter. The ring on his left finger was suddenly feeling tighter…

"Uh, isn't that the alarm?" Cisco came in peering through the doorframe. He didn't need his vibe to tell him how thick the tension was in the room.

Caitlin followed him close behind, unable to see inside with Cisco blocking the way, "It's been going off for a while now." she commented, "Is everything okay? Does Barry need help?"

Without looking away from his eyes, Iris shifted her weight into a proud stance and stated, rather plainly, "He was actually just leaving."

He felt so stupid. That's obviously what she wanted him to do to begin with. This whole fight seems so incredibly out of proportion now. He needed to apologize. But later.

He swallowed, and turned to face the rest of the team, "Yeah, sorry."

With his signature flash, he was gone.

"Barry, what do you see?" He heard Caitlin's voice through the intercom of the suit.

He was confused, "I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be looking at…"

He was at the park. He saw couples strolling hand in hand, crunching autumn leaves beneath their feet. He heard the distant sound of children laughing, and soft quacks coming from the nearby lake.

"There's nothing here." His statement sounded more like a question. He looked around in distress, "Everyone looks like they're fine."

He could hear the sound of keyboard furiously typing away, and Cisco interrupted, "Well, look again. There's definitely a spike in meta activity in that park."

"Guys, I'm telling you, everyone's fi-"

He heard a piercing scream coming from the other side of the lake. He rushed into a picturesque scene of lilies and carefully crafted white decorations. He thought he saw a disgruntled crowd, wreaking havoc in front of a wedding ceremony, a group of disenfranchised people all simultaneously crashing a wedding- as one typically finds, of course. But then he looked closer, they were all guests, dressed to the nines for the occasion. And what's worse, they were all in a strange whirl of passion.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked out loud, trying to pry some wedding guests off of each other. Many were in an innocent, passionate embrace, others were just short of ripping off their clothes...

He heard a girl call out in agony, "You slut!"

The Bride, all in white, was tugging at her bridesmaid's hair in such a way that he thought it was going to come off entirely.

"How could you?" She screamed, tears ruining her makeup, "He's my fiancé!"

Barry rushed to them and pulled the women apart.

"He loved it! You should have seen him begging for it!" He couldn't believe what he just heard. The Bride was in tears while her bridesmaid was unabashedly confessing to enjoying her affair.

"It's a complete frenzy!" He yelled out to the team, "Everyone's either mad or horny. I don't know what's going on!"

Just then, he heard laughter coming from behind him. Beneath the wedding arches stood a girl in a long dress identical to the other bridesmaid. She was no more than fifteen, with eyes shining a deep red in the wake of this destruction.

"I think I found our meta..."

"Well, well!" She started, her smile growing bigger by the second, "To what do we owe this honor? I didn't think our residential hero would show up to this sham!"

Barry's stance was sharper. He lifted his fists in case her powers involved something physical, "Who are you?"

"Oh Flash," her eyes blazed a brighter red, "I'm nobody. But you can call me Desire."

"What are you talking about?"

He was worried something else was coming. She was too young to be put in Iron Heights, but clearly, she was showing no signs of remorse for whatever she's done to these people.

This time, he heard Cisco through the intercom, "The satellite picked up facial recognition. Her name is Olivia Kiora. She's a high school student, straight A's, good kid. She had her appendix removed five years ago. That's all we have on her."

The people closest to her were in already in the process of removing their clothes. Many of them were already doing unspeakable things in broad daylight.

"What are you doing to them, Olivia?" his voice was stern and calm.

Her smile dropped at the sound of her name, "Desire." She emphasized.

"I'm not doing anything, Flash. See for yourself, everyone's having a blast all on their own."

"Do you guys see this?" he addressed the team once more.

"Yeah," Caitlin answered, "It looks like she might be emanating some kind of pheromone that makes people want to..." she coughed, "do the dirty."

If he weren't facing an enemy, he would have laughed at her adorable innocence, "But how is she doing that?"

The girl spoke up first, "Hasn't anyone told you its rude to ignore those you're having a conversation with?"

"Desire, what do you want? What are you doing to them" he asked again, hoping for a clearer explanation.

"I want people to see themselves as they truly are! They shouldn't hold back their feelings! It's natural."

"You're forcing them to do this for your own enjoyment, don't you see that's wrong?"

His eyebrows furrowed, and she continued, "I'm not forcing anyone to do anything. I just wanted to show my sister the truth, before she made an awful mistake."

Barry looked back at the Bride, who was now on the ground unabashedly crying hysterically, "The Bride is your sister?" she nodded, "You did this on her wedding day?"

Desire rolled her eyes, "What a better day than to destroy their expectation of happy monogamy than on the one that is supposed to uphold the sanctity of marriage?"

He saw the CCPD pull up behind Olivia. They were closing in fast, heading to try to rectify the situation. "Olivia..."

"Don't call me that! You don't know me! You don't know anything!" Her hands became a similar color to her eyes as she raised them in his direction.

Before he could react, she blasted him with red light, and he fell over from the impact.

Unbeknownst to her, the CCPD had enough time to sneak up behind her and cuff her with power dampening technology.

Joe, heading the mission, went toward him and offered a hand, "Are you alright, Flash?"

Barry used Joe's hand to get up and dust himself off. He put his own hand to his head, still a bit dizzy from the blast, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. Just..."

Barry looked at the girl, in handcuffs and being read her Miranda rights. Suddenly she looked a lot more innocent with silent tears falling down her cheeks, "Make sure she gets help, she's too young to be locked up."

"Don't worry, Flash, we'll take care of her."

Barry rushed back to STAR Labs, out of protocol. He really just wanted to be at home, making that date with his King-sized bed. Even though he didn't fight much, that interaction with Desire took a lot out of him.

Cisco greeted him at the control center.

"Another one down, my man!" His hand was extended upwards, asking for a high five. Barry motioned one from across the room.

"Looks like you locked up Desire in record time."

He sat down on one of the rolling chairs, eyes closed, and he chuckled out of politeness.

Cisco shrugged and continued to look over at something in the monitor. Caitlin had entered the room and her head buried in a tablet, looking over Barry's vitals that could be read through the suit. She walked toward the static speedster with concern in her eyes.

"Barry, are you alright?" She put her hand on his shoulder "I know... Desire blasted you with something. Do you feel any different?"

Eyes still closed, he shook his head. He could smell Caitlin's perfume from her close proximity. Has she always smelled so sweet?

A phone went off. Caitlin and Barry both looked over at Cisco who promptly answered, "Yeah?"

He lifted his finger to the two and mouthed 'I'll be right back' as he left the room, to get more privacy.

Barry looked over at Caitlin and was about to tell her not to worry, so he could finally go home and sleep when she grabbed his hand, and he felt his body light on fire.

"I know you said you're okay, but I would feel so much better if I could run just a few tests on you?"

He swallowed hard. Suddenly very aware of how close Dr. Snow was to him. He glanced down at her hand, still touching his, with an eagerness and weariness he was afraid to explore, but still feeling the need to.

She noticed his glance and removed her hand promptly, shifting her attention to the tablet.

Barry wasn't blind. He knew that Caitlin was beautiful, with her long legs that could go on for miles, and her big wide eyes that made him wonder just how big they could get while she's looking over at him while on her knees...

Barry shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable.

Something told him she felt the same way about him. In fact, long ago, in a different timeline, he thought maybe something would blossom between them. But it wasn't the right time for them. Or maybe it was, and he just messed it all up.

In this light, however, Barry couldn't help but notice that Caitlin looked absolutely radiant. Her hair was impossibly bouncy and shiny, and her mouth was being abused by her biting over her lips, in anxiety. He held his breath as he realized he wanted to be doing that himself.

Suddenly, he wasn't tired anymore. He was excited. Very excited.

Without thinking, he reached for her hand. Her eyes were hesitant as she peered away from the screen in her hands.

"Barry?" her hair fell out of place, covering part of her face, "Are you alright?"

He stood up and used his lightning speed to be inches away from her. He reached over to move the falling strands back into place, his wedding ring shining from the light of the afternoon sun.

Caitlin swallowed hard, immediately aware of what was going on, "Barry, I don't know what has gotten into you, but you need to stop. Now."

She said that without looking away, without moving even. Barry kept his hand near her face, with his other snaking across her waist in the softest of touches. He was so gentle, so loving with his lingering touch, that Caitlin had no idea how to react.

"You're absolutely mesmeric, Cait."

His eyes shifted back and forth to each one of her facial features, unsure of what to focus on. It was all so much. She was too much to look at, too much to admire. Every cell in his body was on fire from her ice cold touch.

"Barry," her breath was getting shallow, "What are you doing?"

"Please, Cait." His voice was a mere whisper.

There he goes again, calling her Cait. So intimate, so treasured. His touch seemed to burn her through her clothes. He lowered his head down to the nape of her neck, holding her closer as if he was scared she was going to disappear, breathing her in.

"You smell divine."

His voice was low and hungry, and she could feel his breath on her neck as he murmured, "Caitlin Snow, I could ravish you."

She let out an involuntary soft moan, and that's all Barry needed to pounce on her neck. He needed to hear more of that. Much more. He needed to listen to her scream his name again and again.

He licked and sucked on her delicate porcelain neck, which caused her to moan deeper. She was so startled and so turned on, she couldn't do anything but let it happen. She wanted to give in and make this happen. She's wanted it for so long, but she gave up on those daydreams the day he walked down the aisle.

Iris!

"Barry you need to stop" she meant to sound stern and confident, but she sounded sensual and out of breath, "What about Iris?"

Barry ignored the context of her words and moved to her lips. Without hesitation, his mouth met hers, and he gave out a soft grunt, pushing their bodies closer together, longing for the friction.

Caitlin's tongue met his, and he almost melted with how delectable she tasted. He wanted to taste so much more.

He vibrated against her hips, causing her to moan louder. He almost whimpered at how badly she made him want her.

His hands wandered over her body as he felt every curve on his fingertips. He ached to rip her clothes off, to feel her bare against his skin. Caitlin's hands reached for his hair, and he bit her lips playfully in response, making her sough.

The sound of the door opening caused her to push Barry away. He whined by the sudden lack of Caitlin in his arms and reached back to hold her and kiss her neck and up to her ears.

Ok, woah.

Something wasn't right. Clearly. Any sane person would have stopped before they were caught in a moment of infidelity.

That's when Caitlin figured it out. She was so lost in the moment, so confused and so incredibly hopeful that she didn't realize what was happening.

With Barry still on her body, pressing her to the desk and licking her neck, Caitlin looked over his shoulder to see a shocked Cisco Ramon standing next to an angry Iris West-Allen. She called out, "Something's wrong with Barry!"

"I'll say!" Iris yelled out, anger exploding through her body as she watched her husband continue to suck on another woman's neck.

Cisco ran over to Caitlin and Barry while addressing Iris, "No you don't understand, he was hit with Desire's powers earlier. There must have been some kind of a latent effect."

Cisco went to pull Barry off of Caitlin, and Barry responded with a grunt directed his way, as he continued to kiss Caitlin's neck and collarbone.

"Barry!" Iris shrieked, "Get off of her!"

He pulled away from Caitlin and looked in the direction of a fuming Iris. He looked back at Caitlin and saw her doe eyes stare back, her lips red from his kisses, his love bites already forming marks on her neck... And his suit felt so incredibly tight.

He picked her up and flashed out of the room, going to a more reserved area of Star Labs, so they could continue uninterrupted.

"Barry, stop!" Caitlin sounded more forceful, all of the seductive suggestion was gone from her tone and instead she was dripping in anger and confusion. Barry didn't listen as he continued to kiss down to her clavicle again.

"I said," she put her hands on his chest and started to freeze him, "Stop!"

Just then, Cisco vibed into the room with Iris by his side. They saw Barry on the ground, shivering from cold.

"Are you alright?" Cisco asked her as he went over to grab Barry.

She held herself in comfort, still out of breath and clothes slightly askew from both the dash and a certain speedster's wandering hands.

"Yeah I'm fine," she straightened her back and tried to collect herself, "Just restrain him on the medical chair while I try to reverse whatever is going on."

"So what's wrong with him?" Iris was looking over her shoulder as Caitlin was reviewing some of her charts and looking over blood samples.

Barry was still sleeping off whatever Cisco gave him as he was securely strapped onto the restraints on the bed in case the speedster woke up again, craving more adult attention.

"I have no idea, his physiology is perfect. The only thing I could see is that his testosterone levels are higher than usual, but testosterone alone wouldn't be able to do this." Catlin looked back at the papers, she looked so lost in her work it was as though she was talking out loud, "I'm still waiting on the neuro results... Maybe we'll get more luck there."

Iris was still angry at Barry and Caitlin, even though she knew the truth behind his actions. It felt awful seeing the man she loved with another woman, just a few hours after their big fight. But even if Barry couldn't help himself, one thing lingered on Iris's mind longer than it should have.

"What about you?"

Caitlin looked up from her data, "What about me?"

"Were you affected too?"

Caitlin's eyes fluttered as she looked at the wife of the man she was exchanging salvia with not but an hour ago, "No..."

Iris's arms folded across her chest, "Then why didn't you stop him?"

"I did."

"No," Iris began, "Why didn't you stop him earlier?"

Caitlin swallowed, unsure of how to respond.

"Iris?"

The two women shifted their attention back to the bed. Barry was awake, and tugging at his restraints, "What happened?"

Iris went to his side, pushing away any thoughts of him and Caitlin together, "Don't you remember?"

"I don't..." Barry started, but when his glance fell on Caitlin, he realized what he had done, "Oh God, Cait, I'm so sorry."

Before Caitlin could say anything else, Cisco came into the room, still on the phone with a medical buddy of his at Iron Heights, "Thank you so much, Steve. And you're sure about this right?"

The room was quiet, waiting on Cisco to finish his conversation, "No man, you've helped a lot. Thank again for looking into this for me."

Click.

"I just got off the phone with the doctor that examined our young minx, Desire."

Iris was working on his restraints, and Barry sat up, rubbing his wrists from the uncomfortable feeling they've been under when she finally set him free.

"Did you, um, figure out what she did to me?"

It was a question directed to everyone, but Caitlin could feel his eyes on her body. She tried to keep herself busy, looking anywhere but the scarlet speedster.

"Actually, I think I might know," Cisco replied, all eyes on him, "remember how everyone seemed to be in a frenzy this week?"

"There's been a huge spike in crime lately, yeah, what about it?" Iris asked with her hand on Barry's shoulder, studying Cisco.

"Well looks like Desire was responsible."

Caitlin's eyes widened as she looked at the results of Barry's neurological scans, and her eyes darted toward Cisco, knowing what he would say.

"What do you mean?" Barry got up from the bed, stretching his legs. He made a motion to hold Iris's hand, and she reluctantly let him

"He means," Caitlin spoke up, "Desire didn't make people fall for each other. She didn't make them desire anything. She messed with their prefrontal cortex in such a way as to temporarily mess with their behavioral patterns."

Barry's heart sank, and he felt a pit in his stomach as he realized where Caitlin was going with this. It made perfect sense to him, he just never admitted it.

"More specifically, she messed with their inhibitions," Cisco finished.

Iris dropped her hand from Barry's grasp, prolonging the inevitable as she asked redundantly, "Meaning...?"

"Meaning all of those people had thought of behaving that way, to begin with. Desire just let go of the restrictions in their mind, like their morality, and let them succumb to... their..." Cisco didn't want to finish his sentence because he realized they were all suddenly talking about Barry.

But Iris pressed on, much to everyone's chagrin, "Succumb to their what, Cisco?"

"To their own will."