A/N: The song that inspired this one-shot was "A Little Fall Of Rain" from Les Miserables.
It had happened so quickly. The explosion from that senseless attack. The shards of glass and metal hurtling in all directions. The feeling of Cisco pushing her away from it all and leaping in front of the blast to protect her.
By now the danger had passed. They'd managed to get back to S.T.A.R. Labs.
But despite her best efforts, things were only getting worse. And right now, there was only one thing that kept her able to fight back tears: the fact that Cisco had a calm, peaceful smile on his face.
She pulled him in closer, holding him in a firm but gentle embrace. "I'm so sorry…" The rest of the words seemed trapped inside her, there were so many things she wanted to say-
"Don't be."
"What?"
He touched his hand to her face. "You don't have to apologize, Caitlin. I'm not in any pain."
"Cisco, you're dying. You don't need to pretend to be stronger than you are for me."
"I'm not," he said. "I'm actually...happy." His breathing was growing more shallow with every word. "You're here, with me, right now. That's all I need to know."
The words came back to her like a flood, bursting past any barriers that had held them back before. "I love you, Cisco," she said, the tears escaping with the words.
"I know," he said, weakly brushing a finger against her cheek. "I love you too, Caitlin…" His smile was brighter now than ever before…
The last word was barely audible as his hand slipped away from her face.