.
You really hated the cold. But that was exactly where you were right now; in a cold, dark, damp cage, curled up in a corner while you waited for someone to save you. You had tagged along on a mission to Earth-2 with your amazing boyfriend, and had somehow ended up here.
The figure sitting in the dark across from you chuckled as he watched you. You just kept glaring at him.
"What does my earth one counterpart call you? Darling? Angel? Princess?" You felt yourself wilt slightly. Hearing his voice drip with so much venom hurt you inside, even though you knew it wasn't really Cisco. It was his doppelganger, who you had learned went by the name Reverb. You didn't answer his question.
"I understand why he likes you so much, though. Such a pretty thing. What a waste you don't have any powers to defend yourself with." Reverb strode towards you, leaning against the bars of your cage like a child at the zoo.
"I bet if I let you out, I could do whatever I wanted with that pretty body of yours." He curled his gloved fingers around the rusty bars, licking his lips like a hungry animal. You started to shake. Hugging your knees tighter to your chest, you tried to block out his voice as you prayed and pleaded silently to the multiverse for Cisco to find you save you. Reverb huffed at your terrified reaction.
"Relax. I wouldn't do that. I'm a criminal, not a sociopath." A wicked grin spread across his face as he released the bars. "I would only do it if you wanted me to."
The idea stirred a weird feeling in your stomach. One you definitely didn't want to feel. As the cruel counterpart of your love walked away, chuckling evilly to himself, you put your head down and started to cry.
Cisco was absolutely livid that they hadn't found you yet. He slammed a hand down on the kitchen table he was working at in frustration.
"Damn it, this isn't working!" He screamed, his hands moving to fix in his own hair. He pulled in frustration as Barry zipped over to stop him.
"Dude, calm down, we're going to find her." He tried to put a comforting hand on Cisco's shoulder, but it was slapped violently away.
"Barry you don't understand. That awful son of a bitch could be doing ANYTHING to her right now. For all we know she could be dead!" Cisco threw your jacket across the room. He had gone back for it when you had been taken to try and get a vibe off of it.
"So much for having powers when you can't fucking do anything with them!" He yelled, his hands in such tight fists that his nails were cutting into his palms. Caitlin got up and marched over, slapping him upside the head. Cisco let out an undignified yelp.
"What the fuck!?"
"Pull yourself together! You throwing a temper tantrum isn't going to get her back to us any faster!" She scolded Cisco as if he was a child. He started to break down.
"Well what the hell else am I supposed to do right now?" Cisco's voice cracked as tears started to flow down his cheeks. He sat down and buried his face in his hands. Barry picked up your jacket and dusted it off.
Caitlin put a blanket over her frustrated friend's shoulders to comfort him.
"I don't know what you're supposed to do." Barry put the folded jacket on the coffee table in front of the couch. "But I do know that if she were here, she would tell you to get your ass in gear and use that big brain of yours."
Cisco nodded in agreement, and cleared his throat.
"Can you guys just give me a minute?" He asked, sniffling a little. Barry disappeared with a whoosh, going for a run. Caitlin went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
Cisco took something out of his pocket, fiddling with it as he wiped the tears off of his face. It was a ring, cast in platinum, with a cushion-cut diamond set between two tiny, solar-powered LEDs. He sighed and rolled it between his fingers.
"I promise I'm coming." Cisco whispered, kissing the ring gently before putting it back in the safety of his pocket. He picked up your jacket and his face went slack as he got a vibe.
You were curled up on the floor of a cell, shivering in the cold as you laid on a straw mat. Reverb sat across from the tiny prison. He tipped back in his chair irresponsibly, sighing as he watched you. You thought it was creepy as hell.
"Such a waste, you are. Why would you want to be with a boy like Cisco? I'm the better man, you know."
You just took a deep, slow breath. He was trying to get a reaction, and you would be damned if you gave him what he wanted.
"The last time I saw him he was pathetic. All talk, no action." You tried to keep your breathing measured.
"Such a pussy." Reverb grinned, that awful, evil grin, and you snapped. You sat up and glared.
"At least he knows his way around one, fuckface!" You hissed, letting it all out. "You call yourself the better man yet he's the one who has been with a woman for three years, and where are you? A sad little boy in a sad little cave, having to kidnap a girl and keep her in a cold, damp cell just to have some company. Sure, fine. Keep on thinking that you're better. But we both know what's true and what is a huge fucking boast."
Reverb stood up and charged over, slamming his hands against the bars. It took all you had not to flinch.
"Watch your tongue, you feisty little ingrate!"
"Or what, dickless?" You crossed your arms. You knew you had struck the right nerve, but he was terrifying nonetheless.
"Or I just might cut it out of your mouth." His words came as a growl before he slunk back to his chair. You laid back down, letting out a breath you didn't know you were holding and trying not to think about the sorrow in his eyes when you had finished your rant.
It seemed like forever and a day had passed when you woke up in your cell to the sounds of fighting. You sat up, bleary eyed, just as a body slammed into the wall of your cell. Screaming in terror, you scrambled back. Reverb groaned and coughed, rolling onto all fours as he crawled away. Into the dim light came your savior, your knight in shining armor, and your boyfriend.
Cisco immediately ran to the door, taking off his goggles and grabbing the bars. Or, more accurately, Reverb's goggles that he had stolen ages ago.
"Oh thank spock, you're okay." He muttered, fiddling with the lock before he just broke it off with a vibrational blast. As soon as it was off, he opened the door and rushed to you. You started to sob as soon as he wrapped his arms around you, whispering into your ear that it was going to be fine.
"Princess, I heard you tell him off, it was amazing…" He wiped a tear off your cheek and smiled, but you didn't feel so sunny right then. Barry came in with handcuffs, and you wrenched yourself out of Cisco's arms to stop the speedster.
Reverb lay on the ground, breathing shallowly. You sat next to him. He cracked an eye open.
"Your savior is here. Haven't you noticed?"
"Cut the sass and listen to me, Francisco." You insisted, helping him sit up.
"If the multiverse is how I think it is, then for every Barry there is an Iris and for every Caitlin, there is a Ronnie. That also means, for every Cisco," You placed your hand into his. "There is a me."
You watched Reverb cycle through a lot of emotions, rubbing a thumb into his palm. Cisco stood behind you, confused as fuck.
"That means somewhere there is a (y/n) just as lost and sad as you, waiting." You let go of Reverb and stood up. He made as if to respond, but you hushed him.
"Find her."
You walked away, back to your Cisco, and hugged his arm. He looked down at you with an eyebrow raised.
"Take me home." You murmured, rubbing your cheek into his shoulder.
"As you wish, princess."
Cisco leaned over and kissed the top of your head before opening a breach. Barry zipped Caitlin into it ahead of you, and Cisco nudged you through. He hung back for a few seconds.
"You better do what she said or else I'm coming right back here to kick your ass again and I won't be so nice if I have to do it again."
"Duly noted."
Cisco left, leaving Reverb sitting on the floor to think about his life.
Maybe, just maybe, you were right.
And maybe it was worth a try.