"On your left, Barry, watch out!" Cisco shouted into the comms system. The truck Prism was driving flew past and missed Barry by a few feet.

The truck skidded to a halt. Prism stepped out, smirking. Barry stood a ways away, catching his breath.

"Get any civilians out of there! Now!" Caitlin urged. "And don't let him make eye contact with you."

"Right." Barry said, clearing the area of any bystanders. Last time Prism was free, he manipulated anyone he could, and the less people there were, the safer it would be for everyone.

Prism laughed. "I don't need them this time, Flash. I've gotten stronger. I've learned from my mistakes."

He pulled out a handgun that was concealed within his jacket and began firing. Barry zipped around avoiding the bullets.

"And you know what?" Prism said, reloading a new clip before Barry could catch his breath. "Hatred isn't the strongest emotion."

Barry ran at him, hoping to get him while he was distracted. Prism started shooting again, but this time, he hit Barry.

Barry grunted and went down, his momentum dragging him across the asphalt. Prism smiled to himself and walked calmly to where Barry had landed.

Cisco was already out the door, running to the lab's garage. "Barry! I'm coming to get you!" He shouted into his portable communicator. He could hear Caitlin through the device, trying to coach Barry through his pain to keep him awake.

Prism stopped and knelt next to Barry. He grabbed Barry's face and forced him to look into his eyes.

"The strongest emotion..." his eyes flashed purple, imprinting onto Barry's, "...is love. People will do anything for love. And this time, you won't be able to cure yourself so easily."

Barry shut his eyes like he'd been stung, the force of Prism's powers causing him to lose consciousness. Prism stood up.

"It won't kill you, Flash, but at least you'll be preoccupied." Prism walked back to his truck and drove away with the goods he had stolen earlier, leaving Barry on the ground.

Cisco pulled up moments later. He ran over to where Barry lay. "Caitlin, he's not moving, what are his vitals?"

"Still alive, just unconscious. He was hit in the leg, check that first, then try to wake him up." She replied.

Cisco quickly found where Barry had been hit. After assessing the injury to the best of his knowledge, he took off his hoodie and used it to staunch the bleeding.

"It hit his right thigh, but I think it only went through the flesh, no bone." Cisco reported. He crawled over to Barry's head and pulled it into his lap. Cisco checked to make sure the area was clear of people, then peeled back the mask and patted his cheeks lightly. "Barry. Barry, wake up."

Barry groaned and slowly blinked his eyes open. Cisco let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Cisco?" Barry's expression shifted from confused to something Cisco couldn't quite identify. He propped himself up on one elbow.

"Oh, man! I was so worried! Are you oka-" Cisco was cut off by by Barry's lips on his. His brain shut down. He could barely process what was going on as Barry wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

Cisco was frozen in shock, eyes wide. His hands grabbed at the air around him, more or less flailing, unsure of what to do.

Finally, it clicked: Barry was kissing him. Cisco pushed Barry off of himself, severing their contact. Cisco stared at Barry, mouth hanging open.

"W- wh- you- I- what? What the- why did you just... kiss me?" Cisco could barely get the words out. Barry looked at Cisco through half-lidded eyes and smiled like he was in a dream.

"Because I love you."

Cisco felt like he'd just been falcon-punched in the gut. "You... what?! No. No, no, no, no. Ain't nobody got time for that shit. Caitlin," he spoke into the communicator, "tell me this is a side effect of blood loss. Please."

"Um," she laughed, "Sorry, but I don't think it is. But you do need to hurry and get him here so I can take that bullet out. Remember: he heals fast, not right."

"Right, got it." He put the device in his pocket and stood up. He held his hand out. "Come on, Barry."

Barry grabbed it and pulled himself up, putting his weight on his good leg. He leaned on Cisco, putting one arm around his shoulders while Cisco wrapped his around Barry's waist to support him.

"Mm, Cisco, you're so strong." Barry whispered in his ear as Cisco helped him to the van.

Cisco felt his face heat up. The sooner they got back to the lab, the better.

After they were both in, Cisco drove back to the lab. He found it difficult to focus on driving with Barry staring at him the entire time, a dopey smile on his face.

Once at the lab, Caitlin removed the bullet from Barry's thigh and stitched the already rapidly healing wound. Barry insisted on holding Cisco's hand throughout the ordeal.

Cisco pulled Caitlin off to the side. He needed to talk to her about Barry's unusual behavior.

"Do you know why he's acting like Cupid shot him in the ass?" Cisco whispered. "If it's some prank you guys are pulling, it's not funny."

"I think he got whammied by Prism." Caitlin said, glancing over at Barry who sat in the cortex.

"But, last time Prism used anger to mess with Barry..."

"You didn't hear because you were driving to get him, but Prism said that he'd gotten stronger, and that he had learned that hatred wasn't as strong as love."

"So, he's like this because Prism started listening to the Beatles? Great." Cisco rolled his eyes. "But we can fix him, right? Just use the same process as last time."

"Well," Caitlin hesitated, "theoretically, yes."

"But...?" Cisco could see the doubt on her face.

"But Prism also said that we wouldn't be able to cure him the same way as before."

Cisco put his hands on his head and stepped back. Different scenarios whirled through his mind. What if they never fixed Barry? What if this was permanent?

"What do I do in the meantime, then?" Cisco asked. "Just go along with it?"

Caitlin shrugged. "There's not much else you can do."

"But-" Cisco stopped himself as Barry hobbled over to them. His wound looked mostly healed, but he still limped.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Barry asked as he casually slipped his arm around Cisco's waist. Cisco pulled away, embarrassed.

"We were talking about you, actually." Caitlin said, speaking like she was talking to a third grader. "You got whammied by Prism. Do you remember?"

Barry nodded. "Kind of. It's all kinda fuzzy. Only thing that's really clear is Cisco."

"Me?" Cisco asked, though he already knew what Barry meant by it.

"Mm-hmm." Barry stepped towards him. He gently placed his hands on Cisco's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "You. How much I love you."

Barry leaned in for a kiss, but Cisco stopped him.

"Barry, Prism did this to you. You don't actually love me. Everything you're feeling right now, it's all fake."

Barry frowned. "But... no. It's real. It is."

"It isn't." Cisco said more firmly.

"It is."

"Isn't."

"It is." Barry insisted, ending their banter. "I'll prove it. When we find the cure, I'll still love you."

Cisco sighed, exasperated. "Fine. Let's just start trying to find it. Caitlin, I'm going to try making something that amplifies the effects of the color treatment."

"Alright, I'll take some more tests, look for irregularities. Barry, come with me."

Barry reluctantly followed her while Cisco found the device they had used before and took it to his work space. Cisco brushed his hair behind his ears and set to work.

As he tinkered with the machine, he could overhear Caitlin chatting with Barry, some questions professional, others not so much. Barry was essentially telling her why he loved Cisco so much, while she egged him along, amused.

Cisco sighed. It could be worse. At least Barry was attractive, and nice, and caring. Cisco just couldn't stand to see his friend manipulated like that, especially when he knew that Barry would never even consider thinking of Cisco in a romantic way normally.

Cisco felt someone rubbing his shoulders. He didn't need to look back to know who it was. He relaxed into Barry's touch and closed his eyes.

No. This wasn't right. He didn't like Barry like that, and Barry didn't like him like that. He shrugged Barry's hands away and turned around.

"Did Caitlin finish the tests?" Cisco asked. Barry nodded.

"For now. She has to analyze them, and, depending on the results, I might have to do some more." Barry leaned on the edge of Cisco's desk. "How's your end going?"

Cisco looked at the disassembled mess in front of himself and shrugged. "I need to reconfigure the hard drive and put it all back together, then use a little faith, trust, and pixie dust to make it stronger."

"Do you-" Barry was interrupted by an alarm. Cisco ran over to the monitor and checked the system.

"Central City Bank is being robbed." He reported. "It looks like they're just two regular people. Are you okay to take care of it?" Cisco gestured to Barry's leg.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Barry was already suited up.

"Alright, it's on twenty-third and Scarlet. Y'know, just in case you don't know where your own bank is. Don't ask how I know that."

Barry smiled and stopped in front of Cisco and pulled him into a kiss. It was so short that Cisco didn't even have time to react.

"For luck." Barry murmured against his lips. Then he was gone, off to save the day, leaving Cisco breathless.

Barry had the situation under control. He quickly stopped the robbers and returned the money. He didn't even need help from Cisco and Caitlin, leaving them to continue working on a cure for Barry's affliction. However, after the robbery, he had to make an appearance as Barry Allen at the police department to check in on a new case, keeping him out of S.T.A.R. Labs for the next few hours.

By the time Cisco had finished putting the device back together with its added strength, it was nearly four in the morning. Caitlin had fallen asleep at her desk a few hours prior, and Cisco was ready to do the same.

Cisco got up and stretched, then went to go sit in the hallway. He leaned against the wall and pulled his knees to his chest. Exhaustion made his eyelids heavy, and soon, he fell asleep.