Cisco goes missing. Barry and Iris worry about their little brother. Cisco is thirteen and Barry and Iris are sixteen in this story.

It took Barry a second to recognize the boy that knocked on his window that night.

The sun had just lowered and the sky was fading from deep orange to grey and blue hues, and Barry had just finished his science homework, glad he finally got it done. He didn't think that he would, because he was scared.

No, he was terrified. They all were.

His adopted brother, Cisco, hadn't come home from school. It had been hours, with no sign of his little brother anywhere.

Cisco was always late on Thursday, he went to chess club, but he was never, ever this late. Something was wrong.

Joe had contacted the police station two hours after Cisco should have been home, and Iris was in her room, no doubt contacting her friends to see if they knew where her little brother was. Barry didn't know what to do, so he tried to distract himself with science.

His youngest brother was missing And he was only thirteen. Central City was not a safe place, and Barry's little brother was out there alone, probably scared, and there was nothing that Barry could do.

Even though Barry was sixteen, Joe had forbidden him from looking for Cisco himself, because someone had to stay home just in case Cisco came back. Iris really wanted to help too, but obeyed her father and stayed behind, much to her dismay. She was a fighter, and it hurt her to have to give up and let Joe deal with the situation.

But Joe still hadn't found him, and Barry couldn't handle it anymore. He couldn't just sit back and pretend that everything was okay when it wasn't.

He began to pace his room, trying to not look over at Cisco's bed just mere feet from him, empty. His personal belongings, like his books and action figures, sat in their usual places unmoved from the night before. Usually, at this time of night, Cisco would 'go to bed' but in reality hide under the covers and read. Barry knew about it, but didn't bother saying anything, knowing that Cisco really enjoyed it. And he deserved a little bit of happiness, especially after all he had been through three years before. Cisco's father and mother, both dead, his eldest brother Dante unable and unwilling to see him again.

Cisco deserved all of the joy the world had to offer, he had suffered so much already. Like Barry had.

Barry sighed, and picked up his phone, hoping that Joe had texted. Nothing. Cisco didn't have a phone yet, but Barry knew that after this night Joe would purchase one immediately. After Cisco was punished, of course.

Joe claimed, after Cisco didn't come home after an hour, that Cisco had reached the 'rebellious teenager' point of his life, and was likely hanging out with friends who were a bad influence, but Barry knew better, and told Joe what he thought.

Cisco wasn't a normal kid, he didn't like taking risks or doing bad things, and he certainly didn't have friends to do stuff with (Barry knew that saying his little brother had no friends was harsh, but it was true. Cisco was just too different for other peers to talk to him). Cisco just wanted to learn, much like Barry himself, and had no interest in illegal things like thievery or criminal activities. Wherever his brother was, whatever he was doing, it wasn't by Cisco's own choice. It couldn't be, Cisco was too good for that.

It took a sharp knocking on his window to draw Barry out of his thoughts, and he jumped in surprise. Was someone at his window? Was it a bird?

Turning around as quick as lighting, he saw a small figure kneeling on the roof, his face obscured by shadow. But, a quick glance at the figure's small body, long-ish hair, and loose jacket, Barry knew that it was Cisco. It had to be.

"Cisco!" Barry hissed, opening the window for his brother to climb through. "Where were you?"

Cisco ignored him, ducked his head, and rushed to close the door as soon as his feet landed on the floor. Shutting it, he turned away from Barry, covering his face with his hands.

"Cisco! What's going on?" Barry asked, his tone forceful, and Cisco flinched slightly.

"I'm...I'm fine." He said simply, his voice soft, and Barry gripped his shoulder, turning Cisco to face him. His face was still covered by his hands, and his small arms were shaking. Barry could instantly tell that something was really, really wrong.

"Cisco? You can trust me." He said softly, his attitude changing instantly. Cisco rapidly shook his head in fear.

"No….I can't. You'll tell Joe, and then he'll kick me out!"

Barry's breath caught in his throat at the words. Cisco, despite living in the West Home for three years, still thought that Joe was going to abandon him? He couldn't help but feel like he failed his little brother to make him think that.

"I can't promise that I won't tell Joe, because if it's important he has to know." Barry responded, gently sitting Cisco down on the bed. "But, no matter what it is, Joe loves you. He's not going to kick you out, or send you away. We all, Joe, Iris, and I, all care about you, Cisco. We always have, we always will."

Cisco brought his knees to his chest and hid his face in it, using his now free hands to wrap around himself, and Barry began to rub his back comfortingly.

"I'm...I'm a failure, though."

"You're not, Cisco. You're never going to be a failure. We love you, even if you mess up."

Cisco began to sob, and Barry bit his lip, hoping that his little brother would begin to talk to him about what happened, but Cisco just started to cry.

Unwilling to leave Cisco's side, he pulled out his phone and texted Joe and Iris as he tried to comfort his brother.

Cisco's home, but something's really bothering him. I'll try to get him to tell me, but you guys should wait until he's ready to see you guys, he's really shaken up and I don't want to overwhelm him.

Iris texted back a second later with a quick ok, thanks , which Barry knew meant that she was relieved, but still not sure what else to say. Joe's text came a minute later.

Tell him I love him, I'm coming home right now.

Cisco's sniffles became quiet, but he still refused to show Barry his face.

"Joe says he loves you." Barry said, but he was ignored. He had to try another tactic. So, he chose the weapon that had made Cisco feel better the first night he stayed with the Wests; a Bop-It toy.

Barry gently bumped the toy against his little brother's leg, and Cisco stirred.

"Bop-It? Do you want to play?"

Cisco finally raised his head up, and Barry's eyes widened in shock.

His face, so young and happy all of the time, was covered in bright red bruises, cuts, and the beginnings of a black eye. Tears were dry on his cheeks, and Cisco looked away from his older brother's concerned glance, a deep frown on his face.

"What happened?" Barry breathed, and Cisco finally spoke.

"Jake Puckett and his friends."

Jake. Barry remembered Cisco mentioning his name a couple of times, usually when Cisco told them about his day. Jake was a mean kid, always picking on the smaller kids, and Cisco had admitted that he and his friends always called him names. But this, what happened tonight, was far from just verbal abuse. They physically bullied him. Bad.

"They cornered me after school." Cisco sniffed, his eyes downcast. "And told me that I had no right going to school after what happened to my parents. It didn't make sense, but they hit me. Over and over and it hurt a lot. It still hurts."

Cisco began to shake once again, and Barry quickly pulled him into a side hug, knowing how much of a pain bullies were. He had his own.

"I...I didn't know what to do when they left." Cisco continued, chin quivering. "I knew that I had to come home but I didn't want you guys seeing me like this. So...I...I stayed away."

"Cisco, it's been hours. We were so worried. You should've come home sooner."

"But, I一"

"No buts." Barry interrupted, "Cisco, bullies suck. I know. I've had my fair share. But when you get hurt, especially this bad, you need to come home right away. So we can help. I don't care that you got hurt, or you didn't fight back, or were weak. I don't care if you even gave up. But we need to know that you're safe Do you understand?"

Cisco nodded and leaned into Barry's side. The two sat there for a while, until a swift knock was heard on the bedroom door.

Joe walked in, his face drawn and pale, but relief washed over him when he saw Cisco sitting on the bed.

Cisco bit his lip, but Joe quickly wrapped him in a hug.

"You're okay." He breathed, and the younger boy melted into the embrace.

"Joe, I'm so sorry. Jake hit me and I didn't want to come home."

"We're going to talk about this later." Joe said, and he gripped Cisco harder. "We were so worried, I sent out a search team and everything."

Cisco hiccupped trying to hold back tears, and Joe rubbed his back, gesturing for Barry to grab a spare blanket. Barry took it and wrapped Cisco's shoulders with it when Joe pulled out of the hug. Cisco gripped the edges of the fabric desperately, seeking the warmth and comfort from it.

"Better?" Barry asked, and Cisco nodded.

"A bit."

Joe gently held his hand to Cisco's cheek, examining the blemishes.

"Jake Puckett." Barry said simply, and Joe nodded.

"Why don't we get some ice on that, and maybe some food in that belly of yours?"

Cisco looked up at him in shock. "You're not mad?"

Joe shook his head. "No, Cisco, you were scared, I get that. I just wish you came home sooner. If this ever happens again, which I really hope it won't, you come home right away, got that?"

" Yea, I promise. I never want to be alone like that again."

Barry gave him a sad smile. "You're never alone."

Barry and Cisco then followed Joe to the kitchen, where Iris sat in wait for the three of them, a tray of cookies in the center of the table. Upon seeing Cisco, she immediately gave him a hug, one that Cisco returned thankfully, but slightly winced when Iris pressed on his shoulder.

"Oh, Cisco! I'm so sorry!"

Cisco shrugged. "It's fine, it just hurts a bit."

Joe sighed and gestured for Cisco to sit down, which he did without objection.

Cisco pried his shirt off once Barry took the blanket from him again, revealing more bruising.

Joe pressed on the tender skin ever so slightly, looking at his adopted son's hurt body with concern. He could still see the scars that previously resided from what Cisco had endured as a child, but focused on the fresh blemishes that littered Cisco's torso.

"Are you breathing okay, Cisco? Do you feel any discomfort?"

"I can breathe fine, it just aches a bit."

"Your lungs feel fine? No bones broken?"

"No. I don't think so." Cisco said simply, and Joe took his response, as well as the fact that Cisco wasn't on the ground screaming in pain, that he hadn't suffered any serious injury. Joe was relieved by this, but knew that he would still give Jake Puckett's parents a good talking to.

Joe, once Cisco put his shirt and blanket back on, turned his attention to Cisco's face, carefully cleaning the small cuts that were red on his cheeks. His eye looked really bad, it began to swell, the purples and blacks contrasting darkly on Cisco's skin.

"Iris, can you get some ice?" Joe asked, and she nodded.

"Is he in trouble?" She asked softly, and Joe gave a sad smile.

"No, I think he's been through enough tonight."

She smiled, and retrieved the ice pack, leading Cisco to the living room, plopping him on the couch. Cisco pressed the ice pack to his eye gently and looked down in shame.

"We're going to watch any movie you like, okay?" She said, trying to lighten the mood, but Cisco looked at her hesitantly.

"I don't deserve that…I should be punished."

"You've already been punished, Cisco." Joe said, and the three kids looked at him with confusion.

Joe gestured to Cisco's eye that was being covered by the ice-pack. "If you came home right after that happened, we would've been able to stop your eye from bruising. But, now that it's later, you're going to have that black eye for a couple of weeks."

Cisco bit his lip. "That sucks."

"Fair punishment?"

"Yea."

There was an awkward silence, and no one knew how to fill it. Joe knew that Cisco had learned his lesson, but didn't want to be too harsh on the kid, Iris didn't know how to comfort her little brother, and Barry didn't want to say anything that would make Cisco cry again. So, he decided to ignore what happened that night, even though it killed him to do so.

Barry sat down beside Cisco. "So. What movie?"

Cisco tilted his head in thought, a small smile beginning to form on his face.

"A New Hope?"

Iris sighed, rolling her eyes, but Barry laughed. "Absolutely."

Turning the movie on, Barry gave Cisco a little bit of his stash of chocolate he kept hidden from Joe, smiling when Cisco took it graciously. Iris spoiled him with cookies, store bought, of course, and let him talk to her about all of the crazy facts about the movie that he knew.

Joe soon joined the trio in watching Star Wars, and the pain in Cisco's eye was forgotten by the young boy, as well as his fear. Cisco knew that no matter what happened in his life, his family always had his back. Luke Skywalker may have been the man he dreamed of being, but his true heroes were in that very room, watching over a boy who had nothing, but now had all he could ask for.

Cisco now knew that he could always get their help. Always. And it was a comfort that he would hang onto forever.