"So does it work?"

"I don't know Adam. The code is still compiling."

Adam hovered over Leah, his head resting lightly on top of hers. She was currently sitting at her kitchen table, working on a new section of code for Project A.T.O.M. After finishing the code for the satellite link between the suit and the server sometime before Christmas, Ray had once again suckered them into writing more code, this time for a new HUD. She had a feeling that this would take a much longer time than a simple satellite link though.

"I still don't get how you know all this stuff Lee. We took the same classes in high school, and I'm pretty sure they didn't teach you this stuff at your ....college." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he spoke. "Heck, they didn't even teach me this stuff at Kennesaw."

"I learned it on my own. Do you really think they taught me Perl at Jefferson State?"

"Not really." He withdrew from his position on her head and moved over to the other side of the table, flopping down in the other chair. "I still don't see why you didn't go to Tech or something. You could have done it. And you would have been close to me."

She looked up from the screen. "Didn't want to."

Adam picked at the corner of the table. "You baffle me Leah Elms. You always have."

"Your face baffles me." She smirked, crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, begging for him to try and refute her.

"Weak."

There was a sudden knock at the door. Leah suppressed a laugh as she got up and headed for the door. "Who cares? You didn't refute. I win."

"I wasn't finished!"

"Too late. I win." She quickly looked through the peephole and opened the door.

Cisco caught her eye as soon as the door was open and gave her a weak smile. "Te extrañé mucho."

Her brow furrowed, and she blinked a few times in confusion. Spanish? Did he think she spoke Spanish? "What?"

"Te extrañé mucho." Cisco suddenly closed the distance between them, pulling her into a tight hug and burying his head in her shoulder. She tensed. What was his deal with hugging?

In his defense, she hadn't seen him since the end of November. She had spent pretty much all of December running between Starling and Central, and Cisco had that weird bug thing... she didn't really understand. And then she had gone home for Christmas, which had been a huge mistake. But Cisco had texted her every single day, somehow keeping her company when no one else was around, so she couldn't exactly say that she wasn't excited to see him. But still... She gently tried to wiggle out of his arms.

Cisco mumbled something else in Spanish.

She turned to Adam, Cisco's head still resting on her shoulder. "Didn't you take Spanish? What is he saying?"

"Obviously, he didn't want you to understand, so I'm not going to tell you. Who is that by the way?"

"Oh, right. This is Cisco."

"That's Cisco?"

"Yea." She finally managed to get out of Cisco's arms, and took a few steps back. He really didn't seem to notice... he just kind of... stood there....

"Does he always do that?"

"No." She looked Cisco over. He looked like a zombie. The dark circles under his eyes were insanely pronounced, and his eyes were all but lifeless. "I think he's a bit off today." A bit off was an understatement. He looked terrible.

"Huh. Ok. Well, I'll leave you two alone now. I have work waiting for me in Starling. And Jamie. And you know how she gets. Just email me the code when it finishes compiling. We can go from there."

"Ok."

Adam walked over and gently kissed her forehead. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He winked at her and bolted out the door.

Wait... "YOU JERK. IT'S NOT LIKE THAT." She heard him laugh as he walked away. Ugh. Great. "Soulless prick," she muttered quietly as she closed the door.

"Who was that?"

"Huh?" She turned around to look at Cisco. He looked confused... almost angry even? Why? "That was Adam."

"That... was Adam?"

"Yea?"

"You let him..." He pointed to his forehead.

"Oh, yea. There's really no stopping him at this point. He's been doing it since like, I don't really even know, elementary school? Maybe middle... He's really big into physical affection. Always has been, probably always will be."

Cisco's face seemed to sour upon hearing that. He was acting odd tonight. "He's weird."

"Yea, well, he's a ginger, he has no soul. He was probably trying to steal mine." She turned and headed for the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"No."

"Ok." She grabbed a few things, then headed back out and joined Cisco on the couch, pressing a bag of Skittles into his hand. His eyes flickered between candy and her. "You looked like you needed it." She gave him a soft smile.

He opened the bag and took a handful of candy and popped it in his mouth. "What's with all the programming books? Your server break again?"

She glanced around her living room. Crap. How many books had she pulled out? They pretty much covered any surface available. "No. Pet project," she lied.

Cisco glanced at her. "All this for a pet project?" He popped another handful of candy into his mouth. "What is it?"

"An H....UD," she spoke, her voice a bit higher than normal. CRAP. Why had she told him that? She fumbled with her fingers, trying desperately to find a way to derail him from the current topic.

Cisco's eyes widened, and his brow furrowed slightly. "You're designing a heads-up display? Really?" A small smile started to form at his lips.

"....Yes?" She offered a nervous smile, still fidgeting with her hands.

"What language are you using? What resolution? What are you displaying? Wait, no no no. Can I just see it?" Cisco's eyes suddenly filled with that familiar spark. He smiled, eagerly awaiting her response.

"It's..... still compiling, so...... noooo? Sorry." She scratched at the back of her head awkwardly.

"Oh." And with that, Cisco seemed to shut down again. Leah sighed. This was weird. This was totally weird. "So..." she said, trying to break the silence, "did you bring a movie? Or do I get to pick? Because I could go for a Star Trek marathon...?" She hoped he would take the bait and debate her on something, anything. Just something to give him some sort of... Cisco spark.

Cisco popped another handful of Skittles into his mouth. "Do you have Netflix?"

"Oh, yea. Hold on." She grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV, only to be greeted by a still frame of..... Goku, or maybe it was Goten, firing off some sort of Ki blast. "Oh..." she mumbled. Adam must have been marathoning last night... without her.... He was going to regret that.

"Dragon Ball?"

"I think?"

"You think?" Cisco turned to her.

"Adam must have watched it last night." She got up and walked over to the DVD player.

"He stayed... here?"

"Yea. I tell him every time to just get a hotel room, but he never does. He's such a bum." She rolled her eyes as she put the DVD away. Wait, was this one even hers? She shrugged. Didn't really matter; he'd probably end up taking it the next time he was here anyways...

"No me gusta ese wey." Cisco spoke softly, and even though she had no idea what he was saying, she could tell he was upset... or angry. Something wasn't right.

"What?" Leah turned around to look at Cisco. Why did he keep speaking in Spanish anyways?

Cisco blinked a few times before looking up at her. He looked about as confused as she felt. His brow furrowed as he studied her face. "What?"

"What... did you say? You're speaking in Spanish."

"Was I?"

"Yeeeaaah....."

"Oh."

She walked back over and plopped back down on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her. Cisco didn't say anything else. He just kinda... stared. "So, what are we watching?"

"The Walking Dead." He woke from whatever trance he had been in.

"Oh...." Crap. She'd forgotten about that. "Starting at the beginning?"

"Yea."

"Great." She grimaced as she navigated to the first episode and hit play.

"Not looking forward to it?" Cisco leaned back and rested his arm on the back of the couch.

"Not really." She quickly glanced at him, and he offered her a weak smile. "I don't handle blo- OH MY GOD." Leah quickly buried her face in her hands as a half-decayed woman crawled across the screen. NOPE.

"What was that, Lee?" There was a hint of smugness to his voice as he spoke.

"I DON'T DO BLOOD AND GORE. OH MY GOD." She reached for the nearest pillow she could find and hid her face behind it. There was a gunshot, then silence. "Is it gone now?" She was afraid to peer over the pillow.

"For now."

"I don't like thissss," she whined. "Cisco, please. Can we watch something else?" She lowered the pillow to look at him. Wait, had he gotten even closer? They were almost touching now.

"It's not even 5 minutes in. Give it a chance." Cisco looked like he was genuinely enjoying this. Well, enjoying her raw reactions to seeing dead people dragging themselves across the screen.

"Fine." She groaned, burying her face in the pillow again.

"I think you'll like the story."

"If there even is one."

"There is." Cisco smiled at her. "Trust me."

And sure enough, there was a story to it. Cisco had been right. A really complex and confusing story shrouded by blood, gore, and zombies, but a story nevertheless. It was interesting; she'd give him that. In the end, she'd ended up watching four episodes. Sure, she'd nearly screamed several times, and she might have spent half of each episode cowering behind a pillow, but the story was good. It surprised her.

Somewhere around the second episode, she'd noticed Cisco starting to yawn and droop his head every so often. By the third, he was out. She had a feeling he wasn't really watching the episodes in the first place though. Every time she'd glance at him, he'd have his eyes trained on her, just staring, as if he were zoned out or something. And seeing how tired he'd been, he very well may have been zoned out. Or sleeping with his eyes open, if he could do that sort of thing.

After she'd cut the TV off, she'd stared at Cisco for a long time watching him sleep. Something told her that in the past month, he probably hadn't gotten much sleep. Or at least, good sleep. So, she didn't want to wake him. But at the same time, he couldn't sleep on her couch, could he? Leah bit at her bottom lip. That was starting to look like the best choice. Great.....

She pushed off the couch and walked over to a small basket, pulling out a blanket. Returning to the couch, she slowly moved Cisco so that he was lying down and draped the blanket over him. That would do for tonight. Sighing, she grabbed Nova from a nearby chair and headed to bed. This was going to be fun to explain in the morning...

---------------

Leah shot up and glanced around her room. A loud 'thunk' had roused her from her sleep, and now she was trying to figure out what exactly it was that had caused the noise. She slipped out of her bed and grabbed the bat that she kept close her bed. She'd had to use it more than once before.... as sometimes critters liked to fall from the attic back home in Alabama. The whole apartment was quiet, and she was suddenly wishing she had a gun instead. Critters didn't fall from ceilings in Central City. She didn't even have an attic for them to chill in.

She slowly walked out into her living room. Someone let out a loud groan. All of her fears were confirmed in that moment. Someone was in her apartment. She seized up for a minute before she raised the bat into a defensive position and moved towards the light switch. There was no one else here to help, and she really didn't feel like dying today. In the yellowish light streaming in from the windows, she could just barely see the person's outline. They didn't look too hard to take out.... right? Not too tall, not too built.... She really hoped she could take this person out....

Her hand finally found the light switch after what felt like ages, and she flicked it on. The bright light burned her eyes, and she closed them momentarily, before snapping them back open. The person across the room made a startled sound. Leah locked eyes with none other than Cisco.

"CISCO." She dropped the bat and exhaled sharply. She'd forgotten he was here. At least it was him and not an actual intruder. Or an angry raccoon for that matter.

"WHAT WAS THE BAT FOR?!?" He yelled at her, throwing up his arms in a confused manner.

"I thought you were someone that had broken in!"

"SO YOU COME AT ME WITH A BAT?!?"

"Stop shoutin'! You're gonna freak out my neighbors!" She huffed and pushed some hair out of her face before she continued. "What else was I supposed to do? It's not like I have a gun. And I wasn't comin' at you. I was about to come at you. There's a difference." She leaned down and picked the bat back up.

Cisco pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Whatever funk had him upset earlier was still around. "Why am I here anyways?"

"You fell asleep durin' The Walking Dead, so I just let you sleep." Because apparently he had needed it, and apparently he still did. She glanced at the blanket on the floor. "Did you fall off the couch or somethin'?"

"Apparently," he groaned.

Leah knew it was well past 2 AM. She looked at Cisco. He looked even worse now, the corners of his mouth tugging down in a slight frown. Cisco kept is eyes trained on the ground, and Leah could have sworn that he was fighting back tears. He must have had another bad dream and fallen off the couch. That made sense. She studied him and let out a sigh. She couldn't just leave him here like this. And there was no way she was letting him drive home this late. He was completely out of it.

Leah sighed again, knowing that she would probably regret this later. "C'mon." She motioned for him to follow her. "It's too late for you to go home, and you obviously can't sleep on the couch."

Cisco's kept his eyes on the ground, but didn't seem to move.

"I'm serious, c'mon." She turned and headed back towards the bedroom, making sure to turn off the overly bright light before she left. She kept the door open for Cisco and put away the bat before crawling in the bed and rolling on her side. He was seriously off tonight. And in all honesty, it was really, really starting to bother her for some reason.

Leah felt the bed dip and the covers lift as Cisco crawled in beside her. He was silent. Quietly rolling over, she studied his form. He laid on his back and stared straight up at the ceiling, an unreadable expression on his face. Just what was going on with him?

"Are you ok?" she finally spoke up.

Cisco rolled his head over to look at her. Several emotions played across his face in quick succession. She couldn't tell what they were, but it worried her. He still didn't speak.

"Did you have another bad dream or somethin'?"

"I-" Tears welled in Cisco's eyes. Crap. What had she done?

"Cisco...?" She almost reached out a hand to touch his face, but stopped herself.

"Sorry. Yea, I did." He wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Cisco looked her over, studying her, as if trying to decide something. "I...." He pressed his eyes closed for a minute, knitting his brows together. A deep sigh escaped his lips. He looked at her again. "I get this dream a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. It's always the same one. It's not even a dream really.... It's a nightmare. A terrible nightmare..." He sighed again, and Leah could tell that his whole body had gone rigid.

"Is it the same one you had last time," she asked, recalling the last time they had been in this situation. She'd never seen him look so terrified before.

"Yea..."

"So, I'm guessin' it's not a dream about fallin' then, is it?"

"No."

"It's worse than that?"

"So much worse, Lee." He turned his body so that he was fully facing her now. They were only inches apart.

"What happens?" She really didn't know how he would react to the question, but she pressed anyway. It couldn't hurt, right?

Cisco took in a deep breath. "I die-I mean, someone who was close to me... he kills me..." Leah watched as Cisco started to shake, the thought of the dream obviously disturbing him.

"Oh Cisco...." She brought a hand to ghost over his cheek, wiping away the single tear that rolled down it. Comforting people had never been her thing, so she didn't really know what to do. She didn't know if she should have said anything or not, so they just lay in silence.

After some time, Cisco calmed down and finally seemed to relax. He moved back over to the other side of the bed, rolling over as he did so. She stared at his back for a little while before returning to her original position on her side. A small yawn escaped her lips. Maybe Cisco would sleep better now that he was here with her. She buried her face in her pillow and pulled herself into a tight ball. Nova would probably join her on the bed soon...

As she was nearing sleep, she felt the bed move slightly as Cisco repositioned himself. Well, at least he was getting comfortable. That had to be a good sign, right? Something brushed against her foot, and she tensed. Whatever it was, probably Cisco's foot, stayed there, lightly touching her. She decided to ignore it and settled herself again. In her half-awake, half-asleep state, she barely heard Cisco whispering something to her. "Te extrañé mucho, mi pequeño erizo." There was a pause before he spoke again. "Gracias, Leah."

---------------

Leah slowly woke up, but didn't open her eyes. She was so warm. She didn't want the warmth to ever go away. There was a quiet, steady noise behind her. Breathing. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to see who exactly was in her bed. Cisco was curled up beside her, a peaceful expression on his face.

Leah tensed, remembering what had happened last night. She attempted to move away from him, but found that he had wrapped his arms around her sometime in the night. Spooning. He was spooning her. She groaned and considered moving his arms, but just decided to leave him alone instead. This was probably the best sleep he had gotten in a while. She drew in a deep breath and stretched her arms before reaching for her phone. If she was going to be here for a while, she might as well have something to do something to distract herself from the fact that Cisco was spooning her.

She opened the Marvel app and downloaded the first comic on her list, an issue of Hawkeye that she had missed in December. She queued up a few more that she had missed and started reading. Hopefully, she would stay quiet enough to not wake Cisco. New comics generally got her pretty worked up...

She'd gotten through Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, and All-New, All-Different Avengers ok, but she'd cracked at Deadpool. This particular issue was just so... Wade. She was practically shaking trying to hold back her laughter. She finally just let it out. It was quiet, but somehow it still woke Cisco. Well, she assumed it did. She heard a sharp breath behind her and froze.

Cisco's arms tightened around her