Steps

Step 14: El día de San Valentín

"Cisco...?" Leah called out down the empty hallway in front of her. There was no reply. She sighed. Why was S.T.A.R. Labs always so dark?

She felt along the wall with her hand as she moved (hopefully) back towards Cisco's lab. Of course, she normally would have been using her visor, but seeing as Cisco did NOT need to catch her with super freaky future tech, so she opted to go blind. Almost literally. This was so stupid. Did Cisco seriously have a thing against lights? Her foot suddenly caught on something, sending her tripping forwards. She let out a tiny yelp.

"CISCO!" There was still no reply. Leah huffed and continued forwards. His lab had to be around here somewhere. Or... did she take the wrong hall? Crap! That would be her luck. If it wasn't at the end of this hallway, she'd just turn back. AGAIN.

Leah wasn't sure how much farther she got before the wall on her right ended abruptly, sending her tumbling into the next room. She yelped again and braced herself to hit the floor. Only, she didn't hit the floor. She fell onto something else. Someone else. A loud thud reverberated throughout the room as they hit the floor together.

"On!" Light suddenly flooded the area as the lights overhead cut on. "Are you ok?" Lee moved her head slightly to see Cisco looking down at her, the pain and fear so obliviously spread all over his face. He had one arm behind her head, keeping it from hitting the floor, while the other was wound tightly around her waist. Well, this was embarrassing. She could feel the blush rapidly consuming her face.

"I-I'm fine."

"You sure?" He somehow reached and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"FINE!" She quickly spat out. God, this was so embarrassing...and the way Cisco was holding her, even more embarrassing.

"Thank God..." Cisco leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.

Leah glanced around. Cisco didn't attempt to move from their position on the ground. He actually seemed pretty content to just lie there. She, however, was not. She wanted off the floor, and away from Cisco. With the way he held her though, she knew there was little chance of escape. And from past experience she had learned that the more she squirmed, the tighter he would hold her. So, she decided not to engage in that battle, and just lie there instead, tangled in his arms. She sighed. "Why are the lights off again?"

Cisco opened his eyes and looked at her. "I needed it dark to work on something."

"What?"

A smile spread across his face, and he finally let go of her. "Let me show you!" He sprung to his feet, and then extended a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up. Only, he pulled her a bit too hard. She ended up face-planting straight into his chest. Cisco stumbled back, his arms quickly wrapping around her again. Leah groaned. Could this day get any worse? "You just can't help but fall for me, can you," Cisco teased.

Leah looked up and glared at Cisco. He bit his lip, failing miserably to hold back his laughter. "That's not funny."

"No, it's hilarious. C'mon." He unwrapped his arms from around her and took her hand, leading her over to a small table. "Don't trip."

"If you'd keep things clean, I wouldn't have to worry about that."

"What are you talking about? My lab is perfectly clean..." He gestured to room with an outstretched hand. "I know where everything is. Some things just belong on the floor... for now."

Leah rolled her eyes. "What were you showing me?"

"Right!" He let go of her hand and picked up a pair of goggles from the table. He smiled as he handed them to her. "Night vision goggles. Designed to work at extremely high speeds, upwards of 400 mph for right now. Still trying to get them faster, but the chip overheats."