Please enjoy this very very belated Valentine's gift! And please leave a review! I worked really hard on this chapter and would love to hear your guys' thoughts!

Barry hated not talking to Jasmine. He knew had made a mistake telling her to stay out of helping him out, but today was his day off, and he knew that he could handle whatever small thing came up later.

He knew he had made the right decision for his safety. For Jasmine's safety. He needed her alive.

That didn't mean it didn't sting whenever she ignored him. He sped back and forth between the chess game, ping pong with Cisco, and operation with Caitlin. It was easy. Almost too easy. Jasmine hadn't shown up that morning, claiming she needed a sick day. But Barry knew she was avoiding him.

Her absence made STAR Labs feel emptier than it already was. He was already missing her chiding tone when he went to put on the suit to tackle a robbery.

He couldn't even celebrate when he caught a glimpse of one of the robber's faces, because all he could think about was how much he missed Jasmine being by his side, scolding him for almost getting himself killed.

And he felt a tinge of regret creeping into his gut.

Barry sped to the crime scene not long afterward, just overhearing the conversation between Eddie and Singh before chiming in.

"Guard says there were three of them," Eddie explained, Singh nodding at his assessment.

Barry moved to speak up when a familiar voice cut him off, causing his blood to grow cold.

"Actually, there were four." Jasmine West walked forward, pulling plastic gloves over her hands, handing the bag over to Captain Singh, "A driver, two more to cover the guards," She began to point out the evidence, "and somebody used liquid nitrogen to crack open this door, so four robbers."

Singh nodded her direction, something akin to a smile on his face, "Thank you, Miss West."

Jasmine nodded, turning back to the other members of the force, Joe approaching her and pulling her into his side, "Thanks for helping out with this case baby"

"Anytime dad," She responded, catching Barry's shocked glance before turning back to her dad, swallowing roughly, "I, uh, I have to head back to the station, check out these samples, I'll catch you later okay?"

Joe pressed a kiss to her forehead, a soft 'okay' leaving his lips. The older cop turned toward Barry, as if completely oblivious to the tension between the speedster and his kid. "Did you see anything that could help us catch these guys?" Joe asked, focusing on the case.

Barry pulled himself from his stupor, forcing his gaze away from Jasmine's retreating figure to scratch the back of his head, "Yeah, one of them lost his mask." He announced, "I saw his face."

Joe nodded, handing him a folder of Central City's criminals, "look through these mug shots of Central City's most wanted, and see if you can find our guy."

It was almost too easy for Barry, recognizing the distinct jaw of the man almost immediately.

"That's him."

Joe lifted his eyebrows in surprise, "Leonard Snart."

Barry resisted the urge to laugh at his name. He couldn't really talk though, "Leonard?" Barry repeated, "That's almost as bad as Bartholomew." He took another look at the file, "Snart ain't sexy, either."

On their way into the station, Joe finally gave the rundown of the man they were searching for.

"Snart's father was a cop," He began, shaking his head, like he was recalling a bad memory, "was a bad cop." Joe sighed again, "took his anger out on his kids until he went to prison."

Barry let out a mirthless chuckle, "Snart's dad's in prison too? We should start a club." He joked.

Joe continued his assessment, "He shows up, like, every six months." he handed the case file to Barry, "He cases a job for weeks before he makes his move. Then, he does the job, gets away."

"That's before The Streak was around," Barry smirked proudly, puffing out his chest as he said it. Joe raised an eyebrow, getting ready to shake his head, "Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

He sounded like Jas did when he came up with a plan that put him in danger. Not wanting to ruin this relationship, Barry quickly backtracked, "I referred to The Streak, which I'm pretty sure I can top." He threw a look over his shoulder, making sure no one was listening, "I've been thinking of a new name. What do you think about The Fla-"

"Coffee break." Iris's bright tone cut through his response, and he couldn't help being annoyed. Especially when she wasn't talking to him either after his negative response to her wanting to write about the Streak.

She plastered a smile on her face as she held out the tray of Jitters coffee, "Thought I would bring Central City's finest java over to Central City's finest."

Barry admired her efforts, she really was trying to get on Joe's good side. Not unlike him and Jas.

"Thanks." He nodded, showing he appreciated the gesture.

Joe simply said, "I'm off caffeine." and disappeared into the bullpen.

Iris's arms flopped to her side, as if she had finally exhausted all of her options on trying to get on her dad's good side. She sighed and Barry braced himself for the complaining he would be forced to listen to.

"My dad's been mad at me ever since I told him about me and Eddie," Iris whined, and Barry forced himself not to snap back at her for coming to him with this issue.

Barry protested almost immediately, "No, you mean he's mad at you because you didn't tell him."

Iris immediately prepped her defense, "Uh, first, that sounds like you're taking his side," Barry sighed, sometimes he thinks she should've been a lawyer, "And second," She continued, "Do you know how he does this whole, "I'm not talking to you, but I have a whole bag full of judgmental looks I'm gonna try out on you later?"

Barry scratched the back of his head, recalling the past few weeks operating as the Flash, "Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of those a few times." They weren't fun, and now it wasn't just Joe sending them his way.

"Speaking of communications," Iris pulled him out of his thoughts, "or lack thereof, after all of these journalism classes, I got an idea." She was excited, a bright smile on her face. Barry found himself looking for something that wasn't there. Almost as if he wanted her to be someone else.

"I started a blog." She clapped her hands together, "I figured Jas already told you, you know, with how much time you spend together," Her eyebrows lifted, as if alluding to something other than them being friends and Barry felt his heart speed up. Had she found out? Did Jas tell her after the night in the hospital?

Barry shrugged his shoulders, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they continued to walk up the stairs to his lab, "Yeah, Jas and I aren't really on speaking terms,"

Iris stopped in her tracks, her touch sending the familiar shivers down his back, "Oh my god, are you guys okay?"

Barry nodded, "Yeah, we just got into a fight about working together," He lied, cringing internally at his words, "She wanted more hours and I told her she was already busy enough."
A chuckle left Iris' lips, soon it turned into full-blown laughter, "Oh Barry Allen," She sighed, patting his shoulders before leaving him confused on the staircase.

He shook his head free of the confusing thoughts rattling around in his brain and followed after her, wanting to talk about something else, "All right, what's this blog about?" He asked, humoring her, "Your brownie obsession? 'Cause, you know, you probably shouldn't broadcast that." It felt nice to joke around with someone again, to see the annoyance on Iris's face as he teased her.

She rolled her eyes, "No, something important." She spoke as if she was the face of a press conference instead of a grad student trying to earn her degree, "Something that Central City needs to know about," She paused for dramatic effect, "The Streak."

Barry rolled his eyes. He really hated lying to her, and he didn't want to do it anymore. He had already ruined his relationship with Jas by trying to keep her safe, he didn't need to do that with Iris too. He couldn't lose the last person in his family that still saw him as a friend.

Iris continued her pitch, "He's out there, Barry." She protested, "Rumor has it, he stopped an armed car robbery earlier."

Barry knew what was coming next.

"I was hoping that I could take a look at the file, and- What?" Iris cut herself off, seeing his sheepish look.

Barry just shrugged, "I'm not at liberty to discuss an ongoing police investigation with you."

The girl beside him scoffed, taking another sip of her coffee, "Since when, Mr. Blabbermouth?"

Trying not to seem too suspicious, he tried to come up with a viable excuse for why Iris should discontinue her search, "Take it from someone who's been investigating the impossible since they were 11." He reminded her, recalling the number of insane people he had investigated due to his interest in his dad's case, "Blogging about this is only gonna bring the crazies to your front door."

Iris held her chin up, "My blog is anonymous." She spoke with confidence, as if she was untouchable. Barry knew better than anyone that she wasn't.

"All right, well, anonymous or not, it's not safe." He finally settled on, trying the logical approach, "You never know what kind of weirdos are out there trolling on the internet."

"I can vouch for that." Barry almost did a double-take when he caught the familiar head of blonde hair standing in the middle of his lab, Jasmine standing beside her. "The internet is full of weirdos and nerd rage Lots and lots of nerd rage."

Iris managed to breathe out a chuckle before looking between Barry and Felicity, catching his disbelieving gaze.

"Hi." Felicity held out her hand, "Felicity Smoak."

All Barry could do is watch as the two most important women in his life interacted with the girlfriend of the Arrow.

"Iris West."

"My sister," Jasmine spoke up from Barry's table, a rare smile on her face, addressing the confused look Felicity sent her. "Older, not the same age."

"That was my next question," Felicity laughed, the ease of their banter throwing Barry off.

Jasmine's chuckle sounded like sweet music to his ears.

Iris looked between her friend and the new girl before them, as if expecting an explanation. Jasmine beat him to it.

"Felicity was The girl that Barry met in Starling City" Jasmine announced, "When I found out she was in town, I thought it would be nice to get to know her."

Barry hated that he could he sweat starting to form on his neck. How did Jasmine figure out about Felicity's visit?

"Oh that's right" Iris began, "You worked on one of his unexplainable cases."

Felicity nodded, pride beaming across her face, sending Barry's heart pounding. "Yes! Which long story short? Definitely explainable." She wandered the room, eyeing the hole in the ceiling and Barry prepared himself for the next question. "So the lightning came through here?"

He nodded, unsure of what else to say with Iris in the room.

Felicity turned toward Jasmine, "and you got hit too right?"

"Yes," Jasmine began, leaving her spot at Barry's table to join the blonde, "Unfortunately I was at STAR Labs, so I got the brunt of it."

Felicity nodded, a smirk forming on her face as she stared between the two. Barry smiled and moved to try and talk to Jasmine.

"Hey Jas," Barry whispered, trying not to draw attention to the two of them, "Can I talk to you?"

She refused to even look at him, "I thought you didn't want me intruding on your 'heroics'"

He bit his lip in frustration, regret expanding through his stomach at her words. "I just wanted to make sure you're safe."

Jasmine flipped her head his way, the citrus smell washing over him as her curls smacked him in the face, "I'm working with my Dad, of course, I'm safe."

Without wasting any more time, she grabbed the bags of evidence and strode out of the room, Barry unable to tear his gaze from her retreating figure.

"Hey," Felicity pulled him back to reality, a surge of disappointment rushing through Barry as he turned to face the new scientist, but the smile on her face was infectious, the dimple next to her cheek catching him off guard. "How about we head outside?" she asked, and Barry followed her lead.

They were halfway through the park when Felicity brought up his love life.

"Iris seems very nice." was all she said.

Barry nodded his head, wanting to go back to silence rather than discuss his overly complicated relationship with the West sisters.

"And really pretty." Felicity continued, "Like, super pretty," another beat of silence passed between them, "Congratulations."

Barry was quick to correct her, "Well, Iris isn't my girlfriend." He announced, "She's just a friend who actually has a boyfriend."

Felicity nodded, clearly embarrassed by her assumption, "So I guess that means Jasmine is the lucky woman," She settled on next, "which-Wow, you did great with her. Pretty and Smart?" She pushed his shoulder, and Barry hated that he had to correct her again.

Especially because she wasn't exactly wrong. Anyone would be lucky to be dating Jasmine. He'd said it a million times, he just never expected to be so disappointed when Felicity brought it up and he had to say it wasn't true.

"Yeah, she and I aren't a thing either,"

He watched Felicity's shoulders deflate at the news, her cheeks becoming red. "Geez, Barry, two gorgeous women and you can't even land the single one?" She teased, a wide smile on her face.

He rolled his eyes, not wanting to discuss his love life any further.

Iris was the first person to greet them after he had shown her STAR Labs, "Hey, you two." She said with a mischievous look on her face. Barry knew that look. He had been on the receiving end of that look too many times.

"Hey." Felicity fired back, the same wide smile on her mouth, while Barry worked to correct Iris's mistake.

"We're not a two." He protested, hoping she would catch the hint.

Felicity understood immediately, "Oh, no." She began, with an awkwardness that rivaled Jasmine's, "We are a one and one."

Iris nodded, the same funny look never leaving her face as she cocked an eyebrow, "Has Barry been showing you some of the sights in Central City?" She finally asked, trying to make small talk.

"Yes," Felicity answered instantly, turning to face the taller man next to her, "I have seen some pretty amazing things." She told the barista, alluding to the speedster's powers.

Iris's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair at the sound of that, "Really?" Barry's stomach dropped as he realized what Iris was about to do next, "Well, if you've got some time, maybe we can show you some of Central City's nightlife." Her tone was innocent, but her intentions were not.

Felicity was quick to protest, "Oh, no, I get plenty of nightlife in Starling City."

Iris kept pushing, determined to get the girl on her side, "Oh, this is something that I don't think that you're gonna want to miss." She reached behind her, pulling out a flier detailing the time and place of one of Barry's least favorite events, "Trivia night at Jitters." Unfortunately for him, Iris wasn't the kind of person who gave up. "Eddie's not really excited about it, I admit," He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the mention of the detective, "But it could be our night, guys." Her eyes were hiding something, and he was reminded of the time she and Jas had hidden a dead cricket in Joe's tomato soup. She was wearing the same look back then as she was now.

Barry grabbed the flyer, not hiding the skepticism in his voice, "Our night to win $75 worth of cappuccinos."

Felicity tore the paper out of his hands, not noticing the tension standing between Iris and Barry, "Uh, yum."

It wasn't until the room had gone silent that Felicity understood why Barry didn't want to do trivia.

"You know what," She began, "I'm gonna go call work, check in, make sure everything's okay. Be back in a second."

Barry let out a relieved sigh, tension dissipating from his shoulders as he turned to interrogate Iris and figure out what she was up to.

"Why are you doing this?" He whined.

Iris played dumb, a skill she was exceptionally gifted at, "Doing what?"

"The trivia night with you and Eddie," He spat out, unable to hold back the malice in his tone at the thought of the detective, "forcing this whole double date thing."

"Because that girl is great," Iris began, "and she happens to come from your very rare species of adorable nerds" Barry shook his head, barely catching her next comment, "besides, now that you and Jas are on the fritz, you need someone like her."

Barry scoffed, "We are not on the fritz," he denied, ignoring the tightening in his chest at the implications of her comment, "In fact, our friendship is stronger than ever,"

Iris nodded, her face screwing itself into an expression that made it clear that she did not believe a word Barry said.

"Well at least bring Felicity, tonight." Iris asked, and Barry knew he could never refuse her, "We'll have fun."

He scoffed, knowing the night would be anything but.

His hypothesis ended up being correct halfway through the night when Eddie missed his third question.

"I'm sorry." He apologized again, a sheepish look on his face, "I thought I knew it, and I got excited, and I-I just hit it."

Iris set about comforting him, "No, I mean, maybe they'll get it wrong too." She tried to assure him. Barry could tell she didn't believe a word she was saying.

"Oh, yeah." Felicity chimed in, a smirk on her face all too reminiscent of another intelligent woman he knew, "I am sure that the team named Pride and Padawans doesn't know the name of Han Solo's ship." She chuckled, and suddenly Barry felt like things were getting back to normal again.

"Oh, honey," Iris ran her fingers through Eddie's hair, "you are so cute when you're confused." Eddie leaned in to give her a soft peck when his phone rang, a tone alerting him to another police sighting.

"Someone spotted Snart." he announced, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair, "I gotta go."

While Iris was distracted, Felicity turned to Barry, who was halfway out the door.

"I'll cover for you." She promised and Barry felt his anxiety ramp up into his throat.

"All right, what are you gonna say?"

"I usually tell people Oliver's at a nightclub with a girl or nursing a hangover." Felicity rambled, as if those excuses would work for him.

Barry reminded her that he was not Oliver Queen, "None of which will work for me."

"Bad stomach ache" Felicity made a face, and Barry shook his head, "Really bad diarrhea." She offered next.

"Yeah, I'm not comfortable with that excuse." Barry shook his head frantically again, exasperated with the ideas she was coming up with.

Felicity pushed him toward the street, "Just go!" She urged, watching him speed off.

He pushed himself forward, knowing that Joe or Jas could be at that crime scene, and that Snart would soon get away. He couldn't let that happen.

He reached the theatre just in time to step in front of Joe, taking an icy blast meant for the cop. The ice dug into his skin, burning through his suit and causing him to gasp in pain. It was awful. It felt like his body was on fire. But he couldn't let that stop him. He dodged the next blast, speeding up the stairs to save the couples that had been trapped inside the theatre. He forced himself to take a break. The ice was catching up to him, reaching his cells, threatening to kill him. He caught a glimpse of the ice blast and sped forward, hoping, praying he could reach the man in time.

He didn't.

"NO!"

Barry stared at the frozen corpse, breathing heavy as Joe came up behind him. It was like he was eleven again, watching the coroner place his mom into a body bag, nothing he could do. Except this time he could've saved him. Just like he could've saved his mom.

But he was careless. He was weak. He was alone.

Barry gingerly touched the frozen skin, trying to ignore the fact that there was almost a hole in his side.

He couldn't feel anything, "It's still numb." He told Caitlin.

The Doctor moved around to show his charts, "It's presenting itself like third-degree frostbite."

"I thought he had hyper healing." Felicity brought up, and Barry had to agree with her. Why wasn't his healing kicking in?

Caitlin sighed, "It's been slowed." she announced, "If your cells weren't regenerating at the rate they are, your blood vessels would have frozen solid and the nerve damage would have been permanent."

Barry gulped at that sentence.

"You're lucky to be alive," Caitlin told him again. Barry nodded, and he knew that he had to put his pride aside for one goddamn second if he wanted answers. Grabbing his jacket, he pulled out his phone, hovering over Jasmine's name as he debriefed the team.

"Snart wasn't another meta-human, He has some kind of gun." Barry shook his head and stuffed his phone in his pocket. He didn't need to worry her, "It froze things, slowed me down" His brain went to the incident at the theatre, "enough that I wasn't in time to save someone."

It was his fault. He should've gotten there in time, but he didn't. His stomach growled, almost as if it agreed with his statement.

"According to his record," Felicity brought him back to the present, "Snart didn't even bother to finish high school, so how did he build a handheld high tech snow machine?"

That was gonna be Barry's next question. Jasmine would've asked the same one if she were here. His mind wandered to the phone in his pocket. Maybe the investigation has some answers he can use.

"STAR Labs built the cold gun," Wells spoke up, and Barry's chest constricted.

Cisco cut off his next response, " and Caitlin had nothing to do with this." He announced ominously, "I built the gun."

A sharp pain stabbed his chest, sending his stomach twisting.

"You did?" Barry's disbelief was all he felt, "Why?"

Cisco swallowed, his adam's apple moving up and down as he pressed forward, "Because speed and cold are opposites." He began, "Temperature is measured by how quickly the atoms of something are oscillating. The faster they are, the hotter it is, and when then are cold, they're slower on the atomic level."

Barry knew this. Cisco knew this. And he still decided to make a weapon to stop him. What he couldn't figure out is why. He had done nothing but help them. He had given up his friends, his family for them.

"When there's no movement at all, it's called-"

"Absolute zero." Barry finished for him, trying to keep his anger contained.

Cisco nodded, regret passing over his face, "I designed a compact cryo engine to achieve absolute zero." He repeated, as if finally understanding the weight of his mistakes, "I built it to stop you."

Barry refused to say anything. All he could focus on was what he had given up. He had pushed Jasmine away for them. He had kept everything a secret for them. And then they went and did this.

"I didn't know who you were then, Barry." Cisco tried to justify his actions, "I mean, what if you turned out to be some psycho, like Mardon or Nimbus?"

"But I didn't!" Barry exploded at the younger scientist, unable to hear his justifications for keeping this from him, "Did I?"

Caitlin was the next to justify the inexcusable action, "We built the entire structure you're standing in to do good, and it blew up." She reminded him, "In the wake of that, you can understand why Cisco would want to be prepared for the worst."

Barry grit his teeth, chest growing tight as an awful realization settled over him, "I can understand that," He lied, "but what I can't understand is why you didn't tell me what you did." He chose them over Jasmine. He chose people who didn't trust him over the one person who had believed in him since he was eleven. And somehow that made him angrier than Cisco's betrayal. Because he had no one to blame but himself. "I mean, after all we've been through, I thought you trusted me." He continued to tear into the kid, "I thought we were friends."

Cisco winced, "We are, Barry-".

Barry shook his head, "I mean, if you would have just told me, I could have been prepared." He exclaimed, "But instead, someone died tonight." It was a low blow, but somehow he felt as if it was the only thing that could get through to him.

Cisco closed his eyes, clearly affected by the news, "And I have to live with that."

He scoffed, crossing his arms, "No, Cisco." Barry paused, letting it all sink in. He didn't get to carry the guilt alone, not when Barry couldn't stop thinking about that moment in the theatre. Not when the cold gun slowed him down enough so he couldn't save that man. "We all do."

He left the rest of the team to their own devices, needing to be alone for a few minutes.

The steps of STAR Labs were cold, digging into his skin and leaving them numb, exactly like how the cold gun had left him earlier that day.

The sun was setting behind him, tinting the sky a bright orange as he gazed at his phone, finger hovering over Jas's name, trying to decide whether he should call her to ask for forgiveness.

Whether he deserved it.

"Hey," A familiar voice pulled him out of his stupor, bringing his gaze upward to meet her own and Barry's lips perked up into a wide smile, unable to believe she was here. That she was actually in front of him. "Is anyone…?" Jasmine pointed to the step beside him.

"Oh no," He responded, still stunned by her appearance, "Uh, go ahead.

She smiled softly, sitting down next to him, their shoulders almost touching. Her arms wrapped themselves around her hunched legs, her gaze still refusing to meet his. Barry couldn't tear his eyes away.

From the soft crinkles around her eyes, to the newly formed crease on her forehead, her dark curls pushed behind her ears so they were out of her way. He wanted to sigh of relief.

"I uh, heard about your encounter with Snart," She brought up, trying to fill the silence "I suppose you and the Team are already working on a way to stop him."

Barry shook his head, leaning forward to stare into the darkening street, "Actually, I kind of...blew up at them earlier."

The chuckle that left her mouth was unexpected, but Barry took his time drinking in the musical sound, joining her as he explained what Cisco had done. The betrayal still stung, a sharp pain stabbing his chest, but somehow with Jasmine that pain dulled. It felt right being beside her.

He missed this.

"I'm sorry," He apologized, taking his chances, "I never should've told you to stay away."

Jas shrugged, "I'm over it." She pushed his shoulder with her own, "I was actually on my way to see what I could do to help, but since both Eddie and my Dad are determined to keep me off the case, I thought I'd turn in early."

Barry's stomach turned at the mention of the blonde detective. What was Jasmine doing with him? Especially since the only interaction the two seemed to have was a simple hug when she woke up. But that was weeks ago.

"I've been meaning to ask," Barry interjected, trying to keep her here a little longer, "How did you get that job at the CCPD? I mean no offense, but your specialty isn't exactly forensic sciences."

Jasmine stood up, crossing her arms as a smirk replaced the smile on her face, "Oooh, what's the matter, Allen?" She asked, a teasing tone to her voice, "Afraid I'm gonna steal your job?"

Barry shook his head, unable to contain the smile forming on his face. This felt normal. This felt like home. He had missed that. "I'm just curious is all."

She sighed, pulling her cardigan closer around her. "Dr. Wells recommended me,"

Barry perked up at that statement, curious as to why he hadn't mentioned it before. Although in light of recent events, he wasn't surprised.

Jas continued her story, "He said I was the best woman for the job," She was proud. He caught on to that much. She paused for a moment, staring at the building in front of them. "You know it's fascinating," Jas began, tilting her head, "I went to quite a few crime scenes, and the sense of community felt among those officers...it's amazing for lack of a better word," She chuckled, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "For all their faults, they have each other's back, no matter what. It's quite admirable actually."

Barry knew she was trying to comfort him. Trying to convince him to rely on the others in the building. To go back and trust them again. But he couldn't. Not when they had been the reason he wasn't able to save anyone.

He turned back to face Jasmine and found she was gone, just empty cold air where she had been standing.

Cisco walked into the main room of Star Labs, holding the tablet in his hand, "I figured out a way to track Captain Cold."

Barry rolled his eyes, everything he used to like about the kid turning sour in his mouth, "You gotta stop naming these guys"

"Barry," Felicity chastised, sounding too much like Jasmine for his taste, "listen to him."

He crossed his arms, huffing out a sigh before turning to his former friend, "How?"

Cisco nodded, gratitude in his eyes, "The cold gun is powered by an engine control unit," He began, explaining the device to an attentive room, "a microcomputer that regulates air-to-fuel ratios so the subcooled fluid in the chambers don't overflow and-"

"Explode." Caitlin finished for him. Barry half expected Jas to be there to add some unique idea to the plan, and when she wasn't, the tinge of regret hit him again.

"Right." Cisco finished, "This ECU was receiving updates wirelessly from my tablet." He gestured to the device in his hand, "If I boost the signal using Central City's network and send a false update, we'll get a ping back, and then We can locate Snart."

Barry wasn't sure he believed him anymore. The one person he knew he could trust wasn't here anymore, and now he was getting ready to face a dangerous criminal armed with a gun that Cisco made. A gun designed to stop him.

For what felt like the millionth time that day, he missed her.

"How long will it take?" Barry asked, keeping his contributions short.

Cisco looked unsure, "First I have to hack into the City's network, so…" He was doing the math in his head, "I don't know, 30 minutes, maybe?"

Felicity perked up, a smile on her face, "I can do it in less than one." She bragged, taking her place at the desk, "When it comes to hacking, I'm the fastest woman alive."

Barry found himself counting the seconds, fifteen, twenty, thirty-

"All right, I'm in." Felicity finally announced.

"Are you kidding?" Cisco spoke up again, pressing buttons on his tablet while Barry kept his eyes trained on the blonde, "All right, I'm sending the updates."

"Network is triangulating the location," Felicity spoke up again. A moment passed, then another, "We got him," Felicity confirmed, "He's heading west on Nelson toward the train station."

Wells interjected next, "If he's leaving, it appears Mr. Snart may have gotten what he came for."

Cisco held his hand up, expecting a high five, "When we put our minds to it, dude, nothing can stop us."

Barry didn't give it to him. He clicked his comm off, not wanting to listen to him anymore.

"Oh, you turned your earpiece off" Cisco sounded surprised, like he hadn't just betrayed the trust of one of his friends, "How are we gonna talk to each other?"

Barry refused to look at Cisco, suddenly understanding why Jasmine had refused to speak to him, "I don't feel like talking right now." He spoke coldly, speeding off.

Barry sped toward the high-speed train, catching the criminal in his act, "There's nowhere to run." He announced, making sure Snart knew he meant business, "I didn't see you before."

Snart simply charged the cold gun, turning around with a smirk on his face, letting Barry know he didn't take him seriously, "Your mom know you're out past your bedtime?"

Barry moved forward, ignoring the jab at his parents, "If you wanted to get away you should've taken something faster than a train." He had to focus. He had to make sure Snart didn't threaten anyone else.

"That's if I wanted to get away." Snart began, taunting the speedster, "I've seen your weakness at the armored car, then at the theater." Snart bragged, "Which is why I brought a little insurance."

Barry's breath caught in the back of his throat. There's no way he could've gotten to her. She was with Joe. She was safe.

But the muffled shrieks said otherwise. They made Barry's stomach twist, Snart's hand gripping her bicep and pulling her from the train seat before wrapping that same arm around her neck, the cold gun pointing directly at her head, "See, while you're busy saving your girlfriend and everyone else, I'll be saving myself." He taunted. Barry's chest heaved and he barely caught the slightest shake of Jasmine's head, her hands fruitlessly working against the restraints Snart had put her in.

"If she even tries to use her voodoo on me," Captain Cold began, a sneer twisting itself on his face, "Well, let's just say she'll end up in a similar state to Walt Disney's head."

Jas's eyes grew wide at the implication. Clearly, she hadn't been told the circumstances that had just been laid out before them.

Barry bit the inside of his cheek, gritting his teeth at the threat. Anger turned in his stomach, rising into his throat until his voice dropped low, trying to match Snart's own threat with one of his own, "Good luck with that."

Snart pointed the gun down, the frost reaching the mechanisms in the train car, sending the vehicle spiraling out of control.

"Your choice kid," He made one last threat, "The people or your girlfriend." refusing to relinquish his grip on Jasmine, he leaped out of the train car, and Barry could hear a muffled cry as two bodies hit the gravel. He let out a sigh of relief. She was going to be safe. He just needed to save everyone as fast as possible. He moved from train car to train car, speeding the passengers to safety, ignoring the voice in his head that told him to check up on Jasmine. To ignore the rest of the passengers and go after her. Thankfully, he was able to save everyone before the train crashed, but his body was worn thin, barely able to push himself off the ground.

Ice filled his veins and Barry's scream rose into the air, guttural and unable to hold itself back. He was stuck to the ground, frozen.

"Pretty fast, kid," The criminal taunted again, ignoring the muffled cries of the woman beside him, "but not fast enough."

Barry gripped his side, the cold was burning through his suit and he finally forced himself to meet Jasmine's fearful gaze, blue clashing against green. He caught the slightest movement in her jaw, and her shoulders began to tense up. He wanted to shake his head, to tell her that he wasn't worth it. To remind her of the reason they weren't speaking in the first place.

But he couldn't. There was no other option.

Jasmine shut her eyes, and Barry waited.

He counted the seconds. Ten. Fifteen.

Snart fell to the ground, releasing Jas from his grip as his free hand went to grip the side of his head, letting out a guttural scream.

Jasmine rushed over to Barry, wiggling out of her restraints and pulling the gag down. "You okay?" Her voice sounded hoarse. She didn't sound like herself. Barry nodded.

"Are you?"

She never got the chance to respond, because the sound of the cold gun charging up cut her off, both of them face to face with the barrel.

"Drop it." Another familiar voice rang through the station, Barry and Jasmine turning to face the only people both of them wanted to see. Their Team had come to their rescue after all.

Cisco moved forward, a device larger than Snart's in his hand, "This is a prototype cold gun," Barry's friend threatened, "Four times the size, four times the power."

Snart tilted his head Barry's direction, the smirk twisting into a smile, "I was wondering who you were talking to." He brought the gun closer to the two of them, Jasmine placing herself in between Barry and the gun, earning her a wink from Snart.

"How touching," The criminal continued to taunt.

"Hey," Cisco brought the attention back to him, "unless you want a taste of your own medicine," The kid threatened, "I'd back the hell up."

Snart finally turned toward the team that had shown up to protect Barry and Jasmine, his smile returning, "Your hands are shaking," Snart pointed out, "You've never killed anyone."

Cisco pushed forward, the device looking like it was charging up, "There's a first time for everything, Captain Cold." His tone was cold, unflinching, "I will shoot you."

A moment passed. And then another. Barry couldn't tear his eyes from the gun pointed at Jasmine's face, her unflinching gaze never leaving Captain Cold's. Barry gulped.

And Leonard Snart dropped the cold gun, disappearing with a diamond still hidden in his coat.

Cisco let out a sigh of relief and Barry was enveloped in the arms he had missed, Jasmine's embrace growing tighter before using Cisco's hammer to break him out of the ice, and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, carrying him back to the Team, where he expressed his thanks to the people he had slowly learned to trust again.

Cisco shrugged, "Couldn't shoot him if I wanted to." He confessed, "This is actually the STAR Labs vacuum cleaner with a lot of L. ."

All Barry could do was laugh.

The trip back to STAR was well needed. No super speed, no unresolved tension, just Jasmine's shoulder to lean on, and his friends by his side. But he knew things were starting to be too good to be true. Because as soon as they got back, Felicity had begun her goodbyes.

"You have a great team here, Barry." Felicity placed her hand on his arm and he expected to get the same chills he always did when he was around her. They never came. "Speaking of teams," Felicity coughed, grabbing her jacket, "I should probably get back to mine."

Barry nodded, and he couldn't help but wonder why Oliver hadn't asked her out yet. They had been practically dating when he visited Starling City, his own jealousy causing him to expose Barry's true reason for visiting the billionaire.

Dr. Wells' voice pulled him out of his reverie, "It was nice meeting you, Ms. Smoak." a soft smirk passed over the scientist's face, "Please extend a hello to The Arrow for us."

"I will."

The sound of boots against the metal floor drew his attention away from the blonde, Jasmine's small figure making an appearance as she faced the other scientist she had grown close to in a small amount of time.

"Wait," She spoke through labored breaths, "I wanted to give you this," She held out a small circular device, a bright yellow lightning bolt directly in the middle of it. "Cisco helped me come up with it, think of it as a Flash Signal" Jasmine explained. "Just press that and we'll be on our way."

Felicity grabbed the device, rubbing her thumb over it, "Thank you Jas," the two women hugged and a lightbulb finally went off in Barry's head. "Although I think the name might already be trademarked."

The two shared a chuckle and Barry finally saw just how different the two women were. Felicity laughed with a wide smile on her face, teeth bared as the laughter rang through the room. Jasmine's was always closed, her chuckle hidden behind closed lips, but her eyes crinkled at the edges, showing just how much fun she was having.

He never realized it before. He had always been on the receiving end of her wide smile. He doesn't even recall seeing it around Iris or Joe.

"Bye Felicity," Jasmine spoke up, patting the girl on the shoulder. Felicity nodded at the rest of the Team before exiting the lab, Barry's eyes still trained on her.

"Remarkable young woman." Dr. Wells pointed out, "She's special."

"Yeah, she is." It wasn't until he was halfway to his destination that he realized he wasn't talking about Felicity.

Barry jumped in his seat as a yelp left Felicity's mouth, a small chuckle escaping past his lips.

She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment, "Did I just yelp?"

Barry smirked, trying not to make fun of her expression, "Yeah"

Felicity's hands curled themselves into fists, "I yelped." She shook her head, cheeks growing red.

Barry leaned in closer to her, "I'm sorry" somehow this action didn't have the effect he wanted it to, "I didn't mean to scare you." He couldn't bring himself to look anywhere but her eyes, enshrouded by the dark glasses she always wore. He didn't notice anything else about her.

"Don't tell me you're here to save me." She scoffed, a slight upturn of her lips telling him she was joking, "taking the train is still one of the safest ways to travel."

Barry considered her words before teasing her slightly, "Airplanes."

It didn't have the same effect as when he teased Jasmine. It just...fell flat.

Felicity nodded, as if she was picking up on his apprehension, "You didn't really mean Iris when you were talking about someone not seeing you the same way did you?"

Barry leaned back against the chair, finally forced to confront the question that had been on his mind the entire day, "I-I don't know" He stammered.

He watched as the blonde examined him up and down, "Barry," she leaned forward, "Is there a reason you're here with me instead back in Central City?"

He shook his head, not really believing the action. He knew there was a reason he wasn't back at STAR Labs getting debriefed. Because he didn't want to face her. The person who he had let down. The person who had been avoiding him all day.

Because he knew there was another reason he didn't want her in the field. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to face that.

Felicity reached over, grasping his hand in hers and softening her blue gaze, "Do me a favor?" He nodded, "Run back and tell her the truth?"

He nodded, and while he meant to lean in to kiss her lips, he ended up meeting her cheek instead. It felt natural. It felt better.

He smiled, taking in the sight of the woman in front of him, her smirk reminding him of another one close to his heart. One that was waiting for him back at STAR Labs, "Bye, Felicity."

The trip back to STAR took mere minutes, and screwing his courage, he ignored the drop in his stomach, the gurgling that arose when he thought of facing her, and entered her lab, taking in the sight.

Her bottom lip was turned downward in frustration, her brow creased in concentration as she pushed the black curls behind her ears, the fluorescent lighting catching the brown highlights as she turned to face him, bright eyes widening in surprise.

"Barry," She began, a confused smile spreading across her cheeks, "I uh, what are you still doing here?" He slowly shuffled forward, ignoring her question. Right now all he could focus on was the dimple on the right side of her mouth, her tongue barely poking through her teeth, the way it did when she got nervous.

"I thought you were seeing Felicity off,"

The way she said the woman's name stuck out to him the most. The soft hesitation before dropping her name, the slight hitch of her breath as her eyes flitted up and down his body. Suddenly everything made sense. Iris' comments, Jasmine's behavior. Joe's comments.

Barry realized that she was definitely waiting for an answer, and he scratched his neck, hoping he could come up with a sufficient one.

"Oh, uh," He stammered, "I just wanted to see if you were okay, you know after tonight."

She leaned against the desk, his shoulder rubbing against hers as he fell by her side. "I am," Jasmine responded, "Somehow knowing you guys were there was enough for me," Barry smiled at her comment. It was nice to see that their relationship hadn't totally been ruined.

She inhaled sharply before her next sentence, "I'm sorry I ignored you this past week," She confessed, "I was being irrational and I just-It just felt like you didn't believe in me."

Barry wanted to refute that. To tell her that he always believed in her. To tell her the truth. That losing her would be like losing his mom and dad all over again. That losing her would be worse.

His chest wanted to leap into his throat and he forced himself to swallow.

"I know that's not true," Jasmine continued, Barry's eyes flickering to the bottom half of her face.

"I always believed in you Jas," Barry continued, softening his gaze as he met hers. The writhing in his chest stopped, replaced by the fizzing he normally got around Iris.

She nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she grabbed the folders on the desk behind her, "Well, anyway, uh, thanks again, for tonight."

His stomach exploded as her lips made contact with his skin, and before he knew what he was doing, his hand wrapped around her arm, stopping her from moving any further, pulling her back into his space bubble, the air between them growing thinner.

"Jas…" The name was barely a whisper on his lips, a plea meant only for her ears.

"Barry-" Her breath was hot, eyes widening as he drew closer, sending shivers down his spine as his name wafted past his face.

Without thinking he pressed his lips to hers, relishing in the taste of peppermint lining her mouth, citrus clouding his nose as the smell of her shampoo seemed to heighten. His hand brushed her curls back, cradling her neck. And then, just as he began to pull away, she began to kiss back.