TiMER (Cisco Ramon X Reader)

Author’s Note: Based off/inspired by the movie TiMER on Netflix! Totally recommend you guys watch btw, it’s great! Idk if this is any good but it’s been in my drafts for a while so I decided to finish it up and post it!

You couldn’t sleep, your body thrumming with nervous energy.

Today was the day.

The day you finally got your TiMER. You had been waiting for this day, since, well your mother explained to you what TiMERs were.

TiMERs were simple. As soon as you got yours implanted, it would count down the days and the hours and the minutes until you met your soulmate. Unless, of course, they didn’t have theirs yet. If your soulmate didn’t have one, your TiMER would stay zeroed out until they got theirs implanted.

As soon as your alarm clock buzzed and told you that it was time to get up, you hopped out of bed, eagerly tugging on a clean pair of jeans and a __f/c__ cardigan. As you brushed your teeth and fixed your hair, you couldn’t help but smile.

Soon, you’d be one step closer to meeting the love of your life.

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Ten years later, and you were no closer to finding your one. Your TiMER remained at zero, so either your soulmate hadn’t gotten their own TiMER yet, or, and you hated even thinking it, you just didn’t have one.

You sighed to yourself, pulling the sleeves of your shirt down to hide the clock on your skin that always seemed to be mocking you.

Brushing through the throng of people on the sidewalk, you made your way into Jitter’s. You slipped on an apron and moved behind the counter, flashing Iris a weary smile as you set to work stocking the muffin display.

“How are you?” She asked curiously, bumping her hip against yours as she passed by you. Iris had waited to get her TiMER put in until her 21st birthday, and barely two weeks later, her soulmate Eddie had transferred to Central City, becoming her dad’s partner (and her boyfriend).

“I’m...I’m managing.” You announced after a moment, taking Iris’s place behind the counter as well as the next customer’s order. You pushed the thought of your non-existent soulmate to the back of your mind and focused on the task at hand.

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“When are you going to get your TiMER?” Caitlin asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at Cisco.

Cisco snorted. “When I think that it’ll actually tell me something I don’t already know.”

“Hey you never know, man.” Barry pointed out, grinning to himself. “I didn’t think Captain Cold of all people would be my soulmate, but the TiMER was right. Asking him out was kind of the best decision ever.”

“I already knew Ronnie was my soulmate, but my TiMER confirmed it, and it made us even stronger than ever.”

“Look, guys, I appreciate the concern, I really do, but I think we all know that my soulmate doesn’t exist.” Cisco sighed and pushed his hair away from his face. He hadn’t meant to turn self-deprecating, his self-esteem was usually better than this, but he was tired of seeing happy couples all over the place when he feared that he’d never find his one.

“Cis, you know that’s not true.” Barry rushed to reassure him. “You’re going to get your TiMER and then you’re going to meet your soulmate. It’ll be worth the wait.”

“Whatever you say.” Cisco grumbled to himself, popping a sucker in his mouth. He didn’t want a TiMER. He didn’t want to have his TiMER ticking down for all of eternity.

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“Hi, welcome to Jitters!” You greeted, raising your eyes to look at the customer.

He looked to be about your age, with tan skin, dark, shoulder-length hair, and deep brown eyes.

“Oh, woah, you’re cute.” Your cheeks colored as soon as the words left your mouth. “Sorry, I did not mean to say that.”

“No apologies necessary.” The man answered, smiling at you. “My name’s actually Cisco, but feel free to call me cute whenever you want.”

“I’m __y/n__. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, __y/n__.”

You fought down the blush that was returning at the teasing tone in his voice. He gave you his order, and it was a struggle to not spill boiling hot coffee down your arm as you prepared the drink (a caramel frappuccino, you noted idly).

“Keep the change.” Cisco said kindly, and his hand sent sparks sizzling across your skin when his fingertips brushed yours.

“Thank you.” You ducked your head away from his warm gaze and started working on the next customer’s drink. You could focus on Cisco and his pretty eyes later.

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“You met someone?” Iris squealed excitedly, hands flying to your shoulders as she immediately started grilling you for details. “What’s their name? What are they like? Do they have a TiMER?”

Your heart dropped immediately. “I don’t know. I didn’t get a close enough look at him to see his wrists.” You frowned. “He…” You groaned. “With a face like his? I’d be shocked if he wasn’t already paired with his one.”

“Hey, hey, hey, think positive.” Iris said, sensing your change in mood immediately. “It definitely sounded like he was flirting with you. If he already met his match, he wouldn’t be doing that.”

You groaned, burying your face in your arms. You were so screwed.

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“Wait, you’re interested in someone?”

Cisco shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Dude! That’s awesome!” Barry grinned brightly, patting Cisco on the shoulder and hopping atop his desk. “What are they like?”

“I don’t really know her yet, but she seems,” Cisco smiled to himself. “Different. Like I might actually have a chance.”

“Good luck, man. Does she...you know, have a TiMER?”

Cisco’s face dropped in the span of about a quarter of a second. “I don’t know.” He groaned tiredly. “Probably.” He scrubbed a hand across his face. “Mind if I head home early? I have a killer headache.”

“No, of course not.”

Barry clapped Cisco on the back with one more word of encouragement, and Cisco spent the night wallowing in self pity.

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“Before you order, can you give me, like, two seconds to wake up? I’m still half asleep and pretty sure that if I try to make anything right now, it’ll end in a tragedy.” You stifled a yawn with your hand, unaware that your sleeve was riding up and flashing Cisco a perfect view of your zeroed out TiMER.

“You’re not matched yet?”

You flushed, hastily pulling your sleeve down. “No. Either my soulmate is nonexistent, or they can’t be bothered to get their own TiMER.” You looked at the dark haired man curiously. “What about you?”

Cisco meant to tell you the truth. He had no idea why he didn’t. But what slipped out instead of “I haven’t bothered to get mine” was “I’m matched, but not for another twenty years. Yay.”

“Oh, man, I’m so sorry. And I thought being unmatched was bad.” You shook your head apologetically. “At least you know yours is out there though, right?”

“Fair point.” Cisco agreed, and you stretched your arms above your head before grabbing a cup and flipping the frappuccino machine on.

“You still want a caramel frappuccino, or do you want something else?”

Cisco blinked in surprise. “You remembered what I ordered?”

You nodded, smiling softly, privately.  “I tend to make it a habit to remember what cute people order so I can surprise them with that information later.”

“You still think I’m cute?”

You quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why would that have changed?”

He shrugged. “Usually people don’t like the idea that I’m matched.” Cisco was lying through his teeth, and he couldn’t fathom why.

For some reason, every atom of his body was screaming at him to not tell you that he was unmatched. He thought it had something to do with him not wanting to get your hopes up about him being your soulmate, but he wasn’t entirely certain.

“Well, given you’re not going to meet the love of your life for another twenty years, I’m not too concerned by it.” You smiled at him and slid his drink across the counter. He reached in his pocket to pull out his wallet, but you stopped him. “This one’s on the house. Don’t worry about it.”

The wink you sent him nearly made his heart stop, and Cisco had to try three times before he could get his feet to carry him to the door.

“See you later, Cisco.” You called out, already working on the next customer’s drink. Cisco just nodded dumbly, his heart thumping and his brain pounding.

He was so, so screwed.

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“Wait, you lied to her about having a soulmate?” Barry’s eyebrows had traveled so far up his face that Cisco couldn’t even see them.

Cisco nodded reluctantly.

Caitlin asked the obvious question. “Why?”

“I panicked, dude, I don’t know! And...I guess I was afraid of letting her down when she found out that I wasn’t her soulmate.”

“Oh Cisco,” Caitlin murmured sympathetically. “You don’t know that. What if she is your soulmate? You said it yourself, she’s waiting for her soulmate to get a TiMER. What if that soulmate she’s waiting on is you?”

Cisco nibbled on his lower lip thoughtfully before making a decision and jumping to his feet. “I guess there’s only one way to know for sure.”

Cisco strode out of the lab with Barry and Caitlin hot on his heels.

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You were snuggled into bed, your body warm and sleep-heavy, when a loud, shrill beeping jolted you back into consciousness.

“Motherfu-” Your lips didn’t even finish forming the word as you realized what was making the noise.

Flipping on the lamp by your bed, you read the numbers scrawled across the screen.

00:00:08:35:59

Today.

You would meet your soulmate within the next eight hours.

Clapping a hand to your mouth to stifle the sob that wanted to escape, you allowed yourself to smile. It almost felt too good to be true.

Finally.

Pulling your blankets tighter around your frame, you tried to force your mind to sleep, but it was no use. Your mind would continue to race until you met your soulmate face to face for the first time.

But, you figured, it was a pretty good thing to lose sleep for.

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Cisco gaped down at his flashing wrist.

Eight hours.

Just eight hours and he would see who the universe thought his soulmate was.

“Cisco!” Caitlin gasped at the same time Barry murmured “Dude!”.

Barry and Caitlin shared a look before smiling down at Cisco. “We’re so happy for you, Cis.”

Cisco, meanwhile, was freaking out. “Guys, what if it’s not her? What if it’s somebody else? What if they hate me?”

“Cis, relax. You should go home and get some sleep.” Caitlin suggested gently.

“You’re right, as usual Cait. Good night guys.” Cisco went home, but he wasn’t able to fall asleep for hours. He was too nervous and too excited.

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“I knew it was you.” You said, dropping the muffin you had been holding. “I know you said you were matched already, but I couldn’t believe it. Not because you weren’t hot or anything, I just knew you had to be my soulmate.”

“Really?” Cisco asked in disbelief.

“Yes, really.” You made your way out from behind the counter, stopping directly in front of Cisco. “So can I kiss you now?”

Cisco chuckled, and instead of answering, he captured your lips in a sweet, gentle kiss. And it was just as perfect and electric as you thought kissing your soulmate would be. When Cisco pulled away, you smacked his arm.

“What was that for?”

“Lying to me about having a soulmate.” You leaned up and kissed him again.

“And what was that for?” Cisco asked, pretending to be exasperated.

“Being my soulmate.”

Cisco grinned and threaded his fingers through yours, eagerly telling you about his friends and how he couldn’t wait to introduce you to them.

You already knew you were going to like having a soulmate. And you were especially glad that your soulmate was Cisco.

End. <3