Description: Three times Cisco saved Barry with things he found in the supply closet, and one time he saved himself.

Hi all, so this is not *technically* Snowbarry. Think of it as like, a Cisco Ramon appreciation post. This story is based off a conversation I had with ‪@ArtemisSnowC ‬and ‪@TwilightsInfern
Huge props and credit to them, because otherwise, I would never have thought to write this. Lots of goofiness and borderline crack. Hope you guys enjoy.

...

The first time it happened, it was supposed to be an isolated incident.

It had been a bluff born out of desperation and lack of time. But Cisco Ramon had pulled it off, he had pointed an embellished vacuum cleaner at Captain Cold and lied through his teeth about how it was a powerful cryogenic weapon. And it had worked; Snart left, and Barry had survived.

That was the end of it. Or so Cisco had thought.

...

The next time it happened, he had been so wholly focused on saving Barry that he didn't initially realize the humor of the situation.

Barry was trapped in the speed-force and Cisco was trying to get him out. He had already vibed there once, he knew where he was, he had seen him. The speedster had been right there, just out of arms reach, and Cisco hadn't been able to do a thing about it. He hadn't been able to move, hadn't been able to reach out far enough. But that was about to change.

Cisco marched through the halls of S.T.A.R. Labs, his tool of choice in hand. He rounded the corner and moved into the room where Barry had vanished, getting a perplexed glance from Harry. He paid him no nevermind, his focus solely on the tattered remnants of the Flash suit. He was going to get his best friend back by whatever (albeit unorthodox) means necessary. He had already lost Caitlin to Zoom, he wasn't about to lose Barry too.

"Turn it on," Cisco instructed, already reaching for the modified headset, "we gotta try again."

Harry opened his mouth to object, but Cisco cut him off, "You got a better idea?"

Harry held his gaze for a moment, before finally relenting. "Alright," he spoke, moving to cue up the machine. "But is that really necessary," he gestured to the yellow, Rubbermaid broom in Cisco's hand.

"Yes," was his simple reply.

"Might I ask why," Harry answered, a hint of exasperation in his tone.

"Because when I was in the speed-force I couldn't move, I couldn't reach him," Cisco informed, fastening down the headset, "and Barry wouldn't move either."

"So you're just going to hold out a broom and hope he takes it?" His words were laced with disbelief.

"Pretty much," the engineer answered, "or I'm gonna hit him with it until he snaps out of whatever speed-force induced trance he's in."

"And what if it doesn't work?" Harry inquired, crossing his arms and cocking his head to the side.

"Then we try again."

"With what, a mop?" Harry retorted.

"Just turn on the machine, and let me worry about it."

"Fine, fine," Harry muttered, putting his hands up in surrender, "but I hope you know how crazy this is."

"It's not crazy if it works," Cisco pointed out.

Harry only grunted in reply, turning his attention to the dials in front of him. Cisco took a deep breath, grasping the broom in one hand and reaching for the suit with the other. He closed his eyes and honed his focus, his senses sharpening as the feedback loop roared to life. The moment his hand touched the suit, he was plunged into a swirling mass of blue. Cisco opened his eyes, the dimensional wind whipping past his face.

"Barry!" He yelled over the crackle of lightning, his voice seeming to echo somehow.

He thought he heard another voice somewhere, but it was hard to tell through the haze.

"Barry!" He called once more, louder this time.

Suddenly, there was movement in the distance and Cisco squinted through the thick clusters of energy, trying to get a better look. A figure appeared and began to walk towards him, soon coming into full view. Barry now stood only a few feet away, clad in his Flash suit.

"Here," he spoke quickly, thrusting the handle end of the broom towards Barry.

The look of confusion that crossed his face was one that Cisco would not soon forget. However, he reached out and grasped it nonetheless. They stood there for a moment, each making sure they had a firm grip. Cisco gave Barry a questioning look, and he nodded in response. On the count of three, Barry leapt forward, using the broom as a push-off. As soon as Barry was through the breach, Cisco released the suit and the portal flickered out of existence. Barry slid to a stop in the middle of the lab, a look of disbelief and triumph on his features.

Harry stood in wide-eyed shock, his jaw hanging slightly. "Son of a breach, it actually worked," he breathed out.

"I told you," Cisco blurted, pointing the broom handle at him.

Barry only chuckled and shook his head, his feature morphing into a grin. After that, Cisco turned to the speedster, as if to make sure he was actually real.

"It's good to have you back, man," he spoke genuinely, reaching out and giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"It's good to be back," he admitted, drawing his friend into a full-on hug.

...

It had all gone so wrong, so fast.

"His vitals are dropping!" Caitlin's frantic voice echoed through the lab.

A glance at the monitors told Cisco the same story. It had started out as a pretty basic meta attack but had quickly spiraled out of control when Cicada showed up. Last they heard from Barry he had been cornered in a parking garage.

"We have to go, now," Cisco's tone mirrored hers, as he retrieved the extrapolator from one of the desk drawers. "I'm coming with you."

"You can't," she answered firmly, her eyes already beginning to glow. "Your powers aren't working properly."

"And yours won't be either if he sees you coming," he argued. "You need back up, you..."

He trailed off, an idea suddenly surfacing within his mind. It was crazy, but it just might work. "You need a distraction," he stated, a plan already beginning to form.

"Here take this," Cisco spoke, tossing the device to her. She snatched it from the air, her hair now completely white.

"Don't let him see you, and wait for my signal," he informed, already heading for the door.

"What's your signal?" Frost questioned.

"You'll know," Cisco called over his shoulder, breaking into a run.

The engineer sprinted down the halls, a single destination in mind. He made it there in record time, nearly slipping when he came to a stop. Cisco threw the door of the supply closet open, taking only a moment to select his weapon. He snatched an unmarked spray bottle from the shelf, once again hitting the ground running. He then made his way to his workshop and retrieved a spare extrapolator.

He had the breach open in a matter of seconds, and was through it in only a moment more. He soon found himself standing in the parking garage, the only source of light being the florescent bulbs that hung from the ceiling.

The sight that was there to greet him was not a pleasant one. Barry was slumped heavily against the concrete wall, his features a bloody pulp. Cicada stood above the fallen speedster, his glowing dagger in hand.

"Hey, rip-off Vader," Cisco all but screamed, raising the spray bottle defensively.

Cicada whirled around in shock, his intended victim forgotten. A look of anger flared in his eyes and he moved to step forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. This is acid," Cisco warned darkly, shaking the bottle for emphasis, "one more step and I'll burn that mask right off your face."

"You're supposed to be dead," Cicada bellowed, his dagger flaring instinctively.

"Well, you know what they say," Cisco began, "you just gotta let it go," he said, a little louder than necessary.

Cisco was sure he could almost hear the eye roll that it must have elicited from Frost. An instant later, she stepped out from behind one of the parked cars, letting loose a powerful blast of ice. It hit the meta-human square in the chest, sending him tumbling over an SUV.

Both Cisco and Frost rushed to Barry's aid, crouching down beside him.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Barry assured, sitting up just a little

"I got him, you go check on Cicada," Cisco stated as he started helping Barry to his feet.

Frost rose to her full height and turned, a determination and an anger in her step.

"Be careful," Barry called after her, leaning against Cisco for support.

She nodded without looking back, frost flaring in her palms. She moved around the car that Cicada had impacted, only to let out a quiet sigh.

"He's gone," she informed, her icy voice echoing through the garage. "He got away."

Barry's shoulders drooped just a bit more, his demeanor heavy with exhaustion.

"Come on," Frost spoke, walking back over to help support Barry, "we need to get you back to the lab.

Cisco let her take over for him, moving to gather the extrapolator.

"Is that really acid," Barry inquired after a beat, gesturing to the spray bottle still clutched in Cisco's bandaged hand.

"Nah, man, it's Windex," he admitted with a wry smile.

Barry laughed out loud, only to clutch his side and wince right after.

"That's the third time you've saved my life with cleaning supplies," Barry informed, cracking a bloody smile.

"You've kept count?" Cisco glanced back it him.

"It's a little hard to forget something like that," he confessed.

"Just call me Cisco Ramon: Supply Closet Warrior," he smirked, dramatically twirling his Windex bottle.

Barry chuckled once more and Frost rolled her eyes, muttering something about 'working with losers.' After that Cisco opened the breach, and the two of them began to help Barry limp towards it.

"Next time, I'm bringing a can of Raid," Cisco announced as they went through the portal.

Frost let out a frigid snicker.

...

It had started out as a joke.

Whenever anything to do with Cicada came up, Cisco would always say to bring bug spray. He even went as far as to retrieve a can of Raid from the supply closet and keep it in the cortex. He didn't really think it would come in handy. In fact, it was the farthest thing from Cisco's mind as he ran down the winding corridors of the lab.

He seemed to be doing a lot of running lately. Which was ironic, because that was supposed to be Barry's job. But he and the others were busy chasing down a lead, leaving Cisco to hold down the fort. (And apparently, do all the running.)

The scientist took a sharp corner, a wicked-looking dagger embedding in the wall only inches from him. While they had been busy trying to find Cicada, Cicada had found them. Well, him anyway.

Cisco quickened his pace, his heart hammering in his chest. He could still hear the footsteps behind him, the synthetic sounding breaths echoing off the walls.

He took another right and found his way to the cortex, immediately tapping into the com channel.

"Guys, you need to get..."

His words were cut off by a bolt-shaped dagger abruptly slamming into the computer monitor, throwing sparks in all directions. Cisco lurched back from the impact, tripping over an office chair as he did. He hit the ground hard, the contents on the desk clattering to the floor with him.

Cicada slowly came closer, reaching out to call the dagger to him. The blade dislodged from the computer and sailed through the air, directly into the villain's hands. It reminded Cisco a little bit of Thor. But Thor if he were a serial killer who sounded like Darth Vader and looked like a reject cult leader.

Cicada reached down and lifted the breacher by his shirt, raising the blade high. Frantically, Cisco grasped at the contents on the floor, looking for something, anything, he could use to defend himself.

What his hand found was smooth and cylindrical, a plastic button resting on the top. He knew what it was immediately, and he was just desperate enough to try it.

Cisco reacted just as Cicada prepared to plunge the weapon downward. He shoved the metal can in his face, clamping down hard on the nozzle. Cicada staggered back with a yell, the thick toxic mist now in his face and eyes. The meta soon crumbled to the ground, his body descending into a violent fit of coughs. Cisco was stunned for a moment, but he soon recovered, wasting no time in getting to his feet and retrieving a power dampener.

...

When the others arrived 5 minutes later, Cisco was leaned against the wall of the pipeline, tossing his can of Raid from one hand to the other.

"We got your message, we came as soon as we..." Barry started to speak as he walked in, stopping abruptly when he caught sight of Cicada in his cell.

"How?" Caitlin said in a low tone, her words laced with shock.

"With this bad boy right here," Cisco smirked, holding up his bug spray.

"You're joking," Barry answered, eyes shifting between Cisco and the cell.

"Nope, turns out it was enough to interfere with his respirator. It gave me enough time to get the cuffs on him," he explained, turning the lever to close the cell door.

"That's crazy," Caitlin answered, breathing out a small laugh.

"Not crazy if it works," Cisco only shrugged.

For all their tech and superpowers, sometimes the greatest weapons came from somewhere as simple as a supply closet.