[closed] there goes my hero

[causational]

who: Eddie Thawne and Cisco Ramon
what: A short trip outside the walls to test some equipment.
when: June 9th.
where: One of the wall gates and outside.
warnings: monster attacks, violence, probably some injuries



[Eddie had been aware of what Cisco is doing for a job, that it was similar to what he'd been doing in STAR Labs when he'd been helping out with Team Flash, but he hadn't been aware that Cisco was making gear for the Perimeter Guard and the Police until he'd called Eddie up to ask him to help out with some testing once the Prijata holiday was over. Eddie had easily agreed, basically without thinking too much about it, and they'd arranged to meet up near the Perimeter Guard to debrief Eddie and do a test run before heading out to try the gear against a monster.

Feeling pretty hopeful about the day, Eddie stops at a coffee shop to grab something for himself and Cisco before he heads over, walking up to the agreed-upon spot with a tray bearing two cups - one a nonfat latté, the other a triple-shot extra-sweet concoction that had been on offer at the shop, with lots of caffeine and candy sprinkles on the whipped cream. When he sees Cisco, he lifts his free hand, grinning broadly.]

Hey Cisco! How's it going? I brought some coffee.

[He gestures with the tray vaguely, still smiling.]

So how do we start this?

Comments

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco worries for a moment, when Eddie looks down at their hands, that it was a misstep, that he should let go right away. But then Eddie squeezes his hand back, and so, a touch nervously, Cisco leaves their hands linked. He makes a skeptical face, when Eddie says he wears more blue because he thinks he looks better in it and there's some kind of purple quota. ]

I don't do sparingly. Like, as a rule. And I have another rule that if there's anything guys at high school told me not to do, I should definitely do it as much as physically possible.

[ Spite is a pretty powerful motivator, and that kind of attitude was what had led Cisco to break free from dressing and acting the way he thought other people would like best, and to actually find his own style and flair. ]

Have you really never seen my bright purple pants? I was so psyched when I found those. It's too bad you're tall, or I'd totally loan 'em to you. And let's be real here, I don't think they've invented the color that wouldn't look good on you.

[ And, oh, he didn't think that through before he said it. Cisco feels his face going very hot, and suddenly gets very interested at looking around at the curtains and also the IV bag and basically everything that's not Eddie. They've been getting to be better friends, and opening up to each other about some things, but until now Cisco's managed to avoid even alluding to the obvious fact that Eddie is a gorgeous specimen of a human being and he has the eyes to see it. Honestly, the whole thing would probably stand out less if he just owned it, played it up as a joke, but he's way too embarrassed for that.

So it's fortunate, in a way, that Eddie changes the subject. Even if what he changes it to makes Cisco's heart sink a little in his chest. He can't imagine what that must have been like; being here all on his own, away from his world, away from his whole life. Cisco's hand tightens in Eddie's, unconsciously. His voice is a little lower as he says: ]

That must've been really awful.

[causational]

I've noticed.

[Eddie says it fondly, in response to Cisco saying he 'doesn't do sparingly' and honestly, that's a very good way of phrasing it. It's not just about colours or clothing either, it's about everything - supporting heroes, pop culture, mechanical engineering, caring - he's passionate about everything in his life. It's really appealing for someone like Eddie, who's ambitious but making the attempt to fit in, to be someone who doesn't stand out unless it's in a good way, who wants to fade into the background unless he's excelling. To Eddie, Cisco seems beyond brave, courageous, and he smiles a little as he says that he tries to do anything that the guys in his high school told him not to do as much as possible.]

Mmm, you're right. You really don't do anything sparingly. I think that'll make you a great superhero, you know? When you train and get confident and really go all out. You're gonna be great.

[Eddie smiles at him, and it doesn't register that that wasn't something he normally would've said out loud, just something he'd have thought and left unsaid, too afraid of whether it might have a negative effect when he didn't mean it to. After all, he knows that Cisco's feelings about his powers are connected to his relationship with Eobard. After a moment, though, it registers that Cisco had said that there isn't a colour that wouldn't look good on him, and he laughs, abruptly.]

Oh come on. There's no colour that wouldn't look good on you. I mean, I've seen you wear all of them and you looked good in all of them, so.

[He shrugs a little, smiling still, as he looks up at Cisco, too high on painkillers to notice how Cisco's cheeks have gone a shade pinker. He does, however, notice that Cisco is avoiding eye contact, but he doesn't realize why. Instead, he squeezes his hand, gently.]

I'm sorry if I shouldn't have said you're gonna be a great superhero. I just think you would be if you did it, you know? I'm sorry if I shouldn't have said it, I'm really high.

[He licks his lips, expression softening a bit.]

Yeah it was pretty bad...I was really lonely, you know? It didn't feel real. I thought maybe I was wrong about not believing in the afterlife. But I mean. I was okay.

[franciscoramon]

[ It's probably a little bad, that Cisco is relieved when Eddie admits he is as high as a kite. Not just because he's glad Eddie's not in pain, but because it lends an air of plausible deniability to this conversation and any accidental embarrassing things he might say or do during it. Eddie seems to have completely missed the fact that the compliment Cisco gave him was maybe a little too much; when he returns it, Cisco grins and shakes his head: ]

Uhhh, not true. You've never seen me wear orange, and you're never gonna see me wear orange, because it's just- it's a disaster, trust me.

[ Eddie's certainty that Cisco is going to be a superhero - and a great one - is startling. Cisco doesn't even know what to say to it. The thought had honestly never crossed his mind. Sure, working with superheroes is his thing. And yeah, okay, so maybe he has powers that could be useful now and then, in a really bad crisis. But him? Cisco Ramon? A superhero?

He only has a little while to think about it, and it's still churning around in his head when Eddie apologizes, and Cisco shushes him, smiling to show that it's okay, that he hasn't offended Cisco. Just... confused him. ]

Hey, don't worry about it, okay? You just relax and ramble all you want while they've got you on the good stuff. Mind if I get out my phone and record some of this?

[ Cisco is clowning around, fake-innocent, trying to get Eddie to laugh. He even fake-reaches for his pocket, as if he's about to take a video of Eddie, but he doesn't complete the motion, breaking off into a grin instead.

He wants to make Eddie happy, this time, because he can picture it all too easily; Eddie disoriented, Eddie lonely, Eddie in the quiet of a hospital room not knowing what his future could possibly hold and grappling with his death. ]

Well, I'll stay and keep you company this time. I promise, I'm not going anywhere.

[causational]

[The thing is, Eddie knows he'll remember this. He's processing, just slowly, and it takes a while to catch onto things. When Cisco contests that he looks terrible in orange, Eddie smiles slowly.]

I look terrible in orange too. Believe me.

[It's only after he says it that what Cisco said earlier and the context and the reaction registers in his brain, and abruptly he's laughing, his cheeks going a bit red. Cisco's saying that he should relax and ramble and something about recording, and Eddie just laughs, abrupt and a little breathless and light-headed.]

Oh my god. Did you just call me hot?

[His eyes are bright as he squeezes Cisco's hand, and he laughs again.]

Whoa, if you did, does that mean I called you hot back?

[An innocently mischievous little grin, and he tilts his head back, the smile softening but staying in place as Cisco promises not to go anywhere.]

Oh, good, I'm really not feeling like I want to be alone right now. I think this high would be really bad if I didn't have someone around making me laugh.

[franciscoramon]

[ There's a little while there, when Eddie is just laughing and Cisco doesn't actually get what it's in reference to. Maybe there's a funny story coming about people wearing orange. But then Eddie asks if Cisco had called him hot and Cisco shifts guiltily, flushing and stammering, trying to clarify but kind of making things worse: ]

I- what I meant was- look- I mean, obviously... but-

[ Nope, this is really just digging himself into a deeper hole. Cisco stops trying, shaking his head back and forth and smiling from ear to ear. And as embarrassing as all this is, it's just so good that Eddie's alive and okay. So Cisco gives up, shrugs, and says with a laugh: ]

Okay, you caught me. I may have made the observation that you are a handsome dude, who could definitely pull off some purple if he wanted to.

[ It's good to see Eddie's eyes sparkling with amusement, to see the color in his face. He'd gotten so pale, back in the woods. Way too pale. He looks much better with some pink in his cheeks. ]

And you don't have to worry, I'll let it slide. I mean you are on pain meds, I just didn't know they affected your vision, too!

[ And Cisco waves his free hand in front of Eddie's face, a foot or so away, as if to indicate he's having trouble seeing and that is the reason he said Cisco looks good in all colors, too. A joke, as if that's the only explanation for why Eddie might say something so flagrantly inaccurate. ]

So it works out perfectly. Just got don't rip your stitches or anything. I mean it'd be pretty impressive if I could say I made a dude laugh so hard he actually started to bleed, but I'm pretty sure the nurses wouldn't be too happy. So... did I ever tell you about the time I tried to make Barry's suit bulletproof?

[causational]

[When Cisco stutters out that response, grinning and shifting and flustering a little, Eddie's smile only grows, warm and happy. Because this is nice, having someone here with him, teasing each other and keeping company. Or at least he thinks so until Cisco starts getting all self-deprecating, and Eddie rolls his eyes, squeezing Cisco's hand a bit.]

Come on. I can see perfectly fine. 20/20 vision, good enough to tell that you are definitely a handsome dude yourself, and you have the extra bonus of really fantastic hair. Like. Really good hair.

[Eddie grins at him, tilting his head against the pillow and humming a bit.]

I think my stitches are fine. My ribs are a little sore though.

[The story is fun, something he's never heard before, and the way Cisco tells it, his expression and voice and eyebrows all animated, energetic, seems to fill the empty space he'd usually be all too aware of in the hospital room. Cisco's good at that, taking up a lot of mental and emotional space in a good way, a way that fills up all the emptiness inside his head, assuages the loneliness. Eddie spends his time laughing until his ribs are sore and he's exhausted, his hand in Cisco's, and he's ready to fall asleep before the pain meds wear off.

It occurs to him that it might be time to take a nap when he dozes off halfway through one of Cisco's stories, vaguely aware of the sound of his voice, if not the shapes it makes, the words formed, and his presence in the room. A few moments into it, he startles slightly, his eyes flick open, and he smiles wanly up at Cisco.]

Sorry. I think...think I'm falling asleep. Didn't mean to. You don't have to hang around with me...if I'm gonna be asleep...

[franciscoramon]

[ It isn't fair, because it's just so obvious that Eddie is stoned on painkillers, and that being that way makes him honest and affectionate and takes away his verbal filter. Which means, when he says Cisco is handsome, there's really no way for him to think his way out of it. And when he says Cisco's got fantastic hair, he can't help remembering (because his brain is a traitor, and evil) the way Eddie had praised Taako's hair as something he found extremely attractive about him. He grins, hot-faced and a little uneasy, and does his very utmost to shove that errant thought to the farthest deepest corner of his mind.

And Cisco's smile goes even softer when Eddie startles back awake and apologizes for nodding off, as if Cisco couldn't see that that was what was happening before Eddie was even aware of it. There's something so innocent and kind of vulnerable about it, as his blinks grow gradually slower and his head falls to the side a little. Cisco keeps his voice low as he says: ]

Nice try. You're not gonna get rid of me that easy.

[ And then, without missing a beat, cutting Eddie off before he can think to object, Cisco goes right back to telling silly stories and anecdotes, about geeky midnight movie premieres and cosplay and whatever else it takes to lull Eddie into a complete, restful sleep. ]