riverviewlogs | [open] i can't forget it

[ Cisco watches, careful, keeping a neutral expression on his face as Eddie builds up more and more energy. This time, there's no mistaking it: he notes the change in temperature, the shift in light as Eddie's hand and eyes begin to glow and the space around him becomes darker - almost as if he is leeching the light from around him, even though that's not possible, shouldn't be possible.

The suddenness of the buzzing sound makes Cisco start, just a little, but then a smile starts to spread across his face. The shield is bigger than he had pictured it, and differently shaped, but there it is. The edges are defined and it doesn't waver or flicker. Cisco is already thinking of ways he can measure what frequency it is vibrating at, to make that faint noise. He wants to reach out and touch it, but he holds back. That would be stupid, before he knows how it will impact things that contact it. ]

That blue...

[ Cisco tears his gaze away for just long enough to pick up one of the foam balls from his duffel bag of supplies. He meets Eddie's eyes again - or, rather, he thinks he does. It's hard to tell where Eddie is looking, exactly, when his eyes are that flat, glowing color. ]

Ready?

[ Carefully, very delicately, Cisco tosses the foam ball at the shield - just to see what happens to it, if it will deflect like it's hit a solid object, or be electrocuted or superheated or vaporized or who knows what. ]

[Thankfully, Eddie doesn't notice that Cisco startles a bit when the shield appears with that little buzz, because he's too fascinated with looking at it. But he does smile a bit when Cisco comments on the blue and when Cisco asks if he's ready, he nods.]

Yeah. Let's give it a try.

[Cisco tosses the ball toward him, and Eddie shifts, lifting his hands so the shield meets the ball straight on. There's a faint buzz of energy and the ball bounces off the shield as if it were solid, lands on the ground and bounces, then rolls away, undamaged. Eddie grins a bit.]

Try again. I want to see how much I can move around without losing it...

[ Cisco watches the progress of that first ball, holding up one finger to Eddie indicating he should wait and then chasing after it to pick it up. It's not singed, or static-y, and it is neither warmer nor colder than it had been just before he tossed it. So, at least visibly, no effects at all. Interesting. Cisco is definitely going to bring it back to his workshop and run some tests on it later, but for now, he rolls it off into a corner and goes to grab a fresh one from the duffel. ]

Okay, but you better be ready, I'm a pretty terrible shot.

[ He lobs another one of the foam balls in Eddie's direction, a little to the side, and a little quicker, this time. When Eddie swipes it out of the air successfully, that faint buzz sounding again at the moment of impact, Cisco laughs softly to himself, thrilled. He picks up another two balls and throws them in quicker succession, one to Eddie's left and the other slightly to his right, making him move between the two much faster, seeing if he can maintain the cohesiveness of the shield and his own concentration. ]

[Eddie waits, holding his breath, while Cisco goes after the ball that bounced off the shield, keeps holding it while Cisco picks it up and holds it in his hand, for a moment absolutely paranoid that it's going to burn Cisco or irradiate his hand or something else awful like that, but he seems fine. Eddie lets the breath out slowly, a little dizzy, as Cisco tosses the ball into the corner and retrieves another, smiling at him as he warns him he's a terrible shot.]

Good. More chances to move with the shield, right?

[This is where Eddie's slightly competitive streak starts to come out - it's obvious on his face that he's competing, his eyes a little narrowed, his smile a little challenging, as Cisco tosses the balls at him, one after another, and he moves quick. Darting one way and another, he keeps bouncing them off the shield, doesn't notice that when he starts ducking and going to one knee to get one that's tossed lower, the shield gets smaller, varying in size automatically so it doesn't collide with the ground.

Finally, when he's starting to feel a little fatigued from the running and maintaining the shield, it starts to falter a bit, and the last ball that Cisco tosses simply drops to the ground at Eddie's feet, the little buzz against the shield dissipating it at the moment of impact. Eddie is breathing heavily, cheeks flushed, the glow fading from his eyes as he looks at Cisco.]

That was fun.

[ Cisco had brought that collection of foam balls because he thought it was the safest way to test and practice Eddie's abilities. He hadn't anticipated it being this much fun. He picks up on Eddie's competitive energy, and it makes him feel playful, and boisterous. Cisco doesn't just stand in one spot, either. He has to go darting around picking up the scattered foam balls now and then to lob them in Eddie's direction once more, since he only has about a dozen of them. By the time the shield gives out, Cisco is a touch winded, himself. Eddie looks just... radiant. ]

I'm gonna have to make you one of those things that baseball dudes use to practice their swings. I got a feeling that next time I'm not gonna be able to keep up.

[ It would be a good intermediate step, before they move on to something a little more challenging - an obstacle course, maybe? - and eventually on to sparring with an actual other person. But no need to get ahead of himself. Cisco beams at Eddie, grin going from ear to ear. ]

Eddie, that was fantastic. You kept that going for, like, fifteen minutes. On your first day!

[ He collapses into one of the little plastic chairs in the corner, a little dramatic in his movements both out of happy fatigue and also just to be funny. Except that he misjudges the angle and ends up wincing, the hard back of the chair jostling against Cisco's bruised side more painfully than he'd anticipated. He's lucky, that he had escaped that bear enclosure with nothing more than a few bruises. But it had only been a few days before, and those bruises do sting.

Cisco buries the wince in another smile, keeps saying what he'd been saying: ]

So it definitely seems like when you're channeling your shield, you've got a bit of a zone around you where the air is a bit cooler and darker. I've got no clue how, or why, but it doesn't seem to do any harm. Just one of those crazy meta things.

[As Cisco looks at him like that, beaming and proud, Eddie can't help the way he puffs his chest out, his shoulders going square, his mouth curving into a bright, radiant smile. It's obvious that he's proud of himself, confidence blossoming at the compliments Cisco is giving him.]

Thanks. I mean, it was all because of your advice. Once I got hold of the energy, I shifted my focus to the protecting urge, and concentrated on that, after that it was a lot easier. After a bit, I didn't even have to think about it.

[Putting his hands on his knees, he leans over a little to catch his breath, watching Cisco go across the room and drop into one of the hard plastic chairs. And he notices when Cisco winces a little, watches as he shifts around and turns the wince into a smile, keeps talking about Eddie's ability. For a moment, Eddie's distracted by the explanation - that there's a zone of air that's cooler and darker around him, he nods and furrows his brows trying to think about why that might be. But the truth is, that if Cisco isn't sure about why, Eddie's not going to think of it either.

Which draws his mind back to those winces. Looking down at his hands, Eddie licks his lips and then glances up at Cisco again, remembering the story about the bear enclosure.]

You okay? I saw you wince when you sat down. Bruises still hurting you?

[ Cisco laughs softly, embarrassed. Of course, Eddie had noticed, even while he's halfway across the room and catching his own breath. Too damn observant for his own good. So Cisco gives a big shrug, stops trying to hide it and just brings a hand up to rest over his stinging side. ]

Yeah, little bit. It's cool, though. Be better in a few days.

[ He waves a hand in the air, as if with that gesture he can dismiss the slight pain and its importance, and return to the topic at hand, which is of course Eddie's powers. Cisco keeps on talking, a little winded but too excited to wait to catch his breath to start planning. ]

Next time... we should focus on shield size. I definitely saw it adapting a couple times, getting bigger and smaller so you wouldn't run into stuff. I wanna see if you can sustain it at a size big enough to block... yourself and someone else. I'll get to work on that pitching machine and then maybe next time I'll run around and you can sort of... follow after me, see if you can stop me from getting hit. Like... a weird team game of metahuman dodgeball, only shieldball.

[ It's an imperfect solution, but Cisco thinks that having a real living body there that he needs to extend the shield to protect (even if it's just protecting it from being gently pelted by soft foam balls) will be helpful for Eddie, in the beginning. Once he is used to the sensation, he should be able to manipulate the size of his shield all on his own. ]

[When Cisco says that his side is still hurting a bit, Eddie purses his mouth and shakes his head, walking over to where Cisco is sitting, an idea formulating in the back of his mind. In fact, he almost misses what Cisco's saying about the shield because the idea is percolating in his head, he's preoccupied with it.

He remembers, his hands hovering over Dodger's side, the way the wounds hadn't exactly healed, but the bleeding had stopped, Dodger's breathing had gotten easier, he'd survived long enough to get to a real healer.

Crouching down in front of Cisco's chair, he furrows his brows, looking up into his face, eyes searching it.]

Can I see? The bruises, I mean. I...kind of want to try something, if you're okay with it.

[He can feel the anxiety building up, but he remembers how he'd felt when he'd been holding his hands over those wounds and they'd started to close up a bit, he doesn't think it would do much damage, but it might help, if he's careful.]

[ At first, Cisco is confused. It's easy enough, to guess what Eddie wants to try. But when he and Eddie had discussed training with his abilities, Eddie had set only one rule, and that was that he didn't want to test his healing abilities on Cisco. He had agreed at once, of course, without questioning why it was Eddie didn't want that.

Perhaps he had just been nervous and now he's feeling more confident. Or perhaps he'd been worried Cisco would intentionally harm himself, for the purposes of giving Eddie a wound to heal. Either way, when Eddie looks at him like that, concerned but with a hint of determination, Cisco doesn't argue. ]

I trust you.

[ It's all he says, and all he thinks he needs to say. He reaches down and pulls up his t-shirt; Cisco hadn't really glanced at the bruising today, and it looks worse than he'd expected. There are splotches of faint blue and purple spreading across the expanse of his ribs, nothing too dark but covering a rather wide area. He had fallen pretty hard... ]

[As Cisco reaches down to pull up his t-shirt, Eddie takes a breath, holds it for a moment as he surveys the damage. The bruises are big and deep and nasty, big splotches of blue and purple going yellow around the edges, all up and down the side of Cisco's body. Forcing another breath, he holds it again, glancing up at Cisco's face for a moment when the younger man says he trusts him.]

I know I said I didn't want to try, but that was mostly because I didn't want you getting hurt so I could try healing you. But you're already hurt, and...and I think this might be easier than the shield, so...

[Licking his lips, he closes his eyes for a moment, trying to find that energy again, waiting for a moment as it flows into him, opens them when he feels the warmth and buzzing sound suffusing him, eyes glowing, hands glowing slightly. Looking at Cisco's body, he notes each bruise, he thinks about how he wants Cisco to feel, how he wants Cisco's pain to stop, and then he reaches out, his hands hovering over Cisco's side, over his ribs, the warm blue energy reflecting off his skin.]

[ Cisco waits, voice caught in his throat, holding up his shirt, as Eddie starts gathering that energy. He watches this time as Eddie's kind, familiar eyes get hazed over by that eerie, blue light. But he is getting more and more used to how it looks, the more times he sees it. It had freaked him out, the first few times he say speedforce lightning or whatever it was in Barry's eyes, just before he started to run. But by now, it's just normal. And maybe this will be normal, soon, too.

He looks at Eddie's hands, when he starts to hear that faint buzz. It doesn't happen quickly, but that's probably a good thing. However, Cisco does start to feel something. A creeping warmth, moving across his ribs, faint and tingling. It almost tickles, but he draws his lower lip between his teeth and does not giggle or say anything. And then, after a few moments, Eddie's hands move away, and Cisco can actually see the skin underneath them, and- ]

Holy shit, you did it. Look.

[ There is no trace of the bruises any more - just an unmarked stretch of skin, looking strangely pale in the deep blue light still glowing from Eddie's hands. Cisco's smile is slow, but it is warm and utterly delighted. ]

You totally healed me.

[Eddie is concentrating, brows furrowed, until something settles in him, and then his hands move and he sees the clean, smooth skin underneath, with no hints left of those dark ugly bruises. Abruptly, Eddie's chin jerks up and he grins at Cisco, eyes still glowing, hands still glowing too.]

Does it feel better? Not hurting anymore?

[Even as he asks, he shifts and turns his attention to the next patch of skin, forehead wrinkling as he concentrates on it, on how much he wants Cisco to be better, how much he wants the pain to stop. How he would like to see Cisco sit down without pain, without wincing as he moves. Gently, he keeps moving his hands, though he's certainly starting to feel fatigued, his breath coming a little harder and deeper, his jaw tight, the palms of his hands stinging just a little.]

Just about done, I think...

[It's only then that he feels something warm and wet trickle down his upper lip. A drop of blood, though he ignores it for the moment.]

Yeah, it feels great... that is a seriously cool power, Eddie.

[ Eddie had started further forward on the bruises, and has now shifted further towards Cisco's back. So it's an awkward angle, holding his shirt and trying to watch him. But Cisco manages it with some twisting (which doesn't hurt, now that some of that bruising is gone. He doesn't notice the blood for a moment or two; hard to look at anything about Eddie's face but those blank, glowing eyes.

When he does notice, however, Cisco immediately goes tense, voice soft but urgent as he says: ]

Eddie, stop.

[ He stands up from the chair, dropping his shirt and turning to face Eddie. With a few deft moves, Cisco has gotten Eddie into the chair and is looking at his face, a furrow between his brows, worry written all over his face. Quietly, Cisco says: ]

You're bleeding.

[ Cisco grabs some tissues from the duffel bag and presses them to the spot just beneath Eddie's nose. ]

How do you feel? You shouldn't've- I shouldn't've let you do that without keeping an eye on you.

[For a few moments, Eddie doesn't respond, because he's feeling a little dizzy and disoriented. It seems very abrupt, the switch from being on the floor by the chair to suddenly in the chair, with Cisco pressing tissues against his nose. Eddie lifts a hand almost robotically to take the tissue and wipe at his nose as he feels another hot drip slide into the paper, before lifting it and looking at it, brows furrowed with confusion. He's aware that his palms sting a bit, but mostly he doesn't look, just yet, only goes back to dabbing at the space under his nose.]

No, no it's fine. I just got carried away, and I didn't notice I was overextending a little. You're not my babysitter.

[Eddie manages a little smile, shifts to ball the kleenex up in his palm and then winces a bit, looking down.]

I think my hands got sunburned. Weird. This is...this is probably just because I used it too much, right?

[ Cisco actually sets his hands on his hips, an unconscious gesture he doesn't realize he is doing. ]

Right now I am the entire babysitter's club as far as you're concerned, mister. Okay? Now... just don't talk for a minute, catch your breath.

[ Eddie might think that a random nosebleed is nothing to be worried about, but Cisco isn't taking any chances. There had been side effects to Barry's powers that weren't immediately obvious, and that might be true for Eddie, too. With Barry it had been as simple as needing to eat more. But what if Eddie's healing powers, overextended, could have serious health risks? Stuff that goes beyond a blood nose? Burst blood vessels, seizures, strokes, who the hell knows. There's a hundred possibilities that present themselves in Cisco's mind, and they're all terrible.

So he takes a moment to examine Eddie as well as he can, looking at the sizes of his respective pupils, reaching up to Eddie's neck to take his pulse, chewing at his bottom lip with worry as he tries to think what else Caitlin would do. ]

Lemme see your hand.

[ And Cisco gently pulls at one of Eddie's wrists, peering down at his palm. It does look slightly reddened, which is worrisome. Cisco touches his fingertips to Eddie's palm lightly, feels how hot the skin is there. ]

Must be. We should take it easier next time. You shouldn't be trying to run before you can walk.

[Eddie can't help but smile as Cisco puts his hands on his hips and makes that crack about the babysitter's club, tells him to catch his breath. For a moment, he does just that - he sits still and just catches his breath while he tries not to think too much or be too guilty about how much Cisco is worrying and fussing over him.

Letting the younger man examine him, he tilts his head as Cisco checks his pulse and his eyes, all the classic concussion signs Eddie knows so well. And while Cisco is checking him over, he takes some time to concentrate on what's going on in his body, to try to suss out where any problems might lie so he can point them out and let Cisco check into them. But other than the fatigue and mild dizziness, he feels mostly okay. Lifting a hand, he checks to make sure the bleeding has stopped, lets Cisco take his hand and look at it.]

Okay. Okay, just tell me what to do and I'll do it, sir.

[He gives a little grin, then glances down at his hand to notice the red and winces a little when Cisco touches it.]

It's not that bad. I'm just a little dizzy, a little tired, and my palm stings. It's not a big deal, but okay. I'll take it a little easier next time.

[And, feeling a little vulnerable, a little disoriented, he smiles up at Cisco and is more bluntly honest than he normally would be.]

Thanks for taking care of me. It feels really nice.

[ It's good to know that his brain can juggle so many different emotions at once. That he can be fascinated by Eddie's powers and their possible side effects and what might cause them, and guilty that Eddie had overextended himself while healing Cisco's stupid bruises, and worried that Eddie's managed to do real damage to himself, and there is still some space leftover in his brain to register that Eddie had said just tell me what to do and I'll do it, sir and feel an intense mix of enjoyment and embarrassment. Cisco's face turns bright red; he wouldn't be surprised if Eddie could feel the heat coming off his cheeks. Nope, he is definitely not going to let his mind even go there. Not one bit. Not the littlest bit.

Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), Cisco catches that tiny hiss of breath from Eddie and the way he flinches when Cisco barely touches his hand. ]

How would you know if it was a big deal? We don't know. And- and I really don't want you getting hurt just because we made assumptions.

[ Cisco lets go of Eddie's wrist, still looking at his hands; Eddie was right, and the look as if he merely has a sunburn. What would happen, if Eddie tried to heal a bigger injury? Knowing Eddie, if he saw someone hurt, he wouldn't stop to consider how it might harm him, to do everything he could to help. That's just not the kind of person he is. They are going to have to figure out if there are any health side effects to Eddie's healing, and soon.

For now, though, Cisco can't help smiling at Eddie's gratitude. His care feels so minimal, so easily encompassed within what Cisco would call common decency. Eddie being so grateful for it is... a little sad, actually. ]

Thanks for healing my bruises.

[Thankfully for Cisco, Eddie is too distracted with looking at the sunburn on his palms to really notice that Cisco's cheeks have gone red or stop to consider why they might have. And when Cisco speaks, it's not about that at all, and Eddie glances up at him with his brows slightly raised and an expression of slight surprise in his expression.]

You think it might be a big deal? I mean, my hands don't really hurt a lot, and it's just a nosebleed, not even a long one. It's already stopped. It just doesn't feel like a very big deal, you know? It doesn't hurt or anything, I'm just tired. Like I sprinted a few blocks.

[Eddie shrugs, his eyes staying on Cisco's face while Cisco obviously frets over something he's not talking about out loud. Eddie bites his lower lip at the inside, trying to figure out how to address it.]

You're welcome. I wanted to give the healing part a try, but I didn't want you to hurt yourself or anything. Testing healing means needing a wound to try it on, so it worked out that you had something already.

[And Eddie doesn't say it out loud, but he worries, sometimes, that Cisco is too willing to hurt himself to help others.]

If it helps any, are there any scans you could do to make sure it's okay? Would that help you stop worrying?

[ Cisco weighs it in his mind, trying to separate out his own feelings of uncertainty and his tendency to assume the worst case scenario. Is it worth the potential emotional damage it could do to Eddie, if he suggests they go to the hospital and get him an MRI and various tests? Even if Cisco said a million things about how it was just a precaution, that association would be there. That his powers are scary, dangerous, more like an illness than anything else. Even if Eddie tries consciously not to make those connections... he still might, deep down.

And Eddie is so insistent that he feels okay; Cisco wants to trust him, to believe that this isn't a crisis. Everything with his own powers had happened so catastrophically. He wants that not to be the case, for Eddie. Eventually, Cisco sighs, shaking his head a little but giving a shrug of defeat. ]

Naw, we don't gotta do all that. Just promise if you start feeling anything worse than just tired, you tell me right away, okay?

[ Eddie's explanation of his hesitations about practicing his healing make sense. Cisco opens his mouth, about to object that he wouldn't injure himself just so Eddie could test his powers, but... he's actually pretty sure that's what he would have done. Doesn't seem like a big deal, to him. ]

Well, lucky for us, I came with some bruises that I prepared earlier. And now we know... your healing works, but maybe you should take it slow and not try to do too much of it all at once.

[Eddie's eyes are on Cisco as he thinks through the question about scans, and he can feel it, the slight buildup of anxiety as he wonders if there might be something wrong with him that he just doesn't know about yet, or doesn't understand because he's not a genius like Cisco or Caitlin or Barry. The tension builds a little, though he tries to keep it out of his eyes, off his face, until Cisco finally speaks and says that they don't have to scan, that it's not necessary unless Eddie feels worse, and something in him relaxes.

He smiles a bit, ducking his head, and then shaking it.]

Nah, I just feel tired. I don't think it's going to get any more intense than that, really.

[He can see it though, registering with Cisco what Eddie had meant and that moment of struggle before he decides not to argue back. It speaks volumes, and Eddie feels somehow both a little distressed and a little relieved about the fact that Cisco doesn't try to contradict him. At least, if nothing else, Cisco knows now that Eddie won't be someone who lets him hurt himself to help Eddie.]

I wouldn't call it lucky, but I'm glad I could heal them. And yeah, I'll take it easier next time.

[For a moment, Eddie pauses, then looks up at Cisco again.]

I just got really, really hungry. You feel like grabbing lunch?

Yeah. Hopefully it won't I got a nosebleed from vibing too much, once. Guess it's a right of passage or something.

[ He's only just remembered that, and he had been fine afterwards - all he needed was some food and some rest, too. So he nods to Eddie's suggestion that they get lunch, and together the two of them gather up the gear and then head out. As they do, Cisco breaks the silence to broach a subject he's been meaning to address: ]

I've been thinking... about code names. I've got one in mind, for you. If you don't like it, I can brainstorm some more. But... I think it's a good ne.

[ He looks over, checking Eddie's expression with a soft smile as he locks up and the two of them head out of the gym together. Cisco keeps his voice low, excited but also careful. ]

That color... ever since you showed me your powers that first time I was trying to remember the name of that one color of blue. It's so intense, you know? Like, the bluest blue ever. I looked it up the other day and I realized - it's cobalt. So I was thinking... Cobalt Blue.

[ Cisco had spent longer than he wants to admit, puzzling over this one. He had wanted something striking, but not anything that could be misinterpreted as evil or harmful. Eddie's powers are too versatile for a simple descriptor of what he does, like Captain Cold or Weather Wizard. Shielding and healing are too different to both be encompassed in that. He'd come up with dozens of options, but he'd kept coming back to that one. ]

Kind of a cop joke, but also kinda poetic and mysterious. What do you think?

Oh, wow, that makes me feel better. I mean. I'm sorry that you had one, but at least it's sort of normal for it to happen?

[Eddie smiles a little uncertainly at Cisco as they gather the stuff up and head out of the gym, but the smile grows a little more confident, a little more excited, as Cisco says that he's been thinking about code names and that he has an idea.]

I am seriously all ears. What is it?

[It's mostly rhetorical, a form of encouragement, since he knows Cisco is winding up to telling him, but wants to give him some backstory first. Eddie listens, intrigued at Cisco's insights, a little flattered that he'd put so much thought into this, something as pointless as a code name for Eddie, who will probably never particularly amount to anything.]

Cobalt Blue, huh? I kind of like the sound of it. The same colour as the energy, and yeah, kind of mysterious and edgy.

[A little laugh, and he shakes his head.]

I never thought I'd be considering code names for myself.

You like it?

[ Cisco's smile is tentative, at first; he'd been willing to go back to the drawing board, if Eddie didn't approve which is more than he could say for any other meta he'd named before. But Eddie seems surprised, and a little pleased, with the name. So maybe he won't have to.

When Eddie comments on how surreal the whole code name thing is, Cisco laughs, too. ]

I never thought any of this would happen.

[ As they head out of the gym, Cisco bumps a shoulder into Eddie while they walk, jostling him very lightly, friendly. ]

I mean, think about it. You're a meta. I'm a meta. We're both metas and we live on a moon. It's a brave new world, Eddie Thawne.

I love it.

[Eddie beams at Cisco as they gather their things, head toward the exit, and Cisco gives him that look, the one that suggests he's being a bit silly or not taking himself seriously enough. It's kind of a nice expression, to get from Cisco Ramon, who Eddie considers to be the real deal when it comes to heroes.]

Same. We really are metas who live on a moon. I have a codename, and next thing you know we're gonna be a crime-fighting duo or something.

[open] i can't forget it

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