riverviewlogs | [open] i can't forget it

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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