Summary: It's the first snow of the winter season in Central City - Earth-2 Central City - and Cisco decides it's the perfect day for an impromptu holiday. Especially since Harry's been a little stressed after hitting a plateau in restoring his former genius IQ.

Notes: For the Harrisco Fest prompt - Cisco's first snow on Earth-2

Snow Day

Cisco woke up slowly. It was ten minutes until his alarm would go off and he wanted to savor his last few minutes of not-asleep-not-awake-full-ness. Which was totally a thing.

The mattress he was sleeping on was more comfortable than the one in his apartment on Earth-1, which he'd only slept on maybe a handful of times since May. That was when Harry, upon having his intelligence partially restored and his personality entirely intact once more, had decided to book a fast retreat back to Earth-2 and his daughter and... well... the safety and familiarity of his own home. Cisco had understood Harry's need to go home to, metaphorically, lick his wounds. He'd also understood that Earth-2's science was ahead of Earth-1's. Harry stood a better chance of restoring everything here.

Which was why Cisco had immediately declared he was going to Earth-2 with Harry.

Harry had, thankfully, been far too stunned to protest and ended up offering up his guest room for Cisco to stay in. Which was where Cisco was sleeping - or not sleeping, at the moment - that chilly November morning.

It hadn't been exactly easy these last few months, living on Earth-2 where his doppelganger had been a villain with a god complex. But Harry'd faced similar issues on Earth-1 and Cisco was just as determined to make things work out for him as they had for Harry. He still popped back to Earth-1 from time to time, when the team really needed him, but he'd migrated his lab over to Harry's basement and worked on Team Flash gear from there. Between his own breach powers and the breach devices he'd created, being on a different Earth somehow barely counted as working remotely.

And, well, with the Elongated Man and Frost as backup, the Flash didn't really need Vibe unless some big cross-over event happened. (And god bless the Legends for naming their team-ups cross-over events. It was probably Ray and Nate's idea, but the whole team had clearly gotten behind the term.)

Which... Cisco was okay with that. He liked being Vibe. Loved using his powers. But... he liked being Cisco more. And that was probably a big part of why he'd turned down Breacher's job offer and ended things with Cynthia. Being part of the Collectors would've meant being Vibe more than being Cisco and... in turn it had made him realize just how different the things he and Cynthia wanted in life really were.

And what Cisco wanted from life... well, nearly losing Harry had been quite the revelation where that was concerned.

The alarm went off, squawking loudly, and Cisco smacked it a few times before it went off. He scowled at the little blinking light that indicated he'd only managed to trigger the five minute snooze and smacked it one more time - this time on the off button - and then rolled out of bed.

He browsed through his drawers for a pair of jeans and then pulled out a black shirt with a knitted Star Wars sweater to wear over it. The last week had gotten progressively colder with every day and it was supposed to have snowed last night. But Cisco waited until he was dressed - with a pair of thick socks on his easily chilled feet - and padded out into the living room to peer out the windows to see what sight would greet him that morning.

Bright, white snow as far as the eye could see, shining with the light of the morning sun. Cisco grinned at the view, taking just enough time away from it to turn on the coffee pot before returning to the window and the stunning sight of what had to be at least half a foot of snow at there, covering the ground and the trees.

"Snow, snow, snow, snow," Cisco sang to himself, "snow! It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow. Snow... I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow..."

"Snow," another voice joined in, "I long to clear a path and lift a spade of snow..." Harry paused, then said, "I don't think Irving Berlin had to shovel much snow, given those particular lyrics."

Cisco snorted in amusement, but kept singing, "snow; oh to see a great big man entirely made of snow."

"So what's with the singing?" Harry asked, checking the coffee pot and then wandering over with a bit of a pout when he saw it wasn't nearly done percolating yet.

"My parents love the movie White Christmas," Cisco said, thinking of years past when he's still been on good terms with them and Dante had still been his best friend - even despite what happened with Melinda Torres, it hadn't been until college when Cisco came out as pan that things with his family became... stilted. "I've got all the songs from it pretty much memorized. And every year, first snow of the season gets greeted with Irving Berlin's 'Snow'."

"That's a nice tradition," Harry murmured coming to stand beside Cisco. "I know Thanksgiving on your Earth is in a few days. Planning on seeing your parents then?"

"No. I mean... we tried after Dante..." Cisco shook his head. "I really thought they were putting effort into reconnecting with me at first, but... when I introduced them to Cynthia they told me they were so glad I'd finally settled on being straight, like a good Catholic should be. That they knew the whole pan thing was just a phase."

Harry winced. "That's really not how it works. I haven't heard crap like that about m-specs since I was a kid. Queerphobia's not nearly as bad over here as it is on your Earth."

"It's improving over there, though... albeit slowly. Two steps forward, one step back. Usually one step back, sometimes more," Cisco admitted with a grimace. "It is better now than when I was in high school, though, which is nice to see." But unfortunately some things hadn't improved. And while Cisco's parents may not have disowned him the way Hartley Rathaway's had, he'd been forcibly estranged because of their bigotry all the same.

"It's too bad we'll need to be headed to STAR Labs soon," Harry mused, staring out at the snow. "Building a snowman doesn't sound so bad right now."

"Why don't we?" Cisco asked, not entirely serious.

"Today's another round with the electrode net," Harry said, but there was a note of stress that... wasn't usually there when he talked about the device used to slowly stimulate his brain to further heal the damage caused by his Thinking Cap and dark energy combo.

Cisco turned to look at Harry, noting the furrowed brow and the unhappy cast of his mouth. "What's bothering you? And don't tell me it's nothing, 'cause you sound a little upset."

Harry sighed, heavily. "The last few treatments haven't shown any new results." Harry tapped the window pane and then started idly drawing a fractal in the thin layer of condensation caused by the house's warmth meeting the freezing weather of the outdoors through the glass. "What if this is it? I've plateaued and this is the closest to who I used to be that I'm ever going to get. I still... I still can't even understand my first PhD's thesis paper. Seven doctorates... my three PhDs and four honorary doctorates and the degrees aren't even worth the paper they were written on anymore."

"Hey." Cisco frowned and put a hand on Harry's black sweater clad arm. "You've always been worth more than the science you could do. Always."

Harry blushed and ducked his head. "I... I know that. Now. I know that now. But it's still... hard to untangle my feelings of self-worth from my intelligence."

"So let's play hooky," Cisco declared. "It won't hurt to skip a day of the treatment and given how Jack keeps saying stress can interfere with the device's effectiveness, maybe a nice day - or a few days - of R&R are just what the doctor called for."

"You think making a snowman will help make my brain better?" Harry asked, tone deadpan.

"Can't make your brain worse," Cisco quipped. "We should call Jesse here and then ambush her with snowballs. I bet she'd love to build a snowman too."

Despite himself, a smile crept its way onto Harry's mouth. "A snow day with the two of you... actually would be very relaxing. You're right. Let's... take some time off."

Cisco beamed. "Coffee first and then coats."

"And I'll give Jesse a call so she doesn't freak when we don't breach over in half an hour," Harry muttered.


Jesse loves the impromptu snow day idea. She can't join them immediately, she's got some Team Quick stuff to take care of and a class at uni she can't skip, but it's supposed to snow more that afternoon and both of her professors have already called the classes off in anticipation of bad driving conditions. Which means she's bringing them Big Belly Burger for lunch which, at the speeds she runs, won't even have time to get cold by the time she arrives, even with the freezing weather.

This means more time for Cisco and Harry to have fun together. Which, well...

Nearly losing Harry had put things in perspective for Cisco. That hug... what both he and Harry had thought was quite likely Harry's last moments of lucidity before he was... when Harry hugged Cisco again afterwards, Cisco hadn't wanted to let go. He'd wanted to bury himself in Harry's arms for the rest of his life. And, yes, Cisco knew Harry was much older than him and not interested in him the same way and their time together - whether it was the platonic reality or Cisco's idle romantic fantasy - was fated to be shorter than Cisco wanted regardless...

Cisco was determined not to waste a single moment that could be spent with Harry.

So when Harry announced he was going home to Earth-2, immediately. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, go straight to Earth-2... Cisco didn't even have to think about it before the words 'I'm going with you' came out of his mouth.

Jesse hadn't been thrilled to find out what happened to her dad and even less so to learn that nobody told her she was missing out on the last of his lucidity before artificial dementia took over permanently. Cisco's cheek still stung, months later, from the memory of her slap which, despite what Harry argued, Cisco was fairly certain he'd deserved. They all knew what Harry was like when it came to Jesse; he could be as bad, if not worse, than Joe about 'protecting' his daughter from things she shouldn't be shielded from. Cisco especially should have known that Harry'd lied about telling her. Because if Harry had told her, Jesse would have been there trying to help him with the rest of them.

Things were better between the three of them now, but Cisco was secretly, jealously glad that Jesse had stopped being clingy with her dad months ago. She'd moved back to the dorms for the fall after spending the summer back in her childhood bedroom. While he didn't begrudge her wanting to spend time with her dad after the shock of almost losing him, Cisco had been quietly pleased that her returning to college when it meant he'd get more uninterrupted time to spend on his own with Harry.

Though Cisco was enjoying to get to see all these sides of Harry he'd been missing out on before. What Harry was like as a dad in the safety of his own home, how adorable he looked in his pajamas in the evenings, the way his hair turned into a fluffed mess when he had a rough night of tossing and turning, the warmth in Harry's smile as he tried Cisco's spiced hot chocolate for the first time a few days ago...

Yeah, okay, so Cisco was maybe falling more and more in love with one of his best friends. That was fine. Totally fine.

It was going to be so embarrassing when Jesse finally realized Cisco was pining after her dad, but hopefully she wouldn't actually say anything to Harry.

But since it was just Cisco and Harry this morning, it meant that Cisco didn't have to worry about anyone but Harry noticing the way he eyed the way Harry's peacoat flattered his frame or the way the deep blue of his scarf caused the color of Harry's eyes to turn darker too. Watching his crush put on layers shouldn't make want curl in the pit of Cisco's stomach, but it did anyway.

Cisco felt a little silly looking in comparison, wearing his pale blue, and very puffy, winter jacket. But it came with a faux fur lined hood that would keep his hair dry and ears warm, so Cisco wasn't about to trade it in any time soon. And he actually had warm woolen mittens to protect his fingers with.

Once outside, Cisco cheerfully flopped into the snow.

"Ramon, what are you doing?"

"Making my first snow angel on Earth-2," Cisco declared, stretching out his arms and legs to make the imprint in the snow.

"You look ridiculous."

Cisco snorted in amusement. "You're just jealous you can't do this without getting your hair all snowy."

"Yes," Harry drawled and, while Cisco couldn't see him roll his eyes, Harry definitely rolled his eyes. Cisco could tell. "I'm so jealous that you can lay down in the freezing snow without getting it in your hair."

"Admitting you have a problem is the first step to fixing it," Cisco informed him sagely, standing up and inspecting the snow angel. Definitely one of his better ones. His phone came out of his pocket to snap a picture before sliding away again. "Alright, so snow fight first or snowman?"

Harry's answer came in the form of a snowball to Cisco's chest.

Laughing, Cisco scooped up some snow, lightly packing it just enough that it'd soar nicely and still explode on contact. "Oh it's on now!" He lobbed his powdery projectile at the already running scientist.


Harry is, unsurprisingly, a perfectionist about snowmen.

"It's lumpy," Harry said, gesturing to one side of the large snowball they've rolled for the base of their snowman.

Honestly, Cisco can't tell the difference, but then Cisco always winds up hanging his pictures slightly crooked whereas everything in the Wells family residence is perfectly straight on the walls. So if Harry thinks it's lumpy? It probably is.

"Well, since this is where we want to park the snowman, how about we just pack some snow on the lumpy parts to even it out, that way we don't have to keep rolling it around?" Cisco asked.

Harry hummed thoughtfully. Then nodded. "It won't take much doing - I'll fix this," he waved his hand at the huge snowball, "if you'll get started on the torso."

Cisco gave him a thumbs up and went a little ways away for the untouched snow. Harry came over to join him after a few minutes and they've rolled the 'torso' over to place on the body by the time Jesse shows up with lunch in hand. Which is perfect timing since Cisco's hands are feeling a little numb with cold despite his warm - though now snow soaked - mittens.

Both of them happily follow Jesse inside, everyone divesting themselves of their winter gear and hanging a few items up in front of the gas fireplace, which Harry checks the flue and then lights up with ease. By the time they're ready to head back outside after lunch, Cisco has no doubt his mittens will be toasty and dry.

Jesse tells them about how her class went and how she can't wait for finals in a few weeks so that she can put her second to last semester behind her. Harry looks so proud of her as she talks, even though he clearly doesn't really understand the course material she discusses. It's a step up from how frustrated he'd been earlier that year, but Cisco also knows Harry's handling it better today specifically because he spent the morning having fun.

He's rarely gone into the basement since Cisco converted it into his lab - it was previously Harry's lab at home before Jesse started college and Harry didn't need to be home quite so much. There's a piano down there that Cisco's cleaned up and retuned, playing bits and pieces of music he likes or that he used to hear Dante play and wondering if Harry used to play or if maybe that was Jesse, down there playing Hanon finger exercises and the very-different-from-Earth-1 version of Bach's Prelude No. 1. (It was apparently not adapted to be used for Ave Maria here; instead that was Bach's Prelude No. 3, which does sound more like the Prelude No. 1 Cisco's familiar with.) Or maybe it was Tess Wells-Chambers.

Cisco's been a little afraid to ask if Harry would like to hear him play. Though he keeps thinking that he should. It'd be nice to have Harry sitting beside him or maybe standing behind him, hand on Cisco's shoulder, as Cisco's fingers trace familiar patterns across the keys.

The three of them head back outside to finish the snowman and Jesse quickly demonstrate's she's her father's daughter. "The arms are different lengths, he's gonna look lopsided."

Harry tutted thoughtfully. "He does. Ramon..." and there's a definite whine to his tone now.

Cisco rolled his eyes and quickly interrupted with, "hey, that is as close to the same length I could manage at a decent arm length. If it bugs you two so much, then there's a very simple fix. Make the longer 'arm' shorter."

"Fair point." Jesse lined the two sticks up next to each other. Which just made it more obvious to Cisco that both were curved in different ways and how could they tell the lengths were different any? But Jesse quickly, and efficiently, trims off a bit of one stick with a vibrating hand trick that doesn't make Cisco take a step back.

It makes his heartbeat spike a little, but he doesn't actually step back. Which is an improvement from the last time Cisco saw a speedster buzz their hand like that - Barry tried to avoid doing so around Cisco but wasn't always successful - so Cisco takes that as a win.

Though it helps that Harry absently reaches out to touch Cisco's wrist for a few moments, the pressure felt even through the woolen mittens keeping Cisco's hands warm. Cisco can't help but lean a little in Harry's direction in response.

Arm-length-crisis averted, Jesse puts the sticks on the torso, but only after she and Harry bicker over where shoulder height is for several minutes. By then Cisco has gathered several small bricks of coal from the shed where Harry's grill and grilling supplies have been stored. Given that the briquettes are uniform in size, there's nothing to argue about over using them for both 'buttons' on the torso and 'eyes' on the face. Jesse finds a few small sticks that they break into tiny pieces to make the snowman's smile. And then Jesse runs inside to get a carrot for the nose.

Harry sends her back inside for a ragged old brown scarf that goes around the snowman's 'neck' and then the three of them step back to admire their master piece.

It's not dark by any means, but it is overcast. And the predicted snow starts to fall around them.

Cisco leans his head back and sticks out his tongue, feeling the cold stings of snow landing, and melting, in his mouth. When he looks up, it's just in time to see Harry look away sharply. The other man's cheeks are flushed and Cisco firmly tells himself it's because it's cold and not because Harry was... staring or anything.

"So, who wants some spiced hot chocolate?" Cisco asked.

"Sure," Harry said quickly, earning an amused look from Jesse.

"Yeah, okay," she agreed. "What makes the recipe special?"

"It's basically chocolate coquito minus the rum and the coconut... or eggs," Cisco admitted. "I make an excellent coquito, which is kind of like egg-nog but the eggs are very much optional. I tend to leave those out, that way I can make a big batch and it'll last a while in the fridge. But minus the coconut milk and alcohol, the same recipe makes a great spiced cocoa on the stove."

"We're gonna have to try the coquito at some point," Jesse declared, grinning when Harry grumbled about her having alcohol. "It's not like it'll have any effect on me, dad. I could drink twice as much as you and Cisco combined and still be the only sober one in the house."

"She's not wrong. You should have seen the look on Barry's face when he realized alcohol didn't effect him anymore." Cisco snickered at the memory of plying Barry with shots in the name of science, even as he brought out his phone to take a picture of their finished snowman, Jesse and Harry caught in the frame too.

"But there is speedster alcohol now," Harry countered, giving Cisco a sharp look. "You are never making coquito in this house using that."

The memory of drunk Barry declaring himself the Flash in a strip club to the amusement of the onlookers would forever live rent free in Cisco's head. Though the night had ended in the drunk tank and Cisco was still pissed they'd missed their steak dinners, not everything about that night had been terrible. He'd grant Ralph at least that much.

"I promise," Cisco agreed, making a crossing motion over his heart that earned an amused smile from Harry and a huff of annoyance from Jesse.

However, on the way inside, Cisco couldn't quite resist the urge to... stuff snow down the back of both Harry and Jesse's jackets. He breached into the house to the beautiful sounds of two Wells vowing vengeance.


Once inside, the fireplace was relit and their things left up to dry again. Both Harry and Jesse gave Cisco dirty looks as they went to change their sweaters, but by the time both were back in the living room there was a delicious scent of chocolate and spices already coming from the stove.

"It's not ready yet," Cisco warns even as Jesse comes to stand next to him and stare eagerly at the concoction he's bring to a simmer on the stove.

"It smells so good." Jesse leaned closer so Cisco elbowed her away.

Harry snickered even as he came over and put a hand on Cisco's arm.

Cisco couldn't help but glance up, leaning into the touch, inhaling deeply the warm scent that lingered around Harry at all times. He breathed out maybe a touch more shaky than normal and firmly turned back to making the spiced hot chocolate.

And now he was firmly ignoring Jesse's smirk too. Because, shit, yeah, she knew.

"If it's as good as the batch you made the other day, I might even forgive you for shoving snow down my sweater," Harry teased.

"I'm still gonna have to take vengeance, regardless," Jesse declared with a shake of her head. "Sorry, Cisco. It's a matter of pride."

"You might change your mind once you've got a warm mug of this deliciousness in hand." Though Cisco doubted it. He just prayed she'd leave his obvious crush alone.

Cisco really hadn't thought through the whole snow prank, in retrospect.

The first thing Harry does after he's got his mug in hand - and it's cooled enough for him to drink it safely - is moan low in his throat and declare that it tastes delicious. Cisco does not whine in response, but it's a near thing. He does feel his face flush, though, and he quickly turns to look outside at the snow fall that's filling in the tracks they made out there, his snow angel, and distorting the form of their snowman.

Harry disappears for a bit to use the bathroom and Jesse takes the opportunity to settle beside Cisco.

"Thanks for cheering him up today. I know he feels bothered by the lack of progress this week." Jesse fiddled with her drink.

"I figured. He was all moody this morning and got him to talk to me about it a little," Cisco replied. "But I also wanted to pelt him with snow, so it all worked out perfectly."

Jesse chuckled with amusement. "Too bad you didn't get that on camera. I'd have loved to watch that snowball fight."

"Very fun. We declared a draw."

"He loves you, you know." Jesse hesitated. "And I can see how much you care about him. I don't really get why neither of you are saying anything. It's been bugging me for, like, months now. I though when I went back to the dorms that all you two really needed was privacy, but... it's almost yuletide and you two haven't even kissed yet, have you?"

"W-what?" Cisco squeaked.

"You heard me," Jesse grumbled, eyebrow lifting judgmentally.

Cisco's mouth sort of just... gold-fished unattractively.

"You're in my seat," Harry complained as he came back in the room.

"Fine, fine," Jesse chirped, going back to her chair as Harry sat back down by Cisco.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked with a frown, looking at Cisco carefully.

"Nope," Cisco did not (totally did) squeak. And then took a long drink of his hot chocolate, sending Jesse a scowl.

Jesse smirked unrepentantly. Vengeance accomplished.

But... if she was right, then maybe... maybe Harry returned Cisco's feelings after all.


Jesse insists on running back to her dorm before the snow gets too deep and Harry makes her call when she gets there safely a few minutes after leaving the house. And then it's just Cisco and Harry again.

But this time Cisco's got this question burning in his chest. When Jesse said Harry loved him... she clearly had meant the 'in love romantically' sort of love. Was she right?

And how did Cisco ask without turning into a stammering mess?

He'd figure it out. "You're going with me to Joe's for Thanksgiving, right?" Cisco asked instead.

Harry shrugged. "They've got that... Sherloque around. I'm sure they don't need yet another Harrison Wells around."

Cisco holds back the knee-jerk 'don't be stupid'. He's been trying especially hard to prune that kind of ableist language from his vocabulary, since Harry would just internalize it. And calling Harry's fears ridiculous instead wouldn't help either. Cisco has to take a moment to order his thoughts - to find the right response to soothe Harry's concerns without invalidating his feelings in the process.

Harry Wells would never admit it, but his heart was easily bruised beneath all his bluster.

"You're family, Harry. Everyone misses you. Whenever I visit, everyone asks about you. Practically first thing every time I step through a breach. And you still haven't met Barry and Iris' ridiculous time traveling daughter yet. Nora keeps asking where Uncle Harry is because... we're always attached at the hip in the future."

"Uncle Harry," he repeated slowly.

"Yup, we both get cool uncle privileges." Cisco hesitated and then added, "and I really want you there with me. I, uh..." how did he say he'd feel bereft without Harry's presence at his side without coming off as a total sap? "I might just skip if you don't go with me," he says instead.

It's a lie. Joe and Barry would pout something awful at him the next time he saw them if he skipped and he did want a nice relaxing visit with his family. His real family, which was what Team Flash had become for him these last few years. But, well... he wanted his Harrison Wells there with him, not some irritating detective with an obviously fake French accent. (Sherloque's accent had slipped enough times that Cisco and the others had given up on pretending that the accent was just an Earth-whatever variation that didn't exist on their Earth. The others seemed fond of him anyway, but Cisco was still relieved to be currently living and working elsewhere.)

"Really?" Harry sounded doubtful. "So you wouldn't want to visit Caitlin for the holiday?"

"Okay, fine, yes, I'm going with or without you," Cisco grumbled. "But it's more fun with you there."

Harry ducked his head. "I'll go with you." He sounded a little odd though.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Cisco hooked his arm with Harry's and leaned closer.

"I just... I guess I wonder each time you go back to Earth-1 if you're going to decide its time to go home," Harry muttered.

Cisco slid his arm from Harry's and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, turning them both to face each other. "My home is where you are."

"W-what?"

"I... I don't expect you to feel the same way, Harry," Cisco said, letting his hands fall away. "But... I came here with you because I wanted to make sure you were really okay, yes. However... I also finally figured out something important. For me... wherever you are is home now." He wished it was easier to say how he felt. But it was easier to say he loved his friends than it was to put his feelings for Harry into words. "So I guess you're stuck with me."

"You..." Harry reached over and gently caressed Cisco's cheek. "I like being stuck with you."

Cisco brought a hand up to cover Harry's and then, impulsively, leaned in to kiss him. His hand slid along Harry's arm to his shoulder; Harry's hand moved to cup the back of Cisco's neck. Each of them drawing the other closer.

"My home is where you are too," Harry admitted softly, after their kiss let up, as they leaned their foreheads together. He kissed Cisco again, slow and deep and toe-curling. "I was so glad when you chose to come with me, but I never thought..." He laughed softly, leaning back. "I'm an old man, Cisco. I'm twice your age."

"I totally missed that," Cisco said dryly. "Oh no."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm being serious. You could do a lot better than me."

"Harry. I'm exactly where I want to be right now. With exactly who I want to be with." Cisco took Harry's hands in his, running his thumbs gently over the other man's knuckles. "Nothing better than ending a nice snowy day in front of a fire with the guy I... I'm in love with."

"I know the feeling." Harry squeezed Cisco's hands. "I love you too, Cisco."