Epilogue
Cisco held Harry's hand all the way through the first treatment. It was just fifteen minutes of sitting with a mesh emitting a low level electrical field on his head - carefully crafted so as to protect Harry's floofy mess of hair - and it looked and felt nothing like the Thinking Cap.
It still put Harry on edge, though. Having Cisco there, talking to him the whole time, helped keep him calm.
"Alright, readings look good," Ryan said, shutting off the electric mesh. "While you had it on, your neural activity was heightened, but we won't be able to tell if this is accelerating your brain's ability to create new connections probably until it's been a few treatments."
"We'll do another fifteen minutes tomorrow after another EV scan," Caitlin added.
All stuff they already knew, but it was good to have it reiterated a few times. And it was a reminder that Ryan and Caitlin were in charge of the treatments, which meant they were in charge of determining what would ultimately be a safe pace for Harry to proceed at. Which was definitely a lot healthier for Cisco's relationship with Harry.
"So I can take this off now?" Harry was already reaching up with his free hand.
"Can I...?" Cisco offered and Harry hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Cisco let go of Harry's hand and stood up, gently removing the mesh and setting it aside carefully before taking a moment to run his fingers through Harry's hair.
"How are you feeling?" Caitlin asked, armed with a clipboard and a list of questions meant to gauge Harry's reactions to the treatment.
"I feel fine, Snow," Harry responded as Cisco stepped aside. Though he reached up to entangle Cisco's fingers with his own again.
And, well, Cisco likes the warmth of Harry's touch to much to ever say no to holding hands.
Team Flash does, eventually, need Cisco back and he breaches over to help out. And it just so happens to be the same day of Harry's first treatment.
Over on Earth-1, they've got three different meta problems happening simultaneously. Barry and Nora can each only handle one apiece, Frost's still struggling to maintain more than a few minutes control, and Ralph's out of town on a case (though he's due to be back in a few days assuming all goes well). All of which means that they need Cisco back to act as their third ranger.
Harry comes along and settles at the comms with Caitlin and Iris, each of them the voice in someone's ear.
It's nice to put on the suit again and it makes Cisco consider that maybe he should bring his back up suit to Earth-2, in case Jesse Quick ever needs Vibe backing her up for some reason. It doesn't take him long before he's breached the meta he's fighting straight into a meta-proof jail cell and then breached himself back to STAR Labs.
There's a familiarity to it all that Cisco can't say he hasn't missed. But... STAR Labs isn't home anymore. And Cisco's apartment definitely isn't home anymore either. But that warm and inviting house on Earth-2... that's home. Harry is home.
And Harry welcomes Cisco back to the cortex with a quick once-over to check for injuries and a heated look that tells Cisco that if Caitlin and Iris weren't there he'd be finding out just what kind of effect his not-really-leather pants had on Harry's libido.
Nora is the next to wrap up her baddie and while she's making sure the CCPD can take things from there, Barry finishes with the final meta. A nice win all around for Team Flash and a 'sucks to be you' for the three metas who'd clearly thought coordinating their thefts-slash-attacks would work out in their favor.
When everyone's back in their civvies, Nora starts asking Harry about Earth-2 and Cisco decides its been too long since he's talked with Barry, just the two of them. So they head over to Cisco's lab and... the room feels weird.
It's still... it's still welcoming. But there a layer of dust on everything and missing stuff that's migrated to Harry's basement. It isn't the place where Cisco works anymore. He doesn't... fit the same way he used to.
"You're not coming back are you?" Barry asked quietly. "I mean... not permanently. Stuff like today or hanging out together sometimes but... you're moved to Earth-2 and that's where you're staying."
"Unless Harry and I decide to move back... yeah. It's home now. I've got to show off my new lab to you sometime," Cisco said with a grin. "There's a piano in the back. I'm going to try and convince Harry to let me teach him to play, once he's comfortable being in a lab setting and not, you know, being part of the research."
Barry grinned, albeit a little sadly. "It's not the same without you here all the time, but I'm really glad you're happy there. I guess I kind of thought that you, me, and Caitlin... the three of us were the Golden Trio. Always gonna be together."
"I'm always going to be there when you need me, Bar," Cisco promised.
"I know. And I'll always be there for you too," Barry replied. "I'm just... not so good with change."
Cisco hugged him and Barry hugged back fiercely.
"You know," Barry said conversationally once their hug came to an end, "The Incredibles 2 is out now."
Grinning, Cisco nodded. "Oh, we've absolutely got to see that. And have a Star Trek night."
"We should have an Earth-2 Star Trek night," Barry countered. "I want to see what differences there are in the different versions of The Wrath of Khan."
"You know, Earth-2 has a lot going for it that our Earth doesn't but... our Wrath of Khan is better. Harry even agrees. But you should still see it for yourself. That being said, The Motion Picture is much improved. And there is no The Final Frontier. Skips from The Voyage Home to The Undiscovered Country. But there's a Next Generation movie that we don't have that evens up the numbers."
"So I'm gonna have to take a long weekend and bring lots of popcorn, is what you're saying," Barry teased.
"Yes." Cisco beamed. "So, how is McSnurtle doing?"
Cisco let out a little sigh as he closed the breach and flopped onto the window seat. "It's good to be home."
"So this is home now?" Harry asked, sitting down beside Cisco with a shy looking smile on his face.
"Yup." Cisco smiled and leaned against Harry's shoulder, liking the way Harry's arm draped over Cisco's shoulders, fingers teasing his left sleeve. "I guess I should figure out what I'm doing with my apartment on Earth-1. I mean... I'm still working for Team Flash, just remotely now. So it wouldn't hurt to hang on to the place. Much more comfortable place than STAR Labs for us to spend the night when the team needs all hands on deck to be on the same Earth. And I could let Armando use it the next time he comes to visit. Also, vacations on Earth-1."
"I wouldn't mind splitting our time between the two Earths either, but..." Harry kissed Cisco's cheek. "I'm glad you think of this place as our home, not just mine."
"I'll have to get you thinking of the apartment as our private Earth-1 getaway next," Cisco teased, turning his face to catch Harry's mouth with his own.
"Oh my god, guys, I still live here too," Jesse complained, peeking out from the kitchen and scowling at them.
"When do you move back out again?" Harry questioned, mostly teasing.
"When the new semester starts." Jesse stuck her tongue out at her dad. "Suddenly the next semester of school can't start soon enough."
"Your apartment could be our love nest," Harry mused, turning back to Cisco with a grin, which widened when Jesse made a hacking, 'eugh' noise.
There was a light pattering against the window and both Harry and Cisco looked back to see the cloudy sky was starting to sprinkle.
"I'm going to grab my notebook and a blanket. Want me to get your tablet? We can sit here together and enjoy the rain." Harry looked pleased when Cisco nodded.
"I'll make us some coffee." They split up to follow through on the plan.
Jesse grinned at Cisco as he joined her in the kitchen. "Hey, Cisco. Thank you."
"For what?"
"Making my dad so happy. And joining our weirdo little family. Things are brighter with you here, I think. And dad and I get along better too."
Cisco blushed and ducked his head. "I guess it's only fair, since this weirdo little family makes me pretty happy too."
"I think I'm gonna grab a book and join you two in reading, but from couch. Try not to forget I'm in the room," she smirked and winked at him at the last part before heading out of the room at a normal human jog.
Shaking his head and grinning, Cisco glanced over at the window seat. So long as he and Harry scooted together closely, they'd have plenty of room to cuddle together and... and that be a very nice way to spend the rest of the afternoon.