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Team Flarrow matchups are always badass. What’s even more so is now they have Team Atom helping them out too and it’s amazing to be able to see everyone and work together to form this cohesive team. It’s like they started a league of their own--a league that provides kick ass justice to people who deserve it.
He should really patent that.
But now he’s pacing, busying himself with the lollipop in his mouth which is just a habit he has when he’s worried. It’s a form of comfort, like a security blanket, and it keeps him quiet and from rambling off too much. Not like Felicity in the corner who’s just staring and mumbling into the comms and telling everyone where to go. He, Iris, and Caitlin are helping out as well, Diggle and Eddie behind them to protect the base while Joe and Quentin are guiding civilians up and out of the way for the Heroes to fight the Villains.
“How did this happen”, he mumbles to himself and continues to look through the screen. There’s a break out with the metahumans that they caught and kept in the pipeline and he knows it isn’t his fault (because really their base was compromised when Eobard Thawne was unmasked), but he can’t help but feel responsible. Caitlin rubs his shoulder gently, but there’s a strained look on her face. Ronnie’s out there, yeah. He understands. Felicity’s biting down on her thumb really hard when a grunt hits them in the comms, sounding very much like Oliver getting hurt, and he understands too.
In fact, he understands a lot.
“It’s alright, Cisco”, Caitlin breaks his thoughts and goes back to watching her monitors. “Everything’s going to be fine.” He only wishes to believe his friend, but there’s a looming feeling, a bad vibe that he gets that tonight might not end well.
So he tunes his comms to one voice, one frequency that he knows from anywhere, and allows himself to worry the lollipop down to the nub before sticking another one in his mouth. The ones close to him--Eddie, Caitlin, and Iris--give him a look, but he brushes it off. It’s uncharacteristic of him, sure, one lollipop is the security he needs, but tonight’s different.
Tonight’s the night he hears his girlfriend--secret girlfriend, and that’s his choice not hers--fighting for her life and the life of others. Traffic cams and security feeds on his monitor are turned towards Laurel and her sister Sara. Watching the two Canaries fight on any other day would be amazing. Their different styles and choices in weapons are stark contrasts for one, but they both have an elegance with them that definitely shows and tells that they’re connected.
Cisco’s proud and lets out something witty when the team ends up putting down The Mist, and Thea uses the container that he’s whipped up quickly in order to capture him in his meta form. “One down, five to go”, he tells everyone in the room. Maybe it’s to distract everyone from his real motive, making sure that Laurel’s safe, but it works in his favor and everyone goes back to focusing on the task at hand.
Oliver, Barry, and Ronnie are dealing with the Reverse Flash and they’re kicking ass sure. Ray and his team are rounding up some of the rogue metahumans that the Reverse Flash has let out. Thea and Roy, god bless them, work like well oiled machines against Mark Mardon and he doesn’t stand a chance to make it rain (literally) on them.
He’s happy, he’s excited, he’s jumping for joy with each one getting recaught and restrained with the cuffs he’s specifically designed for each one that escaped, but it’s one voice that sends a shiver down his spine and his lollipop shaking in his mouth.
Hartley Rathaway. Pied Piper. And he’s found the Canaries.
Cisco mouths off something into the comms and Laurel laughs, telling him she’s got this covered and not to worry. “Laurel”, his voice comes out and damn he’s so amazed that she’s confident in her abilities. He doesn’t doubt that she knows how to take him down because he knows what she can do. He knows that the Pied Piper should be worried about the beat down he’s going to get from the Black Canary, and if her wit in retaliation to his words are something, anyone would tell him he’s misplacing his worry.
But no one knows Hartley like Cisco knows Hartley.
“Be careful, Laurel. He’s a dick. He doesn’t play fair.”
Iris is the first one to notice Cisco’s change in voice, and she presses her lips thin together in a smile before patting his knee gently. It’s a sign of comfort, a way for her to tell him that she understands, and it’s going to be okay. There’s just that bad vibe he has about this showdown. Maybe it’s his dislike for Hartley or maybe he’s just being overprotective of Laurel, but he’s extra antsy at this point and focuses his eyes straight at the monitor he has.
It’s a battle of wits, sure, because Hartley likes messing with heads before he goes on the offensive. “You know”, he hears Laurel through the comms with her voice hard and directed towards Rathaway. “Out of all the flavors of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, you choose to be salty.”
Cisco leans back in his seat, clapping his hands together and sending a silent prayer to anyone above in thanks for sending this wonderful, gorgeous, woman into his arms and bed most nights since they first met. “So good. Laurel’s so good”, he says out loud and proudly before mumbling a ‘that’s my girl’ to himself.
But as soon as the happiness comes, it’s replaced with worry. In the span of minutes, he hears them fight and it feels like she has the upper hand until Hartley pulls out knife before she can use her Canary Cry on him. The jacket takes most of the brunt, but she’s still bleeding pretty badly. Sara’s the one that manages to wrangle him down before he hears the White Canary’s voice in his ear.
“Guys, Laurel’s down.”
It’s those three words that stun him. Memories flood through his mind and all he can do is let him. He sees them, laying on his couch and watching movies--her head on his chest while he lays his arm along his couch. Various date nights out in Central and Starling City with no pretense. Sure he’s meant to keep their relationship a secret, but that’s mostly because he doesn’t want be ridiculed because what guy like him would get a girl like Laurel Lance.
But he doesn’t care about that anymore. The silence only lasts about three seconds before he hears an ow and a hiss in his comms. “Guys”, Sara’s voice penetrates again. “She’s losing blood fast. She needs medical attention right away.”
“Pressure on the wound, Sara”, Caitlin speaks out medical advice. “Wrap it up as best as you can before Diggle, Eddie, and I get there.” The only person he can ask is Barry and he’s busy. He looks to Diggle and Eddie who are already on the move to pick up everything and go to their friend, but what if it’s too late? And just like that, Sara’s words confirm his fears. “She’s coming in and out. I think the blade was laced with something.”
That’s the moment when Francisco Ramon’s world breaks.
“Laurel”, he speaks now, throwing caution to the wind and throwing everything out the window. He knows everyone can hear them through the comms, but it doesn’t matter. His voice is low, even going as far as to crack slightly because he’s so overcome with fear and worry that he might lose the one thing that makes his life grand--his greatest discovery of all. “Laurel, mi amor.”
Everyone takes a pause. Even though it’s Spanish, everyone knows what that term of endearment meant.
“Laurel, please. Get up. Stay awake. You’re so strong, so good. Stay awake and come home”, the implication on the word home is strong, because it’s true. Laurel is as much home as everyone here, maybe even more because of their status. “Stay awake and come home to me, please.”
Cisco’s resolve is breaking, the lollipop out of his mouth and hanging by his fingertips. He’s just about ready to crack, to break open the damn that’s holding him up and just fall because his light has almost but gone. He’s begging and begging, repeating those same words and just looking at the screen in front of him while doing so. Sara’s closing the wound as best as she could and there are sounds coming from Laurel. His heart grows lighter, but it’s still heavy with fear.
“Laurel,” he calls out to her again and now Felicity’s made her way towards him and lays a hand on his shoulder because yes, she now finally understands why he’s specifically asked to pair with the Canaries and why he’s paid special attention to Laurel’s briefing more than anyone else’s. “Pajarita Mia, plea--”
“Baby, I’m okay”, he hears her voice, though weak through the comms, and a sigh of relief washes over him. The shaking his gone, but he knows he’ll get questions and be bombarded, but it’s okay because she’s safe and alright and that’s all that matters. “But you so owe me for using Spanish on me while I’m in the field.” Yeah, now he knows she’ll be fine. “I’m thinking Chinese and every episode of Hart of Dixie tonight.”
Felicity lets out small snort, a laugh of happiness and Iris lays a hand on his other shoulder for comfort with the same expression of joy on her face. But his eyes stay glued to the screen, even with Eddie, Diggle, and Caitlin getting to the site and loading her up into their van.
“Anything for you, Querida. Anything for you.”