Work Text:
He’s staring at the invitation in his hands, lips pressed together slightly while he rode on the train towards Starling City. It’s like it’s staring back at him, the ornate red and black wedding invitation that he had gotten out of the mail just right before hopping the train along with his friends to visit their other friends. Though he knew the day would come, he had still been on close terms with Cindy after their break up three years ago, he didn’t exactly figure out that life would move on that quickly.
Hell, he should have known considering what line of work he’s in at this point. There were always new technological advances and metahumans to track down and figure out.
But when he and Cindy broke up three years ago, he figured they’d easily fall back on their terms when they were able to reconnect again. But he knew that was a pipe dream in a nutshell. She’s doing photography in Metropolis (last he heard), and he’s in Central City doing mechanical engineering. They couldn’t be farther from each other–but that was part of Cindy’s allure, he supposed.
And now he has to go to her wedding. Fuck.
“Cisco”, Ronnie shakes his shoulder and he perks up. “Our stop’s here. We gotta go.”
And he nods, stuffing the invitation back into his jacket and grabbing his equipment. “Yep, be right there”, he replies and soon, everything about Cindy and her wedding is brought to the back of his head because they have to deal with whatever big bad it is in Starling City.
→
It’s the wee hours of the morning, three am to be exact, when everyone files into the new Arrow cave after a victory. Though there is no Arrow (Laurel said something about him being on vacation, what), there are still heroes to help out and he considers it a victory nonetheless. There’s light laughter as they all debrief and he’s glad that he’s able to see his friends home.
“But no seriously”, he lets out when he’s twisting a screwdriver at something he’s been toying with. “The way The Black Canary took out Onomatopoeia tonight–that was incredible.” There’s a tone of pride in his voice, considering that said Black Canary used his tech in such a way to be able to take out the masked villain; but he knows it’s all Laurel’s doing and training. There’s agreement there and Laurel shrugs her shoulders, brushing off the compliments she’s been given. Slowly, everyone starts piling out, but it’s Cisco and Laurel that stay behind–Laurel mostly out of curiosity.
“So what’s that you’re working on”, she asks of him, sitting on top of the medical bay that’s doubling as his work space. “You’ve been tinkering with it ever since we all came back from the mission.”
Cisco’s smile grows wide and he starts telling Laurel about the idea that the villain gave him. Something about pulsating sound waves in order to provide a boosting attack, giving an enemy no range of motion because of its short bursts of power; and Laurel smiles, listening on to every bit and every word, hanging on as he continues to tell her that he plans on updating her Canary Cry with it. “Thanks”, she tells him and he gives her a confused look for a moment. “For what?”
“For believing in me enough to help me out in the field–like, for real. I know Diggle and Thea have my back out there, but it’s nice to know that someone besides my team does too.”
His smile softens and he turns back into his work for a moment, but the slight gleam of the red and black invitation catches Laurel’s eye and before Cisco could react to the hand that’s going into his pocket, she’s already flipping through the invitation and reading it for herself.
“So”, she says and he looks on at the sight with wide eyes. “Are you a friend of the bride or the groom?”
“I, uh”, he starts out, clearing his throat as he moves to the other side of the table and Laurel jumps down as she continues to read the invitation. “Just the um, the bride used to be”, he trails off, pausing for a moment and Laurel raises an eyebrow, gauging him to continue and he sighs. He knows he can’t lie to the Black Canary. Hell, it’s the Black Canary for crying out loud–and it’s Laurel, whom he considers one amazing friend and could always count on to be there at like, three in the morning with texts when he can’t sleep. “She used to be my girlfriend.”
Laurel pauses for a moment before she gives him a look between shock and confusion. “Wait, you’re friends with your ex”, she starts out, her tone of voice equaling in her look and Cisco retaliates back with one of the same. “You used to fight crime with your ex.”
“Fair enough.”
Another pause falls between them and he clenches his jaw, but it’s Laurel that scrunches her nose and lets out the first apology that they start spewing out more towards each other. It’s only when he’s on his third apology for getting snappy with her that she lets out her idea and he has to drop his screw driver onto the table in order to take it in.
“Cisco, you’ve helped me out so many times, let me help you. I’ll be your plus one to the wedding.”
He couldn’t ask that of her, go with him to a wedding where his family would be asking questions and her family would be asking questions. It wasn’t fair to Laurel. Making her tech was easy, something he knew he was getting to–but Laurel meeting his family and answering questions? He couldn’t put her in that position.
But his pause only gave her the chance to continue on, to explain to him that she sees he’s clearly not over Cindy (was it really that obvious) and she’s there to help him from any uncomfortable situation.
“Plus, Cisco. The wedding’s in a week and if you’re carrying the invitation in your pocket, there’s still something there. So why don’t we go and you get the closure you want and I get to eat”, she says as she pulls out the menu card and makes a face, sort of an awe and a wide smile before she turns her attention back to him. “They have a buffet. Francisco Ramon, you are not denying me this buffet.”
He realizes when she looks at him with wide green eyes and that dimpled smile, he really can’t say no to her. It’s what brought them together in the first place and he nods his answer. Laurel makes a noise, excitement coming out of her, before she wraps her arms around his neck and envelopes him into a hug. The shock gets to him at first, but he’s wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her towards him as well, reciprocating it fully.
“I’ll call Cindy in the morning and tell her I’m coming with a plus one.”
---------------------------------------------------------
It’s one week and he’s on edge.
He hasn’t had the best relationship with his family, and knowing that they’ll be going to Cindy’s wedding already puts him on a tight spot. But now that Laurel’s agreed to go with him, that just meant that they have to do formal invitations just a few moments before the ceremony. Granted, he avoided this for as long as he could have, considering Laurel’s been in town for all of three days–but the whole catching up with his friend, having a marathon of movies with her had seemed far more interesting than sitting through dinner hearing his parents how amazing Dante is with his music career or how proud of Armando they are that his construction company is getting bigger.
He figures he’s saving Laurel from a tragedy and knows that Caitlin would bak him up on this.
But that’s just it as he’s pacing in his living room in a light gray suit. He’s opted for a pop of color with his royal purple shirt that stands out with the gray, a bowtie of the same color as his suit, and his hair up in a messy bun. It’s funny, so to speak, that a few strands of baby hair would fall onto his face and he hasn’t bothered to shave, just trim his beard to a respectable length to do so.
It’s probably just his subconscious telling him to seem more age appropriate because what could mean adult more than getting married?
“Laurel”, he asks of her, looking down on his wrist at a watch to catch the time. “How much longer are you going to be? I don’t know the traffic situation to the ceremony would be–”
“–Cisco, calm down. We’re right on time, early in fact”, he hears from his guest bedroom and he relents to biting down on his bottom lip and sitting down on the arm of his sofa like a child. It’s not until he hears a click of the door knob and seeing Laurel step into his line of vision with a soft, flowing, light purple dress that ended at her knee that his jaw drops slightly. “Did we accidentally match”, she asks of him, though her tone of voice just slightly breathless and he can’t quite pinpoint why.
But all he can do is stare at Laurel for a moment and drink in what’s in front of him. “You’re gorgeous”, he tells her, brown eyes catching green and she’s smiling just slightly before giving him a thank you in return.
They stay rooted for a moment but she moves to break their eye contact, getting a pair of silver shoes from her bag and he regains his trail of thought. “Right, the wedding”, he says before he grabs his keys from the bowl near the table. And Laurel nods while Cisco offers his hand to her as some sort of comfort, but it’s her that laces their fingers together as they walk down towards his car.
They don’t break that embrace, even while they were in the car and driving to the gardens.
→
It’s not even five minutes after they get to the venue that his name is called.
“Please tell me that is not a woman dressed in blue hobbling towards us”, he asks of Laurel and she turns her head to look, but still she walks into Cisco further and he automatically wraps his arms around her waist. “No”, she tells him before turning her attention back towards him, a slight smirk to her lips. “She’s in pink.”
“Francisco”, the older woman speaks before he turns around to face her. “Mama”, he whispers before he hugs her and Laurel steps back for a moment to watch the two of them interact. “And here I thought you weren’t going to show.”
Cisco makes a face for a moment, but then pulls away but his hand immediately seeks out Laurel’s and she takes it, lacing their fingers together once more. It’s like a soft gesture to let him know that she’s there, she’s willing to help in any way that she possibly could, but it’s like his mother isn’t even acknowledging that she’s there when she goes on about how it easily could have been Cisco’s wedding as well.
But he stops her with a hand wave that makes Laurel laugh because it’s something she does with her mom as well. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Laurel–my date? You know, the one I told you about–”
“You mean, this is her”, the older woman speaks out. “You weren’t just making her up?”
He lets out a scoff and Laurel lets out another small laugh before nodding her head at the older woman. “No, Mrs. Ramon. Although, I have to say”, she says as she turns her head towards Cisco then, an eyebrow raised as she goes on with her words. It’s a bit mischievous of her to do so, but she can’t help it. The words spill out so easily for her. “I’m surprised Cisco has reduced me to just a date. I’ve only ever introduced him as my boyfriend.”
The statement takes on a life of his own as he looks back at Laurel with wide eyes and his mother blessing them both before she runs off to meet up with his father. “Don’t you start”, Laurel says before she leads them towards his parents. “You’ll be thanking me in a bit. Come, the wedding’s about to start and your brother is eyeing us. Didn’t you say you guys have an interesting relationship?”
“Yeah”, he responds to her warily, but there’s a slight smile that he reciprocates her smirk with. She doesn’t reply to him though, but pulls him towards his family to watch the wedding take place, where she keeps his hand in her lap, encompassed by both of hers and fingers running to soothe him.
He can’t thank her enough for it.
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There’s a tradition at weddings that the bride and groom would take pictures with the guests when they first walk in while cocktail hour is happening. There’s no way to get out of it, but Cisco finds himself antsy over it. Laurel’s there, of course, but there’s a forlorn smile on her face while she fixes his gray bowtie and pulls a strand of baby hair away from his face. And it’s bugging him that he can’t figure out that expression.
“What”, he asks of her quietly, but she shakes her head to tell him to brush it off. “Are you going to be okay”, she asks but he nods his answer because they’re the next people in the queue for pictures. “Are you”, he manages to ask but she doesn’t get to reply because it’s Cindy’s loud squeal that breaks them of their thoughts.
“Oh my god, Cisco”, Cindy says and throws her arms around him in a hug and he lets out a laugh while reciprocating her hug. It’s the only time that Laurel’s hand is away from him and there’s a sinking feeling in his stomach at the missing contact which furrows his brow, but he breaks it away when he goes to break the hug and shake Cindy’s husband’s hand. “You let your hair grow out”, she says and Cisco nods but his eyes are following Laurel’s frame for a moment, going back and forth from his date to the supposed girl he loves in front of him. “Yeah”, he tells her when he finds that Laurel’s in conversation with the groom. “Kinda just happened. Didn’t want to cut it anymore.”
“Well it looks nice”, Cindy tells him and it’s Laurel’s laughter that breaks him out of his thoughts. Immediately, his ears are flaring red for a moment, wondering how in the world did someone else manage to get that out of her; but it’s Cindy that taps him on his shoulder with a knowing smile. “How long have you guys been dating?”
“It’s a fairly recent development”, he tells the bride and she lets out a snort. “You love her.”
Again, he turns his attention towards Cindy with a confused expression but she’s grinning like she knows something. “I kind of can read people–you know? With the whole photography thing? I can see that you love her.” But he chuckles lowly, lifting up a shoulder while he recounted the first meeting he ever had with Laurel. “You know I actually told her that the first time we met?”
“You wanna know something else? I know she loves you too. Probably ever since you told her that.”
There’s a slight pause before Cindy lifts up her shoulder to mimic him earlier. “Who else would come with you to your ex’s wedding? No matter how great of friends you are. She loves you, dude, and part of that love is trust. Why do you think Rodrigo hasn’t said anything?”
“Rodrigo knows–”
“Oh he knows”, Cindy goes on, “but he trusts me and loves me enough to let me have this friendship and I love him even more for it. Trust me, Cisco. This woman loves you. Don’t let her go.”
Even through Cindy’s little speech, his eyes are glued onto Laurel’s frame, watching her smile, watching her speak, and that’s when he realized that it’s probably not Cindy he was clinging on to, but the idea of Cindy and having someone to help him and be with him was what he was missing.
And how all this time, it was Laurel that was in front of him that managed to do so.
“You know what, Cynthia? I don’t plan to.”
→
He spends the next hour showering Laurel with affection and she does so for him in return. She thinks it’s all for show, but he knows it’s anything but. Though it might not be as strong as Cindy thinks, but he knows there’s a connection with Laurel that he doesn’t want to shake off. With three days together and their time spent together before, they’ve developed a friendship–even if she knew of his infatuation before hand.
“Okay”, she starts out for a moment, noting that they’re alone at a table at this point. “What’s the deal? Why are you so”, she trails off, trying to think of a word but shakes it off. “Did something happen with Cindy?”
And Cisco nods offhandedly, taking Laurel’s hand and lacing their fingers together this time. He doesn’t take his eyes off of their joined hands through, brushing the back of her hand with his thumb before speaking. “She kind of helped me see things” he told her, his tone of voice whispering before bringing their hands to his lips. One by one, he kisses the tips of her fingers and she doesn’t bring her hand away for any second of it. More so, it’s her breath that hitches slightly at the notion for a moment before she speaks.
“Such as?”
But he lets go and brings his hand to the back of her chair, placing his arm over it and leans in closer to take her in. “That I should really take you out on a date after this, for real.”
With his words, Laurel’s smile grows and she nods softly. “I’d like that.”