Chapter Text
The morning of Dante's birthday dawns with way too much sunshine for Cisco's liking. It's like his mom spent all night praying for the perfect day and got a bright blue expanse of warmth without a cloud in sight.
It rained on his birthday.
"You only have to stop by and say hello, Cisco." Wells reminds him from where he's pushed himself up on the pillows and Cisco groans.
"No, I don't." It's never that simple where Dante is concerned. "Because if I do, then I'll have to stay for a surprise piano recital and cake."
It'll probably be three tiers this year.
Wells smiles and presses a kiss to his forehead. "It can't be that bad." He insists and oh yeah it could.
"For my last birthday, I got an e-card and an invitation to a classical music concert." Cisco reminds him and Wells laughs. It's not mean at all but Cisco has to resist the urge to jab his finger into his boss's side. That would be rude.
"Which we skipped for dinner and Classic Movie Night at the theatre." Another kiss, this time against his lips and Cisco sighs into it. "I heard that Caitlin and Ronnie really enjoyed that concert."
And now there's just the hint of tongue...
Dammit.
"Well, here's to hoping that we don't catch our mysterious coroner murderer until after the party." He grumbles between kisses and Wells pulls back to give him a disapproving look.
"That's a terrible thing to say." And there's the disapproving voice to go along with it.
"Why are you pushing this?" He doesn't mean to snap, but he does, and god, why does he always turn into an ass about his family?
Wells sees right through him though and answers with as much patience as he always does, fingers working the tangles from the hair at the base of his neck until the tension bleeds from his shoulders. "They're your family, Cisco. Even if they don't do the best job of showing it."
"No," He shakes his head and ducks from beneath Wells' hand. "You're my family. You and Caitlin and Ronnie. Barry. Even Joe. But they're just..."
He sighs again and gets up to grab an outfit from the closet. When he returns, Wells is still in bed, glasses now perched on his nose as he pulls a shirt over his head. "Why don't you spend some time with Caitlin this morning?" He suggests and Cisco pauses from where he's trying to get his socks on without falling over. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind getting to spend more time with you."
Harrison pats the bed and Cisco sits to finish tugging on his socks. "What about our hail murderer?"
"I'm sure a few minutes to yourself this morning won't set us back too far." He says as Cisco fishes his shoes from under the bed and it's not meant to hurt but it does. God, he hates today. "We'll talk when you get to work."
"Okay." He grabs his keys from the dresser and pauses at the door. "Don't forget to call me if anything happens." He reminds him and Harrison smiles.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
...
Fuck, he forgot how much better Wild Cherry Freezes could make him feel. "Thanks Cait."
She smiles, lips stained with just a hint of syrupy red. "Hey, don't mention it. Is my tongue red?"
Cisco laughs when she sticks it out. "Very." He assures her and shows her his own.
"God, yours is so much worse. What did you even do that?"
"Uh, hello. Icee." He shakes his cup at her. "I am powerless against its siren song." He tells her as they enter the elevator leading to the Cortex and she shoves his shoulder.
"Okay, okay. So..." She fiddles with her straw. "What are you planning on doing about... today?" She asks and his good mood vanishes instantly.
"Stay here with my phone on silent until my mom calls to offer me the leftover arroz con pollo." Which is exactly what he did when he had moved out two years ago, sans phone call and leftovers.
"But it's a party." Caitlin insists and Cisco turns to face her, like maybe saying the words directly to her will get them through.
"It's Dante's party," The elevator doors slide open. "And I really don't want to go."
Her voice is all exasperation as she leads the way out of the lift. "He's your brother, Cisco."
"Not by choice!" It's sharper than he means it to be and its the second time he's snapped at someone he loves over this in the last hour.
Caitlin doesn't sound hurt though. If anything she's even more positive and he takes a moment to see if she's joking. "Okay, well, how bad can a birthday party be?"
Nope, she's completely serious.
"Um, my folks think Dante's stink don't stink." Understatement of the century. "Doesn't matter how much he screws up or how many times he gets in trouble. In their eyes he can do no wrong." Like the weed debacle his junior year of high school. "And yet they never fail to remind me that I can do no right." He gestures hopelessly, wishing she could just understand, because it hurts so much being compared to someone he loves and knowing that he'll never be good enough.
Caitlin turns to face him then, pulling him from his thoughts as she halts their progression down the hallway. "What if I came with you?"
He tries to picture Caitlin standing awkwardly in his living room while his brother gets showered in praise and nearly laughs. "What, seriously?"
"Absolutely." She insists, eyes so sincere that it makes his heart ache. "You've done so much for me. Let me be there for you for a change." Suddenly, she smiles, blinding and bright. "And I can look at old family photo albums and see what little Cisco looks like without long hair."
Not if he burns them.
"I'm rescinding your invite." He tells her and she's still chuckling a little when they reach the Cortex, but the sight of a pair of mug shots on the evidence screen kills that pretty quickly. She leaves him at the center console to study it more intently and Cisco shoots a smile Wells' way in thank you. His soul mate smiles back and Cisco means to ask him if he put Caitlin up to going with him but Cait cuts him off.
"Clyde Mardon has a brother?" She asks, voice miffed and Joe -which, where the hell did he come from?- shifts uncomfortably.
"So both Mardon brothers survive the plane crash," Harrison says, obviously continuing from where his conversation with Barry and Joe left off. "And the dark matter released by the particle accelerator explosion affects them in-"
"Virtually the same way." Barry finishes with him and Cisco arches an eyebrow at him.
Across from him, Wells hesitates. "That's right."
"Only Mark's not like Clyde at all." Barry continues. "He can do things that you couldn't even imagine."
Which is a weird thing to say considering all the metas they've faced so far, but hey, he did kill someone via stoning by hail. Speaking of: "You mean he's sort of like a-"
"Weather wizard?" Barry cuts in and, what the hell?
"...Yeah." He says, narrowing his eyes at their resident speedster as he sucks down more Cherry Freeze than he probably should and-
OW.
"Trigeminal headache?" Caitlin and Barry -again!- say at the same time and he has never had a brain freeze this bad before.
He doesn't catch what Harrison says to Barry, but he watches them leave and takes a few deep breathes to try and work through the pain.
Caitlin pats his arm. "You okay?" She asks and he shakes his head.
"Is it possible to get a double brain freeze?" He replies and she frowns at him.
"Try sticking your thumb to the roof of your mouth." Joe volunteers and Cisco does as instructed. He must look really-
Oh. "Wow, thanks Joe." He says in wonder and the detective smiles.
"Two kids remember." He sounds fond as he says it too and Cisco wonders if his parents ever sounded like that when talking about he and his brother.
"So, that was weird, right?" He asks, shaking the thought from his head.
"Trigeminal headaches are actually really common," Caitlin pipes up. "Although there are a rare few people who never get them."
Cisco stares at her. "I was talking about Barry."
"Oh, he's been doing that all morning." Joe adds, so, it's definitely weird then.
Well, whatever it is he hopes it's strange enough to keep him here for a few more hours.
...
Thirty minutes later he's standing in the Pipeline next to an equally bewildered Caitlin and mentally kicking himself for jinxing it.
"I'm gonna break out of here and I'm gonna create a tidal wave that destroys your entire city!" Mardon rages from behind the one-way glass of his cell.
Which... Is oddly specific, but whatever. Every villain likes to have his monologue, he thinks as he closes the blast door separating them from the RF cavities cum holding cells.
"So, I still don't understand." He begins as Barry pulls off his mask. "How did you find him?"
"Uh, I just had a hunch." Barry says and smiles that goofy smile of his.
Riiiight.
"That's gotta be some kind of record." Caitlin cuts in before he can ask and he laughs.
"Yeah," No kidding. He looks over at Wells for for something to do, but his boss is too busy glaring at Barry to notice. Well, then. "There goes my excuse for bailing on my brother's birthday." He complains and Caitlin loops a comforting arm around his waist as they leave the Pipeline.
...
The house is packed by the time they arrive, music and multiple conversations happening at once to create of hum of sound that almost drowns out his cousin's greeting at the door.
"Wow, your parents really went all out with the cake." Caitlin remarks as they enter the family room and he looks to where she's pointing.
Three tiers: FELIZ CUMPLEANOS DANTE in big bright letters.
"Oh..." He fiddles with the present in his hand and has to remind himself that what's inside is fragile. "Well it is Dante's birthday. The most important day of the year."
Across the room, his mom starts gushing about his brother to some of the guests. "Mijo was invited to play Carnegie Hall when he was just thirteen years old." It's said with such glowing pride that it's almost hard to believe that she's said it nearly every year since then and Cisco thinks back to the fully functional model accelerator that he had made using a salad bowl and a handful of grounding rods when he was thirteen.
"They invited the entire band, Mama." Dante interrupts with false humility and Caitlin shoots him a look that clearly says 'Are they serious?'
Unfortunately, they are.
"That doesn't make it any less worthwhile." His mother reminds him and continues on to the circle of guests when Dante catches sight of him-
Don't do it.
-and walks over, eyes bright with laughter. "Hey, what's up, man?" He greets and Cisco barely remembers to smile.
"Hey."
He sounds anything but enthused but Dante only shoves his hands into his pockets. "Glad you could make it."
"Of course." He smiles this time, but Dante's already looking away.
"Hi, I'm Dante." He tells Caitlin and Cisco interferes because he knows that look in his brother's eyes.
"This is Caitlin." He lays his hands on her shoulders, hoping that his brother will get the hint but the "Hi, Caitlin." His brother answers with is nearly breathy with attraction.
She extends a hand and smiles politely when he shakes it. "Happy birthday, Dante." She says with sincerity and Cisco feels like an ass for wanting to roll his eyes.
"Thank you." Dante's still smiling at her dopily so Cisco catches his attention with one of the only things that his brother loves more than girls: presents.
"Here, I got you this." He says as he hands it over.
"Oh." Dante voice is apathetic as he looks it over, but Cisco can't keep the smile off his face because it took him weeks and no small amount of googling to make.
"I think you're really gonna like it." He begins and chokes on his words when Dante flips it up into the air. "It-"
"Thanks man."
Well, there goes your miniature lab-grown crystal piano, he thinks and bites his lip to keep his eyes from welling up. "Yeah."
Dante smiles, throws a farewell over his shoulder as he leaves and Caitlin gives him the biggest What The Fuck look that he's ever seen.
"Did he just...?" She asks faintly and Cisco nods. "But the mini-piano."
"Ruined." He sighs and goes to find a drink while Dante tunes the actual piano. There's punch on the island in the kitchen, but it's probably not spiked, so he digs into the fridge for one of his dad's Goose Islands.
"One would thing that we taught you not to steal, mijo." He dad says from somewhere behind him and he nearly smacks his head on the glass shelving above him.
"Tu casa, es mi casa." He tells him and grabs the bottle opener off the fridge. "You really went to town with the cake."
"Well, you know how your mother is this time of year." His dad smiles and motions for him pass him a beer.
"Over the top?" Cisco mutters as he pops the cap off and his dad's smile vanishes.
"You would do well to have a little more love for your family, Cisco." He reprimands and Cisco thinks of Caitlin standing awkwardly in his old living room and Barry's excitement over random facts that he finds cool. He thinks of Dr. Wells, his soul mate, and all the times that he's reminded him of how special he truly is.
"I do love my family." He tells him and leaves his beer on the island when he goes to find Caitlin.
Dante's just finishing up his song on the piano when he gets back and Caitlin nudges him as she claps politely along with the rest of the guests.
"Que linda, Dante!" His mom beams, laying her hands on his brother's shoulders. "Here is one who was touched by God."
Dante smiles and excuses himself, honing in on Caitlin as soon as he's within hearing distance. "I was a little rusty. I haven't played in a while."
"Oh, well," Cait laughs awkwardly, clearly at a loss for words. "If that was what you sound like rusty I can't imagine what you sound like when you've practiced."
"For you I'd practice morning, noon, and night." Dante replies and Cisco laughs to keep himself from gagging.
"That means you'd actually have to wake up in the morning." He jokes and Dante's smile slips away.
"So mom tells me that you're still working at STAR Labs." His voice is heavy with disapproval and Cisco regrets ever telling him that he Identified with Wells. Even if he had been extremely drunk when he'd told him, he should have known that Dante would never let him forget his slip in judgement.
Beside him, Caitlin looks at him curiously, obviously knowing that she's missed something but he figure's that he can always explain later. "Yeah, why?"
"No reason man. Guess it was just hard to find another job." Dante says and Cisco thinks back to the time that he had accused him of sleeping his way into his job and holds down the urge to vomit.
"I wasn't looking. I actually like working at STAR Labs." He says tightly and Caitlin steps in before he can continue.
"And we couldn't do what we do without Cisco." She tells him, smile bright and falsely cheerful.
Dante nods "Oh, he's loyal." He agrees and Cisco's lips twitch into a surprised smile at the praise. "Just like a dog."
Caitlin sucks in a sharp breath and Cisco's smile fades. Dante jumps on the balls of his feet and smiles too wide, because he's enjoying this.
"Oh come on. Why are you so serious, mija?"
Cisco hates him.
But he can't tell him that, not at his own party and in front of his friends, so he just scoffs and brushes past Caitlin on the way to the door.
...
Caitlin finds him sitting on the steps not even a minute later and her footsteps are heavy with anger.
"I thought you were joking." She nearly exclaims and Cisco lets out a wet sounding laugh.
"Not even a little bit." He corrects and she wraps an arm around his shoulders to keep him from shaking. "What did he mean with the 'mija' comment?"
Oh. "He started calling me that when I told him that I Identified with a guy." He explains and she looks bewildered. "You know how soulmarks work, right?"
She shoves him. "Oh course I do. You found your soul mate and he so happens to be a... Well, a he. So what?"
"He was calling me a girl Cait, it's not that much of a leap." He says and the laughter in her eyes winks out like a candle.
"That's horrible." She breathes and Cisco snorts.
"That's Dante." He agrees and holds a hand out to her as he rises. "Come on, I need a drink."
"Oh, I, uh, can't." She says and she sounds genuinely regretful, like she'd like nothing more than to sit with him in a bar while he drinks away his family drama.
"Ronnie?" He asks and she grins.
"He's supposed to call and I really don't want to miss it." She explains and he waves her off.
"Say no more. I can walk from here." He reassures her with as real a smile as he can manage.
"Your sure?" She asks as she digs her keys out. "I can drop you back at the Labs... Or your apartment."
He looks back at the house and sighs. "I think I need the air right now, Cait. Tell Ronnie that I said hey, okay?"
"I will." She promises and climbs into her little Fiat. Cisco watches her leave and shoves his fists deeper into his pockets.
Well then.
...
He's halfway to the bar with a promise from Barry to meet up for drinks when a pretty blonde woman asks him for directions to a local hotel.
"I'm actually headed in that direction if you want to walk with me." He tells her and she looks relieved.
"I'm Lisa," She holds out a hand for him to shake.
"Cisco."
"I'm just in town for the symposium at Mercury Labs." She explains, falling into step with him and he can't help but do a double take.
"Really? What do you do?" He asks, turning to walk backwards so that he can actually see her when they talk.
"I'm a structural engineer." He raises an eyebrow. "Why do you look so surprised? Can't a girl be an engineer?"
"No," Yes! "Of course. That's, uh," He tries to think of something that wont offend her. "You just don't look like an engineer."
She pulls an expression that's dangerously close to a pout. "I can't help the way I look."
Yep, definitely the wrong thing to say. "I mean, it's good. It's a good look." Caitlin would be kicking him right now. "It's a great look."
Shut up, shut up, shut up.
But she smiles like he's given her the best compliment in the world. "You don't look so bad yourself." She says and that's definitely flirting that's going down right now.
He thinks of Harrison and forces out a laugh. "I actually Identified already." He tells her and her face falls. "Not that I wouldn't be interested if I hadn't. I definitely would. But I did and I'm... not."
Yikes.
"Oh," And she sounds really disappointed. Dammit. "Well, then I'm really sorry about this." She says and wait-
There's a sharp pain in his neck as an arm wraps around him from behind. "What?"
He drops.