[ He shows up about ten minutes later and knocks at the door, Pythagoras sitting diligently at his side. Even though he's wearing his baseball cap, it doesn't quite hide the bruise on his forehead or his stiff posture as he shifts, waiting for Cisco to open the door.
Normally, he'd be barking out Ramon's name to get him to hurry up, but not this time. Harrison stands there quietly and waits, one hand scritching at the capybara's head. ]
[ Cisco opens the door and stands aside to let Harry in. ]
Hey, Harry. Hey, Pythagoras.
[ He's not blind; he notices the slightly stiff way Harry moves. Cisco isn't going to say anything - maybe he just slept weird or something, he's old, who knows - until he spots the bruise on Harry's temple, at which point he asks: ]
[ He locks the door behind Harry; he's not acting like there's anyone pursuing him but it's better safe than sorry. After that he comes to join Harry, looking at him with folded arms for a moment before he says ]
You can ditch the hat, you're not fooling anyone.
[ Cisco opens the freezer portion of his fridge, pulls out a bag of frozen peas and proceeds to wrap it in paper towels before offering it silently to Harry, for his head. Cisco's seen enough bruises in his day to know that that one is fairly fresh, and it's got to sting. ]
[ With a sigh, Harrison takes off his hat, setting it down on the floor, then takes the peas from Cisco and presses it against his forehead. It takes him a moment to respond, mostly as he tries to figure out how exactly to word it. Even if it's happened to him before — not the head trauma, though — it's still disconcerting. ]
Went- ? [ Cisco only gets halfway through the question before he realizes what Harry means. ] Oh.
[ His arms drop to his sides and he looks, for just a moment, genuinely frightened. It's possible Harry had not been there long enough to pass him in the timeline, but thus far they've been leapfrogging one another pretty consistently. ]
[ Well, Barry's lost his speed, Caitlin's been whisked away by Hunter Zolomon, and nothing's looking too bright right now. But he can't just come out and say that, not without the proper context. And— not right now, not after everything. Especially since . . .
Harrison pauses, pulling the bag of peas away from his head and turning his gaze towards Cisco. When he speaks, his voice is quiet. ]
You didn't . . . tell me Jesse had left.
[ There's nothing accusatory about it. If she had been kidnapped, if she'd been in any real danger, then he would have been upset. But that had been his fault entirely. He drove her away. It had been a kindness to be oblivious to that for a few more weeks. ]
[ Well, that answers the question of whether Harry had caught up to Cisco in the timeline. ]
Yeah.
[ No point in denying that he'd known. ]
Sorry about that. I figured... it never came up and I thought, why make you worry when there was nothing you could do from here.
[ That might seem like hypocrisy, since he'd been perfectly happy to make Harry worry about Zoom, if it meant he didn't have to keep the terrible secret to himself. ]
[ He immediately shakes his head when Cisco starts his apology. It wasn't necessary and he already knew why. Funny, how when he's more calm and composed, it's clear as day when Ramon's trying to help him. And he plans on doing the same in turn. There's nothing either of them can do about Snow or Allen's speed right here, right now. No point in making him worry. ]
She came back. [ Harrison pauses, lifting the peas to his forehead again. ] — a metahuman took me. He thought I was Thawne— well. [ He lets out a soft, frustrated huff. ] Your Wells. You came, with the others. She came, too. — and I'm fine.
[ He adds that last part a little too quickly, but it's true. He'd had much worse in his days on Earth-1, a fact that they all know too well. Physically, he would heal. Psychologically, on the other hand, well. "Shaken" is only putting it mildly. ]
[ It's a relief to hear that they found Jesse - or that she had returned on her own, or however it had gone down. Less so that the reunion was prompted by Harry being in danger. ]
Some metahuman kidnapped you and beat you up?
[ Cisco knows it's not just that bruise on his temple; Harry sat down far too gingerly for there not to be other bruises hidden under his clothes. ]
Did Caitlin get a chance to patch you up before you came here, should we go find that clinic that guy posted about on the network?
[ Cisco looks ready to grab his coat and go right then, if Harry needs. ]
[ Harrison reaches over and rests a hand on Cisco's arm. This was why he'd hesitated briefly — it wasn't bad enough in his eyes to be worth the worry and concern. But he'd promised Jesse that he'd try more, to be someone she could be proud of, and letting his injuries sit and worrying his friends probably goes against that in a number of ways.
He gives Cisco's arm a light squeeze instead along with the smallest of half smiles. ]
Cisco, it's— we don't need to. You can take a look for yourself.
[ He knows it won't look great, but it should be obvious that he just needs rest, even to the untrained eye. Carefully, he shrugs off his jacket and sets it to the side before rolling up his sleeves. There's a couple scrapes and bruises, but nothing too serious or concerning. ]
[ That's a no, then. Harry really must have come directly from being kidnapped, it seems.
Cisco is a bit wary of that - he isn't a doctor like Caitlin. He might be able to recognize some very basic stuff, but what if he agrees to this and Harry is more hurt than he's letting on, and there are complications. But... then again, the chances of actually getting Harry to go to a qualified doctor if he doesn't want to seem pretty slim. This is probably the best compromise Cisco can hope for. ]
[ He turns his arms over to show him that beyond the run of the mill cuts and bruises, there's nothing to get concerned over. The bruise on his forehead is probably the most worrying, but Jesse had already thoroughly inspected that within minutes of getting him in the van. Her verdict: he'd heal.
Harrison shakes his head. ]
I'll be fine. Sore, but this— [ he shakes the bag of peas at that. ] — helps, actually.
[ They might not be anything to worry over, but Cisco still doesn't like seeing those small marks of mistreatment. Harry might be an asshole sometimes, but he definitely doesn't deserve this - especially not after everything with Zoom.
But when Harry implies that is the extent of his injuries, Cisco narrows his eyes suspiciously. Then - in a friendly sort of way - pokes at Harry's ribs twice. The little jabs of his finger are actually very light. Light enough to only be annoying if Harry is just bruised, but if he has a broken rib or two, that will probably be enough to make him wince. It's definitely not as gentle or as precisely scientific as Caitlin would be, but he's doing his best here. ]
[ He frowns back at him when Cisco pokes at his ribs. He knows exactly what's going on with that gesture and flinches only slightly at the poke — annoying, as it would be for anyone with a few bruised ribs. Harrison scowls up at him. ]
What. You want to see that, too?
[ He pulls up the hem of his shirt, showing more of the bruising on his side. It's mostly to one side, centered around where Griffin had knocked him back and down to the ground. Harrison gives him a moment to take that in before rolling his eyes and lowering it again. ]
Unless you have a better way of dealing with bruising, Ramon, I suggest you get me another ice pack.
[ Cisco winces at the sight of the bruising, nose crinkling slightly. He's glad nothing is broken, but it still looks pretty nasty, to Cisco. There is something visceral in his reaction to seeing the injuries that is different than just suspecting they are there. ]
We kick this metahuman's ass, right?
[ He can tell Harry's miffed at him for poking and prodding and not taking him at his word, but he doesn't care. He had to be sure. And it had been necessary, after all. Cisco goes back to the refrigerator and gets several more packets of frozen vegetables, wrapping them up and giving them to Harry before he digs around in a shoebox on a bookshelf that, apparently, serves as a makeshift pharmacy. He shakes out a couple NSAIDs into his hand, gets a water bottle, brings them both to Harry. ]
You, Barry, and Joe West. [ A pause, and then he adds dryly. ] My hero.
[ It's sarcasm, but his expression undermines it entirely as he gives Cisco a brief, fond look just then. He'd figured they'd come looking for him eventually but— not that quickly, and not all of them, including Cisco and West and Jesse. His feelings regarding Griffin Grey are complicated — despite it all, he was just a teenager lashing out at the world for the raw hand he got dealt — but the feelings that welled up when he saw the five of them walk through that door aren't.
Harrison pushes himself up, taking the vegetable packets with a muffled "thanks" before going over to one of Cisco's beds, kicking off his shoes and settling in, pressing the packs up against his side. He takes the water bottle and the pills, popping them almost immediately before glancing back up at Cisco. ]
Why do you think I came here?
[ True, he could lay down anywhere; it didn't have to be at Ramon's. But his beds were more comfortable.
. . . and he didn't want to be alone right now either, but that's not something he's quite ready to admit.]
[ Cisco nods, not seeing anything odd in the fact that he and Joe had accompanied Barry on the rescue mission. The three of them had worked together plenty of times before. It made sense - Barry to fight or distract the metahuman, Cisco to hit him with the boot, Joe to provide backup and look after Harry if need be. Hopefully Barry got to land a few good payback punches before they took the guy in.
Harry can talk all he wants as if this is the only place he could come to lie down, but Cisco knows otherwise. This isn't like before, when he was sleeping in his workshop. He has his own perfectly nice loft, now. If he chose to come and rest in Cisco's room, it's because he wanted to lay down and to have someone to look after him. Which Cisco is more than happy to do. It's nice that Harry is accepting help, for once.
Cisco drags the duvet down from one of the top bunks and throws it over Harry in a perfunctory way, which is kind of like saying you're welcome to stay as long as you want. ]
[ A small smile crosses over his face when Cisco throws the duvet over him, and he chuckles a bit as he reaches over to adjust it. It doesn't last long; he goes quiet at Cisco's question, contemplating how exactly to answer it. After a moment, he speaks quietly. ]
Yes. — well. [ A beat. ] The Harrison Wells that Thawne was impersonating. That's who he thought I was.
[ There's a difference. It's small, but important. As much as Harrison despises people referring to Thawne as his counterpart, the "Harrison Wells" persona existed out in the world. Just thinking about it was exhausting. ]
He wanted me to fix him. His abilities were— super strength, basically. But the more energy he exerted, the more he'd age. [ He was only eighteen, barely Jesse's age. Harrison glances down at that, at the familiar ache in his chest. ] But there's no . . . fixing a metahuman. It's not . . .
[ His voice trails off, words dying out. It's the next step in human evolution, it's pushing the human race forward, you can't just step back— is what he wants to say. On a genetic level though, it's mostly impossible. Being able to take Barry's speed was an incredible feat, and he's still not entirely certain that the assertation that he's "human" again is accurate. ]
[ Cisco nods, thinking he understands the difference - the meta hadn't known Eobard was the Reverse Flash, or from the future, or any of it. He only knew him as the famous scientist, the man responsible for the particle accelerator explosion. ]
Couldn't he just... not use his super strength?
[ Kind of a bummer to have a cool ability like that and not be able to use it, but Cisco still doesn't think it's justification for kidnapping someone.
He lets that train of thought go, however, when he notices how off Harry's demeanor is. He doesn't seem as pissed and impatient as Cisco would expect after being mistaken for his doppelganger and inconvenienced by someone who didn't understand something as basic as the fact that metahumans were permanently altered on a cellular level and the process cannot be undone. It's not like Harry to be forgiving of mistakes or ignorance in others. So why is he hanging his head and speaking so quietly and disjointedly, as if he's having to force the words out? ]
Of course you can't. No one could.
[ Cisco tries to catch a glimpse of Harry's face, a worried furrow forming between his brows. ]
[ Normally, he'd try to mask it. If it were anyone else, he would still make an attempt to. It's why he's preferred to seclude himself at times like these. But today is different and— it's Cisco. So Harrison allows for the regret and the guilt to slip, even as the corner of his mouth twists up into an awkward half smile. ]
Eighteen. He was eighteen. [ A beat. ] Just a stubborn— punk kid.
[ His voice is rough, he knows. With a sigh, Harrison turns his head towards Cisco, lowering the bag that had been pressed to his temple again. Ramon, who he'd used the same words to describe mere months ago. ]
I know, alright? [ That it's on Thawne, not him. That he can't change the past, or change the choices people have made. That nothing productive will come from feeling sorry for himself. ] I know. Just . . .
[ His voice trails off as he seems at a loss. This was why he always hid away to lick his wounds until he could puff himself back up. His eyes flick around the room briefly. ]
. . . talk about— that.
[ He gestures vaguely at one of Cisco's consoles. He doesn't care much about it to be honest, but it's not a particle accelerator nor is it Griffin Grey. And . . . Cisco likes it. So what the hell. ]
[ Oh. That... changes things. Cisco had just assumed that the metahuman who had taken Harry had started off as an adult. All the metahumans they've come up against on Team Flash have been, thus far. As far as Cisco knew, until this point, he was the youngest person who had been altered. The thought of a teenager, a kid, getting turned into a metahuman, and having powers with such dire consequences... it doesn't excuse what he did, but it explains it.
Cisco's shoulders slump and he wants to say something. Tell Harry it isn't his fault, at the very least. But Harry cuts him off before he can even get a word out, anticipating his speech and making it superfluous. Cisco understands now why he's upset. Jesse's just about 18, now. For all that he can be acerbic and hostile, for all that he's done some awful things, Harry's not a bad man.
It's all too clear that Harry is just looking for a distraction when he gestures at - of all things - the Wii U sitting on Cisco's floor and asks about it. He thinks about pressing the point, but... he can't bring himself to, when Harry is laying there under the blanket, bruised and inarticulate and unhappy. Now might not be the best time. So Cisco scoops up the Wii U and pushes Harry's legs to the side so he can sit cross-legged on the bed next to him. ]
What, they don't have Nintendo on Earth-2?
[ He switches the console on and as it starts up he is getting up again, scanning his shelves for a game to show Harry in order to take his mind off... everything. After a few seconds Cisco plucks one off the shelf, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. By the time he's turned back towards Harry, the smile is full force. ]
You're gonna love this. It's a video game that lets you build your own levels, or play levels that other people have made and put online. Obviously we can't really access any of those, here, but there are a handful of them stored that are pretty awesome.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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sure thing.
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Normally, he'd be barking out Ramon's name to get him to hurry up, but not this time. Harrison stands there quietly and waits, one hand scritching at the capybara's head. ]
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Hey, Harry. Hey, Pythagoras.
[ He's not blind; he notices the slightly stiff way Harry moves. Cisco isn't going to say anything - maybe he just slept weird or something, he's old, who knows - until he spots the bruise on Harry's temple, at which point he asks: ]
Are you hurt?
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It's— I'm fine, Ramon. It'll heal.
[ . . . but he does step in and goes to sit down. ]
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[ He locks the door behind Harry; he's not acting like there's anyone pursuing him but it's better safe than sorry. After that he comes to join Harry, looking at him with folded arms for a moment before he says ]
You can ditch the hat, you're not fooling anyone.
[ Cisco opens the freezer portion of his fridge, pulls out a bag of frozen peas and proceeds to wrap it in paper towels before offering it silently to Harry, for his head. Cisco's seen enough bruises in his day to know that that one is fairly fresh, and it's got to sting. ]
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I went back again.
[ It's rough, but quiet. ]
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[ His arms drop to his sides and he looks, for just a moment, genuinely frightened. It's possible Harry had not been there long enough to pass him in the timeline, but thus far they've been leapfrogging one another pretty consistently. ]
How bad is it?
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Harrison pauses, pulling the bag of peas away from his head and turning his gaze towards Cisco. When he speaks, his voice is quiet. ]
You didn't . . . tell me Jesse had left.
[ There's nothing accusatory about it. If she had been kidnapped, if she'd been in any real danger, then he would have been upset. But that had been his fault entirely. He drove her away. It had been a kindness to be oblivious to that for a few more weeks. ]
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Yeah.
[ No point in denying that he'd known. ]
Sorry about that. I figured... it never came up and I thought, why make you worry when there was nothing you could do from here.
[ That might seem like hypocrisy, since he'd been perfectly happy to make Harry worry about Zoom, if it meant he didn't have to keep the terrible secret to himself. ]
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She came back. [ Harrison pauses, lifting the peas to his forehead again. ] — a metahuman took me. He thought I was Thawne— well. [ He lets out a soft, frustrated huff. ] Your Wells. You came, with the others. She came, too. — and I'm fine.
[ He adds that last part a little too quickly, but it's true. He'd had much worse in his days on Earth-1, a fact that they all know too well. Physically, he would heal. Psychologically, on the other hand, well. "Shaken" is only putting it mildly. ]
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Some metahuman kidnapped you and beat you up?
[ Cisco knows it's not just that bruise on his temple; Harry sat down far too gingerly for there not to be other bruises hidden under his clothes. ]
Did Caitlin get a chance to patch you up before you came here, should we go find that clinic that guy posted about on the network?
[ Cisco looks ready to grab his coat and go right then, if Harry needs. ]
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He gives Cisco's arm a light squeeze instead along with the smallest of half smiles. ]
Cisco, it's— we don't need to. You can take a look for yourself.
[ He knows it won't look great, but it should be obvious that he just needs rest, even to the untrained eye. Carefully, he shrugs off his jacket and sets it to the side before rolling up his sleeves. There's a couple scrapes and bruises, but nothing too serious or concerning. ]
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Cisco is a bit wary of that - he isn't a doctor like Caitlin. He might be able to recognize some very basic stuff, but what if he agrees to this and Harry is more hurt than he's letting on, and there are complications. But... then again, the chances of actually getting Harry to go to a qualified doctor if he doesn't want to seem pretty slim. This is probably the best compromise Cisco can hope for. ]
Sure.
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Harrison shakes his head. ]
I'll be fine. Sore, but this— [ he shakes the bag of peas at that. ] — helps, actually.
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But when Harry implies that is the extent of his injuries, Cisco narrows his eyes suspiciously. Then - in a friendly sort of way - pokes at Harry's ribs twice. The little jabs of his finger are actually very light. Light enough to only be annoying if Harry is just bruised, but if he has a broken rib or two, that will probably be enough to make him wince. It's definitely not as gentle or as precisely scientific as Caitlin would be, but he's doing his best here. ]
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What. You want to see that, too?
[ He pulls up the hem of his shirt, showing more of the bruising on his side. It's mostly to one side, centered around where Griffin had knocked him back and down to the ground. Harrison gives him a moment to take that in before rolling his eyes and lowering it again. ]
Unless you have a better way of dealing with bruising, Ramon, I suggest you get me another ice pack.
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We kick this metahuman's ass, right?
[ He can tell Harry's miffed at him for poking and prodding and not taking him at his word, but he doesn't care. He had to be sure. And it had been necessary, after all. Cisco goes back to the refrigerator and gets several more packets of frozen vegetables, wrapping them up and giving them to Harry before he digs around in a shoebox on a bookshelf that, apparently, serves as a makeshift pharmacy. He shakes out a couple NSAIDs into his hand, gets a water bottle, brings them both to Harry. ]
You should probably lie down.
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[ It's sarcasm, but his expression undermines it entirely as he gives Cisco a brief, fond look just then. He'd figured they'd come looking for him eventually but— not that quickly, and not all of them, including Cisco and West and Jesse. His feelings regarding Griffin Grey are complicated — despite it all, he was just a teenager lashing out at the world for the raw hand he got dealt — but the feelings that welled up when he saw the five of them walk through that door aren't.
Harrison pushes himself up, taking the vegetable packets with a muffled "thanks" before going over to one of Cisco's beds, kicking off his shoes and settling in, pressing the packs up against his side. He takes the water bottle and the pills, popping them almost immediately before glancing back up at Cisco. ]
Why do you think I came here?
[ True, he could lay down anywhere; it didn't have to be at Ramon's. But his beds were more comfortable.
. . . and he didn't want to be alone right now either, but that's not something he's quite ready to admit.]
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Harry can talk all he wants as if this is the only place he could come to lie down, but Cisco knows otherwise. This isn't like before, when he was sleeping in his workshop. He has his own perfectly nice loft, now. If he chose to come and rest in Cisco's room, it's because he wanted to lay down and to have someone to look after him. Which Cisco is more than happy to do. It's nice that Harry is accepting help, for once.
Cisco drags the duvet down from one of the top bunks and throws it over Harry in a perfunctory way, which is kind of like saying you're welcome to stay as long as you want. ]
So this dude... he thought you were Eobard?
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Yes. — well. [ A beat. ] The Harrison Wells that Thawne was impersonating. That's who he thought I was.
[ There's a difference. It's small, but important. As much as Harrison despises people referring to Thawne as his counterpart, the "Harrison Wells" persona existed out in the world. Just thinking about it was exhausting. ]
He wanted me to fix him. His abilities were— super strength, basically. But the more energy he exerted, the more he'd age. [ He was only eighteen, barely Jesse's age. Harrison glances down at that, at the familiar ache in his chest. ] But there's no . . . fixing a metahuman. It's not . . .
[ His voice trails off, words dying out. It's the next step in human evolution, it's pushing the human race forward, you can't just step back— is what he wants to say. On a genetic level though, it's mostly impossible. Being able to take Barry's speed was an incredible feat, and he's still not entirely certain that the assertation that he's "human" again is accurate. ]
I can't do it.
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Couldn't he just... not use his super strength?
[ Kind of a bummer to have a cool ability like that and not be able to use it, but Cisco still doesn't think it's justification for kidnapping someone.
He lets that train of thought go, however, when he notices how off Harry's demeanor is. He doesn't seem as pissed and impatient as Cisco would expect after being mistaken for his doppelganger and inconvenienced by someone who didn't understand something as basic as the fact that metahumans were permanently altered on a cellular level and the process cannot be undone. It's not like Harry to be forgiving of mistakes or ignorance in others. So why is he hanging his head and speaking so quietly and disjointedly, as if he's having to force the words out? ]
Of course you can't. No one could.
[ Cisco tries to catch a glimpse of Harry's face, a worried furrow forming between his brows. ]
So how old was he?
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Eighteen. He was eighteen. [ A beat. ] Just a stubborn— punk kid.
[ His voice is rough, he knows. With a sigh, Harrison turns his head towards Cisco, lowering the bag that had been pressed to his temple again. Ramon, who he'd used the same words to describe mere months ago. ]
I know, alright? [ That it's on Thawne, not him. That he can't change the past, or change the choices people have made. That nothing productive will come from feeling sorry for himself. ] I know. Just . . .
[ His voice trails off as he seems at a loss. This was why he always hid away to lick his wounds until he could puff himself back up. His eyes flick around the room briefly. ]
. . . talk about— that.
[ He gestures vaguely at one of Cisco's consoles. He doesn't care much about it to be honest, but it's not a particle accelerator nor is it Griffin Grey. And . . . Cisco likes it. So what the hell. ]
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Cisco's shoulders slump and he wants to say something. Tell Harry it isn't his fault, at the very least. But Harry cuts him off before he can even get a word out, anticipating his speech and making it superfluous. Cisco understands now why he's upset. Jesse's just about 18, now. For all that he can be acerbic and hostile, for all that he's done some awful things, Harry's not a bad man.
It's all too clear that Harry is just looking for a distraction when he gestures at - of all things - the Wii U sitting on Cisco's floor and asks about it. He thinks about pressing the point, but... he can't bring himself to, when Harry is laying there under the blanket, bruised and inarticulate and unhappy. Now might not be the best time. So Cisco scoops up the Wii U and pushes Harry's legs to the side so he can sit cross-legged on the bed next to him. ]
What, they don't have Nintendo on Earth-2?
[ He switches the console on and as it starts up he is getting up again, scanning his shelves for a game to show Harry in order to take his mind off... everything. After a few seconds Cisco plucks one off the shelf, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. By the time he's turned back towards Harry, the smile is full force. ]
You're gonna love this. It's a video game that lets you build your own levels, or play levels that other people have made and put online. Obviously we can't really access any of those, here, but there are a handful of them stored that are pretty awesome.
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