[ Brief as it is, Cisco catches sight of that smile, and it fills him with a sudden rush of happiness, expanding in his chest like a balloon. He's spent a lot of his life trying to make people smile; nothing quite like it, for a rush of confidence and joy. The fact that Harry is not exactly a person who smiles easily only makes the feeling all the more potent. (Cisco has always liked a challenge).
That smile was honest - the forced faintness of his praise is the act which Harry puts on to guard himself. Cisco doesn't know how it is, that Harry got it into his head that he can't just say how he feels, can't just show when something pleases him. But whatever the reasons, it's at least a predictable pattern, something Cisco can see through, can interpret like a code. So he knows that it'll do means it's lovely, you chose well.
Once Harry has got the blanket settled, Cisco waits for him to sit down, first. The benefit to that, of course, is that he can choose how close he wants to sit to Harry - and he chooses to sit quite close. Not quite cuddled up to one another - he doesn't think that Harry would permit that - but close enough that their legs are touching, and Cisco could lean his head against Harry's shoulder, if he wanted. ]
This is pretty near the college, actually, I used to come here a lot back in the day.
[ A small enough detail - not really a story, not really consequential. But telling it to Harry is giving him a little piece of the puzzle, another thread in the tapestry that makes Cisco who he is, today. He's been mentioning things like this to Harry, the last week. Here and there. Not too much, and not with any kind of ceremony. Just slowly, bit by bit, letting Harry in.
As is his custom, Cisco offsets the moment with a bit of humor. ]
And before you even ask, yes, I did make the lunch and no, it's not gonna give you food poisoning.
[ He'd thought about just bringing them Big Belly Burger - something he knows Harry will enjoy, a safe pick - but in the end he'd opted for this. It's nothing too special: BLTs with avocado, crackers and cheese, some watermelon slices, a few beers. Not exactly cooking, per se, but Cisco still thinks it totally counts. ]
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That smile was honest - the forced faintness of his praise is the act which Harry puts on to guard himself. Cisco doesn't know how it is, that Harry got it into his head that he can't just say how he feels, can't just show when something pleases him. But whatever the reasons, it's at least a predictable pattern, something Cisco can see through, can interpret like a code. So he knows that it'll do means it's lovely, you chose well.
Once Harry has got the blanket settled, Cisco waits for him to sit down, first. The benefit to that, of course, is that he can choose how close he wants to sit to Harry - and he chooses to sit quite close. Not quite cuddled up to one another - he doesn't think that Harry would permit that - but close enough that their legs are touching, and Cisco could lean his head against Harry's shoulder, if he wanted. ]
This is pretty near the college, actually, I used to come here a lot back in the day.
[ A small enough detail - not really a story, not really consequential. But telling it to Harry is giving him a little piece of the puzzle, another thread in the tapestry that makes Cisco who he is, today. He's been mentioning things like this to Harry, the last week. Here and there. Not too much, and not with any kind of ceremony. Just slowly, bit by bit, letting Harry in.
As is his custom, Cisco offsets the moment with a bit of humor. ]
And before you even ask, yes, I did make the lunch and no, it's not gonna give you food poisoning.
[ He'd thought about just bringing them Big Belly Burger - something he knows Harry will enjoy, a safe pick - but in the end he'd opted for this. It's nothing too special: BLTs with avocado, crackers and cheese, some watermelon slices, a few beers. Not exactly cooking, per se, but Cisco still thinks it totally counts. ]