[ Cisco smiles wide, head ducking forward after Taako plants that kiss on his cheek, looking surprised and embarrassed and pleased all at once. He knows that heartfelt declarations of affection aren't really in Taako's nature, and he's happy to go without them. He knows Taako likes him, because he shows it in a dozen different ways. But it's still good, once every blue moon, to hear it, too. ]

Definitely the vodka's fault.

[ He reaches over and tips a little more of the alcohol into his glass, saying as he does: ]

And yeah, of course I know. I'm hot shit.

[ There's an airiness in the reply that goes against Cisco's surprised reaction just a moment before - obviously fake, that kind of jokey self-confidence that he'd so often used in place of actual self-esteem. But he doesn't just leave it there. Not when Taako had the guts to be honest, and straightforward. ]

I also know I wouldn't be half as cool if I'd never met you.

[ He doesn't mean anything as simple as fashion tips or dope adventures (though there had been some of both). What he means is the way he's changed, in the months they've known one another. He'd been not in the best place, when he came to Riverview. Isolated, distrusting, lonely, with a very low opinion of himself. And lately... it's been easier, not hating himself. A lot of that was down to Taako. ]

You're one of the best things about this place, too.

[ There's a momentary pang that comes from the knowledge that someday, he will be the one who is sad, when Taako is leaving. But Cisco quickly resolves that it won't matter as much; he'll figure out breaches by then. He's not going to let something as silly as the multiverse keep him from visiting his best bud. ]