[ Cisco just nods; he feels a brief surge of guilt that he hadn't realized, hadn't figured out that Taako's quietness and absence for the last little while was due to something being very wrong. What kind of a friend is he, if he doesn't keep an eye out for that sort of thing? He's going to have to do much better, in the future. And the best way to do that is to start now. The science is important, but it can wait for an hour or two. Cisco looks over at Taako, at the set of his shoulders and the look of tiredness, and only says: ]

Got it. I'll keep an ear to the ground, and if I find anything out, I'll let you know.

[ Cisco punches a few more buttons on the machine, setting it to keep running tests on the samples, and turns away from it. He sighs, hands coming to hook in his pockets, and asks: ]

How 'bout I whip us up some totally non-drugged coffee and sandwiches, and then I can show you this totally sweet new video game I found. There's a co op setting I've been meaning to try out for ages.

[ It's possible Taako will turn down the offer, that he'll want to be alone again. But it's the best option Cisco can think of - sustenance, caffeine, and company without the obligation to speak to one another or even really look at each other. He knows that, for him at least, playing video games could be like a kind of meditation; playing could calm him down, mute the horrible thought processes and worries and memories, if only for a little while. ]