franciscoramon | riverview ∆ ic inbox ∆ @ciscodelamancha

[A little while after his encounter with Rin, Taako decides that it was Definitely Weird, which means that he should probably figure out what the fuck happened, and since it didn't feel like magic (he's resistant to charm and sleep, anyway), he figures it might be a science thing/

Which means Cisco.

But instead of texting him anything useful, Taako just sends an image:]

do i even wanna know, man?

Who fucking knows but I'm telling you anyway.

I think someone's messing me with cause I just got into someone else's bed fucking convinced it was my bed.

[ Oh, shit. This could be very bad or very funny or just possibly both. ]

what like you just walked into their house?

Communal housing, I was checking up on Mags and was like, kinda tired? So I thought I'd go to bed and just hopped on in.

Rin was not impressed.

yeah that definitely sounds fishy.
cuz don't you need to sleep like... less than humans?

rin? i don't think i know him. maybe i've heard the name before but i'm not sure.
is he cute?
is he single?
i mean most people would be kind of startled by an unexpected bed guest but it might not be a dealbreaker.

[ Taako's first text had indicated that maybe there was a little interest on his end, after all. ]

It's been a weird few days, I haven't caught as many ZZZs

Rin's a drow, a dark elf? Same kinda ears and shit as me, but he's a lot darker.

[And more blue? But that's kind of just a drow thing.]

Listen I know I led with a boner joke but I feel like the important thing here is not whether I'm into the dude I climbed into bed with but why the fuck I thought it was a good idea in the first place?

I would've known if it was a charm or dominating spell. Could it have been drugs? Can drugs do that?

yeah i know you've been burning the candle at both ends a bit.

i think i've seen him around actually never talked to him though.
so is he from your world?

and why can't they both be important things?
you didn't answer either of those questions...

[ Cisco senses some evasion going on here. ]

i've never heard of a drug that can do specifically that.
plenty of them will confuse you enough that you might not have known where you were
are you missing any time?
did you eat or drink anything you didn't make yourself for the last day or so?

A world like mine but more shitty? Less advanced? He got kinda hung up on the high elf thing and I've never run into that shit before

[In this case "getting hung up on" means "he told me that he usually murders high elves on site" so that was an interesting first meeting.]

I totally answered those questions, maybe the text got lost in the ether.

[Liar.]

Not missing any time, and I mean, I've had a couple coffees? I bought a sandwich like two days ago cause I was out. Nothing outta the ordinary.

high elf? is it like a race thing?

[ Cisco had pretty much just thought... there were elves. No distinctions within that group. Which now that he's thinking about it is pretty stupid considering all the ways humans think up of subdividing their species into different categories. ]

the longer you don't answer the more suspicious i get just fyi

[ He's not buying what you're selling there, Taako. ]

coffees from where?
you said you definitely thought it was your bed, right?
even though presumably rin was already in it...
that is pretty damn weird.

I guess? It's not any kinda deal back home but there's high elves and dark elves and wood elves and shit.

You can be as suspicious as you like, pumpkin. I don't kiss and tell.

[That's not helping.

But he does send links to the couple of places he bought coffee from, even if he doesn't think it was that.]

I was tired, I thought it was probably Lup? I dunno I'm used to random assholes ending up in my bed.

["What's personal space?" a question by the entire IPRE crew]

got it.

so you've kissed him, is what i'm getting from this.

hmmm, i see.
listen if you wanna come by the lab i can take some blood samples.
i'm not a doctor but i can run some tests, see if anything looks fishy
might be something that didn't leave a trace
might be you're just going senile.

First of all, go fuck yourself.

I'll be over in like five.

And I never said anything, you're making assumptions. Just cause we're both very hot elves doesn't mean we've hooked up

ok no rush tho i'm not there now i'm halfway across town
just use magic and let yourself in if you beat me there.

he IS hot, then

and sure it doesn't mean it automatically
but it doesn't NOT mean it

[ Cisco is deaf to all your 'fuck you's, Taako. ]

Remind me to work out some wards or shit for your lab.

[Not that Taako isn't more than happy to let himself in, but there are plenty of other magic users around]

He's an elf, it's like, a challenge for us to be ugly.

🤐🤐🤐

wait, can you do that?
for real?
i will remind the shit outta you.
i asked lucretia a while back about setting up some kinda 'keep anybody named eobard the fuck out' spell but she said she wasn't a high enough level to do it.
and probably having just regular ole wards would be a good idea tbh......

[ Guess who doesn't know to maybe not mention Lucretia right now? This dude. ]

wow ok i see how it is.

you know that all ur emojis only increase my thirst for gossip right

[Well, dip, there goes his good mood.]

She's high enough level now

[That's it.

That's the text.]

oh, did she level up or whatever?
i'm still working on understanding the magic stuff i don't really get the levels thing
doesn't really make a difference to me which one of you does it
it's really awesome of you to offer tho srsly

[ Cisco is busy trying to make his way back to the lab quickly and misses the fact that there might have been a shift in tone there and that Taako didn't sass him back about any of the Rin stuff. ]

[Read the room, Cisco.

Or... don't, because there's not a whole lot to read when Taako doesn't even reply. He's made it to Cisco's lab, but he doesn't know how the fuck to put this mess into a stupid little text, so he doesn't even try.]

i guess it makes sense to subdivide things up into rankings
like belts in karate or whatever
maybe i ought to have been doing that for metahumans back home you know
category 5 or whatever.

[ He sends those texts separatly, spaced out over a few minutes. And there is no response.

The not texting back is definitely weird. For a minute or two he could buy that maybe Taako ran into somebody and started talking, or someone else texted him and he got distracted. But when it's been five minutes and absolutely nothing, that's worrying.

It doesn't cross Cisco's mind still that it might have been his mention of Lucretia that did it. Instead, he starts worrying that Taako had been drugged, that whatever it was was still in his system and he'd gotten lost or disoriented or confused. When he gets to his lab, he opens the door with a look of worry on his face, and immediately sighs when he sees Taako sitting there. ]

Oh, good.

[He already has his sleeve rolled up, ready to go on this whole blood thing because he suddenly wants to be literally anywhere but somewhere that he has to think about Lucretia. The texts are still unread, phone sitting in his pocket, and he doesn't really smile when Cisco shows up.]

Can we just get this over with?

[He's being a dick and he knows it, but he can't-- It feels like drowning, every time he thinks about Lucretia.]

[ Cisco had just opened his mouth, drawn in a breath to ask what had happened, and then tease a little bit more about Rin, find out some of the backstory there. But Taako speaks before he gets the chance to, and it stops Cisco's words right in his throat. One of the side-effects of the way that Taako so liberally uses pet names, not to mention the slight lilting affectation in the way he usually speaks, is that when those things are missing it's pretty damn easy to tell something is up.

Cisco nods, a little hurt but mostly worried. He pushes his hair back behind his ears, heading for a storage locker in the corner of his lab where he keeps the few medical supplies he has on hand. Inside are the necessary materials to take some blood samples. As Cisco is gathering them up, his brain searches back to when things had shifted. Perhaps it's selfish, to think this mood is anything to do with him. Maybe it's just hitting Taako now, that he'd woken up somewhere unfamiliar and maybe even unsafe, and this is a delayed reaction.

Or maybe not. ]

Sorry for the wait.

[ Cisco comes over to Taako, trying but failing to hide the worry on his face. He's always been terrible at keeping any sort of emotion from showing on the surface. He carefully feels for a vein, then swabs the inside of Taako's elbow with iodine. ]

How are you feeling, otherwise? Any other, um. Physical symptoms, besides the confusion?

[The worry is written all over Cisco's face and Taako doesn't know what to do about it. The thought of trying to explain feels like a sudden weight in his chest, even having a normal fucking conversation seems like it's too hard.

This was stupid, he should've just ignored the weirdness or gone to a regular doctor, not someone he considers a friend. Taako can't even look at him, as if the floor is suddenly super fascinating.]

Just that. I'm not sick or anything.

Okay. This'll be quick. I'll take a cheek swab as well in case it was something in the coffee.

[ He might not be a doctor, but he's taken enough blood samples while Caitlin had her hands full that he's decent at it. Cisco starts collecting the first sample. Cisco can tell that Taako's avoiding his gaze, which is pretty damn worrying, actually. If he's messed up enough that he's not cracking jokes, something is really, really wrong. Cisco's stomach twists with fear and he does his best not to speculate a million different horrible things that might have happened.

As he is switching vials to take the second sample, he says, simply: ]

I'm not gonna ask if you're alright, 'cause I'm not, like, an idiot. And I'm not gonna make you talk if you don't wanna.

[ Not that he could, even if he wanted to. But he figures it's worth saying that he's not going to try to force a conversation, here, even though he can still something is badly amiss. ]

But just consider this, I guess, a reminder that I got your back, Taako. Okay? No questions asked. Fucking ride or die.

[ He caps the second vial and pulls the needle free, wiping Taako's arm clean and popping a hello kitty bandaid over it. He picks up the swab, holds it up and waits for Taako to open his mouth. ]

[He's quiet throughout the process of the blood being drawn, and he's quiet while Cisco talks, trying not to get like, fucking emotional about it because that's the last thing he needs. There's a reason he immediately dismissed the thought of maybe coming to see Cisco, after... after Lucretia, and it's because of this, because Cisco seems to be real fucking good at getting him to open up and sometimes that's the opposite of what he wants.

It's the same reasons he's avoiding Lup.

Once the cheek swab is done, but still without looking at Cisco:]

Lucretia got one of those fucking canisters. She's... she's done it.

[Taken their memories. Ruined his life.

It's been done, and he doesn't know how to forgive her.]

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