Work Text:
When Cisco had first met Eddie, he'd been unable to stop staring; Eddie was this gorgeous man with the most beautiful smile. He was one of many wistful sighs-- people so attractive he was sure it was criminal, who he knew would never look twice at a short, nerdy weirdo like himself. He'd allowed himself to look that night because honestly, Cisco had thought that's where he'd stay, just some wistful sigh he'd met at a bar once. He should have known, though, that Eddie, especially because he was connected to people he actually knew, was different. For a while, he'd just heard about him, mostly from Barry who seemed to talk about him alot-- clearly not okay with him dating Iris, despite what his friend said-- so he'd not had reason to really think otherwise.
He'd been surprised when he ran into Eddie at the mall, especially because Eddie had approached him first, had willingly started talking to him. They'd ended up going to Starbucks, Cisco mystified at the fact Eddie seemed to actually want to talk to him. They'd gotten coffee and made some small talk. After being asked, Cisco had explained a little of what he did for work-- well, more what he'd done before the explosion as he couldn't exactly explain he worked with a superhero. It seemed a day of surprises because Eddie had once again shocked him by comparing him to Tony Stark. Eddie didn't seem like the guy to have ever been into comics, and Cisco said as such. Finally, maybe for the last time that day, Eddie has surprised Cisco by showing him a picture of him when he'd been in high school. Looking at the lonely, overweight teenager in the picture, Cisco realized there was much more to Eddie than he'd thought.
After that day, they had become friends. Cisco had texted him first, two days after their run in, saying Eddie's Tony Stark comment had gotten him thinking that Eddie should totally dress up as Captain America. After that, he just never really stopped texting, and they'd become friends easily, and got along surprisingly well. They just seemed to understand each other in a way most others didn't, their bond growing as they shared stories about their past.
For months, they spoke, becoming closer and closer. There were a few instances of their friendship, times where they'd really seemed to connect, that stood out to him; Times like when Eddie and him had stargazed. That night, he'd been pointing out Andromeda to him, and admiring the beauty of space while Cisco let a bit of his nerdy side out. Eddie had called him a genius that night, and somehow managed to convince him to accept that compliment... Maybe thats why its a memory he'll always hold close to heart.
As their friendship grew, Cisco found himself falling for the older detective-- Though, could you really blame him? Eddie was kind, and gorgeous, and just so /good/, and had this smile that seemed to light up the whole world. They connected on a true, emotional level, despite their differences that most would think would keep them apart. Eddie didn't really understand all the things Cisco would ramble about, but he was the one person who'd willingly listen, who'd try and understand and even would ask questions when he didn't, because he wasn't afraid of seeming stupid. If he was honest, Eddie was the one person who actually seemed to care about what he had to say, he seemed like he actually heard him.
Cisco was the only one who didn't give Eddie shit when he would have to sign off to go work out, because he understood how important it was to him. See, Cisco was the only one that understood that he was who he used to be-- that fat kid in highschool-- would always be apart of who Eddie was, it would always be apart of his past. No one else really seemed to understand that, not really. With Eddie being with Iris, though, Cisco had shoved his feelings down, never thinking he'd never have a chance, and being afraid of ruining such an amazing friendship.
He never expected what would happen that night, when Eddie had texted him that Iris had left him. Cisco had showed up not even ten minutes after his message with pizza and ice-cream, doing his duty as Eddie's close friend to cheer him up. It was odd, though, because Eddie didn't even seem that upset, he didn't seem like he'd just had his heart broken.
Turns out, that was because he'd known, from the moment Barry had woken up, that she'd leave. Eddie had admitted he'd realized it when he saw her smiling at Barry in a way he'd not seen the nine months Barry had been in a coma, in a way she never smiled at him. He'd told him how he thought it would cut him up, that even though he knew she'd leave one day, he thought it'd still break his heart.... but he'd been surprised to realize she'd been more upset then he was.
Sitting there, listening to Cisco babble on about some scientific thing to distract him, he'd realized why-- it didn't break his heart because he'd already started to fall for someone else. He'd confessed that to Cisco, and reassuring him it wasn't a rebound, he'd kissed him, gentle at first though it'd grown a bit more insistent as time went on. After that, they'd become a couple, slowly exploring this new relationship they'd created, falling more in love with each other. They were happy, truly happy, and thinking back on it, Cisco should have known it couldn't last. Good things always come to an end after all, right?
They'd not even been together that long when things in their life started to get crazy; Cisco was having nightmares of his mentor murdering him, only to find out they were some-how true and that his mentor was actually a murderer, and apparently the descendant of his boyfriend. Then, not too long after that, Eddie had been taken. He'd been terrified, those two weeks his love was missing. They'd been walking together in a park when it happened, and Cisco was helpless as his former mentor took the man he loved.
Things after that seemed to happen so fast. They'd found Eddie, and fought against wells. With the help of Firestorm and Green Arrow, they'd managed to take him down and for a moment it seemed like maybe it'd be over... but of course, things were never that easy, and now here they were;
Barry had come back through the portal as Eobard was leaving, stopping him from leaving. Joe and him had been knocked down, thrown to the floor and momentarily disoriented. As he started to pick himself up, he watched as they fought, and it seemed like Barry was losing. He heard as Eobard threatened them all and tried desperately to think of a way to help Barry, to save them all, but everything seemed hopeless because he was still on the ground and Eobard was about to kill Barry. Atleast, even if everyone else died, he could comfort himself in his last few moments knowing that the man he loved would live, that Eddie would be fine because Eobard couldn't kill him. That thought had just ran through his mind when a gun-shot rang through the space and Eobard stumbled.
In the second following the shot, he's pretty sure his heart had literally stopped beating. Staring at Eobard, he saw there was no wound-- he wasn't hurt as far as he could see, which only meant one thing. His head shot toward where the sound had originated from, and he is pretty sure all blood drained from his body as he saw Eddie, the man he loved, standing there with a smoking gun in his hand and blood pooling from his chest. He didn't even know when he'd come down-- he hadn't been there when Barry came back through, so he must have ran down during that time.
How he'd gotten there didn't matter though. Cisco was on his feet in a second, a scream ripped from his throat as he ran towards the blonde. "EDDIE!" Distantly, he could hear Joe yelling too, but his blood was pounding in his ears and even as he neared them, even as he fell on his knees next to them, he couldn't hear anything but the frantic, scared beating of his heart. "No, no, Eddie!" He could feel tears rushing to his eyes, his heart breaking in pieces as he held the love of his life in his arms.
He knew, deep down, Eddie was going to die. He didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to accept it, but he knew from helping Caitlin with Barry and all the fiction he watches that a shot like this was almost always fatal. "You idiot, why did you do that!" A sob tore itself from his throat. "He was going to kill Barry." Eddie got out, "He was going to kill /you/. I couldn't- I couldn't let him." Cisco could hear the others around him confused, distantly hearing Eobard ask him for help, but he didn't care. "I had to be your Captain America." He said, and if there was anything left of Cisco's heart, it shattered completely as he thought back to the first text he'd sent Eddie.
"You already were, Eddie." He choked out, voice full of tears, thick with emotion. Eddie smiled, that beautiful smile Cisco loved so much. "I love you, my Tony Stark." Eddie choked out, and how cruel was it that the first time he'd ever heard Eddie actually say those words, it was the last words he'd ever said. "No, please, I can't lose you Eddie!" He sobbed out, desperation in his voice, even as he saw the light leaving his lover's eyes. "Please, I just got you! Wake up, wake up!" He heard a scream in the background, but he didn't care, he just held Eddie in his arms, begging him quietly to just wake up, to not be gone, feeling like a broken record as he desperately wished for the impossible.