InsaneJournal

Who: Cisco Ramon and Zari Tarazi
Where: Mostly Ray and Zari's place in New Asgard
When: Friday/Saturday, February 10/12
What: Friend Spa Day!
Rating/Warnings: Low/none
Status: Completed via GDocs


After everything was said and done, they’d had a couple days to come home and relax. But, come Monday, all that was about to change. Cisco was full of nerves for most of that first week. The first week back was only half days. It was all he could take. He was still anxious as hell, still taking the prescribed medicines to get through the week without a pure anxiety attack had been a challenge. Finally the weekend snuck up on them and he decided on something and sent off a text to Ben. I’m booking a spa day. You’re obviously invited. Thought I’d invite Zari too, though. No, this didn’t count as Valentine's day, it was just a random thing they probably all needed.

Another text was shot off to Zari. Hey, wanna plan 3 more weddings?

A pause.

JK JK. But are you free? I may have booked a spa day for tomorrow. It was a weekend date.

Zari's reply was immediate: Yaaaaaaas! Also, you're super not funny.

Ben's reply was a little later in coming. Rain check? We got a couple of really big orders, and one of the ovens is misbehaving. I don't think I'll be able to make it home until late tomorrow.

You know you love me ;D A grin down at the phone as he shot Zari another text Should I come get you or do you wanna come here? He needed to get out of the house first, and he needed it to be something easy to handle. Life in small bites basically, no way he was able to dive fully back in just yet as much as he wanted to.

Tomorrow? Are you really okay to stay there overnight? He worried, especially with red portals abound. He wasn’t sure what to expect, and worried more. Would you hate it if I tried to come check on you tomorrow morning? Anxiety and worry were not his favorite feelings. He’d really had enough of them lately.

Another response came from Ben: No, no! I'll be home tonight. I just meant I needed to work longer tomorrow than I expected. You can still stop by on your way, though. Did Zari say yes?

A frown crept into the corners of his lips as he looked down at the phone. Sorry…possibly an overreaction on my part. He wasn’t done with the anxiety of what had happened, he was only starting to manage it. The idea of being away from Ben overnight freaked him out still. He’d only just started going on small excursions. I love you. She said yes. He felt outrageously stupid for freaking out at his husband. He could feel his brain scramble in that moment as he put the phone down and closed his eyes.

He had to clear his mind before sending off another text to Zari. Actually stay there? I’ll come to you. And with that, the rest of the night passed by without incident. Cisco did decide to come by Sally’s after his shift.

~*~

The next day rolled around and Cisco had been about to order that same car he’d ordered the night before to get Ben when he frowned. “...I’m tired of cars.” He chewed on his lip until it got a little bloodied as he felt his heartbeat speed up. Everything was loud in his ears like an echochamber of noise as he held out a hand. A blue portal formed in front of him. It took him a minute before he could step through, but finally he did. And accidentally right into Zari’s living room.

His aim apparently needed work, he was usually better about not just showing up in people's houses.

Had it not been for the subtle crackle in the air that always preceded Cisco's once preferred method of travel, Zari would have been startled into dropping her breakfast parfait. As it was, she was merely perched on the arm of the stylish sofa RayRay had picked out well before his penthouse was transported into one of the New Asgardian homes. "Well, hi there." She smiled at him, and then looked down at her yoga pants and zipped up jacket. "I'd say you caught me underdressed, but it's a spa day, right? What better reason to dress comfy?"

It wasn’t as if he was dressed overly well either. He couldn’t rag on her choice of clothing. Especially not when he was trying to not have a mini fit over using portals again. “Wait, this is different.” He commented as he regained his bearings and looked over at her with confusion written all over his face. Actually, the fact that it was different saved him a panic attack that he felt bubbling up inside when it closed behind him. “Hi. Sorry. I don’t usually...” he averted his eyes for a moment in thinking she was actually naked. Out of the corners of them, though, he saw the tight fitting fabric and shook his head.

“I’m usually better at this.” He ran a hand through his hair, mildly frustrated at his own inability to properly control the portals. He was a little rusty at portal control, but he eyed her parfait and shrugged. “You don’t need to dress up for a spa day.” Hell, all he was wearing was a comfort hoodie and jeans.

She didn't ask him 'better at what'. That much was obvious. Zari also didn't tell him she was proud of him for trying. It probably would have been received as condescending, even though that would have been the last thing she intended. Her bag was by the door, just a small day trip sort of deal with waters and a few snacks. She held up her cup and shook it in his direction. "Have you had breakfast? And what about Benny-boo? Still couldn't get out of work today?"

He was very easily distracted by food so at least there was that. He smoothed some of his hair with a hand that had gotten obnoxious and frizzy thanks to portal travel. But he knew where he was going was safe, so he dared to try. “No. Forgot to set that alarm, forgot food.”

He'd been a bit anxious over various things. One way to stop or help said anxiety was the various alarms he set for things. Even things like food. He needed the reminders after everything had happened, more so than before. “He couldn't leave the bakery.” He sat not far from her. “But it's okay. I'll take him Valentine's day. Maybe this can be a scouting trip of sorts?” Adventure within the relax day. The more he sat with her, the less tense his words became. He was able to relax a little.

"A little spa recon. I like it." Zari moved the short distance to the kitchen and began to whip up a parfait for her buddy. The benefit of having an open plan penthouse like this meant she didn't actually lose sight of him as she did so. She had a sneaking suspicion that was important to him. Hell, it had been important to her too, just a year ago.

Sometimes it hit her, what happened. She hadn't been tortured like Cisco had, beyond the emotional kind and a single slap that she could occasionally still feel when the memory sprung up in her head. Z shook her head, just the tiniest amount. This wasn't about her. And it wasn't about Cisco either—at least not in the sense of what HYDRA had done to them. "We'll just get into preview shenanigans so you can decide which ones you might want to get up to with the hubs on V-day."

The distractions kept his mind off of the portals and what they meant now. And the severe over analyzing he wanted to do. He was glad for Zari and her chattiness. It kept him where he wanted to be, which was there with her. Not trapped in the mind fuckery of everything else as he watched her make that parfait. “I never think of creative breakfast things like that.” He was not really good at food presentation or cuteness of food. He could cook it and make it taste good, but cute displays? That was way more Ben and the baking than him.

“There are a few different ones in the same location. Thought we’d try a few things?” Maybe not just sit around and remember bad things or worry about things outside of their control. “I’ve never actually done any before so it might be fun to take him. I mean…first married Valentine's Days are supposed to be bigger, aren’t they?” He hadn’t been married before so who knew. He just knew he wanted to do something for Ben to relax at.

Zari tossed her hand airily. It was just layers of fruit and fruit juice with Greek yogurt. "Babes, the only reason it looks remotely creative is because it's bright and colorful. But it helps that it's tasty, too." She came back out to the living space and handed him the parfait along with a spoon. "Dig in. I won't even make us 'gram it. Today is about you and me and relaxing and romantic recon. No social media, promise."

Settling once again on the edge of the couch, she took up her own breakfast and took another bite. "Makes sense. It's always good to be able to offer up options. I've been to a ton of spas over the years, from high end resorts to locally owned. The key is the people more than the price tag." Her smile turned fond, thoughts going to RayRay at Cisco's remarks. That day at the florist for Cath and Jest's wedding was at the forefront of her memories, but it was just pretend, and she was okay with that. "I've never actually been married. I almost got engaged once, but he was a tool who constantly wore a giant s'mores over his head. Really dodged a bullet there. You would have made so much fun of me if you'd seen us together, and rightly so."

Cisco didn’t even have an Instagram. “Why do you...gram things in the first place?” An honest question. He didn’t really get it. He’d never had time for that kind of thing working with Star Labs. And more than half of what he worked on was confidential so it wasn’t like he could actually share it with anyone via photos. “Mostly just have cereal, so it’s creative.” Once he was somewhere he felt safe, he could talk more easily. That stiffness to his words and tone was virtually gone as he took a few bites of it.

“Sorry a giant s’mores?....Why?” He looked over at her in pure confusion. But not before fondly looking at the ring on his own finger. The one they’d picked out together was perfect. He couldn’t stop looking at it. “I thought about marriage back home, but it wasn’t really in the sky for me.” Every one of his relationships had ended miserably back in Central City. This was the first one he had that was solid and his.

"Okay, so the answer to both of those questions—the 'gram and the s'mores—is really kind of the same: for the attention. I got internet famous at a young age and capitalized on it. I was a millionaire before I turned eighteen. The only way I could maintain it and my popularity was by playing the social media game." To her, that life was only removed by a small handful of years. She knew it was all shallow and completely meaningless, but she'd been doing it for so long that she found it fun and still enjoyed certain aspects about the entire twisted business.

Her head inclined toward him with a fond smile. "Sometimes you've gotta hop dimensions to find your soulmate, am I right?"

“Once my powers came along a few years ago…I stopped showing up in photos entirely. Internet fame wasn’t really an option. I never really got into it. The first photos I had recently were the ones here actually. That Ray doctored.” He mostly had a Twitter and things that didn’t require photos. But not ones he shared really. It was for shitposting, and he kept it that way on purpose. His Twitter did pretty well, but he didn’t really maintain it. Nor did he answer any emails pertaining to it. It was just entertainment. “Plus you know…we got kinda busy with the particle accelerator and weren’t really allowed any social medias with our names attached anyway.”

He’d nearly finished that parfait and looked up with an equal amount of warmth. “If I had a choice in staying here or going home…you know in spite of everything that happens here… I think I’d stay here.” He’d made a good life here, and wanted to keep it. Especially with Ben.
“That’s probably horrible to admit…” He knew they had things they needed to do back home too, but this place had been good to him.

"I mean, if you want to career shame me, that's on you." She gave him a teasing smile, even if there was grain of truth in the fact that their job trajectories were wildly different. The other Zari, the original one, probably would have been able to relate a lot more to both Cisco and Ray. That's now how life and the timelines had shaken out, however, and all she could do was sit back and marvel and admire her friends and chosen family.

And then she had to shake her head, expression slipping "It's not horrible. I don't want to go back either. I know what happens. What happened. Beyond everyone's… canon points, for lack of a better term. Ray—" Zari's voice faded, and she stared at the ground. She hadn't told anyone this. Gideon knew—she was from a point in time where it had already happened. "He's happy. Married. I didn't know him like I do now, didn't love him like this. And if I went back, I wouldn't have what we have. I wouldn't even know it was possible. So, yeah. If you're horrible, then so am I. Because I love him more than I ever thought possible, and I'm too selfish to give it up."

He actually laughed at that comment, which was something that was hard to come by recently. Real laughter. The wedding had started bringing back all those warm and fuzzy feelings though, and he held onto that memory. It was his happy moment to remember: that warmth existed still. “I mean we exploded a city, I can’t career shame anyone.” He gave a little shrug. Not that it was a funny situation, but it was a way to cope with what had happened.

Cisco stood and made his way toward her once his parfait was done, and sat down for a moment to listen. It was at that point he nodded. “Then we can be horrible together, and relaxed. Because it’s time to go…and…does your apartment look different?” He was just noticing these things now, that it looked different than the last time he was around.

"Not gonna lie, I was only three when that happened, so I don't really remember." Zari pointed a finger at herself and winked. "Future girl, right here."

She glanced around the space, but didn't see too much that was out of the ordinary. "I swapped out some throw pillows and blankets for a more Winter vibe, but nothing too crazy. RayRay's taste was already pretty great as it is when this place showed up. I might've added a couple of accents here and there, but otherwise it's the same as it ever was. Which tells me we should have you and your husband over more often."

Her phone made a soft sound, a reminder for their appointment. "I looked up the spa. It's not far, but we should probably leave soon to get where we're going. I'll drive. I borrowed one of the sexy cars. And I trust you enough that you can bring the parfait with."

“Ah right right. I lose track of timelines occasionally. Happens when you remember almost all of them.” He offered a faint little smirk as he picked up the parfait and nodded.

“I mean I’d not say no. I’ve been making a point to get out of the house at least once a day now. Usually just a small thing.” He still struggled, but the medication and Leo were helping. He was getting to where he could function properly again. Be around people in small groups again without having a pure anxiety attack.

“Oh really? Now I’m intrigued.” He was ready to see that sexy car, and he grabbed both the parfait and the phone he’d put down. “I’m ready."

And he was grateful; he couldn’t portal as often as he’d like, another attempt might have led to this being a bad idea. Things weren’t one hundred percent okay yet, but he was getting there. Baby steps. He was a lot better than where he had been even a few weeks ago. He was actually looking forward to this, and spending time with her.