Chapter Text
When Friday afternoon rolled around, Cisco loaded his and Hartley’s bags into the trunk of the van, then stepped out of the way for Dante to put his bags in. Sophia had insisted that Cisco bring Hartley and, surprisingly, Hart, so Cisco passed the keys to Dante and then headed back upstairs, where Hartley was trying to get Hart into his carrier as Hart did his level best to climb under Hartley’s shirt. Cisco snorted, then extracted their beloved little crime gremlin from where Hart was halfway under Hartley’s shirt and asked, “What’s this about, buddy? You’ve never had issues with traveling before.”
Hart snuggled into Cisco’s arms, then answered, “I require affection.”
Cisco rolled his eyes, then draped Hart over his shoulder and answered, “Fine. You can sit in my lap or Hartley’s lap on the drive down.”
Hart started purring and Hartley rolled his eyes, then complained, “Oh, come on! You couldn’t have just said that?”
Hart nuzzled the Lichtenberg figures on Cisco’s neck and Cisco snorted as he picked up Hart’s carrier, then answered, “Of course he couldn’t. He’s a little asshole.”
“Rude!”
Cisco kissed Hart’s little head, then stated, “It’s not rude if it’s true. By the way, is there any way I can get rid of the Lichtenberg figures? Or at least make them less visible?”
Hart sniffed the figures, then answered, “There is likely some manner of salve or potion that will eliminate or reduce their appearance, but we will have to consult with Dr. Kent when we return to find which one.”
Cisco nodded as they headed down the stairs and they were soon settled in the van, Dante behind the wheel and Hartley in the passenger’s seat. Cisco and Hart were in the backseat and Hart sprawled across Cisco’s lap like the world’s tiniest lap blanket, purring as Cisco scratched his soft little ears.
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When they stopped for lunch, they swapped places, Cisco taking the wheel and Dante settling into the passenger’s seat as Hartley took up his position as Hart’s nap spot. Dante groaned when Cisco plugged his phone in and began playing the audiobook version of ‘A Modern Guide To Magecraft: Abridged 15th Edition’, then complained, “Can you play anything else?”
Cisco rolled his eyes, then answered, “Fine.”
“Thank you.”
Cisco smirked, then switched the audiobook to ‘A Modern Guide To Magecraft: Unabridged 15th Edition’ and pulled out of the parking lot as Dante groaned and put his earbuds in.
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Sophia was standing on the porch, talking with Joe, when they pulled up. They piled out of the car and Sophia smiled warmly, then hurried down the stairs to hug Cisco and Dante before looking at Hartley and asking, “May I hug you?”
“Uh. Sure?”
Sophia gave Hartley a tight hug and Cisco’s heart did a funny little dance as he heard her quietly state, “Thank you for making Cisco so happy.”
Hartley looked utterly dumbstruck and Sophia held out her fingers for Hart to sniff, then gave him a chin scratch before putting herding them all inside.
“You’re in a good mood.”
Sophia smiled, then kissed Cisco’s head and answered, “It’s just good to see you.”
Then her eyes found the Lichtenberg figures on Cisco’s neck and she frowned, asking, “What happened to your neck?”
“…So. That’s part of what I wanted to tell you. I, uh… I’m a mage.”
Sophia’s eyebrows lifted and she asked, “Excuse me?”
Cisco took a deep breath, then began explaining the fantasy novel that his life had become. Sophia listened, lips pursing, and, when Cisco finished his explanation, Sophia stood up and stated, “I have something to show you.”
Cisco glanced at Hartley and Dante, then all of them got up. Sophia led them up the stairs, then into the attic storage above Sophia’s room, where a bunch of Abuela Esmerelda’s old things were still stored. Sophia swallowed, then stated, “This is for you.”
She pointed to a large wooden trunk and Cisco gave her confused look, then asked, “What’s in it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been able to get it open. But my mother told me that if you or Dante ever got magic, I was to give it to you.”
Cisco looked between her and the trunk, then asked, “You- Mama, do you have…?”
“No, mijo. But your abuela did.”
Cisco felt like he’d been hit with a brick. It made sense, to some degree, and Cisco returned his gaze to the trunk, then knelt down and flipped the latch open, lifting the lid. There was a stack of notebooks taking up half the trunk and several dozen jars of dried plants and such that were labeled with Abuela Esmerelda’s elegant cursive, as well as a small jewelry box and another recipe box like the one in the kitchen alongside a set of ceramic bowls decorated with runes and several small rolled up mats. Cisco stared into the trunk, feeling dizzy, and Hart hopped up to balance on the edge of the trunk, then observed, “It would appear that your abuela was an alchemist-mage.”
Cisco nodded, then, after a long, long pause, asked, “How- Were you ever going to tell us? If I hadn’t gotten magic?”
Sophia looked away, making her answer clear, and Dante threw his hands up in the air, complaining, “Oh, come on! I thought coming back would mean that I was done dealing with your magic bullshit!”
Cisco let out a strangled laugh, the fears about telling Sophia fading and leaving Cisco mentally exhausted, then admitted, “I’m going to need a hot minute to process this, but… I can’t right now. I just- How about we go out for dinner and don’t think or talk about magic for like… At least a few hours?”
“Seconded! Hey, Mama, didn’t you say that one of your church friends opened a restaurant last week? Let’s go there!”
Sophia nodded and Dante and Hartley headed downstairs, leaving Sophia, Cisco, and Hart. Sophia fidgeted with her rosary necklace, then, after a moment, quietly stated, “I’m sorry I never told you, mijo. I- I started to suspect that you had magic when you brought Hartley home the first time, but… It never felt like the right time to say anything.”
Cisco hesitated, then reached out to hug her and answered, “I wish you’d told me sooner, but I’m not mad. I love you, Mama.”
They stood in silence for a moment, then there was the sound of Hart shuffling around in the trunk and he piped up, “Huh. Odd.”
Cisco pulled away from Sophia, turning to see what Hart was looking at, and found that Hart had managed to get open the jewelry box and was sniffing a necklace with a diamond snowflake pendant. Cisco leaned down, picking it up, then yelped and dropped it when it flared with a cold so sharp it burned. His vision washed blue for the briefest of seconds, a woman who looked strikingly like Caitlin with platinum blonde hair and blue lips filling his sight, then returned to normal as the diamond snowflake hit the floor and shattered. Shards skidded across the floor and the broken pendant released a frigid swirl of snowy wind as frost crept across the floor from where the necklace had fallen. Then a rush of freezing wind rattled the windows and the frost, the snow, and the remains of the necklace were simply gone. Cisco closed his eyes, then sighed, “I don’t know what that was, but I have a sudden sinking feeling that life is going to go off the rails again.”
Hart scaled Cisco’s side to perch on his shoulder, then answered, “That is a reasonable assumption.”