(no subject)

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco's not that nervous. It's not a date, after all; it's just trivia, and Cisco's going to buy Matt a drink and then they'll see where it goes from there. So he's not nervous.

Okay, maybe just a bit.

Josie's is a standard sort of American pub, TVs on the wall and top 40 music playing over the sound system. The atmosphere is casual, which is a relief since Cisco went ahead with his standard t-shirt/hoodie combo, opting for comfortable. It's not like he can impress Matt with the way he dresses anyway.

Showing his ID to the guy at the door, he heads toward the bar, more and more butterflies coming to life in his belly as he gets closer. He spots Matt immediately, recognizing him by the set of his shoulders and his perfect, shining hair. Taking a deep breath, Cisco approaches him, hoping Matt will like the cologne he selected, the scent of his conditioner. He knows Matt's other senses will be stronger to compensate for his blindness, and he wants to give Matt something he can identify him by, something pleasant.

Moving to stand just beside him, Cisco carefully touches the outside of Matt's upper arm, saying gently, "Matt?"

Comments

[thoushaltnotkill]

Matt had promised to be the blind guy waiting at the bar, so that's just what he's doing. The cane is tipped up against the worn wood by his elbow, and every so often he cocks his head towards the door, listening for anything that might give him a clue about Cisco.

The heartbeat is what gives him away. Not fear, not agitation, but nerves and he'd be lying if he said his own pulse wasn't skipping up a few beats. The scent of cologne, warm and spicy precedes a gentle touch to his arm and his smile warms. He likes the sound of his voice already. "That must make you Cisco. It's nice to finally meet you."

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco grins when Matt turns to him, Matt's smile even more brilliant in person. He'd done some research on how to interact with someone with a vision impairment before he'd come here, so he's careful not to move too much, standing close enough that Matt can touch him if he wants to.

"That's me," he says, letting his eyes move over Matt's features, his strong jaw and his bowed, pink lips. There's just a touch of stubble on his face and it makes him look more rugged, his skin elsewhere looking soft and pale. "It's nice to meet you too," he goes on as his gaze follows the line of Matt's throat, watching his Adam's apple bob when he swallows.

"You're even better looking than your picture," he allows, his blush apparent in the tone of his voice. "If you don't mind my saying so."

[thoushaltnotkill]

His voice is warm and welcoming and Matt reaches a hand out to take his. It's dry and warm and he can tell that Cisco is indeed used to working with tools. While he can't see him in a conventional sense, he gets a better sense of the man and yet again, Matt is glad that he'd sent that text in the first place.

It was shaping up to be a good night to simply be Matt Murdock.

A chuckle and a slight duck of his head. "Thank you. And it's nice to finally be able to put a voice to a name."

"Foggy, my partner and Karen have decided that you're very likely a ringer, so they have decided we're playing against them once trivia starts up," he offers with a quirk of his lips. Which is.. at least partially true.

[cisco_ramon]

Matt takes Cisco's hand to shake it and he does an amazing job of finding it without a lot of fumbling, clearly very used to knowing where things ought to exist in space. Matt's fingertips are rougher than Cisco expects for a man who's a lawyer, and Cisco wonders what sorts of hobbies he might have that contribute to his callouses. Hopefully Cisco will get to know him well enough to find out.

"I hope you know more about sports than I do," Cisco replies, smiling back (and knowing Matt will hear it in his voice). "I'm completely unhelpful when it comes to those sorts of questions."

The truth is, which Cisco loves trivia, he's way more interested in getting to know Matt better. But this is their first meeting, and it's probably not a bad idea to ease into things, to see if they even have chemistry in meat space before they get too far ahead of themselves.

"When does trivia start?" he asks idly. "Can I buy you that drink now, or would you rather wait?"

[thoushaltnotkill]

"Well, I know a pretty good amount when it comes to sports, at least what I've heard on the radio," Matt allows with a hint of humor in his voice. Trivia would be a good way to get to know one another, find commonalities to talk about and if they managed to hit it off as well in person as they did over text? Well. There's nothing saying that they have to finish all of the trivia rounds.

"I think we have time for that drink," he shifts enough to rest one elbow on the bar, keeping his stance open and welcoming so Cisco can move in close and they can talk. "The first round won't start for at least a half hour or so."

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco smiles again, and he doesn't say it but he has a feeling Matt's experience even just listening to sports outweighs what Cisco knows a million to one. It does make him wonder if Matt was born blind or if something happened that caused him to lose his sight later in life, but they don't know each other nearly well enough yet that Cisco feels like he can ask something so personal.

"What are you drinking?" he asks instead, taking half a step further into Matt's personal space so he can lower his voice a fraction, allowing them to speak more intimately if they decide to do so.

[thoushaltnotkill]

The discretion will be appreciated - Matt has an easier time talking about what happened than the day his father died but they're both subjects left for a much later time. Right now he's happy enough to focus on the sense of Cisco standing close, the absent way he tucks his hair behind his ear as he shifts in a little closer.

"A beer is fine. Josie keeps some pretty good stuff on draft," he suggests. While Matt sometimes gravitates towards whiskey, he kind of wants to keep his head and keep his attention focused on Cisco. "I'm really glad you came. I'll admit I've been looking forward to this all week."

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco's eyes light up when Matt says he'll have a beer, because beer is something that Cisco is actually pretty well versed in. The chemistry of it is something he understands well enough that he can talk brewing with people (and has done before – he's tried his hand at it too, but he just doesn't have the time to make it a hobby), and he's actually a bit of a connoisseur. He turns his eyes to the tap handles, but his attention is called back to Matt before he really has a chance to read the names of any of the beers, and he feels himself blushing, glad for once that Matt can't see his face.

"Me too," he admits with soft smile, his face going even hotter. "I've never been so happy for a misdial in my life," he adds with a huff of a laugh. "You're not like anyone I've ever met before, Matt," he says. "I mean your personality," he's quick to amend. "I've never hit it off this well with anyone so quickly."

[thoushaltnotkill]

"So am I," he admits. "Normally I rely on voice dialing but I'm glad my finger slipped." They had connected so easily in a situation that could have ended quickly as it had begun with a 'whoops' and the end of the conversation.

"It brought someone pretty remarkable into my life, which I'm glad for."

A slightly embarrassed grin. "Sorry. That was.. probably a little much wasn't it?" Is it obvious he hasn't done this in a while?

"So. Um. About that beer?"

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco smiles at first, when Matt comments about the voice dailing and the slip of his fingers, but then Matt goes on and Cisco's expression shifts, completely blindsided (no pun intended) by the way Matt calls him remarkable. Normally he'd make a joke of it, looking over his shoulder for the person Matt really meant to compliment, but Matt can't see his reaction, meaning Cisco doesn't have to do that here.

Matt really seems to like him, and it's such a bizarre position for him to be in, to be liked so effortlessly, to not have to prove himself somehow first, that Cisco doesn't know what to do. He's sure a lot of the reason for that is that Matt can't see him, can't make judgements about what he looks like, how he dresses, or carries himself. Matt doesn't even know his last name, so unless he's made the connection that Cisco is likely short for Francisco, he probably doesn't even realize Cisco's a latino.

"It's okay," Cisco finally manages to say. "I mean, it was okay, what you said," he adds, actively fighting the urge to tell Matt all the reasons why he's not remarkable at all. "I just, compliments... I'm not very good at them," he explains with a huff of a laugh. "What I mean to say is thank you. For saying what you did."

Now he's feeling more than a little embarrassed, and he clears his throat. "So, uh, what're you into?" he asks, his face burning even hotter when he realizes what he's said. "I mean, like, beer wise," he hurries to amend.

[thoushaltnotkill]

The last thing Cisco will have to do is prove himself to someone like Matt. He can already sense the warmth about him, the genuine nature that makes someone like Cisco so special. Besides, someone who both knows science and pop culture has to have a pretty remarkable intellect, right?

He does his best not to flush and at least hope that he succeeds. "I'll remember that," he says with a quiet smile. While he might think that Cisco is worth all of the compliments he can manage, he can at least remember to be a little more discreet.

Matt can't help himself, he reaches out to squeeze Cisco's hand gently. "How about a good porter? Something nice and complex." Setting them both on a more even keel - they can talk beer and whatever comes to mind before trivia kicks off and just.. go from there.

[cisco_ramon]

Matt doesn't seem self-conscious at all about the expressions on his own face, offering smiles and keeping his chin up, leaving himself open and approachable. Cisco's not sure he'd be able to do that himself, if he lost his sight, be that available without being able to see the reactions of the people he was interacting with. Again Cisco isn't sure how long Matt's been blind, and he knows people are resilient, at least most of the time. Matt doesn't let his disability define him, and Cisco isn't going to let his curiosity get in the way of whatever might be developing between them. Someday he'll ask Matt what happened, he'll find out all the ways Matt's life is different, and maybe he'll even learn how he can fit into that. But for now he's just going to be a guy on something that might almost be a date with someone he's just met, someone he likes a lot already.

When Matt takes his hand his heart skips a beat, and he takes a sharp little breath at the feeling of it, butterflies. But it isn't just that, and the niggling beginning of a headache blooms into a full migraine as the room flickers out in a flash of blue light, the wind rushing out of his lungs. He's alone in an alley, it's dark, but suddenly there's a noise at the other end, a figure, running. It rushes past Cisco and he turns, and just as the figure turns to run out the other side, a man catches him, takes him down. The man's dressed all in red, a red suit, familiar and not all at once, and Cisco says the first thing that comes to his mind as he's shaken back out of the vision, whispering Barry.

Cisco inhales as the warmth of the room rushes back, blinking past the throbbing that splits through the center of his skull. "I, um. Sorry, I thought I saw someone I knew," he apologizes, trying to shake it off calmly, squeezing Matt's hand in his own. "Anyway, it looks like there are two porters on tap," he goes on, focusing on the tap handles as the pain in his head starts to dissipate. "One of them is a vanilla porter, if you like stuff like that. I usually do myself."

[thoushaltnotkill]

His brows knit at the sudden change in Cisco. Accelerated heartbeat, a rush of adrenaline and for a moment or two he's not even sure he's breathing. It's not fear that has Cisco frozen it's.. something else, something Matt can't put his finger on. But as quickly as it happens, it stops and he rubs his thumb along the side of Cisco's hand. He's not telling the truth. Not completely. But since the moment has passed Matt won't press the issue.

"That sounds good, I'll try one of those." They can focus on talking, getting to know one another and seeing if the chemistry they'd shared over text was the same as it was in person.

Matt? He's already betting that it is. When the beer is handed over he'll take a moment to breathe in the scent of it. "They added coffee to the malt. Roasted them together. Good choice." And the porter is indeed as good as Cisco had promised. Just the right hint of vanilla.

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco silently thanks Matt for not making a big deal out of his slip, and he mentally pats himself on the back for not running out the door this time like he had with Kendra. These early vibes are always so disjointed and vague that even if he went straight to Team Flash about it there wouldn't be anything they could do. Besides, the vision seemed to be of a hero taking down a bad guy. Cisco realizes that these things are often not what they seem, but he's not going to get any more clarity by leaving.

He also knows there's a chance the vibe was about Matt. If that's the case, staying with him will give him more chances to get more information. Not only that but Cisco's learned, mostly from the things Barry's gone through, that being a superhero (in so much that Cisco is one, sort of) will take away your life if you let it, literally (obviously) but figuratively as well. Cisco hasn't had a date since Kendra left him for that douchebag Carter, and maybe this thing with Matt won't go anywhere, but Cisco's not going to leave this bar until he's at least given it a shot.

When the bartender hands them their beers, Cisco watches as Matt smells his first, sampling the aroma, and it's not surprising that his sense of smell is sharper than a sighted person's would be, but Matt clearly has an understanding and appreciation for beer that makes Cisco smile. He lifts his own glass, taking a whiff, and he can smell the coffee too, now that he knows to look for it. There's vanilla there too (most of that flavor comes from the smell, so it's not surprising), and Cisco takes a sip, savoring the blend of the roasted barley and the chocolate malt (and Matt's right, the coffee makes for a good balance there, just the right amount of extra bitterness), and the vanilla is bright and natural tasting, coming through brilliantly in the finish.

"They must have dry hopped the vanilla beans," he comments, hoping his knowledge will impress Matt as much as Matt's had done him. "It tastes too good to be bottled extract."

[thoushaltnotkill]

Maybe one day soon they'll be able to talk about what Cisco has seen in his vibe and how Matt spends his off hours. If it's in private, Matt will be far more willing to discuss things with someone he's connected so well with.

His comment about the vanilla gets a smile and a nod. "I don't smell anything artificial in the vanilla, so it had to be."

"So I have to ask, how did a scientist wind up working as a police liason?"

[cisco_ramon]

It's a good, reasonable question, but Cisco finds he doesn't have an answer ready beyond the truth, and it's probably too early in their relationship (whatever it turns out to be) to bring up metahumans in general (even if Cisco plans to keep his own status a secret until he's sure things are serious). Cisco's not a fan of lying (partially because he's terrible at it), and the idea of lying to Matt, someone who is so open an honest and clearly very kind, makes his stomach hurt. He's not keeping secrets for deceptive reasons, it really is for Matt's protection (and also the fact that Cisco likes this guy and doesn't want to run him off by sounding like a lunatic on their first sorta date), so he decides to just be vague but not outright dishonest.

"There were some criminals in my city that were proving difficult to catch by conventional means," Cisco says, taking another sip of his beer. "My best friend, who's a CSI himself, his foster dad is a detective with the Central City Police Department. When I found out the trouble they were having, I had a couple ideas for things I could build for the department to help them out," he explains. "It ended up working out so well they put me on retainer. I like it because it's practical work; my day job is more... experimental." He's not meaning for it to sound so dodgy, but it's not exactly untrue. Before the accelerator explosion STAR Labs had, technically, been a research laboratory, and the work Cisco does there now still has a measure of that involved, prototyping and testing theories. It's just the driving factors that are different now.

"I have a masters degree in mechanical engineering," he tells Matt, just to give him an idea what he does more generally. "It's just always been something I liked do, building things, taking them apart. The number of toasters my parents had to replace when I was growing up was fairly substantial," he adds with a laugh.

[thoushaltnotkill]

There isn't an overt hint of a lie in his explanation - so Matt is inclined to take the answer for what it is. His instincts are telling him that there's far more to it, but he also doesn't want to jeopardize what could be a very nice almost first date by being too nosy.

Mention of having a masters in mechanical engineering has his eyebrows loft, clearly impressed. Pop culture, working with the police to help them catch criminals who clearly needed some special form of containment and a master's degree in mechanical engineering - there is a lot to Cisco and Matt can't help but want to learn more.

He chuckles at the mention of toasters, taking another sip of the beer before using his forearm to remember exactly where the bar is so he can set the pint down without incident. "I grew up in Hell's Kitchen. My dad was a boxer. I saw a lot of people who needed help but couldn't afford it as a kid so it eventually drove me to law school. Me and my partner have a little practice there. It's not much," he allows with a self-deprecating smile. "But we try and help. Granted we normally get paid in goods rather than dollars, but it's good work."

"More handling crooked landlords and helping new immigrants navigate paperwork than busting criminals with the help of science, but it's been worth it."

"And now that we've talked about work and gotten that out of the way, what do you like to do during your down time?"

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco's heard of Hell's Kitchen but he's never been there (it's a rough sounding sort of place, and Cisco has powers, true, but he can't control the parts of them that might be useful to defend himself), but hearing that Matt's from there gives Cisco a lot of perspective as far as how tough Matt probably is beneath his kind, sweet exterior. It also cements Cisco's impression of him as a giving sort of person, fighting for the rights of people who are routinely stepped on, pushed aside, and unwanted. Cisco often plays a part in saving people's lives, but Matt's doing so much more, giving people the kind of lives they deserve, making the world a better place.

"That's incredible, what you're doing," he says, unable to let it go without commenting on it. "There aren't many people who would do something that selfless with their law degree," he goes on. "Or just be that selfless in general. I'm definitely not," he adds. "Hell's Kitchen is lucky to have someone like you. I hope they know that."

Likewise Cisco's lucky to be here with someone like Matt, even just on a date, and he's not going to take that for granted.

"Downtime, whew," he says after he takes a breath, shaking off the heavier part of the conversation. "I don't have a lot of it, to be honest," he admits with a laugh. "But when I get a night off I like karaoke, and beer," he tells Matt. "And movies. I really love watching movies," he adds, almost forgetting how much more often he used to watch them before everything got crazy with Reverse Flash and now Zoom.

Let's try that again..

[thoushaltnotkill]

"Don't sell yourself short," Matt adds with a smile, sipping at his beer. "You've got a master's degree in mechanical engineering and you spend your time helping the police. That's no small thing." In all honesty, it's also intriguing.

Mention of karaoke draws another smile. "You know I've never been? But that's probably a small mercy, I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket." But in hearing Cisco's voice, the warm cadence of it, Matt is almost sure he can sing very well.

"Movies? What sort? I'll admit I try and keep up, but unless it's a book to movie adaptation I tend to lose some of the action."

[cisco_ramon]

"You've never gone to karaoke?" Cisco replies, and he nearly slaps himself as he does, because of course Matt probably wouldn't, considering the whole having to read the screen component. Of course that wasn't strictly necessary, assuming a person knew they lyrics to the song they were singing. Still, Cisco was going to have to pay more attention to the stupid things that came out of his mouth. "Honestly, a lot of the people who do it aren't great singers," Cisco pushed on, hoping Matt would forgive him his faux pas. "That's part of the fun."

Cisco, of course, just likes singing. Back when he was in high school he was in a choir, but he hasn't has much of an outlet for it since he graduated, at least not outside the caterwauling he does in the shower.

"And movies, I love all kinds," he replies, glad Matt was the one to bring up the difficulties he might have with such a thing himself (and thus keeping Cisco from putting his foot in his mouth again). "Do you ever have anyone watch with you, and describe the action?" he asks then, curious, wondering how much assistance Matt prefers with things in his day to day life.

[thoushaltnotkill]

It's all right - Matt hardly takes offense. Sighted people operate a bit differently so while the idea of reading lyrics on a screen seems simple to them, it's a relatively foreign concept for him. But he doesn't want to draw as much attention to his own inability and presses on with a smile of his own. "That does sound like fun, even if my singing would be considered a bit of a crime in some states," he jokes easily.

"Foggy has tried, but I'll admit his attention.." a faint smile, "gets a little scattered. And most of the services that come with a DVD or BlueRay are a little lacking when it comes to describing what's going on." But if Cisco were to offer? Matt would absolutely take him up on it, if for the sole reason of listening to his voice as he describes what is going on.

"If you're a Tolkien fan you may be on the hook for the entire trilogy," he warns with a chuckle.

[cisco_ramon]

Cisco has a feeling that Matt's singing voice isn't as bad as he says, considering how pleasant and resonant his speaking voice is, but Cisco knows better than to overzealous with compliments at the beginning of a relationship. "If you ever want to give it a try, I would be happy to take you to the place I like," Cisco says instead. "The do two dollar drafts on karaoke night, so if the singing doesn't work out, at least there's cheap, good beer."

Really all Cisco wants is to spend more time with Matt; if he gets to sing (and Matt gets to hear his voice), that will just be a bonus.

"Dude, I love Lord of the Rings," he says then, before Matt can say anything else. "I've seen those movies at least two dozen times a piece. At least," he adds with a laugh. "I could describe the hell of out those movies for you," he assures. "If you wanted me to, of course," he amends.

[thoushaltnotkill]

A warm laugh. "Two dollar drafts? Sounds like they're providing a little liquid courage. Which might not be a bad thing." He may not want to get up and sing, but he'd be more than happy to listen to Cisco if he chooses to sing.

"You know, I think that sounds like a great idea," he agrees. And just like that they had at least two potential dates planned. Like everything else with Cisco - it was effortless.

"You might not even have to read the Elvish subtitles," he offers. "I may have read a lot of Tolkien's work on languages when I was a teenager."

[cisco_ramon]

"Oh, that's definitely what they're doing," Cisco replies with a chuckle. "I don't get up there and sing until I've had at least two beers, and I was in choir in high school."

Cisco blinks then when Matt mentions his history with Tolkien. "Are you saying you can speak Elvish?" he asks, his tone awed. "And, like, Dwarvish and all that?"

[thoushaltnotkill]

"To be fair, my Sindarin is a little stronger than my Quenya," he offers, rubbing at the back of his neck with a smile. "They never translated any Dwarven into braille so I never really had the chance. When I was learning braille, I had a tutor who got his hands on some rare copies when he found out I liked Tolkien."

"I'll make you a deal," that smile is back again. "If we watch the movies and I botch any of the translations, I will do karaoke. And sing." Why not make it a little interesting, right?