Work Text:
Eobard Thawne was speaking to Gideon when he saw a familiar figure on the security cameras. Black hair was hanging low on his small frame, short body curling on on itself. The young man was leaning against the walls of his lab all alone, shaking violently. Eobard knew that he was crying.
Silencing Gideon, he sighed, easing himself into the wheelchair.
Everyone else but himself and Cisco had gone home for the night, so whatever was bothering Cisco was something that Dr. Wells had to take care of himself.
Now, he knew very well that he could leave Cisco to get through whatever was bothering him by himself, but what kind of a father would he be if he did?
He began to make his way to Cisco as fast as his wheelchair could go, placing the glasses on his face and kindness in his heart. It wasn’t very hard to get into the character or Dr. Wells, because even Eobard Thawne truly cared for Cisco Ramon.
How couldn’t he? Cisco was perfect. One of the best things Eobard Thawne had ever seen.
Within minutes, Dr. Wells wheeled into Cisco’s lab, where the young engineer was still crying. His heavy sobs shook his whole body, his eyes were closed, tears flowing freely, and he held his wrist close to his chest.
“Cisco.” Dr. Wells said, and he looked up, his face red from all of the crying.
“Dr...Wells.” Cisco whispered, his voice cracking. Wells rolled up in front of him, leaning down to place his hand on Cisco’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong? Can I help?”
Cisco shook his head, burrowing his wrist deeper into his chest, and looking away in shame. The older man sighed.
“Cisco, you’ve always been like a son to me, whatever happened I’m sure I can help. Just tell me.”
Cisco hiccuped and held out his wrist to Eobard hesitantly, and once he saw the bruised flesh, he knew what had happened.
Taking the limb gingerly, he inspected the wound that cut just below Cisco’s hand. It was nothing. Just a minor scratch, easily fixable.
But Wells knew, deep down, that the wound wasn’t what was bothering Cisco.
It was the visible wires underneath his skin that made Cisco cry.
“Dr Wells? Please, I don’t know what’s going on.” Cisco begged, and Eobard felt his heart break for his little creation. He was so confused, so lost.
He had to tell him.
“Ciscoー” Wells said, letting go of his wrist. “You’re not human.”
Cisco froze, his mouth agape in shock.
“What?”
“You’re an android. You’ve never been alive. You’re a machine.”
Cisco looked down at his damaged wrist and trembled.
“That’s...that’s not possible. I just injured myself when I was fixing a circuit board. I’m hallucinating, or dreaming, orー”
Eobard shushed him. “It’s real, Cisco, you’ve always been a mechanical device. I know because I made you.”
Cisco’s face took on one of heartbreak, of betrayal, and Wells couldn’t imagine what was going through his head. His whole life, flipped and changed with a couple of words, one revelation. Eobard made him to be as human as possible, with hopes, memories, and dreams, and for all of that to be ripped away with the knowledge that he wasn’t human? He didn’t know how this would affect Cisco in the future. He had not foreseen Cisco ever finding out.
Eobard explained further.
“I created you from technology far beyond the years of this time, a machine, an android, close to perfect by all of my standards. You can feel human emotions, strive for the things man does, and have fun. You could live a normal life, even though you are anything but normal. I made your mind to be big and strong, so that problems and equations even I couldn’t figure out you could. You are a genius, but with human weakness, and that’s exactly how I wanted it.”
Cisco's lip trembled and he looked at his wrist with fear.
“ I can’t be an android. My family, my memoriesー”
“Never real. The memories were created artificially, and your family are actors. I paid them very well.”
Cisco balled up his fists in anger, and Wells knew that it was expected. The only rational response to this was anger. It was how Cisco was created to react.
“Why? Why would you create me? Why let me live in a world of lies? I have friends, real friends, a true life! And now you're telling me I’m a fake? A robot? All of the things I accomplished, all of my milestones, have been fake?”
“Ciscoー”
The young man, android, as Eobard now let himself call Cisco, got to his feet, tears once again streaming down his cheeks.
“Everything in my life, what I thought was chance, or luck, was all for you?”
“No, Cisco, it may have started like that, but I do want you to be happy. You’re like a son to me, I created you. I care for you.”
Cisco sighed and backed away at the words, backing into a shelf. He closed his eyes in frustration, in pain, and Eobard noticed.
“Does anyone else know?” Cisco asked quietly, and Wells shook his head.
“No. And I suggest that you keep this to yourself, as well. If you don’t, you could lose the little bit of life that’s actually real. Barry, Caitlin, Iris, they would all hate you.”
“How...how did I not know?”
“It’s your programming, it forced you to think you were a human until something proved you otherwise.”
Cisco and Wells both fell into silence, the beeping of the abandoned circuit board the only thing penetrating the tomb. Wells eventually spoke up.
“I’m sorry, Cisco. I should have told you.”
Cisco looked to the floor. “Or maybe you should have never created me.”
“No. You’ve proven to be quite a valuable asset.” Cisco stiffened at the words. “And a friend.”
Wells finished, wheeling over to Cisco and grabbed his limp hand.
“If you’ll allow me, I’ll fix your wrist, and we can continue to help Barry find the Man in Yellow. And, if you want, you could learn more about yourself too. Just because you now know that you’re not human, don’t change your worth to this team. It doesn’t change anything.”
Cisco stared into Wells’ eyes cautiously, and Thawne stared back with what he tried to convey as kindness.
“It will be okay, Cisco. Trust me, your friend, mentor, and creator.”
He nodded hesitantly, and Wells smiled, turning his chair around and leading Cisco to the Cortex.
Cisco wasn’t perfect, but he was the best thing that Eobard Thawne had ever created. And he wasn’t about to let his best creation go.