In spite of himself, Cisco smiles at the pet name — no one's ever called him that before; it's nice — and he returns her hug in kind, even though he can tell it's meant to comfort him. It's a good feeling, especially in Caitlin's absence, to have physical comfort. With Caitlin, it's entirely pseudo-sibling closeness, but this is nice in its own way.

"Right, yeah, that's what it's like for me, too, I get it," he replies, moving a hand to hold the side of her face. He smiles a bit at that. "Now that sounds more like the kind of memories I'd rather have gotten, though," he teases back affectionately.

He isn't joking, though; he'd rather something with a little more levity, honestly. But what's important is that she's not upset with him. At the situation, sure, that makes sense. But not at him. That's what matters.