Summary: Five (plus one) different ways Hartley and Cisco could have met, but didn't.
Hartmon Fest 2019 - Feb 21st - alternate timelines
Five (Plus One) Ways Hartley and Cisco Could Have Met
One
Hartley's parents reaction to him coming out as gay is to deny, deny, deny. Because if they stick their fingers in their ears and hum loudly enough, obviously that'll make Hartley's gayness go away. You know, since praying it away didn't work.
They tell him he's too young to be sure. He's confused. He's going through a phase. He's choosing to throw a rebellious snit. He's embarrassing them.
If Hartley were older, he's pretty sure they'd have disowned him and thrown him out. But he's fourteen and disowning a fourteen-year-old would look bad to the press. Also throwing him out on his ass would probably lead to problems with child protective services. So his parents try to 'punish' him by taking him out of the swanky, but extremely homophobic, Catholic school he'd been attending and send him to a public high school. Where there's a GSA.
Truth be told, Hartley is thrilled about this unexpected outcome to accidentally outing himself.
And then he walks into homeroom for the first time and there's... there's this guy. The prettiest guy Hartley's ever seen. Dark hair, deep brown eyes... so pretty. There's a mess of butterflies in Hartley's stomach and he nearly trips on the suddenly hour-long trek across the room to the empty seat beside pretty-guy. But he makes it.
"Is this seat taken?" Hartley manages to ask without stumbling over his words.
"Nope, it's all yours," pretty-guy tells him. "I'm Cisco Ramon. Nice to meet you." Pretty-guy - Cisco - smiles and Hartley just about melts.
"Hartley. Um. Hartley Rathaway." He blushes. "It's nice to meet you too."
Two
There was a knocking at Cisco's door.
Sighing in annoyance - he was getting to the good part of the episode - Cisco paused Person of Interest and got up. He answered the door to see one of his neighbors standing there, but Cisco can't remember the guy's name. They've met like, twice, but weren't really introduced or anything. Honestly, Cisco's not sure either time counts as 'meeting' as it was more like polite, extended greetings in the hallway between their apartments.
"Hi," the guy says, a touch awkwardly. "This is... this is a really weird thing to ask, I know, but can I move a few things into your freezer? It's just, my kitchen just lost all power - the switch in the breaker panel isn't working - and the super can't get an electrician out to fix it until tomorrow. Which, understandable, it's late. But, I've got a few things that will go bad if they defrost. Or just, you know, melt. So..."
"Yeah, sure. My freezer is practically empty since I've been putting off grocery shopping." Cisco paused and then added, "I don't think we ever really got introduced. I'm Cisco Ramon."
"Hartley Rathaway," neighbor replies. "You work at Mercury Labs, right?"
"Yes..." Cisco draws out the y-sound.
"I work at STAR Labs. I thought I recognized you at the Corporate Games opener the other week; I saw you with Dr. McGee. But Harrison was being a pain about our basketball team this year and I was too busy browbeating him into agreeing to make the practices to figure out where I knew you from."
Cisco relaxes at that because he remembers Dr. Wells walking up to complain to Tina about a pushy basketball coach as Cisco had been heading off to do the half-mile walk to qualify for free pizza.
There's a moment of awkward silence and then, "so I'll just grab my stuff then and be right back."
"Do you need a hand?" Cisco offers.
Hartley's grateful smile is unexpectedly cute. "Yes, that would be great."
Cisco leaves his door unlocked, following Hartley across the hall into the other man's apartment. It's neat and nicely styled compared to Cisco's eclectic looking apartment, but there's a Harry Potter themed snuggie draped across the couch that makes it a feel less like a show room and more like a home.
Opening the freezer, Hartley pulls out a carton of ice cream, some freezer meals, and a couple of half-empty bags of veggies. He then grabs the ice and an ice pack and quickly stows them away in the fridge, so as not to loose too much of the cold.
"Do you need to bring the milk, or anything from the fridge, over?"
Hartley shook his head. "It's almond milk, so it should be fine. The ham might go bad but that's right at the border of its expiration date, so I should probably just toss it out regardless."
Then they divvied up the frozen goods and headed across the hall back to Cisco's place where the items were once against stowed away in a freezer.
"Have you had dinner yet?" Cisco asked.
"Not yet..."
"I was about to order takeaway - hadn't decided where yet - and watch some more Person of Interest. Would you care to join me?"
"I... yes. I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." Hartley blushed and... very cute indeed.
Three
"Hey, so would you take a look at this," Sonya shoved a ream of papers onto Cisco's desk. "A guy brought this in claiming it proves that the STAR Labs accelerator is going to explode when it turns on, but I can't make heads or tails of any of this. You speak science, so..."
"So read it and then tell you the guys a nut? Because he's probably another one of those paranoid tin-foil hat guys who thinks wi-fi causes cancer." Cisco had poured over every blueprint STAR Labs had submitted for the accelerator - that thing was sound.
In fact, Cisco was hoping to get a job there once he completed his doctorate. But for now he was working for a nonprofit watchdog group that 'policed' the local labs for everything from fraudulent results to workplace hazards. It was mostly lawyers, but they needed people who understood the science too which was how Cisco had come to work for them.
"Yeah, sure, but this guy? Doctor Hartley Rathaway. Used to work at STAR Labs until just last week apparently. Could just be sour grapes, but... he seemed pretty certain that a lot of people were going to die over this." Sonya looked a bit troubled at the memory.
"I'll read it," Cisco assured her, picking up the first page. Rathaway didn't waste time, jumping straight into some pretty hard science. The guy was lucky their group had someone like Cisco because no layman would ever understand any of this.
Cisco doesn't even notice Sonya leaving, he gets so lost in what he's reading. Despite the density, the science is gorgeous and Cisco finds himself referring back to copies of the STAR Labs blue prints and comparing and contrasting what he's reading with what's in the various papers Dr. Wells has released and the known science regarding accelerators in general and how other particle accelerators work and... and suddenly Cisco has a new science crush because Hartley Rathaway is scathingly brilliant. He's also right. The accelerator is going to explode. It'll probably take half the city with it when the whole thing blows, too.
But at this point its after two in the morning and Cisco should probably get some sleep. Which he does. And then he leaves a message for Sonya telling her he's going to convince Dr. Rathaway to come back in and help them figure out how to file for an injunction to stop the accelerator from being turned on because Dr. Rathaway is very much not a tin-foil hat nut. Not sour grapes either.
Cisco knocks on Dr. Rathaway's door and his first thought when the door opens is 'pretty'. Hartley Rathaway is very, very pretty. He sets that aside quickly, however.
"Dr. Rathaway?"
"Yes. And you are?" is the sharp, suspicious response.
"Cisco Ramon. I work for the Lab Watch Foundation. You brought us some information yesterday about the STAR Labs particle accelerator."
"You read my work and understood the implications, then," Hartley surmises.
Cisco nodded. "There's a lot of work to do in order to prevent STAR Labs from turning that thing on. And not a lot of time to do it. I was hoping you'd be willing to join us at the Foundation. The scientific explanations you gave us were pretty dense; I could use some help bringing it down to terms a layman will understand and who better than the person who wrote the original?"
"What are you, a grad student?"
"Yeah... mechanical engineering," Cisco offered, slowly.
Hartley nodded thoughtfully. "Give me a minute to grab a few things and then, yeah. Sure, I'll go with you."
"Thanks."
"I've put years of my life into working on that particle accelerator. If people die because if it..." Hartley shook his head. "I can't let that happen. So whatever you need from me to make sure that accelerator never comes online, you have it."
Four
Hartley twirled the daisy in his fingers and then glanced at his watch again. 4:19. His date still had eleven minutes to show up on time, but Hartley was anxious.
He'd met Cisco online on a dating app a few months earlier, but this was the first time they'd meet for real. They were both scientists and busy with projects and neither had wanted to rush into a relationship with a total stranger. So they'd been chatting about everything - likes, dislikes, clothing styles, favorite tv shows, Star Trek vs Star Wars... Hartley'd even opened up some about his parents.
In fact... Hartley was fairly certain he was a little in love with this guy already. And that was before they'd exchanged pictures. (Hartley wanted desperately to run his fingers through Cisco's long hair. He figured, however, that it'd be weird to ask to pet Cisco's hair on the first date.)
Despite the picture exchange, they'd agreed to each bring a daisy so that the flower would help whoever arrived first to stand out. Being anxious, Hartley had arrived at the cafe twenty minutes early.
He dropped the flower back onto the table and leaned back in his chair, trying to get a better view of the door, which had just opened and shut. Was that...? No.
Letting out a little frustrated sigh, Hartley pulled out his phone and checked his emails. Spam, spam, more spam, bill (he flagged that for a reminder later), and a fanfiction update he didn't have time to read at the moment. He perked up, putting the phone down, as he heard the door swish open again.
Cisco Ramon walked into the cafe. He was even more gorgeous in person.
Hartley waved Cisco over, grinning as Cisco dropped another daisy onto the table. "Okay, so I guess we didn't really need those."
"But they are pretty," Hartley opined, standing up and shaking Cisco's hand, enjoying the firmness of the other man's hand in his. "It's nice to finally see you in person, Cisco."
"Likewise, Hartley," Cisco replies as they settle down at the table. "I've never been here before. Any recommendations?"
"The turkey club is really good," Hartley tells him. "Or the chicken salad sandwich."
"Oh, that one sounds good." They grin at each other and their hands brush atop the table and Hartley's stomach does giddy little somersaults because...
Because its barely started and already this is the best first date Hartley's had possibly ever.
Five
"Missy!" Hartley's voice is a touch frantic as he shouts his dog's name. She'd managed to pull out of her halter and had taken off after some squirrels. But now she was lost and while he could hear her cheerful barking somewhere up ahead, Hartley couldn't see her. "Missy! Come here girl," he called again.
And then Missy stops barking and Hartley groans softly before running ahead.
"MISSY!" There's no sign of her up ahead, though, and Hartley slumps against the nearest tree. "Shit," he mutters, trying not to cry. He hasn't had the little terrier mix for long yet, but he loves the scruffy little monster already. And she's pretty adoring of him too. But what if he can't find her? He doesn't want her spending even one night alone outside in a strange place...
"Hey, I, uh, I think I found your dog."
Hartley straightens up and turns towards the voice. There's a long-haired guy standing there, holding Missy in his arms, an amused smile on his face as he fails to avoid getting licked all over his chin.
"Oh thank god," Hartley breathes out. "Yeah, that's Missy." He hurries over and gratefully takes her from him, clipping the halter back on her and cinching it a little more tightly. He hugged her and ruffled the top of her head before putting her back on the ground. "Thank you so much for grabbing her. She's chipped, but..."
"It's no problem. She's a sweetie. So, Missy, huh? She wouldn't happen to be named after the Mistress from Doctor Who, would she?"
"She is, actually. Probably why she's such a trouble maker." Hartley rolled his eyes as Missy demanded to be picked back up, not liking that - as far as she could tell, anyway - things had stopped being about her.
"I haven't seen you around the park before. New around here?"
"Yeah. Just moved here last week. I'm Hartley."
"Cisco."
They shook hands and... Cisco's hand felt very nice. Firm grip, slight callouses...
"Well, I gotta run if I'm going to make it to work on time, but... maybe I'll see you around tomorrow morning?" Cisco tilted his head the side, flirty smile on his face.
Hartley grinned back. "I'd like that. Just, without the panicking over Missy slipping the leash part."
"See you then, Hartley."
Plus One
Hartley wakes up to the dull ache of a hangover, the more pleasant ache of a night of really good sex, and the feeling of somebody's face pressed up between his shoulder blades. Not the worst combination, to be honest, and if not for the pressing need to pee and a strong desire for aspirin, Hartley might've just closed his eyes and drifted back off to sleep.
But instead he got up and glanced back at his bed partner before heading into the bathroom.
The long hair was a bit of a surprise, more because Hartley rarely found guys with long hair attractive and this guy? So hot.
Unfortunately, Hartley cannot for the life of him remember the guy's name. He can't even remember if they exchanged names or not. They'd both been more than a little drunk and Hartley had been a bit preoccupied with how amazing the guy tasted when they kissed or how much he wanted to be fucked asap.
Hartley slipped into the bathroom as the other man began to stir and groan in pain from his own hangover. After using the toilet, Hartley pulled a spare toothbrush from the cabinet and set it aside, then used his own to clean the taste of alcohol and hangover from his mouth. Hot guy stumbled in as Hartley was finishing up and they both stood in awkward silence as Hartley spat toothpaste into the sink and hot guy used the toilet himself.
"So, uh, there's a toothbrush if you want to use it," Hartley said, gesturing to the packaged brush - from his last visit to the dentist, though Hartley usually used those for either travel or cleaning since his home toothbrush was a sonicare. "Um... did we... did we actually introduce ourselves last night or..."
"I don't think so," the other man said in a rush, blushing, eyes flicking downwards a moment and then he's blushing harder. A blush that, rather adorably, runs down the guy's neck and chest.
There's clearly too much naked skin in the bathroom because Hartley wants to drag him back to bed and lick every inch of that blush.
Instead, Hartley smiles and introduces himself. The other guy smiles back, a touch awkward and self conscious, and gives his name in turn. Cisco Ramon.
Something about the name was familiar.
Hartley fished the aspirin bottle out from behind the mirror next, then turned the sink over for Cisco's use while he got himself two aspirin to dry swallow before offering Cisco some. Cisco also took two, though he used his hands to cup water from the sink faucet to swallow his, getting some water going down his neck and...
And Hartley was acutely aware of how visible his arousal was because they were both still naked, but oh he wanted to lick that water up. Wanted to touch Cisco's skin. Wanted a repeat of the night before that wasn't hazy with alcohol.
"So," Hartley's voice comes out rougher than intended, "breakfast?"
Cisco's stomach lets out a rumble that answers for him.
To Hartley's disappointment, they both get dressed before heading into living room and kitchen area. While neither of their hangovers are bad enough to make them throw up, both quickly realize that food doesn't really sound all that appealing even though they clearly need some. Cisco starts the coffee maker after Hartley points him in the direction of the coffee grounds while Hartley pulls down the toaster because toast should be easy on their stomachs.
They talk for a while once the food is ready, chatting about why they'd been out drinking the night before (Hartley celebrating finally getting over a bad relationship that ended recently and Cisco celebrating being hired for his dream job at a nearby lab) and once they learned they were both scientists, well, they started talking science. Cisco's breadth of knowledge was impressive. Another tick in the pro column for convincing Cisco to go back to bed with Hartley. Intelligence was a major turn on for Hartley and damn if this guy didn't have him panting for it.
Which... no harm in asking, right? "I don't suppose you'd be interested in a repeat of last night, but without the drunken part?"
"I-I... yes? I mean, you're talking about sex right?"
"I'm talking about you screwing me into the sheets, yes," Hartley agreed in amusement.
"Yes. Yes, that would be so..." Cisco moaned as Hartley cut him off with a kiss.
Afterwards, they exchanged numbers. And Hartley had every intention of calling Cisco later that week - assuming Cisco didn't call him first - to see if Cisco was interested in hooking up again and maybe a date. Except that Monday, the new hire Dr. Wells had been so excited about started work.
As Hartley was finishing up his chess game with Harrison, Cisco Ramon showed up and they both stared because... oh.
"Hello again, Cisco," Hartley greeted, quietly amused. At least now he remembered why Cisco's name was so familiar.
"H-Hartley," Cisco blushed, hard.
Harrison was looking between them, arching an eyebrow. "I take it you two have met before?"
"Very recently," Hartley agreed, grinning. "It's good to see you again."
"Uh, likewise." Cisco's blushing was every bit as appealing now as it had been Saturday morning. And while Cisco's outfit wasn't up to Hartley's professional standards, it did somehow manage to look charming on Cisco anyway. Of course that could be because of the very strong desire Hartley was feeling concerning the idea of pulling Cisco into the nearest closet and putting a hickey on his neck.
"Right. Well, Hartley, will you show Cisco around, get him settled in?" Wells looked far too amused by them.
So Hartley glanced at the board and saw something he'd missed earlier. He moved a piece, toppling one of Harrison's pawns. "Sure," he agreed pleasantly. "Also, check."
"What?" Harrison whirled towards the board, staring in surprise. Then he waved them off, eyes narrowing as he took in the pieces. "I'll come back from this," he muttered quietly. "I always do."
Hartley rolled his eyes. Harrison was always saying ominous things like that, but he still wound up losing as often as he won against Hartley anyway. Instead Hartley led Cisco out in the hall.
"Are you alright? I swear, I had no idea you were the mechanical engineer Harrison was so worked up over hiring when we... met on Friday." Hartley paused adding, "I'm sorry if this just made things really awkward for you."
"No its... its fine." Cisco paused and then said, "well, okay, no it is awkward. But not bad awkward. So, um... what's the STAR Labs policy on dating a coworker anyway? I mean, if you're still interested in maybe dating? If you're not, its... I get it, its cool..."
"Keep HR in the loop on our relationship status, no favoritism, and if things don't work out we don't turn STAR Labs into our own personal drama fest," Hartley said, summing up what he'd learned when he'd walked in on Ronnie and Caitlin making out at work one too many times. And then he'd taken unholy amounts of glee forcing them to actually go talk to HR - and Harrison - about the fact that they were dating and utterly smashing their delusion that no one knew what was going on. "And, yeah, I'm still interested."
"Oh... oh, good." Cisco grinned and Hartley resisted the urge to kiss him then and there.
The work week had just gotten a lot more interesting, that was for sure.