Summary: Hartley's first meeting with his parents after he woke from his coma went unexpectedly well. Not that they dived into any particularly deep topics, as it was more of a... testing the waters. And while Hartley's not exactly thrilled that it took him nearly dying and spending six months in a coma for them to realize he was more important than their homophobia, he is willing to give reconciling with them a chance.
But first he needs to lay down some ground rules. Because the last thing Hartley wants to do is put effort into building a new relationship with his parents only to have the rug pulled out from under him all over again down the road.
Series: Speedsters and Vibes Part 2, follows after the story "Rip Van Winkle"
Series Notes: AU where Hartley did not find the accelerator flaws and was there the night of the explosion. He was electrocuted and spent six months in a coma, giving EoWells the perfect excuse to bring in Barry too. Hartley's awake - Barry isn't yet - and learning to use his new abilities as a speedster. And in the midst of this, his parents are looking to reconcile with him. Endgame Hartley/Cisco/Barry (PiperFlashVibe - HartmonFlash... what is this ship name anyway?)
Boundaries
Hartley is not comfortable walking up to his parents' house. The last time he was here was the night he was disowned and walking along the curved walkway up to the house gave him vivid flashbacks to that night.
The smell of the night air with the hint of a coming rain, the fireflies sparking in the lawn, the rattle of his suitcase as it joined several duffel bags and backpacks and whatever else he could pack as much of his stuff into before driving back to his shared apartment...
He has to stop and blink the building tears from his eyes and take a few deep breaths. It's a sunny day right now. Not a hint of rain at all. And while this was probably a terrible idea, the conversation Hartley needs to have with his parents isn't one that should be held in a public space. And since Hartley's currently living out of Cisco's apartment, though hopefully that'll be changing soon, the Rathaway residence is the only private place they can really discuss this.
Well... there was STAR Labs, but then Harrison might get overprotective and hover over them. Hartley was certainly glad to have a friend who cared about his well being so much, but Harrison Wells was not, by any means, a subtle man when he disliked someone. And he very much disliked Osgood and Rachel Rathaway.
Once Hartley was centered enough that he thought he was good to go inside, he rang the doorbell. Almost instantly, the door was swinging open and Jerrie flung herself into her brother's arms for a hug.
"Hartley!"
He smiled and hugged her tightly. "Hey Jer-Bear."
She giggled at the nickname and snuggled close for a moment before stepping back and dragging Hartley inside. Their parents were headed down the stairs together, a wide smile on Rachel's face and a... surprisingly pleased expression on Osgood's face.
They want him here. They genuinely want him here and Hartley has to take a moment to wrap an arm around Jerrie's shoulder's and lean on her for support because... it's a little overwhelming.
Jerrie shuts the door and starts telling him about her job at the library. It sounds like fun; she's working in the children and young adult sections, mostly shelving books, but sometimes she gets to help out patrons looking for books or needing help with the computers. She also gets to help with prep work for story time for the little kids and afternoon story camp for the older kids. Her fellow 'Pages' - and Hartley knows she must adore that job title not only for the book puns but because Jerrie loved Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small series - also sound like fun people and she spends a lot of time talking tv shows and fanfiction with them.
It sounds like she gets along with her peers a lot better than Hartley did at her age. Which is a relief; Hartley's social awkwardness in high school had made him feel isolated. He'd never been bullied, exactly, but Hartley had never been well liked either and the lack of close friends had been quite lonely. And, of course, realizing he was gay had been the cherry on top, causing him to withdraw from his peers even further.
That Jerrie isn't having that kind of experience with school or at work make Hartley so happy for her.
Hartley greets his parents with a smile. It's clear Rachel still wants to hug him but, just like at the cafe a few days ago, she shakes his hand instead. Osgood claps a hand on Hartley's shoulder for a moment. And then they all head into the living room where they drink tea and discuss easy topics until Jerrie has to leave for work.
Without Jerrie there as a buffer, though, things are clearly very awkward between the remaining three Rathaways.
Thankfully, Hartley isn't literally vibrating with anxiety. Given his discovery that he can move - and think - at ludicrous speeds now (running at the same speed as NASCAR drivers was exhilarating, to be sure) it's entirely possible that he could literally start blurring from the nervous energy coiled in his chest. But his parents know very little about his seizures during his six month coma, thanks to Hartley having named Harrison as his medical proxy. He'd rather they not know he has literal super powers now either.
Maybe one day he could trust them with that knowledge but... that day is not today.
"I really want this to work," Hartley said, breaking the awkward silence that had descended on them.
"So do we," Rachel assured Hartley, reaching out to take one of his hands in hers.
He let her and squeezed gently.
"But you don't trust us," Osgood said quietly. "And with good reason. We betrayed your trust in us in the worst way once already. And for that I am truly sorry."
Hartley's chest aches to hear that admission because he... he'd been afraid that they'd just... assume that by reaching out, everything would be fixed.
"As am I," Rachel added, squeezing his hand back. "I know we need to change. To do better by you."
"Good, because that's... that's what I wanted to talk to you two about today. I really want this to work," he repeated, "but I also need to know that the two of you are willing to not just say you want me back in your lives or that you're willing to change... I need to know you'll both make the effort to follow through. To listen when I tell you that something you've said or done is hurtful instead of getting defensive. I'm not... I'm not asking the two of you to be perfect all at once, just that you're willing to keep learning and changing." Hartley let go of his mother's hand, leaning back and trying to find the right way to say what came next.
"You both say you want me back in your lives and that's a good start. But while I... I may not be dating anyone right now, I'm still gay. And when I do start dating someone again, that someone is going to be a man. I need the two of you to consider what happens then. If he's not white or catholic or cisgender, am I going to have to worry about racist or transphobic or slights against his religion from the two of you? And it's not enough just to refrain from saying these things where we can hear.
"I need you two to understand that it isn't enough to not be homophobic towards me. It's not enough to not act prejudiced towards the people I care about. Being casually queerphobic about strangers and people you dislike sends the message that you'll only treat me with respect so long as you think I'm one of the good gays, and that's still you choosing your prejudices over me." Hartley's hands were shaking and he pressed them against the seat of the couch to keep them from progressing from shaking to vibrating.
"But it's not just your homophobia that made me afraid to be myself in this house growing up." Hartley felt his eyes sting and, yeah, okay... he was going to start crying at some point and that was... he'd live with it. "There were times you both treated me like my audio processing issues were nothing more than an excuse to ignore what I was being told. That me being hard of hearing wasn't so much as a disability I should be accommodated for, but an inconvenience for the two of you that I should feel ashamed of and hide. That asking the two of you to learn ASL was rude instead of a pretty basic thing that any parents of a deaf or hard of hearing child should do. And that's just the casual ableism you demonstrated towards my physical disability all my life. The way you treated me for showing symptoms of what has turned out to be ADHD?" Hartley shook his head and wiped at his eyes. "The fact that you both still support Autism Speaks despite having an autistic daughter tells me right there just how much disrespect you both show towards people who are neurodivergent."
Rachel frowned, "what's wrong with Autism Speaks?"
"You've been giving them money for nearly two decades, but haven't done basic research to know or understand why so many autistics consider it a hate group?" Hartley shook his head. "Do some research and maybe try talking to Jerrie. I think this is something you'd all be better served hearing from her instead of me."
Hartley took a deep breath and pushed on. "I want things to work out, but I'm not convinced the two of you have actually changed enough for us to truly reconcile. I'm not sure that either of you really understand just how much your actions and words and, yes, your very way of thinking needs to change before I can trust your apologies are real and not just well meant wishful thinking. I'm not asking for perfection," he repeated, "just a willingness to try to be better and to try again when you mess it up. And it's going to be a lot of hard work for both of you. If it's not something you feel willing or able to do... if you feel like what I'm telling you is too much to ask" Hartley closed his eyes and the shook his head, "then I'd still like to be around more for Jerrie's sake, but I don't want to put a lot of effort into rebuilding a relationship that'll come crashing down the first time I become socially inconvenient again."
Rachel sniffled. "You're worth the effort. You and your sister are worth the effort."
Osgood nodded in seeming agreement. "What you're asking of us isn't easy... but nothing worthwhile ever is."
Hartley wiped at his eyes again. He wasn't planning on staying much longer, but this... this had gone better than he'd thought it would. He'd not only gotten to say his piece, largely uninterrupted, but they weren't arguing with him on it. Unfortunately this was no guarantee about their future behavior; only time would tell if they'd actually make good on these promises.
After leaving his parents' home, Hartley ran. He looped around a few parks, taking a circuitous route back to Cisco's apartment.
He's run out the worst of his nervous energy by the time he lets himself into the apartment with the spare key Cisco gave him and collapsed dramatically onto the pull out couch. (Which is actually super uncomfortable, the bane of Hartley's existence, and the greatest impetus in his life for getting a new apartment quickly.)
"Everything go okay?" Cisco asked from the kitchen where he was staring at the contents of his fridge. "Also, what happened to my peanut butter cups ice cream?" He knew fully well that Hartley happened to it.
"I will buy you new ice cream," Hartley responded, staring up at the ceiling. "And, uh... yeah. It went... okay?"
"Once more with certainty," Cisco replied dryly, shutting the fridge. "I don't want to cook tonight. So unless you're gonna cook, I think it's time to pull out the takeout menus."
"I waited until Jerrie had to leave for her late afternoon shift at the library and then told my parents that if they were serious about reconciling with me that they had to be willing to grow beyond their bigotry or it wasn't gonna work. And they actually acknowledged that I have very valid reasons not to trust them right now and that they have to be the ones putting in the work to fix it. So it went well. Better than expected. I'm wondering where the other shoe is right now."
Cisco came over and collapsed beside Hartley, staring up at the ceiling with him. "I wish I could find the words to give my own parents that kind of talk."
"If they hadn't disowned me and forced me to figure out that I don't actually need them in my life to be successful and happy... I'm not sure I could have said any of that either," Hartley admitted. "I'm not sure anyone gets over the feeling of being a little kid and desperately wishing their parents loved them for who they were, not who their parents wished they were."
"Well, you were really brave today." Cisco paused a beat, then added, "so I forgive you for eating all my ice cream."
Hartley chuckled. "Thank you for being so magnanimous."
"Well you've got the metabolism of a hummingbird now, so it's clearly my own fault for tempting you with sugary peanut butter treats anyway. Did you really have to eat all the Reese's from my stash at work?"
"You offered."
"You looked like you were about to pass out."
"I probably was," Hartley admitted. "And I may have overdone it running out my stress on the way back here. I'm starving."
Cisco chuckled. "Take out menus," he repeated and stood back up to retrieve them. "And since you had a stressful day, you can pick the place we call."
"Thanks." Hartley sat up and stretched, watching Cisco meander around the kitchen pulling takeout menus from random drawers.
They had been coworkers who mostly tolerated each other, before the accelerator exploded and Hartley's six months coma. But something had shifted between them and Hartley couldn't quite place what it was, exactly. Cisco was friendly and even... protective. It was sweet. And Hartley was trying to be reciprocative. It was a second chance he, perhaps, didn't really deserve at being friends with the guy. But apparently the theme of Hartley's life right now was second chances.
And this second chance Hartley had no intention of squandering.
Notes: While Hartley brought up the problem of Autism Speaks, he doesn't want to speak over Jerrie in this particular case which is why he doesn't go into the many issues that organization has. But he was also kind of prodding his parents towards realizing for themselves that they are pretty well poised to drive both their children away with their bigotry. It's not just about how they've treated him in the past - it's about how they're treating Jerrie now. So Rachel and Osgood have a lot of work to do if they want to have their children in their lives.
Once this series starts having the Barry/Cisco/Hartley triad going on, it's gonna probably wind up being the make it or break it moment for Hartley and his parents. And I haven't quite figured out yet where they'll land. But Hartley's not going to keep half his relationship a secret - he's been in the closet before and he's not willing to go back even if it means cutting ties with his parents again.
