It had been 8 days since Hartley had enjoyed the best night of sleep in his life. And it had also been 8 days since Hartley woke up to an empty bed. The shame and the sadness boiled up again, just like it always did when he was lured into a false sense of affection. Usually he was ushered out of whatever shack or hotel or apartment or house he had been in by the partner almost immediately after release. The rare cases when a more nurturing partner took him in and suggested he stay the night, nearly always the abandonment would come by the next morning. Sometimes they left notes, most times they didn’t. But this time had been different. They didn’t have sex. They kissed a couple times, yes, and the chemistry was there. But for some reason it wasn’t the time. It was Cisco, the unprofessional, whiny, ablist little dough ball that had stolen the man he loved right out from under him. But it also was Cisco, the caring, scared, affectionate genius that had believed in him enough to let him try to help. Hartley was so swept up in the touches and affection and kisses that he so desperately craved that he actually tricked himself into believing this one was different. Hartley stared at the small piece of paper that Cisco had left in his shoe. No goodbye. No clues. Just a phone number. 8 days, he kept repeating in his head. 8 days he had come by the apartment and no answer. Why would today be any different. The phone had been off for the first 5 days so what was the point of calling anymore. Why should Hartley make any more of a fool of himself than he already had. They were laughing at him. They had to be. Barry Allen and Cisco and maybe even Caitlin, all sitting around the lab laughing at how stupid Hartley had been to cuddle. It was all just a prank. It was all just a sick joke. Without meaning to, his fists suddenly clenched, crumpling up the paper and he stood up, kicking at the chair he had been sitting on. He had to prove that he was strong. He had to make that stupid gorgeous nerdy malicious man pay for playing him.
With angry tears in his eyes, Hartley loaded up, donning the ridiculous hood and priming his gloves. This is what Cisco Ramon wanted, right? A big display to prove just how stupid Hartley Rathaway was to have fallen for Cisco Ramon. Cisco wouldn’t be home, that was clear from the last 7 days of no answer. But he would knock anyway before destroying his apartment. It was only proper.
The pavement thudded as his boots picked up speed. It wasn’t a run. No, Hartley was too sophisticated for that. But as the anger surged through his body, the world became a blur. Without really any knowledge of how much time had passed after being in his head for so long, suddenly he was standing at Cisco’s door, his pulse racing and his hands shaking even while wearing the gloves.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
He was genuinely suprised when there was a knock at the door. “Violet, if you lost you key I might have to make you do chores.” Cisco laughed, opening the door to see Hartley. The smile disappeared from his face as he looked at the man who’d been his rival all these years. “Hartley? What the hell? How do you know where I live?”
Cisco backup 