"Straight guys are so weird," Hartley muttered, primarily to Axel, but Shawna and Lisa nodded knowingly.
"Amen."
"What did I do?" Mark just set down his beer and glared, but Shawna leaned back against him and so he decided he didn't care that much. It was mostly a general observation looking through the room anyway, not anything aimed at Mark specifically.
"So, Hartley, Axel says you don't want to join up with us again. How come?"
"I'm doing my own thing. I just hope you will stick to the rules, it's easier seeing Axel outside prison."
"Aw, you'd visit him again?" Lisa looked at Axel and grinned. "You lucky duck."
He went to get them out but they all rolled their eyes because they'd seen them so many times. Axel got them out like a proud parent all the time because it wasn't often he got to feel like part of something and thus? It did kind of give him that feeling.
"Whatever, fine, we don't look at them." He shifted closer to Hartley and bumped his shoulder against Hartley's. "Straight boys are weird but luckily, we don't have much need for them. It's hella worse for girls."
"Oh yes," Shawna agreed and this time Mark knew he had the right to look offended, so he glared as he drank from his beer.
"I'm a good guy." So there.
"Yes, you are a good boy," Lisa assured him, patting his shoulder. Great. Nobody here took him seriously. Mark focused on his beer again instead, while Lisa kept talking to Hartley, "Are you seeing anyone right now?"
"I'm better off single. Gay guys aren't much better, right, Axel?"
"Oh, other gay guys totally suck. They're either closet cases or they're just after fucking... though I really like that so I can't protest too much." Axel had been sleeping around since he was fourteen, a fact he didn't like to outwardly share when he was trying to be a good boy in front of Hartley but he had told Lisa before, given they were both early starters apparently.
"You don't need to find someone, Hartley. Especially not here."
He didn't need to find anyone because his true love was right there. Yes, it was Axel and he beamed at Hartley with such happiness and love. "You got to find the right people who love your ratties." Like. Him.
"I keep ending up hung up on closet cases or gigantic assholes, it's an issue." Hartley smiled, very aware that Axel was looking at him and he didn't know what to do about it. He liked him, sure. But Axel was Axel, he needed a friend more than a lover, in spite of what he might believe right now. "Are you dating anyone, Lisa? I guess Shawna is stuck."
Shawna nodded, let out a sigh and then kissed Mark to show that she really was just joking. The kissing lasted a while.
Lisa shook her head. "I've been more focused on getting the rogues back together. Besides, I don't know what I want in someone anyway. What are you looking for?"
"Other than no one? I don't know. It'd be nice not to be alone one day. Be someone's special person. I have never really had that."
"Me neither. I don't think anyone here has." Not really because of how their lives were or -- oh, wait, he looked at Mark and held up his hand. "No offence. You guys are great." Well, they were. Kind of. Sometimes.
He got the signals Hartley was giving and honestly, they were kind of bumming him out. Why did he have to be so anti-dating? Axel was special, he liked the rats, he was cute and gay! What more could he want?
"Maybe you should consider trying -- trying -- oh shit." Axel ducked by suddenly, peering over the table and cursing. "Lisa, we have a problem."
That problem being fucking Vibe was over there, talking some dude and having a beer, all casual and shit. Why was a super hero in this bar? What the hell?
"What?" Hartley immediately had an arm around Axel as if expecting he'd have to shield him and then he spotted Cisco himself. In a display of true courage, he ducked under the table as well, glancing at Axel. "Well, this is great."
Meanwhile Lisa rolled her eyes, shook her hair - she was wearing a red wig - out and got up. "I'll deal with it, you heroes."
With that she walked over to Cisco, simply slipping an arm around him and looking at the man he was talking to. "Who's your friend, darling?"
"Lis, Lis, be careful!" No, he wasn't afraid of Cisco, he could kick that kids ass but he didn't want to go back to jail and he wasn't entirely sure why Hartley was hiding with him but here they were. "I know why I'm freaking out but... should I even ask?"
Did he want to know the answer?
Cisco made a confused noise, turned his head when someone touched him and-- oh. Oh shit. Oh no. This was -- no. "... Hey, girl." The hell. "This is-- just -- someone."
A guy he'd been hitting on. Whatever. Cisco went red and looked everywhere but Lisa and the guy seemed to get awkward too, ready to back off. May as well let him run away. "Good to see you, dude."
"Didn't you research me? I used to work with him, remember? They threw a party when I was fired." Not really why he wanted to avoid seeing him now, but as good an explanation as any. Hartley frowned and looked around. "Should we leave? I don't want him to hit the Flash alert."
"Long time no see, Cisco. You look great. Loving the hair." Lisa ran her fingers through Cisco's hair, whistling. "You are the envy of every girl in here tonight. How are you doing?"
"I didn't think it was that bad. You worked there, it didn't seem like a big deal to over-research." Work was boring and so were these nerds. Apparently he screwed up not researching that a little better. He frowned as he dropped under the table and grinned playfully at Hartley. "Nah, Lisa has so got this." She always had this.
Cisco shuffled awkwardly, knowing that he was a lot better at this stuff now and he was his own hero but ... he still kind of wanted Barry. Lisa always, always got to him. "Thanks. My conditioner routine is definitely only getting better." He pulled away, crossing his arms defensively and glaring her down. "Better until I saw you and your crook friends getting drinks here... are they for real hiding beneath a table? I can see their feet."
"I don't know. Maybe Axel just finally talked Piper into letting him give him a blowjob." Lisa wasn't too bothered by being glared at, instead she smiled at him and put her hands on his hips. "So, what? You want to go over there and be grumpy with them too or do you just want to dance with me already? Because I know you got rhythm, baby."
"She just stole his phone, didn't she?" Hartley glanced over the table and then chuckled. "Guess we don't have to worry about the Flash alert." Unless Barry was here with Cisco, which was possible. "You almost poured axid on him recently, I think he's a bit upset over that."
Slowly, Axel climbed back up and sensed there was not much danger any more. He sat on the stool and waved at Cisco, who was glaring him down angrily. Adorable. Cisco soon stopped glaring as soon as Lisa got in real close and then suddenly, he was blushing and getting worked up.
"Woah, woah, woah. Who says you get to dance with me? You -- you are so going to prison. You all are. I'm a her--oooh." Fuck. She was close. Too close. And this was a lot right now and he was not sober enough to handle this shit alone. He was always weak to Lisa. Always. "... Your hands are so soft." Shit.
"That was not funny," Hartley told him, "It would have been funny if you'd used fake acid all along. Subverts expectations and nobody dies." Hartley would have rather left still, as it was he just turned his head to focus on Axel. "Maybe we should go anyway."
"I use hand cream," Lisa told him, smiling as she used one of her hands to cup the back of his neck, partly so she could feel his hair. Every bit as silky as she thought it would be. "Come on. One dance, a couple drinks. You can still be my hero after that." If Leonard could flirt with the Flash, she could flirt with Vibe. She'd done it first. "I've been thinking about you, Cisco."
"Sure, cool, let's go." Axel grabbed his jacket and pulled it on, putting his hand on Hartley's back and guiding him gently into the direction of the exit. "Go ahead, I'm right behind you."
"You have? Thinking about me? Yeah. Well. Good. You should, I'm very -- thinkable." Damn, he had to play this cool bur he had no cool and he hadn't done this in forever. Or ever. And things with Cyn were kinda, sorta, pretty much not a thing any more. It was a lot at once and -- "Hartley?"
What? "Oh my God. Hartley?" Woah, no, he was not just ducking out. "Dude, you told me you weren't a rogue!" Yes, he was yelling this across the club. He was Cisco, after all, no filter.
Hartley turned around when Cisco yelled his name and started out hiding behind Axel, then realised that was a little ridiculous and moved in front of him instead, straightening up so he could deal with Cisco.
Lisa, who could sense juicy drama waiting here and who would like this conversation to continue unyelled, herded Cisco toward the two, her arm still firmly around him. "What's going on here, hm?"
"I'm not a rogue," Hartley clarified, once Cisco was close enough, "They just wanted me to spend time with them." That was too subtle, wasn't it? "Unlike some people."
"Oh, come on, I invited you out whe shit calmed down but, you know what? Some things happened and I couldn't always make you the top priority. It's a two way street, you could have asked me to do shit too, you know? You never did." Cisco huffed angrily because Hartley was always throwing this at him and he was tired of it. Tired and coming off a break up and hating to see Hartley here with this asshole guy. Who he was probably dating.
And he was with the wrong guy. Asshole.
"Woah, watch your tone, buddy. Don't make melt your fucking face off." Axel sneered because no one spoke to his Piper like that.
"Who do you have helping you out right now? Still the British guy? You know, the one who 'reminds you of me, only he's straight'." Hartley sneered, not wanting to do this. It was just a reminder of what he'd so naively thought he'd have. Friends. Working at STAR labs again. And, yes, much as he tried to tell himself differently, he'd thought Cisco would be with him.
"Don't threaten him, Axel. Remember, we don't do these things." Lisa was unsure what to do. It was the two more heroically inclined people that were truly spitting venom here, the look in Hartley's eyes was lethal. Sad too, but definitely angry. "How about we all just have a round together, hm? Drinks are on me. Come on, boys."
"No, he ditched. Like I said, it wasn't anything to envy, you idiot. I spent a whole year standing still watching my best friend lie to me and people we loved die and--and all you can think of is your problems." Cisco knew he messed up, he knew he should have just manned up and called him and he wanted to, so many times, but it was three days. Three days to collect himself and then Dante died and things just stopped being that easy. "Stop trying to guilt me cause I fucked up! You fucked up too. Maybe if you'd been less of a dick in the first place I--"
Axel grabbed the front of Cisco's shirt and snarled protectively, shoving Hartley behind him. "Lisa, he's a fucking asshole! Lemme hurt him!"
Lisa quickly stepped forward between Axel and Cisco, catching her friend's eyes and shaking her head firmly. "No. Axel, no." She wasn't sure what else to say to dissuade him, but then she noticed that Hartley was leaving, which gave her an opening. "Go catch up to Hartley, Axel, before he runs into traffic."
That said she turned back around and looked at Cisco, putting both hands on his shoulders and catching his eyes as well. "You are still getting that drink, Cisco."
"On it. You're lucky, dickweed!" Axel snapped before he took off running after Hartley, literally running. He wasn't going to let this evening end just because this dude was a total dick and he didn't know what he had in a friend. "Hartley! Wait up."
Cisco took a breath and lowered his head, gritting his teeth harder than he needed. "I don't want a drink." Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did it have to be like this? What was there timing. He scrubbed his hands over his face to try and hide any tears burning in his eyes. "He never listens to me! He blames me as if I isolated him or something. I didn't, I never-- I never wanted this."
"It's fine, Cisco. You are just both angry. That happens." Lisa had no idea what the story there was, but judging by the looks in both Hartley's and Cisco's eyes, she doubted it was an easy one. So she wrapped her arms around Cisco and ran her fingers through his beautiful hair again and again in a soothing motion. It had always done the trick when she let Leonard do that, maybe it would work for Cisco as well. "Things we don't want happen all the time."
Hartley did wait up, mainly because he realised that Axel wouldn't give up on following him. He pushed his glasses up to wipe at his eyes, then turned to look at him. "Sorry. I shouldn't have..." A lot of things, really. "I'm tired. I should just go home."
"It just shouldn't have happened." All he wanted was Hartley back and to repair what they could have had and everything just came at him at once. And it the pressure, it was too much. Between Barry fucking up, Caitlin being weird and Dante dying, he struggled to keep up with everything else. He really wished that Hartley could have called him, just once, but he knew why. "I don't know how to handle him any more."
Especially after that kiss.
Axel didn't wait, he hugged Hartley as soon as he saw his eyes and just stayed like that, ready to get off if he was pushed. Not the first time that had happened to him. "I'm really sorry. Can I do anything? I can hurt him for you or walk you home or ... something. Leave, I guess."
"Well, he obviously doesn't know how to handle you either." That much was for sure. "Come on, Cisco. You know Hartley is just angry about ninety percent of the time. I'm sure he likes you." Something weird was going on here. "I'm sorry you've been having a hard time though, gorgeous. Life sucks, doesn't it?" Lisa tugged on a strand of Cisco's hair. "Are you sure you don't want a drink?"
"Thank you for wanting to do something." Hartley smiled a little, shaking his head. "You can walk with me. We can buy hot chocolate at Jitters." It was a bit late for coffee, after all. "I'm not good at friendship, you know? I ruin it every time. It just doesn't work out."
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mostlyajerk) wrote2018-01-24 02:00 pm
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"Amen."
"What did I do?" Mark just set down his beer and glared, but Shawna leaned back against him and so he decided he didn't care that much. It was mostly a general observation looking through the room anyway, not anything aimed at Mark specifically.
"So, Hartley, Axel says you don't want to join up with us again. How come?"
"I'm doing my own thing. I just hope you will stick to the rules, it's easier seeing Axel outside prison."
"Aw, you'd visit him again?" Lisa looked at Axel and grinned. "You lucky duck."
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He went to get them out but they all rolled their eyes because they'd seen them so many times. Axel got them out like a proud parent all the time because it wasn't often he got to feel like part of something and thus? It did kind of give him that feeling.
"Whatever, fine, we don't look at them." He shifted closer to Hartley and bumped his shoulder against Hartley's. "Straight boys are weird but luckily, we don't have much need for them. It's hella worse for girls."
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"I'm a good guy." So there.
"Yes, you are a good boy," Lisa assured him, patting his shoulder. Great. Nobody here took him seriously. Mark focused on his beer again instead, while Lisa kept talking to Hartley, "Are you seeing anyone right now?"
"I'm better off single. Gay guys aren't much better, right, Axel?"
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"You don't need to find someone, Hartley. Especially not here."
He didn't need to find anyone because his true love was right there. Yes, it was Axel and he beamed at Hartley with such happiness and love. "You got to find the right people who love your ratties." Like. Him.
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Shawna nodded, let out a sigh and then kissed Mark to show that she really was just joking. The kissing lasted a while.
Lisa shook her head. "I've been more focused on getting the rogues back together. Besides, I don't know what I want in someone anyway. What are you looking for?"
"Other than no one? I don't know. It'd be nice not to be alone one day. Be someone's special person. I have never really had that."
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He got the signals Hartley was giving and honestly, they were kind of bumming him out. Why did he have to be so anti-dating? Axel was special, he liked the rats, he was cute and gay! What more could he want?
"Maybe you should consider trying -- trying -- oh shit." Axel ducked by suddenly, peering over the table and cursing. "Lisa, we have a problem."
That problem being fucking Vibe was over there, talking some dude and having a beer, all casual and shit. Why was a super hero in this bar? What the hell?
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Meanwhile Lisa rolled her eyes, shook her hair - she was wearing a red wig - out and got up. "I'll deal with it, you heroes."
With that she walked over to Cisco, simply slipping an arm around him and looking at the man he was talking to. "Who's your friend, darling?"
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Did he want to know the answer?
Cisco made a confused noise, turned his head when someone touched him and-- oh. Oh shit. Oh no. This was -- no. "... Hey, girl." The hell. "This is-- just -- someone."
A guy he'd been hitting on. Whatever. Cisco went red and looked everywhere but Lisa and the guy seemed to get awkward too, ready to back off. May as well let him run away. "Good to see you, dude."
"Yeah, you too."
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"Long time no see, Cisco. You look great. Loving the hair." Lisa ran her fingers through Cisco's hair, whistling. "You are the envy of every girl in here tonight. How are you doing?"
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Cisco shuffled awkwardly, knowing that he was a lot better at this stuff now and he was his own hero but ... he still kind of wanted Barry. Lisa always, always got to him. "Thanks. My conditioner routine is definitely only getting better." He pulled away, crossing his arms defensively and glaring her down. "Better until I saw you and your crook friends getting drinks here... are they for real hiding beneath a table? I can see their feet."
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"She just stole his phone, didn't she?" Hartley glanced over the table and then chuckled. "Guess we don't have to worry about the Flash alert." Unless Barry was here with Cisco, which was possible. "You almost poured axid on him recently, I think he's a bit upset over that."
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Slowly, Axel climbed back up and sensed there was not much danger any more. He sat on the stool and waved at Cisco, who was glaring him down angrily. Adorable. Cisco soon stopped glaring as soon as Lisa got in real close and then suddenly, he was blushing and getting worked up.
"Woah, woah, woah. Who says you get to dance with me? You -- you are so going to prison. You all are. I'm a her--oooh." Fuck. She was close. Too close. And this was a lot right now and he was not sober enough to handle this shit alone. He was always weak to Lisa. Always. "... Your hands are so soft." Shit.
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"I use hand cream," Lisa told him, smiling as she used one of her hands to cup the back of his neck, partly so she could feel his hair. Every bit as silky as she thought it would be. "Come on. One dance, a couple drinks. You can still be my hero after that." If Leonard could flirt with the Flash, she could flirt with Vibe. She'd done it first. "I've been thinking about you, Cisco."
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"You have? Thinking about me? Yeah. Well. Good. You should, I'm very -- thinkable." Damn, he had to play this cool bur he had no cool and he hadn't done this in forever. Or ever. And things with Cyn were kinda, sorta, pretty much not a thing any more. It was a lot at once and -- "Hartley?"
What? "Oh my God. Hartley?" Woah, no, he was not just ducking out. "Dude, you told me you weren't a rogue!" Yes, he was yelling this across the club. He was Cisco, after all, no filter.
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Lisa, who could sense juicy drama waiting here and who would like this conversation to continue unyelled, herded Cisco toward the two, her arm still firmly around him. "What's going on here, hm?"
"I'm not a rogue," Hartley clarified, once Cisco was close enough, "They just wanted me to spend time with them." That was too subtle, wasn't it? "Unlike some people."
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And he was with the wrong guy. Asshole.
"Woah, watch your tone, buddy. Don't make melt your fucking face off." Axel sneered because no one spoke to his Piper like that.
"Yeah, great. Nice choice of friends, Hartley."
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"Don't threaten him, Axel. Remember, we don't do these things." Lisa was unsure what to do. It was the two more heroically inclined people that were truly spitting venom here, the look in Hartley's eyes was lethal. Sad too, but definitely angry. "How about we all just have a round together, hm? Drinks are on me. Come on, boys."
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Axel grabbed the front of Cisco's shirt and snarled protectively, shoving Hartley behind him. "Lisa, he's a fucking asshole! Lemme hurt him!"
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That said she turned back around and looked at Cisco, putting both hands on his shoulders and catching his eyes as well. "You are still getting that drink, Cisco."
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Cisco took a breath and lowered his head, gritting his teeth harder than he needed. "I don't want a drink." Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did it have to be like this? What was there timing. He scrubbed his hands over his face to try and hide any tears burning in his eyes. "He never listens to me! He blames me as if I isolated him or something. I didn't, I never-- I never wanted this."
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Hartley did wait up, mainly because he realised that Axel wouldn't give up on following him. He pushed his glasses up to wipe at his eyes, then turned to look at him. "Sorry. I shouldn't have..." A lot of things, really. "I'm tired. I should just go home."
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Especially after that kiss.
Axel didn't wait, he hugged Hartley as soon as he saw his eyes and just stayed like that, ready to get off if he was pushed. Not the first time that had happened to him. "I'm really sorry. Can I do anything? I can hurt him for you or walk you home or ... something. Leave, I guess."
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"Thank you for wanting to do something." Hartley smiled a little, shaking his head. "You can walk with me. We can buy hot chocolate at Jitters." It was a bit late for coffee, after all. "I'm not good at friendship, you know? I ruin it every time. It just doesn't work out."