Chapter Text
From the moment Hartley Rathaway started planning his revenge on Harrison Wells, he was elated at the idea of returning to STAR Labs. He had just gotten stuck there a little longer than planned.
The first phase of his plan went off without a hitch. Hartley threatened Wells at his home, then “attacked” his family’s building, and got captured by the Flash. He used the opportunity to steal the Flash’s medical information, lure him out, and attack him. Unfortunately, Wells dismantled his gloves before he could kill his new replacement.
Now he was back in his tiny cell under his former home.
Hartley liked the repurposing of the particle accelerator into a makeshift prison. He could admit it was one of Cisco’s cleverer ideas.
He particularly liked how isolated the cells were from the rest of the facility. Did it really matter though? The building was covered in security cameras.
There was a camera in the corner of Hartley’s cell, livestreaming his every move.
In fact, while he had let himself be captured, he often wondered if his old teammates were watching him. That question was still in his head now, maybe even more now.
He would be flattered by the knowledge that all of his former coworkers -Caitlin, Cisco, and Wells- had been watching him regularly.
Caitlin just wanted information on Ronnie. Hartley had always thought she was too sentimental. He’d give her what she needed eventually. He had already told Cisco that he would trade information for an escape.
Cisco was Hartley’s favorite to toy with. He liked imagining Cisco watching him, trying to puzzle out his plans, remembering the long hours they spent building the accelerator together and the way Wells looked at both of them. The many memories they’d made in their time together, all he was sure were headache inducing for Cisco.
He liked imagining how Wells and Cisco had been getting along the past year. How they both viewed him now. Maybe he was being narcissistic but he figured this wasn’t the first time either of them had thought of him.
Wells, or as Hartley had always called him, Harrison, was unreadable. Hartley figured he was watching but he didn’t know the intention. Did he miss having Hartley as his guy? Did he want revenge for exposing that Wells knew the accelerator could fail? Did he just want to protect his secrets?
Hartley had all the time in the world to turn over these scenarios in his mind. His only interruption from them came in the form of visits from his old team.
Cisco was first, asking for information about Ronnie. Hartley gave him nothing. He’d have to be let out first for that.
Instead of talking about Ronnie, Hartley steered the conversation in a different direction.
“Let me out or don’t. It’s up to you. But if you’re here, I might as well not be bored. Tell me, how has STAR Labs been since I’ve been gone?” Hartley asked.
“Well aside from the accident, it’s great. It’s been so nice not having your annoying voice constantly in my ear.” Cisco bit out, already annoyed at the questioning.
“C’mon Ramon, fill me in. How’s life with the Flash?” Hartley teased. He was baiting Cisco but he did actually want an answer.
“He’s great. He’s making our city safer. He’s easy to work with. In fact, he’s nice.” Cisco replied. Hartley’s overall condescending dick attitude was getting to him
“And you're not at all upset that you didn’t fill the gap that I left? I mean, I assumed Harrison would chose you next but nope, he picked the Flash to be his next ‘special guy.’’ Hartley taunted.
“I forgot that’s what he used to call you. You always went by 'the Chosen One' yourself.” Cisco avoided the question.
“He had lots of names for me. Does he have any for you, Cisquito?” Hartley pushed. He was curious to see how far Harrison’s claws were in Cisco.
Cisco could name a few but Hartley didn’t need that information. Instead, he just stayed silent.
“Hmm. Does he play chess with you? Drink with you after hours? Is he possessive? Does he call you anything with ‘my’ in front of it?” Hartley prodded.
My boy. Harrison privately called Cisco his boy. Especially when they played chess and drank. Hartley had hit the nail on the head. Cisco wasn’t surprised, just severely uncomfortable.
“Oh you have so much to learn Cisquito. You have no idea who Harrison Wells really is.” Hartley laughed.
Cisco bristled at the repeated use of the nickname and at Hartley’s ominous statements. He tried not to visibly shutter as he walked out of the pipeline.
With that, Hartley sat back down on the floor of his cell and started directly at the camera. He was done talking to Cisco for the night, but he had a feeling he might be getting one more visitor today.
***
Cisco had left almost immediately after that disquieting conversation. He wanted to be as far away from the lab as possible. Within ten minutes, Harrison was at Hartley’s cell.
“You had so much potential Mr. Rathaway.” Wells started.
“Oh drop the formalities, you used to call me a slut regularly.” Hartley replied.
“Fine, Hartley.” Wells said tensely. “Remember your place.”
“Oh, you don’t want me talking to Ramon. He’ll be fine. You’ll hurt him worse than I will.” Hartley shot back.
With a sigh, Wells pulled a remote out of his jacket pocket and pressed the button in the center.
Hartley’s ears split. The pain exploded in his head.
Wells pressed the button again and shut off the device. Hartley crumpled to the floor.
“Know your place.” Wells repeated.
And with that, Hartley was alone for the night.
***
He tossed and turned in the night. He couldn’t get comfortable after Harrison’s attack. When it was morning, he gave up on rest and went back into his daydreaming.
His mind raced from escape, to his past, to his future, and to everything he is going to do to this place when he gets out.
He figured he wouldn’t have any visitors tonight. He knew Cisco needed to stew before making up his mind. He knew Cisco would break eventually and let him out. He just needed time.
At about 8:00 p.m., if Hartley was keeping track of time correctly, the doors to the particle accelerator opened.
Hartley rolled his eyes as Harrison rolled in. Apparently he was wrong about the whole no visitors thing.
He still wasn’t used to seeing Harrison in his chair. This man, the man he did anything and everything for, seemed so different like this. More confident, less genuine. Like he was using the chair as a disguise.
Yet, he still somehow seemed smaller than before the explosion. It was an interesting switch.
“Hello Hartley.” Harrison started, like nothing had happened the previous night.
“Hello Harrison.” Hartley said, petulant. He didn’t mind being trapped in a cell. He did mind interacting with Harrison.
“What is your fixation with Cisco?” Harrison asked with no preamble.
“What, jealous that I'm spending more time with him than with you?” Hartley rolled his eyes again.
“I’m concerned for his safety. You attacked us, remember?” Harrison said bitterly.
“Oh, don’t act like you’re worried about him now. You trapped him on top of a bomb that you knew was going to explode a year ago, remember?" Hartley bit back.
“I’ve missed you, Hartley. You were one of the greatest minds I’ve ever come across. It’s hard to see you in here. I don’t want Cisco to follow your path.” Harrison replied.
“You’ve known him for over a year now. You think he’d betray you that easily? Wow, you must not think very highly of him.” Hartley teased.
“And how do you think of him?” Harrison prodded.
“I think he’s cute, don’t you?” Hartley prodded in return.
“Don’t deflect, Hartley. I have known you for five years. What are you trying to get him to do?” Harrison asked.
Hartley laughed.
“Five years. Five damn years. I am twenty-four. I have known you since I was nineteen. Since I was fresh out of high school. God, I remember when we met. You came up to me after that freshman year engineering class. You guided me through a quick degree and put me to work here instead of going into academia. You’ve been here every step of the way and now you're keeping me in here and questioning me about your new guy.”
“I am trying not to make the same mistakes with him that I made with you. I spent five years with you and now you're here. Do not go after Cisco or the Flash ever again.” Harrison half shouted. His composure was cracking. Hartley was breaking it.
“Right, you spent so much time with me and didn’t get anything out of it. What was it you said last night, that I had ‘so much potential?’ Now let me guess you think instead of an heir to your empire, all you got out of it was a good lay.” Hartley bit out. He didn’t like thinking about that side of their relationship. He figured Harrison didn’t either. At least not in this context.
“You weren’t naive. I set you up for success. We were good together. You burnt that bridge. You will not burn Cisco’s.” Harrison shot back.
“I have a feeling you're going to do that yourself.” Hartley ended the conversation.
Harrison shook his head and left without another word.
Hartley couldn’t shake the feeling that even if he got the last word, Harrison was still very much in control.
***
The next day passed quickly. Hartley was betting on seeing Cisco tonight. That couldn’t come quick enough. Hartley wanted to get out.
Sure enough, Cisco showed up after hours. Hartley gave him a once over. Between the scared expression on his face and the tablet in his hand, Hartley figured this conversation was going to be interesting. Especially since he could see there was a recording of the previous night on said tablet.
“I-I modified the camera in your cell. I added a microphone. I didn’t tell anyone, I just modified it." Cisco stuttered.
“Why?” Hartley asked; genuinely curious, slightly afraid.
“I don’t know because you're evil, because you know stuff about Ronnie, just because. I just wanted to keep tabs on you.” Cisco answered.
“When?” Hartley continued. He knew where this was leading.
“When you broke out the first time. It’s been recording since we brought you back.” Cisco replied.
“Why are you telling me?” Hartley questioned, his eyes narrow.
“I listened in on you and Dr. Wells last night. I-I’m so sorry.” Cisco stuttered again.
“For what?” Hartley rolled his eyes. It was becoming a habit.
“He took advantage of you. He was your boss. He practically groomed you. I can’t believe it. He seemed like such a good person.” Cisco said shakily.
“I knew what I was doing. I was an adult. And Harrison’s done far worse than that.” Hartley replied.
“You were on your own and he used you. Your parents-” Cisco protested.
Hartley cut him off. He didn’t need to rehash that part of his history right now. “You know what he’s like. You know how charming he can be. I fell for it. Now I’m suffering the consequences. I’m fine. This isn’t the first bad place I’ve ended up because I slept with the wrong guy.”
“You never talk about them. About your parents.” Cisco gently pressed.
“What's there to say? They caught me kissing my best friend when I was thirteen and told me if they ever saw anything like that again that I would be disowned. Then they caught me in the backseat of my car with a teacher when I was seventeen. They kicked me out. I lived in my car for six months, then went to college. It is what it is.” Hartley was surprised he was talking so much. Maybe he needed to rehash it.
“You were with a teacher? And you lived in your car?” Cisco murmured, processing Hartley's confessions.
“What, I’ve always had a thing for older men.” Hartley deflected.
“Me too but I avoided any of them that went for me while I was underage. Hartley, you were raped.” Cisco replied.
“I don’t consider myself a victim. Again, I knew what I was getting into. Also, congrats on coming out I guess. I’ve never heard you admit to liking men before.” Hartley switched topics quickly.
“Yeah I’m bisexual. Were you okay after you were kicked out? I didn’t know that you were homeless for a while.” Cisco changed the topic back immediately.
“I survived. I went to school. I stayed late, showered in the locker rooms, and stole extra food from the cafeteria. Found a way to make some money quickly then got scholarships for college. It was easier from then on. And obviously Harrison got involved after that.” Hartley gave him the shortened version of a very long few months.
“Made some money quickly? How’d you do that?” Cisco continued.
“Look you don’t need my life story just because you found out about one of my relationships.” Hartley avoided the question.
“Sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything.” Cisco backed off immediately.
There was a short silence before Hartley sighed.
“I was a hooker. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t easy. I almost got arrested a few times but it kept me afloat.” Hartley admitted. He didn’t hate that time period of his life but he sure didn’t talk about it. Cisco had a certain quality that made him easy to talk to.
Cisco’s eyes practically popped out of his head.
“Oh, don’t act so scandalized. I was a homeless teenage twink. I didn’t have a lot of options.” Hartley added.
“I’m not judging you. I’m judging the people that paid for that.” Cisco replied.
“What, you don’t think I’m pretty enough to get johns?” Hartley teased.
“No, it’s not that. You’re very pretty actually. I’m judging them for buying a minor.” Cisco stammered.
“I’m very pretty? Wow, I'm flattered.” Hartley replied.
“You know you're hot. You don't need me to say it.” Cisco rolled his eyes. The atmosphere was lightening back up after those revelations. Joking was helping both of them.
They settled into another bout of silence.
“You know you're next, right? I’m surprised Harrison hasn’t tried something already. He will at some point. And, I wouldn’t blame you. He’s not a terrible person. He’s practically a god in our field. He’s so challenging, intellectually. He’s the perfect person to have a scientific debate with. He just likes his men younger than him and he goes after people who look up to him.” Hartley said.
“We kissed once. We both got really drunk one night, a few weeks after the accident, and we kissed. We haven’t talked about it since. You were right the other night though. About the pet names, the chess games, and the drinking. He calls me his boy now. It’s been ramping up recently.” Cisco admitted.
“If you go for it, make sure it’s on your terms. That’s all I’ll say about him, he can be controlling. You kinda seem like you’d be into that though.” Hartley said with a smirk.
“You think I’m kinky?” Cisco half-laughed, half-stuttered.
“Oh calm down, everyone is with the right person.” Hartley laughed back.
“And you think Dr. Wells is the right person?” Cisco asked.
“No, not at all. But he could be if you wanted him to be.” Hartley answered.
“I don’t think he is. I mean- I don't know. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. There might be-” Cisco cut himself off.
“There might be what?” Hartley questioned.
“Maybe there could be someone else. I don’t know though. I’m not great at knowing my feelings. Especially with guys. In fact, I’ve never dated a guy.” Cisco said rapidly.
“You don't have any experience with guys?” Hartley asked, genuinely shocked.
“I had feelings for my childhood best friend but we never actually dated. Since then, I've had a few flings in college but most of my experience with guys is one night stands. I haven’t ever dated a guy or really had feelings for one since that friend though that might be changing.” Cisco admitted.
“So are you developing feelings for Harrison?” Hartley gently asked. He knew what this situation was like all too well.
“Maybe. I’m still trying to sort out if what I'm feeling is hero worship or wanting him. It's confusing.” Cisco replied. He was confusing himself. He was also talking way more than he meant too.
“I know it is. I know better than anyone else. Work it out with yourself before he starts moving in on you. Take it from the guy who did not follow his own advice and ended up sleeping with him for three years.” Hartley responded.
“Three years?” Cisco asked.
“Unfortunately. Well, maybe not unfortunately. I had a great job and the sex was great. It was just, you know, confusing.” Hartley answered.
“I could have gone my whole life without my ex-work nemesis saying sex with our boss is great.” Cisco replied.
“Just being honest. It might not have been him though. I was the pro in that relationship. Maybe sex with me is great no matter who the other guy is. Hartley smirked.
The hooking innuendo hit Cisco quickly. He laughed loudly. He couldn’t help it.
“That’s a little fucked up dude.” Cisco smiled as he said it.
“I know.” Hartley said, matching his smile.
As the night continued, conversation flowed between the two men. There were lots of laughs for two people who used to hate each other and thankfully, no more traumatizing revelations.
At the end of the night, Cisco smiled at Hartley and said, “Be up early tomorrow. I’ll get you out, you show me what you know about Ronnie, and we’ll see how things go from there.
Hartley just smiled back.