The Flash - Double Take (Hartmon oneshot)

Double Take

A/N: This was absolutely inspired by seeing Carlos Valdes in "Up Here" back in March and wondering what a short-haired Cisco would do to Hartley. Thanks to blueelvewithwings for betareading.

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The thing about Cisco is that Hartley hasn't really looked at him since that fateful day in S.T.A.R. Labs when Harrison had introduced him. And back then, he'd mostly been distracted by Cisco's altogether too informal taste in clothing, and the surge of jealousy he'd felt at Cisco being the new guy. Cisco had been a threat to him, and any thoughts on how else he looked, apart from what he could use to insult and bristle him, got discarded as irrelevant.

The last time Hartley could remember having any conscious interest in Cisco was right around the time he started suiting up as Vibe. And that he'd blamed on the new suit; anyone was bound to look good in that type of get-up. So sue him, he had a costume kink to go with his competence kink; leather-clad superheroes or villains were like catnip to him. But then they'd actually become friends, rather than merely reluctant allies trying to take down a Time Wraith together. So Hartley tried, and mostly succeeded in, not thinking about Cisco like that. Especially since enemies to friends seemed better than he deserved already-anything more would be a pipe dream. Though it was hard at times, out in the field especially, trying not to die usually took precedence and distracted him from being tempted to check Cisco out too much. But a little wouldn't hurt.

And then Cisco cut his hair. This was the last thing Hartley expected him to do under normal circumstances, because Cisco had made it clear that his hair would not be touched whenever people suggested on many occasions that he could change something in his life. Except, metas of the week didn't care what they ruined in the pursuit of their goals, and Cisco's hair was the latest casualty. At least the glue was possible to cut out of his hair; it could have been so much worse. If it had gone over his mouth and nose instead...

Cisco missing a chunk of hair on one side had unfortunately seemed hilarious at the time. Cisco, however, had pouted and glowered and then stormed out muttering angrily to himself before everyone else in the room burst out laughing, unable to help themselves. It might not have been fair to Cisco, who was mourning the loss of his beloved hair, but they'd needed an emotional outlet after that mission. Glue didn't sound particularly dangerous, more annoying or an inconvenience, and yet that mission had been one of the most dangerous in some time. Barry had been hit in the face and only the advantages of being a speedster had allowed him to escape that hazard rapidly enough that it wasn't a huge problem.

When he next saw Cisco, his jaw had dropped. Intellectually, he'd known Cisco would be getting a haircut, but that hadn't prepared him for the reality. His brain can't get used to it and he does a double-take every time he sees Cisco now. And the problem with that is he's really seeing Cisco again, or perhaps even for the first time given he's not biased anymore. Or at least, not biased against Cisco.

Oh, no, he thinks, looking quickly away and swallowing down a lump in his throat. It isn't that Cisco looks hotter with short hair, it's that looking properly at Cisco at all is making him notice that Cisco is indeed hot. And cute, even as he scowls at Hartley, displeased with the new hair being made into A Thing when he clearly just wants to ignore it. Cisco has been hot this whole time and all Hartley has been achieving was ignoring it. But he can't anymore – his stomach is twisting at the knowledge because it doesn't feel like just lust now – and he has no idea what to do about it.

"Would you quit looking at me like I grew a third eye already," Cisco grumps the next time Hartley's caught staring at him.

"Sorry," he says, turning away under the guise of reaching for another tool, hoping he isn't blushing.