philote_auctor

"Truth or dare."
There’s no question mark on the end of the sentence. Cisco’s even tone clearly makes it a challenge.

Harry doesn’t rise to it; he merely rolls his eyes. “Neither.”

“That’s not a choice.”

“I am not playing childish games with you, Ramon.”

“Sure you will. Because you’re bored.”

Harry sighs, but doesn’t deny it. It’s been weeks since the last meta incident. Even regular, non-superpowered crime is down in Central City. They’ve both been spinning their wheels in increasingly outlandish projects. A bored Harry is a worrisome thing, but Cisco’s self-aware enough to know that he is no better. And the two of them bored together? Well, that can be flat-out dangerous.

Harry proves that now. “Fine. Dare.”

Cisco’s mouth snaps shut. He hadn’t expected that answer. By Harry’s smirk, he knows it. Cisco narrows his eyes at him. “Okay. I dare you to tell me the truth about—“

“You can’t use a dare to demand truth!” Harry’s protest drowns out his question. “That’s cheating.”

“You don’t know how we play it here! Maybe the rules are different on Earth One. You don’t get out enough to know.”

There’s enough truth in that to make Harry’s lips thin into a frustrated line. “I’ll ask Allen,” he threatens.

Checkmate. Barry is a crap liar. Cisco grumbles, but concedes. “So. A true dare,” he muses. A flicker of trepidation crosses Harry’s face, but Cisco blinks and it is gone, replaced by a challenging look. He meets it with a smirk of his own. “Fine. I dare you to…go to the park with me.”

“The park.” Harry stares at him for a long moment. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch. Just a nice walk. In the park.”

Harry’s clearly still suspicious. “No crawling, or singing, or nudity?”

Cisco blinks. “Wow. Clearly, I should have asked how you play Truth or Dare on Earth Two.”

Harry scoffs, but the slight blush that rises on his cheeks is very gratifying. Cisco grins, then ducks his head to hide it as he takes pity on him. “Seriously, no catch. Just sunshine and fresh air, and probably a few people.”

Harry goes still. “Ramon…”

“You can’t just stay down here all the time. There’s no natural light; you’ll get a Vitamin D deficiency.”

“They make supplements for that. And you’re being melodramatic; I do go out.”

“Jitters and Big Belly Burger don’t count.”

Harry glares. “Of course they count!”

“No, because they serve a single-minded purpose.”

“Sustenance? Kind of a crucial purpose, there.”

“But not the point. It’s not going out for the sake of being out, soaking in the world.”

“When the new barista at Jitters dumps iced coffee all over you, you’re pretty well soaked.”

Cisco bites back the laugh that image conjures. “Was it purposeful?”

“I don’t think so. There were no accusations of evil deeds, anyway. Not this time around.”

“Harry.”  Cisco sighs in frustration, more with the situation than the man. He’s not sure if this is the whole reason Harry’s so reclusive, but it is certainly part of it. “I don’t care if people recognize you. I’ll just say you get that a lot, but you’re not him; you’re my friend. I worked with the man they knew as Harrison Wells, and not only is he one hundred percent dead, but you are nothing like him. Not in any way that counts.”

The passion in the statement takes even him by surprise. He doesn’t realize he’s gotten so worked up until he’s finished and trying to catch his breath. Harry looks a little stunned. After a long moment of staring he visibly shakes himself, saying gravelly, “I know.”

“Good.” Cisco clears his throat. “So, anyway. Sunshine.”

Harry nods, gesturing for Cisco to precede him out the door. Cisco moves to do so, only glancing back once to make sure Harry is following. As they head into the hallway, Harry says, “You know, I didn’t spend that much time in my fancy office on my Earth. I was in the lab every day. Especially when Jesse was younger; she used to call my lab my cave.”

“Oh, I see that analogy. You’re the grumpy bear in the shadows who only comes out to eat.” As they move into the elevator he reaches out to poke Harry in the side, grinning when the other man shies away.

“I had a little cot in the corner. There might have been something said about hibernation,” Harry admits.

Cisco laughs as he pushes the button and watches the elevator door slide closed.

Just when he thinks they’re past the deep stuff, Harry says, “You’re…you know…” He’s looking anywhere but at Cisco, body firmly angled towards the door. “You’re my friend, too.”

Cisco beams at him. “See? I got some truth with the dare, after all.”

Harry heaves a long-suffering sigh and shakes his head, but not before Cisco glimpses the tiny, fond smile on his lips.