Work Text:
Piano. That was the sound that greeted Cisco as he walked into S.T.A.R. It was a beautiful sound, harmonies flowing into each other like waves. He typed ‘hello? Anyone there?’ into his phone, Siri repeating it back. (Handy tool for mute people. One of the only perks of Apple. Thanks
Steve Jobs.) At the lack of response, he frowned, following the sound. The tune faded into another, and Cisco almost stopped dead in his tracks at how-- how wonderful the melodies faded. He set another think to call from his phone, raising his top lip a little in frustration at the continued lack of response. He kept following the noises of the piano, fully prepared to slap the person playing. Lightly. On the head.
Until the person he saw was Hartley.
He dropped his phone in shock, it clattering. Cisco couldn’t bring himself to care. How could he? Hartley was (Cisco presumed) deaf. He shook his head, going to Hartley and tapping his shoulders; who, in response, jumped and clattered on the keys.
“What the fuck, man?” Cisco signed, erratic. He couldn’t tell if it were excitement or… something else. “Have you been faking to be deaf this whole time?”
Hartley’s lips formed into a smile, mocking and a roll of the eyes was attached to it. “No.” He signed simply.
“How can you be a musician and deaf?” Cisco signed, his face awed. That was the something else. Awe. A part of him was confused, although he faintly remembered Mozart, or Beethoven? Whatever, one of those were deaf.
“How can you speak so much and be mute?” Hartley signed back, a smirk on his features.
“Hey!” Cisco made his movements faster and harsher, pouting. “I’m serious. This is-” He paused mid action to think of a word. “This is amazing.” He sat himself besides Hartley, looking between the keys and Hartley’s hands before focusing on them again.
“I’d say prodigious.” Hartley cockily signed once Cisco had stopped looking.
Cisco frowned, signing ‘prodigious’ back to Hartley, tilting his head. A habit he’d picked up to symbol a question. Prodigious was new.
Hartley rolled his eyes. “P-R-O-D-I-G-I-O-U-S.” He spelt back to Cisco, whose face lit up in realization.
“You still haven’t answered, dude.”
“The fact that you can sign the word dude into day-to-day speech greatly concerns me.”
“You never said that about man.” Cisco couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his lips (along with a small blush).
“That doesn’t concern me, Cisco.”
“Still not answered.” Cisco stuck to his question, sticking out his tongue slightly.
“It’s vibrations.” Hartley signed, smally, as though this were a secret; he was also avoiding eye contact with Cisco. “Simple enough. You feel those. You don’t need hearing to know what vibrations would piece beautifully together.”
“The vibrations really do sound good together, Harts.”
Hartley smiled, and Cisco knew he couldn’t hear the small huff of air that escaped with it, but it was cute all the same. “Why did you sign my name like that?”
Cisco beamed. “What? Half-assed?”
Hartley rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Half-assed.”
Cisco leant in, pressing a small kiss to Hartley’s cheek.“I’m too lazy to learn your whole name.”
“And to kiss properly, it seems.”
Cisco shoved him lightly. “You’re lucky I like you.”
Hartley smiled softly, yet there was a sad edge to it. “Shame we have to act like you don’t.”
Cisco smiled back, a mirror of Hartley’s. “I blame you.”
“Why not just blame Wells?”
Cisco took Hartley’s hand and squeezed, kissing the tip of his nose, much to Hartley’s distress. He had an element of pain in his being, a longing. For something like this always. No hiding, no pretending they disliked each other for the humour of Wells. “Sounds like a plan.”