Work Text:
Oliver wasn’t sure why they were doing this. Here he stood in the ballroom of the Smythe Estate in the middle of Westerville, Ohio of all places and he was bored.
“What’s someone as sexy as you doing all alone?”
The young voice made him startle and Oliver suddenly found himself standing beside who he knew was the Smythe’s youngest son. “Should you even be drinking that? You look twelve.”
The younger male shot him a defiant look from bright green eyes, slowly tipping his glass back as Christmas lights flashed from the tree behind him. “What’s it to you? Oliver Queen.” He smirked, “Starling City’s playboy extraordinaire I’m certain you’ve done worse.”
“You don’t know me.”
Sebastian moved, and Oliver was becoming infuriated. Suddenly they were nose to nose. “and you don’t know me.”
Their breaths mingled and Oliver saw a smirk stretch across the young face as he glanced upwards. “Mistletoe.” It was a whisper passed only between the two of them as Sebastian undid a button of his Dalton Academy blazer. “Kiss me.”
It was a demand, an order and Oliver couldn’t quite believe it when he began obeying it, pulling the younger male closer and brushing his lips against a remarkably soft pair. It felt like an entirety but yet only a second, the background noises blurring together as Oliver felt like he was floating and the faint melody of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen played clearly in his perception. He could feel the polyester of the school blazer against his fingertips as the younger male pulled away. “I have to go perform now.” The voice sounded as breathless as he felt and he didn’t quite process -the words spoken to him, just the feel of rough cardboard as a something was pressed into his hand and a pair of lips shaped to a smirk pressed to the curve of his neck. “Keep in touch.”
Then he was gone, blended into the stage.
Oliver tried to keep in contact, his stories of nightclubs being replied to with stories of a club called the Warblers but then everything just stopped. Sebastian seemed to vanish, no one had seen or heard from him since he’d graduated from Dalton Academy and Oliver certainly found himself missing the teen who had entertained him.
No more, he discovered, than right this very moment. He eyed the site of the break-in, a calculating look on his face as he drew conclusions he wished weren’t true and longing for a distraction from right now just like at the boring galas of his youth.
“Actually it was only one guy!”
Oliver’s head snapped up, turning to face the doorway where the lanky frame of a young man was bent over. His eyes raked the frame turning up details about the man it belonged to. He was tense as if this entire situation was making him uncomfortable yet there seemed to be an air of comfort and familiarity around him so he was either really socially awkward or lying about something but not his job, Oliver was sure the young CSI knew what he was doing.
He could feel John and Felicity’s eyes on him as he watched this “Barry Allen” work. There had been no evidence of him lying during that introduction but something nagged on his conscious, a familiarity of some sort. So he asked John to run a background check on him.
His suspicions weren’t confirmed until much later.
Oliver stared at the very familiar shade of Green as he and the familiar stranger were in a very familiar situation, nose to nose, Barry’s chest heaving as he was about to yell at Oliver for something Oliver was sure he probably deserved but wouldn’t listen to. And then his mouth opened, “Sebastian.”
Barry smirked, deflating slightly “That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while, Ollie.”
“Now I definitely know it’s you.”
Barry laughed and Oliver found himself enjoying it almost as much as when he sang. “Sebastian was a mask, a persona per se. Bullies got a little too much and I turned into one as you know.”
“So I’m having a party.”
“You, Oliver Queen, are having a party despite being as bored as I was at the last one we were at at the same time.
“Yes, it’s a tradition.”
“If this is about singing you should know I haven’t since I graduated Dalton.”
Oliver let a small chuckle out, noticing the surprised looks on his teammates’ faces. “Anyway.”
“Yes.”
Oliver looked surprised.
“I already know what you’re going to ask. Don’t be stupid.”
Oliver waited, the Christmas decorations in the window bringing back memories of happier times. It had been a year since he’d reunited with who he now knew was named Barry and learning this new side had been interesting, to say the least.
The bell on the door rattled as it opened and Oliver looked up. “What happened to your face?”
Barry laughed bitterly and Oliver raises an eyebrow. “I wasn’t fast enough, I’ll never be fast enough.”
Oliver frowned. “Remember what I said last time we met? You can always talk to me.” It had been just over a year since they’d reunited and Oliver couldn’t ever remember Barry being so depressed.
“I got my ass handed to me,” Barry bit into his food sharply. “By the man who murdered my mother and he’s faster than me. He always will be.”
“No. He won’t.”
“What are you up to?”
“Well, first I have a gift for you.”
He handed Barry a box and Barry looked at him through wide eyes, reflecting the lights adorning the windows of Oliver and Thea’s apartment. Barry took the box noting the neat wrapping and the red ribbon securing a note that read, “For old times sake.” Barry quirked an eyebrow, “For old times sake?”
“You’ll see.”
“I’ll see?”
“Yep. You will.”
“Hmmm…”
“Just open the present Barry.”
And he did.
Another year passed, they found themselves getting closer yet again and yet again Oliver wondered just what was up with Barry.
“Nightmares.” Was the only response he got when he asked. “I’ll be fine.” Oliver wanted to call him out on it but remembering how stubborn the other male could get decided to leave it. Besides he was hiding something too, his growing feelings.
He didn’t say anything out of fear of losing the other man though, he didn’t want to push him away.
“So I have a confession?”
Oliver smiled slightly, “Which is?”
“I still think you’re really sexy and I didn’t want to risk our friendship or end up hurting you because sometimes I can go back into being Sebastian and act like a total idiot and oh my god what am I saying?” Oliver chuckled and a deep blush covered Barry’s cheeks. “Uh. Sorry.”
Oliver gave in and finally kissed him again.
“So the Wests are really big into Christmas.”
“Okay.”
“So it would be the best time to properly meet them.”
“I don’t know.”
At this Barry smirked. “I do.” Oliver sighed. “Come on Ollie,” he pouted, “Pleaseee?”
“Fine.”
Barry grinned. “Yes. This is gonna be awesome, okay don’t worry.”
Somehow Oliver managed it.
Joe didn’t trust him, that was clear. Iris, on the other hand, was a chatterbox. “So Oliver.”
Oliver turned to her, “Yes?”
“How exactly did you meet Barry? Was it when he met Felicity?”
Barry froze and Oliver cleared his throat. “No, actually I met him before I was stranded.” He proceeded to tell them a story about the party at Westerville, the two Wests listening intently to every word. Until that was, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Barry turned in his arms as the Wests got up to answer it. “Hey,” Oliver asked, “are you Okay?”
Barry nodded. “They don’t know much about Sebastian after Iris found me when Tony beat the shit out of me, I didn’t want to worry or hurt them more after them having to send me away.” Oliver nodded in understanding but Barry frowned. “They should be back by now.”
Oliver glanced at him questioningly.
Barry stood up, “Joe and Iris, they should be back in here already they never take this long to answer a door.”
“Barry, I’m sure they’re fine.” He grabbed Barry’s wrist and lead him back into the room. “They’ll tell you at least, later.”
Barry nodded again glancing upwards and Oliver had a flashback of the last time that had happened. “Mistletoe.” Oliver let his smile grow as Barry smirked again. “Kiss me.”
This time Oliver wasn’t surprised when he listened.