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Oliver looked around the small bar. It was quieter than he'd expected, only a few people sitting in cosy-looking booths. Barry's hand was on the small of his back, leading him to where Caitlin and Cisco were already waiting.
“Hey, what took you guys so long?” Caitlin asked with a smile on her face. Cisco smirked and opened his mouth, very possibly to make some lewd remark, but she elbowed him hard in the ribs and he choked on whatever he was going to say.
“Uh, traffic,” Barry mumbled.
“I thought you walked here?”
“I-”
“Hey, what can I bring you guys?” Barry looked at the waitress gratefully – she had saved them from having to give their friends an embarrassing answer.
Not that he was ashamed to be with Barry, or what they did in their time together – quite the opposite –, but everyone was already thinking they were jumping each other's bones all the time and well, Oliver didn't want to give them even more ammunition.
They ordered their drinks, and luckily Caitlin had dropped the subject – although Oliver guessed she knew exactly what they had been up to.
Oliver frowned when a man put a microphone stand on the stage. “Is something happening here tonight?”
“Oh yeah,” Cisco leaned back in his seat. “Karaoke night, every Friday. By the way, I already signed you up, Allen. Time to show off these pipes of yours.”
Barry didn't move; in fact, Oliver wasn't sure he'd ever seen his boyfriend so still. He was staring at Cisco with comically wide eyes; if looks could kill, Cisco would've been dead three times over.
“Barry?” Oliver laid a hand on his shoulder, which seemed to wake him up.
“Why would you do that?” Barry hissed, punching Cisco's arm.
“Ow, hey! Not cool.” He rubbed the spot – it couldn't hurt that much, but Oliver guessed he'd still have a bruise tomorrow. “And don't think we haven't heard you sing under your breath in the lab. You're good, and it's time to show the world.” He threw his arms out dramatically, and Barry sank down in his seat, his face beet red.
Oliver took his hand and squeezed it in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “Hey, it's fine. You can't possibly be worse than me.”
“Will you sing too?” Barry sounded so hopeful that Oliver almost agreed.
“No way. Not in public. I have a reputation to maintain.” It was meant as a joke, but Barry only nodded glumly. Oliver wrapped an arm around his waist and rubbed his hip through his shirt; Barry leaned into him, a pained look on his face.
Several people came on stage before Barry, some extremely talented, others... not so much. Barry tried to give himself some liquid courage, until Caitlin pointedly reminded him that he couldn't get drunk, to which he groaned and banged his forehead on the table.
When it was his turn, Barry stood up on shaky legs. “I- I don't think I can-”
“Hey,” Oliver interrupted and looked up at him. “You'll do great.”
Barry nodded curtly and bit his lip. Then he swooped down and gave Oliver a kiss that left him breathless; he barely had time to register what was happening before Barry had already pulled away again, leaning his forehead against Oliver's.
“Feels like I'm sending you off to war or something,” Oliver muttered, voice raspy. Barry took a step back and grimaced.
Oliver watched him walk to the stage and talk to the person handling the karaoke machine for a moment. “Is he really that good?” he asked Cisco, who nodded with a smile. “So... I don't have to pretend to like it?”
Cisco let out a booming laugh. “Dude, you are in for a treat.”
Oliver frowned and looked back to the stage, where someone was adjusting the microphone for Barry. “Give it up for Mr. Barry Allen!” the woman said cheerfully. Most patrons clapped politely but got back to their conversations. Cisco whooped, and Barry looked over to their table and blushed. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.
Soft piano music came out of the speakers, and Barry opened his mouth.
“Let me catch my breath
This is really hard
If I start to look like I'm sweating, well
It's 'cause I am”
His voice was quiet, and he wasn't full-on singing yet. He smiled into the audience, nervously playing with his fingers.
“I'm not good with words
But that's nothing new
Still I have to try to explain what I will do
With you
With you”
Barry's eyes found Oliver's, and the latter swallowed hard.
“Run away with me
Let me be your ride out of town
Let me be the place that you hide
We can make our lives on the go”
Oliver's jaw dropped at what was coming out of Barry's mouth. How had he not known about this? Barry's voice was clear, strong, mesmerising.
“I know it's fast but...
I'm in love with you
It's crazy but
I'm crazier for you
I have these plans
I have these plans
Of a house that we build on a bay
when we run away”
Barry smiled between verses, his eyes permanently fixed on Oliver's.
“Let me be your ride out of town
Let me be the place that you hide
We can make our lives on the go
Run away with me”
Oliver noticed that the people around him had stopped talking, staring at the stage in fascination. He felt a surge of pride for his boyfriend; he was able to captivate everyone's attention only by using his voice.
“Let's go
Anywhere
Get the car packed and throw me the key
Run away with me”
Next to Oliver, Cisco was bouncing in his seat. “Good, right? I told you so, I did. No, seriously, what do you think?” Caitlin slapped a hand over his mouth, shushing him.
“I'm not trying to tie you down
I'm just saying there may be a life here
A new one as soon as we run
Just as soon as we run
Run away”
Oliver was on the edge of his seat; he fought hard to not dash to the stage and kiss Barry senseless. No, he'd wait until the song was over, and then he'd run over and kiss him senseless.
“Ready, set
You're ready
Let's go
Anywhere
Say the word and I'm already there!”
He held the last note, closing his eyes. Oliver blinked. Whoa.
Barry took a deep breath, then whispered into the microphone,
“Run away with me.”
The music stopped, and for a moment everything was silent. Then, the patrons exploded into boisterous applause, making Barry blush and duck his head.
Oliver was out of his seat immediately, ignoring Cisco and Caitlin's questions of where he was going, and jogged to the stage. Barry was just getting off, leaning against the wall in the dark corner next to it. He looked up when Oliver approached.
“Hey, I- mmph.” Oliver wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and yanked him into a kiss. Barry responded enthusiastically, but pulled away much too quickly. “What-”
“You. Are. Perfect,” Oliver mumbled against his lips, punctuating each word with a short kiss. He could feel several pairs of eyes on them but, being in Barry's embrace, he couldn't care less.