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I.
It was New Year's Eve when Barry first thought about it.
He'd been spending the last few weeks in Starling City – to recover, mostly, but also because he didn't want to leave Oliver yet, not so soon after what they'd been through. So he spent the holidays with his boyfriend (he still got giddy just thinking about the concept of them being in a relationship) and his slightly messy family – Felicity, Roy, Diggle, Lyla, Laurel and her dad. They all welcomed him like he'd been part of their group for years; he had a suspicion that Oliver told them to go easy on him. He was glad for it, either way.
New Year's Eve was a quiet affair; Roy tried to coax them out of Oliver's apartment to go to some party they were too old to attend, but they declined. Instead they stayed in, ordered Chinese food and lounged on the couch the entire evening, watching mindless TV. At one point, Barry glanced at Oliver and saw the other man staring at his shoulder. He couldn't bite back a grin.
“Ollie?”
“Hm?” Oliver looked up, startled.
Barry laid his arm around his shoulders and his hand on Oliver's cheek, trying to press his face against his shoulder.
“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Oliver deadpanned, voice muffled by Barry's shirt and body tense.
“Shh, it's cuddle time now.”
Oliver harrumphed and muttered something unintelligible into Barry's shoulder but stayed where he was anyway, relaxing into him.
Barry made it to midnight without falling asleep – it was a miracle he did it, being all warm and cosy and tired from doing nothing – but Oliver's eyes slipped close and his breathing evened out a bit before that, so he watched the ball drop alone. Two seconds after midnight, he turned his head to press a kiss to Oliver's hair – he was sure he'd get a proper kiss the next morning.
At this exact moment, the thought shot through his head like a bolt of lightning – no pun intended –, I think I love you.
He couldn't decide if he was surprised or not; sure he'd thought about his feelings for Oliver, but... this seemed a bit like he was getting ahead of himself.
Heat rushed to his cheeks; when he thought about it, no, he was pretty sure about the intensity of his feelings. Glad that Oliver wasn't awake to see his cherry-red face and freaked out expression, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
II.
Right after Oliver was introduced to Barry's family – and friends, and co-workers, and neighbours... Barry almost felt sorry for him but he didn't seem to mind – as his boyfriend, he had to leave for Starling City immediately. Barry understood – they'd been spending a lot of time together recently, and he didn't want them to become one of those couples.
Still, he couldn't resist calling Oliver as soon as he texted that he'd safely arrived.
“Barry,” his boyfriend sighed. “We just saw each other.”
“I know,” Barry mumbled; he couldn't keep the grin off his face. “Just wanted to see how you're doing.”
“I'm fine. Tired.” Oliver's voice was soft, quiet, as if he didn't want to disturb anyone. “You?”
“Same.” Barry turned on his side – he was already in bed, wearing his most comfortable pyjama bottoms and the soft, worn T-shirt Oliver had forgotten at his apartment (or, rather, the one that Barry had swiped from his bag, but no one needed to know that). He yawned and pressed the phone tighter to his ear.
Oliver chuckled. “Go to sleep, Barry.”
“But I'm talking to you.”
Oliver hummed in reply; Barry could hear a clatter in the background and presumed his boyfriend was getting ready for bed as well.
I'm pretty sure I love you. He almost said it out loud, but stopped himself in the last second. Oliver was amazing – sure, he had his flaws and could be a jerk sometimes, but he was also caring and sweet and... It was way too soon to say it, so Barry didn't.
“Barry? You still here?”
“Yeah...” He yawned. “Talk to me until we fall asleep?”
III.
It was the little things, Barry guessed, that made him want to say it. The looks they exchanged over dinner with their friends, when Oliver laughed at his stupid jokes, when he surprised him by coming to Central City unannounced. If he told anyone Oliver was the sappy one in their relationship, they'd laugh him in the face, but Barry knew better (his phone was full of cheesy texts and mushy saved voicemails, for a start; he'd sworn to Oliver he'd delete them, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him).
By now he was sure about his feelings. I love him. He just wasn't sure how to tell Oliver. Over dinner? Too cliché. At night, right before they fell asleep? Too risky, he might be kicked out if Oliver didn't feel the same.
He didn't tell anyone what was going on in his head, lest they slipped up while talking to Oliver. He was working up to it; he just needed some more time.
+ I.
They were running – Barry didn't know where, he still didn't really know his way around all of Starling City. Well, he was running as fast as he could with a broken leg and his energy level being very low. They were both wearing their suits – they'd had an encounter with Thea and her father that had left them in bad shape – Barry was limping, and Oliver had lost his mask somewhere and almost tore himself apart about it.
“How could I- We need to go back. I need to get it, c'mon.” He grabbed Barry's arm and started dragging him into the direction they'd come from; Barry didn't expect it, tripped over his own feet and landed on his broken leg. The scream he let out could be heard several blocks away, he was sure. Oliver was at his side immediately.
“Shit, I'm so sorr-”
“It's okay,” Barry managed through gritted teeth. “I just- I don't think my bones will heal right like this. You have to- You have to align them so- ughh.” Oliver grabbed his calf with both hands and- Barry didn't even want to think what he was doing. He was pretty sure he blacked out once or twice, but after a few minutes Oliver was done rearranging his bones. He let his head thump on the hard asphalt, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Oliver fell down next to him.
“I'm sorry for losing the mask.”
Barry shrugged. “You can always get another one. It's just a piece of micro-fabric.”
“It's...” Oliver paused for a moment, clearing his throat. “You made it.”
“Oh. Well, I could make anoth-”
“I love you.”
Barry whipped his head around so fast that he almost knocked himself out. “What?”
Oliver smiled softly. “Yeah, I just. I realised it a while ago, but- This seemed like the moment to- mmmph.”
Barry surged forward and met Oliver's lips in an off-centre kiss. When he pulled away, he grinned widely at Oliver despite the pain in his leg. “Love ya too, honey.”
Oliver groaned. “Don't ruin it.”