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He really doesn't get it, he has no idea why people find exciting about freezing to death doing ridiculous things like building snowmen or ice skating or standing in lines a mile long to buy gifts at the last minute, if you really appreciate someone you can give them a gift any day, just saying, and oh, don't get him started on the decorating thing: lights, lights and more lights, red, green and gold everywhere he turns. Yes, you guessed it: Oliver Queen is not a fan of Christmas.
Don't take this the wrong way, he respects all beliefs and traditions but he just isn't crazy about the day nor does he see how anyone over the age of nine should be; maybe today was just a hard day. Two years ago, Oliver decided to leave his life of privilege and moved out of his family's mansion to live by his own means, he wanted to change, to be better, because he wanted to give a good example to his younger sister, that's how he got a job in an office and with his salary he found an apartment, it was nothing as luxurious as what he was used to but the place was decent.
Oliver adjusted the collar of his coat again, trying in vain to cover himself from the cold, he walked a few more meters and finally passed by the entrance of his building, longing to get home to rest for a while, eight hours at a desk in front of the computer were about to give him migraine and lumbago, he opened the door and just when he left his keys on the table it started: first a cheerful melody at an acceptable volume and then "WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR" at full volume.
Another thing he hated the most was Christmas carols, as soon as December starts he hears them everywhere at all hours, now his neighbor is playing the damn We wish you a merry Christmas as if they want everyone to hear it, but not today, Oliver just wants to pass out and forget about the world until nine o'clock tomorrow. Without thinking for a second he takes his keys again and goes up to the next floor in the elevator, he doesn't have to look far to find the source of the noise, it's the only door with a huge Christmas wreath, he knocks the door trying to make himself heard above the noise and a few seconds later the door starts to open, he almost expects an old woman with a bunch of cats but instead a guy appears, quite handsome actually.... no, that's not what he came here for.
The cute -no, Oliver, he's not cute, he's annoying- brown haired man looks at him confused, he had never seen him before, maybe it's because Oliver doesn't usually socialize with his neighbors nor has time to attend meetings, he only pays for the maintenance.
"Hey, can I help you with something?"
"Not exactly a request: Turn down the volume." He answered unceremoniously, in a tone a little -or a lot- more aggressive than required for a first encounter.
Outside of getting upset as the blond assumed he would, now his neighbor is looking at him with an identical expression of annoyance and a bit of defiance
"And my answer to your non-request is: no."
That's the last thing he says before slamming the door in his face; Oliver is too tired to continue arguing so he goes back to the elevator and when he's in front of his door Frosty The Snowman plays at an unhinged volume. Apparently it's going to be a long night, so after dinner in between Christmas greatest hits, he takes a sleeping pill. He'd rather knock himself out than put up with any more of that stuff.
Barry Allen considers himself a good person, he always likes to help others, to bring something to every situation, that's why he loves Christmas: togetherness, family, everything. He is in such a good mood at this time of year that he likes to listen to Christmas carols and sing, maybe sometimes he goes overboard with the volume, so the knock on his door for that reason was to be expected.
He had never seen the guy who knocked on his door before, he would ask Kara if he was new to the building, after all her sister is in charge of the neighborhood meetings; his interest in him almost vanished as soon as the blond opened his mouth, he would have turned the volume down if he had asked nicely but since he preferred to be the world's biggest jerk now he will have to live with it.
Do you know a guy with blond hair, blue eyes and a face like he's about to kill someone? Apparently he lives in the building
He texts her friend and she responds immediately:
I think I know who you mean, according to the checks he gives Alex for his maintenance fee his name is Oliver Queen. Why?
He tells Kara about the incident, but not before turning up the volume to the maximum.
"Now you'll see what's really annoying, Ollie."
He smiles to himself and continues drinking his cup of chocolate.
When he opens his eyes in the morning he is greeted by silence, sweet, sweet silence, Oliver gets out of bed and gets ready to go to work, as he sits down at his desk his friend Sara appears with a coffee, he thanks her and takes a sip
"What's wrong? You look upset"
"Nothing, my upstairs neighbor keeps listening to Christmas carols too loud and doesn't let me sleep."
"Have you tried talking to them yet?"
"Yeah, something like that." Now that he's a little more rested he recognizes that he didn't do it in the best way but he was right in what he asked for.
"And what did they say?"
"He just turned it up louder." He heard Sara laugh. "What?"
"I can tell you were never a little brother, that's the kind of thing you do, you know like I can outplay you, you should beat him at his game."
"Sara, I'm not going to play along with the kid."
"Kid?"
"He looks about sixteen, he's got a baby face."
"You watched him too well to just go and complain."
"What do you mean?"
"Get to work, your reports don't write themselves."
Returning home that evening he mentally prepared himself, just as he expected the music was still playing too loud but now there was something else, along with the carols there was a series of strangely rhythmic tapping on the ceiling... You've got to be kidding... Is his neighbor seriously tap dancing? Ok, this is too much, if that's what he wants then he's going to play with him.
Oliver has a good sound system and he's going to use it, though he hesitates what music to play, he has no idea what's playing recently. Is Fall Out Boy still in fashion? He shrugs and searches for something on the internet, on Youtube there is a result that is just what he needs: covers of famous Christmas carols making them sound like horror movie music, he quietly turns up the volume and drowns out the noise from above, soon the banging stops, he has won this round.
For a week it's been the same: Barry plays his Christmas carols and then Oliver starts his evil Christmas playlist at a slightly louder volume, then it all boils down to an exchange between them of turning it up, up and up until it's at maximum and you don't even understand what either of them are listening to anymore.
Naturally the other neighbors got caught in the crossfire and they didn't like that, so they went to Alex and she politely asked them to keep the music to themselves or the rest of the building occupants would have to resort to more drastic measures. So that was the end of it, a war fought in vain, he didn't even get a chance to tell Oliver what an idiot he was or try to make things right. That's why he doesn't know what to think when he's coming home from work and sees the same Oliver Queen who knocked on his door furious now feeding a dog in the street, then he talks to him affectionately and wow, he never would have imagined that a guy like him would be capable of such tenderness, maybe he's not as bad as he looks, he smiles a little and then continues on his way to the building.
Fate seems to want to bring them together, because a few days after that incident, Oliver goes downstairs to pick up his mail, he is in the elevator checking his letters when he notices that one is not from him.
"Who is Bartholomew Henry Allen?" Then he looks at the address, apartment 308
With a sigh he presses the button to go to the third floor, he walks down the hall and knocks on the door again. Today he is not looking for an argument, he stands there for a while and there is no answer, he is about to leave when his neighbor opens the door.
"Hey." Greets the brown-haired man kindly.
"Hey, this was left among my letters by mistake, I just came to return it." He says, extending the envelope towards him.
"Oh yeah, of course, thank you."
Bartholomew takes the letter and Oliver is about to leave but something inside him tells him that he must do something first.
"Wait, I think I owe you an apology for the other time, I'm sorry."
"I accept your apology, I think we both acted in the wrong way with a situation that could have been solved by talking."
"Thanks, I hope that means no more tap dancing or moving furniture on my ceiling at two in the morning."
"Don't worry about that, I'll never do it again. In fact, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to come over." Barry says smiling and Oliver can't help but smile.
"I'll keep that in mind." Again Oliver goes to leave but it's like his feet don't respond and he keeps standing there, then he hears the music playing at a low volume but enough to fill the space. "Is it The Vigilantes?"
"Contrary to what you seem to think, I listen to songs that aren't Christmas carols." He replies amused."Do you like The Vigilantes? No one I know likes them."
"You don't know people with good taste, I guess." He jokes.
The Vigilantes is not the most current or the best known band, but they became famous in the community when the vocalist and the bass player announced their relationship, plus they are prominent only in their small circle, which is a shame because they are really good.
"Since it's hard to find someone with good taste... Why don't you stay? We could listen to their albums." No idea why he said that but it's done, Barry hopes it doesn't look weird.
"Sure, why not?" It's an unusual turn of events but he has nothing to lose, all he was planning on doing anyway was sitting alone in his apartment doing basically the same thing.
"After you, Mr. Queen." Barry says, holding the door open for his guest.
"Just Oliver "
"Barry."
From that day on, every evening Oliver meets with Barry instead of being alone and annoyed on his couch, he has discovered good company in the younger man, finding himself looking forward to the time he leaves work to see him because Barry is like a breath of fresh air to his boring routine. There are times when they don't just stay at home listening to music or talking, Barry has convinced him to go to a bar for a beer, he took him to the cafe where his best friend works and made him taste the seasonal flavors, Oliver in return took him to that place downtown that his sister Thea loves because they have the best Chinese food and to the pizzeria he frequents with Sara, it is precisely his friend who makes him notice something important.
The blond is very concentrated, working on his computer as usual, he hasn't even recognized Sara's presence until he hears her laughing
"Hey, I didn't realize it was already lunchtime."
"Yeah, I get it, even I wouldn't notice if I was busy thinking about my handsome neighbor."
"I don't know what you're talking about, I was working and we're just friends."
"Come on, Oliver, you see him every day and you've practically gone out on dates even if you don't call them that, he's the only person besides your sister who gets you to come out of your shell and he even infected you with his Christmas spirit." She points to the green sweater with the drawing of a pine tree that Oliver is wearing. "Besides you have that silly in love face every time you talk about him or think of him."
"Sara-"
"You were humming We Wish You A Merry Christmas if the rest isn't proof enough." Oliver falls silent and she smirks. "You should talk to him, since you've been a good boy, maybe Santa will bring you a present this year." She winks. "Now can we go to lunch before I eat your future boyfriend's present?" She points to the little gingerbread house on Oliver's desk, a gift from a brown haired Christmas enthusiast.
Today they have decided not to leave the building, however they are not in Barry's apartment.
"Why are we here?" Asked the blond.
"I know you told me that you hate lights, but I discovered something and only up here you can see it."
They get a little closer to the right side of the roof, from there they can see other rows of buildings that are illuminated, giving a soft glow to the city. They stand next to each other watching in silence for a moment.
"I think the lights aren't too bad."
"I told you so!" He smiles, going to continue talking but Oliver says something.
"Or maybe it's because you're looking at them with me."
Then he looks at the most beautiful and bright lights: Barry's beautiful green eyes, he approaches him slowly, staying a few millimeters away, giving him the chance to avoid it if that's not what he wants but instead he closes the space between them pulling Oliver's coat lightly and kissing his lips, they exchange soft caresses, Oliver's arms around Barry's waist, holding him firmly, as if he wants to make sure he's not going to leave, they separate after a while.
"My Christmas wish came true." Smiles Barry.
"Really? Was there anything else in that wish?"
"Maybe you should be under my Christmas tree."
"We can still do it, if that's what you want."
Barry doesn't answer and kisses him again, it's going to be a long Christmas Eve.
The next morning, Oliver is the first to wake up, he should be exhausted since he practically didn't sleep at all, but instead he feels strange, happy, smiles and looks at Barry still asleep, a few seconds later he opens his eyes.
"Is it morning already?"
"Yeah, good morning, Barry."
"Good morning."
Mattering very little that neither of them has brushed their teeth yet, they share a passionate kiss, gently biting each other's lips, Oliver's tongue finds its way between Barry's lips, they part when their hands start to go a little lower back
"Do you want me to...?"
After the times they did it at night, neither of them should have the energy or desire but they just can't seem to keep their hands off each other, if it wasn't for the fact that he has to see his family later and work tomorrow, Oliver wouldn't let Barry out of his room until the new year.
"Yeah."
They kiss again, the blond starts a path of kisses and bites going down his neck, then to his chest and abdomen, then Oliver asks Barry to get on his hands and knees, before doing it the young man looks him in the eyes and says
"Merry Christmas, Ollie."
"Merry Christmas, Barry."
With one last kiss, Barry gets into position so Oliver can prepare him, when the second finger with lube slides inside him he starts to moan, that's why they don't hear the knock on the door, they are so busy that it's not until they are finished and sitting in Barry's dining room for a late breakfast that they notice the sheets of paper under the door
"What's that?" Asks the brown-haired man and begins to read the sheet, his blush increasing by the second.
"What is it?" Oliver wants to know, then reads over Barry's shoulder and laughs. "Come on, it's not that bad!"
"It's not that bad!"
He reads the paper again.
To the neighbor in apartment 308, we kindly ask that when you have sex you keep the volume lower, we understand you want to celebrate Christmas but it's not necessary for all of us to know
Sincerely: The neighborhood board
"Yeah, that gives me an excuse to keep your mouth busy while we're at it."
"That sounds good."
And so, Oliver and Barry continued to be naughty on Christmas Day.
The End.