If You Can't Be With the One You Love

He Believed In You, So Believe In Him

"Do you remember the first time we met, Ollie?" Barry asks inquisitively. He places a potato chip in between his teeth, crunching loudly, causing Oliver to cringe at the sound. He speaks through chewing. "And I was catastrophically late."

Oliver laughs. "I do." He bites his lip before taking a sip of the glass of water that rested on the nightstand next to the bed. "You haven't really grown out of that lack of punctuality phase have you?"

"Hey," Barry becomes mockingly defensive. "I'm still ten times better now than I was before I got my speed."

Oliver shakes his head. "You are literally the fastest man alive yet you cannot make it to a date on time."

"Eh," Barry answers questioningly. He squints his eyes in fake concentration while batting his head side to side. "Is this really a date though?"

"I said be at my place at seven and you got here at seven thirty." Oliver replies. "It doesn't matter what you call it." He smirks while trying to hold back a smile. "You were still late as hell."

Barry had recently suggested that he would run to Star City more often to spend time with Oliver. It was an escape from his everyday activities while also serving as a way to give Oliver company and spend more time with him. This had been one of the first nights he came.

"Hey, I was on time when I saved your life." Barry suggests, reminiscing on the time he put rat poisoning in Oliver in order to flush out a deadly chemical tormenting his body. This encounter ultimately began the deep connection that would follow them for the next six years, leading them to the positions they found themselves in.

Oliver propped himself up on his elbow, staring upon Barry with a large grin across his face. "You were."

"Aren't you grateful for that?" Barry asks, inching closer to Oliver.

Oliver sets his fingers in between Barry's, pulling his hand to rest on his own him. "I'll always be grateful for that." He deviates his attention from Barry, looking into the sheets directly below him. "I hope you know, you've saved me twice, Barry."

"What does that mean?"

"Right before we first started this," Oliver begins with a deep breath. "You know what kind of place I was in. Alcoholism was taking over me. I was allowing it to.

But then we decided to give this a try. And I jumped out of that hole I was falling into. Because of you. You saved me from myself."

Barry feels tears begin to set in his eyes as he takes a firmer grasp on Oliver's hand. He pulls it to his lips and lightly pecks his knuckle. "You deserved better than to treat yourself like that."

Oliver smiles. "Thank you for showing me what I deserved."

"I'm here." He tells him stately. He moves his face towards Oliver, placing his lips in between his and kissing them softly. "You've got me."

"You've got me."

The words echo in Oliver's head as he hopelessly stares at the man who lays still on the bed in front of him. The memory rolls on but feels as if it happened in another life. He feels his emotions take over as he inches closer to the bed.