Note: Ten points if you can guess where the title of the story comes from. This is the third installment to the Allen Twins Saga and is set before canon events of the Flash, set in like season two of Arrow. It's been awhile since I've watched any of the shows, so please forgive me if it seems like anything gets too horribly out of character. But this is my own AU, so I would like to think that their personalities have changed because I've introduced characters to each other sooner than canon allows and also because I've added in a whole other universe (Glee) that technically should not exist within the DC TV 'verse. So I feel like I'm justified if the characters aren't totally true to canon. But just tell me if they seem too OOC. So I told myself I wasn't going to publish this until I had it all written up, but I obviously lied to myself. I have the first three chapters written and a rough outline for how I want the rest of the story to go. It looks like it will be about eleven chapters and will carry us through about three months after Barry gains his powers from the Particle Accelerator.

Chapter One: The Beginning of the End

Maybe you could bring Seb to Starling and we can go boating.

I don't know, I've always heard that boating can be dangerous

Nah, not like the boat is gonna run into a storm and wreck, leaving us stranded

Ha! Yeah, I guess you're right. What would the chances of that happening be?

Doubt it'll ever happen to us

Miss your face

Me too. Gotta go, Dad's calling for me

:P

Barry looks at the old text message thread that he and Oliver had shared right after their junior year of high school. It was just his luck that after his sophomore year of college, his boyfriend somehow managed to actually get himself killed by boating off the coast of China. He's never had the heart to delete any messages that he and Oliver had shared, even years later. Barry sighs and shoves the phone back in his pocket just as the train rolls into Starling City. Grabbing his things, Barry quickly exits the train and makes the short commute to the QC building that had been broken into.

Barry flashes his CSI badge and gains access to the building with very little trouble. He pokes around the building, noticing several key points and soon getting distracted, not noticing Oliver Queen or his companions enter and start talking to Detective Lance and his partner. A few minutes into their discussion, Barry's attention is pinged when Detective Lance states, "The rest of the crew must have come in after him."

"Uh, actually it was only one guy." Barry counters as he wanders over, focus centered on the tablet in his hands. Barry looks up, eyes wide, and almost drops his tablet, saving it at the last second. "Ollie…" Barry shoves the tablet into the messenger bag he had slung across his shoulder.

Oliver winces at the hurt he can see in Barry's eyes, "Hey, Barry, can we-" Barry slaps Oliver across the face before turning and storming off. "Barry!" Oliver throws a quick glance at his companions before rushing after Barry, "Barry! Please just talk to me! Barry!"

Digg and Felicity shrug at each other, turning towards Detective Lance who looks just as confused as them. "Don't look at me." Lance shrugs, "I've no clue who the kid is or why he'd want to slap Queen."

"An ex?" Felicity reaches up and straightens her glasses.

Lance shakes his head, "Nah, no way." Digg raises an eyebrow as Lance continues, "Kid's always been straight as an arrow. C'mon, I'll show you guys the rest."

"Barry!" Oliver finally catches up and latches onto Barry's arm, bringing him to a stop in the dingy alleyway. Barry slaps away Oliver's hand as he tries to touch Barry's face.

"How long have you been back?" Barry demands.

"A while." Oliver quietly admits.

Barry's eyes widen and his nose flares in anger, "And you never sought me out? I have barely dated since you 'died' and I've certainly never gotten over you." Barry shrugs completely out of Oliver's hold, "Why didn't you come find me?" Barry asks again, this time more hurt than angry.

Oliver reaches out and this time Barry allows Oliver to pull him into a hug, "I didn't want to drag you into the shitshow that my life had become."

"You're an asshole." Barry states, pulling away. "You should have come found me anyways. You know that Central doesn't always get all the news from Starling."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry doesn't hardly cut it." Barry snarls.

Oliver wipes at the tears falling down Barry's cheeks, "I know. Let me make it up to you?" Oliver tentatively asks, "I haven't really gotten over you either. You're what kept me strong all those years I was shipwrecked."

Barry marginally softens, "I suppose. After all, my boyfriend came back from the dead, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?"

"Am I?"

"Are you what?"

Oliver pauses before replying, "Would you still consider me your boyfriend?"

"Oliver," Barry puts his hands on Oliver's face and forces him to look straight into his eyes, "I have been in love with you since high school and even right now when I'm so angry at you, I still love you. So yes, I would take you back if you still wanted me."

"I'm damaged, you shouldn't want me." Oliver pulls away, forcing Barry to drop his hands. Barry awkwardly rubs the palms of his hands against his thighs and picks at his jeans.

"We're all damaged in our own ways. You know some of the crap that I went through…"

"Barry…" Oliver breathes, Barry smiling impishly at him. Oliver drags Barry closer to himself and pulls Barry into a searing kiss.

Moments pass before the boys are interrupted by coughing. They startle apart and turn to stare at the cougher, who turns out to be Felicity, Digg by her side. "Straight as an arrow…" Felicity mumbles, causing Digg to laugh. Barry flushes a bright red, which deepens when Oliver pulls Barry into his side, arm wrapped firmly around him.

"Felicity, Digg, this is Barry. Barry- Felicity and John Diggle." Oliver gently squeezes Barry.

Barry smiles and shakes their hands, "Nice to meet you both." As a jab to Oliver, Barry continues by saying, "I'm his boyfriend from before he went on a boating trip and decided to play dead for several years."

Felicity's mouth drops open and Digg's eyebrows raise. Oliver rolls his eyes, "Do you always have to be difficult?"

"Do you always have to be an asshole?" Barry counters, pulling away from Oliver, "You've been back how long and yet only now am I hearing about the fact that you aren't dead! You know, sometimes I forget why I decided to date you Oliver Queen!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure why you'd want to date me either." Oliver crosses his arms, Felicity shuffling awkwardly in the background.

"Because you're you! You're nice and you're kind."

"Hardly." Oliver scoffs, "You're out of my league."

Barry rolls his eyes again, shifting the messenger bag on his shoulder, "I'm out of your league? Give me a break, Oliver. I'm a nerdy guy that loves to do science in his spare time and you're Oliver Queen, rich-boy extraordinaire."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Oliver snarls, Felicity's eyes widening in shock at the tone.

Barry sets his jaw and shakes his head, "I'm not playing into your game!"

"What? Smart boy freak not going to stoop to dumb Oliver's level?" Barry stares at him for several long seconds before starting to walk away. Oliver, forgetting himself, calls out, "What? Just gonna run again? Run like you've always done?"

Barry stops in his tracks and says just loud enough to be heard, "What happened to you on that island?" Barry's shoulders drop, "Maybe somethings ought to just stay dead." Barry hurries off, hailing a cab once he hits the main street.

Oliver turns towards the metal trashcans and kicks at them, sending them clanging towards the end of the alleyway, "DAMN IT!" Oliver hollers, kicking again at the cans.