Alright first wanted to give a shoutout to grimg00fy for messaging me & inspiring me to write again. This story was based off of Arrow 6x09 & I always think these two as a pairing would have been great. I haven't written in a while so this story probably is pretty terrible haha but have to get back in the groove somehow right? Hope you enjoy the little one-shot. A Longer story of these two will be reuploaded soon. Sorry for any spelling errors.

*I Do Not Own Any Of These Shows Or Characters *

She has been here for a good while now & the whole place constantly kept becoming more & more beautiful to her. Thea couldn't tell if it was because of the amazingly beautiful venue that Ollie & Felicity were having this celebration at or was it the fact her once womanizing then turned brooding, somewhat self-loathing brother was finally truly happy.

Looking around at it all really also put her deep into her own personal thoughts as well. "If Ollie could finally find peace & happiness in this life he chose, then there definitely is hope for me."

She couldn't help but think about it now, after everything that has happened to her the last few years she knows two things for sure.

One, she needs to have a fresh start in her life & Two, she doesn't think that will be in Star City anymore. She does not doubt at all that she has come a long way from who she was five years ago. The problem was so much happened in those five years that have helped her become better, but so much also happened that will scar her forever possibly. So many uncovered secrets, pain & death, heartaches leading to heartbreaks, the fear of who she was inside sometimes. As a matter of fact, the fear of who she was, is what haunted her the most.

Their was something rotten inside of her & one day she hopes to be rid of it.

Watching Ollie have his family now is what reignited a new belief in this hope she desires more & more to this day. She was ready to continue deeper into her very own personal self-loathing thoughts until she saw her nephew William almost in front of her now, greeting her as well.

Despite him being slightly socially distant & standoffish, he was a breath of fresh air every time. Then again, when you're in a coma for six months many things can be a breath of fresh air she thought. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her head she focused on him again after her brief lapse. She also agreed to let him have champagne as well, until she saw how his face lit up a little too much for her liking.

"A sip! Only a sip! During, the toast." she exclaimed quickly after realizing she didn't specify on how much. "Mom & dad use to let me & your dad do that"

The small disappointment on his face made her smile because of how cute it was. She remembers when that was her feeling the exact same way all those years ago. "Way better delivering the only s sip rule than being on the other end receiving it."

"C'mon let's go find Ollie anyways" she offered him a nice warm smile before walking off with him to go search for Oliver which did not take long at all. Maybe two minutes at the most.

"There he is, hey buddy" She watched Oliver greet his son & put his hand on his shoulder.

"Aunt Thea said I can have some champagne"

Thea almost as quickly as she use to fire off arrows interjected not even a second later after William said it. "I said a sip & only during the toast." motioning her index finger in the air at the two rules she told him.

Oliver couldn't help but let out a big smile too how quickly Thea answered that & the nostalgia of it. "Mom & dad use to let us do that. That's just fine don't worry" still having his hand on the back of William's shoulder as they walked slowly not with any true destination.

"Yeah & we turned out alright. I also think they would be pretty impressed with this part & certainly the groom." Thea voiced this warmly, almost as if she was trying to let Oliver know she was proud of him as much as they would be.

Oliver let out a humble smile from her words. "You think so?"

"Yes of course" Thea stopped walking in her tracks now turning around completely to face him & William now wondering why he looked kind of bothered. "Why, is everything okay?"

"Well Felicity was supposed to be here by now, so..." He turned to see if he could spot her but still hasn't.

"What's there to be nervous about Ollie? You guys already are married remember. Not like you invited anyone but John to the ceremony." She wasn't actually mad about it or upset but she wanted to mess with him a little bit. It did suck though that she missed it.

He still was smiling albeit slightly nervously still, "Well you were in the hospital & it was a little last minute, ok?

"Yeah I know I know" she smiled softly as she folded her arms to her chest. Still slightly disappointed she wasn't there but that never would change how happy she is for him at that moment.

As John approached & started giving Oliver his greetings, Thea wanted to let them have their moment so she slowly made off to the bar not for any particular reason if she was being honest. Just to sit down for a little while.

It was surprisingly pretty empty except for somebody who looked almost familiar when she saw the back of his head but she didn't pay it any mind. She sat down & took a deep breath closing her eyes as well, thinking about how this will be her last few days in Star City after coming to her decision earlier. It may have been minutes ago but this was something she flirted with for a little while now. Leaving but she would always come back, which she still would of course, her family was here. She just knew the days of her staying & living there in her mind were over. She hopes Ollie will understand when she tells him.

The man who was sitting at the bar was not really paying attention himself at all either until he saw her plopped down. He turned to look at her then had a double-take when he realized who it was. She had her eyes close & was taking a deep breath. "Well don't I know that feeling". He thought to himself. Smiling a little at the fact she usually was aware of all her surroundings from the few times they met. Of course seeing as she is Oliver's sister that doesn't surprise him too much not that he knew her well enough to judge anyways.

She was still in thought with her eyes closed until she heard a voice & she was pretty sure it was the exact same man that was looking familiar to her.

"Considering the fact we fought mind-controlling aliens together last year, I wouldn't think a wedding out of all things would tire you out." He said. Looking at her as a smile reached her face & he must admit it was a small one but it was beautiful.

She let out a huff of a small laugh turning to face him & opening her eyes with her suspicions being right. "Hi Barry" she said with that soft soothing voice of hers.

Smiling back at her & kind of intrigued to know what it's like to actually talk to her as a person & not just a few one-off conversations or save the world stuff. "I think this is the first time we have met without..well you know, life or death situations of the city on the line." Realizing they also dealt with bigger problems he corrected himself "..Or the world" He said giving a playful glance upwards real quick as if he was thinking.

"Ahh right, usually when you're in a suit it's redder" she reached her right hand out to fix his collar slightly not that anything was wrong with it. It just helped with her amusement of the joke.

"Touché." He sipped some of his drink from his glass.

"Drinking before the toast, now that is surprising from you. Not that I know you too well but still"

Swallowing his drink before speaking & shaking his head slightly "Well actually this is just water & I was really thirsty, plus one of the things that come along with super-speed is a super metabolism anyways."

"Wait so you can't get drunk then?"

"At all. Back when I first tried alcohol it was when I was trying to impress Iris, so I snuck one out of the mini-fridge Joe use to keep right? Went upstairs to drink it & completely puked all over his favorite chair." He was smiling but shook his head at the memory as he drank more water from the glass he had.

Thea found it kind of cute how such a typical story was so crazy to him for his childhood. The enthusiasm made it really cute actually. "Wow back in my party days that would have made you the automatic drive our drunk asses home guy"

"Because I'm responsible?" He asked but she could tell he knew exactly what she meant.

"Hmm I was going to say boring buuut, too each is own"

"Boring huh? Wish Joe felt that same way when I accidentally started that chemical fire for my project" He mumbled under his breath but still loud enough for her to hear. She couldn't believe her ears slightly but let out her first true laugh of the night in disbelief almost.

"You did what!" she exclaimed softly speaking through her laugh. Barry shook his head stifling back a laugh of his own. "Story for another time"

Both laughing quietly, both enjoying the peace of the conversation as well but he had to come back to his own defense for her boring comment even though he knew she was joking.

"But Hey! It's not all bad having a fast metabolism, I can eat five boxes of donuts for breakfast & a restaurant load of Big Belly Burger for lunch & have plenty of room for dinner" He spoke through a smile that looked too cute to her. Forget cute, he actually looked quite handsome in his basic all-black suit but the way it fit his slender frame was quite nice. Handsome definitely, which he always did look like to her but in his usually cool type of geeky way, not the more sophisticated way like right now.

"That actually does sound pretty nice I got to admit. I use to eat Roy under the table but something tells me I probably wouldn't have the same luck with you" She gave him that same cheeky smile that made her look so sweetly beautiful. Her sarcasm was adorable he also had to admit.

A silence now filled between the two but not an awkward one at all though. Certainly she remembered one of the first things her brother told her about Barry & she couldn't believe she didn't think of it earlier when she saw him.

Snapping her around all the way to face him she spoke. "Can I ask you something"

"Whats up?'

"I was just wondering, well how did it feel when you woke up from your coma all those years ago"

"Like physically or.." He started to say but she didn't really let him finish his sentence.

"Physically sure but I meant like, how did you deal with the...well everything" she huffed out. She honestly hoped he would have some sort of insight into what she was going through. He literally did himself even if the circumstances were different, still the same end result.

"Oh, you mean the whole waking up to a whole new world & feeling lost part of it huh?"

Thea looked down into her hands that were resting on the bar countertop, for some reason addressing it out in public made it seem all the more serious to her now. All she could say was "Yes, that part."

She had been so chirpy in a way at first so seeing her mood change so suddenly made him feel for her, especially since he understood it even if he didn't know her like he now hopes to truly know her one day.

He was ready to speak but she added on to what she was saying previously. "I know yours was almost a year but-" this time Barry cut her off before she could finish her statement.

"It doesn't really matter because it all feels the same no matter what. No matter how long it was for you, me or anybody it feels the same. It's like your waking up & everybody else has moved on doing something in their life which they have but for you when you last were awake things were different."

"Yeah you can say that again" she breathed out, dreading but liking how safe she felt to open up slightly to him even if they have technically truly just met for the first time now.

"Well it is weird at first don't get me wrong but then I realized that doesn't have to be a bad thing at all."

"Mhmm easy for you to say, I woke up still the same Thea, you woke up with superpowers" she offered a little giggle to it before Barry completely turned on his stool to face her & she turned her head to look at him.

He laughed a little as well but he knew she could tell what he was about to say was serious & he meant it. "See that's the weird lucky thing about it, the whole time you were out the world was moving on, but not for you, now for all that time you were out. You get to go out & move on yourself now." She liked what she heard & she nodded her head in understanding.

"Just sometimes I use to have this history of running away & not tryna repeat that."

"Well as a sort of expert on running" Thea couldn't help but to laugh. "Running to a fresh start is something we all should do when given the chance." Those words of fresh start sounded like music to her ears as she completely snapped her head up to look at him as he said that. She told herself literally earlier that's what she needed, hell she has been telling herself that ever since she thought Ollie & her father died when she was a kid. It's like she knew but she either would run away from it & run back to what felt easier to handle, painful or not.

Or she would find herself choosing a path hoping that was the way, either as a vigilante, a political role, or in her self-destructive party girl days. It always seem like a decision that she went into it with a "why not" attitude toward it. This time for once, it felt like she was actually not walking sideways trying to go forward but walking forward to a purpose that she knows she's close to finding but not there yet.

For once her cloudy mind felt clear, kind of weird she needed to get blown up, comatose & have a deep converse with someone she only has shared a few conversations with before until now but hey... if that's what it took then so be it.

Almost in a whisper but was spoken loudly she manage some words softly "You know Ollie never said you had good people skills...as a matter of fact, he said the exact opposite"

"Uhh well, that's because...well he's right" he said in this mix of shy, humble tone. "Well usually because with girls..uh..especially with Iris in the past..well really any beautiful..uh girl at times really."

Thea laughed at how he went from sounding so wise to stumbling so she decided to add to it a little bit. "Oh, beautiful girls? Should I be offended"

"Wait..huh" Barry sure hope he wasn't sweating, he doesn't even know why he is like this right now. He thought he was over the stumbling by now.

"Well you said you struggle talking to beautiful girls yet you been fine this whole time" she closed her lips giving off a straight face but she was pretty sure her smile was showing in her cheeks.

"OH, no-no! Not like that...well like that but not because I don't think your beautiful or..well I do but, that's not what I meant when I-" before his stuttering frenzy continued she lunged at him with a hug.

Barry was taken aback by the hug & hadn't wrapped his arms around her yet because of this. "I think my people skills have gotten a little better it looks like"

"Shut up Barry" she said all of a suddenly letting her face lean into the crook of his neck as she closed her eyes slightly. She hadn't felt that secure ever since Roy.

They separated & both ended up looking into each others eyes with a soft look they haven't shared all night until now. The moment was interrupted though by clapping all of a sudden followed by the rest of everyone else there. Both of them almost forgot they were at a wedding celebration & both stood up to clap as well as they saw everybody was clapping at the happy couple.

Before the speech was supposed to come up the music got turned up & everybody was making a fool of themselves with their dance moves. Smiles were all around & Barry spun around saw maybe 17 feet away from him was Thea laughing while she was dancing with William & Rene. She looked so beautiful & pretty when she was completely just letting loose & being herself.

He was no dancer at all, well to this kind of music but looking ridiculous was the point of having fun luckily. She turned to see him dancing & smiling before laughing as they both spotted each other. Nice not to have to worry about saving someone's life.

The music stopped but now everyone was listening too heartbroken Curtis sadly project his issues out in his speech, luckily Rene went up to spare him & said his own speech. Which too Barry's surprise was quite nice. The slow dance music began to play & Barry thought about asking her to dance sine that's all he knew but he saw Rene make his way to her & he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He sat down now watching everyone else now but still thinking about how he already felt like that should be him there holding her hands trying not to step on her toes.

Thea was hoping Barry would ask her to dance, she didn't know fully why but it would have been nice. Rene made his way to her or called her name rather & she didn't want to be rude especially since he had just given a beautiful speech to her brother.

"This is only a courtesy dance since your speech was so sweet" she said softly with the tone of the music.

"I have my moments" Rene replied swaying along with her. "You okay?"

Thea realized he must have noticed her looking around him a couple of times so she tried to recover. "Yeah, um just thought a friend might have come, would've been nice if he did."

"Oh, a he? I'm guessing he is more than just a friend" Thea actually couldn't answer that because she wasn't too sure herself so she just kept dancing along with him. "Weddings make you nostalgic for the ones you love."

"I definitely wouldn't call it love or anything yet"

He smiled a little. "You know for what it's worth I think I saw a certain speedster you were getting close with earlier checking you out."

She blushed a little. "We weren't checking each other out"

"I never said you were, I said he was. Now I know you both were, not that I needed any more confirmation."

"A guy telling a girl he dancing with about another guy" Thea retorted playfully but knowing he was right.

"Ouch I'm hurt but if anybody deserves to go do something they want after everything you been through it's you, so might wanna go before the song ends" He took his hands off her & placed them by his side with a smile.

"This seems kind of rude" she said smiling that he understood.

"If it's rude then I was rude to myself since I told you to go"

"Thank you" she said softly & kissed him on the cheek before turning to go to the bar.

Barry sat there looking at Oliver & Felicity dance, loving how happy they looked with each other. Also laughing at the fact that Oliver Queen out of all people got married before he did. He was pretty sure he had a boyish idiot smile the whole time looking at them but who cares, it made him happy to watch them be happy.

"Wow, I thought the guy was supposed to ask the girl to dance." Barry turned his head to see Thea with that gorgeous face of hers staring at him.

"Well, I wasn't trying to be rude or interrupt-"

"Interrupt what" She raised her head a little in a questioning form "There was nothing to interrupt" she stated with the same smile.

Clearing his throat & standing. "Would you like to dance?" he said holding out his arm for her to lock it up with hers as she accepted it & allowed him to lead them to a spot to dance out the song too slowly.

They swayed along to the soothing silent beat of the song. Never taking their eyes off of each other, She felt she could get lost in that beautiful mix of blue, hazel, & green eyes of his. They almost resembled hers, the little beautiful glow in them with a hint of pain you could see scarred in them.

"Seems like this is more of your kind of dancing huh" she said falling more & more into peace the more they swayed.

"Well I took lessons for moments like this...Which is totally a guy thing by the way."

Closing her eyes to laugh but reopening to capture his stare again. "Yeah.. totally a guy thing."

Smiling brightly at her he regained his focus. "So, any plans on what you're going to be doing with your fresh start?"

"Hmmm not too much, but I know which city I'm going to start in"

He gave her a slight questioning look on his face but still a smile, she filled in the blank by rising on her toes slightly so she could reach his lips & capture them in a very soft but sweet long kiss. Setting her feet back down they both opened her eyes & he smiled even brighter with a little happy laugh.

"I think that city is a great place to start" he spoke warmly, leaning down to capture her lips himself now as they now stood there still swaying but giving each other sweet, soft, tender kisses.

Oliver who was smiling softly at Felicity happened to see from the side of his eye Thea kissing somebody. He looked over & realized it was Barry. His face immediately balled up into bewilderment at the sight.

"When the fuck did that happen?"