Author's Note: Its been a while since I've written any kind of fiction, let alone fanficiton. Inspiration wasn't there and life was getting in the way, but watching this show is very refreshing for my mind and yes all kinds of inspiring. So, this little something came to English is not my mother tongue, so I apologize for mistakes.

Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Unfortunately.

Before

Barry nipped at his drink and groaned. Sometimes it was really frustrating that alcohol had no influence on him anymore. He looked through the masses of people, talking, laughing, joking around and having a generally good time. His eyes caught the happy bride. She was waving her hands, obviously telling some exciting story while her new sister-in-law was buys making sure that her drink wouldn't spill on the perfectly white dress.

The groom was actually making his way towards him, smiling the brightest smile Barry had ever seen on him. It was creepy in a way, for a second he imagined that this must be some weird mistake, an unknown Earth-2 Oliver that had taken over for his broody friend, but no, it was the real deal. "I always knew you had a lot of muscles, but I actually always pictured them around you stomach not the face. I'll bet tomorrow you will feel sore because of all the smiles."

Oliver clapped his back and laughed. "I hope not. Honeymoon awaits us and I have wife eager to explore Europe." He briefly looked at her, his eyes tender, so full of love. "Barry, I wanted to thank you for today. It means a lot that you stood up there besides me and Diggle."

Barry shrugged. "With your new political carrier and all, it would've been weird if a presumed dead guy would suddenly show up."

Oliver shook his head. "I miss Roy today, but you're not just a replacement. You're my friend, my partner, I hope you know that."

For a second Barry wasn't sure what to say. The two of them sure had come a long way since Barry first set foot into the first Arrow lair. "It has been my pleasure. And now on to the dance floor, your wife is waving her hands like a maniac to get your attention."

Oliver chuckled and made his way towards Felicity. Barry's eyes looked around again, when suddenly someone tipped him on the shoulder.

Iris appeared next to him, wearing a stunning red dress. "Enjoying the party?"

"Sure. You?" Once upon a time her view alone would've taken his breath away, now he wasn't so sure what he felt anymore. Too much had happened, too much changed. He wasn't the Barry that fell in love with Iris as a child anymore. She wasn't the Iris he loved for all those years. Maybe that was for the better.

"Who would've thought Cisco of all people would be the one with the date today?" Iris said, sounding oddly proud as she pointed to their friend, who helplessly tried to impress his girlfriend with 'unorthodox dance moves' as he called them.

"Cisco dating a villain. Sorry an ex-villain." He corrected himself. He was genuinely happy for Cisco. If someone deserved to have found the special one, it was him. None of them cared about her past and if they loved each other, it was no problem for the Team to accept her among them. Well, the only problem might have been an overprotective older brother with a cold gun, but after a while and a speed trip to the Arctic (to actually cool off for once) even he was convinced that GoldenVibe, as Cisco affectionately called them, was probably something good.

"So…is it just me or is my Dad fighting with Captain Lance over Felicity's mom?" Iris giggled.

Barry's eyes searched for Joe, who was hilariously obvious trying to outdo Quentin Lance in the race for Donna Smoak's affection. Oliver and Felicity were dancing. Diggle and Lyla congratulating little Sara about her first official job as the flower girl. The other Sara was caught in a conversation with Nyssa and Ray and Barry briefly wondered which one of them was actually her date. Thea dragged her new boyfriend around getting money from guests for the 'Queen Baby' bet she had been going on and Laurel was busy looking fine and making sure no one would even assume that her ex getting married bothered her at all.

One person was missing though. "Excuse me, Iris." He said and went inside the big mansion they were celebrating at. Barry thought before the garden where the actual party was going on was big, but had nothing on this little castle. Oliver's childhood home, Felicity told him. They lost it after his mother died, but with Palmer Tech. or actually Queen Inc. now doing well and Oliver's job as mayor of Star City, they could eventually afford to get it back.

So many rooms and he had no idea where to look for her. If she was even inside, of course. He was thankful for his powers, super speed did come in handy sometimes. He ran, feeling the rush, the freedom, only running could give him. He eventually found her in a huge bedroom.

"Hey there." He said. She sat on the bed, not even blinking at his sudden arrival, like she knew he would come and find her eventually.

"I just needed to disappear for a while." She answered calmly and gestured him towards the bed.

He sat down next to her. "It must be hard for you."

She gave him a sad smile. "I moved on, I really have, but –"

He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close against his chest. "I get it, believe me. A wedding opens up old wounds."

She snuggled against him, listening to his heart beat, breathing him in. "It always reminds me of what could have been."

Of course it did. Before the explosion, before metahumans, before Firestorm, before the singularity she dreamed of a wedding similar to the one they were visiting now. Her happily ever after with Ronnie.

"You deserved all of this as well." He whispered softly.

She moved to get a look at his face. "Maybe one day, I'll have it. Just not with him." She hesitated for a moment. "He would want me to live my life, I know that and I'm trying." With 'trying' she obviously referred to Jay, the short-lived romance that ended when he decided to go back to his own world.

"Cisco is trying to dance." He said suddenly, trying to lift the mood."

She laughed, a good sign. "Poor Lisa." She leaned against him once more. They were so comfortable with each other, sometimes it felt strange. She could share every secret with him, everything good and bad in her life, things she never even told Cisco. They were closer as friends and recently she wondered what that meant to her. "We are dateless." She said half-serious.

"Well, I offered to be your alibi date." He did, but he when he asked her, he wasn't sure if he was actually joking or not. There was something going on between them that wasn't there before. Not conscious at least. There were Ronnie and Iris and later Jay and Patty and still, they somehow have become each other's 'go to person'.

"Remember the shapeshifter?"

He raised an eyebrow. Why would she bring him up now? Why would she bring him up at all? "Sure."

"Something I never told you…" She wasn't sure why she was doing it now, "When he pretend to be you, he kissed me."

He pulled away, looking at her with a shocked expression. "He did what?" What was that feeling? Anger? Frustration? Jealousy? That guy got to kiss her with face, when even he didn't do that after all these years? Did he want to kiss her?

"I'm sorry, Caitlin." There was no reason for him to apologize, it wasn't him. Yet somehow, he wanted to, it was his face after all.

"No need to be. It wasn't you." She bit her lower lip, her signature move when she was upset about something.

"Why did you never tell me?" To say he was confused was an understatement.

She looked away. Outside romantic pop song after romantic pop song was playing, it was distracting and made her strangely emotional.

"I couldn't…because I have a secret." She looked up, his eyes were a bit lost. Big, beautiful and totally lost. "I kissed him back."

"You did what?" That surprised him, he actually pictured her slapping him hard, because obviously he would never just kiss her like that. "But you must have known it wasn't me and even if you didn't, I would never –"

"I know!" She groaned in frustration. "I know you would never do that. I know you, he was acting weird and when he kissed me for the first time I was pretty sure that either it wasn't you or someone had messed with your head again."

"Did you say first time?" Obviously he had to catch that little slip.

She nodded, almost shy now. "I pushed him back and he leaned in again. The second time I kissed him back."

"Why?" The only question that mattered. His heart was hammering in his chest, faster than any speed force could ever be.

"Because just for a moment I wanted to pretend it was you." The words were spoken. Words she carried around for almost four years now. Words she ignored and pushed away. Words, images, dreams and the big question of 'What if?'

His hands started to tremble. He didn't expect that. How could he? Was he happy about that? Was he upset? The shapeshifter incident happened when Ronnie was still alive and well, before everything went down, so why would she want to kiss him? He took a deep breath. He knew why, hoped to know why. "It has always been there, right?" He asked, his voice surprisingly confident. "Those weird feelings? But I guess neither of us knew where to place them."

"Wrong place, wrong time." She admitted. There was always something between them. Someone or some catastrophe almost destroying the city. But now, now there was nothing. Just them, in this room, alone at a wedding, an Ed Sheeran song playing quietly outside.

He put her hair behind her ear and started to softly caress her cheek. "We're friends."

"Best friends." She agreed.

"We shouldn't risk that. Besides, we're working together."

"Yes. And just because Oliver and Felicity turned out well doesn't mean we would. And hooking up on a wedding? How clichéd can someone get?"

"That would scream desperate."

"Yeah, totally."

He leaned closer to her. Was his body moving automatically? Was his brain even functioning? It surely didn't feel this way.

She couldn't help but stare briefly at his lips. How many times did she imagine to be in a situation like this with him? How many times did she ask herself what the real Barry would taste like? Feel like?

"It would be a mistake" He whispered. He was so close now their lips were almost touching.

"Such a mistake." Their foreheads were touching. She felt his one hand moving from her cheek to her neck and his other one down her back to her waist, sending chills all over her body.

"Barry…"

"Screw it." His lips crushed down on hers, hard and passionately. It wasn't the sweet and unsure first kiss she expected, but a wildfire filled with years of suppressed emotions.

She held on to him like she was holding on to life itself. She took in every second, the taste, the feeling on her skin. Being that close to him awakened emotions she thought she lost a long time ago.

He wasn't sure what came over him.

He pulled her closer and slowly pushed her down on the bed. His hands were working on their own, pulling the zipper of her dress down. His lips moved from hers to every little part of exposed skin on her body.

Seriously, he didn't know what was happening. That so wasn't him. He wasn't the type of guy to lose control. He wouldn't just kiss a girl for the first time and then sleep with her. He was the guy who took her on several dates and then made sure everything was perfectly romantic. He wasn't slutty wedding sex in someone else's bed guy.

She moaned. His hands and lips were everywhere and it felt so damn good. She knew that in her right mind she probably would have stopped him, but being kissed like this could even make a Doctor Snow losing it for a bit.

He pulled her dress down and threw it away. Gosh, she was beautiful. His lips met hers again. Should he ask her if she wanted to stop? He pulled away, trying to do the right thing, only for her to start to unbutton his shirt.

His shirt fell down, pants followed.

She put small kisses all over his chest and stomach. He couldn't believe she was touching him like that. He couldn't really process what was happening.

"Door locked?" She suddenly asked, out of breath.

He smirked, a smirk she had never seen on him before and she was afraid how much she loved it.

He pulled her up and in lighting speed she was pressed against the door, her legs wrapped around him.

"I don't think anyone will come in." he said before he dedicated his attention to kissing her neck and unclasping her bra.

She reached behind herself, turning the door knob around. "Just making sure we're not interrupted."

He paused. "And that would be upsetting to you?"

Now it was her turn to smirk. "Very much so, Mr. Allen."

In a blink of an eye they were back on the bed, her last piece of clothes missing. "Barry!" she laughed, no sign of nervousness anymore. This felt right. The fire, the passion. Them together.

"Sorry. I'm super impatient today." He kissed her again. And again. And again. Soon, his last clothes were gone as well.

She pulled him closer. Moans, panting, and little laughs filled the room. Tonight they were one. Tonight they would let lose. Tonight there would be no consequences.