Ready To Run (FLASH/ARROW/GLEE)

Café Meetings

Barry was late. Nothing new there, of course.

He was supposed to meet with Oliver and Iris after getting them coffee from Jitters. He rushed into the café and groaned on seeing the line.

Thinking about what Iris would do to him if she didn't receive her caffeine fix soon was enough to make him blanch and shudder. He wasn't paying much attention to anything other than the slowly dwindling line. Hence, he didn't notice as someone walked over to him and tapped on him shoulder.

Barry blinked before turning around and promptly gaped at the person in front of him.

"Jeff?"

Jeff grinned at him, delighted.

"Hey, Sebastian! Long time, no see," he chirped.

"What are you doing here?" Barry asked, shocked.

Jeff tilted his head to the side.

"Didn't you get the invitation for the Dalton Alumni reunion?"

"Of course I did!"

"Well then, you know that there is to be a charity event?"

Barry nodded.

"Some of the Warblers put forth the idea that it could be a bigger event if we invited the New Directions too," Jeff continued. "And many agreed. I mean, it's for charity so, of course they did. And we planned on meeting up in Central City to practice for the performances."

"That makes sense," said Barry, nodding. He moved forward as the queue shortened, gesturing at Jeff to come along.

"Yeah. Though we did wonder about you. You weren't in touch with any of us and so we didn't know if you even received the invite."

Barry chuckled as he placed the order for a cappucino and a hot Flash. In half a minute, he paid the bill and took the cups while giving the girl behind the counter a thankful smile. He didn't notice the way the girl blushed, but Jeff did and he smirked at his friend.

"Sorry about that," Barry said, picking up the flow of their conversation. "If it's any consolation, I did plan on attending the reunion."

"Oh really? You did?" A female voice interrupted them.

Jeff watched, bemused, as his friend froze like a deer caught in headlights and slowly turned to face the other person.

"Iris," Barry sounded like a strangled cat. He cleared his throat and held up the cup meant for her as a peace offering, looking at her sheepishly.

Iris glared and snatched her cup from Barry.

"Do you have any idea how much time we waited? Do you?"

Barry winced. He caught sight of Oliver standing a little distance behind Iris, looking very amused. Barry realised that he won't be getting any help from that quarter. He had to diffuse her temper before she went supernova.

"Iris, this is Jeff. He's a Dalton alumni too. Jeff, this is Iris. She's a scary person."

Barry laughed as she swatted at his arm.

After Jeff greeted her, Barry reached out and snagged Oliver's wrist, pulling him near.

"And this is Oliver. Oliver, Jeff."

The four of them secured a table and Barry handed the hot Flash to Oliver, winking at him.

"So, Barry, what's this I heard about you already planning on attending the reunion?" Iris turned to Jeff and said, "He wasn't planning anything of the sort. We had to force him to agree to go."

Jeff raised an eyebrow at the ex-Warbler who was beginning to look uncomfortable.

Barry caught the glint in Iris' eyes and knew that this was her revenge. He glared back at her.

"Anyways, he can't escape now," Jeff said, grinning, to Iris. "I sent out a mass text to everyone. This means that he has to join in the practicing for the performances too."

Oliver coughed to hide his laughter at the look of horror on his partner's face.

Before he could protest though, Jeff leaned forward and asked, "Why do you call him Barry?"

Barry sighed.

"It's because that is my name."

And the whole name-changing was told to Jeff who, to Barry's relief, just accepted it as it was and didn't ask many questions.

Since Barry and Iris had the day off, the four stayed at Jitters talking about everything. Jeff told Iris and Oliver about Dalton and gave the latest news to Barry.

When Oliver had gone to get a refill cup, Jeff winked at Barry and mouthed, "Nice catch." Barry smirked back, a bit of Sebastian peeking out, and said, "I know."

At long last, they said their goodbyes to each other. Jeff reminded Barry about the practice and invited both Iris and Oliver to the event, which was being held at Starling City, three days after Christmas.

Oliver laughed and said, "My company is hosting the event, Jeff. I'll definitely be there."

Jeff blinked. "What?"

Oliver smirked, "Oliver Queen, nice to meet you."

"Oh my god! Bas, you sly fox, you struck gold!" Jeff exclaimed.

Barry rolled his eyes as Iris giggled.

"I know, Jeff. I got really, really lucky," Barry said, smiling goofily at Oliver. He entwined their hands, lifted them to his mouth and pressed reverent kisses to his fingertips. Oliver's eyes softened.

Jeff looked between the two of them and was happy for them.

"Who would've thought? Sebastian Smythe, the ultimate playboy, in love! Whatever will your adoring fans do?" Jeff winked at Barry.

"Oh, shut up," Barry muttered and shoved lightly at his friend.

"I'm not telling them that you are taken. You tell them yourself. I'll be sure to record their reactions. It's bound to be priceless," Jeff cackled, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

He then explained to Iris and Oliver that there were a bunch of Warblers who worshipped the ground Sebastian walked on and they all harboured massive crushes on him.

Barry choked on hearing about the crushes.

When they finally parted ways, everyone was happy and content with the way the day had gone.

Remembering what Jeff had said about the practices, which was done in an area which was rented for that specific purpose, Barry was filled with apprehension.

He was definitely not looking forward to meeting with his schoolmates and acquaintances.

***

A/N: One-shot became two-shots which developed into three-shots. Forget the shots, it's a multi-chaptered fic, henceforth.

This chapter was a bit of a drag to write, tbh. I thought of bringing in all the Warblers, but that would have led to ignoring many characters and that's never a good thing.

Question: Who supports Klaine? Would you like it to be included or ignored? Even if it is included, it will most definitely not be the main focus. That honour belongs to Olivarry.

How was the chapter? As always if you find any mistakes, do let me know.

Votes and comments are welcome!