Believe (Olivarry AU) [Book 1]

xiii. neighbor

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you
give them your confidence."
-George Washington
________________________________

"HEY OLIVER, DO YOU HAVE A
minute to talk?"

"Yeah, sure. What's up, Iris?" Oliver asked, from his spot in Benjamin's kitchen,
sitting beside Barry.
"Barry? Could you please give us a minute?" Iris asked nicely.
"Huh? Oh, sure." Barry said, standing up and walking away.

"Are you going to give me a speech on how I shouldn't hurt him?" Oliver questioned.
"What? No. Although, if you hurt him, I'll kick your a—" Iris said.
"Noted." Oliver interrupted, "Please, continue."

"Okay, anyway, I know you've been looking for an apartment and I'm actually trying to leave mine. If you want it transferred to your name, I'd be happy to do it for you." Iris offered, "I love my apartment. It's just, I need to leave it, but I don't want to sell it if you want it."

"Wow, Iris, that's really sweet of you. Would you mind if I came over and looked at it? You know, just to keep it in mind."
Oliver asked.
"Yeah, we can go now if you want. It's in the same building as Barry's and it's basically the same exact shape and layout
as his." Iris replied.

"I'm okay with that." Oliver nodded, "What do we tell Barry?"
"He can come too if he wants." Iris shrugged.
"Barry!" Oliver yelled out.
"What!?" Barry yelled back, walking back into the room.
"You wanna come with us?" Oliver questioned.
"Sure." Barry shrugged.
"You don't even know where we're going." Iris said.
"I know. I like the element of surprise," Barry said, "and I don't wanna be left alone
right now."
"Well, let's go then." Iris said, grabbing her keys off the table.

~~~

"You know, it really sucks how Ben had to go back to work pretty much right after
you told him the news." Barry said,
running his hands along
the wall.
"I know, right? But it's okay, he had an important meeting with a client." Iris said.
"I still feel so left out." Oliver chuckled.

"You didn't tell him, Barr?" Iris asked.
"No. It's not my news to tell." Barry replied.
"I'm pregnant." Iris said, turning to Oliver.
"Really? Congratulations!" Oliver smiled,
hugging Iris.
"Thank you." Iris chuckled, unwrapping herself from the hug.
"Wow. Woah, hold on, Ben's gonna be a dad. Holy—" Oliver said.
"It's weird, right?" Iris butted in.
"It really is. I've known that guy since kindergarten." Oliver said, "I never thought about him being a dad one day."

~~~

"So what are we doing here, anyway?" Barry questioned, plopping down on Iris' couch.
"Trying to see if Oliver wants my apartment, instead of getting a brand new one." Iris explained, while Oliver walked around.
"That's nice of you." Barry said, "Or is it just a push to get him out of Ben's house so you can move in?"
"I'm not pushing him to do anything. It's simply just an offer. If he doesn't want it, then I'll sell it and the furniture. I'm taking my bed, though." Iris replied, sitting down.

"Does he know you're leaving the place mostly furnished for him?" Barry questioned.
"Yeah, we talked about on the way up here while you were on the phone with whoever that was." Iris responded.
"I was on the phone with my dad." Barry paused, "He said that he can't have dinner tonight because he has a shift and mom is going on a spontaneous trip to
see her brother."