She looked out over the city, a beer clutched in one hand. From her time on her time ship, she'd forgotten how beautiful the night was. Central City wasn't her home, but it was still dear to her. She could imagine what life would be like here, even with the Metas running around. It could be a home. A permanent home. That was something she hadn't known in a very long time.
"Not joining the others?" came a voice from behind her.
Sara turned to look at Oliver. "Just not in the party mood."
"What's going on with you?" he asked. "Don't forget, I know you better than most. You've been different ever since we came out of that...life."
He was talking about the mind trap that the Destroyers had them in. An alternate life where Laurel Lance was alive and well. Where all their loved ones were all right. Where they were all happy. It was just a show, none of it was real. It had all felt real though, too real.
She sighed. "It wasn't real, Olly...but a part of me wished it had been."
"I know what you mean." Oliver sat down beside her. "Having Laurel back is something that I wish for every day."
"It wasn't just that." Sara shook her head. "Laurel wasn't the only one that was still alive in that place. A few months ago, or at least I think it was a few months ago, I lost someone. He was apart of the team, a friend."
"You cared for him."
"Very much so." She took a sip of her beer. "He sacrificed himself for us."
"He was alive in the mind trap."
When she closed her eyes, she could still see him alive and well. In that place, he had been her secret boyfriend. A man her father would never have approved of. Leonard Snart had been a thief in this world, same as the real one. But in this world, they were together. They had been happy.
"As much as you want to, you can't dwell on that life. Sara, it wasn't real. None of it was. They just tried to make it all perfect so that we wouldn't leave it. Giving us back him...Laurel, it was all for their own gain."
She sighed. "I know. It's just, I can't help but imagine what everything would be like if both of them were still alive. There are so many times I've thought about using the ship to try to save them, came close to killing Damien so many times, stopping our younger selves from getting on the Gambit."
"So what stopped you?" he asked.
"Everything happens for a reason. As stupid as that may sound, I've learned that you can't run from things that are meant to happen. If I changed any of those events, the world may be more screwed up than it already is. I could have stopped Damien- killed him before he killed my sister-, but then who knows what worse evil would rise instead of him."
Oliver wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sure that whoever he was, he'd be proud of you now."
Sara let out a laugh. "He'd just call me an idiot for wanting to save him. Oh and if he ever heard people call him a hero, he would kick their ass."
"Come rejoin the party, Sara." Oliver stood up. "We don't get to see you that often, so it would be nice to spend sometime with you when we aren't in battle."
"I'll be down in a moment." she said.
He left her to gather her thoughts. Central City had been Leonard's home. He'd loved this city. His whole face had lit up whenever he would tell her stories of his life there. Maybe in another life, just maybe, they were here together. Maybe in another life, he was alive and well, living out his days as a thief or whatever he wanted to be.