Disclaimer: I don't own LOT or any of its characters.

It's hard to believe that she once used to be a bartender, and later a vigilante who had the habit of getting into bar brawls with her friends, considering how much she is detesting being stuck at one tonight. Luck is clearly not on her side, because this is the one night when the outlaws of Star City have all decided to be uneventful and unhelpful, and she's stuck at a crowded pub with pulsating recycled EDM music, cheap beer and Laurel and Thea for company. Not how she had pictured her weekend would begin.

"What about her?" Laurel asks, gesturing at a brunette on the dance floor.

Normally, she would be intrigued. The woman's cute, she's single, and life is too short. But she kind of has a thing for someone who is the opposite of cute, she's single, but with a "terms and conditions applicable" fine-print to it, and life is too short to waste a night on someone that her heart isn't set on. Sara groans. "Can you kill me again, Thea? Please?"

Laurel is relentless. "Come on, I just want my little sister to have a little fun."

Sara downs her drink in one long chug for liquid courage, remembering all the times she has done the exact thing in the presence of someone else, the very person who's the reason behind her sullen mood, the one she can't get out of her head and can do nothing about. Not that she's going to say any of this to Laurel. She knows just how to deal with her sister. "Tell you what? I will follow if you lead."

Laurel sighs. Things with Oliver are, well, complicated, specially since his break-up. But there is no denying the fact that she's still not over him, and there's no point in picking up some random dude. Not that she's going to say any of this to Sara. She has better excuses. "I have a day job and a night job, I don't exactly have the time for dating. But you can find someone!"

Or I can just get drunk and pine, Sara mentally notes as she proceeds to get wasted, while Laurel continues searching the masses to set her up with someone. Now would be a good time to dance, but there's no fun in that when there's nobody to watch and start a bar brawl alongside her. Damn it, everything comes with a pesky little memory attached to it lately.

It's Raymond who proposes going to Central City, insisting it has nothing to do with Kendra, even though everyone knows that's a lie. She's just hungover enough to agree without much protest, which makes Laurel suspicious, which leads to her deciding to come along. "Seriously, Thea, kill me," she begs when she hugs them goodbye, but luck is still not on her side.

The first stop is Star Labs, meeting the Flash and the guy who designed her costume and another really cute brunette. Jax and Professor Stein come along soon, and it's like a mini superhero reunion.

Which is not what she's interested in, as much as she adores these people. She gets to work and makes herself busy looking at the data on the computer screen. It makes zero sense to her, and she officially misses Gideon. Knowing there is no way around it, she finally asks what she hopes is a subtle enough question. "So what have you guys been busy with lately? Fight any arch nemesis?"

Stein has the look of someone who has wisdom that comes with age, and knowledge that comes with observing his ex-teammates in close quarters, the look that usually spells trouble for her or Jax. "You know, Ms. Lance, you can just ask where Mr. Snart is."

Laurel catches on immediately. "Who's Snart?" A moment later, she remembers. " Leonard Snart? The criminal?"

"Reformed criminal," Sara corrects instinctively, before she can even register the fact that she's defending him. She turns to Stein with a glare. "Seriously, long, long days."

"Wait, you and Captain Cold?" Cisco asks, barely fighting a shiver at the mention of his name. "Is that why he retired?"

Sara smirks. He didn't retire. There are white collar crimes all over the city that has his name written on them in big neon letters, but she's not about to say that to a group of masked vigilantes, which includes a district attorney.

Laurel is on her case again. "You didn't tell me you were dating Snart."

"I'm not," she snaps quickly, with an air of authority that lets everyone know it's the end of the discussion.

Laurel dares to cross her arms and challenge her stance.

It gets unusually quiet, and Ray breaks the silence. "I'm thinking of paying him a visit. Do you guys want to come along?"

Is there any way to go now and not look like she's interested in Snart? Then again, is there any point in coming this far and running away from here?

She grabs her jacket, nods, and is the first one out of the door, mentally trying to decide which bones to break in her friends' bodies first. Laurel is quick to follow.

Laurel is full of questions during the entire car ride, and she has never felt more happy to get out of a car before. His house looks normal, at least from the outside. It's a little unnerving to ring the doorbell and wait, and Laurel's constant staring isn't helping either. A brunette, who she knows is Lisa from the many photos she has seen, opens the door. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, Lisa, can you make my sister shut up for the next fifteen minutes?" Sara asks as she walks right past Lisa and into the living room, like she owns the place.

Ray follows, with a small wave and a "hi", then Laurel, and Lisa closes the door, thoroughly amused and extremely curious about who these strangers are.

Laurel decides to break the ice, shrugging. "Younger sisters are such drama-queens."

"Tell me about it," a voice comments from the other end of the room, and Sara freezes. She hasn't heard that voice in weeks, except in vivid yet unreachable dreams, and she is scared to turn around and face the man she has been longing to see, afraid he has changed, afraid this thing inside her is all in her head and the bubble she has been living in would burst the moment their eyes meet.

"Who are they, Lenny?" Lisa asks.

"Somebody that you have no business with. Get out," he commands sternly.

Obviously, Lisa grabs a chair and perches herself on it stubbornly. Laurel follows suit, not about to miss this for anything in the world. Ray awkwardly stands in the background, trying his best to keep his mouth shut for once in his life.

She can feel his eyes on her, feel the weight of his gaze, the tension in the air, the anticipation of what might come, but she can't stop staring at the tiles on the floor. There's still a chance to be a coward and run away, but that's exactly they had both done the last time, and look where that got them.

Taking in a deep breath and reminding herself this does not have to be so damn difficult, she finally turns to him with a smile. "Hey. You look…. the same."

"Thanks, I try," he answers dryly.

Six weeks earlier:

The evil immortal psychopath has been neutralized, the victory shots and celebrations have been done, and the course has been set for the year 2016. The rest of the crew is busy packing their belongings, but she finds herself standing outside his half open door.

She knows he's seen her, but he says nothing, continuing with the folding of his parkas. She knows she has to be the one to start a conversation. "Well, I guess this is the end of the road."

His fingers tense around the woolen material for a few seconds, before he shrugs it off and gets back to pretending not to care. "Yeah, I suppose it is."

She stands there, debating internally if it's a good idea to tell him how she feels. This is probably her last and best shot. If he feels the same way, well, they will figure something out about how a crook and a vigilante can date, and if he doesn't, at least she will know. There's nothing to lose here.

What's stopping her is his body language. He seems more guarded than usual, like he's a million miles away and if she tries to reach out for him, she will be grasping at chilling air. He senses her hesitation, and finally spares a glance at her. "Sorry, I don't do goodbyes."

She tries to fight the wave of disappointment rising in her. The thing that sucks about feelings is, it leaves you vulnerable to getting hurt, and when it hurts, no matter how much pain you have felt in your life before, no matter how numb and immune you are to everything, it still feels like hell. "Yeah, I know," she says with as much casualty in her voice as she can muster. "Besides, it's not like we won't see each other again, right?"

His eyes are undecipherable pits of tar, and his tone is non-committal. "Sure."

She can't stop herself from pushing. "So, what's next for you?"

"Don't know," he answers curtly.

She knows the war is over, and the stalemate will continue indefinitely. All she knows is that there is a little something between them that's not really a thing. And that's how he wants it to be. It's cruel, and she understands. Neither of them are relationship material- she's damaged goods, and he has a very tiny circle of people he lets in. This is for the best. "Okay. Well. I think Rip was looking for me."

Leonard only nods, and with one final glance at him to commit his features to her memory in case this really is the last time she's seeing him, Sara leaves.

Now:

"I missed you," Sara says honestly, not even caring that they have an audience and they will never heard the end of it from their sisters. She has missed him more than she realized, and now that he's in front of her again, now that she can see him, hear his voice, feel the warmth spreading through her chest, there is no way she can stop herself from at least saying how she feels, damn the consequences.

He blinks. She expects him to have a witty retort ready, but he surprises her when he says instead, "Really? You never called."

"Neither did you," she points out.

He laughs, not out of spite, but because of the sheer ridiculousness of this, like a freaking sit-com, and just like that, all the tension is lifted, and they're back to their comfort zone. "You hopped on a train and came all the way here for me?" he teases with a smug smile on his face.

She smiles back. "I can still break every bone in your body, you know."

His smugness grows. "But you're not going to."

"I will if you keep being so annoying," she promises.

Laurel clears her throat, and they suddenly remember they're not the only people in the room. Sara looks at Lisa and smiles. "Hi, I'm Sara. That's my sister, Laurel. I'm sure Lenny has told you nothing about me."

"I told you not to call me that," he hisses, but the women just ignore him.

Lisa smirks. "He's mentioned your name a few times in passing but has refused to elaborate. It's so nice to meet you."

Leonard rolls his eyes. "Okay, ladies, spare me the hugs and kisses and pleasantries."

"Um, I'm here too," Ray reminds them.

Leonard grins. "Like I said."

Everyone is talking with everyone, and it's a while before she finally gets a moment alone with him.

He's in the kitchen, taking out beers from the freezer, and she sits down on the counter, gripping it with her hands, and swinging her legs like a nervous little girl. Here goes nothing. "Are we still not going to talk about it?" she asks.

He sighs. "I hope not, but I have a feeling we are going to anyway." He offers her a beer, which she declines, and pops open a bottle and takes a long gulp himself. He needs courage for what's to come.

The words are stuck at the tip of her tongue, and all her thoughts are jumbled up. It's easier to say it in her head a thousand times over than to say it out aloud to him once. And it's even easier to just be with him than talking about it. They fit together in the right possible way, one that she can't quite articulate in mere words. She looks him in the eye, her irises shining with sincerity. "I just don't want to miss you anymore."

"Your family's in Star City, mine's in Central City. Neither one of us can move. How exactly do you suggest we stop missing each other?"

She smiles at his confession that he misses her too, and then glares at him. "You go out of town for jobs every now and then, but when it comes to visiting me sometimes, you suddenly have a problem?"

He grimaces. "We are not even together, and we're already having a fight. See why I don't want to be in a relationship?"

Her glare takes on an icy stance. "I don't want commitments or promises, Leonard. I'm not looking to settle down or whatever. I like what we have. It's fun. It's all I want. I just want you to be in my life."

"Why?" he has to ask, staring at her in wonder. He's been with women before, but most of them were drawn to his bad boy charms and cold personality. None knew him as well as she did, and none were as strong as her. "Why would someone like you ever want to be with me?"

She makes a bold move for the first time since she's known him. She reaches out and places a hand on his arm, violating their unspoken rule of never touching each other. "We both have our demons, we've both done things we're not proud of. But you, you help me reach my humanity. I don't think you're cold, Len. I think you get me."

He makes a face. "If we're going to make this work, you're going to have to stop sounding like a corny chick flick."

She steps in closer, invading his personal space, with a tiny smile on her face. He tenses, then relaxes, and looks at her curiously. She steps on her tiptoes and gently presses her lips against his. They're warm and soft, taking her by surprise, and he even responds by not pulling back. This isn't the first time either of them are being kissed, but it's the first time in a very long time that it means something, and as terrifying as that is, after everything they've been through in their own separate lives, it's even more terrifying not to give this a chance. With that decided, he finally kisses her back.

She steps back with a grin of mischief on her face. "Now then. Aren't you going to show me around Central City? Barry mentioned a coffee shop called CC Jitters. Ever started a brawl in a coffee shop?"

He smirks. Yes, this can definitely work.

A/N: Well, I hope you like it :)