Author's Note: GUYS WE ARE ONE CHAPTER AWAY FROM 50 OMG OMG OMG HOW DID THIS HAPPEN AHHH ALWEKRJ AL;WEKRJA;

Btw HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!! I meant to post this chapter on Christmas and forgot sooooo here it is today ;)

"It's like Homecoming all over again," Sara said softly as she stared out of the window of Laurel's car and watched the scenery wiz past.

And it was, at least for her. Except this time, she wasn't sick and didn't have her dad's permission to stay home. And instead of rebooting her wardrobe and showing up to school in tall white boots and a flashy outfit, she was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt she could almost drown in.

Laurel reached over and squeezed her hand. "We're going to be there every step of the way today, okay? You're not going to go through this alone. And if Leonard tries anything with you, all Oliver needs is a nod to do some serious damage."

Sara looked at her in horror. "Laurel!" she cried. "I don't want anyone hurting him! Sure, he broke my heart on Saturday and he's an idiot for thinking that it was a good idea but he still loves me, and he's just protecting me. Or trying to." She took a deep breath. "But I don't want to be protected, and I'm going to help him whether or not he wants me to."

Laurel glanced over at her in surprise. "What, are you talking to him today? To get him to talk to dad?"

Sara bit her lip, not answering.

"Sara, maybe give it a few days?" Laurel suggested. "He's probably just as messed up about all of this as you are."

"Yeah, and what if his dad starts hitting him and Lisa in between now and the time I get up the courage to do something about it?" Sara countered. "I refuse to let that happen. I'm talking to him today and I'm getting this taken care of. And then Leonard and I can figure out exactly where we stand. But right now, the most important thing is making sure that he's safe."

"You, Sara Lance, are pretty fierce," Laurel told her with a half-smile. "Just protect that giant heart of yours before you head into battle, okay? I don't want him hurting you any more than he already has."

Sara nodded, having spent the last few nights mentally and emotionally preparing herself to tackle the difficult situation she was stuck in.

At the end of the day, after managing to evade all her friends and their questions about what had happened and if she was okay and what she was going to do and if Leonard was okay and... Sara found Leonard outside of his locker.

When he saw her, his usually pale face drained of what little color it had in it. "Sara-" he began.

"No," she said, very firmly. "This is when I talk, and you listen. We can figure out where our relationship stands at another time. Right now, you need to come home with me and Laurel and tell my dad everything you told me on Saturday. I will not let this go, so don't even try to push me away or break my heart some more or-"

All of the sudden, Leonard's arms were around her and he was pressing his nose into her neck. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry." Leonard mumbled. "I'm so sorry that I said what I said and that I- that I pushed you away. I'm just... I'm terrified."

Sara pulled back a little, eyeing him cautiously. "So you'll let Laurel and I take you back to our house?" she asked. "And you'll talk to my dad?"

"I-" Leonard gritted his teeth and looked away. "Yeah. Okay. Let's go."

Sara's mouth dropped open a little. "Seriously?" she breathed. "Okay. Wow- I thought that that would take way more convincing but I'm not complaining."

Leonard gave her a weak half-smile and the two of them set off for the entrance. "Um, so..." Sara started awkwardly, not wanting to scare him off but kind of confused about what had just happened. "Are we... do you take back your breaking up with me?"

Leonard blinked. "I don't... I don't want to assume that you'll just take me back but if you'll- if you still want- I'm just so sorry, Sara, and I wish I could erase Saturday. But I'm- I'm glad that you know about my dad. I know I freaked out but I am glad you know."

"So you still want to be with me," Sara confirmed, because he still hadn't given her an answer.

Leonard stopped walking and looked at her seriously. "Sara," he said, turning her and holding her shoulders. "Since the first day I met you, I don't think I've ever not wanted to be with you."

AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High

Laurel was very visibly surprised when Sara and Leonard walked out of AV High together, shoulders brushing. "Uhhh..." she said, sending her sister an obvious look of what the heck is going on? and offering Leonard an awkward smile. "Hi…?"

"Len's gonna come home with us, okay?" Sara said, giving her sister a similarly obvious look, though this one was of the just go with it ok variety. "He's gonna talk to dad and we're going to get everything all sorted out."

"Gotcha," Laurel replied immediately, though she still looked surprised. She glanced over at Leonard and opened her mouth for a second, before shutting it again and hurrying to get in the drivers seat.

When Quintin got home, he found his two daughters sitting on either side of Leonard Snart, all three of them crammed on the couch in the living room. They all looked up when he walked in and Leonard immediately got to his feet. "Sir," he said, holding out his hand. "Leonard Snart. We met at your Christmas Party."

"I know who you are," Quintin said, giving his hand a firm shake. For a moment, he was about to put on his stern father face, but then he remembered that the 18 year old had probably had enough of intimidating men to last him a lifetime and decided against it.

Leonard nodded and took his hand back, but he stayed stiffly on his feet.

"As a father," Quintin said. "I need to say that I don't approve of the way you treated my daughter on Saturday."

Sara winced, but Leonard just nodded again. "As her boyfriend," he said. "I need to respond that I don't approve of the way I treated her on Saturday, either."

Laurel raised her eyebrows, looking impressed, and Sara grinned.

"But, also as a father," Quintin went on, acting like Leonard hadn't said anything. "I would like to thank you."

Sara forgot about how well Leonard was doing and how much she wanted her family to forgive him as her mouth fell open. "Um, what?" she exclaimed incredulously.

Quintin gave her a look. "As much as I didn't like you standing her up at Homecoming and trying to push her away on Saturday, I appreciate why you did what you did. The fact that you kept my daughter away from Lewis Snart is something worth thanking you for, even if you hurt said daughter in the process."

Sara shook her head. "Unbelievable," she muttered, before dragging Leonard back down to the couch. "Now, dad, could Len talk to you for a little bit? I told him he wasn't allowed out of the house until he talked to you."

"Sara," Quintin said disapprovingly, moving to sit down in a chair opposite the couch. "You can't force these things out of people. But I'll definitely listen if Leonard wants to fill me in on what's going on at home so we can do something about it. And Leonard, if you want either or both of my daughters to leave, please say so. They won't be offended, right girls?"

"Actually." Laurel stood up, knowing that even if her father gave him permission Leonard would be too polite to ask either of them to leave. "I have some cookies I've been wanting to make and a lot of homework to do, so I'm going to leave you three to this."

"Me... too..?" Sara echoed uncertainly, getting to her feet as well.

"Sara," Leonard said, putting a hand on her arm. "Please stay."

She nodded and sat back down, looking much more at ease. "Ok."

And so Leonard talked. He told Quintin about his dad, about his drinking habits and his anger, and how frustrated Leonard just was with everything. He talked about how he'd been the one doing the grocery shopping since he was thirteen and Lisa was three and his mom had walked out. He talked about wishing that he could just walk out, too, but he knew he had to be there for Lisa.

Quintin sat and listened, his voice calm but expressionless. At one point, Laurel brought in a plate of cookies. Sara nibbled at hers, but her appetite was pretty much gone. She was glad Leonard was talking and finally getting all this weight off of his chest, but she hated that he'd had to go through all of this. Not only that- but that he'd had to go through all of this alone up until now.

When Leonard was finished, he sat back and Sara wrapped herself around his arm, wanting to hold him and suck all of his pain out of him and into her but not sure exactly how. Quintin let out a slow breath and nodded. "Okay," he began. "I'm going to make some calls tonight and report this anonymously. Someone will be coming by to check out the situation, okay?"

He got up and Leonard got to his feet, too, taking Sara with him. Quintin reached out and put his hand on Leonard's shoulder. "We're going to get this all sorted out. If you feel at all unsafe before the social worker comes, I'll have Sara give you my number so you can call me. You and your sister's safety is my upmost concern, and I will drop whatever I'm doing to make sure that you both are okay. You don't have to be dealing with this alone anymore, Leonard. You got that?"

Leonard nodded, his jaw tight. "Thanks," he said quietly, squeezing his fists together. "I, uh... I really appreciate this. You have no idea."

"I've got some," Quintin said with a shrug. He gave Leonard's shoulder a squeeze and then dropped his hand. "Do you want to stay for dinner? We'll probably just do takeout at this point, but you're welcome to stick around."

But Leonard shook his head. "No, that's alright," he said, starting to move towards the door. "I really need to get home so Lisa's got something to eat tonight. Otherwise she'll just eat froot loops and she won't sleep." He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "But thanks for the offer. Uh, Sara, I'll see you-"

"I'll walk you out," Sara interrupted, taking his arm and leading him to their front porch.

After she had given him a long hug, she stood back and squeezed his hands. "I'll text you my dad's phone number tonight," she told him. "Seriously, though- if you need us, text or call. My dad wasn't kidding."

Leonard nodded, and gave her a half smile. "I'm glad that you, um... Thank you. For forgiving me. I really screwed up, and I-"

Sara cut him off by winding her arms around his neck and kissing him. "You were scared," she said. "We do dumb things when we're scared- no one's above that. I don't blame you and neither does my dad, apparently. No idea about Laurel, but I'm sure that she and everyone else who wants to murder you for hurting me right now will come around. They've got to."

"Why?" Leonard asked, bumping their noses together as his arms twined around her waist.

Sara let out a long breath. "Because I love you," she said.

Author's Note: Come on dudes let's freak ouuttttt!

Because EVEN THOUGH that was a really short chapter and EVEN THOUGH it was only about like one plot (I didn't want to start anything else until this was resolved; it felt weird) SHE SAID SHE LOVED HIM YAY!

Good times y'all! Thanks for tuning into the ColdCanary drama that this story has been recently! XD