August 2016

"Did she see it?" Laurel Lance asked Felicity Smoak as she ran into the cafe owned by her sister and her best friend early Monday morning.

The blonde closed her eyes and screwed up her face, and Laurel knew at once she had spoken too soon. Sara Lance stood up from where she had been arranging cakes behind the glass display box and rolled her eyes at her sister. "I saw it," she commented while moving out from behind the counter and began setting up the cafe before the rush started through the doors. "I just don't know why you are all so worried about me. We knew he was getting married last Saturday. A picture in the paper didn't tell me something I didn't already know. So, sis, how about you order your coffee and head to work as usual. It's just another normal day in Star City."

As Sara moved into the kitchen, Laurel shared a concerned look with Felicity, who shook her head and shrugged. "She's been like this ever since I got here."

Laurel looked toward the kitchen and then back at Felicity with a worried look on her face. "There is no way she is okay with this," she said, pulling her hair out from under her purse straps and over her shoulder. "Keep in touch today, okay?"

Felicity handed Laurel her coffee and nodded. "You can count on it," she told her as she wiped down the counter, and she waved as Laurel headed out the door.

Sara had turned back to the front of the cafe in time to see the exchange between her sister and her best friend. She shook her head, looked down at the open paper on the table, and sighed. It wasn't like Leonard getting married didn't bother her. She wanted him to be happy. She just wished she was still the one who made him as happy as he looked in the photo in front of her.

The back door opened, and Sara smiled as she saw Oliver walk in. He made his way over to her and saw the paper, and he was about to open his mouth when Sara stopped him.

"Please don't ask me how I am."

Oliver wrapped an arm around her and nodded. "Okay, how about you tell me what cake you recommend today, then?" he asked, taking her advice

Sara smiled up at him. She could always count on Oliver to be exactly what she needed him to be. "You can go see your fiance about that," Sara told him as she moved to pull some pies out of the oven. Oliver nodded at her and headed toward the front of the cafe. "Oh, and tell her to put her ring back on. It's like Leonard getting married has turned everyone crazy. Like they think I can't deal with it," she called out as he left.

Oliver walked over to where Felicity was standing at the front window and leaned down to kiss her softly before she pulled away. "Do you see what I mean?" she whispered.

"She is a little un-Sara-like, but I think she is just coping the best she can," he replied ",but she did notice that you aren't wearing your ring, and she wants you to put it back on."

Felicity let out a huff and pouted. "I just didn't want our wedding to upset her."

"Sara is your maid of honor. What are you going to do, kick her out of the wedding because it might upset her?" Oliver questioned his fiance.

"No, of course not," Felicity responded, rolling her eyes. "I just figured this, with Leonard it's like official now and I mean we always figured they'd get back together and I truly think Sara believed that too but now it's all over, like officially over."

Oliver pulled Felicity into a hug. "Sara is strong, and whatever pain she is dealing with, she will get through it, but that means we have to act normal around her and not walk on eggshells."

Nodding, Felicity stepped back and removed the ring from the necklace where it had been hanging just out of sight. She slid it back onto her finger. She smiled at the ring, back in its rightful place, and then leaned up and kissed Oliver. "I love you, you know that?"

"I had a feeling," he replied with a smirk. "You can show me how much tonight."

"You guys are going to turn away customers with your PDA," Sara called out to them as she made her way from the kitchen to the counter with a fresh batch of cookies.

"Whatever," Felicity called back before kissing Oliver again. "Go to work and I'll kiss you later," she added with a wink before moving off to where Sara was.

As Oliver left, the first customers of the day came through the door, and the girls got to work.

Ten and a half hours later, Sara was dead on her feet as she waved goodbye to Felicity and locked up the cafe. It had felt like a longer day than it was, and maybe that was because she was more affected by the photo of Leonard in the paper than she had realised. She drove home, humming along to the radio, thankful that Monday was over and that Felicity had gone back to acting normal around her. The only thing worse than having the reminder that she and Leonard were over was having everyone treat her as if she were breakable.

Arriving home at her apartment, she poured herself a large glass of wine and pulled the paper out of her bag again, flipping the pages until she found the one she wanted. Leonard's face smiled up at her, and she couldn't help but smile herself. His smile was one of the things she loved most about him, because it wasn't often that you saw a real, true one on his face.

Moving through to the lounge, Sara placed her glass of wine on the coffee table and pulled out a photo album. Turning the pages was like watching a silent film. She could remember every photo, when it was taken, and the emotion she had felt in those moments. Her freshman year of high school had been exactly as she expected, except for meeting Leonard. That was something she couldn't have predicted, but it was definitely one part she wouldn't change.

Walking into Starling City high, Sara looked around for her best friend. She and Felicity had promised to meet up and walk to homeroom together, but her friend was nowhere to be seen. Turning around again, Sara bumped into someone, causing her books to fall out of her hands. "I'm so sorry," she apologised before bending down to pick up the items she dropped.

"It's no problem," the guy said as he leaned down to help her. As she stood up, he handed her the last book and smiled at her. "I'm Leonard, Leonard Snart," he told her.

"Sara Lance," she replied, introducing herself with a bright smile. "I was just looking for my friend. She hates being late, but unfortunately, she has a mother who likes to document everything, so no doubt she is stuck outside having her photo taken to commemorate the first day of freshmen year," she added with a laugh.

"I'm glad I don't have a parent like that," Leonard responded. "I was just looking for Mrs. Peterson's homeroom class."

"Mrs. Peterson? That's my homeroom, too. If you want to wait for Felicity with me, we can go together," Sara said with a shrug.

By the time Felicity showed up, annoyed at her tardiness, Sara and Leonard had become fast friends, and the late arrival wondered if there was something more happening.

Leonard Snart was pulled out of his thoughts by his wife. "Are you listening to me?" he heard Melissa say, and he felt like a deer caught in the headlights. What had she said? Was it a question?

"Sorry, I was thinking about one of the projects at work," he lied. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to try one of those places we saw today for dinner?" she repeated.

"That sounds good," Leonard told her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Lovely. Well, I'm going to shower. Why don't you call the office about that project or it will bother you all night and then we won't have any fun," Melissa offered before taking off into the bathroom.

Leonard sighed. He had no idea where that memory had come from. He was on his honeymoon for crying out loud! He looked at his phone and then looked back at the book he was reading. His brain couldn't seem to focus on the words, though, so he placed it down on the table next to him and stared out at the ocean. It was Melissa's idea to honeymoon on an island, and because Leonard loved her, he had agreed, but as his mind drifted back to the first time he met Sara, he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had they remained together.

Even the happiest of people have "what if" moments, he thought. They must. Leonard thought about his life, and he was happy. He liked his job, he had a beautiful wife, and he had great friends. Just because he'd thought about Sara didn't mean he wanted to change things. His phone rang and he glanced over at it, shaking his head as he reached for it.

"Oliver," he answered, "I'm two my honeymoon. What is it you need?"

"I was going to leave you a message. You didn't have to answer if you were busy," Oliver threw back down the line.

"Melissa is in the shower, so it's fine. What's going on in Star City?" Leonard asked.

"I'll be quick. It's mostly life as usual here, but Felicity added another bridesmaid to the wedding party, so I was hoping you would be one of my groomsmen," Oliver admitted.

"Oh, I see how it is, last minute addition," Leonard joked, "but of course I'll do it, except, are you sure you want your groomsman looking better than you?"

"Not going to happen," Oliver fired back. "I'll let you go, but when you get back let's grab, a beer next time I'm in Central City."

"Sounds good," Leonard replied. "And thanks man, I look forward to seeing you and Felicity finally tie the knot."

Leonard hung up and shook his head. He and Oliver had been friends for almost as long as he and Sara had. They didn't see each other as much as they used to since Leonard's move to Central City. His life had changed so much since he'd met Melissa, and while he loved her, he also missed his friends. They tended to mostly spend time with her friends and family, and that came from how connected her father was. Leonard's sister, Lisa, hated it! She and her brother had been close before Melissa came along, and to say Lisa wasn't the girl's biggest fan was a huge understatement.

Melissa came outside and sat across from him in a red cocktail dress. "How are things at work?" she asked.

"Everything is fine," he told her, lying about his conversation. "The Hall Road property paperwork will be finished by the end of the week. Claire just needed some documents I signed, so I had to let her know where I'd put them."

Leonard had told her something he already knew. It was easier than explaining he had spoken to Oliver and what they had talked about. It wasn't that she didn't like his friends, it was that Leonard was trying to keep something for himself. He'd heard so many people say that once you got married you lost yourself in that person, but Leonard wanted to make sure that he always remained true to who he was.

"Are you ready to go then?" Melissa asked with a smile as she stood up again.

"Yep, I'm all good," Leonard stated, taking his wife's hand and heading out to get dinner.