Sara is crying and Len comforts her on the subway.

xxxXxxx

A hand appears in front of her blurry vision and Sara furrows her brow, looking up to meet the blue eyes of a handsome stranger. The man's hair was close shaven, and his mouth was twisted in a sorrowful expression. There was a tissue between his fingers that he held out to her.

Sara took the tissue from him and dabbed at her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered softly. Suddenly, she was embarrassed at being seen crying so openly on the subway. People were probably thinking she was a nut case.

"I know what it's like to lose someone," he said gently.

The stranger sat down across from her and handed out a few more tissues. She fatefully took them from him and offered him a tiny smile. Those tears just weren't stopping and if he hadn't offered the tissues, Sara wouldn't have known she was still crying. She'd been crying for so long that her face was beginning to feel numb.

After blowing her nose, Sara replied, "How did you know that I lost someone?"

"It's written all over your face. Trust me. I've seen that look in the mirror many times, myself."

Whoever this man was, he had a nice voice. He sounded genuine when he spoke, almost as if he had experience with grief. Silently, Sara wondered if he was some kind of psychologist.

"Do you do counselling or something like that?"

"Yes. I'm a therapist, so I'm used to hearing people's struggles and heartaches. If you don't mind my asking...what happened?"

Ordinarily, she'd have ignored the man or told him to leave her alone. Sara was not in the habit of sharing her woes with people she didn't know, especially on the subway. Still, this man seemed to be different than the usual people she met and an ease ran through her as she realised that she wouldn't mind talking to him.

"My grandmother. She died a few hours ago."

"Oh...I'm so sorry."

"Thank you. Sh-she was only seventy-two years old. That's too young for a grandmother to die. She always said that she was going to live to a hundred and I believed her. It just isn't fair." Sara dabbed at her eyes again and sighed.

"I know. I lost my own grandmother at seventy-six just a year ago. I hate that we sometimes lose them so early in life." The soberness in his voice touched Sara's heart and she reached forward to squeeze his hand.

"I'm sorry...were you close to her?"

"Very. She practically raised me. My dad was an alcoholic and he beat me and my little sister a lot. Our mom left when I was thirteen and Lisa was four. It was hard for us, but when he got arrested, our grandmother was able to step in and adopt us."

"Wow. That's amazing. Thank goodness she was allowed to do that. I know some people have a hard time trying to adopt their relatives."

"Yes, so do I. She was a wonderful woman. I can't remember a time when she ever complained. She was so cheerful and happy all the time. She owned an antiques store, so she taught me and Lisa a lot about how to take care of them. It took a lot of pet entice with me, especially, but she was patient and willing to work with us slowly. I loved that about her. I thought of her as the mother that I never had since my own mother wasn't around. What about your grandmother?"

Sara smiled. "She was tough. I used to tease her that she could have survived in the pioneer days. She always gave me and my sister, Laurel, the best advice. She taught us how to cook traditional Sicilian dishes, she kept us on the weekends, even helped us with our homework. Laurel and I loved our mom, but our grandmother was just as awesome."

"Sounds like she made your lives very full. I'm glad that we both had such amazing grandmothers."

"Me too."

The subway began to slow to a stop and he stood up, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a card and handed it to her. "Ah, well, I have to be going. I have an appointment in fifteen minutes. However...if you're not opposed to it, we could talk some more about our mutual grandmothers. You can reach me here."

Sara looked at the card. The name on it said 'Leonard Snart', which she thought was a very peculiar name, but somehow, it suited him. "Absolutely. I'd like that a lot. My name is Sara Lance, by the way." They shook hands warmly.

"It's nice to meet you, Sara Lance. I look forward to seeing you in the near future."

"Same here, Leonard."

As they both stepped out of the subway, they gave each other a smile and went to their destinations. This day had started out terribly, but that didn't mean it had to end the same way.

Perhaps it was fate that Sara met Leonard on the subway. She did fully intend to come by his office later in the week. There was no mistaking the warmth in his gaze when he looked at her. Even though he meant to comfort her, he was attracted to her as well. A life may have ended today, but Sara knew that her grandmother would have wanted her to live her own life, and so she would. The world never stopped turning for those still in it.