"A day at the beach. So glad this is what we chose for our downtime."
The sarcasm dripped more heavily from Leonard's mouth than the condensation falling from a chilled drink in the heat of the sun.
"What's the matter, Leonard? You don't like the feeling of sand between your toes?" Sara smirked as she said it, glancing pointedly at his boot-clad feet.
"No. The sand is warm. And when it's wet it's gushy."
They sat together at the top of a dune, where the forested hillside met the sandy shoreline. The rest of the team was on the beach beyond them, enjoying themselves in the sun. Jax and Martin were wading in the water. Rip was swimming further offshore. Ray and Kendra were sitting on a blanket, complete with an umbrella and picnic lunch. Even Mick was sprawled out on a beach chair with a cooler full of drinks by his side.
Leonard looked at Sara curiously. "What about you? Why aren't you down there with the rest of them? I would have taken you for the beach-girl type."
She made a face that expressed displeasure. "Yeah well, being stranded on an island for over a year kinda turned me off of it."
Sara hadn't really spoken much about her time on Lian Yu, but it didn't take a genius to know that her experiences there hadn't been pleasant. And Leonard was no slouch in the intelligence department.
Still, he'd been a little bit disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see her in a bikini.
"All right then." Leonard got to his feet. They might as well do something to enjoy the outdoors after being cooped up on the Waverider. "Are you up for a hike?"
"Why not?" Sara rose to stand beside him. "Lead the way."
An hour later they were hot, sweaty and–
"We're lost," Sara said. She came to halt on the trail and stood with her hands on her hips.
Leonard whirled around to face her. "I knew exactly where we were going until you insisted on taking that fork in the trail."
"That was the trail! You're the one who wanted to go charging straight down the hill at that rock fall!"
Sara wouldn't admit that she had been a bit distracted while walking along the trail behind Leonard. She had so rarely seen him clad in anything other than a sweater and jacket, but in deference to the warm weather he was wearing a t-shirt over the top of his customary black trousers. The combination of the lean muscle of his arms and shoulders and other, tighter, parts of his anatomy further down had caused her to be a bit preoccupied and not pay as much attention to her surroundings as she ordinarily would.
"If you can do a better job then please, be my guest." Leonard stuck his arm out in a gesture for her to take the lead.
Sara blew a sweaty strand of hair off of her face and flounced ahead.
She'd moved further on up the trail and as she rounded a bend before him he heard her say, "Oh, thank God!"
"Do you see the beach?"
"No, but right now I'll take this!"
Leonard caught up to her at a spot where the trail reached a clearing in the forest. In front of them was a large stream. In one spot the stream had carved out a natural pool alongside a rock face. Sunlight that filtered through the trees surrounding the pool shone spots of silver on the clear water.
Sara bent down to untie her boots and take off her socks. Leonard was expecting her to sit down on a rock to dangle her feet in the water. He was struck speechless when she stood back up to quickly remove her shorts and yank her shirt over her head.
She looked over at him. His head realized that he was staring at her in a complete stupor but other parts of him wouldn't force his gaze from the sight of her standing right in front of him in a thin white sports bra and a barely-there pair of panties.
"I'm going for a swim, Leonard," she said, as if she thought he required an explanation. He probably looked like he did. Then she slipped into the water.
Leonard remembered that he needed to breathe. He sat down on the rocks and tried to concentrate on that task.
Sara swam underwater part way across the pool and then resurfaced. The pool wasn't particularly deep, so when she stood up the water reached her mid-chest.
"You need to come in. The water's amazing!"
"I don't like swimming," he said, scowling a little because it was easier to be surly than admit every part of him was focused intently on her.
"Oh come on!" Sara began moving toward him. Her hair fanned out around her in the water and her body moved gracefully as she swam. When she got close she stood up and splashed at him a little.
"Cut it out," he growled.
"Come on, you know you want to!" Sara smiled wickedly and splashed him with even more vigor.
He damn well knew what he wanted right then. The sight of her standing there in the water, her hair shining in the sunlight, her face lit with a radiant smile, only served to enhance how beautiful he thought she was. Seeing her hair wet and pushed back off her face, drops of water glistening on her skin and her white bra gone nearly see-through and leaving nothing to the imagination only served to intensify his desire for her.
Leonard stood up and yanked off his boots and socks, quickly shucked his pants and ripped his shirt off over his head. "You're in trouble now!" He threatened her before jumping into the water, clad only in his briefs.
It was as close to a cold shower as he was going to get.
Sara laughed and swam away. Leonard let her go, biding his time while he plotted his revenge, and cooled down in more than one sense.
She'd expected him to give chase, but after she swam across the small pool and turned back to face him, Sara realized that she'd miscalculated. She'd forgotten how methodical Leonard was. He didn't just plunge in, even when it came to a water fight. He planned.
But she was also trained to react.
She narrowed her eyes at him and considered just what he might be strategizing. He stood as though he was bracing himself for action, all of his bare, lean, muscled torso tensed and ready.
Sara licked her lips. Studying him while he stood in front of her all wet and almost naked was not helping her to be battle-ready. Look at his eyes, Sara. Just watch his eyes. No distractions.
Except…when she met his gaze she could tell that he was studying her just as thoroughly. Even from across the pool she thought she detected a flare of passion in his eyes that matched her own budding desire.
That was not helping matters. At all.
Leonard made his move, coming at her more swiftly than she would have thought he could travel through the water.
Sara dove under the surface. She had the advantage of being a stronger swimmer. She swam quickly toward him, sensing where he stood by the motion of the water. Closing in on him, she took a quick stroke to the right, darted past him then tucked and rolled to move in behind him. Grasping his ankles, she pulled him off his feet and under the water.
She rose to the surface and came up laughing. He came up sputtering.
After he'd wiped the water from his face and eyes he shot her a menacing look. "Now the gloves come off!"
Sara whirled to move away, but she couldn't move fast enough. Leonard might not like swimming, but that didn't mean he couldn't swim.
A few neat strokes and he was on her. He grabbed her about the waist, hauled her up out of the water and threw her to come splashing back down a foot away.
This time she came up coughing, with water streaming out of her nose.
When she recovered, she glared at him and they began to circle each other warily. They were both braced for combat, waiting, watching the other to see who would make the first move.
Leonard bided his time, shifting around to the left, knowing that if he got her to move around just a little…bit…further – there! She was in the perfect position for a shaft of sunlight piercing through the trees to create a momentary glare in her vision.
He sprang at her, using surprise and his larger body mass to grab her by the wrists and force her arms back behind her, locking her wrists together at the small of her back and pinning her up against his chest so she couldn't struggle.
But her legs were still free. She used the momentum he'd exerted in pulling her towards him to sweep his feet out from beneath him, and they went splashing under the water together.
Sara wrapped her legs around his waist and held tight as they thrashed about under the water, each struggling to break free of the other's hold.
The water churned around them as they struggled, neither one willing to give up the fight and give in to the other. Sara wiggled and squirmed, thrusting about against him as she sought release from his hold.
Leonard's feet scrambled on the sandy bottom of the pool, trying to find purchase and the leverage to brace himself against his opponent. Finally, as he was getting close to the point where he needed to draw breath again, he found a foothold and used his strength to push up. He rose with his arms still wrapped around Sara and her legs still keeping him firmly in her hold.
They were near the side of the rock face against which the pool had formed. In a couple of strides Leonard had Sara pinned between a smooth boulder and his body.
She had ceased struggling, her lack of motion conceding defeat even when she wouldn't admit it in words. They were both breathing heavily from their exertions.
Despite having been engaged in mock battle, Leonard had still been very aware of how the movements of their bodies had mirrored another sort of closeness and intimacy. He couldn't help but continue to react while feeling her bare skin against his, her breasts pressing up against his chest and her legs wrapped around him in the same way they might be if he was to be given free reign with his desire.
Especially since this was Sara, who'd lit a fire under his skin and thawed his cold heart in a way he'd thought nobody ever could.
There was no way that Sara could also not be aware of his physical reaction to their unintentional intimacy.
Yet she didn't move. Didn't make any attempt to disentangle herself from their current embrace. She met his gaze and watched him as intently as he focused on her. Her lips parted.
Leonard felt a bubble of panic rising in his chest. He needed to let go of his hold on her. He wanted to crush his mouth against her enticingly parted lips. He needed to back away, come up with a teasingly snide remark about being the victor in their fight. He wanted to taste the skin at her neck and shoulder where droplets of water were running and to chase them with his tongue. He needed to move away. He wanted to thrust against her, and feel himself plunge deep inside. He needed to move. Now.
But then she did.
It was a small motion, a barely discernable movement, but one large enough to rock him to his core. She infinitesimally tightened her legs around him and then she moved her hips to rub up against him.
Leonard's reservations and apprehensions fell away.
Slowly, slowly, he lowered his head until his mouth met hers. He kissed her gently at first, but neither of them could restrain the passion that had been growing between them for long.
The kiss deepened and their tongues met, the warmth of them an alluring contrast to the coolness of their bodies from the water. Leonard finally released Sara's wrists from his grip on them and he felt her hands slide up his back to grip his shoulders.
His mouth left her lips to trail kisses down her neck and to lick the depression made at her collarbone. Her head tilted to give him better access and he heard her moan softly into his ear. Her fingernails raked gently down his back.
He laid siege to her lips again as his hand wandered up to cup a breast and his thumb rubbed its already taut centre through the thin, wet fabric of her bra. Sara grabbed the back of his head to anchor his mouth to hers as their tongues clashed together. She rocked her hips to slide up against him and he felt the hotness of her despite being hip-deep in water.
His hand left her breast to slide down past her waist on its way to–
"There! See, Martin, I told you we'd find them– ohhhh! Whoops!"
Leonard and Sara abruptly broke their kiss and froze as Ray's voice intruded upon them. He was somewhere behind Leonard, at the foot of the trail on the other side of the pool. Leonard's body was mostly shielding Sara from view. Leonard didn't move and he captured Sara's gaze with his.
"Okay," Ray said, awkwardness registering in his tone. "We, uh, thought you guys might be lost so we came looking for you."
"We're fine," Leonard said, not turning around and putting a hint of menace in his voice.
"Great! Well, we'll be leaving. We're just taking the path over here that leads back to the beach."
Neither Sara nor Leonard responded.
When Leonard was certain they were alone once more, he raised a hand to lay his palm softly against Sara's cheek. It may be that they had gotten carried away in the heat of the moment and their uninvited visitors served as a dousing of cold water. Still, he couldn't resist the urge to touch Sara again.
"We can go back now," he said, his voice pitched lower and much softer than its customary timbre. "Or…not."
They were both well aware of the full meaning and implications carried by that last word.
He ran his thumb gently over lips that remained slightly swollen from his kisses.
"It's up to you, Sara. What do you want?"
She brought a hand up to clasp the one he held against her cheek and turned her head to place a kiss in the centre of his palm.
"You," she said, breathlessly. "I want you."
After, they didn't talk much. But he kept her close to him, further exploring the curves and valleys of her body with a languid, leisurely touch. She didn't mind the quietness. For what had just transpired between them…there were no words. They shared a comfortable silence, while lying together on the soft grass under the warmth of the late afternoon sun.
She knew he wasn't one for explanations or declarations and the way he kissed her with such a tender reverence spoke volumes.
Eventually, they had to dress and make their way back to the beach (choosing the correct fork in the trail this time). Whey they were almost at the point where the forest path opened up onto the dunes, Sara stopped him by placing a hand on his arm. He turned to her and she reached up to kiss him once more, softly.
Leonard took her hand, entwining their fingers. Then he raised their joined hands, a questioning look on his face.
Sara smiled and gave a slight nod, and they strolled out onto the beach to rejoin the team, hand-in-hand, together.