Destined to Know You

Knowing she's his soulmate makes it easier to relax with her, or maybe it's some quirk of the soulmate bond itself at work. Things just feel right.

Knowing she's his soulmate also makes it harder to relax with her; things just feel right, and experience has taught him that when things feel right, his world is about to go to shit.

They're falling into a routine, despite the fact that they're holding back. His worry, his fear that he might fuck up the only relationship he's not supposed to be able to fuck up, keeps him from relaxing into her, something he knows would be far too easy.

It doesn't, though, keep him from flirting, from leaning in when he doesn't really need to, from outright bragging when the situation calls for it.

He can't do anything to slow the growth of his admiration for her. Not that he really wants to. If he'd ever really stopped to think about his perfect match, though, he is increasingly sure he'd have imagined Sara. She's gorgeous, sure, but he's been with plenty people who were good looking. It isn't just how she looks, but how she uses her body.

She fights better than he does, at least in close combat, and he's not exactly bad at it. She can flow through her movements like water, but she does it with this restrained power. She's holding back, and he's both terrified and enthralled by the idea of seeing her really let loose.

It's not just her physicality that attracts him, either. That would be easier to deal with. It's not just the almost immediate trust he's never experienced; that, he attributes to their bond. But she's funny. Not always in an obvious way, but she has this humor that sort of sneaks up on you. It works for her, and Leonard finds himself fighting genuine smiles more and more frequently.

He knows they shouldn't—can't—fight their attraction for long. They were made for each other, or at least, that's what their tattoos say, and it's not like he's had any reason to disbelieve it since they met.

Other than, of course, the fact that now that he's actually met his soulmate, he can't believe he could possibly be so lucky. Why would someone like Sara ever want to be with a crook like him?


Knowing he's her soulmate makes it easier to relax with him. It might be something to do with how the soulmate bond works, but things just feel right.

Knowing he's her soulmate also makes it harder to relax with him; things just feel right, and she knows by now that when things feel right, everything's about to change.

It's like they end up around each other without even trying. Even in a group, they end up next to each other more often than not, and then he does stuff like leaning toward her when he doesn't need to, and she does the same, and she's amazed none of the team has confronted them yet.

And this is while they're both still fighting against their bond.

The fact that Leonard's mark is never showing probably helps. He likes his layers, and some perverse part of her just wants to strip him of them, to peel away one protective layer at a time until he's bare before her in more ways than one.

To her surprise, he's already more open with her than with anyone but Mick. She can tell he's on guard, but he still shares. He lets her get a peek of what's underneath, and it makes her crave more.

Only, she's not ready.

It's fear holding her back, she thinks. Fear of rejection, whether it should be impossible or not. Fear that their relationship will be the one that doesn't work. Fear that he'll decide he wants someone who maybe wasn't dead for a year, someone who doesn't struggle with a lust for blood.

It doesn't help to watch Kendra and Carter. They're not just soulmates, but soulmates on an endless loop, and it seems like they can't always even stand each other. There's a tension between them, as Kendra holds back, and as afraid Sara is of giving in, she thinks she might be more afraid of causing a rift between them that can't be mended.

So when he flirts, she flirts back. When he seeks her out, she relaxes into his companionship. He's smart, and she swears those blue eyes could probably get him any romantic partner he wanted.

It's just hard to wrap her mind around it, despite the physical evidence on their arms; why would he want someone who's as much of a mess as she is?


When their almost comfortable, almost unbearable assessment of each other is broken, it's not actually by either Leonard or Sara.

It's entirely Mick's fault.

He corners Leonard alone first.

"So, Blondie's the one, huh?" Mick sits next to Leonard, sliding a drink over to him before taking a sip of his own.

"What are you talking about, Mick?" Because playing dumb has worked so well for him in the recent past.

"You know what I'm talking about. She's the reason why there's a bird on your wrist." He nods knowingly at Leonard and takes another sip.

Len figures he has two options. He can hide it from Mick, something he's obviously been doing such a good job of, or he can go ahead and admit it and maybe get another perspective on the whole matter.

"She's my soulmate," he drawls, not quite able to put as much derision in the word as he has in the past. "What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?"

Mick's quiet for a long minute. "I ever tell you about Katy?"

"No," Leonard replies carefully, not following the apparent change in subject.

Mick rolls up his sleeve and unfastens his wristwatch, showing a little, colorless key. "Hers was a flame."

Leonard is silent, watching his partner, waiting for him to continue.

Mick finishes off his drink and toys with the empty bottle. "We were kids. She got in a car wreck with her parents, was in a coma for about a week." He ran his thumb over the mark, then put his watch back on and rolled up his sleeve. "Wasn't long after that I gave in and started playing with fire." Mick caresses the final word, his eyes lighting briefly.

"Anyway," he says, shaking his head as if to clear it, "we didn't know each other long. We weren't old enough to ever do anything about it. We were soulmates. We had forever." He spins the bottle between his hands. "Forever isn't always long enough."

The silence stretches out. Leonard finishes the beer before he speaks. "I've already lost her once. What happens if I chase her away? What happens if I don't, and she dies again? What would it do to her if a heist goes wrong and I'm the one who bites the bullet?"

Mick listens, and Leonard continues. "She's perfect, Mick. She's been through shit, and she hasn't let it break her."

"Think we're all a little broken."

Leonard looks at Mick, and he sees the other man stand and toss his empty bottle in the trash. Mick nods and leaves Leonard to his thoughts.


"He doesn't like that you died." Mick's voice behind her in the training room makes Sara jump.

"What?" she asks, breathless from her workout.

"He doesn't like that you died," Mick repeats, "but only 'cause he's afraid. He's not used to giving a shit."

"Yeah, I've figured that out. Thanks." Sara wipes her hair out of her face and sets down her staff, watching Mick.

"Then why haven't you done anything about it?"

"What am I supposed to do?" There's an edge to Sara's voice, but she doesn't care. "Like you said, he doesn't like that I died. I'm fucked up. I can't change that."

"He thinks he's the one who's fucked up."

Sara exhales roughly. "I don't know how to change that, either."

"You see something in him, don't you, Blondie?"

"Of course I do," Sara bites out. She hesitates. "You know about us, don't you?"

"He told me," Mick answers. "He doesn't know how to handle it."

Sara's laugh is anything but amused. "Yeah? Well he can join the club." She swipes at a trickle of sweat running down her cheek.

"Do you like him?" Mick asks like it's the simplest question in the world.

"Of course I do." Sara grips her staff. "He's just… Well, you're his partner. You know." She can't quite put it into words. Len is smart. He's a criminal, yeah, but he's got this code. And the way he makes her feel, like maybe she doesn't have to be worried about being a fuckup because he gets it, and he doesn't see her that way.

Maybe given enough time, it'll help. He'll be able to make her forget, and she'll be able to help him give a damn. But for now?

For now, she waits. She'll get to know, him, spend time with him and see what happens. They're soulmates, after all. Surely, if it's meant to happen, it will.

Right?

"I know what he's like," Mick agrees, interrupting her thoughts. "He's trying to hide from it, but he already cares what happens to you. Gotta say, I kinda care, too."

"You don't even know me." The retort is automatic, and Mick smiles in response.

"You matter to him, Blondie, so you matter to me. He hasn't had a lot of good in his life. Think maybe you can be someone who's good for him." He nods at Sara and leaves the room, and she's left alone like nothing's happened, but everything's changed and she doesn't even know why.