Destined to Love You

Seeing Sara as a perky teenager somehow makes him feel both closer to and farther from the adult Sara.

The two versions of Sara are different, obviously. His Sara—or rather, the older Sara—is so much more physically capable.

Not that the younger Sara has any trouble slapping the younger Mick. But his Sara shows her control in every movement. She's seen more, has experienced more, has become the person he knows, the person he…

And though both versions of Sara are gorgeous, he can't say he has any desire to get physical with her younger counterpart.

Seeing Sara in that cowboy outfit and not touching her was torture. He needs to get past his issues and make a move—or let her make a move, he really doesn't care—so they can both relieve tension in more creative ways than they have been. Card games and sharing drinks are great and all, but they can do better.

Teenaged Sara doesn't seem to realize her soulmate is on board. Leonard thinks maybe it's because that unmistakable first meeting happens in her future, which means even though she hasn't met him yet, they've already met for the first time.

Because that's not a mind fuck.

Still, he's pretty sure they shouldn't mess up the timelines any more than they already have, and he makes sure his mark, with its matching color and the bird she might not even know represents her, stays hidden.

His Sara notices, though he's not sure how; it isn't like he shows the mark all that often anyway. When they find a quiet moment by themselves, without any younger versions of anybody nearby, she takes his wrist, much like she had right after they'd met.

This time, though, her touch is somehow both gentler and more confident. They're in her room, but the door's open, and anyone could walk by. It all fades, though, at the look in her eyes, at the warmth that seeps through his sleeve.

She doesn't say anything at first. After a long minute, she breaks eye contact. He watches as she pushes his sleeve up and out of the way, stopping when she reaches the little tattoo. She runs her fingertips over it, and Leonard's breath catches. She curls her hand around his arm, her thumb positioned over the canary, and she strokes back and forth across the sensitive skin.

He doesn't know when she looks back up at him because his eyes close without his permission. When he opens them, she's watching him with a little smile.

"The whole us-as-kids thing is weird, huh?" Sara asks, her voice even. Her smile widens and her eyes spark with mischief. "You were a cute baby."

He smirks back at her, finding some of his equilibrium in the light teasing he's gotten used to. "It's weird alright. I'll admit, I got some satisfaction from younger Sara slapping Mick. He may be my partner now, but he was a bit of a shit back then."

"And he's a perfect gentleman now."

Leonard doesn't object to her sarcasm. He knows she likes Mick and doesn't mean anything by it. Besides, she's right in her implications; Mick would rarely pass as a proper gentleman.

Sara's thumb stops over his tattoo, and she shuffles closer to him. She's looking up at an angle that can't be comfortable, and he can't get his heart to slow enough to catch his breath. He's not a virgin, but he feels like he's reacting like one, every cell of his body focused on the woman before him, as if his life is going to change in the best way if she'll just press her lips to his.

But she doesn't. Another shuffling step forward, and she releases his wrist to wrap her arms around his waist. He stills for a moment, then reciprocates, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

She's so small, and it's hard to believe she holds so much power, even when he can feel the muscles under his touch. She fits perfectly under his chin, and relaxing into the embrace is as easy as breathing, which he's finally remembered how to do.

"What's this for?" he asks when she makes no move to pull away.

"It's been weird, and not the kind of weird I usually look for. And I just… This is nice."

He doesn't respond, but he tilts his head to the side, resting his cheek on her hair. They're still like that when Mick finds them. They don't jump apart. For one thing, it's Mick, and he already knows almost as much as they do about their relationship. For another, he just doesn't give a shit who sees them, and the way Sara brushes her hand over his tattoo one more time before sliding his sleeve back down his arm?

It tells him she feels the same.


She doesn't like seeing him with Cassandra Savage. She gets it, sure.

He can relate to her. They understand the whole shitty-father thing, and while Sara's dad might not have always been perfect, he was a great dad, and he was worlds better than they had.

Still, she doesn't like it. He spends so much time dismissing most people, and she's used to his relationship with Mick. For this stranger to come in, to see him drawn to her for any reason, is hard, even if she reminds herself it's silly.

The mild jealousy, at least, is easy enough to separate from the rest of the feelings she has regarding Leonard. Those have continued to grow. She's not sure how much more she can take before her feelings bubble over and spill out in some uncontrolled way.

She hadn't cared for him hiding his tattoo, either, but with their younger selves around, it made some sense.

Okay, it made plenty of sense. Still, their marks are a promise that they're meant for each other, and the idea of either of them actively hiding theirs doesn't sit well with her. "Together" with Leonard doesn't scare her anymore, not really. It's like their whole relationship feels like that hug she snagged when she had a chance; it's comforting and electrifying at once, and she doesn't want to ever lose this feeling.

Cassandra's mark stays hidden under tight sleeves, and Sara finds herself wondering about Cassie's other half. Where are they? Has she found them? Lost them? Could you follow someone so blindly when it might lead to the death of your soulmate?

While she's on that line of thought, she wonders about Savage himself. His soulmate must have been from when he was still mortal. There's no other way to explain his ever-lasting fixation on Kendra. Then again, having an infinite number of lifetimes in which to search for your soulmate? That prospect would drive anyone crazy.

Hell, Sara herself hadn't even made it two decades before acting out.

Okay, so maybe she understands a little of why he's intrigued by Cassandra, especially with the shared daddy issues. It's gotta be rough on Leonard, though; how would it feel to know the person actively trying to destroy an entire planet is still a better father than yours?

And then there's the whole mess with Kendra. She got engaged to Ray, but Carter's back, but he isn't Carter…

It reinforces again that fighting against being with your soulmate just doesn't go well. Since she no longer wants to fight, anyway, it makes her feel… Unsettled. She feels like she left the stove on or something, like there's something she needs to do and harm will come only if she doesn't do it.

Maybe she does still worry about taking that last step. It's so huge. Sometimes, the shift from friends to lovers makes no difference, but with Leonard? With her soulmate? With someone she's already fully in lo—

"Penny for your thoughts, Blondie?" Mick interrupts her musing rather effectively.

"Just a penny, Mick? Didn't peg you as being so cheap." She turns to him, crossing her arms and smirking.

"Never been able to sneak up on you before. Surely the first time gets me a discount."

Sara's lips twitch. The big man might play dumb sometimes, and sure, he's lacking some basic information, but that doesn't make him stupid. "I was just thinking about the whole soulmate thing. Time travel complicates it some."

"You and Snart are both on the same time ship." Mick says it like it's a given, and she guesses it is.

"I know. But like Kendra and Carter. Savage. And what happens if something happens to Stien? If it's in the future, when would his wife's mark go dark?" She sighs. "I don't know. It's supposed to all be so simple, but it's not always."

They talk until they have to rejoin the team, and then everything is too busy to talk for a while.

And then Cassandra's gone, and she and Leonard are able to relax a little despite everything with Savage, despite Jax having left and Stein being in danger.

Leonard is on edge, and it doesn't take long for Sara to ask him why.

"Something's wrong. I can feel it." He looks up from his cards. "Shit's about to go sideways."

Sara shrugs one shoulder. "Hasn't stuff gone wrong since we got on this ship? What's new?"

"This is worse." He looks back at his cards. "I don't know what might happen, though. I just know it'll be bad."

Sara watches him. He's tense in a way she hasn't seen since the beginning, and she accepts his worry as potentially legitimate, but until they know more, it's not like there's anything they can do but stay together.

She tosses down another card and contemplates moving closer.