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It would have been useful if, in the middle of all the lessons on murder, R’as al Ghul had devoted an afternoon or two to teaching his assassins how to give effective romantic advice. At least Sarah was trying her best.
“What’ll happen when I meet him in the next life and he asks why I didn’t wait for him?”
“Maybe Carter will understand? You’ve got needs now, right? You’ve got a while until you die. Ideally.”
In the opposite corner of the room, Len had gotten Gideon to run a holographic game of cards against him, and was flicking his finger through the air to keep a hand or trade up for a better one. He was occasionally rolling his eyes.
Kendra twisted her fingers around the escrima stick she’d been using to spar with Sarah until combat to remove stress turned into just discussing the stress. “How’s that going to make Ray feel, if he thinks he’s just something I’m using to pass time until my real boyfriend reincarnates again?”
“I…y’know, I feel like that’s a tough call…”
The light tones of Gideon came on over the PA. “Sarah? Captain Hunter requests your presence in the command room.”
Sarah bolted so fast the Flash would probably get jealous. Kendra sat down on the floor, legs curled, and pulled her mace into her lap sullenly like a favored stuffed toy.
“Sorry for making you sit through girl talk, Len.”
Len didn’t bother glancing at her. The hologram set off a brief flare of fireworks as Len won the round, and then reset itself to begin the game again. “Well, men never have romantic interests, so it couldn’t possibly be anything I’d understand. Really, it’s amazing that our species reproduces at all.” Flick, flick, poke of the air. “Personal question, Kendra. Did you actually like anything about Carter?”
“I…he was my soulmate. We’ve been reincarnated for–”
“So that’s a no.”
Kendra squirmed, muttering something about opening her up to an entirely new realm of possibilities, which Len shot down again by repeating the question. The second time she had no answer at all.
“So you’re saying that you’re worried about choosing between a rich, intelligent, puppy-hearted, attractive man with a suit of power armor, and a guy you only stayed with because some outside force keeps making you bump into each other. You’re basing your major life choices off a magical space rock. Is that how this soulmate thing goes?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Mmmmmmhm.” Len returned to his card game, seemingly losing interest in her.
Kendra sat down on the floor next to him, one knee up. At least Len she could trust to be blunt, if not ‘honest’. He was not a man interested in sparing feelings. “What would you do, in my place?”
“Bang Ray like a storm door in a hurricane, then take all his money.”
Kendra rolled her eyes. “Right. Criminal. Almost forgot there. Look, Len, have you ever been in love?”
There was no delay on Len’s answer. “Yeah. At least four or five times.”
“No, I mean really in love. Like, she was the one.”
“Oh, that.” Len shrugged, and the fireworks went off again. “Three, then.”
“Three—Len, if she’s the one you can’t have three of them.”
“At the time, they were the one.” People kept forgetting he was heading for his mid-forties; the Snart genes aged gracefully. “Look, Kendra, I really don’t give a damn who you hook up with as long as it doesn’t become my problem. But if you spend your entire life fixed on the idea that the big prize is hiding out there somewhere and settling for anyone else means you’re doomed to misery, you’re gonna have a pretty boring life. And be a lousy thief.
“Look, I’ll think about it, okay? I just. It’s complicated.”
“Only as complicated as you want it to be, priestess.”
Kendra couldn't decide if Len would make a horrific marriage counselor or a fantastic one. There was something admirable in how he could slice a situation down to its utilitarian essentials and decide where to go from there--but then again, that also seemed to lead to murder or theft being the obvious answer to an otherwise thorny dilemma. She wasn't sure she could personally live that way.
“So…do you have anyone—I’m not asking for me!" Her hands flew up as soon as she saw his mouth start to open. "Just curious. About that third person you were in love with. If that ever went anywhere.”
Len turned and stared at her, twisting slowly as a moving glacier. "…we’re not really on good terms anymore," he said, each word carefully slow and venomous. There was something sharp under all that ice, something he was hiding. Kendra found herself scrambling to get to the next station of her train of thought, anything to abort that gaze.
“You know, I think Sarah might be…y’know. I mean, you two seem close.”
Len’s wrist snapped out, smearing the holographic lights and then shutting the entire game down. “Might keep it in mind,” he said, drawing out his vowels through clenched teeth as he rose to leave. “But I’d feel a tad gauche not waiting until the body’s had time to thaw.”
For the rest of the day Kendra assumed it was yet another ice-related turn of phrase, because if there was one obvious soulmate for Len it was cold puns. Eight hours later a sleeping Ray, sprawled out next to her naked and slightly scuffed in ways he found pleasing, found himself launched out of bed by a Waverider-shattering “OH”.