Work Text:
Ocean
xXx
Normally Leonard would have hated this little jaunt to the beach. The sand, the sun, the heat, but on this particular occasion he found himself too distracted to notice that which made him uncomfortable---at least in it’s entirety.
“You know if you keep staring at her like that, you’re gonna burn a hole in her back, boss.” Mick’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. The larger man was laid out beside him wearing board shorts, his arms behind his head and legs crossed at the ankle.
“It’s not her back I’m staring at.” he replied through a smirk.
In the early hours of the morning, nine days into a lull in their mission the crew of the wave rider had staged a coup, much to Leonard’s delight. The crew was tired and they wanted nothing more than a short break to relax. Rip wasn’t too keen on traveling all the way back to 2016, so he compromised. Unfortunately his compromise involved a beach in the pacific and not a fancy hotel in the city where Leonard could scope out a heist.
Surprisingly enough Sara was the one to suggest this particular location and she’d even flown them there. Of course Mick didn’t mind the heat, he was thoroughly enjoying the sun and the time off from the cramped ship and the swirling green temporal zone that reminded him of his time as Chronos. Leonard was of a different mind. While he was happy to be off the ship he would have much preferred air conditioning, hell he would have prefered a cabin on a snowy mountain, giving up a heist if it meant not sweating to death on a sandy, dirty beach. It didn’t help that he refused to put anything other than his normal attire on, nor that he hated the heat to begin with, hence his code name.
What did help though, was the view, specifically the blonde assassin who had been warming their bed for the past two month. More specifically the petite blonde assassin in the skimpy black bikini wading around in the shallow water.
As if sensing the nature of his thoughts she turned away from the water to look over at them. She smiled wading out of the water and walking toward the only patch of shade on the beach, created by the umbrella he’d stuck in the ground over their beach towels.
“You look so uncomfortable.” she told him, all too amused as she knelt down in front of them. “I bet you’d be more comfortable without the heavy sweater.”
“No, I really wouldn’t.” he muttered with a pout. Sara sighed sharing a look with Mick before standing up. She turned her body to glance at the small group scattered along the sand further down the beach before turning back to them.
“Come on.” she gestured for them both to get up. “There’s something I want to show you.” she bent over picking up her flip flops and slipping them on. “I promise it’ll be better than sitting out here, pouting all day.”
Mick chuckled at his partners glare, standing as instructed. With both of them standing over him, Leonard huffed, getting to his feet and gesturing to the right. “Lead the way.” he told her. Sara smiled sweetly at him, which was a sure sign he was treading water, and headed in the opposite direction.
They followed her along the edge of the beach until they were out of sight of their teammates. Soon they came up on a small opening in the dense jungle and she ducked through the natural arch way, heading down the path just beyond. The two men followed closely behind and about half way down the path she spoke up.
“So I have a confession to make.” she said without turning around.
“And what’s that?” Leonard asked still a bit annoyed.
“I had ulterior motives when I chose this island.” she continued skipping over a small boulder in the path. The men simply stepped over it. “I spent a year here before I was picked up by the League of Assassins.”
She felt Leonard stop short and she finally turned to face them.
“This is Lian Yu?” he asked. Sara nodded. “You hate this place, why would you suggest coming here?”
“Because contrary to popular belief the League didn’t make me who I’ve become.” she began. “Ra’s just honed that skill.”
“What are you saying Blondie?” Mick questioned and Sara started backing up until she came to the row of bushes. She turned halfway and looked down past the shrubbery, pointing.
Mick and Leonard came closer, stopping on either side of her, and realize the shrubbery backed a steep cliff side, looking out over a cove. “That ship down there.” she continued drawing their attention to the wreckage of a freighter half sunk in the cove. “Is where I learned to kill; where I learned to hurt people.”
“Damn.” Mick muttered, his arm coming up to wrap around her bare waist, pulling her back against his chest, his eyes scanning the cove below.
Sensing the heaviness settling in the air, Leonard spoke up. “So, what else is here?” he asked.
Sara turned to look at him the grateful look in his eye telling him she knew what he was trying to do. “Well, there’s an old Japanese Submarine from the forties that we lived in while we were here. She leaned back against Mick, laying her head against his shoulder. “It’s all burnt out on the inside.” she said in a sing song voice. Mick’s grip tightened a fraction and she could hear the grin as he excitedly replied;
“Well then, what are we waiting for?”
Sara laughed as she watched Mick practically skip down the path in the direction she pointed. She looked to Leonard who looked just as amused and took the hand he offered her as they followed after him.
“Thank you.” he said watching the ground where he stepped.
“For what?” she asked confused, having a little trouble navigating the rocky terrain. Leonard stopped and turned to her, pulling her closer by their joined hands.
“For sharing this with us.”
Sara shrugged. “Well, you guys have shared so much with me in the last few months it didn’t seem right to keep these things to myself.”
“You know you're not obligated to tell us anything. There are some things that people just can’t talk about.”
She smiled up at him and lifted up on her toes to lay a kiss on his lips. “To be honest,” she began when she pulled away. “I’ve never meant anyone I’ve actually wanted to share these things with.”
“What’s the hold up?” Mick’s voice stopped any response Leonard might have had. Sara looked down the path to find Mick standing with his arms out on either side of him.
“Come on, we don’t want to keep him waiting.” she teased, tugging at his hand and walking toward Mick.
xXx
Mick had been reluctant to leave the submarine, having settled in as “King of the Castle” but as the evening approached Sara warned that they should get back before it was too dark to see anything. Leonard suspected, after everything she told them about her year here, that she was also finding it difficult to stop herself from going through the crates and finding the Mirakuru before it could be used on Slade.
Back on the beach the team was packing up for the night. Ray had told them that in honor of their little vacation Gideon was preparing a barbecue for them on the wave rider. So they all returned to the ship for a hearty meal and the company of friends.
Later that night Leonard and Mick when in search of Sara when they realized they hadn’t seen her since dinner. Gideon informed them that she had left the ship and the partners followed her trail back to the beach where they found her sitting in the sand looking out at the water illuminated by the full moon.
“You know,” she began as they each took a seat on either side of her. “This place doesn’t seem as terrifying anymore. Maybe it’s because I know I’m not trapped here this time around, but… no… that’s not it.” she continued taking a deep breath. “It’s not the circumstances, it’s the company.”
Nothing else needed to be said.