#now. as far as soulmate aus that don’t follow my inconvenience requirements go…

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

did someone say bucktommy soulmate aus? *digs around in my drafts*

my inconvenient soulmates thought process for bucktommy:

can’t be something that clearly identifies your soulmate’s name or gender (for both closeted tommy reasons and oblivious bi buck reasons)

nothing At First Sight ™️ (not while their first meeting remains off-screen! i want canon material to riff on when drafting an au!)

something something invisible string theory? (it is compelling)

conclusion:

yeah, it kind of has to be the TK thing

but you know what could be fun? if it’s not a simple “you’re born with a tattoo of your soulmate’s initials” thing, but “you’re born with a tattoo of a string of significant initials, enemies and best friends and the love of your life included.” good luck figuring out which one’s which!

(a possibility: tommy calling buck ‘evan’ because, not to get his hopes up or anything, but one of the last pairs of letters he hasn’t already accounted for in his string is EB.)

(another possibility: buck has TKTK in the middle of his string and finds it darkly amusing—yeah, of course there’s missing data in his list of significant people. he maybe gets a tattoo or two about it. what’s a couple extra TKTKs on his body, really?)

[froggie-recs-fics]

Fic Roundup (up to 9/26/21)

I'm gonna start collecting fics I've read recently to recommend them, because making trope lists takes too long and many fics fall by the wayside. Let me know if you like this new format!

The fandoms in this list are as follows: Marvel (SamBucky, HTP, SpideyPool, WinterHawk, WinterIron, Stony, Stucky, SpiderShield), DCU (Bane/Blake), Inception (Arthur/Eames), Teen Wolf (Sterek).

A * signifies a particular favorite (though I love all these fics)

Marvel

Sam/Bucky

double back by flowermasters (E, 12K, Post-Endgame, Time Loop, Time Travel)

Sam gets stuck in a time loop. In 1943.

Things could be worse, but they could certainly be better.

Companion piece here: quick time

I'll explain everything to the geese by napricot (Post-Endgame, E, 50K, Sam can talk to birds)

Bucky is so competent that it hurts my feelings is not a rational complaint to have about a person, and yet, after a year of being Captain America and partnering up with Bucky for the new and improved, post-Blip Avengers, that’s kinda how Sam’s feeling.

It’s not great. It maybe leads to Sam making some rash, ill-advised decisions like claiming he has a previously undisclosed superpower, and then getting caught in a web of lies when he ends up actually developing that surprisingly inconvenient superpower. Talking to birds had seemed like a harmless superpower, but it turns out that birds have a lot of opinions, and they don’t hesitate to tell Sam about them, especially when it comes to his supposedly subpar courting skills. Which is ridiculous, because Sam isn’t courting Bucky. Right?

Rumlow/Bucky

**blueprints for a better world series by itallstartedwithdefenestration @astralhux (CATWS, Post-CATWS, Noncon, E, 115K, Dark Main Character)

When Pierce discovers the asset is no longer capable of getting himself hard during recreational use, he tells Rumlow to figure out what the problem is, and to fix it. The solution turns out to be more complicated than anyone expected.

I can't recommend this series enough

Peter/Wade

*Dead Men Walking series by doctorestranged @lazystrawberrymilkshakes (E, 235K, Identity Porn, Slow Burn)

When a series of murders take place, Peter Parker goes undercover in Sister Margaret’s to get intel on Tony Stark’s prime suspect: Deadpool. Peter goes in hoping to get enough information so that Spider-Man can save the day, but like everything in Peter’s life, it becomes a bit more complicated than that and it soon becomes apparent that he might not be the best fit for the job.

All About Chemistry by TwiceBakedPotato @sedatedkoala (No Powers AU, M, CNTW, 74K, Teacher-Student Relationship, Slow Build)

After serving his 20 years in the Marine Corps, Wade Wilson is cashing in his GI Bill and going back to college. He feels like the old man on campus, but that doesn't matter. He likes his classes. He likes learning. And he especially likes his Chemistry professor with the messy brown hair.

Clint/Bucky

Making Me A Habit by Kangofu_CB @kangofu-cb (No Powers AU, T, 20K, Pet Store, Slow Burn, Pining, Misunderstandings)

Bucky is a disabled vet struggling with reintegrating into civilian life. He has a routine and a rhythm, and he doesn't like to let anything - big or small - disrupt it. That all changes the day Bucky finds himself inside CATastrophe, the local pet rescue, recovering from a panic attack in the back room of the shop.

He’s used to walking by the place, not visiting, but the next thing Bucky knows, he’s hanging signs and being used as a climbing tree for a bunch of freshly-acquired kittens. And he just...keeps going back. First for the kittens, then for the disaster shop owner who rescues actual kittens from actual trees and teaches archery as a side-gig, and eventually because he’s hopelessly in love.

(Clint was in love before Bucky ever walked in the door.)

*Nameless by AvaKelly (Post-CATWS, M, 101K, Time Travel, Time Loop, Slow Burn)

A gun is pointed at him before he can even move from his position, the Soldier's metal arm steady in its aim. Clint sighs.

"Nemo," Clint says. "It's tattooed on your wrist, right here," he lifts his right hand and taps his left index finger where his palm ends.

The Soldier's eyes widen. "How do you know this?"

"I put it there."

Glitter, G-Strings and Other Mission Hazards by flawedamythyst @flawedamythyst (T, 16K, Undercover, Stripper Clint)

“Which is why you need me to shake my booty for cash,” said Clint.

“Precisely,” said Coulson. “You’re the only agent we have who wouldn’t need additional training in the skills of an exotic dancer to take on the mission, and we want to get someone in there as soon as possible.”

Clint nodded, shutting the file. “Okay, awesome. I’ll dig out my sequined g-string.”

“You’ll have full access to requisition any costumes you might need,” said Coulson.

A mission requires Bucky to be Clint's back-up as he goes undercover as a stripper, which gets more difficult with every new costume he comes out in.

Paternal Error by EVVS @skylarkevanson (Post-CATWS, T, 33K, Kid Fic, Established Relationship)

Bucky has never once thought of being a parent. Not since the Winter Solider happened.

Until he falls in love with Clint Barton. And that idiot just keeps collecting children for his flock.

Now Bucky has to pretend like he's good at parenting.

Bucky/Tony

Forms of Love by bear_bell (Post-CACW, E, 33K, Split Personalities)

Months after the Avengers' dispute in Germany, the team returns to the US and moves back into the tower. As always, everyone pretends that nothing happened. Tony is just fine with this. He's used to pretending, and he'll be damned if he lets any of them see him flinch.

Tony's the bad guy, after all. He's used to it. He's fine with it. He's good at it.

Only now, there's something far worse loitering around the tower - The Winter Soldier. No one notices the guy at first, but when they do, Tony figures that he should have the soldier's back.

Birds of a feather should flock together, and the bad guys should start a book club.

Steve/Tony

While You Were Sleeping by betheflame @betheflame (No Powers AU, M, 65K, While You Were Sleeping AU)

It's been years since Steve Grant Rogers Drysdale has spoken to his twin, Ransom. So it was quite a shock when he was summoned to a hospital and found out that Ransom was in a coma.

Even more shocking? That Ransom is engaged. To Tony Stark.

Steve/Bucky

The Road Goes Ever On And On by PipGraham (Omegaverse AU, M, Noncon, Graphic Violence, 20K, Road Trip, Pre-Serum Steve, Past Domestic Violence)

When Brock's continued domestic abuse puts not only Steve's life in danger, but also that of his unborn pup, he flees into the night with just a small backpack of clothes and almost no money to his name.

Steve quickly runs into trouble as he tries to embark on a 3-day cross-country bus journey back home to New York City.

He meets a kind veteran when he most needs a helping hand.

Just Words by LadyRazzle (crimegimp) @ladyrazzle (Pre-CATFA, Soulmate AU, T, 2K, Fluff)

Inspired by that now legendary post: "soulmate AU where you wake up on your 18th birthday with the first words your soulmate will say to you tattooed on your body so you’ll know them when you meet them." Well what if they appear the moment you turn 18, rather than just the day? And what if by the time you turn 18, you'd already fallen in love?

Bucky wasn’t eager to discover what the words said. He already knew what he wanted them to say. He always had.

Peter/Steve

Forgetting It's There by spinstitcher (stygian) (NR, 8K, Crack, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn)

“You’re Captain America,” he blurts out.

“What?” says Captain America, looking a little wide-eyed. He casts a nervous glance at the girl at the counter – he has nothing to worry about there, she’s rocking out to her iPod and could care less what they’re talking about – and says, “No, uh, Steve, it’s just, I’m Steve.”

“Right,” says Peter, and then because his brain-to-mouth filter had apparently been completely destroyed in the fight on Oscorp Tower: “Hey, your butt really is as tight as it looks on TV.”

DCU

Bane/Blake

7 Deadly Ass(as)sins by teacuphuman @teacuphuman09 (AU, E, 23K, BDSM)

Bane and Barsad own a sex shop and John needs a job.

Straws by Menirva (Bane/Blake/Barsad, AU, E, 38K, BDSM)

John works in a smoothie shop.

He has a knack, a second sense if you will, for being able to look at a person and know what they're going to order. It's not the most spectacular gift in the world but he likes being able to figure people out and he's never wrong.

Except for this scruffy asshole who is clearly just ordering the wrong thing to fuck with him.

How is he even finishing an extra-large?

Inception

Aurthur/Eames

Rough Trade by Whisky (whiskyrunner) @whiskyrunner (AU, E, 23K, Internalized Homophobia)

Arthur is an investment banker. He is professional and efficient. He's a halfway decent cook. He's totally independent and has been since the age of eighteen. Maybe he's tired all the time because he works about ninety hours a week which is twice what normal people do, but he's rich and he's competent at his job. He's almost thirty, and already a success.

And there are some things Arthur is not. For instance: Arthur is not gay.

Lucky by earlgreytea68 @earlgreytea68 (M, 37K, Kid fic)

Arthur finds a baby.

Teen Wolf

Stiles/Derek

Cut to the Bone by standinginanicedress (Omegaverse AU, E, 112K, Secret Relationship, Enemies to Lovers kinda)

“Not that it’s any of your god damn business, but my name is Stiles. Do you need something?”

The alpha grins. All teeth, shiny white, straight as an arrow. He’s got this sculpted perfection to him that Stiles is sure has worked on all the omegas he’s ever encountered before, but Stiles stands his ground and narrows his eyes. “A date.”

Stiles looks him up and down, slowly, from the black shoes on his feet, to his uniform khakis and blazer littered with pins, to his face. He frowns, makes a face, and says, “pass.”

Cornerstone by Vendelin (Human AU, E, 83K, Marine Derek, Blind Stiles, Friends to Lovers)

Suffering from PTSD, ex-Marine Derek Hale moves back to Beacon Hills to open a bookshop and find a calmer life. That’s where he meets Stiles, completely by accident. Stiles is talkative, charming and curious. Somehow, despite the fact that he’s blind, he’s able to read Derek like no one else.

Stand Fast in Your Enchantments by DevilDoll, Rahciach (AU, Graphic Violence, E, 76K, Captivity, Feral Derek)

"Stiles knew damn well what a pissed-off wolf sounded like, and every hair on the back of his neck was telling him that somewhere in this room was a very pissed-off werewolf." An AU in which Derek is feral, Stiles is magical, and they eat a lot of fast food.

The Payoff Pitch by Leslie_Knope (Sports AU, E, 83K, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers)

Derek is on the cusp of his second season with the LA Dodgers, and as the reigning runner-up Rookie of the Year, the pressure’s on him to become the team’s star pitcher and lead them to the playoffs for the first time in five years. He’s trying to deal with the burden of expectations and really has zero desire to spend any extra time or energy on anything that isn’t baseball.

But then he meets Stiles.

[naferty]

@louserzouis @lighthearted-liv @captainsuperpotato @thedaughterofsatan666-blog @crystallized-iron @arellaroth @accio-stark @liljeconvallaria @superhusbands4ever @sozuki @mariesbookblog @rinianitsocial @ndegenzuri @audre-w @definitely-nope @dragonsophie @avengergleepotterlife @kiernaserea @ksziggy @xissa-chanx @understandingthelyrics @ajanamyth @mother-shipper @eccentricrage

For showing interest on the au you got tagged! So here is part 3! 

Over the table Tony is calm and silent, deadly to anyone who doesn’t know him. Under the table, hidden from view, he’s clutching T’Challa’s hand, fingers turning an unhealthy white. The pressure gives T’Challa new coloring as well. Gregory is in front of them. Not outright grinning but you could practically feel the smugness radiate off his idiot face. Tony wanted to punch him real bad.

Jarvis stands at the edge of the table, next to the old man holding the will. Tony gains a small satisfaction at Jarvis standing by his side of the table, instead of Gregory’s. He’ll take any victory he can, no matter how small, and when it comes to Jarvis it means everything.

Even though the old butler still works for Howard and caters to Gregory Jarvis still made time to always call or even visit Tony and Maria whenever he could. Jarvis, dare Tony believe it, favored him over his brother. That was a victory all on its own.

Tony does everything in his power to ignore Steve and Bucky. To pretend they’re not there. If he doesn’t acknowledge them they’re not real, he tells himself. Thing is his peripheral vision is really good and he can still see Bucky’s frowning face and Steve’s confused glances.

“Shall we start then, gentlemen?” the old bat says, breaking the tension. Soon boring statements follows and Howard this and Howard that and future this, future that, blah blah blah. Tony stops listening the moment the old man said “In respect to Howard.” He leans back on his chair, trying to look casual. Gregory’s eye twitches but it’s Steve’s reactions that have a lasting effect. Steve frowns in disappointment, obviously not amused by Tony’s brother’s lack of respect. Tony wonders what Gregory had told them. What possible lie and excuse he had created before Tony arrived. The famous ‘Tony’ Stark’s brother that many don’t realize exists. Walks in with a t-shirt and jeans to their father’s will reading. Doesn’t show an ounce of respect in the old man’s memory.

Gregory probably told them he’s a bum or something. The black sheep of the family that Howard had disowned.

Then the actual important part, the whole purpose of why they were there, is said. “Now for what the late Howard Stark wished to leave behind to you. Gregory Stark, if you would stand.”

The whole room stops. Dead silent. The old farts scattered around the room acting as witnesses are quiet. No one moves and in Tony’s mind the only thing running in it is “Ooooooh, shit, you didn’t you old man.” He almost laughs when he sees Gregory’s face and his stiff posture. Obviously his brother didn’t expect for Howard to use his actual name because otherwise he would have never brought fucking Steve and Bucky, his supposed soulmates, with him. He's near giddy at the way Gregory's face scrunches up in an ugly manner. Tony can practically see him sweating.

Steve and Bucky stare him in expectation, wait for him to stand, believe him to be Gregory. Tony won't stand and they're going to be very disappointed, he thinks. A shock of a lifetime.

Time goes on and the stillness is becoming awkward now. Tony is still not standing and Gregory is still sweating. Eventually the old man gets impatient. “If Gregory Stark is not present or unable to make an appearance his inheritance will be passed to the next in line, as per his request.”

Tony nearly chokes on his spit. Howard fucking did that, gave Gregory no choice but to reveal himself or risk not inheriting anything Howard had left behind. Whatever reason Tony is there for, Howard really wants him to get it. He has a pretty good idea what it is and he knows it’ll only end in tears for one and an inconvenience for him.

Eventually Gregory figures out if he doesn’t move now he’ll lose most if not all his assets left by their father, so he finally stands and the record scratching that occurs over the room nearly makes Tony go deaf. The moment Gregory moves Steve and Bucky’s heads snap to his direction. That disappointed look Steve carried over him not moving and using up their time is quickly replaced by confusion. Those big, blue eyes of his are wide and Bucky doesn’t look any better. Gregory is barely holding it together as he just says “Stark.” Doesn’t even have the guts to admit his name is Gregory.

T’Challa squeezes back his hand in amusement and he knows his fiance wants to grin just as much as he does. T’Challa knew the story, knew about Steve and Bucky the moment the trio’s relationship was announced. There was no secret Tony could keep from him. Not when T’Challa knows him so well and demanded to know what was wrong. Now he and Tony are eagerly waiting how Gregory’s scene would turn out and it was safe to say Gregory was not happy. Not after the old man lists off the things Howard left in Gregory’s name and there's a very evident piece missing.

“That’s it?” Gregory says and the old man gives him an unimpressed look. “That is it.”

Gregory doesn’t give up. “No, there has to be more. My father wouldn’t just leave that for me. I’m next in line for the company. You must have skipped it.”

“I assure you, sir, that is all Howard Stark left. I did not skip anything.”

“You’re wrong! There has to be more.”

“Sit down!”

Gregory sits eventually and now Steve and Bucky had looks of betrayal. “Your name-” Steve hisses to him but Gregory cuts him off, “Leave it, Steve.”

They don’t leave it. Steve and Bucky are now scooting away from him. Gregory’s sitting in the middle and now looks so small without the big men sandwhiching him. Tony gains a twisted glee from that.

The old man continues. “Now for Anthony Edward Stark.”

Steve and Bucky stiffen at the name. The two look lost now and appear seconds away from bolting for the exit. Gregory stands again and Tony knew he’s going to make a fool of himself. “That’s me.”

The old man gives him a very impressive dry look. Tony is surprised the entire room doesn’t turn into a desert. “You are driving my patience.”

“I’m Tony,” Gregory continues and Tony doesn’t stop himself from pinching the bridge of his nose. T’Challa’s shoulders are shaking, no longer able to hold himself from laughing. “I am Tony Stark.”

“Sit down boy,” Jarvis snaps and Tony nearly clutches his chest at the sight. “You will not make a mockery of this. Now you either act like a grown man or leave this instance. Your presence is no longer required.”

If Steve and Bucky have been around Gregory for these past few months then they were well acquainted with Jarvis and therefore knew the man has no patience. If Jarvis is disagreeing then they knew it true, and once Jarvis turns to look at Tony in expectation there’s no escape from what’s to come. Steve and Bucky are now looking at him and so many emotions was twirling in their eyes. They look haunted now, as if months of burden have finally taken their toll, and since they were living with Gregory for who knows how long it’s probably not far from the truth.

Tony doesn’t get up. He refuses to, but he does say, “Present, though I go by Tony Carbonell now a days. Don’t know why the old man wrote that name down instead.”

A pin dropping on the ground echoes in the room. Steve and Bucky’s breaths hitch. He figured their hearts probably stopped, too. Gregory he knew was scrambling to figure out how to fix it. Steve’s hands are balled up on the table, turning a ghostly white. Bucky’s clutching his side with one arm, visibly shaking.

For the first time since graduating they were seeing Tony Carbonell again.

Tony half-listens to what the old man lists off. Stuff that are apparently now his. He does catch “- Stark Industries will be placed under your name -” and a very high shriek of “WHAT?” from Gregory. Tony gets up before the man finishes the sentence and tells him “I don’t want it. Re-write that will. Put someone else’s name instead. Give it to Gregory for all I care. He can keep SI, just leave me out of everything and anything that involves it or Howard or that idiot sitting in front of me using my name.”

He hopes it stings, hearing the truth finally said. From the way their mouths were wide open it’s obvious they didn’t know Tony is actually Tony, not Gregory. Jarvis must have kept a tight lip on it from either Gregory ordering it of him or just plain not liking Steve or Bucky to save them a nightmare.

“Now if you’ll excuse us we have important things to do that isn’t this.” Tony snipes and drags T’Challa along with him out the room and back home where hopefully they were done with the whole issue.

Which is why it’s only natural Howard’s will is blown up all over the media weeks later. ‘Howard leaves SI under second Stark heir: What does this mean for the firstborn son?’ ‘SI left under the care of Tony Stark, but not the Stark we know.’ ‘Trouble in paradise: Soulmates go after the wrong brother?’

Steve and Bucky catching him off guard does not help matters either.

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5/end]

[ccficwithapic]

Just In Case

Title: Just In Case

Author: @misscrazyfangirl321

Companion pic: Untitled @definitelytenrose

Theme: “And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we hope.” -Anonymous

Keywords: Aftershock, Grasp, Capsule, Blunt

Rating: G

Genre and warnings: General, Romance, Soulmate AU, No Warnings

Characters: Sara Lance, Leonard Snart, Lisa Snart, Mick Rory, Amaya Jiwe, Ray Palmer (mentioned)

Word count: 2502 words.

Notes: Two days late, but posted! Thank you so much for all of your patience, @ccficwithapic! Life has been a little much lately, but I finally managed to finish this! :)

***

He’s seventeen years old the first time it happens.

Fresh out of Juvie, no idea where his next meal is coming from, just trying to get home to see his sister, when all of the sudden, a sharp pain runs up his leg. An uncomfortable sensation bubbles up in his knee, as if something was crawling out of it.

He ducks into the nearest store, hands shaking, and rolls up his pant leg.

Rose buds.

Four of them, scattered across his knee, all a pale pink shade.

Cautiously, as though he expects them to vanish, he reaches out, brushing his finger over a single bud.

Impossible.

He doesn’t have a soulmate. If he did, the buds would have come up long before. Only injuries to children can cause them, and he’s far too old and damaged to have a toddler as a soulmate.

Still, they don’t go anywhere, and he’s too distracted by thoughts of Lisa to dwell on it for long. (He has to wonder about her poor soulmate. They must look like a flower garden, from all the tragedies Leonard couldn’t save her from.)

(Distantly, he wonders what his own soulmate looks like, but he forces the thought away. Time for that later.)

-

The buds fall off within a couple of days, but new ones keep blooming. His soulmate is a reckless child, it seems; his elbows and knees are forever dusted with pale pink buds. Still, there’s not a single orchid on him, so at least his soulmate is happy.

He’s glad someone is.

The flowers are as reassuring as they are worrying: They mean that somewhere out there, someone exists who won’t hurt Leonard. They also mean that somewhere out there, someone exists that Leonard can hurt.

He tries to grasp the first thought tightly, to hold it in his chest during the worst days. When his father’s shouts seem to echo through his mind, taunting him at every turn, he traces the latest blooms, reminding himself that it’ll all be over one day.

When he turns twenty-six, that hope turns bitter.

Lisa lives with him now, and things are so much better than they were, but he doesn’t exactly have a steady job. He tries, of course. The last thing he wants is to end up following in his father’s footsteps, but people aren’t eager to hire ex-cons, and he has to feed Lisa somehow.

Every time, he promises himself that it will be the last heist, and every time, he knows it’s a lie.

The reality of what he’s becoming wears heavy on him, and he knows he’s suffering for it. He’s constantly on edge, ready to snap at the slightest inconvenience, but he keeps that frustration aimed at his crew.

At least, until today.

Lisa’s going on about how hungry she is, and he hates it, wishes he could feed her, but the latest heist left him with nothing but a pinky ring to show for it, and her voice grates on him. Every word reminds him of how he’s failing her, and eventually, it all bubbles up.

“Enough!” He shouts, and Lisa goes stock still. Her face pales, expression going blank, and he thinks he’s going to be sick. He yelled at her. His beautiful, precious baby sister… He yelled at her. She’s scared of him.

Does she see their father when she looks at him? Because he knows that’s all he’ll see in the mirror tonight.

“Lisa…” His voice shakes, and he hates that, but it seems to get through to her. She blinks, and her posture relaxes a bit, though it’s nowhere near what it was.

“It’s fine,” she assures him, and his mother’s voice echoes in his mind, telling him not to get between her and his father. It’s fine, Leo.

No, it isn’t.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, and she takes a tentative step forward. Touch has never been something they share, not really, but her hand on his shoulder steadies him. She trusts him enough to let him close.

He’ll never break that trust again.

(As for his soulmate, he hopes he never meets them. If he can hurt Lisa, the one good thing in his life, then this young soul tied to his doesn’t stand a chance.)

-

This isn’t what he meant.

He stares at his reflection in disbelief, starting to reach for a bloom, but pausing halfway. This isn’t possible. This isn’t supposed to happen.

Of course, he isn’t naïve. More and more blooms have been covering him lately, and some aren’t roses. Orchids blooming behind his ear, a white carnation growing from his heart… His soulmate has been through it lately.

Still, it wasn’t supposed to turn into… This.

All the other blooms are gone now, fallen to the floor, replaced with three light purple flowers, centered around his chest. They’re deceptively beautiful, as if to hide the depth of their meaning.

His soulmate is dead. Shot, if he were to guess. Those blooms are fairly centralized around the heart. (Someone killed his soulmate, and an irrational part of him wants to track them down, to make them pay a price they’ll never forget, but he knows that isn’t possible. He can’t begin to know how to find them. So he clamps down the feelings, throws himself into the next heist, and tries to forget all about the deadly nightshade rooted deep inside him.)

(When they fall off a year later, he stares at them in awe and confusion. Has he darkened his soul so much that not even the dead deserve the punishment of him, or has the impossible somehow happened? He doesn’t know, but he keeps the flowers tucked away in his coat. Just in case.)

-

The Canary is his soulmate.

Sara Lance.

He wonders right from the start, when he sees the bright yellow flower poking out from behind her ear. (“A tansy,” the Ramon kid had told him once, struggling to keep a brave face. “It means my soulmate-your sister-was abused.” He could have killed him for the pity in his eyes, but he didn’t, and he thinks he deserves a prize for that.)

He wonders, but she unknowingly confirms it. “Actually, I was dead for a year.”

What are the odds, right? He’s never been a big believer in coincidences, and he highly doubts there’s anyone else out there with such a record. The dead don’t come back. Except, apparently, when they do.

The words are on the tip of his tongue a hundred times. In the car after the bar fight, when she holds the gun on Stein, and even when she asks about his feelings. (About Mick, but he can’t help but wish they were talking about his feelings for her, if only because they aren’t as complicated. He likes her, a lot. No muss, no fuss. No history of friendship and betrayal. Just soulmates.)

She isn’t a helpless child anymore, and he knows it, but he can’t stop seeing his sister’s hurt in his mind’s eye, can’t stop thinking he’ll let Sara down the same way. So he bites his tongue, and never acknowledges the obvious.

Sometimes, he wonders if she knows, but not enough to open the can of worms asking would require.

Still, when she shares a secret grin with him after a successful prank on Ray, or pats his leg in mock comfort after he loses a game of gin, he has to wonder if there’s something to this whole soulmate thing.

-

Of course it blows up in his face.

Of course it does.

Isn’t this how he’s always known this would end?

Her eyes water, not with hurt, but with anger, staring back defiantly past his gun. The gun he’s holding on her, the gun he can’t seem to lower, even as he instinctively steps back from her. A bloom pokes up from the neckline of her shirt, dark and solid.

Anemone.

Loss of hope.

He knows he’s staring, and of course she notices, so she follows his gaze down. Her lips press together in a firm line, eyes flashing in warning.

“My eyes are up here,” she bites out, and Gideon interrupts before he can think of a response.

What is he supposed to say, anyway?

-

He makes one stop before coming to her room, slipping something into his pocket. This is long overdue, and he knows it. Hopefully it isn’t too late.

She barely even acknowledges him when he walks in, and he can’t exactly blame her. No matter. He’s a master at pretending everything is normal.

“I was going to apologize for pulling a gun on you, but apparently, I was just following a script.”

She raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Doesn’t make you any less of a jerk.”

Not even a glance accompanies her blunt words, and he grimaces. Of course she isn’t going to make this easy. Why should she?

“Guilty.”

Finally, she looks at him, expression unreadable.

If he wasn’t so sure of how this is all going to end, he would leave, would give her time to process, to forgive him in her own time. (Or not, if that’s what she chose. He wouldn’t blame her for that, either.)

But he feels Alexa in his bones, and there’s no going back now.

“A bunch of idiots with a machine were never my idea of destiny.”

She considers his words, sitting up and meeting his eyes. “Never took you as a fan of fate.”

Fair. Shrugging, he takes a step toward her, and when she doesn’t recoil, another.

“I’m not, normally. But every rule has an exception, and all that.”

A smirk tugs at her lips, and he swallows a sigh of relief. Amusement dances in her eyes as she asks, “And what’s yours?”

Here it is.

“Soulmates.” Her eyebrows fly up, and he deliberately looks away, reaching into his pocket and drawing something out.

He’s looked at this bloom a hundred times, and he knows every inch of it by heart. Still, he twirls it in his fingers, giving it time to sink in. She isn’t breathing when he meets her eyes again, just staring at the flower in disbelief.

“It’s been almost two years since this bloomed, and almost a year since it fell off.” He drags out each word, studying her carefully.

“So?” Her voice is eerily calm, as if they’re just discussing the weather.

“So…” This isn’t exactly his area of expertise. His father taught him long ago what heartfelt words were worth, but he knows Sara deserves every single one, so he tries. “I guess… Being on this ship, travelling through time… I’ve started to wonder what the future might hold for me. And you.” He holds out the flower as he finishes. “And me and you.”

She plucks the flower from his hand, rolling her eyes. Her brush-off doesn’t honestly feel like much of one-he is a master thief, after all-and he knows she just wants a little more time.

Time he’s sure they don’t have.

Still, she takes the flower, and that’s enough for him.

-

The Oculus is supposed to be the end. He’s supposed to go out a hero, his soulmate’s kiss still burned on his lips, and fade into the forgotten pages of history.

He isn’t supposed to wake up on the floor of the Waverider, aching all over, but so painfully alive that he doesn’t mind.

“Snart?” A familiar voice, maybe Jax, rings out above his head, and he blinks, trying to focus his vision. “What the-“

“Don’t move.” There’s a knife to his throat, and for half a second, he relaxes, a smile tugging at his lips. It may be strange, equating a knife with safety, but he and Sara have never been exactly normal. Except… That isn’t Sara’s voice, he realizes belatedly, as the knife presses closer to his skin. A woman’s, certainly, but not Sara’s.

“Not moving,” he answers easily, gaze darting around the room. Ray stands next to a strange man, grinning wildly. (The stranger, Len can’t help but notice, looks anything but pleased.) Mick is unnervingly expressionless as he stares, in a way he’s never been. He’s learned control, it seems, and looks better off for it.

Pride wells up in Leonard, but it’s tempered by the knife at his neck, and the lack of Sara around him.

“Mick, a little help here?” The arsonist glances at the others, looking for something. Len isn’t sure what.

“We see him too, Mick,” the voice from behind him assures, unspeakably softer now.

See him too? Why wouldn’t they? Unless…

“How long have I been gone?”

Silence and uneasy stares meet his question, and impatience bubbles up inside him. “How long?”

“Two years.”

Her voice is clear and firm, and everyone goes silent. He tilts his head at far to the side as he dares, barely catching a glimpse of her, but it’s enough.

“Sara…”

She ignores him, addressing the ceiling. “Gideon?”

The others stare at her like she’s grown a third head, and he can’t for the life of him figure out why. The AI’s voice cuts in, and he focuses on that. “This is the Leonard Snart we lost at the Oculus,” she confirms.

“How is he alive?” Someone-Ray?-asks. It doesn’t matter. Leonard is done listening.

“I don’t know,” Gideon admits finally, and Len suspects she doesn’t like that, but he has his own concerns.

“Want to let me go now?”

The knife falls away, and a dark hand reaches out to pull him up. “I’m sorry,” the unfamiliar woman says, but there’s no regret in her eyes. Only curiosity, and a bit of distrust.

He likes her.

-

It’s a wild day, full of questions without answers, hugs Leonard can’t escape, (though he doesn’t try as hard as he once would have,) and impossible stories.

The Dominators.

The Legion of Doom.

Dinosaurs.

He’s missed a lot.

It’s late when he finally manages to get away, and he considers going to lay down, but without even consciously making the decision, he finds himself in front of Sara’s door instead.

She left it open, and she’s sprawled across her bed in an all-too-familiar pose. For him, it’s only been hours since their last conversation here. For her, it’s been years.

His brain hurts a bit at the thought of it.

The room is much the same, but over in the corner, there’s a pile of nightshade. Dozens and dozens of blooms, so bright and fresh they must have just fallen off.

In her hand, there’s another. More pale, more worn, and impossibly familiar. Every word he plans to say falls away, replaced by a soft, ‘You kept it?”

After everything he did. After all the times he hurt her, whether he meant to or not.

She grins, rolling on her side to face him, and he takes a tentative step toward her, hope pounding at his chest for the first time in longer than he cares to admit.

“Just in case.”