Who: Leonard and Mal What: Relationship Confusion, ftw! When: During the week of June 12 Where: Verdant Rating: PG-13 at best Status: Closed; Completed Gdoc
Before meeting Mal, Leonard would have never considered indulging in an activity like paintball. Granted, he did enjoy shooting and strategy, but he usually preferred real bullets or a certain cold gun being involved. However, after experiencing a few rounds with Mal, he found he rather enjoyed himself and the other man’s company. Hence why he invited Mal to have drinks with him at Verdant.
They’d walked into the club, Leonard’s hand on Mal’s shoulder as they two made their way to the bar and settled onto two empty stools. Hand sliding from Mal’s shoulder, Leonard raised a hand to wave over the bartender so the two of them could order drinks. As he waited for the bartender to walk over, Leonard idly wondered if Sara was working tonight. The two of them were close and he always enjoyed chatting with her.
“I actually enjoyed paintballing more than I thought I would,” Leonard said, focusing his gaze on Mal once more. “And I didn’t even have to freeze them to have a good time.”
“Told you,” Mal said with a satisfied smirk on his face.
With the exception of Inara, Mal had never considered spending time of a personal sort with anyone for more than an enjoyable evening. Until he met Leonard. Something about the man made Mal let his guard down some. He stopped being the Captain and was just Mal, which was more than anyone, even Inara, had ever seen.
“One of them kids froze a bunch of paintballs once. Hurt worse than gettin’ shot.” And Mal would know.
“Give me one of them boiler maker things,” Mal said to the bartender. “Feelin’ a need t’celebrate.” Putting a bunch of pre-teens in their place made for a thirsty Browncoat.
Leonard smirked. “Well, now you went and piqued my curiosity.” It made sense that a frozen paintball would hurt worse. However, considering Leonard did not yet have his cold gun, a frozen paintball might be as close as he got to using his favorite element.
The bartender finally came over to the two men and Mal put in his order. The words earned him a chuckle. It was a celebration of sorts, wasn’t it? Even if their victory was downgraded slightly by the fact that it involved pre-teens. Plus, Leonard enjoyed the way Mal described the drink. It amused him.
“Just a whiskey for me,” Leonard said. The bartender nodded and then turned to make their drinks. The thief focused his blue eyes on Mal once more.
“So, besides beating pre-teens at paintball, what else do you do for fun?”
Those blue eyes held the depth of space in them so far as Mal could tell. Weren’t many folks he came across held that kind of scope just in their eyes. And with Snart, a man had to look to see it. Mal wasn’t too proud to take a long look.
“Shoot pool.” At least that was a universal constant across times, even if you had to rack physical balls here. “Throw darts. Though the temptation to misuse those when folks get annoyin’ is mighty.”
And he looked entirely unrepentant about that. “What about your own self? Other than an odd affinity to all things freezin’.”
It was rare that Leonard was truly relaxed enough for one to read his expression, particularly what lay in the depths of his blue eyes. Mal was an exception; Leonard had come from their time together that afternoon feeling as if he was ready to share a few secrets. To let the ice melt a little around his heart. Who knew beating pre-teens at paintballing could be the catalyst for such a change?
A knowing smile tugged at Leonards lips and he nodded. “And often justified,” he added. The bartender appeared and set their drinks down on the bartop. Despite the air being perfumed with an array of smells, his nose easily picked out the scent of whiskey. Much like sharing secrets, it was rare Leonard let himself indulge in a whiskey. Being security at the club didn’t lend itself to many moments fit for enjoying something of the top shelf variety.
Once the bartender departed, Leonard focused on Mal again and pondered his question. Leonard did have an affinity for the cold; one could say the cold gun only fed this obsession. Started a fire where once there was only a flicker of flame. Ironic that fire seemed to be the best way in which to describe his growing love for cold and ice.
“I do like pool and darts,” Leonard replied, reaching for his drink. “But most of my time was taken up with far more…illegal forms of entertainment.” Still, look at Mal, he took a sip from the glass.
There were a few reasons why Mal liked Snart. He saw a lot of himself in the other man, and the more he learned of Leonard, the more Mal realized how alike they really were. Case in point: finding most folks annoying and wanting to pierce their hides with a dart.
The boilermaker wasn’t meant to be sipped. Mal dropped the shot of whiskey into the beer then chugged it until he caught the shot glass in his teeth. He placed it on the bar then asked for another beer. Once the bartender went on his way to do that, a smug look settled on his face. He only ever did one boilermaker, but he was proud he could do that one.
Mention of Snart’s illicit background made Mal chuckle. “Man’s gotta make a livin’ somehow, right? Me and mine walked the other side of the legal line. Smugglin’ mostly.”
Unless absolutely necessary, Leonard made little secret that he happened to despise most people. To him, most people were dull and lacked the ability to engage their brains before anything else. Very few could keep his attention, but Mal had somehow managed it. Quite possibly because they certainly seemed to have a love of putting people in their places in the most creative means possible.
The feat with the boilermaker earned Mal a brief round of applause from Leonard. The shot glass could have easily ended up shattered all over the bar. Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised. Quick reflexes seemed to be Mal’s specialty in more ways than one.
And apparently so was playing on the illegal side of the fence. Leonard had done his share of smuggling, but, for the most part, breaking the law involved pinching anything he could with well-trained sticky fingers.
“Absolutely. I’ve done a little of that. Though most of my criminal activities revolved around theft,” Leonard replied, taking another sip from his glass.
“Did a fair share of that, too,” Mal said with a bounce of his brows. His was more of the robbing the corporate elite to help the poor, but theft was theft, and could be fun. “Back home a system of government had the whole verse under their thumb. Ran things how they saw fit when they shoulda run things how it was needed. Only time they cared about the folk they governed was when they could use ‘em.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Revolution didn’t work so hittin’ em where it hurts will.”
He gave a heavy sigh as he leaned against the bar. “Kinda miss my piratin’ ways. Maybe that’s why I like takin’ them kids down a few pegs. It’s the closest I get to home.”
He swallowed his mouthful of whiskey and studied his glass in his hand. “Amazing how money is both the source of someone’s power and also a massive weakness,” he replied. Of course it depended on the person. The organization. Leonard’s only weaknesses were Lisa and his friends. For him, money was a means to an end and a way to ensure protection for those he cared about. If he didn’t have any, it would suck, but losing his sister would be a far more devastating blow.
Leonard set down his glass and looked over at Mal. He braced an elbow on the bar and propped his chin in the palm of a pale hand. He could relate. Maybe taking down those snot-nosed teenagers was the closest to home he would get too. It wasn’t as if he could go around robbing banks anymore. Snagging wallets was even a rarity these days. “It might be the closest I get to home too,” Leonard admitted. “Rather sad I suppose.”
Mal chuckled as he looked into the other man’s face. It was pretty rare that someone not only understood you, but lived by the same code. Some folk swore by it, lived it for a couple of years then either ended up dead or bored.
“Ain’t we just a couple of pathetic criminals.” Not that he was really complaining. It was kind of nice not to have to duck the Alliance all the time. “People don’t understand how good they got it. Maybe they need a taste of desperation to put things into perspective.”
Of course that gave him decidedly uncivilized ideas, but he didn’t like the idea of teaching folks a lesson without an escape plan. The look the idea put on his face was wistful, however.
He sighed then his brows lowered. “How do you deal with it? The behavin’.”
People laughed, thought it strangely ironic, but Leonard did have a code. Sure, it wasn’t always the most civilized nor moral, but he did have one and unless desperate, he normally always stuck to it too. It was reassuring in a way to hear that Mal had a similar viewpoint. That he was also a criminal with a code.
The thief smirked. “Former criminals,” he corrected. Leonard didn’t even really participate in petty theft anymore. It did not possess the same allure as pulling off a huge heist did. “Desperation is the key to unraveling a lot about a person,” he added and swirled the whiskey in his glass. “No one truly knows themselves until they are desperate.”
Leonard also did not like the idea of teaching anyone a lesson without an escape plan. Madison Valley sure knew how to put a damper on criminal wiles.
At the question, Leonard glanced over the bar and caught sight of a familiar head of blond hair. It was brief and then his gaze shifted back to Mal, noting the wistful look on his face. Leonard knew it well; he possessed a similar look himself.
“Let’s just say I have a few good reasons to keep myself on the straight and narrow here and not all of them involve the threat of actual jail time.”
“Need to find me some of them reasons,” Mal said. He was beginning to think the man he was conversing with now could be one of them if he were so inclined.
A bit of that interest showed on Mal’s face. He didn’t flinch from it. Leonard might not be interested. Some men might take that as a slight or be embarrassed to be caught out. Mal had been through too much in his life to let something like that cut him down.
Besides, how else would he find out if Leonard was feeling the same attraction?
Leonard appreciated a game of words. Of wit. However, he also appreciated honesty which was ironic given he was sometimes as dishonest as they came. No honor among thieves and all. Besides, Leonard found himself feeling the same. Like maybe he’d just found a big reason to keep himself out from behind bars.
The similar show of interest was visible in the depths of Leonard’s blue eyes. Much like Mal, he wasn’t embarrassed either. Given he was dead back home, Leonard didn’t have time to be embarrassed or ashamed.
He boldly reached out and placed a hand on the other man’s knee. He leaned in. “Maybe you just found one,” Leonard said, voice loud enough so only Mal could hear.
Well, ok then.
A satisfied smirk pulled Mal’s lips to one side just before his hand slid behind Leonard’s neck. It was only a moment later that the Browncoat closed the distance to place a kiss to the other man’s lips.
It remained chaste for exactly one heartbeat then Mal’s body realized how long it’s been since he’d enjoyed the physical touch of another person. Public be damned. His other hand lifted to cup Leonard’s jaw and the kiss turned hungry.
This went on for a bit before Mal pulled back, a bit breathless. “Wanna get outta here?”
And apparently the move was the right one. The rather sexy smirk tugged at Mal’s lips and then he wrapped a hand around Leonard’s neck, drawing Leonard close. Leonard’s hand came up to cup the other man’s neck just as Mal’s lips locked on his in a chaste kiss. Much like Mal, Leonard felt starved for touch and affection, particularly from someone who seemed to get him on every level possible.
Mal’s other hand cupped his cheek and deepened the kiss. The gesture was clearly desperate and hungry. Leonard mimicked the motion and savored the feel of the other man’s lips on his, the taste of alcohol lingering on the other’s tongue. No, Leonard didn’t care who saw. Everyone that worked with him was a friend and he doubted they would be anything, but supportive. Besides, it was no one’s business who he kissed. Who he cared for.
Finally, with his lungs about to burst, Mal pulled back and asked the question burning on the tip of Leonard’s tongue. Breathless himself, Leonard smirked.
“You stole the words right out of my mouth. Yeah, let’s get out of here.” Leonard released Mal briefly to toss some money on the counter for the drinks. Then he stood and took Mal’s hand, tugging the other man to his feet before wrapping an arm around his waist.