Chapter Text
Leo felt ready to turn into seafoam at any given second.
He had done stupid things before in his life, that was true. He had always been anxious about showing up with a new wound for Donnie and April to fix up; he had always hated telling his brother he had potentially been spotted and that they needed to stay low for a little while; he had always loathed losing his hunt of the day because he had been too cocky to bother being more careful. This previous anxiety, though, was nothing compared to the one he was feeling now.
This anxiety made his heart jump to his throat, and he was aware everything he said sounded like terrible acting; a lie he could barely hide. He was jumping and looking over his shoulder at any uncommon noise, he had barely been able to sleep, and much less eat. He just… had to survive until tonight. After that… after that, he could find another time to tell Donnie everything and find a way not to piss him off. He didn’t want to make his twin brother angry with him again.
He just needed to make it to tonight.
He packs his bag quickly. He shoves a few more painted seashells, one or two more pearls, and whatever gold coins he had gathered over the years. He didn’t even bother checking they were all the same currency – he just needed to be done quickly. He doesn’t even think to pack some food or something to cover himself. He just slings his bag over his shoulder, and books it for the entrance - well aware he had never been the type to storm off.
He just needed to–
“Leo?”
Shit.
His shoulders hike up to his ears and he turns gently on his heel, his hand tight on the bag he had just slung over his shoulder. Donnie is sitting in his corner, absentmindedly tinkering with whatever new project he had picked up the night before, and his back is hunched gently. He seemed almost just as nervous as Leo was, which was… ridiculous. Right? Why would Donnie be nervous? Was he hiding something from him as well?
That would be… impossible. Right?
“What is it, Dee?” He finds himself asking, and his voice sounds a pitch too high for it to be normal. His brother looks up at him, then, his eyes narrowing but with no accusation behind them. Leo was obviously on his way out – and somewhere in the back of his brain, he apologizes for the extra time he was about to take. He hopes Yuichi doesn’t leave without him.
He wanted to be there. He needed to be there.
“You’re going back to your sailor, aren’t you?”
His heart freezes in his chest for a second, and his mouth dries up. He stares at his brother and looks deep into his eyes, hunting down any hint of an upcoming argument. Instead, all he finds there is an internal fight; over Donnie’s brain and heart fighting against each other. Just like Leo had on that beach. The conflict between the two sides was always hard to resolve, but Donnie was doing his best to push through it anyway. His twin brother gets up and comes closer, and Leo stays frozen in his spot, his eyes still following Donnie’s every move.
“You’re going to need clothes, you know that, right?”
And that one makes Leo unfreeze. His shoulders sink, and he stares at Dee for a second longer, his mouth opening and closing in pure shock and relief.
“What?”
“Clothes,” Donnie repeats slowly as if Leo hadn’t heard properly. “What regular land people wear? We might be turtles and haven’t been following their social norms on account of being pretty much hermits, but if you show up their equivalent of naked, I can assure you that you are going to be stared at.”
“No, I mean–” Leo stares down at his brother, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck nervously as he looks at Donnie; and then back to the entrance of their cave. “I mean, you’re fine with me going? You’re not going to give me the whole you’re stupid and careless speech again?”
Donnie pauses and takes a second to breathe and clear his throat.
“I can’t say I am… alright with it,” He mutters, and he looks away from Leo to stare at his hands. “But… it is making you happy, and… well. I suppose if we start going on land more I will have more room and materials to do my inventions. I don’t have to work off scrap. We can also stay with April and see her more often–”
Leo cuts him off, then, by hugging Donnie close. His twin brother freezes for a second before sighing and melting a little into it, patting the back of Leo’s shell with his free hand. It was a relief, to hear his brother was willing to try. They had always been at home in the ocean and they had always made it work, but… it was true it made several things harder. And if they went on land more often, and integrated…
Maybe they wouldn’t have to hide from sailors anymore. Maybe they could finally be safe.
“Thank you.”
“Yes, yes, I’m awesome,” Donnie jokes and squeezes his brother for a second longer before stepping back and clearing his throat. “I left some clothes near April’s. So you can change before you go see your sailor like this again…” And Donnie then grabs his wrist gently and slides a copper-plated bracelet around his wrist with a smile. The previous jewelry on the earrings has been incrusted in this bracelet, and Leo tilts it left and right to look at the various colors. “And this is so you can look pretty for your date.”
“...It’s not a date,” He excuses, with red already creeping up past his neck. He lets his arm fall back to his side, and he clears his throat to give a very, very bad excuse for why it was anything but a date. “We’re just going to the festival.”
Donnie rolls his eyes, then, and pushes him towards the entrance of their cave. Leo lets himself be pushed and smiles to himself as he stops right before the small waterfall that hides their front door. The dying light of the sunset shines through the water, turning it from the usual soft blue a pastel pink and purple.
“Just go, Leo. Before you’re late.”
And so Leo does.
“...Do you think he’ll be there?”
Yuichi has been sitting on the porch for just over an hour, now. The wood was seriously beginning to dig into his butt and making sitting there any longer uncomfortable. He shuffles a little as if it would ease it and folds one foot under his thigh to stop it from jumping gently any longer. Or, well, hopping. The anxiety was getting to him good, and the reflexes were following as well. It was a self-imposed anxiety, too, which made it worse – he had completely forgotten to give Leo a proper hour for him to meet up. He had assumed he would know when the festival began, and well…
He remembered afterward there was a very real chance he didn’t, considering he seemed to be living full-time in the sea.
“There’s no reason for him not to be,” April answers from her spot against the door. She leans against the frame, a mug in her hands, and she looks on at Yuichi who is sitting there being miserable and looking over the beach. She had taken pity and joined him recently, but not enough to bring him a drink of anything as well. She was going to the festival later; she needed to do one last round of maintenance and then she would head to town as well just in time for Mikey’s show. “He’s not the type to drop a promise.”
“...Really?”
“Really,” April rolls her eyes and finally comes to sit next to him, settling her mug next to her as she does her best to make herself comfortable on her porch. “I talked to his brother the other night. There shouldn’t be anything holding him back.”
Yuichi hums at that, barely registering the fact Leo had a brother. It’s not like he had stayed long enough for Yuichi to ask anyway – hopefully, that night would be spent doing just that. Asking questions. Having fun. A few friendly competitions too, if there were games, and if Leo was any type of competitive.
For that, though, Leo needed to get there.
He takes a deep breath. He just needed to wait. He needed to believe that for once in his life, he would be well and properly lucky – and that things would go his way from the start. He needed to believe in that. April had basically told him Leo could be believed in, so why would he dare doubt her on that?
The sun is almost gone on the horizon when Leo appears.
He already looks much different than he had been when he punched Yuichi’s lights out by surprise, and if you asked the rabbit, he would say Leo looked gorgeous. It was simple clothes, yes, but it fit him nonetheless – and hugged the lines of his body effortlessly. The poet-inspired shirt was a simple cream with embroidery of almost the same color around the collar to add texture; the rolled-up sleeves showed off the copper bracelet that glinted beautifully under the light of the sunset. His navy blue pants are cuffed to avoid getting wet by water and sand, and Yuichi scrambles up as Leo gets closer and closer.
His feet guide him through the sand and wooden boards that lead to the cabin’s front door and he practically runs to meet Leo halfway through his trek to the cabin. His arms encircle Leo quickly and he laughs as he lifts him and spins him once, before letting him touch the ground again. Leo is smiling just as bright, pink staining his cheek as well, and they stand there in the sunset just looking at each other and smiling like pure idiots for a second longer.
“You made it.” He finally manages to say a little breathlessly, before clearing his throat and taking a step back to give him space. He stays close, his hands nervously bunched up at his sides. The loose hug was nice, but he wasn’t particularly keen on finding out if it bothered Leo. He did have one mean right hook.
“Well, it’s not every day I get invited to the festival, right?” Leo nervously laughs out, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. “I couldn’t ditch you like that.”
“...Nervous?”
“Because it’s not obvious?” The turtle answers, and shrugs to himself before looking back at Yuichi properly. “I, uh, don’t have money on me by the way. I packed some gold but I kind of realized it’s not the local currency when I was getting dressed–”
“It’s fine, it’s on me,” He smiles and finally gets the courage to offer one of his hands to hold. Leo looks at it, his gaze switching to Yuichi quickly before he reaches forward to take it. The turtle squeezes their hands a little tight, his anxiety very visibly melting away with it. “I did promise you I’d get you something in return for the seashells.”
Leo opens his mouth, clearly about to say something else, when–
“Hey, loverboys!” April calls out from a little farther away. She’s standing now on the porch properly, no longer sitting down, and both her hands are on her hips. “Are you guys going or not? You’re going to be late for the opening ceremony!”
Leo calls her a moment-ruiner under his breath, and it just makes Yuichi laugh a little too loud as he tilts his head back. He squeezes their hands again, then, and smiles brightly as he begins tugging them along the path. It takes a second for Leo to follow, and he starts picking up the pace to walk along Yuichi comfortably. Their eyes lock on like this, and really, Yuichi realizes he would do anything to keep those eyes on him – and see that smile stay bright and warm.
“Are you ready?”
Leo takes in a small breath, a small laugh leaving him in the process as he picks up the speed to be the one dragging Yuichi along – with his answer yelled out for the whole world to hear.
“Let’s go!”