Don’t think there’s any warnings on this one? Running away from home if that counts, some mentions of non-consensual organ donation (and the awkwardness between donator and recipient)
This takes place WAY after the original plot, like some second book shit. These two aren’t even interacting yet.
Grrr I’ve wanted to do so much writing but traveling (the irony, except no planes) and now being sick are in the way. But here’s the genetically identical (Not emotional. Yet.) siblings.
Leo was just waiting for the flight to be called for boarding, and he could finally leave this nightmare of a country and the memories that had exhausted him more than his longest, most sleep-depriving missions under the Emperor.
The ticket in his hands was one of the first flights out of the Empire since the Emperor's downfall. Leo hadn't flown much in his life, but if it meant he was as far from Michael as possible, he would take it.
He heard the footsteps before he looked up, eyes narrowing as he saw the figure picking their way through the crowd towards him. Just the sight of that clone walking towards him made Leo want to stand, grab his bag, and disappear into the crowd. He knew he could. Why he just sat there and let Topaz approach was beyond him.
"May I sit?" Topaz asked, her voice soft and wary as it usually was around Leo. While they were completely genetically identical, it still boggled his mind how this could have come from his own DNA: where he wore loose, dark clothes he could fight in if needed, Topaz wore a pale green sundress that brought out their eyes and covered the worst of their scarring with pretty floral prints. The only sign they hadn't had as cushy a life as the surrounding crowd was their missing right eye. Leo felt his own eye tingle in its socket, and blinked hard to dispel the feeling.
A nod of acquiescence later, and Topaz was perched on the seat beside Leo, neither making eye contact. "Why are you here?" Leo asked after a long silence. "I never said where I was going."
Topaz hunched their shoulders, frowning deeply. "I went where I thought I would go if I wanted to run." She murmured softly, barely audible over the background noise.
"We aren't the same person; even if you have my genes, you don't have my mind." And Leo sent a silent thanks to whatever higher being existed that was the case; that was probably the only thing that could have made Topaz's existence and role in his (their?) father's life weirder to him. "And how'd you get past security, anyway?"
At that, Topaz managed a small smile. "I told them I knew Michael Travell, and they'd let me through if they didn't want trouble." She looked up, as if searching his face for approval. "They didn't call the bluff."
Leo scoffed, throwing one leg over the other and rolling his eyes. "You'll have to tell Dad that when you get home; if they didn't ask for an ID or anything, they probably will get in trouble." He saw Topaz's face fall, and quickly continued. "Nothing like us getting in trouble; the most they'll get is losing their job, and not being given this kind of responsibility again. Who knows who they'd let in if they just said they knew Dad."
Taking a deep breath, Topaz scanned the airport, unable to meet Leo's eyes. A viewing screen above Leo's gate showed the flight had been delayed. He bit back a groan, wishing it would hurry up so he could get away from this conversation.
"Have you talked to Michael?" Topaz asked softly, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. "I know he's been trying since he brought you home."
Leo huffed, rolling his eyes. "Don't word it like I'm a stray dog." When Topaz frowned, he added, "I don't mean anything by it, relax." He offered a reassuring smile when Topaz looked up at him, realizing that's what his clone needed right now. "Sorry, that's just how I was taught."
With an awkward smile, Topaz nodded slowly. "I know," they looked away. "Michael's told me not to take things like that to heart, but it's hard." She hunched her shoulders. Tears formed in her eye, making Leo's heart clench.
"I know." He said after a long moment of silence. When Topaz looked up, he continued. "When I was in training, they said some awful shit to me: that I was just a stray that was only alive on the goodwill of the Emperor." When Leo saw that Topaz had started crying in full, he almost stopped talking completely, but forced himself to keep going. "I'm not going to pretend you've been through nothing; I've seen the plans for that monument you and Dad are planning. It looks good."
Topaz smiled wider, even as her eye glistened with tears. "He wants to make one for you too."
An exhausted chuckle escaped his lips, and Leo shook his head. "I don't need it. Monuments are for people who died after doing something great." His fingers go white clutching his phone. "I'm neither of those things." Leo's eye started to itch, and he rubbed it with a grimace.
"But you did do something great," Leo started to argue, but Topaz forged ahead with more confidence than he usually expected from them. "If it weren't for you, the Emperor would have escaped, and Michael and I would probably have been executed."
Leo stared at Topaz, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He looked down at his ticket, feeling his eyes pricking with tears.
"Do you want to go?" Topaz murmured, leaning closer. There was no touch, but Leo felt their presence like static lifting the hairs on his arms. "I have no issue if you do, of course. Just…" Her fingers danced across her arms, trying to burn the anxious energy. "I don't think you want to go anywhere."
There was a tense silence, where neither of them touched, looked at each other, or spoke. Leo could feel the question hanging over him like a gun pressed to the back of his head, a threat that tightened his chest and made his breathing quicken. It almost made him wonder if Topaz had asked on purpose, if she wanted him to be as uncomfortable as he was.
His phone dinged with a new message, and he checked it more to distract himself from the conversation than for any interest; nobody he wanted to talk to right now had his number. His heart damn near stopped in his chest when he saw "Dad" pop up on the screen, a message to himself and Topaz.
"I left dinner in the fridge for you and Topaz. Stay safe out there. <3"
That little heart burned into Leo's mind, and his hands tightened around his phone. His brain wasn't even thinking in that moment where time seemed to stand still.
"Are you going to answer, or do you want me to?" Topaz's phone was in her hand, and she watched Leo intently for his answer.
For what felt like forever, Leo was frozen. His flight started calling for boarding, but he couldn't move. Slowly, his fingers started to move across the screen.
"Be home soon."
"<3"