“Roy,” Leo whispered softly under his breath. “Can I ask you something?”
It was dark in the living room, the only source of light coming from the bright television screen in front of them. He was comfortable like this, wrapped up in the blanket from his room, nestled between Roy’s legs with his back slumped against his chest. The man’s arms were comfortably hanging around him, lounging on the couch with a few empty beer cans and plates on the coffee table in front of them.
It had been quiet for the most part, and it was his words that drew the mercenary out of his languid concentration, his arms shifting and hands coming to tangle in his a second later. Time had subsequently passed, and Leo had found the bandages off his fingers. He was still wary of even using them for normal things, as simple as picking up a plate, but the more time that passed, the easier it became. He would often be forced to endure these silly grip exercises to work through his hands, but Leo wasn’t going to argue if it would help him get better.
He was even playing violin again. He went back to cooking, although Roy would join him more often than not to help. He was never much help, though, but Leo found he thoroughly looked forward to any seemingly normal interaction with him behind a stove.
It was nice not to feel the crack of a hand on his skin, or horrible tools on his body. There wasn’t a second of his life that seemed to live up these moments where he could wrap himself in Roy’s arm, and relish in the warm presence of another person. He would do anything to cling onto that. He would do anything not to lose these moments where nothing else seemed to matter.
Roy took his eyes off the screen, squeezing his hand softly. “Go on, lion.”
The secretary suddenly paused. In the flurry of the moment, he’d almost forgotten what he’d intended to ask. The deeper he could feel himself plunging, the more he found he wanted to know about Roy. Because even now, after everything they’d done, the mercenary was still a complete enigma. Leo had told himself that there wasn’t a need for him to go looking. That he didn’t need to pry and possibly ruin what they had. Because Leo didn’t want anything to change. He already had everything he wanted.
He stared at the television screen, barely registering the action that was going on, softly biting at his bottom lip. His fingers gently eased against Roy’s own, relishing in the contact of his skin there. He’s grown so used to him wearing gloves since before the contract, that seeing him without was almost strange.
He hesitated, unable to find the courage to say it. “Uh, what’s your favourite movie?”
The mercenary let out a little chuckle. He could feel it vibrate pleasantly against his back, and he couldn’t help but melt into the comforting feeling. “Is that really what you wanted to ask me?”
Leo’s brows furrowed, turning his head away when he felt Roy shift. He began playing gently with his fingers, trying to distract himself. There wasn’t any point in lying to him. Leo knew he couldn’t, and it wasn’t like he was eager to get into trouble anytime soon.
A little sigh escaped his lips. “You said last time that…” He suppressed an embarrassed huff. “You didn’t want to tell me last time.”
“Last time?” The mercenary hummed. The last time was a while ago, granted, when Roy had actually seemed to show his interest in Leo out of the blue, demanding he tell him stuff about himself. The shock of normality the conversation had brought him stuck to him like glue the entire time. But it wouldn’t surprise him if the mercenary didn’t even remember it.
Leo looped his hand in his. “It doesn’t matter.”
He felt the man’s free hand prop under his chin, gently tilting his head towards him. Leo tried to avoid his gaze, but Roy had a talent for trapping his eyes within his, and he had no choice but to meet them timidly. He had a sleezy smile on his face, thumb gently teasing the bottom of his jaw. He had choice but to ease the tension in his shoulders, his cheeks flushing.
“You want me to tell you about myself, right?” He whispered, making him burn with embarrassment. He shifted further onto his side so he could lean into Roy, propping his head on his chest.
“I was just curious,” he mumbled under his breath, shrugging his shoulders lazily. The mercenary drew the blanket further over him, and he felt his eyelids grow a little heavier. It must have been late already, since he was starting to feel weighed with fatigue, despite having spent most of the afternoon lounging lazily on the sofa. He could have fallen asleep like this, but he was far too inclined to know what he was going to respond with.
“I’m flattered, lion,” he purred, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “Why the sudden curiosity?”
Leo knew he was coaxing something out of him. The gentle hand against his back, the soft, lilting voice he knew he liked so much. He was never strong enough to fight it, however, plunging into his obvious little trap without much of a care. His eyes flickered up to meet his, wondering how long he could fall into them without getting bored. The answer was probably forever, at this rate. He’d almost forgotten that he’d been asked a question, and his mind flared in warning to answer.
“I just want to know more about you,” he whispered quietly under his breath. He could see the subtle thoughts in Roy’s eyes, the slight squint of intrigue at his words. The way he’d look at him like he had a dog on a leash. “I’m sorry.”
The man shook his head. “You can be so temperamental sometimes, lion.”
“You’re too secretive,” Leo countered hesitantly, and Roy’s eyes widened slightly in amusement.
“Feeling cheeky, are we?”
He ducked his head, curling his legs closer to himself. The mercenary laughed lowly, and Leo even found himself fighting a smile. He liked it when Roy laughed. He had a nice laugh. There was a lot about Roy that he found himself liking.
“There isn’t really much to tell you, lion,” he shrugged, fingers carding through his hair. Leo hummed happily at the soothing nails against his scalp, listening despite his closed eyes. “Grew up with my uncle. Then I left.”
A small frown of disappoinemtnet found its way onto his face, but the man noticed, and teasingly pinched his side.
“Sorry, did that not live up to your expectations?” He murmured, and Leo wriggled uselessly in his grasp, shaking his head with a smile.
“No, no,” he huffed, prying his hand away with a sigh. “What was your uncle like?”
A bitter expression passed over his face. “Not someone you’d wanna mess with. That’s for sure.”
Leo tilted his head back in curiosity, blinking his eyelashes. “Is he the one who…?”
“Trained me?” He smirked, kissing his nose. “Yes, lion. Then I left because I didn’t want to work for him for the rest of my life. Would have rather gone my own way.”
The secretary fiddled with his fingers nervously. His voice was like a ghostly whisper, almost carried away in the air. “I’m glad.”
Roy’s eyes shimmered with intrigue, lip curving up into a knowing smirk.
“Why?” He murmured, playing with a strand of his hair by his ear. He relished in the way the skin there had gone a bright red. “Because I found you?”
Leo shyly nodded his head. He didn’t think he trusted the terrible lump lodged in his throat not to make more of a fool out of him if he answer verbally. He didn’t think his heart had reached this level of deep anxiousness before, different to anything he’d ever experienced. Roy shifted beneath him, a chuckle escaping his lips.
“You’re so cute, lion,” he purred, cupping his cheek with care. “Come here.”
Leo did as he was told. His arms looped comfortably around Roy’s neck, turning so his legs were bracketing his waist, and meeting the man’s lips with a soft little sigh. He seemed to step back this time, leaving Leo to do what he wanted. In turn, the kiss was a lot slower, tentative and naive, even when his hands gently slid to his neck to steady himself. Roy was smirking slightly into the kiss, his hands gently easing under the fabric of his shirt and tracing the long scars from the whip there.
When Leo pulled away, the man caught his eyes effortlessly in his own. There was something lingering there. Something a little darker, something full of possessive desire, and Leo felt it right down in his core.
“You know I love you, right?”
Roy’s words almost made his heart leap into his throat. He couldn’t stop the shocked expression from consuming his face, his eyes snapping open. The severe weight of those simple words pressed right against that soft spot in his heart, and that part of his mind that craved to hear it. His hands grasped his shoulders tightly, almost unable to get his words out from how desperately he was scrambling to respond.
“I love you too,” he breathlessly whispered, the words like fire on his tongue. His eyes were frantically flickering across his face, as if he was debating whether or not this was real. Part of him was still so desperately trying to get through to him, to tell him he shouldn’t be doing this. Saying this. That he should remember how he got here in the first place.
Roy hummed, his head tilting. “I know you do, baby.”
Leo’s thoughts were almost instantly discarded when he leaned down to kiss him again, this time letting the man press him as close as he pleased, arms wrapped securely around his waist. They fell to his legs quickly enough, lifting him off the sofa effortlessly, still entangled with one another. Leo could feel this burning heat in his stomach, his skin setting alight under the smallest of touches, and he could see it in Roy’s eyes too. His stomach swooped in anticipation.
“I did say it was best to wait until you were better, didn’t I?” The mercenary purred, and Leo’s heart jumped.
He nodded his head jerkily. “Yeah.”
He knew that there was no coming back from this. That the moment he gave up the last thing he had of himself, there would be nothing to bring him back. Still, Leo didn’t care. Roy kissed him even as he carried him up the stairs, even as he pushed him down onto the bed, even as he pulled his clothes off, and all those thoughts were consumed by lips and hands on his body, melting them into the putty.
The mercenary was gentle with him. For the most part. He let him cling onto him as tightly as he wanted, legs wrapped around his waist and his mouth occupied by feverishly kissing him through choked moans. Leo knew there’d be lingering finger bruises on his hips in the morning, but in the heat of it all, he couldn’t bring himself to care.
He was exhausted by the time the sunlight streamed in through Roy’s window. He was slightly annoyed that the man never seemed to pull the blind down, his head falling back on his bare chest with a soft groan. He attempted to shield his sensitive eyes from the assualting streams of light, but it wasn’t as successful as he would have hoped. A hand landed in his hair, and he squinted up at the mercenary’s face.
“Do you want me to pull it down?” He murmured, and Leo quickly shook his head.
“No,” he whispered quietly, laying his head back down on his chest. “I want to stay like this.”
Roy’s lip quirked up into a subtle, dangerous little smirk, and his hand cradled the back of his neck, playing with the baby hairs there. Not because of the secretary’s behaviour, but simply because he knew he finally had exactly what he wanted.
“Whatever you want, lion,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “Whatever you want.”
the bay area turtles of cabin 5 want to know if your turtles wanna surfboard with them!
@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion
"Well..." Leo smirked, and held out his hands. "If you insist-"
"You don't even know how to surf!" His twin called out, already in the water, only his head visible. Leo's smirk fell, placing both his hands on his hips as he yelled.
Because he's the "stealth" of the team, and his whole ninja persona is about being undetectable and unseen, and bright yellow cheek markings are not great for that
I was thinking about Leo. And his need to protect Fiat. And how much that need to protect him is both the basis of and the biggest problem with their relationship at the moment.
Because Leo has seen how Fiat can twist himself up when people criticize him and how much he can hurt himself in the process and Leo never wants to be part of that pain.
But in a relationship you have to be able to talk about your problems. You have to be able to say when there's an issue. And you have to risk causing pain in order to help stop that pain.
And Leo's too wrapped up in protecting Fiat, in making sure he's happy and safe and loved to realize that if he just ignores the little issues (like affection and sex and PDA and rumors and feeling inexperienced) that they fester.
Leo has to be able to talk to Fiat about things that might upset him because if he can't then he's trying to shoulder the responsibility of the entire relationship into his shoulders and that just doesn't work.
