#let him chomp on Leo's head

[living400lbs]

"None of us has ever been able to figure out how [Greg] stays alive. It’s not just that he’s more than pushing the upper limits of how long we know jumping spiders can live; it’s that the laws of physics should be looking to have a word with him. Annie swears he must have lungs in there somewhere, to explain how he doesn’t suffocate, but his legs are normal spider legs, and the square-cube law says they should shatter in Earth’s combination of gravity and atmosphere. Apparently, extradimensional spiders get their own laws of physics.

That, or even the universe is afraid of what would happen if they killed a cuckoo queen’s emotional support animal. Even if it is a fuck-off enormous spider."

- from Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire

All I want in the next InCryptid book is for Greg the Spider to eat Leonard Cunningham

[lasanya539]

tuck your head under the covers

(written for @tmnt-write-fight for @remedyturtles)

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Prompt: Insomniac Leo - visiting various brothers when unable to sleep, or managing to fall asleep and his brothers doing anything to PRESERVE that sleep Word Count: 4635

Posted on AO3!

---

The first time it happens, Mikey doesn’t make a big deal out of it. 

It’s four in the morning on a Monday, and he’s thirsty, so he gets up from his train car and walks to the kitchen. Only to find Leo sitting at the table, with a lollipop in his mouth and a Jupiter Jim comic in his hands, legs rested on the surface, humming a tune under his breath.

“Leo?” Mikey mumbles drowsily, rubbing at his eyes. “Bro, what are you doing?”

Leo startles in surprise, and sits up, shooting him a guilty look. “Mikes!” He exclaims, voice pitched low. “Shit, I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

“No, no.” He flaps his hand, grabbing a glass. “I was thirsty, wanted water. Why are you awake right now?”

“Eh, you know, same old, same old. Couldn’t sleep.”

Mikey hums, taking a languid sip. His tired eyes catch a giant mug on the table, black as tar coffee peeking from the bottom, a pack of pink Starbursts with wrappers, and what looks like the crumbled remains of the pecan pie April’s mom had lovingly gifted them. If he was a little more awake, he’d be a lot more pissed about that, but for now he just sighs and stretches. 

“Did you at least try to sleep?” He asks, knowing the answer. 

“Yeah, of course.” Leo replies easily enough, turning away to flip another page. “But that’s the problem with insomnia, my friend, it kinda makes the ‘fall asleep’ thing not happen.”

Hm, not good enough. Mikey waddles over closer, physically pushing his brother’s head up so he can study him. Leo’s eyes are just barely bloodshot, cheeks hollower than he’d like to see on him.

“Can I help you?” He asks, bemused. 

“When was the last time you slept?” 

“Somewhere in the evening, I got a cat nap in. Don’t worry, Mikey, you’re exhausted, go to sleep.”

“You go to sleep.” He retorts around a yawn. He plops down in a chair next to him, picking up an uneaten Starburst and chomping on it. Leo tsks at that, but he ignores him, folding his arms and resting his head comfortably. 

“You just brushed your teeth and are supposed to be asleep, why are you still here?”

“Moral support.” 

“Moral support from what? I – okay,” Leo stands up, all big brother voice. “C’mon, up.”

Mikey whines, not having enough energy to fight as Leo physically picks him up and throws him over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Grk–?” He chokes out in surprise, when the hell did he get so strong?

“Nope, don’t wanna hear it. This is what happens when you don’t listen to me.”

Leo plants him on the bathroom floor, and pointedly stares at him as Mikey brushes, having to actually count each stroke on the rows of teeth under the scrutiny instead of a quick wash. As soon as he rinses his mouth, Leo picks him up again.

“You realize I have feet.” He said, flopping his limbs in defeat and letting himself be carried lifelessly.

“You think I don’t know you were planning on dragging more ass by suggesting a movie night or something? I’ve taught you all my tricks, I know how your brain works.”

Mikey tries to keep in his smile at how well his brother can read him, and gasps dramatically. “Language! I’ll tell on you to Raphie.”

“If you make it to morning asleep like a good turtle, I’ll tell Raphie, how about that?”

Mikey gets tossed on his bed, the springs creaking under his weight. His favorite quilt is thrown over him, and his stuffed crocodile is tucked in between his shoulder and neck, just how he likes it. The warmth immediately makes him even drowsier, but he blinks up at Leo and invitingly opens his arms.

“Sleep?” He suggests, making the motion of scooting over to make room for him.

A few seconds, but Leo eventually sighs, far too susceptible to the prospect of little brother cuddles. He sticks his freezing feet into the tangle of limbs, making him hiss, but settles in comfortably on his pillow. Arms wind around him and squeeze affectionately.

“Better?” Mikey asks. 

Leo hums on top of his head. “Yep, thanks Angelo. You can pass out now.”

It doesn’t take very long for him to do so. Unfortunately for him, when he does wake up to his 9 A.M. alarm, the side of the bed is cold and the corner of the pillow undented. Outside, he sees Leo casually do the crossword puzzle with Dad with a newly filled mug of coffee in his hand, looking like sleep never graced him at all. Mikey sighs, but sets to making breakfast.

–

The second time it happens, Donnie is pulled out of his whirlwind of thoughts by a single hand on his shoulder. 

Naturally, he jumps, not having expected that contact when he’s working in his lab alone, smack-dab in the middle of the night. He’s too scientific and logic-driven to ever assume the existence of ghosts (which are different from spirits, thank you very much Michael), but the sudden touch makes him doubt that fact for a second.

Leo backs up with his hands up apologetically, and Donnie realizes with some amount of mortification he actually hissed at him. The mortification lasts for all of two seconds before he scowls at his twin with all the irritation in the world as he turns off his loud music. 

“What the hell do you want?” He groans at Leo, rubbing his sore eyes. 

“Just checking in.” Leo says, sounding normal enough, though Donnie picks up a strange note in his voice. He peeks at him between his fingers and catches his eyes look up from his torso just in time.

Looking down, he sees his other hand gripped into a fist, sharp claws extended, held right to the middle of his chest. Shit, he was scratching at his plastron again, the dull ache finally registering in his brain. 

It’s a nasty habit he’s had since he was very young, all the complicated feelings of the big, bad world too much for him to handle. His family has been trying for years to help him work through his emotions instead of immediately resorting to this, but apparently all the effort goes to shit the second it gets to debugging, the devil’s favorite method of torture. Donnie turns away, embarrassed but not willing to admit it. 

Leo thankfully doesn’t make a big deal out of it, and flops onto the back of his chair, resting his head at the top. “What are you working on?”

“Setting up face identification in the scanners in the Hidden City.” Donnie replies tiredly. “The mystic orbs they use as cameras are advanced enough to pick up magical signatures, but somehow not enough to track facial features of their various species of mutants and Yōkai. So, I’m doing it for them.”

Leo snorts. “Wow, how altruistic of you.” He leans in further, presumably to try to read the strange symbols that make up their programming language, before Donnie swats at his face. 

“Stop, you’re ruining my concentration.” 

“Shut up.” He swats back. Annoying

Donnie’s eyes flick over to the corner of the monitor, looking at the time. Wonderful, it’s another night of no sleep for his insomniac twin brother. 

He sighs. “I’m assuming getting bored to death from Papa’s speech on the various opera singers of the 20th century somehow didn’t lure you to sleep?”

“What, are you telling me you don’t care about the 1950s Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi drama about their different vocal techniques? It’s the hottest tea from that side of the century, Don-Don, I’m disappointed in you.” He dodges the swat from him this time.

Donnie turns up to look at him, noticing his brother’s heavy eyelids blinking over his sharp eyes, far too awake for someone who hasn’t slept in Gaga knows how long. He’s wearing his soft blue hoodie, the big one that he makes sure is always washed with the rose scent beads for the comforting smell. 

“Is there anything specific that is keeping you up?” He asks, worried. 

“Nah, not really. Unless you count my dumb brain as a whole, nope.”

“Don’t call yourself dumb.” Donnie says, practiced. He stands up and stretches, hearing some impressive cracks from his neck that Leo whistles at.

“Is there anything I can say that will make you try to sleep again?” 

“Probably not, if I’m being honest.”

“Okay, then.” He doesn’t argue. If there’s one thing he knows about his twin is that badgering him about his sleep intake, no matter how worrying, is the best way to get completely shut out by him. And as annoying as he finds Leo on a day-to-day basis, he’s rather fond of the time he gets to spend with him in the middle of the night when it's just the two of them, the disaster twins. “Do you wanna play some Mario Kart instead?”

Leo brightens up. “Snacks?”

“Of course we’ll have snacks. I may be crazy, but I’m not a heathen.”

“Oh yeah, sorry, you’re a civilized demon-possessed genius, right?”

“Exactly right, my dear brother.”

The twins grab enough popcorn and candy from the pantry to send a tiny child into a coma, but as soon as Leo’s hand moves to the coffee machine, Donnie whacks it with a box of Nerds. “Dude, ow?”

“No more caffeine.” He says sternly.

“Oho, that is rich coming from you—”

“Yeah, well, deal with it. Otherwise I’m switching the kitchen permanently to decaf and making myself a secret password protected machine with the good coffee, the extra dark-roasted one.” That shuts Leo up fast. 

They play and bicker loudly in the soundproof lab, up until the wee hours of the morning. Eventually, Donnie falls asleep with the controller in his hand, only to wake up in the afternoon and find himself resting on the cot with his favorite blanket, battle shell and mask off. His sleepless twin nowhere to be found. 

–

The third time it happens, Raph is having a nightmare about the Krang. 

It’s par for the course, really. In the morning, he happens to overhear one of Mikey’s favorite YouTubers talk about their grief over their late friend who was lost to the bubblegum aliens, so he spends the most of the day in a haze, keeping to himself in the dojo, training, and eating his dinner alone while reading news articles about the reconstruction in New York to repair the damage from their fight. 

One trigger after another. So it’s no surprise that his dreams are filled with sick pink flesh and yellow eyes, tentacles worming over his body, digging into his brain, sadistic voices of the hive mind overpowering his screams, the feel of a lithe figure in his clutch, nails scratching onto his hand as he tightens his grip on his victim, his brother—

The part that’s surprising, however, is the other presence in his room, comforting, safe. Soft words spoken over his whimpers, warm hands smoothing over his shell as he regains consciousness. “Deep breaths, big bro, you’re okay, you’re safe, I promise you. Try to breathe, please.”

He breathes, turning away from the damp pillow, lifting his head up by his elbows to blink the sleep away. Blood pools back into his body, bones creaking in protest. All four limbs, whole, green, normal. 

Raph takes in one deep breath, and lets it out with meditative precision. His vision finally clears. Leo is sitting on the corner of his bed, hands anxiously rubbing together but giving him space to get up on his own. Worried eyes ticking over his face before latching onto his, relieved. 

“Hiya, Raphie.” He says with remarkable poise. “Okay?”

Raph slowly scoots up to sit properly, picking up one of his stuffed bears and hugging him. Embarrassment keeps him from meeting Leo’s eyes, burying his face in the soft fake fur. “Mhm.”

A hand gently strokes his leg, a comforting, involuntary motion. “Long day?”

“...You could say that.” He agrees. He clears his throat. “What time is it?”

“Just after 2.” Leo squeezes his knee. “Do you want me to wake Dad?”

Raph scoffs. “What is Dad going to do in the middle of the night? Let him sleep.” 

“Okay, how about the other guys? We could turtle pile.”

He shakes his head before Leo finishes. “No, no, it’s not important, Leo. Let them all sleep.”

“It is important.” He replies sharply, and Raph blinks up at him. Leo’s sporting his own version of a Raph Chasm, eye-ridges pulled together in a gut-wrenching frown, lips turned down. “You are important.”

A lump rises in his throat, but he swallows it down. He’s had enough of Leo stubbornly insisting that he stop dismissing his own emotions over the years, so he says nothing, instead lifting up an arm. Leo immediately snuggles in next to him, shell fitting perfectly under his arm. 

The tension falls off his frame as his little brother wiggles to get comfortable. Raph sighs, the dregs of his nightmare-fueled dread seeping away with Leo right next to him, the scent of roses in his nose. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He offers. 

“Pizza Supreme, no.” Raph snorts, making Leo huff. 

“Okay.” He agrees easily. Then, “Oh, I almost forgot!”

From the pocket of his hoodie he pulls out his phone, tapping at it for a couple of seconds before holding out the camera. “Snap streak.”

Raph snorts again but obliges his younger brother, putting on some version of a smile as he takes the picture, adding a bunch of unicorn emojis in the corner before showing it to him for approval. 

He takes the phone, but immediately frowns, zooming in to study Leo’s face. Even though he’s grinning, the exhaustion is practically radiating off him. The red stripes under his eyes are marred with purple bags, eyes squinting with the effort of staying up. He looks like he’s about to pass out almost any second.

Raph sends off the streak, and starts arranging the pillows and stuffed animals around him to make space for two sleeping turtles. He pulls his blanket over Leo’s head, which he, of course, shoves back. “What are you doing?”

“Tucking you in.” He informs him, dragging him down. “We’re going to sleep for a very long time.”

“Sure, Raphie, whatever you say.” Leo says too easily, and he immediately calls bullshit. 

“No, we’re really going to sleep. No more pretending.” He glares at him with one eye open. “Promise?”

Leo hesitates, but then forcibly relaxes himself, nuzzling closer. “I’ll try, promise.”

As good as he’s going to get, Raph thinks. He squeezes his brother tight enough for him to wheeze and laugh, wishing him goodnight and eventually falling asleep, nightmares far away. When he wakes up, Leo is on the floor next to the bed, face illuminated by the glow of his phone screen, playing a game of chess. The eye bags seem heavier than ever. 

–

The fourth time it happens, April is trying to catch up on physics homework. 

It’s actually ridiculous how she, a journalism major, has to study physics at all, even as a gen-ed. She’s a sophomore now, for god’s sake, she’s supposed to be interning at CNN and MSNBC, or at least spearheading some kind of journaling initiative with a bunch of her classmates. But no, Eastlaird is forcing her to calculate angular momentum and torque for a homework that is apparently not due on Monday, but in the morning on Friday, which is tomorrow. Or more accurately, today, she thinks, warily eyeing the clock on the table that reads 3:35 A.M.

She has maybe one more problem left before she can finally get some sleep, and hopefully get to stay over at the lair for the weekend. She hasn’t seen her boys and her Pops in over a month, and the joy of destroying Donnie in the Just Dance competition of their lives is the only motivation getting her through this. 

April sighs and stretches, cracking her back, before she hears a notification from her phone. Picking it up she sees, ‘nardo💙 sent an Instagram reel.’

She sits up in surprise. Why the hell is this idiot awake? And why is he sending her Instagram reels of all things?

‘awake???’ she texts back, worried. ‘why??’

Seen immediately, typing. ‘YOU awake why??’

‘homework’

‘yuck get away from me’

April picks at her bottom lip, watching the clock on her desk tick. If Leo’s awake at four in the morning, he hasn’t slept all night. She considers texting one of her other brothers to force him to sleep, but hopefully they would all be in bed by now, Donnie included. 

‘how much coffee did you have in the evening’

‘...’

‘Leo.’

‘okok four cups’

‘nardo you gotta be kidding me’. April rubs at her face, sighing. Leo knows better than to lie to his big sister, so he’s definitely telling her the truth, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Four whole cups of coffee?

‘did you try melatonin? helps me sleep a lot better nowadays’

‘apes do u even know me, obv melatonin doesn’t work on us’

‘damn’ 

‘ur taking it tho?? don’t take too much, not good for u’

‘yeah dum-dum, no sleep is not good for YOU have you thought about that?’

No response. Two minutes later, a funny reel. 

She huffs frustratedly, thinking, before finally deciding to call him on FaceTime, setting the phone against a textbook.

The face that greets her is so fucking worrying that April gapes, not responding to Leo’s raspy greeting. His eyes are completely bloodshot, face gaunt, red stripes practically completely purple now. 

“You look like shit.” She says, uncharacteristically blunt. Maybe the lack of sleep and physics is getting to her. How the hell does Donnie do this all the time?

Leo scowls, putting the phone down so all she sees is the dark ceiling of the kitchen. “If you just called me to insult me, I’m hanging up.”

“Sorry, sorry.” She raises a hand in surrender, pulling her notebook closer and picking up her pencil. “Science is turning my brain to soup, I lost my speaking filter. You’re still very pretty.”

A second, and Leo’s face comes back into view. “Promise?”

“Pinky promise.” She nods, smiling as Leo grins, as brightly as he can with fatigue coming off him in waves. “What are you up to?”

“This guy on YouTube is reviewing the older JJ movies, it’s a four hour long video. And I have Sour Patch Kids, so I’m happy.”

April bites back the hundreds of worried comments she comes up with, deciding to think a little more tactically. She doesn’t want to piss him off again, so telling him to sleep or pointing out his eye-bags is off the table. 

“You wanna hear about my homework? It’s so difficult and horrible, I hate it.”

“I respect your degree, I do, Apes, but how hard can journalism homework even be?”

“It’s physics, man, that’s the thing. I’m going to jump out of my window.” She groans, equations swimming behind her eyelids. “I’m like ninety percent sure if I tried explaining this to you I could bore you to sleep.”

Leo chuckles, but there’s something tired and morose in it. “I wouldn’t take that bet.”

She blinks at the bitter tone of his voice, but doesn’t call him out on it. There’s a lost look in his eyes as he stares off to the side, chewing slowly on his candy. Her big sister instinct rears its head immediately at that.

“Don’t worry about it, baby.” April assures him, deciding fuck it, opening up Chegg to find the answer to this last question so she can finish this as fast as possible. “I’ll be done in fifteen minutes. Why don’t you tell me what this random guy has to say about Pluto Vacation IV, and I’ll tell you how valid that is.”

By the time the sun rises, and Leo hangs up to go help Mikey make breakfast, April has turned in not only physics, but has finished all of the rest of her homework. She starts to pack, a plan ready in her mind.

–

They don’t let it happen a fifth time. 

Leo sighs, letting his head fall onto his bed, hiding his eyes from the fairy lights in his room. Normally, they look so pretty and aesthetic, but ever since this new bout of insomnia hit him, a lot of things have been bothering him more than usual. And he’s currently too exhausted to get up and turn it off on his own. 

He groans, reaching for his phone, because what else is he going to do? His brain is too tired for anything other than mindless scrolling, and if Raph asks him to train today he might just burst into tears. The time reads 12 P.M., a very productive time of day for the majority of planet Earth. The minority includes him apparently, as he pulls up one of his old blankets over his head, and settles in for an afternoon of TikTok.

The door to his train car opens quietly. Leo blinks, emerging from his nest to look up. 

Mikey stands at the doorway, sunshine smile on display. He sees his eyes scan his face, and the sunshine dims a bit, but he still says excitedly, “Hi, Lee! April just got back, we’re doing a sleepover!”

“Oh – oh yay!” His delayed response throws his act off a little. Don’t get him wrong, he is so happy his sister is back, it’s just he’d really rather not do a sleepover tonight where he has to spend another eight hours pretending to be asleep next to his peacefully resting siblings. “That’s great, I’ll be right there.”

Mikey nods but doesn’t leave, so Leo has to go through the excruciating process of forcing himself up and out of the room with a performative smile painted on his face. Mikey hooks his elbow with his, walking in step with him to the living room. 

He finds Raph and April talking, a bag carelessly dropped next to her feet. She catches sight of him and grins immediately, raising her arms. Leo can see the conscious effort it takes for her to not linger on his eye bags, he’s been needing a lot of that too lately.

“Hi, Apes.” He mumbles into her shoulder as she tightly squeezes him.

“Hi, Leo.” She replies warmly. “Missed you so much.”

A large hand rests on his shell, and he looks up to see Raph smile down at him. “Wanna join in on the hug fest, Raphie?”

“Ha, don’t worry, there’s gonna be plenty to go around in the sleepover soon.” He chuckles. 

“Soon?” Leo asks, and Raph points a thumb to the entrance. Leo turns around to see Donnie and Mikey walk in with a bunch of blankets and pillows in their arms. One of the spider limbs in Donnie’s battle shell is holding Raph’s largest teddy bear, the other holding his blue hoodie he couldn’t find in the morning. 

“We’re doing a sleepover now? It’s literally noon.”

“We’ve hit critical condition.” Donnie informs him primly, dropping the blankets in the middle of the floor. “You’ve been awake for too long.”

His mood sours immediately. He knows, okay? He’s aware that not sleeping for days at a time isn’t healthy, and he knows he looks like shit, but people don’t have to keep commenting on it. 

“Don’t pout.” Mikey wheedles into his side, giving him another squeeze. “We’re gonna help, I promise.”

“Right.” Leo says, disbelief clear in his voice, before something rose-scented smacks him in the face. “Hey!”

“You’re welcome.” Donnie responds, starting to move the furniture to make enough room for the blanket fort. “Your favorite hoodie, freshly washed with softener and your scent beads.”

Leo pulls it over his head, the familiar comforting smell easing some of his tension, the soft texture making him feel like he’s being swallowed whole. “Thanks.” He says quietly, hoping they can’t hear the croak in his voice. 

Donnie pauses in his ministrations for a millisecond before getting back to work with more gusto, him and Mikey setting up an impressive fort that could withstand five siblings. While Leo watches them, Raph taps him on his shoulder, and he’s offered a cup of freshly made chamomile and lavender tea, steam curling on top. The thoughtfulness almost makes him cry as he gives him a wobbly smile in return, taking a sip. It’s the perfect temperature, splash of milk and sweetened with honey, just how he likes it. 

He feels April at his back, gently untying the knot of his mask, carefully folding it and walking to his room to put it away. She comes back with his fuzzy Christmas socks.

“You guys.” Leo tries, feeling emotionally wrung out and sore. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Shut up.” Three turtles reply in unison, breaking out into chuckles. Raph guides him to the center of the fort, making him sit down and rest on the biggest pillow. He finishes his tea as Mikey puts the teddy bear under his other arm and April puts the socks on him, brain too fuzzy to protest. 

He jolts out of his fog when he feels something pressing down on him. He looks up to see Donnie tuck him in under his purple weighted blanket, the one he uses on his bad days. He’s awash with the clean scent of roses, as tears fill up in Leo’s eyes unbidden. He tries to blink them back. “Don…”

“Hush.” Donnie replies, quietly, and Leo sees the lights in the room have been dimmed, his other siblings wearing their pajamas and getting ready to pile. “Stop using your brain. It’s sleeping time now.”

“Wow, I never thought there’d be a day when Hamato Donatello would actually tell me to ‘stop using my brain’.” He croaks out.

Leo prepares for the obligatory joke about him not having a brain in the first place, but Donnie just gives him an amused look in return, speaking softly but matter-of-factly, “Your brain is hurting my twin. So stop using it.”

A ball of emotion lodges in his throat that keeps him from speaking out loud, so he just nods. He gets a head pat for his troubles that he’s too emotional to block away.

Eventually, Donnie lies down next to him, their arms pressed together. Mikey nestles into a ball on his other side, snuggling close. Raph settles behind their heads, turning to his side and curling around them all protectively. April throws her feet over their legs, playfully kicking him in the shin. 

Leo chokes on a laugh, tears soundlessly rolling onto the pillow. This has been one of the longest weeks of his life, hours in the middle of the night spent staring mindlessly at the ceiling, into the middle distance, into the New York skyline. The darkness seeping into his body, harsh, cold. A high pitched hum in his ears, heaviness in his eyes.

Right now though, he feels warm and loved and exhausted beyond belief. But not alone. Never alone. 

“Thanks, guys.” He finally whispers. 

Donnie gently bonks his head with his own, affection clear in the action. Mikey presses a loud kiss onto his bicep. “You’re welcome, big bro.”

Raph strokes his head. “Sleep, Leo.”

“We love you, Nardo.” April says, nudging his foot. “We got you.”

Leo smiles. He trusts them, they got him. He closes his eyes and pulls on his night mask. The demons of the night don’t stand a chance against the warm glow of his family. He finally falls asleep. 

[aealzx]

Letting the drape over the infirmary entrance drop closed to muffle some of the external noises, Don made his way to the kitchen to finally oblige Mikey’s demand to feed everyone. It was normal to have a commotion coming from the room, so he wasn’t surprised at the noise of boisterous chatter filtering out from the entrance. Especially since it looked like Casey and Mom April were there early, already seated at the table and asking questions.

“Actually, the Donnie is the feisty one.”

Don reached the kitchen entrance as Raphael responded to Casey’s comment, Raphael’s voice saturated with amusement at the fact. Don hadn’t caught what Casey said before, but it was easy to hear him now.

“What? You gotta be kidding. Don is the hot head in their family?” Casey gawked, looking over at Don in disbelief.

“Not a hot head, just aggressive. Kid totally bit through someone’s arm and broke the bone. It was awesome, if not for the fact it was some scientist treating him like a lab experiment,” Raphael corrected, folding his arms. If it weren’t for the situation Donnie and Lil Mikey had been in many of their feats would have been subject of quite the boastful conversation.

“You’re kidding!” Casey gawked again.

“Not even. We saw it on camera. He was completely restrained and then just chomped down on some lady’s arm and didn’t let go even though she punched him in the nose. It was impressive,” Mikey chimed in, semi miming some of the actions. “They’re both crazy strong. AND the Leo. He showed up a little while ago, and get this, the kid can teleport.”

“Okay I don’t believe that. They’re not superheroes Mikey,” Casey retorted, wrinkling his nose a little. Teleporting mutant turtles? That sounded like something that would be from the Justice Force, not the sewers of another world.

“‘Course they aren’t. Lil me said they’re actually super soldiers. Like Cap’n America and Winter Soldier. Sick, right? The lil guy can totally fling those giant mechas around like they’re baseballs,” Mikey countered, hopping up to lean across the table with a huge grin.

“Are they alright?” Mom April asked yet again as Casey took Mikey’s taunting bait and jumped up to tackle him. She was looking up from where she was helping Junior with some mash Mikey always had on hand these days, and seemed more concerned about the visiting groups’ health than their abilities.

Giving a bit of a sigh that was a mix between amused and exasperated, Raphael looked over to Don, gesturing a hand at him to answer. Maybe if the doctor of the house answered she would finally be reassured that the kids were going to be fine. “They’re alright,” Don assured confidently. “They’re all sleeping now, I don’t think they got much lately. But their wounds have been taken care of, and they seem comfortable. All four of them are here, and they even have their version of you with them too.”

“Me?” Mom April sputtered slightly, having not thought about the possibility. She was definitely more assured of their state now that Don gave her an answer along with the others, making room as he took a seat on the other side of Junior as her.

“Yeah, she’s nothing like you either,” Raphael laughed, rocking back on two chair legs after Leo chased Mikey and Casey out of the kitchen before they broke something.. “She’s a spunky lil gal. Fresh out of highschool it seems, and could probably crack my skull if she wanted to. I almost thought she was an alternate Angel instead.”

“It seems to run in the group. They’re all a lot more… brazen than I would expect. They don’t seem to have much discipline,” Leo commented, noting that many of the comments so far about their guests had been about how rambunctious they were.

“What makes you say that?” Mom April asked. She knew Leo had always been the one of the brothers that was more strict about discipline, following Master Splinter’s teachings the closest. But over the years he’d become less prone to associate an abundance of energy with lack of discipline.

“We fought their Leo a bit when he first came here – there was a misunderstanding that got cleared up – but his movements aren’t refined. It’s almost as though he was self taught,” Leo pointed out, having to quickly reassure Mom April that there hadn’t been too bad of a skirmish.

“You noticed it too, huh,” Don voiced his agreement. “We all had Master Splinter training us since we were kids, but Leon seems to only recently be getting some sort of structured tutelage for his martial arts.”

“He fights like he learned from watching movies,” Raphael huffed, amused at the thought. “It’s surprising he’s figured out how to make it work.”

“He does seem to learn fast though. I wonder what he would have done if you had actually shoved him off,” Don added, his mind wandering off to consider the possibilities.

“You let him catch you?” Leo’s incredulous voice snapped as he rounded on Raphael, a scolding lecture quickly rising.

“Duh,” Raphael snorted, narrowing his eyes at Leo and leaning away from him. “The kid’s a toothpick. You really think he could keep me pinned like that?”

The retort only served to rile Leo up more though, and he smacked his hands on the table to lean over Raph. “Oh, that’s great. So what was your plan if he actually slit your throa-”

The words were interrupted by a piece of chicken from Mikey’s stew smacking him in the side of the head. As both Raphael and Leo blinked in surprise they broke off their conversation to look towards the source of the launched food only to see Don giving them a pointed stare. He didn’t have to say anything. They’d had this lecture from him many times before. Walking them through their word choice barrier that only caused fights instead of helped. It caused Leo to shrink down in his usual embarrassed retreat as he forced himself to reanalyze his distress and word it in a way that Raphael would understand better.

“.............. You scared me,” Leo finally muttered, keeping his gaze elsewhere. “I thought…. I didn’t want to see you gushing blood from your neck.”

Oh. So that’s what it was. Like always Raphael didn’t see how the previous lecture connected to what Leo admitted, but he still understood by now that this was just the way Leo reacted. Blinking as the dots connected in his own brain, it was Raphael’s turn to shrink in mild sheepishness as he fully realized what could have happened. Sure, Don could have taken care of the injury if it had happened. But was it worth the mental and emotional distress he would have caused the others? “...My b-.... Sorry,” he responded, equally muttering and switching for words he knew Leo took to heart better. “I guess I was just more focused on getting the kid to stop moving and calm down.”

It made sense, and Leo let out a sigh as the tension from that fight finally eased away into his normal pool of anxiety over possibilities and not actualities. Letting himself droop forward a bit, Leo awkwardly knocked his forehead against Raphael’s shoulder to let him know he accepted the apology and reasoning. As Raphael raised a hand to roughly pat the back of Leo’s head, Don exchanged a soft chuckle with Mom April over the interaction while Master Splinter hid a smile with his teacup. With the bubbling argument abated, Don pulled them back to thoughts that had returned to his mind after one of Raphael’s comments

“Speaking of getting Leon calmed down,” Don spoke up, grabbing their attention. “I think Leon suffers from traumatic flashbacks.”

The sudden shift into a more sensitive topic caused the others in the room to still, and Leo quietly pulled a seat over to settle in. Raphael shifted uneasily, making an uncertain connection that he had to clarify. “...Like the waking dreams Leo sometimes had after Shredder’s men put him in a coma?” he asked, feeling a little bad for mentioning it when Leo fidgeted.

“Yes, but I think they’re worse,” Don answered, forgetting his half eaten meal in front of him for now as he started to explain his reasoning. “When he was attacking us it was calculated at first, but I noticed at some point something happened and he got… frantic. His attacks had more force behind them and were less structured. Almost like a panicked fight response to keep from freezing up. I thought it was weird at the time, but it wasn’t until he was with Lil Mikey that I had the thought he may have had a flashback. It was quiet, but I heard Lil Mikey asked Leon ‘are you here?’ And when I mentioned everyone’s concern about a secondary mutation I noticed he was using a grounding technique while April answered. Pressing his fingers into his arm to distract himself.”

The revelation caused an uncomfortable silence to fall over the room. But Don remained quiet as well to give them time with their thoughts. There was no rush anyway, they had time. 

“....... So… what? We can’t exactly ship him off to the Ancient One like we did with Leo,” Raphael was the first to speak up, having already run through his own thoughts and not finding an answer to why Don was bringing this all up.

Don had to give a bittersweet chuckle at the thought, and shook his head. “Nothing serious. I just wanted you guys to be aware of it. I know we don’t know them very well, so it’ll be a little hard to tell if he’s not acting like himself. But, if he suddenly gets violent again for no apparent reason I just want you to realize he probably doesn’t recognize it’s you.”

“.... Fair enough,” Leo agreed, still trying to figure out how he felt about the whole topic. He didn’t think the same ‘fix’ for his own issues would work with Leon. But he also didn’t think it was appropriate for them to ask why he was having flashbacks either. There was a question that bubbled up in his mind that he ended up asking though. “...Are any of the others affected as well?”

Don seemed mildly surprised at the question, and had to pause when Raphael voiced his own thoughts that had sprung up with the question. “Mikey said the scars on Donnie’s back were also from their version of Shredder. You don’t think it was caused by the same dude, do ya?”

It was an unexpected fact to hear, but Don just switched his surprised expression for a soft smile. “Not unless Shredder has been harassing them until just recently,” he admitted. “The scars on Donnie’s back are a few years old already. But the ones on the other three; the scars on Leon’s legs, the crack in Leon’s shell, the piece missing from Raph’s shell, his scarred eye, and the… rather odd burn scars on Lil Mikey’s arms are all only a few months old. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were from the same event… And I also wouldn’t be surprised if the others were similarly affected in their mentality. We’re already seen how protective they are of each other.”

Hearing that the scars the teens had were almost all fairly recent gave Raphael a bitter taste in his mouth. While one part of his mind argued that they had seen similar injuries when they were teens, the other part of his mind argued that it didn’t matter, they were still way too young to have to go through something like that. “...The little guy did deliberately avoid talking about his arms when I asked,” he commented, not sure if that was support for or against the possibility of Lil Mikey having trauma like Leon. And he ended up giving a frustrated sigh and rubbed his head. “Man, I feel like I’m gonna have to walk on eggshells around them now. So what? Am I not allowed to ask anything to them now?”

This time Master Splinter was the one who answered, setting his empty cup down and rising to walk over and place a hand on Raphael’s shoulder. “You have always been instinctually aware of the nuances of childrens’ emotions. Trust your instincts, don’t overthink it, and I’m sure you’ll be fine. And remember, an uncomfortable emotion is not necessarily one to be avoided,” he assured, giving Raphael a pat when Raphael’s shoulders relaxed and he gave Master Splinter a reassured smile.

Then Master Splinter turned to Leo, resting a hand on his shoulder as well. “And my advice for you is to have patience. Continue to allow them to come to you instead of you running to and chasing them, as you described to me before.” And then his gaze shifted to Don. “Donatello, be careful with your vast, and wonderful knowledge. Remember that the mind cannot often be treated overnight. Try not to overwhelm them.” Don hadn’t been expecting to be given his own warning. But after Master Splinter mentioned it, he realized that he very easily could have ended up stressing the kids out by unloading too much information on them to try to help. As he sheepishly scratched his cheek Master Splinter looked to Mom April as well. “For our dear April, I suggest giving them their space when they need it. Affection can sometimes be the perfect medicine, but from a stranger sometimes it can only serve to cause distress instead of comfort.”

“...Thanks Master Splinter,” Mom April responded, also appreciating the caution she hadn’t even considered she’d needed.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to make sure those two hooligans haven’t destroyed any furniture or bones. There has been enough surgery for one night,” Master Splinter sighed slightly, giving Leo another pat before he shuffled out of the room, walking stick thumping against the tile.

The three sons chimed in with their own vocal gratitude and well wishes, and after Master Splinter was out of sight Raphael heaved a sigh and flopped onto the table. “Man. Thirty years and he still somehow has the best advice.”

“You said it,” Leo agreed, feeling a mix of relief and also chagrined by what felt like having his flaw called out before he’d even made a mistake.

“Mhmm,” Don chimed with a hum and a nod, returning to the rest of his dinner turned breakfast. “...Do we still have orange juice?”

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Previous Next

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Huuuuaaaaagh why does time pass so freaking fast sometimes =<= I totally got caught up in 2 new projects |D that's why the longer delay this time. Wys got me into trying to make a doll of my OCs, and then I started designing a cosplay outfit to try out.....

Anyway 8'D enjoy a little 03 fam only section. Baby Jones having red hair was picked by Wys not knowing what she was choosing between red or black for X'D He's also wearing a dinosaur onsie, compliments of Don.

[peachy-wolfhard]

Dating Leo II

a/n: I wanted to add more after I posted part one so here it is Bone Apple Teeth, I love leo sm so its LONG

Let me know if you would like to be on my tmnt taglist!

Warnings: swearing, grandchildren mention (splinter is gonna splinter), illness mention, insomnia, mentions of slapping leos bald head

Word count: 738 -woof

Insomnia gang

This turtle physically cannot sleep

When you don't spend the night he is CONSTANTLY texting you everything that comes to mind

“y/n…why is pizza a circle?” “idk lee can i come over :3” “yeth pls HURRY IM DYING HERE WITHOUT U”

Lying in his bed, cuddling, matching eyemasks ON, fan ON

Even with all of that, nothing works

The nights that the both of you are actually able to sleep he has a grasp on you

Holds you so close to him all the time, you guys are joined at the hip

Everyone besides Mikey and Splinter thinks you guys are gross

“You can't even say their names apart now it's ALWAYS Leo and y/n. You can't separate them they will DIE without each other”

“Calm down Mikey please you're scaring Shelldon”

Splinter is…well Splinter. He stays in your guys' relationship, with how dramatic you guys are he doesn't need his soaps

He loves to show you baby pictures of the boys esp the ones of Leo

((cough cough he definitely mentions grandchildren like the old man he is))

Bites all the time like anytime anywhere

Making breakfast peacefully listening to music- CHOMP

Getting ready for work- CHOMP

Dr. Delicate Touch has to intervene

Play fights with you in slow-motion

(slow motion voice) “yyy/nnn iiiimm goooinggg tooo kick your aaaasssss”

(also slow motion voice) “im gooonnnaaa kick yours firrrst”

HAND! HOLDING!

Initially, it started as a way to keep Leo from running off when exploring places, but then it turned into a regular thing

“My love, light of my life, future spouse eHEM!”

“What Leo”

“WHERE’S YOUR HAND I AM GOING TO DIE WITHOUT YOUR HAND IN MINE!! I ALREADY FEEL WEAK PLEASE I AM SUFFERING”

Absolute drama queen and don't get me started when he’s sick

Picture those old paintings of the sick children in bed, he’s that but dialed up to eleven

All he wants is cuddles and daytime television and don't you DARE come in between him and his Maury

Giving him medicine is surprisingly easy maybe it’s because he’s so out of it or maybe he’s just in love he’d let you do anything to him

But if you’re ever sick he does the exact same for you

If you fight medicine (just like me fr) he’s NOT afraid to use those ninja moves to get you to take your meds

Loves it when you read to him no matter what you are reading

Manga? Sign him up! Horror book? Let's get spooky! Sad book? I'll get the tissues! He just loves to hear your voice especially if you do different voices for the characters but not overly comedic voices, he’s here for the story!

Falls asleep listening to your voice with his head on your lap 99% of the time

Going to the Hidden City for date nights and getting up to absolute mischief

(having to then call Raph to come get you guys because you pissed someone off and just kicked their butt)

Speaking of the Hidden City! During their break in the Hidden City (when everyone gets arrested) you join Leo at the spa

After he gets kicked out he BEGS you to go to the creepy spa across the street with him

“Sorry sweetheart I too am in DIRE need of some relaxation plus it’s not often I’m in an exclusive club”

The moment he shows up with that gorgeous hair you’re suspicious

Texts you a selfie of his new hair with the creepy ass background

“Whatcha think? Even more handsome than normal? ;)” “go back to being bald i miss slapping ur bald head :(“

Anyway when he starts “sleepwalking” your immediate reaction is “Maybe it's the wig” but quickly forget all about it due to relaxation

“Um… yyyy/nnnn could you please help me out with one teeny tiny situation…? Please?”

Now you and Leo are on the case!

“Ooo lala finally some privacy ;)”

“Don't touch me until you’re bald AND we figure this out”

“Pwetty pwease? JUST ONE!”

“Fine, ONE kiss”

After the evil hair reveal and fighting with your boyfriend’s hair he's finally bald again

Leo explains the massage guy’s deal but it falls on deaf ears

“Hey, who’s that guy?” “He'sthe non-member we kicked out earlier!”

“I bet he and that human are the thieves. Call the cops”

After a quick stay in jail, you’re now peacefully back home

[queenjunothegreat]

Hello everyone! Sorry about the late upload this week, there's been lots and lots going on this week oops! (￣▽￣*)ゞ We get to have a little more fun with Tristan before we put him back in the toy box for the rest of the series.

Anywho, here's Chapter Twenty-Three: LEO Meets a Movie Star

Unsurprisingly, the radio people at Oakland were a little less than happy about letting an unauthorized, unscheduled helicopter land on their tarmac. Didn’t they know how dangerous that was? Didn’t they know how that would mess up the take-off and landing schedules? Didn’t they know that’s just not how things were done? Then Piper came on over the radio, making their apologies and offering up little excuses and what do you know it was actually fine! Of course you can land here! Come on down! Would you like us to get you any weirdly small cans of soda or apple juice to have waiting for you? How about some tiny packs of pretzels or incredibly dry finger sandwiches? Leo was, admittedly, a little disappointed when she refused the snacks. When they touched down, there was a little gang of airport workers, all chomping at the bit to do whatever Piper asked, so she shooed them off with orders to go get her dad’s plane ready. When they were gone, she turned to Leo and Jason, but her shoulders were up around her ears and her eyes wouldn’t go any higher than their knees. Leo’s heart fell right down to the soles of his shoes, but he still reached out and squeezed her fingers. “Pipes?” She grimaced like the sound of her name on Leo’s lips pained her. “I’m sorry, guys.” Jason cocked his head to the side. “What are you sorry for?”

[manygeese]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63063532

thank you for giving me this ugly little link ao3! anyways valgrace carnival getting together fic let’s do this

A Magical Day at the Carnival

Leo’s life was starting to feel like a math problem. If the carnival had started at 6:00 PM, and Leo had gotten there 45 minutes after it started in a car going 60 miles an hour, and he had three stuffed animals he won from the ring toss but gave one to Piper, how screwed was he?

The answer was C: very.

Somehow, he had gotten dared by Piper to steal a prize from one of the carnies while he wasn’t looking, which he did with minimal assistance. Then, he dared Piper to attempt the rope ladder game, which he got a good laugh out of when she fell flat on her ass. She dared him to annihilate a little kid in the bumper car arena (easy), he dared her to ride the Gravitron without throwing up (apparently not so easy, judging by the way her face turned ten shades greener), she dared him to do this, he dared her to do that, so on and so forth until—

“I dare you to kiss Jason,” Piper ordered. She practically shoved her face into her cotton candy and came back with a tuft the size of an apple in her mouth, though it quickly dissolved. She dived right back in once it was gone.

Leo choked on his cherry popsicle. “What?”

“I—” she took another bite—“dare you—” she made eye contact with him over the fuzz of the candy—“to kiss Jason.” She stuck her tongue out at him, blue from the raspberry flavoring.

“Nuh uh. No way,” he sputtered, turning red not unlike his choice of sweet treat.

“The sun’s setting, the lights are dazzling, the stars are coming out,” Piper sighed dreamily. “It’s the perfect time to give Jason a big ol’ smooch.”

“No.”

“Right on the lips.”

“No.”

“Maybe a little tongue.”

“Ew.”

“I bet he’ll taste like Sprite.”

“Ugh, shut up,” he grumbled, burying his face in his free hand. The popsicle started to boil and evaporate in his other.

Piper laughed and tore another tuft from the cone. He watched her, trying to think of a counter dare, when he was struck with an idea. If there was a light bulb over his head, it would be a million watts. There would also be several hundred others next to it because they were arranged in one of those Broadway signs that read “IDIOT WITH A BIG FAT CRUSH.”

“I dare you,” he snarked, waving his rapidly deteriorating popsicle menacingly at her, “to kiss Reyna.”

She paused mid-chomp, sugar melting under her breath. She pulled back. “You’re serious?”

He nodded. “As the plague.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Pinky promise?” She asked, offering one of her sticky pinkies.

“Pinky promise.” He linked his pinky, covered in juice, with hers.

Piper smiled softly. “Speak of the devil.” She gestured to the space over Leo’s shoulder.

A large hand rested on his shoulder, accompanied by the feeling of a cool body sliding into the seat next to him. “Hi, guys,” Jason chirped.

Leo found himself grinning on instinct. He decided to ignore the smug look Piper was giving him. “Hey.”

Reyna sat, or maybe a better word would’ve been collapsed, next to Piper with a groan. “I’d like it if we could go back to camp now,” she grunted.

Jason huffed a laugh. “The hall of mirrors got the best of her,” he explained.

“It was very… confusing.”

“Confusing enough to make you run into the same mirror seven times?”

“Why else would I have done that, Grace? Nobody would choose to humiliate themselves in such a way.”

“Yeah. Looked like it hurt,” he sympathized, patting her hand. Leo wasn’t jealous, he just thought that Jason’s hand would look better over his than Reyna’s. That was it. Nothing else.

Deciding to be proactive for once in his life, he took Jason by the elbow and pointed to the carnival rides. “Before we go back to camp, can we go for a ride on the ferris wheel? It’s just, I wanted to earlier, but we got distracted by the games, and then we split up…” he trailed off, looking up through his eyelashes to Jason and harnessing his inner helpless baby bird.

Jason crumbled like a cliff in a rockslide, as always. He barely even said goodbye to Piper and Reyna before letting himself be dragged towards the ferris wheel.

The line was long, and unfortunately, that meant Leo had plenty of time to think. Of course, his thoughts were mostly useless, because that was just his luck.

I bet you could tug him down by his jacket collar super easily.

I bet his hair would be so soft against your fingers.

I bet he tastes like Sprite.

Once in a blue moon, a logical thought would pop up, something along the lines of no. Stop that. Just pay for your tickets and get on the damned ferris wheel.

They got a cramped car all to themselves. An excuse to press yourself against him. Ah, well. Looked like the train of thought had derailed again.

His eyes darted to the ground as they rose, and the lightbulb above his head lit up again. He pretended to startle, bumping into Jason and clinging to his arm like a pathetic octopus. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and suppressed the content smile forming on his face, twisting it into a grimace. “Ugh,” he said simply.

Jason’s cool hand came to rest on Leo’s, rubbing his thumb up and down on the back of it. “What’s wrong? Scared of heights?” There was a hint of laughter in his voice that Leo wasn’t quite sure he appreciated.

“Yes,” Leo lied, mumbling it into the blond’s jacket.

“But you and Festus are up in the air all the time.”

“That’s different. I don’t trust this ferris wheel like I do Festus.” He could feel his face heat up.

“But you let me take you for rides.”

“That’s different. You'd never let me fall,” was what Leo was tempted to say, but he filed it away in his mind cabinet as he tried to think of a more casual answer.

“What?” Jason asked.

Whoops. He must have said that out loud. Maybe he should jump out the side of the car so he would never have to talk to Jason again. As he eyeballed the distance from their location to the ground, however, Jason secured a death grip on both his hands. He blinked himself back to the present to find that Jason was staring right at him, gaze wide and doe-like. A nervous giggle nearly escaped out through his mouth, but he managed to disguise it as a whimper.

Jason softened. “Leo…”

The best and worst part of being a child of Hephaestus, Leo posited, was the innate ability to control any and all machines in his immediate vicinity. This came in handy when one was trying to make the door mechanisms on an elevator open (his first trip to Olympus had required that particular skill, as his little brother Harley was a little claustrophobic). It did not come in handy when one was, say, growing more anxious by the second whilst perched upon an extremely high-up, extremely mechanical ferris wheel.

Leo kicked his feet and focused on letting the wheel do its thing. Not making it go so fast that all of its occupants were catapulted out of it, not so slow that people would have to cannibalize each other in order to survive the duration of the ride. The metal floor beneath his feet taunted him and he entered a staring contest with it. “Uh,” he started. He didn’t even try to finish.

“It’s true,” Jason whispered.

Leo looked back up. “What’s true?”

“What you said. I wouldn’t let you fall.”

Feeling shy yet emboldened, Leo leaned forward. “You wouldn’t?”

Jason smiled gently, copying Leo’s movement, and fixed him with a stupidly charming gaze. “Yeah, no, I wouldn’t.”

The rapid thumping in his chest took a softer turn, like the cardiac arrest he was going into was draped in velvet and wrapped with a bow instead of, y’know, a plain and simple heart attack. He barely registered the car lurching to a halt under him as he drew closer to Jason, too distracted by the butterflies that were having a disco in his stomach to notice.

“Uh, Leo,” Jason breathed, reminding the boy in question of their close proximity (Leo didn’t mind. Leo did whatever the opposite of mind was), “the ferris wheel’s stopped.”

“Oh,” Leo responded, eyes straying from Jason’s and ending up embarrassingly honed onto the other’s lips, “it has, hasn’t it?”

“Seems like it,” Jason confirmed as his hands removed themselves from Leo’s. They went to hover in the air around his hips, only meeting the fabric of Leo’s shirt when warm hands guided them there.

Still staring at the blond’s lips, Leo looped his arms around Jason’s neck and scooted further into his bubble. “Can I…” he trailed off, focus momentarily ripped away from the moment by the ferris wheel operator’s frustrated calls for the ride technician. “Can I kiss you?”

Jason smiled, and Leo smiled because Jason smiled, and he leaned in, and so did Leo, and all of a sudden Leo felt a deep gratitude towards Piper because she had dared him to do this instead of something stupid like eat the gum he found on the underside of a picnic table, and then he wasn’t even thinking anymore because Jason’s lips were on his and everything was right in the world.

Leo got lost in the feeling of it like he was Theseus in the labyrinth, only he didn’t want any of Ariadne’s lame ass yarn to find his way out of it. He was vaguely aware of the equally lame ass noises escaping his mouth, but who in the hell cared? He was kissing Jason and Jason was kissing him.

When Jason opened his mouth ever so slightly and tilted his head to deepen the kiss, Leo resisted the urge to squeal like a schoolgirl and tried to play it cool. Even as one of his hands drifted down to Jason’s jacket collar and pulled him further down. Even as his other hand buried itself in the blond’s hair and savored the feeling of it against his fingertips. Even as he noticed that Jason kinda sorta tasted like Sprite.

An undignified yelp was brought out of Jason's mouth as they were both thrown to the floor of the car. The ferris wheel stopped spinning as soon as it had jolted back to life, no doubt a symptom of Leo’s giddiness. “Oh my god, I am so sorry,” Leo exclaimed as he sat up, hanging his head and covering his face in shame. “I got… carried away, I guess.”

Jason rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. “Was it really that good?”

Leo rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Jason. “Ugh. Was it really that good, he says. Do you even hear yourself? Yes, it was really that good, dumbass. Why else do you think I’m struggling to control a whole entire ferris wheel because of it? Because it was bad? I literally don’t think it’s physically possible for you to be a bad kisser when your dad is, like, the god of all things kinky.”

Jason barked out a surprised laugh and shuffled closer to him on the floor. Leo blushed when he felt the blond press a kiss to his cheek and grab his hand. He felt Jason’s skin buzzing with static and (totally not for a reason relating to a certain lovestruck son of Hephaestus) the ferris wheel started spinning again. And if it was a little faster than normal, blame it on whoever was the god of carnival attractions, okay? Maybe they had gotten a few more offerings than normal.

And if Leo shot a quick thank you to Piper’s mom as their car descended, blame it on the fact that Jason had a very nice voice and had decided to use it to ask Leo to be his boyfriend.

And if Leo’s face got so red that Jason had to ask if he was okay, blame it on the immediate mortification that washed over him after his all too eager affirmative answer.

They exited the ferris wheel at the bottom holding hands. Leo had to will himself to keep walking like a normal person instead of skipping around like a whimsical little idiot in his own little world made of rainbows and cupcakes. He settled for smiling a goofy smile to himself.

Piper and Reyna were sitting at the same picnic table they had been before, but this time, Reyna was wielding a few giant pink heart balloons. Leo made eye contact with Piper who was reapplying her lip gloss in a pocket mirror.

Piper raised her eyebrow at him.

Leo raised an eyebrow right back.

She popped her lips and gestured with her head to Reyna beside her. Only then did he notice the smudged gloss on her mouth. He grinned.

He pointedly placed an arm on the crook of Jason’s elbow, posing like a married couple in their annual Christmas card. She nodded approvingly.

They strolled up to the picnic table, not sitting down, just lingering. Jason swung their joined hands back and forth and Leo’s heart did a gymnastics routine in his chest. “Did y’all have fun?” Leo asked in place of a greeting.

“I’d say so,” Piper said as she smirked. Reyna turned a couple shades redder, but her smile was fond. “We stopped by the funnel cake stand and took the carousel for a spin.”

“Sounds fun,” Jason commented. “Me and Leo rode on the ferris wheel. We ran into a little—” he delivered a cheeky squeeze to Leo’s hand—“technical difficulty, that’s why we’re a little late. Are we ready to head back to camp now?”

“No!” Reyna blurted. “I mean, no. I wanted to try the, um…” her head swiveled as she searched for a random attraction to feign interest in. “The high striker?”

Leo noticed the amused look Jason gave her. Not because he was staring or anything.

Okay, yeah, he was staring. Sue him.

He was just imagining the next time he’d get to kiss his best friend turned crush turned boyfriend, and the time after that, and the time after that, and the—

“What are you staring at?” Jason asked, turning his amused look on Leo. Traitor.

Leo grinned and giggled to himself. “Oh, nothing.”

[valeriefauxnom]

You Know, Aurelius' Life Described Out Of Context Sounds Like A '5 Seconds Before Disaster' Compilation

"Young prince strikes soul bargain with a continent-feared, reviled, evil-looking dragon, "I'm sure it'll be fine""

This one's pretty self-explanatory, but I really just find art like this funny because it looks like Zodi is about to chomp his head off when it's actually heartwarming and fluffy (even funnier is the one fanart I've seen where it's baby Leo being held by Aurelius reaching up because that amps up the aforementioned effect 100%):

"Young prince inherits hostile geopolitical position from warmongering father"

Explanation: however old he was when Aurelius ascended, he was young, since he's been reigning for a long time. While we have 0.001 info on his own father, the .001 we do know is that he seemed to be a bit of a warmonger:

Nothing like inheriting a terrible situation as an inexperienced youth! Sure sounds like a 5 seconds before disaster scenario to me!

"Is Local Royal Bloodline Cursed? 3/8 Children Either Missing or Dying From Disease Confined To Bloodline - Is There More To Come? More At 11"

"King departs solo without telling anyone and carrying a newborn and very ill son cross-country across exceedingly dangerous terrain - What Could Go Wrong?"

"Local king has genius, perfectly logical idea wrought from deep grief: if souls and body are separate, why not just make a better, healthier one for his boy? Mysterious 'Faerie King' in forest agrees."

"Local King Returns Home Unaware That His Son's Soul Did Not Return With Him In the Body He Had Created to Save Him (DEMONIC) (EVIL GOD) (NOT CLICKBAIT)"

Really, for everything regarding Beren, Euden, and Nedrick, he can be summed up with this good old Onion headline:

"Local King Sets Out On Dangerous Quest To Scary, Ominous Ruin With Unknown Dangers In Pursuit of 'Something Important': "Don't worry, it'll be fine," He Says"

So on and so forth... And let's not even get started on Audric!

[angelmichelangelo]

hi i noticed u reposted prompts yesterday and because i am literally on my hands and knees scavenging for autistic rise donnie fics i am going to request "stop looking at me like i'm damaged goods". you can make it as fluffy/angsty as you please; i trust you entirely to absolutely eat this concept

autistic donnie is. so important to me. i cradle him gently in my hands for you my friend. hope you enjoyed this :3 ty for trusting me with him lol

x

In the aftermath of Donnie’s meltdown, Leo gives him approximately fifteen and a half minutes to cool down, because in the lifetime that he has known his brother, he knows that those fifteen and a half minutes was enough time for him to clamber into bed, press his shell against the wall and take enough long, sobering breaths to dig around his hoodie pouch for his cell and for him to connect it with his bluetooth headphones and work through a good chunk of his chill playlist and settle the fuck down. Fifteen and half minutes go by. He approaches his bedroom door, knuckles rap gently against steel. Three, equally spaced taps. A pause. He doesn’t need to be welcomed in; if he wasn’t, he’d just be told to ‘go away and die’ from the other side, which he isn’t, so he allows himself to enter his room. As predicted, Don is wedged up against the wall by his bed, pillow tucked tight to his chest so he can chew the end of it between his teeth, headphones still blaring out his music loud enough to be heard in a second-hand-tinny kind of way; his eyes eventually skate upwards from his screen to watch Leo cross the room and drop himself onto the end of the bed with a sigh. It takes another two full minutes for Donnie to pause his music and paw his headphones off his head, letting them clatter to the floor without care. He says nothing, still chomping on the soggy remains of his pillowcase, giving Leo the floor to speak. “He didn’t mean it,” Leo says, eyeing his brother up with a steady look. “You know that.” Donnie’s mask wrinkles on the account of his brow quickly furrowing. He chews a little harder, grinding the material with circular motions of his jaw. Leo watches him for a second before he lounges backwards, shell hitting the wall, he’s almost trapping Donnie against the wall, but in a less-intrusive way. He sighs wearily. “He’s pretty upset,” he adds, hoping to coax something out of his brother. It does. He lets the pillow go from his jaws and shoots Leo an incredulous look, sitting up just on his elbows. “Good,” he says shortly. “So am I.” A breathy laughter bubbles up from Leo’s chest, squinting at his brother with slight askance. “Donnie, he’s twelve. He doesn’t—He doesn’t always get it.” Donnie actually hmphs and turns his head away, tongue feeling around for the wet material of the pillowcase and drawing it back between his teeth to chew. Leo does nothing but watch for a moment as his brother purposely ignores his presence. Because today’s meltdown was indeed brought to you by: Mikey making waffles. There had been a lot of noise and mess and everything happening at once when Don had come into the kitchen just to simply make himself toast. He’d snapped at their youngest, unable to bridle some of that bubbling frustration that was prone when he got rowdy and loud, and because Mikey was twelve and Donnie was thirteen, the pair of them overflowing with all of that incredible, powerful, teenage hormonal angst had caused something like a volcanic, chemical reaction the moment it breached into the others space.

“Don.” Leo says again, this time reaching out to place his hand on his shoulder, only to have it harshly shrugged off, Donnie’s head coming around to glare at him so fast it might just spin right off his shoulders. “I don’t care!” He says coldly and spitefully. His eyes are sharp and narrow, the corner of the pillow rests heavily in the corner of his mouth where he’s still begrudging to let it go. “I don’t care, he… he annoys me.” Leo frowns. “Yeah.” He says with a shrug of his shoulders, his hand retreating to rest lonely in his lap. “Little brothers tend to do that.” Donnie scoffs, now choosing to bury his head in said pillow, a long, drawn out sigh is muffled from where he’s pressing his snout against the plush. “Raph is gonna make him say sorry,” Leo tries. Donnie’s shoulder just hike upwards, like a dogs hackles rippling in self-defense. “I just wanted to make sure you were good first.”

Donnie finally peels his face away from where he was previously content with suffocating himself, face tight and angry looking. 

“That’s a surprise,” he says, voice icy and spiteful. “Raph usually lets his favorite brother get away with everything.”

Leo’s heart skips about in his chest at the accusation. “He doesn’t have favorites,” he says wearily, mouth opening to try and back his claim up when Donnie sits up suddenly, like a shaken up can of soda, he’s got all his energy back again just to fizz out over the top of him. “He so does. Mike is everyone’s favorite, making me the least favorite!”

There’s a wet glossy sheen to his eyes now that makes Leo want to press forward. He doesn’t, only because it looks like his brother might bite his hand off if he tries, so he just fixes his brother a sympathetic look and tries desperately again to calm him.

“That’s not true,” he says, then offering his brother a smile. “You’re my favorite.”

Donnie blinks at Leo, scowl still etched sharply across his features before he flops back down again. “You’re just saying that because there’s something wrong with me.”

Leo blanches. Not long ago, Don had clambered into Leo’s bed of an evening and shoved his phone under his beak and rattled off a list of symptoms and spectrums and a bunch of fancy words that didn’t quite compute with the turtle until his twin and gripped his arm with an iron bar hold and told him with a shaky breath,

“I think this is me, Nardo. I think this is what I have.”

Donnie sniffs and once again turns his head sideways, avoiding eye contact. “You can stop that.” He says, voice flat. “You can stop looking at me like I’m— I’m damaged goods.” Leo feels all the space in his chest around his heart go very tight very suddenly, all the air that occupied that space suddenly being sucked outwards, leaving him feeling somewhat hollow.

“You’re not damaged goods,” Leo tells him, as sternly as he could possibly muster, because even if he couldn’t quite catch his breath after such an accusation, he was gong to make damn good sure that his brother believed the words he spoke. Because Leo really didn’t see Donnie in that way whatsoever.

“I mean, you’re a little odd and strange but, dude,” he says, this time finding the courage to land a hand on his brother’s arm without him trying to shake him off or eat it. “It’s cool. You’ve always been cool.”

Donnie blinks at him, and the only time he moves Leo’s arm away is so that he can use the back of his wrist to scrub away at his wetted face, muffling a tiny little sob into his forearm.

“It’s okay, Dee,” he says, leaning in a little closer. “Do… do you need another fifteen minutes? Before Mike comes in to say sorry?”

Donnie says nothing, leaning into the warmth Leo offers him, but not before he’s gingerly slotting the chewed up corner of the pillowcase between his teeth, making a small laugh bubble out of Leo as he watches on.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he says softly, and Donnie says nothing more – he doesn’t have to, because as long as he knows where Leo stands on his viewpoint of his brother, favorite brothers aside, Don does indeed hold a very special, irreplaceable spot in the deepest parts of his chest, where there was no air and no ache, and that, to Leo was the very opposite of damaged goods.

That was something pretty damn amazing.

[rn-zane]

TIMING: current SETTING: a restaurant near the hospital PARTIES: @recoveringdreamer + @rn-zane SUMMARY: felix steps in to deter a bird attack, realizing a bit late that it's zane they're helping. the pair end up accidentally hijacking a dinner reservation.

“Have you ever seen Ratatouille?” They asked, sliding back into their seat. “Do you think worms can do that?”

It was hard sometimes, knowing what to do after ‘work.’ A few months ago, it was simpler. Felix would walk home, would curl up on the couch and spend the remainder of their evening trying to forget the things they’d done in the ring that night. But there was no separation anymore, no distance between the Pit and them. They went to sleep within its walls and woke up within its walls and repeated the process anew. 

They’d taken to ducking out for strolls to try to curb the feeling, as if a few trips around the block might somehow resolve their issues. The walks were still done under the carefully ticking clock of the loosely defined ‘rules’ Leo had set up for them, but they offered some illusion of freedom, and Felix liked that.

Tonight’s walk brought him to Deersprings. They liked the suburban feel of the neighborhood, hoped to visit Mistwood Park for the scenery. It’d be nice, they thought, to be out in nature for a little while. They ducked their head as they walked by the hospital, not a fan of the feeling that came with the building. There was nothing supernatural about it, they knew; it was more a good old fashioned discomfort. If they’d been paying more attention, they might have seen a familiar face walking out the front.

They also might have seen the giant bird swooping down to meet said familiar face.

As it was, though, Felix heard more than saw the beginnings of the ordeal. And, without thinking and without looking, they sprinted over to help.

—

The days in the ER differed wildly and it was usually safest to expect the worst and pray for nothing. On the slow days, things were fine if a bit mind numbing, repetitive work of triaging barely sick patients only for them to get annoyed when you told them they were fine. The fast days could go either way, depending on how understaffed they were, how many people screamed at you or how many they couldn’t save. Today had been among the better ones, where everyone seemed to work as a unit, the really sick got properly treated and redirected and Zane could feel useful. It was a nice change of pace with the utter failure of trying to help Felix still rearing its head a couple times a day. 

Stepping out into the brisk spring air was nice and Zane actually let himself properly enjoy it for once, for a moment not thinking about what he could have done better during the shift, or in general. Of course he should have known better than to think that a nice day would end on a nice note. Even if he had listened to the nagging voice of pessimism, it probably wouldn’t have come up with ‘giant bird attack’ though. 

The talons were sharp, tearing straight through the fabric of his jacket and latching into the skin of his arm, which he’d just barely raised in defense as the thing swooped in. Because it was a thing with its toothed beak and murderous eyes. In a panic, Zane shook his arm and the talons only dug deeper, pain radiating up his arm as the creature shrieked. And then the eerie beak chomped in the direction of his face, foiled only by more violent swinging of his arm. It released its grip then, providing only momentary relief - it had taken flight once more, circling overhead for another opening. 

—

The bird was attacking. Except — it definitely wasn’t a normal bird. It was huge, with unnatural looking claws and a strange beak. But there was little time to worry about what it looked like while it was attacking some random — Zane? 

For the first time, Felix faltered their step, anxiety rising at the realization that Zane was the person being targeted by this… bird thing. They hadn’t seen him in a while, though they’d at least spoken since the incident with Leo. Still, Felix wasn’t sure how to feel about him. They were still frustrated that Zane and Wyatt had gone behind their back to talk to Leo despite their pleas to the contrary, still upset that their wishes had been denied and that their life was worse because of it. It couldn’t matter right now, of course; right now, there was a bird and it was swooping back down for another shot. Right now, Felix had bigger things to worry about. So did Zane.

Felix jumped in, shifting their fingers into sharp claws and taking a swipe at the bird as it dove down for another shot at Zane. They only wanted to scare it, not hurt it. Turning to Zane, they ushered for him to run. “Come on! We should, um — find somewhere to hide! What did you do to this bird, anyway?”

—

Birds hadn’t really been covered in the self defense lessons, the focus more on dodging thrown punches and deadly weapons. Could he grab it? It wasn’t big but it looked strong, and both the talons and teeth were menacing. What if there were more? Panicked eyes risked looking away from the attacker for the briefest of moments - the dusky sky was devoid of more birds. For now. Zane had been ready to attempt swatting it away when someone - not someone, Felix - stepped in. 

The bird cawed loudly, angrily, and retreated once more, not losing sight of the vampire it had set its eyes on. “I… right. Yeah, that’s probably smart.” Zane didn’t want to risk it following him into the hospital, for it to start attacking other staff or even worse, patients. So he followed Felix down the street, eerily aware of how silently the bird flew, still keeping up with them every time he glanced back to check. “I didn’t do anything! I just walked out and there it was. It has teeth and- shit.” He hadn’t been quick enough to dodge, the back of his neck now burning from the sharp scratch of talons, blood starting to trickle down. “We need to get inside…” Most of the stores had closed at this hour and they couldn’t very well just barge into someone’s home. 

“There!” Grabbing Felix’s sleeve and pulling them along, Zane made a beeline for where there were lights inside, not caring too much about what was behind the door as long as there was a door between them and the bird. He was quick to shut it behind them, breathing a sigh of relief and pressing his palm against his bleeding neck. It was… silent. Not completely, there was quiet music playing but no one was speaking, each and every patron of the very fancy restaurant they had burst into now staring at Zane and Felix. Oops. 

—

Ducking back into the hospital that Zane had just exited might have been the obvious path free, but it was also the worst one Felix could imagine. If the bird followed them through those glass doors, it could wreak havoc on sick people trying to get better and doctors and nurses trying to do their jobs. Felix was glad to see that Zane agreed with it not being an option without either of them having to say it, was glad to know that they didn’t have to worry about that kind of thing right now. It was good, really, because they had a lot of other things to worry about instead.

“Inside!” Felix agreed with a nod. “Is there, um, I mean, if we could find a — a warehouse or something, just, you know, something where it can’t — can’t follow us…” They were babbling, which was… to be expected, where Felix was concerned. When they got nervous, their mouth was a faucet that they had no real ability to shut off, and giant birds diving from the sky in an attempt to kill their friend (Zane was still their friend, wasn’t he?) was certainly a thing to be nervous about. 

Zane must have been nervous, too, being the subject of said diving bird’s apparent homicidal rage, but he still managed to keep his head about him. Better than Felix did, really, which Felix thought they probably ought to feel bad for. Zane found a building where the lights were still on, dragged Felix into the door, shut it behind them. Felix breathed a sigh of relief, although… the relief didn’t really last. They felt the eyes on them before they really saw them, looking up to see a huge room full of very well-dressed people staring at them. 

A man in a black tuxedo strode up to the pair, eyeing them warily. “Do you have a reservation?” He demanded. Perplexed, Felix looked to Zane, then back to the man.

“Um… yes. It’s under… Smith.” That was a common enough last name, wasn’t it? 

—

Slowly, Zane unclenched his grip on Felix’s jacket, even though their current situation almost felt just as (if not more) precarious than the murderous bird creature one. He managed a smile as a disapproving gaze raked over the two of them and Zane tried to straighten his posture, tugging his jacket closed to hide the worn hoodie underneath. Giving Felix the smallest of shrugs as they stared helplessly back at him, Zane glanced back out through the window. On the other side of the street, perched patiently on the back of a bench, sat the bird. Two birds now, actually. 

“Smith…” the distinguished looking gentleman repeated and Zane clamped his mouth shut - he really didn’t want to get thrown back outside. “Yes, Smith, table for two.” Zane blinked at Felix, whom he was currently very grateful for, and then the two of them were being led past the curious patrons toward their table - like a strange catwalk featuring the worst dressed people inside the restaurant. “Shall I take your coats?” the server offered and Zane quickly shook his head, aware that he would both look more out of place if he did and of the blood that had seeped through the sleeve of his hoodie. The bleeding had already stopped but the pair didn’t exactly need to draw more attention to themselves. 

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Zane hissed loudly once they were left alone with their menus, smiling a bit deliriously at Felix. “You’re amazing.” Trying to calm himself with adrenaline still cranking everything up to a hundred, Zane pulled the lapel higher up to hopefully hide the still stinging scratched on his neck. “Okay, we should probably find another way out of here before the actual Smiths show up.”

—-

It was like time stood still, for a moment. Felix held their breath as the well-dressed man checked his list, well aware of the bird (or birds? It had friends?) waiting patiently for them to return back to the street. They prepared another excuse for if the name Smith wasn’t on the list — could they claim that maybe the reservation had been made under another name instead? There were two of them, so maybe that meant they got two chances. Felix could try to pass for a Jones if they had to.

Luckily, though, it wasn’t necessary. The gamble played off, somehow, and they were being led to a table that some poor couple of Smiths would be missing later. Felix sent a silent apology towards the strangers who hadn’t yet shown up, but another quick glance out the window eased their guilty conscience a little. It wasn’t like they had a lot of options here, was it? The host asked about their coats, and Felix looked down at the ratty t-shirt they’d thrown on before their walk. “Um…” They were wearing nothing underneath it. “I think we’re good!” They flashed a large, forced smile, bringing their hand out from under the table to add in a hearty thumbs up. 

“Very well. I’ll send a waiter over shortly with your menus.” 

The well-dressed man turned on his heel then, disappearing back to the front podium and looking a little unhappy about it. With him gone, Felix relaxed in their seat a little, all-too-aware of the large number of eyes still glued to them. “Yeah,” they breathed. “Um, kind of a shot in the dark. Do you think there’s a back door? Or… a bathroom window? Or should we —”

“Good evening, gentlemen.” A crisp English accent greeted, sliding up next to the table. “My name is Archibald and I’ll be your server. Can I get you started with something from our vast wine collection?”

“Uh,” Felix squeaked, any confidence they’d earned from the success of their earlier ploy leaving them all at once as they looked back to Zane. He could handle a server, right?

—

Any of those options sounded preferable to either walking out the front door or sitting here for much longer, Zane nodding along enthusiastically as Felix rattled off possibilities. And then Archibald was at their table, halting any discussions of an escape plan. Mustering a smile, immensely grateful that he could neither blush or sweat from stress, Zane faltered at the squeak from Felix. They had been on a roll but apparently, it had been a short one. He cleared his throat, body going unnaturally still in an attempt not to fidget under the judgemental, British stare. “Surprise us?” Zane asked meagerly and yup, that had not been the correct answer.

“Certainly,” the server bit out, a vein in his forehead throbbing. Man, the two of them were just ruining these poor servers’ evening, weren’t they? 

“I’ve never been anywhere this fancy,” Zane admitted, returning to the stage whispering. “I don’t even like wine. Okay, I don’t know how much time we have before Archibald returns, or they totally realize we’re not supposed to be here. I’ll check if the bathroom would work, you try and see if there are any back doors, maybe near the kitchen?” he suggested, glancing around and giving an offended looking woman a timid smile. She did not return it. “You can go first, I’ll keep him occupied with… wine talk.” 

—

Felix felt a little bad for Archibald, who didn’t seem particularly enthused about the idea of ‘surprising’ his guests with wine. Felix had never worked as a waiter before — they’d been too young to legally hold a job before their father moved them into the woods, and the only employment they’d had since returning to society was at the Grit Pit — but they couldn’t imagine things like this were fun. Servers dealt with a lot of terrible people. Felix wondered how much cash they had in their wallet, and whether or not it would be weird to leave a tip before sneaking out the back even if they had no plans of actually letting Archibald serve them anything.

“Me either,” they admitted, glancing sheepishly to Zane. “I don’t even drink that much, honestly, and wine is like — I mean, it all kind of tastes the same? People say things about it, but it all just tastes like the stuff from the box at the grocery store to me.” They were getting off topic again, rambling. Archibald was an attentive server; he was sure to be back any minute now. And Zane was right, they needed to make their own way out before someone figured out they didn’t belong and made them leave through the front. “Sounds like a plan,” he nodded, looking determined. “I’ll go check and let you know.” 

With a new purpose in mind, Felix stood and marched towards the back of the dining room. Ducking towards the kitchen, they tried to walk with purpose and act as though they belonged, despite the eyes on them. When they got to the kitchen, they waited for a waiter to exit before slipping inside, pressing themself against the wall. They glanced around for an exit, but their eyes were quickly drawn to one of the cooks instead. She was holding a bag of… gummy worms? And sticking  said gummy worms onto the plate she was preparing? It seemed almost as though she was moving in a trance, though no one around her seemed to have any objections to whatever was going on. Felix gawked for a moment, coming back to themself only when the sound of the door opening again caught their attention. They quickly slipped back out into the dining room, walking back over to the table where Zane sat.

“Have you ever seen Ratatouille?” They asked, sliding back into their seat. “Do you think worms can do that?”

—

Maybe it would have been helpful to have stumbled into this situation with someone… fancier. Though, now that Zane thought about it, he didn’t really know anyone fancy. Xó perhaps but she was human and no way would he have wanted someone fragile dragged into this mess. Maybe Felix was the best choice - they were helpful and wouldn’t make fun of him but also not so easily hurt. At least not physically, the shifter was, regretfully, very easy to emotionally hurt. Snapping back to the situation at hand, Zane gave a nod that he hoped inspired confidence, keeping watch as Felix walked towards the kitchen with a purpose. If only this fake courage was real. 

Felix disappeared from sight and Zane craned his neck, peeking out through the windows at the front of the restaurant. The coast was not yet clear, wings flapping impatiently and a quick count provided five birds before their friend Archibald was back. “The wine, sir,” he announced, looking skeptically at the empty chair at the table. 

“Bathroom,” Zane provided lamely, peeking around the waiter. No sign of Felix yet. Something that was probably the name of the wine came from Archibald’s mouth, followed by some region in France, something about acidity and a harvesting process before the tiniest bit of wine was poured into Zane’s glass. He blinked, smiling stiffly before noting the expectant expression on Archibald’s face. “Oh, uh…” Picking up the glass for a sip - it tasted like good wine, probably - Zane gave an approving hum and a nod which was luckily enough for Archibald to pour more wine into each glass and leave. 

Zane was still grimacing at the aftertaste of the wine, wondering if it was his undead tastebuds or just wine tasting bad, when Felix shuffled back into their seat. He had indeed seen Ratatouille but what that had to do with their current bird-and-fancy-restaurant situation was… worms? “I think… anything is possible at this point?” No sooner had the words left his mouth when there was a commotion, one of the actual guests slipping onto the floor, writhing around and wrinkling the fancy dress she was wearing. Writhing around like… a worm. “What exactly did you see?” Zane questioned, wide eyes turning back to Felix. 

—

There was wine in the glasses at the table, which must have meant Archibald had been by. He was a very attentive server, Felix thought. That was a bad thing right now, since Felix and Zane really needed a strategizing session, and strategizing was hard to do when a super British guy in a tux kept asking you if you needed anything. (Did Batman feel this way? Was Batman ever annoyed by Alfred’s attentiveness? Felix felt a little guilty. Maybe Archibald was just trying to channel his inner Alfred.) 

Reaching out, Felix held the wine glass in their hand but made no move to take a sip. If Archibald looked over, it would probably be good if they were at least pretending to do what they were supposed to be doing. Which was, in this case, enjoying fancy wine and looking at the menu. Felix went ahead and flipped that open, too, pretending to study it very intently as Zane spoke.

“They don’t have hands! The rat in that movie, you know, it used its hands to steer when it —” A woman fell on the floor and began writhing. None of the staff seemed interested or concerned. Felix stared at her with wide eyes, then glanced back to Zane. “There are worms in the kitchen,” they announced. “Um, in the food. They’re putting worms in the food.”

—

The attempt to tie Ratatouille into their current situation was cut short, Felix really only getting as far as to accurately note that worms did in fact not have hands. Zane wished he knew why exactly no one seemed to care about the current commotion except the two of them but granted, they weren’t supposed to be here. Maybe this was part of the restaurant’s deal, something they would have known about if they hadn’t snatched this table from some other duo. Or maybe this was another installation of some unexplained horrors. 

“Worms in the food,” Zane parroted slowly, just as a low thud marked the arrival of another patron now writhing on the floor. “What do you think the odds are of this being like… a super weird flash mob and not something actually dangerous?” he asked under his breath, leaning across the table towards Felix but straightening up instantaneously at the arrival of a tuxedo clad form at their table. Archibald. Great. 

“Your food,” he announced, placing two plates on the table. Zane was one hundred percent sure they had not ordered anything yet, maybe fancy places brought out the same first dish for everyone? “Enjoy,” Archibald instructed, stepping away before Zane could fact check his theory or even ask what they were getting. Although the latter question got answered simply by looking down at the table, to the two plates in front of them, adorned with colorful looking gummy worms. 

Blinking down at the plate, Zane’s confusion grew. Were these the worms Felix had been talking about? Never mind they didn’t have hands, they weren’t even alive? Just sugar and coloring formed into the shape of a worm. Even so, considering how weird things were getting, probably safer not to ingest anything coming from that kitchen. “I think now is the time to get… Felix?” Zane really had tried not to sound… well, scolding but it was hard as he watched the dubious gummy worms vanish into Felix's mouth. 

—

Was Ratatouille the best metaphor to use in this situation? The more Felix thought about it, the less the worm thing actually seemed like the plot of the Pixar movie. The worms didn’t really seem to be helping the chefs cook, just… going into the food. And Felix was pretty sure their intention wasn’t to help the chef, or to pursue their lifelong love of cooking. They weren’t really sure what the worms’ motivation could be although, to be fair, Felix wasn’t sure they’d ever known what any worm’s motivation was. They had a feeling this was… not good, though.

“It’s never a flash mob,” they said mournfully. “I always hope it’ll be a flash mob, and then it never is. I’m not even sure flash mobs are a real thing outside of, like, movies and viral videos.” Which meant that, whatever these worms were, they were probably dangerous. Or… as dangerous as a worm was capable of being.

Before the pair could talk strategy, though, Archibald was back. He placed a pair of plates on the table, and Felix didn’t remember ordering anything, but — wow. The food placed in front of him smelled exactly like the tamales his mother used to slave over on holidays, didn’t it? Felix stared at the plate, distantly aware that Zane was speaking, but… his voice sounded more like white noise than any actual words. Felix was far too focused on the worms on the plate, and the memory of their mother’s cooking warming their stomach. 

Their hand moved without any input from their mind, scooping up a handful of worms and shoveling them down their throat. They tasted incredible, but Felix only managed to swallow a few before their body was dropping onto the floor of the restaurant, squirming and writhing like… well, a worm.

—

Gaping, Zane could do very little except stare at Felix’s writhing form for the first few moments, at a bit of a loss. Still, it seemed he was the only one that was at all put off by this behavior as more and more customers dropped to the ground. The waiters were unphased, a few of them now exiting the kitchen with more plates, although all pretense was gone now as they simply dumped the contents of the dishware straight to the ground where the fancy dressed people were wriggling about. If a few bites of these gummy worms could do this, Zane didn’t want to find out what they did if eaten in excess. 

“You haven’t touched your meal, sir,” Archibald stated, seemingly materializing at the table the second Zane stood up, startling a yelp from him. His eyes narrowed at the waiter - willing participant or victim? Didn’t matter right at this moment, the priority was getting Felix out. 

Gently pushing past Archibald with a polite smile (why was he bothering at this point?) Zane crouched next to his friend’s writhing form. “I think it’s time to leave,” he told Felix, which was all the warning the shifter got before they were being hoisted up off the ground. The weight wasn’t exactly an issue but the wriggling was making it a bit hard, especially since Zane was also looking for a possible back entrance and trying to ignore Archibald’s incessant ‘sir?’ “Hey Felix? If you can wriggle less, like, at all, that would be really great.”

—

More of the gummy worms were deposited on the floor beside them, and Felix slurped them into his mouth without the use of hands. They tasted just as heavenly as the ones from their plate, and smelled just as nostalgic. The only thing that might have tasted better in this moment, Felix thought, was some dirt. They wondered if they could request it, but their tongue felt strange and foreign in their mouth, like it didn’t quite belong there. 

Distantly, they were aware of conversation happening around them. It all sounded a little muffled, like it was happening above ground while they were under it. Come to think of it, it seemed darker than it had been before, too, though Felix could sense that the light was still there. They continued writhing on the ground until the ground disappeared from beneath them, suddenly far away. 

Even so, the writhing continued. Felix wriggled with no real purpose in mind, not even entirely sure why they were doing it. There was more speaking, muffled but… familiar. It took a moment to recognize Zane’s voice, like trying to remember something from a dream. Wriggle less? They could try, maybe. They attempted to shove the urge to wiggle down, but the movement only stopped for a heartbeat, only slowed a fraction. Zane didn’t really get it, did he? Felix needed to writhe. They needed to find… “Dirt?” The word was mangled as he forced it out, sounding foreign and unnatural. They hoped Zane would get it.

—

This was his punishment for even daring to think that today would be a nice, calm and normal day. Divine intervention from the same entity that reared its head whenever anyone uttered ‘quiet’ inside a hospital. A hand grabbed at Zane’s arm and under different circumstances, the vampire probably would have tried for a civil discussion but as it was, he worried for Felix and wanted the shifter out of here as soon as possible. So he yanked his arm away and shot a withering glare at Archibald, flashing red eyes and all, which luckily did the trick to make the waiter cower. Dirt. 

“Alright, bud. We’ll… find you some dirt,” Zane promised, distracted as he had just opened the back door, head whipping around in search of those damned birds that had gotten them into this whole mess. Nothing, for now. Grateful to have left the restaurant (and wondering who the heck to report this to in case the poor patrons were in danger) Zane breathed a sigh of relief before moving on to the next issue. He couldn’t take Felix back to the Pit, not like this. And apparently they were craving… dirt. Moving quickly towards the street, giving an awkward nod at passersby that stared, and with good reason, Zane somehow managed to hail a cab. 

When they finally reached his house, Zane paid the driver and apologized, dragging Felix’s writhing form out of the cab. Near the front porch, he set them down, next to badly tended dirt patches that Zane was now happy to have devoid of plants. He didn’t know if giving into the dirt demand would make things worse or not - all he knew was that he’d keep an eye on Felix for as long as it took. As an apology for Leo and a thank you for tonight’s assistance. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, certain that Felix couldn’t even really hear him but needing to tell them for the hundredth time anyway. 

—

Everything seemed secondary to the craving clawing at their gut. They were being moved, they were being spoken to, but Felix couldn’t quite register any of it. There was a hand trying to stop them, there was a startled sound as it disappeared. There was a bounce of steps as they writhed and wriggled, though they weren’t dropped. A car door opened, and they recognized the sound only distantly, like they were hearing it in their sleep and their mind couldn’t quite be bothered to incorporate it into the dream it was busy crafting. Most of what followed was the same — the hum of the engine beneath them, the sound of Zane’s rumbling tones as he spoke to them or to someone else or to no one at all. None of it mattered more than the craving for dirt.

The car door opened again, and Felix was scooped out and carried once more. Even if they’d been more conscious of the world around them, they wouldn’t have recognized the location. They’d never been to Zane’s house, after all. But they recognized the smell, the unmistakable scent of dirt. Without meaning to, they shifted their nose enough to enhance the sensation, letting out a low hum of satisfaction.

Finally, they were placed on the ground next to the dirt. Felix flopped over ungracefully, falling face first into the coveted substance. It filled their mouth, and they began covering their body with it entirely, rubbing it on every exposed inch of skin. When they were sufficiently covered, they sighed contentedly, inching forward with their face still on the ground to lay more of their body in the dirt. This was exactly what they’d needed.

—

Zane sighed, wishing pointlessly that he could have switched places with Felix. Not just because they’d stuck their neck out for him and this was the karma they got, or because Felix just deserved one normal night, but because from the little Zane did know, he figured that piece of shit Leo would find some way to spin this into being Felix’s fault. But Zane couldn’t switch places with the shifter and get them right back to the Pit. He could only be there, make sure Felix was physically fine considering the circumstances, ready with some water and a blanket for when this would end. It had to end, right? He’d know if people had been… dying from writhing around in the dirt until they starved. 

Worry consumed him for the next few hours of watching Felix, periodically checking their pulse and body temperature, until they finally seemed to come to. Zane would offer them anything he could, including a shower to wash off, only for Felix to decline in their rush to return to the Pit. And there was still absolutely nothing he could do except let them bolt off to accept whatever punishment they most certainly didn’t deserve. 

—

[zerger33]

Just Another Day

The day after Manaphy is taken to be cared for in the ocean, Leo is trying his best to move on.

Sharpedo Bluff was quiet as Leo slowly rose from sleep. He shifted onto his side, listening to the quiet bluff. He heard Violet moving around quietly, the sounds of something cooking on the small stove they had, the fire quietly crackling inside. He lifted his head groggily, sniffing at the air, smelling the scent of cooking pecha berries, immediately recognizing that the scent was pancakes she was making.

“Good morning, Leo,” Violet said, the Vulpix turning to look at him as he shifted to his feet.

“Good morning, Vi.” He said, looking at her before turning to where Manaphy usually sat. “And goo- oh… right.” He stared at the empty spot, the lack of a bed. He had nearly managed to forget yesterday when they sent Manaphy off. He had almost been hoping that it had been a nightmare. “I nearly forgot… The little guy’s really gone.”

Violet was quiet for a minute, thinking through her words as she psychically flipped the food. “It’s for the best. Walrein will be good to them. It’s all for their own benefit.” She said, keeping her focus on the food.

“Yeah. I know it was.” Leo said, tucking his head between his forelegs. He stared at the ground, tears forming in his eyes. Violet watched him sink to the floor. She removed the pancake from the pan, placing it on Leo’s plate. She stepped over to him as she spoke.

“Hey, Leo, it’s okay. We’ll get to see him again. Some day soon, hopefully.” Violet placed the plates on the table before stepping over to Leo. “It is sad, though. I understand. Still, we need to keep moving busy day of work ahead of us.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before making her way back to the table.

Leo got up, stepping over to the small wooden table. It was low, clearly meant for Pokemon like them so they could sit on the floor or a cushion while eating. He settled himself, biting at the berry-filled bread. It tasted good like always, but as much as he wanted to have that pick him up, he still felt slow and tired. His water just made him want to start crying again, finally fixing the dehydration from last night.

He looked across the table at Violet, who was chomping away at her food quickly. She glanced at him looking at her and smiled before returning to her food. She was taking it all so well. Shockingly well. Leo looked down at his plate as he spoke.

“Do you not miss him?”

“Hm? Well, of course, I do. I was crying with you about it last night, wasn’t I?”

Had she been? Now that he thought about she was, but he had been so taken up in his own emotions he hadn’t noticed.

“Oh right… I forgot.” He lied

“Are you okay? You look like you are about to start weeping again.”

Leo didn’t know what to say. “Yeah… Yeah, I might be.” He felt tears start to flow from his eyes. “I just… I messed up so badly. I didn’t even think about how selfish we were being, keeping him away from his home.”

Violet looked at him, concern rising. “Leo, we weren’t selfish. We had no idea that would happen.”

“But I should have known! I was the one reading up on Manaphy as a species. I can’t believe I missed that. I’m such a failure.” Leo said.

Violet quickly got up and walked over to him. “Hey, you are not a failure! Don’t talk like that.”

“But I am! I could have prevented that! I could have stopped him from getting sick! I caused the problem!”

“Leo!” Violet raised her voice, getting his attention. She held his head with psychic so he was looking at her. “You had no idea he would get that sick. Even when he did, who was the first one to go running to save him? Who was the one who did most of the teaching? Who was the one who he actually called Dad? It was you, Leo. You did your best. Better than anyone could have asked. You just weren’t ready. You need to give yourself some credit.”

Leo looked at Violet teary-eyed. As soon as she let go of his head, he started crying again, pressing his face against her chest. Violet held him there with a paw. “You’re gonna be okay. It’s not gonna be the end of the world if you mess up. You’re okay. I’ll be right here with you.”

“Please don’t leave as well, Vi! I can't keep losing people!” Leo cried. He let all the tears he had been trying to hold in as Manaphy left. All the tears from when they were sick. Even some tears left over that he hadn’t cried for Violet. It all came pouring out.

It took him a couple minutes, but as he slowed down, he looked up at Violet. “Do… Do you think we can stay home today? I don’t want to upset Chatot by taking any more days for a break, but I can’t go back just yet.”

Violet nodded. “Of course. I’ll tell Chatot we can’t work today, and if he doesn’t like it, then that’s too bad. He’ll just have to accept it.” She knew Chatot wouldn’t be upset. He would understand, but even so, Leo needed that break.

The two spent the rest of the day at home together. Leo talking through and processing it all, Violet comforting and cuddling him, and after some time, the two just found a nice distraction. No matter what they did, though, they did it together, like they always would.

I am currently open for commissions! If you enjoyed this, please consider supporting me by getting one!

[recoveringdreamer]

TIMING: current LOCATION: the party thrifter PARTIES: @amonstrousdream & @recoveringdreamer SUMMARY: looking to brighten up the boiler room, felix pays a visit to leila at the party thrifter. he finds a piece in her shop that's sure to be a real mood lifter! CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

Make the most of it. That was what their mother always used to say when things were bad. Don’t mope, don’t sulk. Just make the most of it! And, so, Felix was trying. They were decorating the boiler room as best they could, hanging up posters and paintings and the like. They’d bought a few fake plants, feeling too guilty to attempt getting real ones in a room with no natural light and very little light at all. Someone had suggested nicknacks, and Felix thought that that would probably be a good idea, too. But… they were kind of on a budget here. They couldn’t afford to go crazy with decorative things.

Luckily, thrift stores existed! Thrift stores that were so full of nicknacks and decorative things! Felix approached one now, pushing open the door and ignoring the unease of the jaguar in their chest. He’d been understandably unhappy ever since their conversation with Leo and the fight between Razor and Lockjaw. Felix could handle him. “Hi! I, um, I’m looking for nicknacks?”

—

Certain events tended to live with a person. The first meeting of a loved one, perhaps, or one’s location at the time of a significant historical event. The face of your first friend, the snide laughter of your first enemy… all these things could live in the deep ocean of memory, even if they were not something that one thought of on a daily basis. 

Leila had been rummaging through a particularly good haul of old, abandoned bits and bobs on the floor behind the counter when the doorbell jangled, letting in a warm spring breeze. “Welcome in,” she called out, not bothering to lift her head from her clothing adventure (Old lace work! It just needed a bit of mending, but nothing she couldn’t handle-). But the voice of her customer sent white hot fear shooting down her spine.

She knew that voice. The last time she had heard it, it was stammering in fear before it turned into the snarling yowl of a jaguar. A jaguar who had decided that the mare’s leg was a goddamned chew toy (though, thankfully, not a tasty one). Slowly, Leila peaked over the counter to look at the person, just to confirm. Her stomach sank, a boulder to the bottom of the ocean. Please don’t make me get glitter all over the store was the first thought that flickered through her mind. A stupid one at that. What did the store or the clothing matter when one well-placed chomp and rip could leave her as a distant memory?

The mare swallowed heavily before forcing words to come crackling out of her mouth. “How- how can… how can I help?” 

___

It was only when she peeked over the counter that Felix recognized her. Her face, coupled with the fear swirling in their chest, was familiar. The last time they saw her, they’d been unable to keep the jaguar at bay, had shifted and — their eyes flickered over her body, guilt mixing in with the fear and leaving an acidic taste on their tongue. She was still alive. She still had all her limbs. Maybe Felix had hurt her, but they hadn’t killed her. They hadn’t. That was a good thing. That was a victory.

(They wondered, idly, what kind of monster thought of not murdering a stranger as a victory to be celebrated rather than a standard, easily achievable thing.) 

“Um — I — I’m, uh…” Their heart was pounding, and they shoved the spirit down. It was, at least, marginally easier to do it here than it had been in the woods. Maybe the jaguar recognized the woman, too, understood that she wasn’t a threat. Or maybe he just didn’t want to deal with having to run through the streets instead of the woods if he rose up to the surface. Felix had never had as good a grasp on what the jaguar thought as some balam seemed to.

“I’m sorry,” they blurted. “Um, about — I didn’t mean to — The thing. That happened before. That wasn’t, um… I don’t like to…” They had no idea how to explain themself. So, in a panic, they exclaimed, “Nicknacks! I want to buy nicknacks. I’ll buy — I’ll buy so many nicknacks. I’m sorry I tried to eat you. I’ll buy some nicknacks.” 

—

A pang of guilt shot through the mare. They looked so guilty. Their words came out stammered, and about 50% of them were some form of ‘I’m sorry’. But she could still sense it. That little bit of fear, simmering just under the surface. Was that what had made the stranger turn into a giant angry cat determined to make her a chew toy? The fear? Leila sighed, leaning her head against the edge of the counter for just a moment. You can’t hide behind the counter forever… 

“It’s alright.” The words didn’t come out as solid as she would have liked. She couldn’t quite tell who they were there to reassure more: the jaguar shifter or herself. “It’s… understandable. I’m sure you didn’t mean for it to happen. And I’m still intact.” Though, she thought, the thoroughly glitter-covered and ripped clothing she had been wearing were most definitely not.

Nicknacks… Leila’s eyes passed over the shop slowly, scanning rows of clothing and costume pieces from decades and centuries past. Did she have nicknacks? Could clothing and jewelry constitute as a nicknack??? She wasn’t certain. But if the jaguar person was just guilt buying things… “You- you don’t have to buy anything. It’s okay… only if you like something. Don’t feel obligated just because…” your fluffy alter ego tried to rip my leg off “Because you feel bad.”

___

It’s alright. Felix didn’t know if they wanted to laugh or cry at her reassurances. They were so unearned, weren’t they? Nothing about this was alright. Felix had hurt her, had probably terrified and traumatized her. Wasn’t it scary, being attacked by an animal? Didn’t people have nightmares about it? They’d been afraid, too, but that couldn’t be an excuse. Felix had never wanted to be the sort of person who hurt people just because they were afraid. 

“No, it — You don’t have to do that. You don’t have to… try to make me feel better. I shouldn’t have… I had no right. You know? I was — I hurt you. I tried to hurt you.” They didn’t remember exactly what had happened, recalled only waking up with a bitter taste in their mouth and a sense that the jaguar was unsatisfied. It was a little better than waking up covered in blood with no memory of its source, but only a little. The unanswered questions had seen Felix checking the newspapers daily after the altercation, looking for mention of bodies found in the woods or missing women.

She was here, though. She was here, and she wasn’t a corpse rotting in the woods, and that still didn’t absolve Felix of what they’d done to her. She was afraid of them, just like they were afraid of her. But, unlike Felix, her fear was well-founded. She should have been afraid of the monster who had attacked her in the woods. Felix had no right to their fear, but it swirled in their chest, anyway. “No, it’s — I came here to buy something anyway. I’m — I want to buy something. I’m sorry. Can I buy something?”

—

Oh, if only this poor thing knew how much it wasn’t their fault. It made sense in hindsight. Then again, most things did. They were a shifter, an animal shifter. Maybe that part of the person knew what she was. Maybe the jaguar in them knew that she was the thing that went bump in the night, the thing in dark corners that they snarled at. Should snarl at. 

“It was instinct.” Leila sighed, letting her head dip. “Instinct. Not intention. The jaguar was scared, and it tried to protect you… is the way I think that works. Which makes what happened not your fault.” It wasn’t even the jaguar’s fault! But explaining to a perfectly good stranger that she was actually two centuries old and deader than most was not something she thought was a good idea. 

She didn’t move around the counter as she normally might. The jaguar was still in there, inside this person standing inside her shop, and she did not want to set it off. It wouldn’t be good for anyone involved. Rather, the mare leaned against the counter top, hands in the open where they could see. Everything was slow, steady, calm. “You can absolutely buy something… And, if you want to start over again, my name is Leila.”

__

“It was a bad instinct,” Felix insisted. Embarrassingly, they felt close to tears. How many times had they had to face someone they’d hurt when they weren’t the one in control? They thought back to Beau, to the anger reflected in his face when they’d shifted back to human and he’d realized who had attacked him. They thought of the other fighters in the Grit Pit, to the ones grievously injured by the jaguar and the ones who never returned at all after a fight with him. How much more would that number grow now that Leo had put his foot down and insisted Felix shift more and more with each fight? How much more blood would they find on their hands?

They didn’t deserve the reassurance being offered to them now, so they rejected it offhand. “It doesn’t make it okay,” they insisted. “It’s not — I don’t get to hurt people just because I’m afraid. No one does.” Being afraid wasn’t an excuse, because it couldn’t be. No one should ever be allowed to do harm, to do damage, just because their heart was pounding or their hands were shaking. Felix believed that wholeheartedly. This woman had done nothing to earn the jaguar’s rage, nothing to invite it. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. Felix couldn’t accept any attempt to excuse their actions when their actions were inexcusable. 

But maybe they could move past it. Buying some cheap nicknack from the woman’s shop wouldn’t undo what they’d done to her, but maybe it could serve as an apology. They nodded their head, quickly looking through the shelves. “Um, right. Yeah! Yeah, I’ll buy something. I’ll definitely buy something. I’m Felix, by the way. And I’m not — I don’t usually — That wasn’t… the norm. I don’t do things like that, I don’t —” The fear was still swirling violently in their chest, the jaguar howling for freedom. “That’s not me, most of the time. I really am sorry. I am.”

—

A wave of guilt rolled over her, souring the unfortunately sweet taste of fear. The belief of inherent badness seemed a staple of the supernatural world, whether or not its inhabitants realized it or not. They were something other, the great unknown in the bedtime stories of “normal” children. Leila didn’t know much of shifters- didn’t know if their condition was something they were born as or something that was thrust upon them. But this person- Felix, they said their name was- seemed so remorseful. Seemed to blame themself when really it was nothing but their animal-side’s instinct to fear her. 

“It really isn’t your fault, though…” She glanced just over their shoulder, making sure there was no one else in the shop before sighing. “I don’t know what you remember from that day, but I’m not what one would call ‘normal’ either. And unfortunately, part of what I am is something that animals… don’t take kindly to. So please do not blame yourself. Your… that side of you. It was keeping you safe.” 

They were not going to leave feeling a trifle better, Leila realized, unless they found some way to undo the perceived damage. And that, they decided, was to buy something. “If you see something you like, it’s all yours… but don’t feel like you have to.”

__

She was something else, too. There was a sort of relief that came with the revelation, though Felix thought it might have been a selfish one. If she was something else, it meant she was less likely to target them for their inherent ‘otherness,’ for the way they weren’t quite human. It meant she might understand, just a little, what it was to have a part of yourself that you didn’t know how to control. Felix tried to use this to quell the fear in their chest, though the jaguar seemed to still feel that same turmoil. They didn’t have to act on it, though. Felix was in control.

“Still,” they said, shifting their weight uncertainly. “I really am sorry. And I hope you’re… okay. I don’t, uh… I don’t really know what happened after I… yeah. But I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble.” As if trying to eat someone could offer them only a minor inconvenience, as if it wasn’t a terrifying ordeal. They could only imagine how she must have felt.

They were definitely buying something. They knew it wouldn’t make up for what they’d done, but they thought it might at least put a bandage on the gaping wound. And they were here to buy something anyway, weren’t they? They’d come in with the intention of leaving with something. Now, the intention was just… a little stronger. That was all. “No, it’s not — I mean, I’m not doing it because I feel like I have to. I’m trying to, uh… decorate a space. So I’m looking for…” They trailed off, scanning the shelves. “Something like that!” They pointed to a round… ball-looking thing on one of the shelves. Reaching up, they took it down to inspect it. It was… an orange? An orange made of glass. Interesting. “This is actually perfect. Whatever price you want for it, I think is worth it.”

—

Leila was more than a little relieved when they admitted that Felix did not remember the events after the jaguar took over. It meant that she could undersell how long it had taken for the wounds left by the bite to the leg. Those jaws were powerful- she would have hated to find out what damage they really could have done. Thank you, disgusting glitter-for-blood… “It really wasn’t that bad. Healed up rather quickly, all things considered. My partner patched me up, and I was good as new.” It wasn’t a lie- not really. It was simply the truth in a more cheery tone. 

They picked up a glass… egg. Where the hell had she gotten that from? She genuinely couldn’t remember. It was more than likely it came in some box of random stuff she’d bought from an estate sale. It looked a bit like a small- yet overly ornate and a bit gaudy if she was being really honest- jewelry box. “Uh…” There was no way she was charging them a lot for it. Even if Felix hadn’t put a jaguar-mouth-sized hole in her leg all that time ago, she wouldn’t charge   than… “Five bucks and we’re good.”

__

It wasn’t that bad. In spite of the fear still gripping their chest, Felix felt their shoulders slump in quiet relief. “Good. That’s good. I would have really… I mean, I’d hate to know that I hurt you badly. That’s not — That isn’t the kind of person I want to be.” But it was the kind of person they were, wasn’t it? They thought about the Grit Pit again, about the blood that stained the floor of the ring and how much of it they had put there. Maybe not hurting her was more a fluke than it was anything else. Maybe they shouldn’t count on it being the norm.

They felt a little better, somehow, with the weight of the orange or egg or whatever in their hand. It was a silly thing, but they always felt more… at ease when they were holding something. Like some old leftover desire to clutch a security blanket or something. Leila looked over it — admiring it, Felix figured — while deciding on a price. When she spoke, they blinked. “Five bucks? This looks pretty deluxe. You should really let me give you more. Think of it as me… helping the store.” 

—

They were looking at that ridiculously fancy egg like it was a god-damned work of art. She didn’t want to tell Felix that they would be doing her a favor by taking it off her hands. It was, in her opinion, an eyesore. A relic of another time, yes, but an eyesore. Leila would have simply walked past it a million times, thinking it was just another pumpkin decoration in a store littered in casual Halloween decor all the year ‘round. 

“No, really. Five dollars and it’s all yours. I insist. Consider it a gift.” A gift of getting rid of another weird thing that she had somehow forgotten existed in The Party Thrifter. Sometimes she swore the store had a mind of its own, and that it kept itself fully stocked and operated. It was as if Leila was simply The Party Thrifter’s pet manager. Keeping the doors open for customers and selling the things that it held. 

__

“I still think five dollars sounds like a steal,” Felix admitted, still staring at the egg. They could already picture it in the boiler room, already see how nice it would look. It would make the place feel a little less miserable, even if it was an odd piece. But they didn’t want to take it in a way that would inconvenience Leila; they thought they’d done enough of that already. “I feel like I’m giving you kind of a raw deal. And I’m not sure you owe me a gift! I’m the one who tried to eat you during a shift!” 

They set the egg on the counter, pulling out their wallet and flipping it open. It would be a good idea to at least see how many bills they had before they started insisting on making higher offers, wouldn’t it? They counted a few out — mostly ones, thanks to Leo’s latest idea of paying out their winnings with the smallest bills possible to be inconvenient — and sighed. “How about… twenty-two? That feels a little more fair to you. Not just for the egg. For what I did to your leg.”

—

She wanted to just tell them to take the egg for free. As much as Leila didn’t blame them for biting into her leg like it was a god-damned cheese burger in animalistic and unnecessary self-defence, it didn’t change the fact that she was just a little worried that it would happen again. Inside her store. With all of the fragile fabric. And getting a jaguar out of a shop in Deerspring did not sound like a fun way to spend her evening. 

If they wanted to give her twenty-two dollars for the egg, she wasn’t going to fight it. “Deal.” She wasn’t in the mood to fight over how twenty-two felt like it was entirely too much for the tchotchke that she hadn’t remembered purchasing herself. “The egg is yours.” A strange choice, given all the wonderful clothing and accessories she had in stock, but a choice nonetheless.

__ 

She finally agreed to take the money, and Felix offered her a grateful smile. Maybe they were offering for themself as much as they were for her; as if shoveling over a few bills they’d earned by hurting other people could make up for the way they’d hurt her, as if they could buy their way out of the guilt that shrouded their mind or the fear that still lurked beneath it. They placed the money on the counter, pushing it gently towards her and picking up the orange again, turning it over in their hands absently.

“It really is a great piece,” they told her. “I’ve had a lot of stress lately with, uh, a new lease. There’s been a bunch of other stuff, too. The kind of stuff that’s… been really hard to get through. I know this is a small thing. I know it’s not exactly fit for a queen or king. But… it makes me feel a little better, you know? And I know you don’t really owe me anything, so…” They trailed off, lifting their shoulder and dropping it in a careful shrug. “Thank you for being kind. You really didn’t have to, and it’s really helped ease my mind.”

—

Dammit, they were so sweet about it. And here she was, worrying about her damned shop and the state of the things in it. If Leila were concerned about her life, then maybe she wouldn’t have felt so guilty as she picked up the cash and stuck it in the register. She didn’t even bother to count it. They could have given her two dollars or two hundred and she wouldn’t have known any better. 

What she was focused on was their words. So sweet. But… were they- no, Leila, they were not rhyming, they were simply talking about their current troubles. Not everything needed that much thought. The mare smiled softly. “I would understand if you don’t want to come back in- no offence would be taken. But you really are welcome to shop here any time. No hard feelings… And I hope things get less stressful for you.” For them and the jaguar… 

__

She really was kind. It wasn’t a kindness Felix felt they deserved in the slightest, but they were too selfish to shy away from it. Lately, they’d been struggling with… a lot of unkind things in an unkind world. Having someone offer them a hint of something better, something nicer… it was too comforting to pass up. It was a throw blanket on a winter’s day, a warm sweater you’d worn so often that the sleeves were fraying. It was kind of exactly what Felix needed.

“Thank you,” they said quietly. “And I hope things are good for you, too. I really think you’re someone who deserves good things. But… I know the kind of trouble this town brings.” Things like people who shifted into jaguars and tried to eat you, for example. “If you ever run into trouble, you can give me a call? I’ll come running, I won’t hesitate at all. I’d like it if we could be friends. You know, I just really want to make amends.” They knocked their knuckles absently against the table, picking up a newspaper to wrap their prize in for safety. “I’ll see you around, okay? And — maybe we can hang out someday. Um, without anyone trying to eat anyone else this time? That would definitely be sublime.” 

—

Friends. A real smile, warm as morning sunshine, crept onto her face. “You don’t have to offer anything, cher, we can be friends…” Leila didn’t know how big of a fan the jaguar would be of that idea, but Felix? Felix she could easily befriend. “You know where to find me if you need me. Or if you want more little things to decorate your place with…” 

As they started to leave, the mare pondered the last word. Sublime. It’d been a long time since she’d heard that one used. But maybe a nightmare managing to befriend a shifter and not accidentally get eaten would be, as they so eloquently put it, sublime. 

[anrisimps]

Story synopsis

How the kids were adopted

Ricardo

Agneo were on some mercenary business ( they decided to join them just to have a steady source of income. They couldn't exactly take away their savings from the duchy after faking their deaths) 

Some assassination guild had decided to become a nuisance and they had been shipped off to deal with them. And as expected, none of them had been any match for a swordmaster and a ninth circle mage. Yet those jackasses still charged at them as if they believed they could take them down.

Agnes yawned and lifted up her sword, skewering yet another of those idiots. 

Leo strutted about and set her sword on fire. 

"What the fuck-"

"I was feeling for some barbeque this afternoon. What do you say?"

"My sword will melt! Put this off first, you bastard!"

He doused the flames when she tried to kick him and her sword turned back to normal. Agnes wanted to punch his stupid face as he casually speared 10 assassins with his water spears. 

"I don't think anyone else is left here - hmm? Did you hear something?" 

"That sound came from that hut," she pointed to said hut.

She kicked the door open and found a man kneeling on the ground. She didn't care what he had been doing. He was the last one and then their job would be finished and she could finally rest. 

Without so much of a second thought, she brought her sword down and cleanly lopped the head of the assassin only to freeze at the sight in front of her. It was a child. A child had been standing - no wait- chomping on that man's arm and now looked at her with wide eyes, the man's head not there to obstruct his view anymore. 

Agnes found herself sharing the deer caught in headlight look with the child because what the fuck-

The kid slowly pulled out the arm from his mouth and respectfully dropped it down as if he just hadn't been trying to tear it off. Leo's gaze traveled the room and settled on a wrapped up bundle stuffed in the corner of the room. Now, by no means, should he know what was in there but he had an inkling what the kid had been trying to do. 

"So you were running away huh?" he mused aloud, staring at the kid with a glimmer of amusement. 

The kid flinched and squared up, looking  directly into his eyes as if daring him to take away his things. It was then Leo noticed his crimson eyes. They looked eerily similar to his wife. And he had black hair to add to that. If leo didn't know any better, he would've thought his wife went ahead and procreated all by herself to make this child. 

He turned to look at her and found her already looking back at him. 

The boy continued to stare at these stupidly strong people suspiciously. Where the hell did they come from? Nothing like this happened in his last life! What changed?! He couldn't have caused a butterfly effect so huge that it led to the annihilation of the guild just by existing. Clearly something was up. If he was in his old body, he would've fought them head on. He wasn't weak by any means and people didn't call him a tyrant for nothing. But right now? Right now he was a useless pathetic child who had no hopes of defending himself so all he could do was watch.

And what the hell were these two doing? They just stopped talking mid sentence and were staring into each other's eyes, clearly lost in some trance. Did they have some sort of mental connection? (yes) Were they talking about how to deal with him without letting him know any of it? (yes) If only he could still run away-

Meanwhile Leo and Agnes :

Agnes: Are we having a baby right now?

Leo : ...perhaps

(And then they just pick him up like a potato sac and take him home)

[miggymikey]

Zombies

The sound of little footsteps tapping across concrete in a quick pace filled the halls. A little turtle screamed in delight as he ran through the halls. His orange hoodie matched his playful, sunshine personality and bright eyes. A similarly young turtle let out an intimidating roar as he chased after the other. He wore an oversized, red jersey as he held his arms out like a zombie.

"I'm gonna get ya," Raphael stuck out his tongue as he took large, clumsy steps toward his littlest brother.

"No!!" Mikey shouted, probably louder than he should have but neither cared.

Mikey bolted down the hall toward the living room. The sound of banter and video game sound effects came closer and closer to him as he approached. Bursting into the room, he saw the twins sitting at a computer on the floor, the one in purple playing the game while the one in blue acted as a back seat driver.

"Turn turn turn!" Leo exclaimed, practically bouncing in place with his eyes glued to the screen. "Turn, Donnie!!"

"I can't turn in this game!" Donnie replied.

"You're gonna die!!" Leo exclaimed, dragging out the last word while dramatically pulling down on his face with two hands.

"Silence, Nardo, you die within five minutes every time, do not speak to me of death," Donnie shot his twin a dark glare.

Mikey ran towards his older brothers and clung to Leo, "Save me!"

Leo turned around to see Raph closing in. He gasped, tears springing to his eyes. He held out an arm in the protection of the young.

"I won't let you touch him!"

"Auargh," The monster groaned.

"Raphael, please, snap out of it," Leo cried, trying to get through to his zombified brother.

Raph was only getting closer, with no mercy in sight.

"Mikey," Leo whispered, "Tell Donnie to turn for me."

Leonardo patted his little brother's head and bolted forward, tackling his older brother.

"Leo, no!!" Mikey exclaimed as his brother sacrificed himself.

He watched as Raph chomped down on Leo's head. Mikey dropped to his knees, a single tear falling down his face.

"Leo," He whispered.

Leo stood up, his legs crossed awkwardly and his body strangely limp. He turned around and locked onto Mikey and Donnie.

"Urrrgh," He gurgled as he stepped closer.

Mikey screamed at the top of his lungs as both of his oldest brothers made him their target. Donnie put headphones over his head to drown out the glass shattering sound. Mikey jumped up and tried to look around for an escape route. The kitchen!

As he sling shot himself into the kitchen he dove toward on of the cabinets. He tugged it open and climbed right inside, slamming it behind him. He threw a hand over his mouth to middle his breathing. His heart drummed in his ears.

Raph and Leo groaned as they walked into the kitchen. They looked at each other and then at the cabinet that had an odd piece of orange fabric hanging outside of it. Raph groaned loudly as he walked over to a different cabinet. Meanwhile, Leo quietly stood in front of Mikey's cabinet.

Raph pulled open the cabinet he was at and groaned as he slammed it again. Mikey peaked out of the cabinet he was in and watched as Raph opened the next one. This was his chance! He flung the door open and sprinted out only to be caught by the hoodie as Leo let out a victorious roar.

"Tickle attack!!" Leo exclaimed as his squirmy fingers poked at Mikey's sides.

Mikey shrieked, begging him to stop. He rolled around trying to get Leo off of him as he cried out everything he could.

"Let me go!! Please!" He laughed, "Donnie, save me!!"

Unfortunately, he got no reply from the second twin. He had no back up. This was the end!

"I surrender," Mikey cried.

"Brains," Raph grumbled, taking Mikey's head as Leo let him go, "Nom nom nom. Mmmm brains."

Mikey reached out an arm before shutting his eyes and letting his body go limp.

...

Donnie was so close to winning. He had so many points, surely the finish line was near. Through the headset he wore, he heard three individual groans. Dread seeped into his stomach. The little dinosaur character smacked into a cactus and the game over screen filled the screen.

Yet, somehow, he couldn't find it in him to care as he stared at the empty kitchen doorway. Mikey peaked his head around the corner, his little face adorned with a drool.

Uh oh.

[eclvpses]

Even though Saige was saying everything right, Leo didn’t feel satiated. Her comfort might not have helped either way - they’d been starving and dehydrated for days, but nothing they wanted to eat ever sat properly. Even water sloshed in their stomach like a foreign fluid they had to reject, nothing digestible anymore. There was even a pull now to reach forward and just chomp at Saige’s jugular like he was a rabid vampire - but instead their thumb skated along the vein, a compromise they’d have to settle for. “I don’t wanna scare you.” He said quickly, insistent with it. His hold tightened on Saige, pooching her cheeks together slightly, but Leo wasn’t willing to let go. Their hairline had started to bead with sweat and their mouth filled with constant saliva. There was the potential that Leo was going to be sick right there, but he was locked in on Saige, practically frantic as they continued to speak. “You’re one of my best friends too. Easily - I love you. I’d never hurt you just - to hurt you, never.” Kissing her cheek, Leo finally dropped his hold of her face to wrap his arms tightly all around her. Pull her into his chest in an unbreakable grip while one hand cupped the back of her head. They wanted to whisper directly into her ear, like maybe if he explained himself as softly as possible she’d be okay with it. She really wouldn’t be scared in the end. Leo really didn’t want her to be scared. “My heart stopped - for six seconds. After the ball, when I was in hospital. It stopped - the first time I got… I got fucked up, too.” Actually calling it what it was - an overdose - didn’t feel appropriate in that moment. Rebirth felt dramatic, but that was closer to how Leo felt than anything else. “It’s like - why me? Right? And not Finn. People play god. I wanted - I didn’t want to feel alone. I miss Finn. Do you get it? I think - I wanted someone to get it, I wanted someone to. Go and then come back - I want them to get it. But no one listens. No one trusted me.” Not just with this giant revelation, but since they were little. The sibling that was easy to bat away, ridiculous his whole life - fine, if people didn’t believe him then, if they didn’t care about what he had to say now as a consequence. But he needed people to listen to him now. “I love you, Saige. I’d bring you back.”

She was being irrational - wasn't she? This was Leo - and she knew Leo, had loved him and fucked him and took care of him when their nights out extended into the morning. Leo was safe - so why didn't Saige feel comforted by his touch, like she always had? Choking down her intuition - her eyes traveled from Leo's boney figure to his hollowed cheeks, to his sunken eyes. This was Leo - and she knew Leo. "You sound like - you've like, just come off of a like - really intense acid trip. Did the like, hypnofrog teach you the - secrets of the universe, or something?" Maybe she was concerned for him - maybe that was it; maybe the overdose had - triggered something in his brain, made him unwell all over again - she'd plenty of experience with those. Maybe she just had to - listen to him, let him get it all out of his system. "Okay -" Her voice felt small, despite all of the mental gymnastics in her mind - balancing beams and high bars. "- we don't have to go on a walk - that's, like - fine - totally cool. We can stay - right here." His hands felt - clammy, almost - or maybe that was her, now - that strange feeling creeping further and further up her spine. Saige clasped her hands over his, now - vodka abandoned atop the coffee table, though her eyes automatically darted from his to spare a glance towards it. "Leo, you're - like, kind of being like - you're kind of scaring me, kind of - are you okay? Like - really?" A pause, because she knew those were the wrong words to say. "I trust you - I do, like - you're one of my best friends, Leo - you're like, one of my most favorite people, like - ever. We - we can talk, yeah - obvi', let's, like - talk. Have at me, or - whatever." Her heart skipped a beat, nervous again; the back of her mind telling her to get away - something wasn't right - his hands suddenly foreign against her skin, mind hopping thought to thought, the proximity in which they could lower their hands, squeeze against her throat. "I love you like, a lot a lot, Leo - you know that, right?"

[lackablazeical]

Addams! AU snippet 8: 'Lair Games 2- Fire Cracker Relay'

FULL CREDIT TO WRITER NewFallenLeaves ON A03! SHES GREAT TO THROW IDEAS AROUND WITH AND WAS SO GENEROUS TO DO ALL OF THESE WRITINGS. GIVE HER ALL THE LOVE AND KUDOS AND HITS!!!!! GIVE HER THEM!!!!!

Have a snippet redraw for the soul <3 suggested by miss NewFallenLeaves herself! Perfect for it <3

Full snippet below the cut! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

---

“All right,” said Donnie. “The next event is–”

“Mine!” Mikey shouted. “My favorite! Mine!”

“Yes, Michael, hold on.” Donnie tugged loose the lid on a barrel full of fireworks and withdrew two oversized Roman candles.

Mikey lunged.

One of Donnie’s titanium arms clamped onto the nape of Mikey’s shell, holding him back. “Wait for the starting shot.” He lit both fuses and handed one of the fireworks to Raph. Raph nodded and took his place at the starting line.

“Gimme!” Mikey’s hands opened and closed rapid-fire.

“Just a moment.”

“Gimme-gimme-gimme-gimme-gimme!”

“Michael, remember this time please, we are on a team so you have to hand it to me when–”

Splinter cracked the starting pistol.

“FIRECRACKER!” Mikey tore free from the titanium arm, snatched the explosive from Donnie’s hand, then pelted down the trackway and veered straight towards Raph.

With his own sizzling explosive gripped firmly in his left hand, Raph lumbered forward, each step hammering. When Mikey slammed into him, his stride barely stuttered.

Mikey clung to his brother’s limb upside-down, arms and feet grappling like a spider monkey. With a feral yell, he chomped on Raph’s wrist.

He gnawed for a solid ten seconds before Raph seemed to realize what was happening. Within moments the trackway had a trail of blood in his wake, and more splattered as he began to shake his arm, trying to dislodge Mikey.

Stubborn as a tick, Mikey held fast.

“Leggo!” said Raph. “Raph wants it this time!”

Mikey shouted something unintelligible and bit down even harder. With a roar, Raph tossed his Roman candle.

Like a dog after a stick, Mikey bolted after the firework. He leaped to snatch it in midair, then continued running in a mad dash around the circular track.

Heaving a sigh, Donnie plucked two more firecrackers from the barrel and lit them. He offered one to Leo, who merely smiled and shook his head.

“SECOND LAP!” Mikey rocketed past the starting point, snatching both of the new explosives from Donnie before tearing away down the track once more.

“I was under the impression,” said April, as she panned the camera after him, “That the point of a relay is to pass the batons, not collect them.”

“Shhhhh,” said Leo. “Let him have this. It makes him so happy.”

As Mikey charged towards the finish line, Raph gave chase. But there was no catching up with Mikey when he was this hyper. He crossed the finish line and skidded to a halt. With the four rapidly-burning fuses still clutched in his arms, he whirled, grinning like a maniac.

“I HAVE ALL THE FIRECRACKERS!” he howled. “I GOT HERE FIRST AND I HAVE ALL THE–”

BOOM

April had to pull her eye away from the camera lens at the resulting flash. Once the spots in her vision cleared, she refocused the lens on the victorious Mikey.

He rocked woozily, flat on his back, his face, arms, and plastron smoking. His mask had completely burned up, save for a tiny scrap that lay on the concrete beside his head, sizzling.

Donnie walked over, an attachment on his battleshell unfurling. He pointed the nozzle at Mikey and released the fire-extinguishing spray.

“So…” April asked, as Mikey shot upright, sputtering and swiping at his face. “...does that count as a win?”

“Certainly,” said Donnie. “For the firecrackers.”

[tblsomedoodles]

No! Nonono! this can't be happening it just can't be!!! Leo thought as alarms went off in his head, clawing at the wall.

"D-Dee! Dee!!"

This wasn't supposed to happen, none of this was suppose to happen! It was just a random robbery Hypno and the worm dude did why did everything go wrong! Now Raph is missing and... and he's alone and the world is ending and Mikey and Dee are trapped!! Why why why Why WHY!? How could he screw up so bad!? His hands hurt but he ignored the pain as several of his claws chipped and his palms were scraped, scrabbljng against the broken wall separating him from Dee and Mikey!

Suddenly arms wrapped around his shell, dragging him back, away from Dee!

"No! No!!! Let me go! I can't lose him, I just got him back! I JUST GOT HIM BACK!!!"

-ensei! Sensei calm down! We need to- Ow!!"

Leo's fangs chomped down on the arm holding him, right abo w tbe wrist, beak digging in and drawing blood. His jaw strength weak but the sharp fangs and Leo's stibbornness more than make up for it as he clamped down harder.

"Ow! SENSEI!!! Stop, I'm a friendly! I'm friendly!!!" The voice yelps, trying to gently pry Leo's jaw open. Leo releases them and goes back to the wall, modn still thrumming a mantra of his twins name as he whined, curled up next to it, initial panic eased but leaving a terrifying loneliness, that same loneliness he felt for 13 years before he got his twin back thag something was missing and gone and it wasn't right he needed his Dee back

oh poor Leo! This is lovely i love it! (and Poor casey jr for getting bit lol). Him refering to Dee as "His Dee" gets me.

Thank you!!