#except Miyamoto would be confused but amused

[echoes-of-the-unknown]

This is 100% what Usagi wanted to do while meeting his ancestor

[mutated-green-things]

In Circles

I commissioned this picture from @shellsweet awhile ago and ended up writing a whole fic for it! Only I’m a slow well editor so I’m only just getting around to posting everything. I’ve been thinking about this idea, this story and image for a long time though, and wanted to make sure it was something special. Mostly for me if I’m honest, because I think about these two all the time, but also so I could give something special to everyone else who loves this ship.  Anyway, I hope you all like it, and again thank the amazing @shellsweet for the artwork. You can click the read more to look at the fic or you can simply go to the AO3 link here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896832

Leonardo glanced up, stared for one, two, three beats, and then trained his eyes back onto the grass outside the farmhouse. April and Casey had chosen an amazing spot for their summer wedding, and though Leo and his brothers had drawn some seriously unwanted attention to the event, everything seemed to be gliding along smoothly now.

Music was playing, alternating between upbeat and slow. Paper lanterns hung from the large green trees and were filling the air with warm, buttery light. People, mutants, aliens were all talking, dancing, laughing. April and Casey were the spotlights of course, and their beaming faces just seemed to make the space glow even brighter. Michelangelo was dancing alone, but every time a fast, poppy song came on he'd tear up the floor and then bow for his adoring crowd.

Raphael and Donatello were even better off. Raph wasn't graceful, but Traximus must have learned how to dance somewhere because the way he led through every slow ballad looked effortless.

And though Donnie wasn't dancing with Leatherhead, they were both making eyes as they chatted in the corner, just outside of the lantern-lit grass dance floor.

Leonardo, well, he was watching it all unfold. He fit well into the shadows of the trees, and there was a lot to sit back and contemplate. Or worry about if he was being honest with himself. That attack had been troubling for starters. He was glad Karai had finally laid their vendetta to rest, but it seemed that even with the foot out of the picture, and even on a peaceful celebratory day, they'd always have enemies.

Worse was as much as Leo tried to focus his family's future, on strategy and battle plans, his mind and eyes kept wandering to the presence of a rather unexpected guest.

He still wasn't sure how April had gotten an invitation across dimensions to Usagi Miyamoto. The process of opening the portal must have been complicated enough. Leo could only guess how she had managed to hunt down that info. Mikey was his first guess, and that was only if his little brother had decided it was worth it to memorize the symbols and the chant. In the end, it mattered little how she'd managed it. Usagi was here. He'd shown up with a gift in his arms and a smile on his face.

A smile he'd directed at Leonardo. Leo had returned it despite his nerves. He was just glad that a customary greeting for Usagi was a bow. Leo's hands were already clammy enough without them touching. And after all the pleasantries and that crazy, dangerous, eventually calm ceremony, here he was, trying, and failing, not to stare.

Leo's choice to be on the exact opposite side of the dance floor was exactly that. A choice. His nerves and the way had been skirting around exactly what their relationship was had made the last few months... weird.

Usagi had been... well relieved seemed like understating things when he'd found out that Leonardo was still alive and had simply spent that past year locked away in the future. They had missed each other so much that Leo was sure the longing looks and subtle touches would come to a head.

That moment never came though. Usagi had seemed... hesitant, had looked away when one of them stared and pulled away at the briefest touch. Whatever doubts Usagi had reverberated, making Leonardo unsure, lost even. A few months ago he'd been confident in his feelings and Usagi's. He was just looking for the right time to confess. When Usagi shied away though, Leo began to doubt himself, and his confidence crumbled until he was left with what he had now. An awkward friendship and a lot of questions about what exactly the samurai had been thinking and feeling.

Leo flicked his gaze back up. Usagi was still there, chatting away with their other extra-dimensional guest, Gennosuke. Leonardo contemplated the rhino. He'd shown up with his own volition, inviting himself before Usagi could say no. Or at least that's what Usagi claimed when Leo and his brothers had given Gen strange looks.

Ugh no. Being confused was one thing, second-guessing Usagi's motivations and words was another. They were friends, no matter how messy Leonardo's feelings were at the moment.

Leo banished those thoughts and turned his mind outward, letting his gaze drift again. From Gen to the object of his tempestuous emotions. As he did, Usagi's eyes turned too, and for a few intense moments, they made contact. The soft light of the lanterns flickered against the pink of Usagi's irises. Leo was transfixed by the way the light moved, no danced in his gaze. Leo broke away. The cool, dark grass welcomed him, steadied him as his heart pounded in his ears and through his body. All he could focus on was the thump thump thump of it. He tried to take deep, calming breaths, but each one shook out of him as he lifted his head again. Usagi wasn't there. Gen looked perplexed, and Leonardo found himself even more confused.

He scanned the crowd for Usagi, head whipping here and there, but the stark white of his pelt was just... gone. He wondered briefly if that stare had made things worse, if Usagi had perhaps left the party early, left this world even. Leo was about to accept that theory, about to stop looking, when soft footsteps against soft grass drew his attention.

He spun, hands on his swords. It was the natural reaction of a warrior, and he's unsurprised to find Usagi mirroring him, a hand tightly clutched around the hilt of his katana. Of course, as soon he recognized the white fur and wry smile, Leo dropped his hands to his sides. "Usagi-san."

Usagi dropped his fighting stance too and then frowned. "Leonardo. What are you doing out here?"

I could ask you the same thing. Except he couldn't when Usagi has asked him to drop the formal 'san' so many times he'd lost count, and when he was certain why Usagi was there. So instead, he tried for a half-truth that seemed believable. That seemed the most like Leo. "Watching over the party. I just want to make sure we don't have to deal with any more funny business."

Usagi paused and blew out an amused breath as the wry smile slid back into place. This time though, there was a sadness behind it. A little dimness in the fire that sparkled there. "Can't you do that while celebrating the happy couple? Or at least a little closer to the festivities?" Usagi stepped closer, not waiting for permission to lean into the tree Leo had chosen as his lookout spot.

Leonardo didn't scoot away. He was tempted to at first, but his mental conflict left him indecisive, so he ended up staying put, close enough for their shoulders to just press together. Not much, but enough so Leo could feel Usagi's presence rather than just sense it. That alone was enough to make his head spin, so it took him several moments to realize he needed to say *something*. "I uh..." He could only manage that at first, but he cleared his throat, and more words tumbled out. "This gives me a better vantage point. To spot anyone sneaking in from the woods."

Usagi didn't protest, nor did he comment on the pauses. "True enough. But perhaps I could stay here and watch for you. I promise I'll be vigilant."

Leo didn't doubt that. Truthfully Usagi's long years of spotting ninja made him an exceptional lookout for their tricks, maybe even better than Leo himself. They've discussed many a time how much knowing a ninja's mind factored into thwarting them. "I know but..."

Leo tried to think of an excuse, but all he kept coming up with is the fact that the person he wanted to celebrate with was right next to him.

"But?" Usagi prompted.

"I have no one to dance with." It wasn't the truth, but it was close enough that when he looked at Usagi, his pink eyes widened just the littlest bit.

"Michelangelo? He seems..." Mikey had taken a break, breathing heavily and drinking water as he waited for another jumpy techno number to come on, but they'd both seen his moves.

Leo shrugged. "He always outperforms me here. I don't have the rhythm to keep up with him. Plus, we can't exactly dance together to every song." Leo splayed out a hand, referencing the couples swaying in the soft light.

"I see."

Another pause filled with beats and melodies, ballooning out and out until neither of them could stand it.

"I'm sorry Leonardo-"

"Usagi I understand-"

They stared into each other's eyes, stunned for one, two beats, and then they laughed together softly. Leonardo was struck by that laugh, by how much he missed the warm connection that used to hang between them. Before things had gotten messy. Before he'd been filled with doubts.

Usagi spoke through his last couple chuckles. "I suppose we have a lot to talk about. I... just wanted to apologize Leonardo. I know..." he trailed off and stared at his hands, fiddling with the fur between his paw pads. "I know I've been cold recently. It was an overreaction on my part. I did not... I still want to be your friend. I want to be close like before. I just hope you can forgive the way I backed away from you."

"I understand." Leo tried those words, but they sounded wrong coming from his mouth. "Well I don't, not really. But I..." He looked over Usagi. He seemed to shimmer in the dim light. Pink eyes and glowing fur dyed soft orange and yellow by the flickering flames. "I want your friendship Usagi. I always have. And I will gladly give mine if that's truly all you want."

Usagi nodded, but it seemed weak, sad again, the light dimming as he forced a smile. It wasn't enough, or maybe Leonardo just didn't want to believe it. He reached out, setting his heavy, calloused hand on Usagi's soft shoulder. Leo spoke as they gazed into each other's eyes. "No, Usagi. Is that really all you want?"

"I..."

"Because if that's the case then I understand. I just. I need to know."

Usagi kept his gaze focused on Leonardo's face, searching it, eyes scanning each wrinkle, each small scar. Then he turned and watched the lights, and the dancing couples, the soft, slow music coursing through them.

When he looked at Leonardo again, his gaze was still sad, but there was a fire dancing again in his pink irises, a determination that made him reach up and touch the hand Leonardo had laid on his shoulder. The next couple moments were a little awkward, as Usagi tried to tangle their fingers together, but eventually, they managed the spacing, and for the first time they were tangled together intimately.

Leo looked at him, dumbstruck, but smiling. Usagi was smiling back and then speaking, each word sugared with excitement, contentment. "I saw your interest from a mile away. Even before I started... dropping hints that I felt the same." Leo beamed at that. He'd been right after all, and the confirmation made his chest, his shell fill with bubbling warmth. "But we are friends, and what started forming between us. The long looks, the letters, the way you'd sigh and smile just being in my presence. That was equal parts amazing, and terrifying." The warmth stops, still there, but held with trepidation. Terrifying? Why?

Usagi didn't let go of Leonardo's hand as he dropped his gaze to the grass. "I have told you how my last relationship ended, but I don't know if you knew how close a friend Mariko was before she became my lover. Moreover, you do not know of the countless people my pilgrimage has led me away from. The path I walk is usually lonely, Leonardo, and I was afraid that, and the complications of romance, would leave our friendship torn and tattered. I'm still afraid, in fact. I..." He turned his eyes back up, that determined blaze shining again. "I want more. I do. I won't lie to a friend. But I also still fear losing one because of my desire."

Leonardo mulled on that for several moments, not moving, still holding onto Usagi like a lifeline. "We're you afraid that you were seeing things? That your attraction was blinding you and making you think..."

"Niceties were flirtations?" Usagi finished the question, then shrugged. "Of course. All the time."

"And you worry jealousy or anger or fear or the simple march of time may drive us apart?"

A simple nod.

Leo looked out, past the party, past the lights, into the dark forest beyond. His gray-blue eyes grew dark and heavy, stormclouds billowing inside them. "I fear it too. I fear I'll make mistakes. I fear my responsibility as a leader, as a brother may become more important than you. I fear I will drive you away, or worse, hurt you."

"But..." he looked back at Usagi. The storm behind his eyes calmed. "If we share that much. Then I can assume you feel what I feel. The electricity in the air, right now, just from touching you this much. The way your chest gets tight and warm and feels like it will burst when I tell you I feel the same way you do. The way your lungs clutch for breath when our eyes meet. The hunger in your gut to touch more, to hold and squeeze me close." He took a staggering breath. Then spoke, asked with desperation behind each word. "You feel that too, right?"

Usagi Miyamoto was rarely speechless. He didn't ever run his mouth, no he was far too polite for that, but he'd always had a talent for putting the right words in the right places. Now though, with yearning the only thing in Leonardo's face, in his words, he could only gulp down his nerves and nod. Leonardo clasped his other hand over Usagi's, and held it tenderly, carefully. Like a fragile treasure.

Leo smiled, and the amusement danced up into his eyes. "So we've been torturing ourselves, scared and worried at what the other might say. Which definitely seems like us."

Usagi's little laugh made Leo's heart and stomach flip places. "Yes, the two of us, always so determined to suffer in silence."

Leonardo took just a moment to rearrange his body back into place, just a breath, and then he continued. "Yes and..." He had to keep his stare down at his own hands clasping Usagi's. His bright smile was too much. It kept leaving Leo speechless. "And if we were to step away. To stay too scared to try. Well, then we'd still suffer. We'd question every day if we let a golden opportunity slip through our fingers."

"So..." Usagi said it tentatively, but when Leo glanced up, his eyes looked so bright and sure.

"So we try it. We get closer than ever before. We..." Leo didn't turn his head, but his eyes flicked back to the party. "We dance?"

Usagi laughed again, and gods above it was worse this time. Leo had to remind himself to breathe. "That sounds like a good start yes."

So they stood. Their nerves, overflowing emotion, and the soft light made it all seem surreal to both of them. A dream neither wanted to wake from. But with their hands still entangled, they walked down the hill, to the dance floor. It welcomed them with warm lights and knowing smiles. Mikey even winked at them. Not that the teasing mattered. Leonardo was too happy to be embarrassed, and Usagi only had eyes for his dance partner. They would care later, when the slow music, the glowing lanterns, and the sensation of sliding close, of soft fur against coarse scales, had faded away. All they could think about in that moment was the fact that now, finally, their futures were tied together.