#slugman | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chaoticcutiewhirl · 2 years

Text

Dragon Ball: Memory

A short Story for my Namekian OC by the name Druchin, and as its pretty good I decided to also post it here:

For Pretense this story takes place after a sort of splitting event between two Namekians after their friendship fell out, one by the name of Cello and the other by the name of Druchin. Druchin is my OC. The Event was because of Cello siding with the Grand Makai which could doom the fate of Namek in the story of the RP this is based on, Druchin tried to convince him to not be evil, but due to that they fought and Druchin was badly injured without much energy left. Also should mention due to Cello not being the best parent, one of his kids blew himself up in hopes of killing Cello, allowing for Druchin to escape which is when this story happens. Please Enjoy ^-^ ______________________________________________________________

Druchin flew fast though the night sky, even though his body was in immense pain, he needed the air to blend through his energies in the world, he needed to be distracted. Druchin was focused on this prospect most out of anything. He needed to feel free after all that… The betrayal, the death, and the ultimate feeling of being lost to the wind as he was stuck in the cycles after his final confrontation with Cello for now.

The Namekian’s mind wandered as he continued, it felt like it has been hours since he began just barely holding it together, he needed somewhere to stop and rest, he needed a sanctuary. His ship was the only place that came to mind that was close enough for a serene place that he could rest, possibly some time off world was something he needed. He would need to head to Namek soon enough either way so it's likely he would be contacted through his ship when the time came and with the last of the energy he had left, of the wind he whipped himself up a current to carry himself so he could rest until he arrived. He laid there not even flying, at this point and with the pain he knew at this point with what energy he had left to regenerate before was to make sure he didn’t die but he had barely enough to stay awake. The Namekian watched as the stars and moon pass as he just laid there breathing shallowly as he succumbed to slumber, with dreams to come upon him as he would close his eyes and the darkness came and with it Silence.

= 🜁 =

When Druchin awoke he didn’t recognize his surroundings at first before his mind saw the clearing, in the forest near the bottom of a few hills with a few treaded paths from pulling materials and grabbing things for construction, this was Cello’s Camp, but before it was destroyed, but the hut still did not seem exactly the same. Instead of using the materials of the area being an island continent with more clay rich surroundings, this hut was like one from a memory, one long distant and buried, one of the memories Druchin gained from Seilide, his parent. A building of a mixture of something you’d see in towering mountains, a mixture of Marble and Limestone, with glass windows formed of magical means of fire cleansing something other than sand, an old Namekian Technique possibly as something as unrefined was rare to see be made into glass. This house was eerie as it stood out among the mixture of eucalyptus, ash, and rosewood that dotted around the forest, almost as if it was placed there by otherworldly forces instead of formed from the environment it came from.

Druchin walked the path he was on toward it still, as if he was used to this even though deep down it felt wrong. Not even a sign of the children of Cello was around when it was obvious one of them had some kind of earth magic capabilities with rising pillars of stone that dotted around the camp in memory. Even the campfire area where the eggs rested and had other signs of use seemed pristine as if no one lived here. Druchin still pressed forth.

When the Namekian came to the door, the window on the top bulb of the Namekian structure seemed to glow an orange brightness, almost unnaturally bright at that. When Druchin did enter the Namekian home was a natural home from what Druchin pieced together from Seilide’s memories he was given when born, it had a chair as the main piece followed by a few pieces of simple furniture like a desk and a table but it also seemed to warp at the same time as Druchin looked further. First a shelf appeared and quickly books started appearing, from Earth, Plant, and Namek primarily, even a couple from Sadala, Metonia, and Arcose appeared with one book he couldn’t identify immediately, one of a dark leather and seemingly a crest that looked like a Scorpion. There was a sense of familiarity to it all.

Druchin would need to look further but more came clear to him as he saw scrolls on the desks appear as well as inks and writing utensils, even art and relics of some kind.It was like a home version of his life on the ship early in life. The Patrolman was about to speak when a familiar voice came from above where another Namekian flew, lighting a candle in a lantern that seemed to be out of raw ore rather than anything refined, it was clear to Druchin who this was but that voice confirmed it. “About the time you arrived, the water was starting to grow stale.” The tone was similar to Druchin’s but way more playful as well as a more suave voice to pair in it all, it was clear this was Seilide. The Orange shoes he wore were standard kinds of footwear for a Namekian but it was even more clear as this one came down, wearing clothes more diverse than those of Namek. Seilide would stand out in a crowd with their loosely fitting shirt of white with a fitted vest a top it decorated with chains of a coppery metal beginning to oxidize and lose its bright orange sheen, all paired with poofy pants in Orange backed with a cloth of white held up with a golden belt, the same belt Druchin wore now as a memory of Seilide. Druchin’s eyes began to water at the sight of the more elder Namekian who shown some wrinkles, only lessened by the cat like expressions and flamboyant wear as more of Seilide’s wear seemed to appear elsewhere with earrings with the same coppery metal and golden orbs appeared on a table, with a wide brimmed hat hanging on the throne to one side and a dark wooden cane tipped with copper leaning on the other side.

“S-Seilide?” Druchin uttered in a shaky tone as he outstretched his hand to the old and long dead Namekian now on the ground as they finally touched it. So many emotions whirled through the patrolman as he looked upon them, some kind of nostalgia, as well as sorrow and confusion in it all.

As Druchin adjusted to this, the hand of Seilide held the back of his hand and pushed it against their face as they spoke again in a similar nostalgic and melancholic tone: “It’s been half a century my child, far too long since we last spoke.” A saddened smile came to Seilide’s face as Druchin felt himself be pulled in by his parent, with a hug. A feeling of warmth, almost as if they were there in reality but Druchin only knew it was a feeling as it would be impossible for Seilide’s return as they died of sickness.

When Druchin finally pulled away after moments of the embrace his words were less shaky and more formal as he would question existence itself as he would get into it: “How are you here though? I mean you are too… Well you! My mind would likely bring you back in a dream in a less…” Druchin motioned to the cluttered room that was far less Namekian than any memory he was passed down by Seilide and continued soon after: “This. How are you here?” The older Namekian chuckled a bit before coughing a little, grabbing water from a tray to sip on before they answered: “Well it should be obvious, you did hear its call after all, the call everyone will get at least once.” Seilide didn’t seem too sad or direct with it as they went into it and Druchin just seemed more confused by the wording. Seilide was always a riddle with what they meant exactly, dodging what would be the clearest way to explain meanings of things as Druchin would remember, he remembered the Patrol nicknaming his parent The Story Serpent for this fact even. Always being indirect, coy, and long winded with their words when they weren’t being playful with someone.

With the words in mind though, Druchin thought on it, unraveling the riddle as he thought of possibilities like conflict or the far more likely; Death. Druchin decided to ask to follow up on this idea of what Seilide wrought for him to go down while he was here: “Wait, did I die?” His words were confused again but now with a little surprise instead of sorrowful or nostalgic, just purely surprise as he spoke to his parent in this case.

It wasn’t long for Seilide to respond though as they chuckled as they began to spoon a tale again: “Heheh “Not necessarily, I mean you were on its doorstep but now your body is healed but not your soul. You are broken, my child, hollowed, hurt, and if I could I would heal this but this is a journey for you to face and I am just here to help for a step or a few. I mean I have extensions of this hut beyond this world of weak reality as this is mere mimicry based on your and my memory. Echoes of the past. Debts of knowledge yet to be known by you. I mean if you do die my child I shall pay one debt to you after all.” Druchin had a hard time following what was said as the more staccatoed syllables of Seilide and their repetition in ideas just seemed to drown out what they said to the Namekian, truly like they were back in good health after their death at 168. Truly Druchin saw their parent in their element of sorts.

“Wait Guidance? And wait do you mean by your old stuff on the ship from your collecting of trinkets and the sort? Wait, don't answer that, I don’t need more of a headache trying to figure all this out.” Druchin held his face in his hand as his tone was more exasperated than anything but again came the chuckle of his parent who didn’t continue but seemed to watch him. Druchin knew what Seilide would say if he brought it up, just another riddle of observation. The patrolman missed his parent but it was certainly tiresome to speak with them again without being told just more stories of Namek beyond the handful of vague memories he was granted with life, the only sense of memory magic needed for Namekian ‘birth’ unless it was to be a mutant like the old stories. When Druchin finally felt like he wasn’t going to have an aneurysm from Seilide’s speech pattern he spoke with a more calm tone trying to reason what was said: “Are you trying to tell me to look for your old stuff, do you have any idea as to what? Also that weakened reality, what do you mean?”

Seilide would have another light laugh as the began to seemingly draw rocks from the land outside and the rocks seemed to warp in their state between caliche to granite before changing more. Truly someone talented in their element from the perspective of Druchin, but as they did this Selide spoke with a light and more fascinated tone: “Well this is your mind, so you should be able to tell. A mental village saved from me being able to affect you while you are still being called even though you made sure you stay planted in the reality you stand. Truly this is a place where you’ll be able to return and find more, as long as you access inner peace. Your inner sanctuary, a place of much joy and happiness, a place that can be further molded by your experience, one only found through introspection on a deep enough level to allow this.” After a few moments Seilide did create something with the stones mixed together that seemed to resemble a sort of snow globe but far more zoomed out and they held it in front of Druchin as they continued:

“As for the weak points of reality, it’s a matter of how souls work and the magic tied to them. Yours is determined tied to a body currently brittle and weakened from over exertion, this allows spirits whether good or bad to affect you, as a sort of dream that you won’t remember fully. There are ways to remember and perhaps you may be doing it right now. After all it is you who sought the guidance, sought peace without snuffing a spark. This is your own without dragging beyond what you can currently conceive, with memory only being the factor to go off of, heheh. Think of my guidance as me being repaid a debt by fate as destiny can snuff out many in one universe and many in another as some of the scientists of the living theorize.” Their words yet again made less sense than if someone not manically wanting to catalogue every story heard or thought of would have explained but this time it seemed more grounded as Druchin looked to their parent whose eyes softened as they seemed to begun to adjust, but something Druchin didn’t expect happened as he looked at them for more of their wisdom. Seilide’s already paler green skin seemed to flick to almost like a statue made of terracotta before returning to normal in a millisecond and Druchin grew worried:

Druchin’s face showed the worried expression like someone who saw a ghost without thinking there would be a ghost as he saw it, and his words came quickly after as he tried to get an explanation out of the older Namek: “Wait- Wait, what’s happening?” Druchin’s heart raced as he wanted to keep his parent with him longer but instead of any comfort another flicker happened as Seilide seemed to draw a hand to their own face and gave a sigh before stepping past Druchin, heading to the outside and Druchin followed. “Wait, you’ll be here longer, Seilide, right? I don’t want to lose you so soon after we met again. Please say yes.” Druchin’s eyes were tearing up as some escaped leaving tear lines as Seilide simply looked beyond into the forest without much to their reaction to Druchin’s words.

When Druchin thought he lossed Seilide fully again, the elder spoke again with a sigh as their tone was sorrowful: “Seems like time was cut far shorter than to my liking… I am sorry my child but I have to go once more, the connection is weakening. I will miss you, till we meet again…” Druchin tried to reach out before the last goodbye was given but Seilide turned to Terracotta with just tears remaining on their face as Druchin’s touch turned the Statuette to dust. Seilide was gone again, leaving Druchin to think about what they said and what to do while he was still in this mental sanctuary as Seilide called it.

Druchin had tears well in his eyes but before he could cry he wiped them away and stepped back into the recreation of Cello’s hut in more traditional Namekian stones. When back inside the nostalgia of the ship hit him again as he looked around, like a home version of the Namekian vessel’s interior. Seilide said he would know what of this he needed, or at least he assumed, and so the Namekian patrolman focused, and wind seemed to pick up outside as he did, but when looking around, still nothing stood out in this picture. Perhaps it was something different, something to match Seilide’s ability to bend stone and ore to their will, something like a key to all of this. Druchin did as Seilide did, using telekinetic ability in this mindscape to grab a stone from outside again and he did his best to erode it in a way where he could fix it as he tried to find the place to put it and so he begun to look around, effectively creating a dust storm in his hand, full of these particles of clay, soil, and fragments of something like quartz within it all.

Druchin stepped around the hut looking, the scrolls were unwound and seemed to have writing in ancient Namekian, an even older script that Seilide said was found in the oldest ruins of Namek, ruins that even they couldn’t fully look into before they left. That was definitely not what Seilide meant but Druchin moved on looking at a bookcase dotted with books, some written by Seilide in their travels of the universe, ones he actually had kept and were still back in west galaxy at a Galactic Patrol compound with Seilide’s ship itself, or atleast the parts that weren’t salvaged for study. Shelves beyond that on the back side looked like it was also relics of their travel, a few blades dotting the furthest back wall as well as a few petrified organic life, some plants turned to gems and some turned to stone, even an arm made of stone. Definitely something was a story with each and every item, a story not to be learned as Seilide is now long gone and a moment of being able to speak with him was likely not going to come again anytime soon, and Druchin did not plan on staying dead if he were to die.

Moving to the final wall that there was possibility of signs it was all the books Seilide collected, and Druchin left the cloud of a dust storm afloat as he opened one. The pages were sporadic with writing on them as he flipped through the book, some of it didn’t even look like real lettering, this was definitely something reconstructed by his memory. Again his eye drew to the book of a dark leather with a symbol of a Scorpion atop it, Druchin grabbed the book and the etched writing did look familiar, and opening it had a few pages more easily seeable than the other books, then memory flashed in his mind as he thought of it. Many a time he kept grabbing at books when he was young all while Seilide was attempting to fix things like the hydrogen to water converter on the ship for survival, this book was one he tried to understand… This book was where he drew his Split Ricochet technique from in fact even though he could barely understand what was said. Flipping to the page again he recognized it, it was definitely the book, and the writing in it was closer to Namekian than galactic standard, and he knew what the page said better now, it was written in Makyan. The only Makyan book in the whole collection in fact, as he could remember the symbols of the titles for the most part as before, again mostly Namek, Plant, and Earth somehow followed by others.

When considering the collection Druchin looked at the Earth books again realizing these weren’t Seilide’s collection just filling the slots with what Druchin saw as a part of stores in cities, as they weren’t historical in context nor had magical pretexts. As Druchin focused more, the Earth books seemed to disappear, shifting the collection to be more akin to the ship than before, and the patrolman realize; this was a puzzle for him to see what was out of place.

Druchin kept the Makyan book, now closing it as he looked around further opening one of the winged rooms of the hut to look within and instead of more collections of Seilide, it was empty. Heading to the otherside, Druchin was surprised to see what he did, a couple of Makyan trinkets but ultimately more of a performer theming, and with a sigh he knew who infiltrated this branch but it was still nice to see as he closed the door to it again as he went back to the main room. Realizing the only puzzle Seilide left was in there as if this was the main Namekian room and thus his search continued.

Druchin looked around more trying to remember if anything was out of place but everything seemed to be in place, even the throne Seilide would normally sleep in, the one he modified to be big enough so when Druchin was a child he could climb up too. The steps for child Druchin were still there before the soft colored blue cushion began, all laid with a back of the sigil of Seilide given their ambiguous origin given what Druchin knew, the Warrior Clansman who was found in the wilderness than in any village, no sign of battle, just an egg lost within the Namekian plains, thus the sigil of the clanless was given to them as Clanless Namekians were extremely rare after the war begun. The symbol though was still not the thing wrong and with the hum of the cloud of dust behind him there was certainly some annoyance with it, or at least nothing appeared wrong until Druchin looked at the top of the Namekian chair, there was a divot. Druchin thought about it for a moment as he looked at it. The divot was like a bowl, like one where you would scatter small bits of charcoal to act as a torch yet that would be atop a pedestal instead of in the limestone-marble mixture of the chair, but Druchin attempted this.

Earth Magic was far from the patrolman’s strong suit but he took a deep breath as he attempted it, as the dust storm came to his hands again and began to spin. Druchin closed his eyes as he would attempt to be guided by the keystone nature of the room, and soon the energy in his hands grew more as the dust cloud began to spin. While Seilide could do it on mere whim in changing the stones to different materials, Druchin was someone adept to wind, not earth so he couldn’t do the same just needed to use wind to help. The dust kicked up in speed gradually in his hands and began to grow warmer and warmer, it was beginning to become liquid but at the same time evaporating from the friction of the event. Just a little further, Druchin needed to place more energy in this space to cause it and thus the wind grew more before the heat became stable and very hot even though it didn’t hurt like the burns he sustained from Cello.

When Druchin opened his eyes and looked, it wasn’t just fire he had, but plasma, he was surprised at the energy ball as it was in his hands, something about it was somewhat calming as he held it. As if there was more to it than meets the eye to the energized atoms he had dancing in his hand he just watched as they danced, and soon enough, Druchin almost instinctively knew what to do as he began to pull his hands together to compress it. He didn’t know why he knew it would help but it was almost like a call, something deep down felt like the energy could be a catalyst for what he wanted just if he bent the world around him to his magic.

Druchin ultimately would be successful though as gas spewed from the compressing plasma, gas forms of metals and liquids trapped in the soil, all to which dissipated as Druchin’s focus was just on this. When his hands cupped around the plasma finally, with one last push of magical energy he knew it solidified, and when he opened his hands he was right, all that was left was carbon and microbiological enzymes left to a piece of coal. Druchin with a breath then crushed it in his hand, letting the fragments of the coal fall into the divot again, and as they did, a spark happened with each one until a flame occurred.

When the Flame appeared the room became brighter as if energy of certain aspects began to glow brighter, and one book was the Makyan book he had still tucked in his arm. The book still was the same being slightly off in some aspects with a few blank pages but Druchin took it as a sign, he needed to look into these books more and he snatched them, one even being the unfinished scroll Seilide had on the table. In total twelve pieces of writing and the one he remembered where it was located was the Makyan book. In excited nature Druchin stepped out of the Namekian hut and when entering outside he saw for just a moment Tanbura was there and then darkness.

Druchin did not wake up though as he simply fell to the depths almost like being in a void between universes when he felt like he was falling forever then a flash happened. He was on stable ground again seeing Cello again, dark loom over his friend’s face as a malicious grin was plastered as they held a spear of wood over him before glowing bright and his senses were assaulted with beeps and whirs as again darkness came over Druchin.

= 🜁 =

When Druchin awoke he was aboard his ship, and he could see beyond the windshield of the cockpit, seeing the moon, it was only two hours after his battle with Cello but he was already being called to duty again. With the energy he had he tried to heal further but he was still very spent as he opened the messages on his ship’s console, seeing the message sent by someone he didn’t know personally, a little saddening but duty called and thus he begun his ship’s engines’ flare. And with a hover up he jetted out of the space port, sending one message once he was out in space:

“On my way.”

2 notes · View notes

thecomfortable · 1 year

Text

Sleepover [Part 1]

A TMNT 2012 fanfic

Word Count: 3453

Warnings: Brief descriptions of blood/wounds

Ships: Leo x April

(Part 2 is now available!)

“A sleepover? Guys, that’s all we’ve been having since my dad was captured that one time.” April chuckled, typing away at her laptop. This was the third time they had asked her to stay over since Shredder had been defeated. Casey was adamant and said that his family needed his support. April, on the other hand, just wasn’t bothered half the time. “Besides I’ve got stuff to do.”

“Stuff we could easily help with.” Donatello interjected, smiling down at the girl. “If it’s homework I can provide assistance.”

“If you can stand the voice of a dweeb longer than an hour.” Raph snickered before Donnie smacked the back of his head, and the two began to bicker.

“I dunno…” April looked away from her laptop to glance around the group, her gaze landing on Leo. “What do you think?” Leo, taken fairly off-guard by this, chuckled sheepishly.

“Well, I wasn’t really invested in this plan to begin with. You’ve got stuff to do and we’ve got stuff to do. But…" Leo looked away from both April and his brothers. “If you haven’t got anything next weekend… I wouldn’t mind if you stayed over, you don’t have to of course—”

“Alright,” April responded. The group stared at her in surprise. “Well, what the leader says, goes. Isn’t that the saying?” Leo shrugged, grinning a bit. Raph threw his hands up in the air.

“That’s all it took? Leo’s blessing?” Raph said in exasperation, to which April raised a brow in response.

“Better than yours. I’d be worried for my safety if you gave me any type of blessing.” April retorted, a slight smirk on her face.

“Touché.”

---

“Wow, you guys went all out, huh?” April stared wide-eyed at the dojo. Futons were covering the floor, with Mikey already lying on one and playing games on his T-Phone. “You didn’t have to.”

“Oh, we know that,” Raph grumbled, squeezing past her as he went to sit down on his futon. “It was Mikey’s idea.” Mikey’s giggles could be heard quietly in the background. April heaved her bag over to the futon next to Mikey and plopped it down. She only vaguely registered that Leo’s comics were neatly stacked on the futon beside hers.

“Oh good, you’re here!” Donnie chimed, walking into the dojo and grinning at the redhead. “Sorry, I was busy in my lab. Did you bring your homework?” April nodded, removing her laptop from its case and opening it. The lanky turtle sat beside her, and they began chatting.

Leo entered the dojo a short time later. He gave April a warm smile - which she happily returned - and sat down on her other side before picking up one of the comics and quietly reading. Time passed as usual, with Raph and Mikey leaving to watch the Slugman Marathon. At the same time, Donnie and - at some points - Leo stayed to help April with her homework.

“Pizza time~!” Mikey called out from the lair’s entrance, to which both Donnie and Leo looked up and furrowed their brows. “I also paid for it!” They relaxed, looking back over April’s shoulders to see her screen.

“Did you guys discuss what pizzas you were getting with Mikey or—”

“He probably bought one of each.” April looked mortified, and Donnie quickly rephrased his sentence. “What I mean is— He probably bought the basic pizzas. Marguerite, meat-lovers, pineapple… that sort of thing.” The girl nodded, still slightly concerned with the decision to leave Mikey in control of ordering dinner. Seeing her expression, Donnie stood up and grinned at the pair still on the ground. “Don’t worry. I’ll see if he bought too much.”

Feeling reassured, Leo and April watched the other leave before once again resuming April’s studies. There was brief silence until April scooched closer to Leo to make it easier for him to see. Only this move completely derailed the turtle’s train of thought. They’d been close before, but not like this. The fuzzy feeling made him worry. There was space around them to sit, but April chose to sit there.

April, who, for the most part, had been entirely focused on the Russian Revolution, sensed a change in Leo’s emotional state. She glanced around the room for a reason to which she found none. She soon found herself staring up at the turtle, who seemed not to notice as he was too busy staring at his feet.

“Leo.” The turtle jolted harshly and hastily looked over at April.

“I-I’m here! What’s up? Need help with something?” He asked, noticing that April had leaned even closer to inspect him. “Is it something to do with the Russian Oligarchy?”

“If that’s what you’re so stressed about then sure. Let’s talk about the Russian Oligarchy.” April responded flatly. Leo began staring at his feet again. The girl leaned forward, determined to meet his eye. Leo turned his head. “Hey, don’t think you can avoid talking to someone sitting right next to you.”

Donnie walked back into the room; he looked slightly abashed. “Mikey ordered all the basic— What are you two doing?” He had cocked his head to one side and stared at his older brother and then at April. April shrugged; she also wanted to know what was up with Leo but had gotten no helpful answers. Standing up, the girl slid her laptop back into its case and followed Donnie out of the dojo.

Leo put a hand to his cheek and grimaced.

---

“What are you doing, Mikey!” Raph yelled in exasperation as he watched his younger brother dump jelly beans on his slice of pizza. Mikey just grinned before shoving the piece into his mouth.

Everyone disliked that.

Regardless, the group had sat down in front of the small - somewhat busted TV - and discussed what to watch before Mikey had decided to gross everyone out. April, Leo and Raph were sitting on the steps (in that order), and the two younger turtles were sitting at their feet.

Donnie decided to get the conversation back on track. “We could watch a horror movie—”

“Our life is a horror movie.” Raph grumbled, watching Mikey as he crammed another slice into his mouth. Leo chuckled and gave Raph a slight nod in agreement. “And I don’t need to be reminded.” April perked up.

“We could watch The Babadook. Apparently, that one’s quite good.” April suggested. The two older turtles looked curiously over at the girl. Mikey happily gave April a thumbs up - his mouth was full of jelly bean pizza which Raph was oh so aware of. “How ’bout it, guys?”

Leo shrugged. He had no idea what the movie was about, but the name sounded funky.

“Sounds better than what the nerd had picked.” Raph snickered, flipping the page of his comic. Donnie shot him a glare. He had suggested they watch 2001: A Space Odyssey, which Mikey and Raph immediately shot down.

“Eh why not.” Donnie sighed. “I’ll set up the hard drive.”

The group watched as Donnie sauntered over to the TV to mess around with its wiring before focusing on Mikey’s pizza.

“How can you eat that without gagging?” April asked, genuinely curious - though inherently disgusted.

“I ask that question everyday.” Raph said flatly. “Never gotten a sane response.”

“That’s because there isn’t one.” Leo mused, peering at the comic over Raph’s shoulder, who quickly moved it out of view. “What– Oh, I get it. You’re reading something embarrassing aren’t you?”

“My bet is on a romance manga.” Mikey grinned, nudging Raph’s knee with his elbow. The red-clad ninja looked slightly offended and kicked his brother’s arm away.

“I thought Donnie was into those?” April gave the turtle hunched by the TV a smirk.

“Says the girl who played a dating sim when she was supposed to be studying.” Donnie retorted, shooting a grin at April, who flinched and looked away. Suddenly she was the central focus of the group. Mikey looked utterly shocked; Leo and Raph were mildly surprised. But they were all staring… except Donnie, who had gone back to rewiring the TV.

“A dating sim?” Leo said, trying and failing to hold back his laughter. April pouted and glanced at the three sitting alongside her. They were all giggling now, much to April’s embarrassment.

“It was one time!” She insisted, to which Donnie barked out a harsh laugh.

“Uh-huh, is that what you told Kirby when you failed Trig?” He chimed, connecting the little wifi device to the back of the TV.

“I’ll have you know that I didn’t fail!” April snapped.

“Really? Was Senpai proud of you?” At that comment, the girl flushed pink and angrily crossed her arms. He stood up and strode back to the group to sit by April’s legs. “Bet he said something really cute too.”

“What’s her type?” Raph asked, looking up from his comic to smile vaguely across at April. “Bet it’s the ‘bad boy’ who’s also a complete idiot.”

“Hm, from what I gathered she was always smiling when the ‘School Prefect’ had any dialogue.” Donnie explained. “Y’know, the teacher’s pet archetype-...” Suddenly all eyes were on Leo- or his brother’s eyes, at least. Now it was the leader’s turn to look away with a slightly irritated expression in his case.

“Knock it off, Donnie.” That was all Leo said, though his brothers started grinning maliciously. “Aren’t we going to watch the movie April picked out?”

“I dunno Leo, this is also pretty fun to watch.” Mikey snickered, turning his head to watch April, who was currently hiding her face. A well-aimed kick to the younger’s side put a stop to the embarrassing situation.

“My movie’s still on the table.” A well-aimed glare from two unimpressed siblings also put a stop to Donnie’s suggestion. “Alright! Alright… Good thing we’re sleeping in the same room I guess. Mikey won’t need to wake anyone up.”

“I don’t do that anymore!” Mikey snapped, looking extremely offended.

“Yeah, cause we haven’t watched a Horror movie in over a month, moron. You don’t have a reason to.” Raph put down his comic and grabbed the controller out of Donnie’s hands. “Now, let’s see what this movie’s about.”

---

April had quite enjoyed the movie for a few reasons: The story was well-written, the characters were authentic, the scares had great timing, and she could sense exactly what her friends were feeling during the movie. Good thing, too; knowing that your friends are somewhat more scared than you is a pretty pleasant feeling.

Mikey had gone into a fear-induced trance and was currently stuffing his face with ice cream. Raph had remained marginally calm throughout the movie and therefore wasn’t too bothered after it had ended, whilst both Donnie and Leo were still slightly on edge.

Deciding to have fun with this situation, April tapped Leo’s shoulder and watched him jolt. Then she tapped Donnie’s. Same reaction. Ooh, this might be fun.

“What? Is something up, April?” Donnie asked, peering up at the girl. She grinned and raised a brow. “What are you-... Oh haha, I jumped. So funny.” Raph was laughing alongside April, who had begun giggling herself.

Leo frowned at her before turning to Raph and glaring. “You’re rubbing off on her.” He said, shoving Raph’s shoulder. The younger turtle grinned. He had nothing to feel guilty about when they were both so ‘jumpy’. Why wouldn’t April want to mess around with them? Leo went to further scold the other when he felt something breathe on his neck.

He yelped. Loudly.

April, Donnie and Raph burst out into loud cackles. They sounded akin to a pack of hyenas; even Mikey was laughing despite his prior state of uncontrolled fear. April had been the one to blow air on the back of his neck, and she looked so smug, despite the fact she was laughing hysterically.

“Why would you do that!” Leo snapped, his face a brilliant shade of red that clashed horribly with his green scales. April was vividly reminded of Christmas at her Aunt’s house. She also thought it was rather cute. Ignoring the second thought, she pressed a finger into Leo’s chest.

“Because,” she grinned, face full of malicious pride. “It was funny.”

Leo pushed her hand away, still marginally red in the face. She looked really confident and sounded even more so. The fuzzy feeling was back.

Then their eyes locked, and April’s grin faltered. He looked adorable. The fuzzy feeling in her chest made her worry.

It made them both worry.

---

“Dudes, do we have to sleep in the dark?” Mikey complained as Donnie turned off the lights in the dojo. There came a resounding ‘yes’ from the rest of the group in response, and Mikey groaned dramatically. “You won’t even know if I’m gone!”

After a few rounds of Monopoly - all of which were won by Donnie, who was then hunted down by Raph and Mikey and tickled mercilessly in the middle of the dojo - the group finally decided to go to bed. And by ‘go to bed’, that meant getting comfortable just in case anyone passed out. No one wanted to wake up with cramps.

Currently, only Raph, Leo and Mikey were lying on their futons. Donnie was busy clearing up around the doorway so that no one tripped over in the dark while April was getting dressed in another room.

“We can tell when you get a midnight snack, Mikey.” Donnie said incredulously. “I think we’ll notice if something bad is happening to you.”

“That’s what you think!”

“I told you he wouldn’t sleep.” Raph grumbled to Leo, who nodded vaguely, too focused on his comics to fully register the conversation. Just then, April walked into the dojo wearing a nice pair of pyjamas. For once, Leo lost focus on his comics in favour of something else.

This reaction didn’t go unnoticed. Donnie had done a sweeping glance of the room to find any trip hazards and had gotten a good look at his brother’s flushed face. He looked at where Leo was staring, noticed it was April, and then stared at Raph.

His eyes were wide.

Raph had the distinct feeling that someone was staring at him. He glanced around and quickly noticed Donnie’s wide eyes, which looked incredibly unnerving when dimly illuminated by some sparsely lit candles. Cringing, he shot Donnie a questioning expression. The lanky turtle nodded towards Leo, to which Raph turned his attention.

Leo was currently watching April as she discussed sleeping methods with Mikey. Raph’s eyes widened, and he mouthed the words ‘he’s blushing’ to Donnie, who mouthed the words ‘I know’ back at him.

Raph tapped his brother’s shoulder, who snapped out of his affectionate gaze to look questioningly at the other. “What’s with you?” He asked, noticing Leo’s face had gone slightly redder due to his nerves.

“What do you mean?” Leo whispered, and Raph started explaining himself, only for April to laugh at something Mikey said. Her laugh temporarily transfixed the leader, and Donnie had to clear his throat. The leader hunched his shoulders, bracing for a bombardment of insults after ignoring Raph’s answer. But nothing came; Donnie repeated what he had been too distracted to hear.

“You like her. Don’t you?”

Leo froze. The statement threw him so severely that he remained dead silent, staring at Donnie with his brows raised.

He swallowed.

The fuzzy feeling was back from before, but it was so much worse this time. Leo had started imagining what people did when they were in love. Then he imagined himself and April in those situations, and it was like someone lit his face on fire.

Leo decided not to answer, and Donnie chose not to pry. Surprisingly, Raph didn’t attempt to pry either though that didn’t stop him from smirking broadly at the blue-clad leader.

Again April felt a change in Leo’s emotional state. She turned and saw that he was gazing at her with a slightly guilty expression. Their eyes met. Even at this moment - when the fuzzy feeling was so prominent April could practically feel it emanating off the turtle next to her - all she noticed was his guilt. A quick glance around the room. Raph was busy reading Leo’s comics, Donnie was still checking for hazards, and Mikey was complaining about the lights.

April stood up.

“I’m going to get some water.” She said before glancing at the leader. “Wanna come with me?” The two gazed awkwardly at each other for a brief moment.

“Sure.”

---

Oh god, this was awkward. The tap slowly filled up the glass April had retrieved from the cupboard. The pair stood in silence. Tense silence. She turned the tap off and took a large swig of water. Leo watched her. Their eyes met for the third time.

“Are you alright Leo?”

The question broke through the empty silence, and Leo shuffled his feet. Eye contact now broken, he stared fixedly at the glass clutched in April’s hand and gave her a nod.

“I can tell when you’re lying, y’know.” April commented loftily. “How many times have you used me as a lie detector now? Like 8– maybe 9 times?” Leo’s face was flushed, and he was now staring intently at the floor. “Leo…?”

“It’s nothing.” He insisted, making the trek back over to the dojo. April quickly followed suit, although she latched onto his sash and pulled him back. “April—” but something stopped him. April was close to his face, examining his expression in the darkened lair. “H-Hey–!”

“You’re red again.”

“D-Do you not realise how close you are to my face?”

April stared into his eyes for a moment, then let go of his sash. “I need to wash the glass. Meet you back in the—”

“I’m coming back with you.” Leo said abruptly, now making the trek back over to the sink. April looked dumbfounded.

“But you were the one who—” Leo waved a hand.

The tap was back on again, as was the silence between the pair, though the tension was slightly different. The glass kept slipping out of April’s hands whenever she looked at the turtle, whilst Leo’s breath quickened when he did the same. Both teens were somewhat flushed.

What was happening?

“Listen—” They said in unison. Then stared at each other in surprise. April dropped the glass again.

“You go first.” April insisted, picking up the glass to towel dry it. Leo hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck before sucking in a deep breath of air.

“I think I like you.”

Smash

The glass shattered as it hit the floor. April moved back in reflex but slipped on the excess water. Lunging forward, the leader caught her before she could hit the back of her head on the table. This, unfortunately, led to a shard of glass getting embedded into the bottom of Leo’s foot.

“Quick! Move away from where it smashed!” April looked frankly shocked at almost everything that had just occurred. Leo gingerly fell down beside the table and hissed with pain. “Gosh, I’m sorry Leo I-I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine April, I was the one who caused thaAAH!” April had carefully lifted the turtle’s foot to examine the wound when she had accidentally pressed into the shard, causing Leo to yelp in pain. Again, April apologised profusely. “Nono, I’m alright.” The girl quickly turned on her phone’s flashlight and made her way over to the light switch.

“Oh god.” April breathed, staring down at the blood-stained floor. Leo felt slightly unwell as he stared at his foot. It looked like a deep wound. “H-Hold on, I’ll get Donnie.”

Leo watched her run back to the dojo with a grim expression. He was too forward. Way too forward.

“What?” The lanky turtle rushed out of the dojo, followed closely by April and his brothers. Leo cringed at Donnie’s look of utter exasperation and opted to examine his injury further. “I heard a smash, but I didn’t expect you—”

“Nice going Chief.” Raph mused though he was clearly concerned.

“It looks like a scene from a horror movie!” Mikey commented loudly, excitement overpowering his concern. Raph smacked his shoulder. “Sorry, it’s just– look at all that blood!”

“You don’t need to point it out, Mikey.” Leo mumbled, actively paling at the sight. It was pooling around his foot at this point. Gross. Donnie rushed over to Leo’s side and gave him a shoulder to lean on as he stood up. The minute he turned Leo away from the shards of glass, the leader came face-to-face with a worried girl.

He went red.

“Come on bro.” Donnie sighed, “Mikey, I trust you and Raph can handle the mess—”

“I’ll handle it.” April insisted, “It’s my mess. It’s the least I can do.”

AN: I may have had fun with the colours. Yes it's the important parts (in my opinion), no it's not necessary but it looks nice so there!

#fanfic #tmnt fanfic #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #leopril #aprilnardo #april o'neil tmnt #april x leo #leonardo tmnt #leo x april #michelangelo tmnt #raphael tmnt #donatello tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #whoo boy

62 notes · View notes