Leonardo felt... weird, no embarrassed, no mortified putting on this stupid apron for his brothers stupid flower shop. Michelangelo gave him a thumbs up and a lighthearted "Ya look great bro!" But that didn't help the feeling of ridiculousness in the pit of his stomach.
Leonardo didn't like accepting help. When they were kids, he was the one taking care of them, not the other way around. He could get by just fine on his own. If he really needed it though, he'd bend. Taking charity from his brothers was always an option, they'd been close as children and kept in touch often. Still, it was better as a comfort he didn't need, rather than a necessity that he was leaning on to keep himself fed. Plus, in times like this, he expected money from Donatello and maybe something nice from Raphael that was thinly veiled as a 'early birthday gift'. Those two were the 'successful' kids. With Donnie's job as the top engineer for a weapons company that directly supplied the U.S. government, he was set for life. Not to mention his status as one of the brightest minds in robotics. And then there was his twenty or so patents... and his husband was almost as insanely smart.
Then there was Raphael. An Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medalist. With a bunch of prize money under his belt (a comically large gold one at that), he could easily dole out the money for a fancy gift like a shiny car or computer. His boyfriend was also a well paid government official. Sometimes Leo was surprised Traximus wasn't some sort of fighter too, given his bulging muscles and sharp horns. Maybe that was why, too much of an advantage.
Despite all of that, here he was, wearing this dopey brown apron with the words 'Little Shop of Flowers' printed across the front. Michelangelo couldn't resist when he first conceived this place mentally. A flower shop by his favorite place in the world. The California coast.
"Okay man. You're gonna have to run things here while I head out to talk to a guy about some new supplies for the shop. Mainly potting, which is boring, but hey we'll be getting these new amazing flowers called Vanilla Orchids that are this super pretty milky color and- oh! I gotta go! Slash'll be by later to drop my lunch off cause I forgot it this morning. Tell him to put it in the back fridge will you? He'll know what you mean."
"Mikey! Are you sure that's a smart idea? I mean I'm brand new, I sort of need training right?"
His brother waved him off. "You're pretty good with people. I mean you did tours at that museum for so long that it should be fine. Wait... you know how to work a cash register right?"
"Yeah, but I don't-"
"Alrighty! You should be fine then. See you later bro!" The door slammed and now Leo was standing there alone in a dopey looking apron.
Leonardo sighed and murmured into the empty shop. "I don't know the first thing about flowers..."
Not entirely true of course. He could point red roses like any other. Lavender was always a favorite smell of his, so he might be able to recognize those with his nose alone. And then Karai had always liked lilies...
Outside of those three he was useless. Guess he'd just have to hope no one wandered in, or called the store phones, or god forbid someone asked him to arrange a bouquet. As soon as he thought it, Leonardo expected someone to walk through the door. No one did thank god, but Leo felt even more ridiculous for being so paranoid. Not everything in his life was going to turn out terribly. Not that it felt like that after what happened with his fiancé. Karai Saki.
It would've been enough to simply dump him really. That hurt him enough. But then Karai and her father had to go the extra mile. Oroku Saki had never exactly approved of Leo, and surely he was overjoyed when his daughter handed Leonardo the key to their shared apartment and told him 'things just weren't working anymore'. Maybe that didn't satisfy him though. Because a week later he was let go from the museum job he'd held for years. The official reason they'd given him was financial. They had to make lay offs, yet he was one of the places best employees. He'd been told that multiple times before, and his boss looked downright disappointed to let him go. He was convinced that Karai's father had forced their hand. He donated to the place annually, and the money he gave was nothing short of a small fortune. Maybe he offered them more, or more likely, he threatened to cut them off. Whatever the case, Leo did know he was thrown out onto the streets with a 'do not rehire' mark from the only job he ever really had.
He still had a degree in Japanese cultural studies, but to most that just made him seem like an anime loving weirdo. Well until they figured out his last name was Hamato, and he spoke the language fluently thanks to his father.
For now though all he could manage was this place, and it was owned by his brother. (Or well on paper Slash owned the place but for all intensive purposes it was Michelangelo's). He started to map out possible job opportunities in his mind for the fiftieth or so time, when the small bell above the door jingled. He had been resting his head against the counter, and sprung up as soon as he heard the sound. It was unlikely he could actually help whoever entered, but he at least wanted to look professional.
The first patron of the day was a white rabbit, rubbing his chin and looking quizzically at the stacked shelves. Everything in the shop was flowers. Some in plastic wrap, some in pots, some in intricate glass vases. Really it was a crazy explosion of colors. Like someone had splattered paint all over the walls. So the stark white of the rabbits fur was almost too intense of a contrast for Leo to look at. But when he did, he couldn't stop.
At first Leo thought it was because of the contrast, but then he started noticing the curves along his face and neck. He followed them down until the rabbit felt his stare and turned. Leonardo jumped and stuttered out. "C-Can I help you?"
The rabbit smiled and the thought. 'He's almost as pretty as Karai.' Shot through Leonardo's head. He missed what the rabbit actually said because he's too busy mentally cursing and praising himself at the same time. 'Hey you shouldn't compare everyone to Karai.' 'But doesn't him being that attractive to you mean your starting to get over her?'
Still he registered that the rabbit did say something, so he had to respond.
"Uh... yes?" Leo wasn't sure what he was saying yes too, and he was just as unsure why he had said yes.
"Alright! Let's see. I should have it somewhere around here." The rabbit began patting at his pockets, and Leonardo continued looking at him. Staring so much should've started creeping him out by now but he simply made a little 'Aha!' Sound when he found what he was looking for. It turned out to be a small slip of paper. He unfolded and glanced at it before turning back to Leo. "Right I'm looking for... Silk Road Lilies?" He shot a questioning glance at the turtle.
Oh. He was looking for something. That's what he had asked before. But it was weird, because Leonardo should've been completely useless in this situation. Yet, he knew exactly what the rabbit was talking about. He saw a big bouquet of Silk Road's when he first stepped into the shop. "Uh... um... right. This way please."
He stepped through the little flap that separated the counter and the rest of the store and led to the corner of the shop. Distinctly feeling that all of this was surreal rather than actually happening.
He stopped abruptly, and gestured. "Here we go." The rabbit hadn't expected him to stop, but luckily was vigilant enough to slam on the brakes before they collided.
"Ah yes. This looks right." He glanced at his paper mumbling about colors. Leo wasn't really paying attention, still feeling like this weird coincidence wasn't actually happening. It wasn't until he heard "Doko... doko ni aru..." That he snapped back into reality.
It looked like the rabbit was searching for another piece of paper, patting his pockets and reaching into them briefly.
"You speak Japanese?" Leonardo had to ask. He hadn't had a conversation in his first language in three weeks. Karai had broke up with him, and Donnie was always so busy...
"Hai. Hanas- ano... I mean... do you speak it too?"
"Hai. Chichi wa nihon de sodachimashite."
"You learned by heritage then. Did you ever-" Whatever he was about to say was forgotten as soon as he yanked out the slip he had been looking for. "So... looks like I need... twenty five bouquets of these."
Leonardo blinked and titled his head. "How badly did you piss your girlfriend off?" Someone as handsome as him had to have a girlfriend right? He looked older actually, maybe he was married.
"Uh... girlfriend? Oh!" He let out a loud peal of laughter and waved at the air. A grin slipped across Leo's face. The first one in awhile. "No no. These are for a wedding. And not mine. A childhood friend is the bride, and she asked me to run some errands."
"Right. So I'm guessing these are for the tables?"
"Yep. This is what she requested. The colors are red and white so..." He gestures to the flowers as indication. They were a deep crimson, with white leaking into the tips.
"It makes sense. Gotcha." There was a pause, long and heavy. Leo bounced on the balls of his feet and the rabbit glanced at the door.
"Uh right. So... I would like to stay and chat but... well I still have to pick up more decorations, and my son uh... nephew I mean."
The rabbit paused, his brows furrowed so much that his whole face was scrunched up. Then he shrugged. "I mean it's not like it matters, and I... I need to. Look, I need to pick my son up from daycare. At three."
He murmured under his breath "There I did it." And then walked out of the shop.
Leonardo sat there stunned and confused, still thinking about the curve of the rabbits neck, and how it morphed into his lean chest. He=e smiled again and then frowned cause he didn't even know his name. How did he not ask his name for gods' sake or maybe his number. Something!
Then the rabbit strode back in. "Someone will be by to pick up those flowers on Tuesday by the way. Not me thank the gods but... uh another guy. The groom." Leo noticed a hint of disdain, and began to see some of a story that is not his or Karai's or Oroku Saki's unfold.
The rabbit looked like he was about to step out again, but he slid in through door and pulled out another small slip of paper. This one completely blank. How many of those did he even have?
"We should chat sometime. It'd be nice to have a conversation in Japanese with someone who isn't Mariko or Kenichi. Tomoe's always too busy, and Gennosuke is just... vulgar. He always thinks that because no one around us can understand him he can say whatever the f- annnd I'm getting off topic. Sorry, long day. My name's Usagi Miyamoto." He stuck out a hand.
Leo blinked, stared at it, and then took it, dumbly shaking it up and down. "Leonardo Hamato."
"Nice to meet you, Leonardo-San. Here's my number." He handed over the slip of paper. "Text me sometime. We can get coffee or something."
"It's a date?" Leo said. He wanted it to be.
Usagi's phone rang and he swore in Japanese. "Uh sure. I gotta go." He took the call and more Japanese streamed from his mouth. Leonardo is sure he heard the name 'Jotaro.'
He stared at the number, the feeling of being in some other dimension strong again in his mind. His singular thought: 'I have a date (is it really a date?) with a rabbit named rabbit.'