Yes, as much as I hate the TMNT Fast forward series, the dark turtle clones were probably my favourite thing about it. Evil clones of heroes are very cliché, but their designs are interesting and they're kinda funny. Probably the only good thing to come out of that time skip, however long it was. Everything else about it – the theme and intro, the humans, the story, the villains – make me want to vomit. My apologies to anyone who actually does like Fast forward; each to their own.
It was a massive, fierce aura. Like a thunder storm, vibrating the air and overwhelming his senses. Leo supposed it was good practise, meditating with such a strong presence. He was used to distractions of all sorts; hyper active Mikey, angry Raph, coffee depraved Don. Attractive samurai rabbit.
His brow furrowed and he shook his head, which his clone couldn't have missed but chose not to raise any questions, for which he was thankful for. He couldn't quite lie to Dark Leonardo, because it simply felt as though he was lying to himself. His naïve, ethically challenged self. Confessing to him that he missed someone, wanted to see one particular person more than anyone else they'd left in the past, would definitely dishearten DL. He would become grouchy and possessive, which would be applied later in the confines of Leo's room. He felt his face heat up, but again, his clone remained silent. He wasn't used to being... submissive. Even with the older samurai he hadn't been, which Usagi had granted him for his own comfort. He'd been his first, and in a way, his only.
He knew Usagi felt that way about Mariko.
"You look sad." He jumped when DL finally spoke. Frustration and embarrassment, he hadn't questioned, but sadness was where he drew the line. Leo's heart warmed at that.
"It's nothing, don't worry," he replied softly, hoping to ease the twinge of concern he sensed in the titan's aura. His clone shuffled on the spot, prompting Leo to open one eye and peek at him. "You don't have to sit with me while I meditate, you know."
"Donatello stays with Donnie while he works, Raphael spots for Raph when lifting weights, Michaelangelo reads comics with Mikey, and I sit with you while you meditate. We don't have to, but we want to." Granted, Raph wasn't particularly pleased about his clone practically stalking him around the penthouse, and Donnie found Dark Donatello to be exceedingly creepy with his constant looming and ominously muttered comments, but Mikey and Leo were a little more comfortable with the situation. Mike was accepting to almost all individuals, just pleased to be able to make friends.
And Leo...
Leo understood their clones' desire to be close to them. After fleeing from Darius' stronghold and seeking refuge in Cody's home – and after a lot of convincing Raph and Serling mind you – the clones had come to the conclusion that being near their biological copies made them feel... complete. Splinter had taken it rather well; better than his reaction to some of his sons' previous relationships, astonishingly, so the four turtles indulged their clones and were gradually becoming quite attached. Some more than others, but that was to be expected. Raph had grumbled about how he'd had far more experienced lovers in the past; how his Dark counterpart often left him rather unsatisfied.
Leo held his tongue on that one; there were too many jabs and insults he could have made.
Donnie clearly missed Leatherhead, and Leo often wondered if DD's foul mood and demeanour was the result of his genius brother's remorse; who did his younger brother envision when his clone had him flat on his shell?
And Leonardo missed Usagi.
He wouldn't make the mistake he suspected Donnie of, though; DL may have seemed like a possessive brute, and to a certain extent that's exactly what he was, but not without reason. Leo acknowledged the fact that he was the first person his clone ever showed affection to.
He was the first person to hear DL say, "I love you".
"If you insist," the blue clad turtle sighed, closing his eye again. His clone went still, but he felt that single yellow eye boring into him. Usagi used to sit with him like this; the samurai would delve in and out of meditation, between thoughtfulness and watching the turtle. DL only stared, and that was fine. Because he wasn't Usagi, and when someone looked at him, truly looked; Dark Leonardo wasn't Leo either. There were too many differences internally, but more than enough similarities.
They were the same, and yet they weren't.
That had been the clones' reasoning; that creatures woven so tightly, so similarly intertwined with the universe needed to be close to one another. It was probably impulsiveness more than love in the beginning, but it was certainly edging towards the latter.
For instance, Raph thought nobody had caught him gently petting DR's head while the hulking creature's chin rested on his thigh. Donnie thought no one had been in the room when he bandaged up DD's burnt tail, murmuring gratitude to the clone with self-ashamed reverence. And Mikey didn't care if anyone saw him teaching his clone what an Eskimo kiss was.
But Dark Donatello wasn't Leatherhead. Dark Raphael wasn't Bishop or Casey or Traximus. And Dark Leonardo wasn't Usagi. And Leo wasn't Mariko.
How did Usagi cause him to learn so much by example, even when he was centuries away?
Leo opened his eyes, arms sliding to rest on his thighs as he looked up into DL's singular eye. The titan stared back, patient and silent. He was learning too.
Usagi had once told him about a beautiful young woman named Mariko. They'd grown up together, played together, danced together. He'd fallen in love with that woman; she'd been his first lover as the samurai had been Leo's, and he truly believed that Mariko would always hold a place in his heart. But so would Leo.
"Loss and pain aside, the heart can be heavy carrying too much love. Too much love for too many people. It is tragically wonderful."
"Would you say it to me?" DL blinked slowly, brow furrowing gradually in confusion. "Those three little words. The ones you told me you'd never tell anyone else."
"Oh," his clone replied. "Those words."
"I love Mariko, but please, Leonardo, never doubt that..."
"I love you."
Leo closed his eyes, the voices echoing through his skull. Dark Leonardo wasn't Usagi, and Leo wasn't Mariko. But Usagi loved Mariko and Leo. And Dark Leonardo loved Leo. There were no bonds or restraints on how many someone could love; Raph had proven that. Yes, some find a person, a single person, that they will dedicate themselves to without question for as long as they may live, as Donnie may well do for Leatherhead.
He would not have a mass of lovers, but he would not simply have one in his entire lifetime. He needed to remember that. With every lover he took, he would give his heart and soul to them in hopes that they would do the same for him, and if the time came when they had to part ways... somewhere, deep down, they would still hold a place in his heart.
He was ready.
"I love you too, Blue," he smiled. The enormous turtle jolted on the spot, eye widening and mechanical optic brightening. Leo found it amusing how such a giant could look like a startled puppy when caught off guard. He chuckled, making DL blush and scowl at the wall. The smaller turtle tilted his head, beaming with a slightly mischievous glimmer, and raised his arms up to the titan invitingly. "Come here," Leo mumbled, cheeks turning a tantalising pink, but that smile remained. DL's eye snapped back to his counterpart, jaw dropping open. He looked around urgently; Leo was usually very insistent in avoiding public displays of affection. Still, never one to waste an opportunity – not with the deprived life he'd lived with his brothers under Dunn's care – the clone moved onto his hands and knees and prowled forward. Leo's arms wound themselves around his thick neck, anchoring himself as the clone pressed his shell into the floor, bowing to smother their lips together.
What was that thing Usagi used to do...
Calloused finger tips glided down the back of DL's neck, dipping under his carapace and tickling the shoulder blades, then digging into his flesh. He grunted into the kiss, feeling those two fingers trail over to his left shoulder and then squeeze. He couldn't help the goofy, pleasured smile that spread across his face, or the thundering purr that apparently tickled Leo enough to make him giggle.
This was new; Leo taking initiative instead of letting him have his way, satisfying himself with little to no input from his partner. In all honesty, it almost seemed like Leo didn't know what to do. The titan knew for a fact that he'd been with another – flashes of memories that weren't his, glimpses of a lover he'd never been with, long and snow white ears – but the awkwardness of the smaller turtle's actions seemed like he was a fumbling virgin. Until now.
A string of slaver extended between their lips as Dark Leonardo pulled away, pushing himself upwards, hands on either side of Leo's head. Good god he's beautiful. "Where'd you learn to do that?" Arms far thinner than his own, but still very muscular, stretched upwards for those hands to rest on his shoulders. Wonderful, alluring arms. Leo blinked slowly, then tilted his head sideways with a coy look.
"A friend of mine taught me," he replied. "This too." DL moaned loudly as the smaller turtle bucked his hips up and ground their hips together, languid and taunting. The clone growled, dropping down again quickly, halting just short of their lips crushing together again. They stared at each other for a few brief second, before Leo raised his head and slid his tongue along the titan's bottom lip. "Come on, Blue. Show me what you've learned."
Dark Leonardo snarled and practically devoured the smaller turtle; his lips, his neck, his shoulders. Sharp teeth dug in and a large, rough tongue licked as he sucked on each bite lovingly, leaving his mark on every inch he could. Leo moaned and arched beneath him, throwing his head back and legs trembling with each thrust. Through the heat and motion, he was distantly aware that they were still, in fact, in the garden. He disregarded that information, dragging his tongue over Leo's plastron again.
"Mine."
Hail to the princess, baby!