The Right Time and Place

by zenonaa

"When you're a teenage girl, you can have a lot of problems. Not that no one else has any problems but I know about mine the most. I could make up a person with problems but that's called fiction. I mean, I am a writer, but my therapist said that I should focus on things that are real." Leo/OC One shot.

So there was a Dream Date Contest that was hosted by turtlegirls16. I completely missed the deadline. Oops.

I'm not really a romance writer but I gave it a shot because it's always good to leave your comfort zone. And I was bored.

I... uh, apologise for this.

---

When you're a teenage girl, you can have a lot of problems. Not that no one else has any problems but I know about mine the most. I could make up a person with problems but that's called fiction. I mean, I am a writer (used in a very loose sense), but my therapist said that I should focus on things that are real.

My name is Livi. Well, it's technically Olivia, but there's focusing on what's real and there's being pedantic. I have a bossy mother, a tired father, a smart older brother, a noisy younger sister and a strange younger brother. They often get on my nerves but I love them. Most of the time, anyway. Sometimes I forget they love me. When I moved to America, they supported me. Told me to go for it. I always wanted to go to America for many reasons, these reasons constantly shifting like sand. Wait. Does sand even shift? Whatever. It doesn't matter. They constantly shifted.

My family don't know that. I'm an indecisive person in general but I convinced them I wanted to do some sightseeing. Experience new things. So I left them behind in England and set off for New York.

Like many people (I presume), I am full of contradictions. I don't get out much so I can't generalise this to the rest of the population. I'm not the most social of creatures. Give me a good book and I can sit with a blanket draped over my shoulders for hours. People don't need to buy my attention (though gifts are great). They don't have to constantly prove themselves to me. It must be why Leo and I go so well together. Gee, you wonder, who is Leo? I'll get to that. Only if you promise not to laugh. If you are going to snicker and mock me, press the back button.

Ready?

Are you sure?

Okay. When I was sixteen, I roleplayed on facebook. With my friends. My internet friends because I don't have many real friends and the ones I do have don't do this sort of thing. And I never told them to join in because it felt like I was doing drugs or reading M-rated fanfiction at one in the morning. Not that I've, uh, done any of those things.

I made up a character but I'm not going to say what their name is as I never deleted the account. Nowadays, it just exists. Abandoned. Slowly building up notifications for games I don't play. But back in the day, I roleplayed. I roleplayed with people pretending to be ninjas, vampires and/or beautiful yet shallow creatures. Never do I regret what I did. All those nights I spent on chat, feeling awkward because I couldn't write smut as well as the twelve year old girls I was roleplaying with. They were worth it somehow, even if I still don't know how.

Then I met Leo. Only he wasn't called Leo on facebook. His character went by the name 'Ichirou'. Yes. I thought he was a weeboo too. But he differed from all the characters with nonsensical backstories and the power to make a woman orgasm with a stare. He answered my questions about his character, adjusted his personality and life story whenever I stumbled upon a loophole. The help was returned in kind and we roleplayed. It wasn't uncomfortable. Then we added each other on our real accounts. We grew close, talking about other things. He lived in New York. Had three brothers. A father. Few friends. Insecurities, like me. We laughed at each other's bad jokes, listened to each other's problems. Never thinking badly of the other. Never judging. Never setting expectations.

But then he changed. Started to avoid me. It hurt and I realised that no one else had ever made me feel like that. I isolated myself from other people most of the time, keeping my emotions revolving around me. How did he manage to do this? Desperate, I came out of my shell and messaged him. Asked him. Confided in him how much he meant to me.

He didn't specifically say how much I meant to him but now I understand. Leo asked me whether I could keep a secret. Duh. I hadn't told anyone about our private roleplay logs, right? He said this was different. I told him I didn't care. He turned webcam on.

Leo was a turtle. Not a pet turtle with a monocle (come on, he had to be a genius pet turtle if he could use a computer). I'm talking about a large, talking turtle. Not a costume. He was seriously a turtle. We're talking human-sized here. I remember staring at him, him staring at me. Waiting. Was I scared? Yes. So? It was freaking awesome. And it didn't change who he was. Who he had been.

Things fell back into place. Returned to normal.

Finally, I moved to New York. He met me in an alleyway like we agreed beforehand- even though neither of us roleplayed anymore, we talked to each other just as much. And meeting him in person was nothing like I imagined even though he was the same person I came to bond with.

Leo took me to see his family in the sewers. The journey smelled horrible and I stepped in something I don't know nor want to know, but his home made up for it. Lots of rooms. Televisions. Game consoles. A secret lab. It was better than my home.

His family were very kind. Talkative, but kind. They teased Leo and I about how we met and asked me a lot of questions. Then their father, who is a rat person called Master Splinter, told them to lay off only he said it formally and in a cool voice. He questioned me. Would I keep their existence a secret? Things like that which I answered truthfully.

I would never do such a thing.

Leo later told me that it took him a long time to tell his family about me. To get them to accept the idea of another person possibly entering their lives.

He also told me there had been certain measures in place should his revelation to me go wrong. Not just a story about him wearing a costume for a party. I wouldn't have been able to track him down if I tried, even if I was a computer genius. His brother Donatello would always be a greater computer genius than me... than most people. No one would have been able to find them. It should have hurt that Leo hadn't completely trusted me, but it didn't.

I would have done the same.

The youngest brother, Michelangelo, played video games with me for a bit. He was thrilled when I said I played them like it was something different. Lots of girls enjoy video games. Being a turtle forced to live underground must have affected his girl-knowledge. Don joined in and we played Mario Kart. I really suck at the Wii version so they always beat me.

It's quite easy to tell Leo's brothers apart. Yes, they all wear bandanas (they call them masks). Michelangelo wears orange, Donatello wears purple, Leonardo wears blue and Raphael wears red. But they are all very different personality-wise.

Mikey is upbeat and moves a lot. He likes touching and is definitely the snuggliest of the turtles... as far as snuggliness goes. I think he likes the sound of his own voice because he is a chatterbox. Not that it's hard to make that impression on me because I am quiet. It doesn't bother me. He's a billboard of emotions and I like people I can read. Honesty. I'm a sucker for honesty. His jokes make me laugh, even if it's because they're so bad. Mikey likes honesty too.

Don likes touching but is more shy about it. He doesn't spontaneously talk as much or as loudly as Mikey, but he is a chatterbox. Ignore what everyone else says. Once you decide to initiate a conversation with him, he'll try his best to keep up. When he begins to regularly start talking to you about things he likes, you know he enjoys your company. Don's the one who makes all the sarcastic remarks on the sidelines which are a near-guaranteed laugh when you pay attention. And Don is such a gentleman- he could give Leo a run for his money.

Raph.. still scares me. Not as much as when I first met him, but I still worry when we're alone. He's a nice guy but he's way harder to crack than Don and Mikey. Harder to understand. Not that I'm trying to break through to him. It's not about me. It's about him. He's a tough guy with tough skin. Trying to change him to suit you is one of the stupidest things you could ever do. He won't change for you. It'll just make him mad. At this point, some people might wonder why I want to bother. Well, I've seen him during intimate moments with his family (I pray he never finds out) and it's enough to make me want to keep waiting for him to accept me into his circle. He loves his family so much even though he struggles to show it at times.

Leo gave me advice on how to handle his family and Raph's one was 'don't annoy him'. My existence seemed to annoy him. He never spoke to me. Just glared. We make polite conversation now. It's a start.

As for their father... Master Splinter is awesome. We got on as soon as we met. He also makes wonderful tea. And don't get me started on his stories. I could stay up all night listening to them. He's the grandfather I never had. I only met one of mine once, when I was five. The turtles are so lucky.

The weeks rolled by. Leo met me everyday, waiting by the alleyway next to my apartment block. Then he'd lead me to their home. I had to wear a blindfold at first, even though it would take me ages to remember how to get there and I would have to be insane to use this information for malicious purposes. But it meant I got to hold Leo's hand, and for a 'I don't like touching other people' person... I liked this.

Enough beating around the bush. I had a crush on Leo. Big time. I liked the way he talked with me. Not to me. With. Like an equal. I admired his strength, the way he loved his family, his passion, enthusiasm and sense of humour. There were nights I lay in my bed, imagining an alternative universe where he asked me to go out with him and I accepted. Loving, opening up to someone, is something I still struggle with.

And he went and made himself the exception.

But I never tried anything. Never asked. His family came first. Being a friend of someone so wonderful contented me more than enough. His family probably wondered. I overheard Mikey taking bets though I'm sure it was for something else. Something they thought I didn't care about because they shut up about it when I walked over.

It must have been two months after I arrived in New York when, instead of climbing down the manhole near my home at seven in the morning, Leo pulled me deeper into the alleyway. I remember staring at him, conscious of his grip on my wrist, of how close we stood. Being roughly the same height, I looked foward into his eyes.

"Livi," Leo said. "There's something... really, really important I have to tell you."

"What is it?" I asked, trembling. He sounded so serious.

"Not here." Leo looked around. Garbage. Stained brick walls decorated with graffiti of dragons and red tridents. "In the lair."

We walked in silence to the manhole and he shifted it to the side. He climbed down first, as always. Probably thought I would let go of the ladder and fall. Really, as if I would ever do that. Leo frets too much.

I didn't like the lack of conversation. "Why can't you tell me what's wrong now?"

"Nothing's wrong," he told me. "At least, I think."

"You think?"

Leo blinked. Most likely hadn't meant to say the last part out loud. "It's... difficult. Look, Livi, I was thinking... you know you've been here for two months? And we've known each other for... what, two years now?"

"A bit more," I guessed. I stepped off the ladder and followed Leo down the sewer tunnel.

He placed his hand onto the back of his head. "Right. I was just thinking... we should celebrate."

"Did you celebrate meeting everyone else?"

"Kind of," said Leo. "It won't be anything big."

I breathed out in relief. "That's it? No offence, but I thought... never mind."

He still looked worried. "There's something else too."

"Something else?" I nearly stopped walking. "What?"

"It's... a surprise," said Leo. He sounded like he was lying but he couldn't have been. I crossed my arms over my chest.

Leo smiled. I wavered. Did he practice smiling like he stormed through katas each day? Or was this something he didn't have to work for? He held out his hand and I took it in mine.

We ran the rest of the way, footsteps echoing down the tunnels. The map of this part of the sewers was engraved into my mind. Round this corner. Down a bit more. Don't walk under that pipe. Onto Leo's back. Jump to the other side of the water. Left. Round the next corner. Cross section. Cross over again and continue that way for a while. Cross over once more. As more minutes passed, my dependency on Leo increased. We had to take a series of shortcuts involving previously boarded off areas and dropping and rising to different levels. Apparently, there is a manhole that is a direct route to the lair but Leo doesn't like using it without a disguise or when it's daytime.

We strode past the sign near the entrance. Finally. Leo inputted a passcode that I can only do on my third attempt if I'm standing in front of the keypad. Then Leo turned the wheel on the door and we entered the lair together.

I could hear the television blaring below me so assumed the others were watching it. Their home is really interesting. The upper area is a series of metal bridges of sorts interlocked. Nothing like the houses above ground. Then again, it wasn't designed to accommodate four large turtles and their rat master.

We descended the staircase. I turned, expecting to go join the guys, when Leo pulled me back by the arm. He rested his finger onto his lips and I remembered he wanted to tell me something, A surprise. So I followed him as he led me towards his room. Did he want to give me something?

When we arrived at his bedroom door, Leo opened it before shutting it nearly instantly. His forehead wrinkled.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes," Leo lied. "I mean." He sighed, looking into my eyes. He may have a leg-wobbling smile, but I have an unrivaled Poker Face. "I'm trying to find the right time..." His hand slipped off the door. "And place. It's complicated."

I hadn't been inside his room much but I liked what I saw. Everything has its place. Having shared a room with my sister and lived with messy parents most of my life, I truly love how organised Leo is. His room is simplistic with no clutter. But it's so him, with scrolls and books and paintings and a bicycle on the wall.

As Leo led me towards the training area, doubt started to creep into me. So... what was the surprise? What did he mean when he said he wanted to find the right time and place? What did he mean by 'it's complicated'? Complicated was a word that troubled me. It meant things might not go well.

I sat on the bench with him. Leo stared at me. He breathed in, absorbing his surroundings. Hands on mine. Head tilted towards me. Was he... going to...? No. But... what if...?

Leo gritted his teeth and stood up. Never mind.

"What's wrong with here?" I asked. "Is it the time or the place?"

Leo turned away and glared at the platform above us. "Can we have some privacy?"

My head jerked up. I twisted around. Leo's brothers stared down at us. Mikey hid a camera behind his back.

"What are you doing down there?" Raph sounded suspicious. No. With a face like that, he was suspicious.

"Nothing!" Leo retorted. "Come on, Livi. Let's go for a walk."

I followed him up and out of the training area. As Leo led me towards the coat rack, I looked over my shoulder and slowed to a stop. His brothers watched me. I focussed on their feet until Leo called for me and I ran after him.

TMNTNMT

Now, I'm not one to put myself on a high pedestal, but even I wasn't stupid enough to not realise what was going on. They thought Leo and I were going to do something and the something wasn't exactly done from a friend to a friend. They thought we were going to kiss.

If I'm honest, I expected the same. Leo feeling towards me how I felt about him would be a surprise even if I already guessed what he intended to ask. But what if I was wrong? I like to think I understand people but any kind of uncertainty in this area stopped me from saying anything.

And the looks on his brothers' faces... why did they stare at me? Were they worried I would hurt him? That I wasn't good enough? Leo was... Leo. Of course I wasn't good enough. Never would be. I was a regular teenage girl. Nothing special.

During the day, if any of the turtles need to go out in public, they dress up in ridiculous bulky clothing. Coat. Scarf. Hat. Boots. Gloves. Thankfully, it was winter so he didn't look too out of place. I shudder to imagine any of them going out like that in the summer, completely obvious and sweaty under all those layers.

This 'walk' turned into a waiting game for Leo to find the right time and place to tell me whatever it was. I'd given up on expecting a present... unless he was finding me one? Anyway, first he took me to a nearby mall and we walked through it. I brought my purse. He recommended some stores, starting with ones that sold clothes. I'm not much of a clothes person and I could tell he was relieved that I didn't spend ages browsing through things he didn't really pay attention to otherwise. My asking of 'does this look good?' made him a bit snappy, and me a bit snappy, so we left in silence.

Then he bought me an ice-cream, so I forgave him for at least the moment. Leo bought himself one and nearly dropped it a few times as we walked. His gloves really impacted his dexterity with things like ice-cream. It was inevitable that his scoop of chocolate would finally fall onto my shoe. He apologised profusely and any ill-thoughts towards him vanished as he wiped my foot. We laughed about it afterwards.

Next was a film about alien lizards trained by a badger to defeat a one-dimensional villain. For some reason, the alien lizards became regular lizards until the leader lizard persuaded the one-dimensional villain's much more interesting female assistant to help him. We watched it without talking and there were these teenagers sitting near us kissing and cuddling as people onscreen blew up. I had more fun talking about the characterisation and plot afterwards than I did watching the actual film. Leo did too.

Out of things to do, we sort of wandered around. As we passed more and more stores, I noticed Leo's attention drifting away until he was window shopping. Was I that boring? I pursed my lips.

"Do you want something?" I asked when he was practically pressing his face against the window of a jewelry store.

Leo jumped. "No." He quickened his pace to mine. "Sorry. I must be boring you."

"You? Me?" I shook my head. "It's more like I'm boring you."

"But I didn't give you any good comments on your clothes," Leo said. "I dropped an ice-cream on your foot. We watched that movie in silence."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "I'm enjoying myself, really."

He took me to a café but didn't order anything. Not wanting to eat by myself, I bought us each a sandwich and a glass of lemonade. We shared a chocolate cake, which was delicious. My stomach can't take much food but with our powers combined, we managed to eat all of the cake. Trust me, it was far more epic than you think.

Afterwards, we headed to the park. There were couples smooching behind bushes and families enjoying picnics and friends talking and hanging out. We ambled around for a while until Leo and I settled by a lake and listened to insects buzzing. The descent to the area was steep and some twigs scratched at my arms. But the area was secluded.

Leo didn't take his clothes off anyway.

"At least the hat," I said, trying to snatch it off him. He dodged. "I can't see you with all that stuff on."

"That's the point," Leo replied, yelping when I leaned towards him. The grass under our feet was wet and I crashed into him, sending the two of us onto the ground. We nearly rolled into the lake. It looked clean but I didn't want to fall in. Ducks and children probably pooped in it and I could see a packet of chips floating nearby.

I realised I was lying on Leo's chest and felt really weird, but he didn't make any effort to lift me off. So we sort of stayed like that for a while. It was uncomfortable but it sort of wasn't when I thought about who I was lying on... Actually, that made it even more uncomfortable.

I dragged myself off Leo and lay next to him, attention on the sky. The sun made me squint. But we laid contentedly beside each other, much like we had done when I was on him. My thoughts consumed me.

Leo sat up. "I know!"

"Know what?" I sat up too.

"The right time and place."

TMNTNMT

Holding onto someone's back as they leap across a rooftop is not very romantic. Seriously. Leo led me up a fire escape, told me to hold on and literally jumped from one rooftop to another. I freaked out. Couldn't even scream. I don't have a fear of heights but I do have a fear of falling to my death. My fear most likely kept me alive because I held on so tightly I think I bruised him. Or maybe not. But that sounds cool.

"Are you all right?" he asked as he gently unclenched my fingers. He put his hands onto my shoulders. "I'm sorry... I should have thought first. I just wanted you to see the sunset." Leo closed his eyes. Spun on his heel so he faced away from me. "I'm so stupid!"

"No!" I hissed. Leo flinched. My throat was still tight from shock but that wouldn't stop me. Nothing would. "Leo, what's wrong? You've been acting funny all day. We've gone out before but this time... this time felt different."

"Different?" Leo repeated, digesting the word. He turned, eyes focusing on me. I stepped towards him and the detail in his eyes increased. "What do you mean?"

I inhaled, forcing myself to keep eye contact. "I... don't know. Today was... great. All the other times were great but this one was different."

"But you didn't seem to enjoy anything we did," he said. That must have been what bothered him. He must have wanted to find something that made me happy.

"You know I'm not expressive," I said. I averted my gaze but then looked back. No. Strong Livi. Confident Livi. "You're right. Sort of. I did enjoy today... by being with you. Not finding things to do. I enjoyed you."

Leo didn't say anything. I let him take in what I said. Had I phrased things badly? I had a habit of doing that. People often asked me to repeat things and didn't get my observations or jokes. Or did he understand and just not like what I said? Had I said too much?

"... Livi," he said, holding my hands. "Now I definitely know the right time and place."

My heart thumped loudly. I wished it'd shut up but then I would be dead. And now I was ruining the moment. I gave him all of my attention.

"It's when I'm with you... and when you're with me. I've been trying to get away from a big part of me today to try and be something I wasn't. To be someone I thought you wanted me to be."

"I want you to be you," I assured him, squeezing his hands. He squeezed mine. The sunset was beautiful, just like he said it would be.

Leo finally turned to me. "That's why the right place is back home."

TMNTNMT

We arrived at the lair, his brothers and Sensei waiting in the television area. Leo marched up to them and stood in front of the television.

"Can I have your attention?" he asked despite the fact he already imposed it onto them. "I need to say something." Leo took in a deep breath and turned to me. "Livi... we've known each other for a while. You're down-to-earth, funny, kind and a great listener. When I'm with you, I feel like I don't have to pretend to be anything. I've come to know so much about you yet it feels like I'm just scratching the surface. I want to get to know you... more, if you would give me the chance. I understand if you choose to decline because of our lifestyle and the risks involved... but I really care about you."

Leo turned to his family. I tried to understand what he was saying.

"Should Livi accept my request, I want to have your blessing. You're my family and if this is too dangerous, I will oblige and take no further action."

They stared at him. Leo stared at them. My gaze flickered.

"... Are you asking us whether you can date her?" Raph finally said. I blushed.

Leo coughed. "... Yes."

No one said anything. I fiddled with my fingers. Then I realised they were waiting for me to say something.

"I would... like this," I mumbled, meeting their gaze. They weren't angry. "But I respect what you have to say about the matter."

Master Splinter moved slightly. "You would have to keep your activities discreet. We have many enemies that would target you if they knew of your link to us."

This sounded very formal. And serious. "I understand."

"Very well," said Master Splinter with a smile.

The tension in the room cracked. I squeaked. Leo walked towards me and I met him with a hug, burrowing my face into the nook of his shoulder. Hands found my chin, raising it. I looked into Leo's eyes. Beautiful eyes.

"Can we join in?" asked Mikey. "Or is this a special kind of hug?"

I released Leo and held out my arms. Mikey jumped up to embrace me. Then Don. Raph lingered by Master Splinter, but the latter stood up and came over to give me a hug. My eyes stayed on Raph. He hadn't properly given me permission and it mattered.

Raph trudged over. Master Splinter stepped to the side. Mikey and Don backed away so there was nothing between Raph and I.

"Don't hurt him," said Raph.

"I won't," I replied.

Raph didn't move. He just studied me. I didn't waver. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't scared. But I was sincere and he needed to know this.

He reached over and embraced me. I could feel the lumps and scars in his skin. My eyes filled with tears as I hugged him back. There was no tension.

Not at this time and not at this place.

That's not to say everything is sunshine and rainbows. People worry about me. I can't tell them that my boyfriend is a turtle. Who would believe me? They don't always believe my lies. But I made a promise to keep the truth a secret.

I practically live in the lair now. There are nights where I stay up, waiting for Leo and his brothers to return. Preparing myself, should his body come back without him inside it. We argue about it. Leo sometimes questions whether we did the right thing. He doesn't want me to get hurt. I can't fight like him.

There were times when we nearly ended it. But they come less frequently now. Leo admires my strength. I admire his. Sometimes, we sit together and just admire each other. No words. We simply feel each other's presence.

And then we know things are as they should be.