Hey everyone, sonicsora/honorthyname here with a new story. Smell of Camellia. A story I've been posting on the turtleslash comm for awhile, I finally got up enough guts to post it here (With some edits, the story might get a bit sexual in nature so to see the non edited versions head on over to LJ!), hopefully all of you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
A warning though, this story is heavily based on the pairings of Usagi/Leonardo & Gen/Leonardo, along with that, the characters are prettty old in this fic. Leo is seventy eight currently in the story while Usagi died at eighty one. So if the idea of them being FINALLY older than sixteen squicks you please click the back button now! Also, Leo is greiving, he maybe a bit more 'cry-y' than you'd like, but people deal with grief in different ways, this is Leo's way of dealing with it.
Thanks for reading, enjoy~
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Leonardo hated the smell of camellia, the scent always able to twist his stomach into knots. The flowers always able to make him sick with grief and guilt. It always making him remember more then he ever wanted to these days. The empty bed, the cold nights and loneliness enough remembrance as it was. Even the creaks and moans from the old house started to make the ninja unsettled. All Leo wanted to do now was stay blank and empty, devoid of the emotions that plagued the seventy eight year old turtle like a never ending storm.
This wasn't helping any, his eyes finding a scroll tapped up on the closet doorway. A frown easing onto his features unhappily.
The ninja clutched at his elbow tightly, able to bite back the bile that wanted to escape at the scrabbly note and flowers pinned up on the doorway. His amber eyes taking in the sun aged paper and dead flowers with distaste. He uncrossing his arms reluctantly to pluck the note free from the flowers, the ninja settling down on the old creaky chair with a soft noise.
Dark eye scanning over the note with a frown, he pressing his lips together with a shaky sigh. Letting the paper drop, beautiful kanji mockingly landing face up almost leering up at him with those heartfelt words. Achy hands pressing against his eyes attempting to block out the words and the headache rising up on him. The grave was still fresh, and he still hadn't noticed these gifts Usagi left for him? It made the ninja's guilt rise up again, making him close his eyes tighter, chest constricting painfully at the feeling.
He leaned back into the chair, steadying himself before picking the note back up, placing it on the table, hiding it under a vase of incense. The flowers quick to be thrown out of the window finding a home in the dying grass around the old farm house.
Dying petals floating away in the brisk autumn winds, Leo watching with cold eyes. Arms limply resting at his sides. Once white petals dried into harsh brown and yellow colors. Cracks formed in the long since dried out, withering and falling apart into small pieces.
It was almost ironic to him, he watching the petals vanish into the forests circling his home. Those petals were as dead as-
With an agitated click of his tongue against his teeth the ninja started to walk through the creaky farm house once again, checking every room he knew meant something to them for more flowers, more notes. The mixture of relief and sadness at the lack of notes making him want to go back to bed and hibernate. He couldn't, he had to wait for the kids to get here. They'd have a 'proper' funeral and he'd listen to them try and convince him to come to the city. Live in an cramped apartment with his daughter and her brood being treated like the old man he was now a days.
It only made the turtle fuss a little more with the furniture, he cleaning off what dust he cared to be rid of. Too tired to really care this once about how dirty his home was, after sleeping outside for a week or two he barely even noticed the layer of dust and old wood getting worse without his need to clean constantly.
He glanced up from his automatic movements able to hear heavy footsteps.
"Kame?"
"Gen-chan..." Was his quiet response, he glancing up at the rhino. Time had been kinder to him then it had been to Leonardo. The rhino seemingly having more laugh lines around his mouth and less noticeable wrinkles lining the gray rough skin.
"Do you feel any better Leo-chan?"
"Yes, better then when I came to tell you." He mumbled with a small shake of his head to clear away the memory. Gen having surprisingly been a support beam as the turtle crumbled into a million pieces when he had gone to tell the rhino of Usagi's death. Gen had let the turtle cry on his shoulder before the ninja dried his tears and escaped into the forests around the farm house.
"I take it you came here to pay your respects? He's bur- He's by the oak tree, I'll take you there..."
The rhino nodded quietly, giving the ninja another surprise, gently resting a hand on the ninja's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. The two holding a stare momentarily before Leo broke it with a small embarrassed laugh, cheeks flushing faintly as he turned his back to the rhino. Stiffly guiding the rhino out of the house towards the large tree and its small hand carved grave stone.
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Life had never been easy for ether one of them, deaths, battles that never seemed to end, old wounds flaring up and old enemies rising from the grave. It made the two sit on edge, wary even during the calm good times.
That was at least Leo's attempt at an excuse for his lack of relaxation, he wordlessly cutting peppers on the worn chopping block, lips pressed together in a thin line as he diced them into finer pieces.
He pausing in his work at the feeling arms sliding around his 'waist', relaxing at soft furry features pressed against his neck, kisses being trailed across the warm skin. The turtle mrring faintly at the wandering hand trailing lower and teasing over plastron plates.
"Is this your way of getting out of eating what I'm cooking?" Asked the turtle lowly lips curving into a small smile.
The rabbit chuckled against the scaly skin, breathing in the scent of his husband between kisses. "Maybe, you do know I do not like those pepper things."
"Psh. I'll make you like them eventually. You seem to forget I'm the one with a knife." Was the turtles statement, he vaguely waving the knife in mock threat.
"And I am the one doing this." He churred lowly, teasing the ninja's tail, small furry fingers toying with the pudgy tail affectionately. The moans he earned from the 50 year old making the knife fall forgotten on the chopping block.
"Somehow that always beats knife." Groaned the turtle, turning in the older males grip, lips pressing against the rabbit's shoulder giving faint bites before long.
"It is like a odd game of rock paper sisscors, only I win every time."
Leo rolled his eyes at the grin he heard in that statement, covering that look with a kiss.
"You should be happy I still love you, you old man." Groused the turtle playfully, it earning him a nibble or two from the rather frisky rabbit. Usagi obviously trying to distract the turtle from his cooking.
"Mmm, I'd say the same about you Leonardo. Specially with your stubbornness on those peppers."
"You'll like them eventually."
"I'll like them more when you stop serving them."
"Bah, I know you'll appreciate them soon enough, but- before this goes any further let me go wash my hands. I should probably put away the peppers too." Said the ninja, breaking away from the rabbits grip to gather up the diced peppers, putting them away in a small container before heading to the sink.
"Don't take too long Leo-chan, I'll be waiting for you."
The turtle chuckled faintly at that, turning back to face the samurai only to feel his heart stop.
Usagi seemingly had wilted, a dried out cracking yellow taking place of the soft white fur. The softness of his appearance gone, aged into a grimy dirty husk. Red eyes now empty black sockets, bony hands and a broken smile offered to the ninja.
"I'll wait for you koi." The voice crackled lowly in reply, skeletal fingers scratching across the scaly green skin on Leonardo's cheeks, drawing blood before yanking the ninja forward for a kiss. The samurai started to turn to dust, it swallowing up the turtle in a flurry of yellow, brown, the smell of camellia flooding the turtles senses.
Leo awoke with a start, gasping for air his eyes wide as his calloused fingers dug into the soft blankets surrounding him on his bed, he tugging the fabric close to his chest as he pressed back against the head board. Trying to slow his heart rate the best he could.
The turtle pushed aside the blankets, moving to stand on the cold floorboards as he walked over to the window. Hesitating before moving aside the curtain to glance down at the tree. Moonlight filtering through the branches and foliage of the aged oak, making down to the grave stone. It almost eerily glowing in the night.
Leo took a shaky breath, closing the curtains tightly, hands clutching tightly at the cloth as he tried to sooth himself. He trying to grasp on some sense of reality as he his mind struggled.
Usagi was- Wasn't here anymore. He was gone. The dream was nothing. Just nerves. Nerves and grief.
That's all. Nothing more.
Leo felt tears sting the corner of his eyes, he breaking away from the curtains, to wipe at his eyes with the back of his hands. Taking long strides out of his room. Almost moving on auto pilot as he walked down the creaky stairs.
Barely aware he was outside, looming over the small garden. Camellia flowers 'sleeping' in the dark as he crouched down. Yanking them free from the dirt destroying months of hard work with a few swift yanks and his need to slam his trowel down against any he missed. Tears blinding him as he ripped them free, shredding the flowers in his dirty hands. Scratching his hands up badly from holding the trowel's sharp end, blood, tears and dirt the only thing he could feel now. He smashing every last flower he could reach.
He was jerked back into awareness as a strong pair of arms pried him away from the garden, the two settled in the wet grass across from the smashed flowers. The turtle pressed against the rhino's bare chest, Gen keeping him close as the ninja cried.
"Kame..."
"I hate Camellia, I hate it." Sobbed the turtle, burying his muzzle into Gen's chest. The smell of sake, sweat and grass saturating the ninja's senses this time. It numbing him slowly to the grief, making it feel better. Edging away the sharp pangs of sadness in favor of something relaxing.
The rhino offered no words to that statement, simply rubbing the turtles shell soothingly as he cried. It slowly tampering off as Leo leaned into the rhino a little more. Eyes hurting and dried out from the tears, he glancing up at the bounty hunter meekly, he felt so tired now.
"Let us go inside now kame. I need to fix your hands." Murmured the rhino lowly, gently helping Leo stand on shaky legs. Supporting the small male carefully as they walked inside the farm house together.
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Until next time, thanks for reading you guys! If you have any comments, questions or concerns leave a review!