A/N: Now, I'd go with actual children of Leo and Karai in this prompt, but since I'm a scary cat and w e a k to show my original characters, have an oldie but goodie human AU, because why not? :D
This shot can be a part of my Golden Rays 'verse as well.
Damn, this is super long, over 11k words (because I'm crazy) so I doubt people will even finish it. XD
"Speak low, if you speak love."
Their passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love. Love. Madness that is the greatest of heaven's blessings. Love. Hearts that are always young. ( A collection of one-shots with prompts, written for Leorai Week 2018 )
Maybe we're just kids in love
Maybe we're just kids in love
Oh, baby
If this is what it's like falling in love
Then we don't ever have to grow up
Children
It starts when they are children.
"Wait," nine-year-old Leo pauses, his blue eyes looking at hers, "how many pieces again?" he asks with furrowed brows, kneeling on the floor and Karai besides him chuckles, motioning for, probably, the tenth time to the Barbie doll she has in her hands.
"You separate the first "chunk" into three pieces," she explains as careful fingers brush the blond hair of her doll, "French braids use three sections of hair to create their pattern," she adds, just to be accurate, and allows herself to let out a giggle (while checking, of course, if her father is around to reprimand her), as Leo nods, perhaps too excitedly, playing with the clumps of hair in his lap.
Karai watches as her barely four-hour-new-found friend struggles, before he finally completes the action, and breaks into a grin, staring at her. "Now?"
She tips her head, smirking, and proceeds to explain the next step. Leo looks at her expectantly, as if he's hanging from her lips, and Karai cracks a smile. She never had someone to teach (maybe if you exclude Hachiko, but Leo doesn't really feel like a lap dog to her), someone, to talk to, and someone to talk with – and she decides she likes it. She likes it a lot.
And her father said they don't need friends – how foolish he is, she wonders, shaking affectionately her head.
"I didn't know this was that fun," Leo blurts after moments of silence and hard work, holding his Barbie doll, now equipped with an impressively messy French braid, and Karai gives him a weird look. "I mean," he starts, titling his head, "I don't do these things with my brothers."
'At least you have brothers,' she thinks but bites her tongue before saying it, and instead nods, "Too bad. You are good," she smiles, half-meaning it. Because Leo isn't really good at this, but he is good in general, and that's enough for Karai.
Leo takes a pose of proudness, chest out, as if this is the first time someone compliments him, "Thank you." He leans in and speaks low, his eyes reminding Karai of her mother's when she makes sure, unsuccessfully, that no one is around, so she can light up a cigarette, "you said that if I'd do it right, you were gonna show me something."
"Oh, yes," Karai remembers and gets up from her crouching position between the pillows in the corner of the dojo, quick yet silent steps till she reaches an old drawer. She tries to turn her head to see if Leo has followed her, but doesn't manage to, as a puff of air tickles her neck and she jumps, looking at him with faked menace. "Ah - !"
Leo frowns and holds up his hands, "Sorry, sorry! Don't get mad." Karai is ready to slap Leo on the back of the head, gently, duh, because he scared her, or because he was stealthier than her, but pouts at the choice of Leo's words.
"I won't," she says, like it's the obvious, because it is, and Leo's tense shoulders relax at her stance. Karai takes a look at his face and wonders if this is how she looks when she talks to her father.
She rubs his arm with fond fingers, in a way to make him feel better – or make herself feel better. She beams at him, and Leo cracks a small smile that turns into an easy grin. Karai's stomach clenches in unfamiliar tightness, but, still, in a feeling that she has when her father rewards her. So, she guesses it's a good feeling.
She opens the drawer, and looks awkwardly inside it, until she finds what she's looking for. "Look at this," she glows, turning her head to an equally mouth-gaping Leo. "That's a tanto," she says when Leo doesn't speak, and a smile spreads on her face as she continues, "my name is graved on it, see? Father says when I grow a little bit more, it's going to be mine!"
She kind of hates herself for sounding that excited, her mother always said she should keep an unmoved façade, and not show her feelings to people that could use them – use her, but Leo doesn't seem like that kind of a person. He makes her feel like she watches an episode of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood', wrapped in her soft blanket.
"It's so cool," Leo's eyes are wide as he caresses the tanto, and sounds so dorky that Karai wants to laugh, and she does, more loudly than she's used to. Leo seems unfazed, and his eyes meet hers. "My father has the same stuff in our dojo. But we still practice with wooden ones."
Karai notices how Leo hasn't mentioned his mother at all, during the whole afternoon they have spent together, as if she doesn't exist. But, she gets it. It's like her mother doesn't exist as well. She hasn't the chance to think more about it, because a sudden noise startles them both.
"I'm done with this, Saki!" A stern voice says, or rather, yells, and Karai can feel Leo's trembling hand squeezing her arm, as if he is afraid she's going to disappear.
"Yes, run again. Leave. Coward." Her father spits venomously and the familiarity of his tone makes Karai wince in Leo's grasp. She isn't sure who's holding who.
In the next minute, Leo's father is out of their dojo office, beckoning Leo with his finger with an expression that looks stiff, fond and apologizing altogether. "Just a minute," Leo promises with a crooked smile and Splinter makes an approving sound, standing closer to the exit door, like he's giving them some privacy.
Karai realizes his hand is still glued on her arm and she shakes it, before leaving the tanto – her tanto, cautiously on the floor. Leo gets close till their faces are inches apart and Karai can study each missing tooth he has as he smiles. "I have to leave. But I'll see you again. Pinky promise," he swears and holds up his pinky that Karai reluctantly accepts.
"I did say you need to learn a fishtail braid too," she reassures him, or mostly herself. She knows Leo is coming to her school after the summer, can't help but feel happy that she's going to have a friend, but she's worried her father – he is going to have her homeschooled, doesn't look like he likes Leo, or his father. He's still a shadow in front of the glass of his office door as she looks at Leo.
But, Leo seems all too sure, like a five-hour playtime with her was enough for him to be more than certain. "I will see you again. Bye Karai," he waves through a lopsided grin and runs to his father in the corner.
"Bye Leo," she says when they have left, the bell of the door still ringing, and his name feels funnily comforting on her tongue.
She doesn't realize when her father has a hand on her shoulder, eyeing her quietly. Karai likes to think she's very grown up as she gazes him, eyes glazed with firmness.
But, he just stands still and says, voice thick, "Come, child." He stretches each word.
Karai follows. She sinks in her bed, crying sobbingly, as her father explains why these people she has just met can't be trusted. She hates each word. She asks where her mother is.
His answer doesn't come in words, this time, and she falls on her pillow, finally breathing as her father is gone and the light has given its place to the dark. She's shivering.
Maybe she isn't as grown up as she would like (to think). But she is grown up enough to know when someone is lying.
And Leo and his father don't seem like liars to her.
She closes her eyes with the image of her making braids with Leonardo, and maybe his brothers too.
With the image of her being happy and father-free.
Fate seems not to know how to spell and confuse father and mother, though.
It takes a year for Karai's mother to finally have enough and leave like a thief in the night. Karai's eyes have black bags for the fourth time as she enters the school. She has decided she's not sleeping till her mother comes back.
Her father says she's never going to sleep again, if that's her decision. She takes the risk, for now.
Perhaps the risk is kind of overkill as she's ready to fall asleep on her desk in class, but her ten-year-old friend nudges her back to reality. "You should have stayed home," Leo half-scolds, half-coos her with soft hands running on her back that Karai leans in to, for a minute, before immediately returning back to her past pose.
She may risk sleeping in class, but she's not risking letting the teacher see them being all buddy-buddy and snitch it to her father.
They had formed a set of rules, back when they had just met and kept it until today with unflinching success. (Leo was trying to ruin their plan with his Touchy McFeely attitude, though.)
"I don't care what my father says," Karai had said with certainty in her eyes the first encounter they had during the rest of the summertime and Leo had swallowed with shifting eyes.
Karai had guessed his father had similar behavior. "We need to be careful," she had continued with a soft voice.
"How?"
"We are gonna make others think we fucking hate each other," her still nine-year-old, then, mouth had uttered and laughed with the way Leo's expression looked scandalized, either because she had been that intense, or because she had cursed.
"I'm not going to miss school because of this," Karai says now, eyes focused on the board of the class and Leo sighs heavily beside her. They have talked about her mother – about his mothers, before, very briefly, barely touching the subject, and now that her mother is gone, the subject is floating in the air more insistently, like a balloon hanging from a string, ready to pop anytime.
She scowls at him when he tries to smile at her and the teacher speaks in a serious manner, "Is there something wrong, Miss Oroku?"
"Leonardo is being annoying again, Miss," she sounds indifferent and whiny in the ears of the others, almost mean, twirling her pencil idly.
The teacher hums approvingly, and Leo has to cover his mouth to muffle, firstly, his laugh and secondly, his pain, as Karai kicks him under the desk.
Does he not know how to be discreet? "Idiot," she snaps friendly, far from being mean and Leo tosses her a cute simper.
It's in the storage room of the school cafeteria when Karai breaks down, crying, pressed between wrapped sandwiches and juice boxes.
Pressed on Leo's soft, boyish chest, who finds her and wastes no time, holding her in his arms, sinking with her on the floor.
Karai's clothes are wrinkled and filled with crumps, but she doesn't care as long as Leo continues to be there for her, keeps her in his embrace, when her parents couldn't.
They play thumb wars blindly, till Karai stops sobbing on his shoulder. Leo braids her hair, which is too long than she likes, and she wishes she could cut them now, to stop looking like her mother. She realizes Leo has learned to make a fishtail braid finally, and he confirms he has been practicing on his youngest brother's lengthy, curly hair. He talks about his brothers.
And when she's ready, when they're both ready, they talk about their parents.
Their mothers – the full stories – what made them love them and what made them hate them. The way they always smelled nice and how their hugs were so strong and cozy for them – and how much it hurt and made them cold when they didn't give them anymore.
They try to talk about their fathers, but it doesn't go smoothly. Their fathers are so different and yet, so similar it kind of scares them. They don't understand why they do what they do and really don't want to understand right now.
Besides, it's easier to keep playing and stealing juice boxes from the small fridge, than to convince each other that it isn't their faults.
It's much later when Karai realizes why her mother left. And why it was good for her mother to leave – why it should be done. She gets it and there's a weight off her. It gets replaced by a new one, quickly.
Because Karai, and not a lot of people believed that, didn't hold grudges, she always forgave her father way too easily (didn't know if that was good), but she can't just make herself forgive her. If she wanted to, her mother, she could have taken her with her and not leave her here, with him.
But, except him, it's also Leo here too, and he is here for her, so it isn't all that bad.
Maybe, it's even better like this.
It comes the day when Karai has to be by Leo's side too. He helped her, and stayed with her, and now it's time for her to be there for him.
They chat silently, art class has always been boring, backs turned because the teacher mustn't see them too close, faces nested in their pretty awful canvas.
Drawing is not their forte.
They continue to talk, till Karai realizes with furrowed brows that she's the one doing most of the talking. Usually, Leo doesn't tune out, especially when she talks about her very cool make-up YouTube tutorials, so it's odd for her.
She can't turn her head or body, and decides, instead, to kick backward, with the heel of her foot, Leo. "What's up?"
"What do you mean?" Karai has to admire how Leo plays innocent, his manipulation skills are getting better, thanks to her, of course, but he can't fool the master, Karai knows him like the bottom of her vanity case.
"You're being…weird. C'mon, what happened?" She presses, brushing a smudge on her canvas.
"Eh," he hesitates, sounding small in her ears, and Karai almost feels bad for being such a nag, but her twelve-year-old friend looks sad and confused and she's not taking that.
The teacher seems like she's not paying attention, lost in her phone on the desk, so Karai turns. She takes Leo's chin, who jumps in surprise, to turn his head and look at her. She stares as Leo's forehead wrinkles, furrowing his brows in what Karai guesses is an inner conflict, before leaning forward.
"I like someone," he whispers, like it's the most scandalizing thing it could happen, and Karai rolls her eyes in amusement, ignoring the insistent part of her mind which wishes silently she is that someone.
"That's the big deal? Woah, yeah, I can definitely see the problem here," she deadpans, voice dripping with sarcasm. Leo closes his eyes shut for a minute. "You don't – y – you won't understand."
She purses her lips and lifts his chin up with affectionate fingers, her eyes gazing his. "Try me," she says as a way of promise. Leo swallows hard, and doesn't speak immediately.
Karai waits patiently.
He presses his lips into a thin line, massaging his temples and running his hands through his hair, and his voice goes barely above a whisper as he says, "I – I like – a – a boy."
Ah.
Ah.
Her stomach drops and she doesn't have the chance to let her mind wander on it, since Leo's breath is quicker as he tries to turn his body back to the canvas, as if this is the first time he has told that to somebody, and Karai discovers with a sudden pang of realization and this is the first time he has told somebody, the first time he told it aloud, the first time he said it to himself.
Karai has to act fast, so as not to lose touch with him, now that she just caught him. "Hey, hey, hey," she frames his face in both hands, not caring how she looks to others, as long as the teacher keeps her nose in her phone and Leo continues to inhale with her, their breaths starting to synchronize.
"It's fine, hey, it's okay," her tone is urgent and she struggles to find the right words, her stomach still dropping. "It's okay," she repeats, covering each emotion of stupefaction and unwanted and internalized judgment her face could have shown.
"It's not. It's wrong," he tells her firmly, already shaking his head, like he has rehearsed again and again in his head those words. "I'm wrong," he chokes, "Karai, oh, what am I doing, I-"
She hugs him. In her own terms, behind the art supplies and canvas, before he falls apart, in front of her, and she knows she wouldn't be able to handle that.
Her heart is full and there's something stuck in her throat. And if she feels like this, she can't imagine how he feels. She knows he needs reassurance, more than ever, but, for the first time, she doesn't know what to say.
She has seen couples in school, together, she has spoken with women who like women, men who like men, the student body president has been trying for years (exaggeration to make a point) to make Pride lunches happen and she knows herself she's anything but, completely straight, if the Vogue magazine covers of very pretty women hanging on the wall of her room for not-only make-up purposes are any indication.
They are silent for far too long, and Karai, despite everything, can't seem to know what to say. But she's grown heavy and hot waiting, so she decides to break the silence and handle with grace her improvisation.
"You know it's all okay, right?" she asks again, wincing at the words, and Leo's eyes dip shamefully, like he's done something illegal, like all that he feels is plain abnormal. "Leo-"
"I don't know!" he exclaims with a hoarse, low voice, eyes pleading. "I don't know what I want, what I like, I'm – I – I don't even know my own feelings, ugh," he rubs his hand on his face and groans, "Why am I like this?"
"You don't have to know, Leo," she starts stiffly and unsure, all of a sudden, Leo's name soft on her tongue. The bell won't be ringing for the next hour, art class is like their two-hour free period, and she's not in a hurry.
"Don't feel forced to label yourself," she continues, speaking as a matter-of-factly, her own questioning articles on the internet helping and Leo breathes hard against her face – they're close. "So, you like a guy, the big deal, Leo." He opens his mouth but Karai preempts him, tone fierce, "I know why you're worried and I get it, but you won't feel better if you don't just wrap your mind and admit the fact."
Leo looks on his knees, his face focused as if someone is reprimanding him and Karai stops a bit, her hands caressing Leo's as she speaks again, slower this time, voice low, soft and gentle altogether, "If you have consistent feelings, don't ignore them. Even if you can't label it, just – don't ignore it, okay? It's no use lying to yourself. And that's just now, the confusion doesn't last forever. "
"I know it's, like, hell, now," she points out and Leo chuckles lightly under his breath, so she knows she is in the right way, "I promise you, it may take longer than you would like, but you will figure out who you are."
She barely hears it when Leo asks, voice timid and unusually high-pitched, shoulders hunched and eyes darting, biting his lip, "You don't think I'm, y'know, gross?"
"If you think that, then I have failed you as a friend," she says with wide eyes, that familiar feeling of not being such a good friend as she should be twisting her stomach in painful and awkward angles. "Of course not. Don't even dare say such thing again," she hisses with ferocious worry and fond concern at the same time, vowing mentally to beat up anyone who would say something like that to her friend – only friend.
Leo looks up at her face, a smile teasing the edges of his lips and Karai can't help but give him a knowing smirk, adding with a promising gleam in her eyes, "That's why I'm here too. I'm glad you told me. Very glad," she soothes tenderly, before a thought crosses her mind and she blurts, "I could send you some articles, or something, about it."
Leo tilts his head at this, as if he didn't expect it, whether that means he didn't expect that she helped or he didn't expect she would have knowledge on these stuff – she isn't sure. "That'd be cool, actually. But, um, I don't have your nu-"
Karai hastily grabs a pen from her tripod, and catches Leo's arm, writing messily her phone number on it. "Here. Once you see a text from this number, know it's me. I'll text in Japanese, too, don't want brats who get involved in everything realizing what we're talking about," she adds with amusement glazed in her eyes and Leo deadpans.
"When you say brats who get involved in everything, you mean my brothers?"
"Yup," she confirms, snorting, "Still, I am very happy you told me."
She's here for him, at this thing, where Leo perhaps hasn't even talked to his father and brothers, and probably doesn't want to talk until he's sure.
The last words make Leo's curled lips break into a huge, rare grin. "You're the first to know," he says with a crooked smile, as if reading Karai's thoughts and she giggles.
"And I hope that guy is the second one," she jokes teasingly, with waggling eyebrows, nudging him with a paintbrush. "And if it doesn't work out, you'll find another guy. Or," she pauses mid-sentence, the Cheshire smile spread on her face, "a girl, if you like them."
Leo's eyes are bright and glittery as he runs them over Karai and tosses her an equally mocking smile that never fails to make her feel warm and funny inside, "Oh, still like them. A lot."
What a colossal dork.
They turn to their canvas, because they've left their drawing in the middle and Karai is now realizing, with the corner of her eye, that Leo is drawing a boy with blonde hair and a pretty smile on his board.
It's a moment after when he speaks, hedging, "So – um, it's – it's normal?"
"Leo," her smile is too fond and she's happy he can't see it, and she thinks of the times Leo bombarded her with all the mumbo-jumbo sci-fi stuff he liked, "it's probably the most normal thing you've ever said. You're normal."
"You think so?" His voice breaks a little, and Karai takes a proud pose, talking with firmness and confidence to make up for his lack of one.
"I know so. Now, c'mon, tell me everything about him. Why do you like him?"
"What's not to like? Karai, he's-"
They stay like this, smiles on their faces for a long time, until their cheeks hurt and ache, Karai asking Leo questions about the, apparently, very sweet boy – Usagi – and him rambling about silly things about him, then laughing when Karai proposes a make-over to make him stand out for him.
She's happy he's happy. She's happy she's making him happy.
Leo discovers his identity, after some digging, finally identifying as bisexual, along with Karai, too, and she is full of joy because identity is important and so is he.
They chuckle in the school cafeteria, figuring out funny ways for Leo to come out to his family, faces cold and glum when planning locations where Leo can go, if things don't go well.
They do go well, after a series of humorous and hilarious events, and Karai doesn't believe her father would have Leo's family's reaction. Things continue to go too well, till, of course, it happens and-
Usagi, he leaves, too. It's not his fault or his decision, but it's like, the people they love, they go away from them, leaving them trembling with the aftermath, and Karai can't see how this is fair.
Leo bawls his eyes out in her shoulder, wetting her hair, holding her like a lifesaver, as if she can change what has happened. He wishes he hadn't talked to him, hadn't seen him, hadn't kissed him, but she pats his hair, whispering how brave how was, for figuring out a whole different trait of him, a scary and unsure one, and still is. And that it was worth it, no matter the result.
He blows his nose in her shirt emphatically and she laughs, pushing him playfully away.
They balance each other.
It takes a while for Karai to realize it, just how easily they've grown close and how easily he has grown close, to her heart, closer than Karai usually allows, and she's surprised.
Of course, she considered him a friend, but now, it seems like everything reminds her of him, the stupid Space Heroes commercials, the Harry Potter ComiCons that are held next to their dojo, the calligraphy classes at school breaks, the freaking bushes on the street that look like his hair-
It's like, she never tunes out from their conversations and it almost, as if he's not just her friend anymore, he's her best friend; and the words make her cringe and feel warm at the same time.
She pushes these heavy thoughts away now, pushing an equally heavy bottle of Japanese Lemon-lime soda towards fifteen-year-old Leo's side, "You can have mine," she says with a weary smile, still wrecked from her yesterday studies, the mental note of Leo's favorite drink shoved in her mind, just as deep as the pixie cut techniques for her new hairdo that she saves there.
Leo flutters his eyes, bowing teasingly in front of her, and takes the soda in his hand. "Oh my, what a gentle offer," he rolls his eyes and takes a sip, a small smile tugging on his mouth.
Karai's eyes linger for a short moment on Leo's lips, before shaking her head mentally. What the? She looks around at the bunches of students messing around at the school cafeteria and she leans over, winking at Leo. "Only for members of my like-list."
Leo deadpans and presses a hand to his chest. "Gee, I'm honored to be in Oroku Karai's list of selected friends."
"Hah," Karai huffs a laugh, taking a hand full of her delicious corn pops in her mouth, "you should be grateful. Not a lot of people make the list," she adds, rather with a serious tone, and a full mouth that probably makes her look ridiculous, since Leo nods, shaking with laughter.
"I know that for sure," he remarks amusingly and Karai snorts, enjoying the way they joke with each other, but Leo doesn't let her live it for too long, as he tilts his head, eyes narrowing, "as I know there's a huge test coming up and you're eating corn pops."
Karai's posture falls into boredom and disappointment, her shoulders slumping. It's not that she doesn't like school or she doesn't go well. She's an excellent student, much to everyone's surprise, always happy to prove people wrong about her, but there are some classes she just can't stand.
If she wants to get a really high GPA score and earn her place to a college, though, much preferably away from her father, she'll have to deal with them.
"I read yesterday," she insists, as if the black bags under her eyes are not enough of an indication, her head still pounding from her cramming session last night, and the shouts and yells of children in the cafeteria. Karai swears she can see Leo's youngest brother, Michelangelo, dancing on a red table and pinches her eyes.
"With our system?" Leo asks, eyebrows furrowed, and Karai resists the urge to groan. She appreciates Leo's Herculean effort to make flash cards with helpful acronyms for each chapter they have to learn in History, which, she admits, are very useful, but she feels as if she's turning into a nerd like him. Just how much of an influence has he on her?
"Yes, with our 'system'," she assures him, eyes witty and a wry smile on her lips, taking a bite from her sandwich and another handful of corn pops.
"I don't believe you," he narrows his eyes, tone laced with certainty, and absurd, and it's too amusing that Karai can't help but reply to him with a matching inflection.
"You're a dork."
"What's that has to do with anything?" he exclaims, feeling obviously betrayed and insulted, without denying the comment though, and she leans back on her chair, laughing right at his face. It's pretty priceless.
"Nothing, I just felt the need to remind you," she snorts a laugh, but Leo's deadpanned look is very convincing and persuading, so she gives in with a sigh of fondness, "Look, ask me one question," she dares him, wanting to prove her hard work, but she doesn't like not making a bet as well, so she adds light-heartedly, "and if I say it correctly, then-"
"Then?" he wonders with what looks like actual curiosity wrinkling his forehead.
"Then…," she trails off, realizing she hasn't though through this enough, looking around. Her eyes fall on the walls of the school cafeteria, on a particular poster glowing against the red of the wall, and she speaks before she can process what she's saying, eyes not even looking at Leo, "I'm going with you to this year's prom. As a date."
He widens his eyes, and they match her own widening eyes, that keep getting larger as the sentence she just uttered echoes back in her ears. Did she just-
"Are you – are you joking with me?" Leo stammers with fidgeting thumbs and suspicious eyes and Karai can't even blame him for that, he has every reason to be like this, " 'Cause, not that it would be bad, the going part, not the joking part, I mean, not that I want, well, I mean I do want, just not in – in the way – ugh, you serious?"
What kind of nerdy shit show was she watching? The fact that Leo had managed to acquire one boyfriend, technically three fleeting relationships and still had a hell of a big bunch of students following him with lovey-dovey eyes around the school was beyond her.
She looks at Leo's open and soft face, and stares for a while.
Well, okay, it wasn't beyond her.
Karai mentally slaps herself, but takes a deep breath and lets her chest out, appearing confident, as if this was her plan all along. "I was, now with your nerdy rambling I feel like I'm ruining my reputation with this decision but, whatever, I'll take the risk," she says casually, like she's talking about the weather and he fumbles with his words, before shaking intensively his head.
"Fine," he declares smugly, trying to seem as confident as her, "But, I'll give you a tricky one."
"Do your worst. Please," she says with a raising brow, and while it's familiar to her, they always playfully talk like that, a clenching feeling twists her stomach.
Leo shifts his eyes, and clears his throat, grabbing his back onto the counter and taking out a huge box that's the same with the one Karai has. She almost giggles, covering her mouth, with the fact that Leo carries his dorky flashcards with him. She sends him a small smirk, and her painful feeling in her stomach goes away as he answers with one of his own scornful, clumsy smile.
Huh, maybe her stomach was bothering her just because she is hungry, she muses, finishing the last bite of her sandwich. Or, her period is coming, she almost sighs irritatingly out loud. Her menstrual cycle is like the New York's buses schedule.
Leo takes a sip from his soda, swallowing down his own veggie burger, as he pulls out a flashcard from the box (who even thought of this idea? Leo's younger genius of a brother, Karai guesses) and reads out loud carefully, "Okay, 5 Key Causes of World War I."
She stops chugging on her corn pops, pressing her eyebrows together while also pressing her brain to remember the acronym they used for this, as Leo continues, unfazed, "World War I occurred between July 1914 and November 11, 1918. By the end of the war, over 17 million people had been killed, including over 100,000 American troops. While the causes of the war are infinitely more complicated than a simple timeline of events, they are still debated and discussed to this day."
He finishes and looks at her lost face.
She doesn't talk for a few minutes, till the answer flows in her mind in hurry and her eyes light up, "Ah! MINIM," she exclaims, dragging on her tongue the name of one of her favorite industrial rock bands and spells each letter. Leo's lips twist into something happy and proud, as she continues, "Mutual Defense Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism, Immediate Cause: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin and Militarism."
"Yes!" Leo screams, silently though, they're not about to draw attention at a place full of student gossipers, the thought of being the next cover of the school newspaper not that alluring. "You are so getting an A!"
He looks happy he helped her and she breaks into a very uncommon grin, holding her hands up and waving as if she's a princess – which, is not true, since she's the fucking queen. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, who won? I won!"
Leo's face scrunches. "..Wait. So this means-"
And Kara just tosses him a snarky smirk. "You just got yourself a date," she snarls in a soft, mocking purr and he chuckles, his lips curling at her jokey actions. " Y'know, friend date," she adds after a moment of laughter, just to clarify. "Better go as friends than alone."
"The horror," Leo says, one hand pressed to his heart. Karai's face sinks into a deadpan, at the same time Leo starts laughing again.
"Idiot," she hisses too threateningly, and she must have looked very menacing, because a hand falls on her shoulder and she twitches in surprise as Leo stays still, motioning with his eyes behind her.
She turns her head and sees the familiar face of their Biology teacher, Mr. Laghari. She shakes her head disappointingly, "Miss Oroku, can you just not argue with Mr. Hamato during lunchtime, please?" she asks in a thick Indian accent, before leaving just as quietly as she appeared, leaving Karai expressionless on her seat.
How is it always her that gets notes, comments, and criticism from the teachers? She's obviously glad the whole school and their mothers think she and Leo absolutely despise each other, but it's like she's the only one receiving remarks from the teachers, damn. And Leo isn't really helping with the situation:
"Yes," he chimes in, voice all thick and rich like syrup, the way it only gets when he is really indisputably amused, a trait she rubbed off on him, "Miss Oroku, please-"
Karai doesn't feel even a shred of guilt as she starts throwing unremittingly corn pops to his face.
"Hey, hey, do not attack me – AH! Hahaha," he mocks and grins broadly as he avoids each corn pop with the grace of a ballerina, already sing-songing, "miss me, miss me, now you have to ki…"
He falters, halting, realizing how the sentence ends and stutters, looking equal parts ashamed and mortified. And his face is all red, aww. Her friend is a geek charming.
Karai gets up, the break is ending soon, and she leans with one arm on the table, smiling at Leo's flushed expression, that clenching feeling back in her stomach, yet not as painful as before. "Save that for the prom."
She does get an A. In History, of all things, and she's ecstatic about it. She hangs the paper with the red perfect mark in her room, next to her Vogue cover magazines and Leo's cute objectively awful Space Heroes posters he had convinced her to buy.
The prom is too fuzzy for her, with bright colors and balloons she detests with a burning passion, with spiked drinks she's more than okay with, but, her brilliant mind chose Leo as a partner, and there's absolutely no way she's getting any alcohol today.
He tries to make room for her in their group, but she's too awkward in front of Leo's brothers and their friends, so awkward that she just seems intimidating.
She doesn't think they like her. Their friends are quiet in front of her, and Leo's brothers look at her, especially the tall one with the glasses and the very short one with the buffy arms, like she's just got out of prison on parole.
She's not surprised. But, when April offers her her mascara once she realizes it's not in her purse, when Michelangelo tries to teach her some cool dance moves since she can't dance to save her life, when Leo drags her by the arm on the floor and attempts to slow dance with her, leading her with his moves, his hands, his eyes and his smile, she realizes that prom was the best decision she could have done.
It's over too quickly, and it's not even midnight yet, so Leo sneaks her into his house, up in his bedroom, and they watch reruns of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend together, since, apparently, Leo is heads over heels in love with Rachel Bloom and Santino Fontana, the struggles of a bisexual, and she takes off her stupid heels, moving her legs closer to Leo.
She laughs once Leo starts singing childishly along to the corny songs, because Leo really shouldn't look that adorable singing about giving someone a UTI, but he does and her heart tightens.
"You know," Leo starts and Karai braces herself because she already knows where this is going, "this is probably a bad idea. A terrible one. This is perhaps the worst idea of the century," he whispers fervently and she is this close to bang her head on the doorknob.
"Even Mikey would stop us and be like 'Dudes, no, bad idea here'," he does a somewhat poor, high pitched version of a surfer and skateboarder voice impression and Karai has to bit back a laugh, because she's not about to make any noise. Not now. "Have I mentioned this is like, a bad idea?"
She finally snaps and looks at him from where she's kneeling. "Can't you just stop? You're overreacting," she adds conversationally and smiles at the fumbling volcano of a goody-Leo that's erupting in front of her.
"Over – overreacting? Overreacting! Do you know we could get caught? We'll be in detention for decades!"
"Relax, you don't need to worry," she continues to work, picking the lock with her two hairpins. And they said Shinigami was a bad influence. Pfft. "I'll protect you," she promises without batting an eye and adds with a simper, voice low, "Besides, I've done this before."
"Jesus," he blurts and Karai can imagine his pupils dilating, not even needing to turn to see him, "I'm hanging out with a criminal."
"Y'see, I prefer the word 'rebel' since-"
"Karai!" His voice breaks in a 'I cannot literally believe you right now' tone, which seemed to be very common around these weeks. It was finals after all.
"Hey," she works harder with the hairpins, already regretting her decision to help him, with, perhaps, sinful ways, "you're the one who didn't want to fail that upcoming chemistry test," she reminds him, turning to point an accusing finger at Leo's chest, that sort of ends up pointing his crotch.
Karai looks up with hazy eyes, throwing him a wink, trying to light up the mood, and Leo pushes her hands away from him in a drama queen-like manner. "That didn't mean I wanted us to steal the answers!" he shouts whisperingly, folding his arms over his chest protectively.
"You said it with your eyes…"she drools on, a smile on her face once she feels feel like she's dealt with all of the pins, puts more pressure on the lever and-
"Uh, no-"
"Done!" she announces as the door flies open. She turns her face to Leo, eyeing him with teasing eyes, "Now, let's see, are you gonna stay outside and pout, failing Chem, or are you gonna come with me to the evil side?"
Leo sighs, moving through the door she has swung open. "My brothers will disown me."
"That's my boy!"
"Woah," Leo wrinkles his nose in disgust, looking around the room which looked dusty and remote, as if not even a soul had been here, "these places are creepy."
"I know, right?" she muses with raising eyebrows, already shuffling around the drawers, "Who uses a monocle? Ah," she lifts up a folder, smirking, "there they are." She pushes herself up, moving to the photocopy machine, before hearing Leo groan behind her.
"We're just risking our As here, do you understand that?" he says, warningly, having a harder and harder time controlling his voice. She just presses the machine's button, and turns to him, sighing.
"No, I'm risking my As, you, as a good boy's scout will probably get away with a reprimand, which," she observes before Leo can have a hissy fit, "is unlikely, since we're not getting caught."
Leo looks around suspiciously, as if he's wondering someone is going to pop in and drag them to the honor-less dungeon. "If you're risking, why are you doing this?"
"Cause, you helped me get an A in History and taught me how to slow dance without practically bruising people's feet, so the least I can do is to help you pass Chemistry."
And Leo just hums a bit, looking partly pleased, but his face is still dead serious as he asks, "And studying wouldn't be possible?"
"Oh, it'd be possible," she admits, "Just not as much fun as this." She takes the fresh new papers from the machine, and puts everything in place as accurately as possible, before tugging Leo out of the teacher's office with excitement, "We're out of here."
"Phew," Leo sighs in relief once they're outside and Karai nudges him, and isn't sure if she wanted to, since the adrenaline plays with her system and actions. "How do you feel, committing your first crime?"
"Like vomiting," he lies hotly, his ears ringing and a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.
"Not on me, these are ugg boots," she huffs a laugh, twirling one clump of longer hair with her fingers, trying to act like a typical, bubblegum-American type of girl and Leo gives her a tiny shove, slumping forward and putting one hand on his knee.
"Don't worry," he says as he kneels down to tie his shoelaces, which are already… tied? She frowns, but the realization hits her once he starts speaking again, "Hey, hypothetically speaking, could I come over by your house tonight?"
She recognizes the tone and understands he's probably playing with his lace as an excuse not to look at her when he speaks. She just lands a soft hand on his back. "But, I thought I was coming to yours," her voice is as casual as she can be, smoothly reminding him of the plan to memorize the answers together at his house.
"Yeah, but, I really don't want to see my father, not yet," he says awkwardly, standing up and playing with the zipper of his leather jacket – …leather jacket…? How had she not noticed him wearing it? It looked good on him. It actually looked pretty ho-
"Well, okay," she smiles, already walking briskly towards the stairs and he follows with warm eyes, "Hypothetically speaking, I would accept."
Leo blinks in surprise, and then smiles too. "Yeah?"
"Sure," they start walking down the stairs and she cautiously puts the answers of the test in her bag. She gazes him, and just arches an eyebrow at him sardonically, "my house is hypothetically empty today."
"You can stop saying hypothetically now," she barely even hears him, as he bursts into laughter.
"Nah, I like the feel of it, hypothetically, hypothetically, hypothetically…," she chants, his own laugh proving to be contagious as she starts to snicker through her nose, along with him, around the hallways till the reach the school's exit.
They hang out in Karai's cool bedroom later, memorizing the answers for the Chemistry test while listening to rock music from their shared ear buds, till Leo is ready to talk to her.
They've learned to give each other the space and time they need and Karai's heart moves with the way Leo's eyes are focused, not shifting and darting, fingers steady and not fidgeting like they would back then.
He trusts her with his worries, (she never had anyone to trust her!)she thinks, as Leo rants, explains to her how he and his father had a fight for the tenth time this week, how unfair he's being, and how he's not the kid he thinks he is, not letting him take decisions of his own, then cries, rambling that he's just ungrateful, not appreciating his father enough, after all.
He trusts her with his whole soul, she thinks, as Leo's head stays still on her thigh, hands wrapped around her waist, respiring lowly till he's slightly snoring, his breath heating up her upper legs.
She just rubs his reclining back in slow, awkward circles, wondering how she was that wrong.
Leo wasn't only her best friend. He was so much more, meant so much more, and the realization makes Karai wonder if there is proof make-up to prevent these feelings, frightens her as much as Leo's soft hair tickles her knees and the insides of her heart.
Damn it. She's in love.
They fight. And it's not like other times.
She doesn't even remember what the fight is about, which is perhaps one of the worst things; she guesses it was something about their fathers. No, she's sure of it.
It's ugly and nasty. They always have arguments, but actual fights? She's not used to it and definitely doesn't want to be. She bits the pillow that has pressed on her face to fight back the tears. Everything comes back to her easily.
They're at the hallway, yelling and throwing books from their lockers.
The students around stare for a while, but go away as fast as they appear. It's not unusual for them. The whole school has seen the fight possibly more than a hundred times. But those fights; they were fake and meaningless, silly stuff they came up with to throw the others off, or stupid things they teased about and others took seriously.
But this fight; it feels so real and it wrecks Karai, rattles her to the bones. Her whole face is hot in fury and her eyes are glazy and burning. She tries to blink the crippling tears away and in the process, she sees through the blurriness familiar figures.
Shinigami with wide eyes next to the mirror of her locker, April covering her mouth and that lanky, tall, smart guy with the glasses pressing a hand on her shoulder, another guy, very similar, vibrating next to him, Casey Jones seeming ready to grab a can of pop corns, and that bulky guy, now with braces, looking at her like he could rip her apart with his teeth-
Leo is trembling in front of her and she shouts, "You don't listen, you never listen, Leo! You cannot stand like this and watch as your world falls apart! Do something, dammit!"
She doesn't know what to expect, she thinks Leo would yell and run away, slamming his locker. She might know happy Leo, sad Leo, but, she doesn't know angry Leo.
He looks like he takes a step back, his eyes darting around the bunches of students that have decided to stay and entertain themselves with their private lives. Maybe they shouldn't be doing this in front of them. His eyes finally focus on her and he squints them.
"Oh," he whispers, loud enough for everyone to hear, "how can you be such a hypocrite? Is that what you do? Is it?" he is way too careful and slow with his words, like he's choosing what passes through his mouth and Karai's hands tighten in fists.
How can he be so calm when they're talking about something that important? And Karai, now, stuffed in her bed, remembers what the fight was about, Leo's father, what he's doing to him, as if he's a puppet.
And how much she wants to help her (more-than)friend; who looks like he could faint in any minute.
The Karai after the fight muses how wrong was the timing of the fight, how it should stop.
The Karai during the fight doesn't even consider this. She snaps, breathing through her nose, running her hand through her hair, a trait rubbed off on her by Leo, her voice fierce, Leo's calmness during a fight a trait that has not been rubbed off on her, "Yes, yes, it is! I take my own decisions, I have my own life and my own choices, I don't allow people to just butt in my life, I'm not a sheep like-"
She doesn't know how she planned to finish that sentence, and hasn't the chance to think, because Leo interrupts her, his tone on this matter as if it has been rehearsed a million times before, "Like me? This is what you want to say? Then just say it, Karai, don't beat around the bush," he shuts his eyes tight close for a moment, pressing a hand on his chest, and Karai is for a minute alert, almost raises her hand, as if to reach him, because if this another panic atta-
Leo holds up his hand. And when he opens his eyes again, they are the coldest blue she has ever seen. "But, I'm not a sheep," he retorts, his voice raspier like his throat is starting to close, "you cannot understand."
Karai looks around, and hates the look every student is giving them. She tries to inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale, but her ears are ringing, as she yells, pushing her locker hard with her elbow, "Understand what? The fact that you feel guilty and push yourself to revolve your life around someone?" She huffs, as if this is the most unbelievable thing she has ever heard and catches with her eyes Leo's brothers staring at him plainly, staring at her like she's talking shit.
Leo gapes at her as she shakes her head with pained intensity, "I'd never accept that!"
Leo looks too pale, holding onto his bag like a lifesaver and Karai thinks how it should be her next to him to hold. She doesn't know why she's continuing with this. It's the worst she could do in this situation. She wants it to stop.
But he suddenly smiles weakly, laughing creakingly and she hitches, words of apology glued on her tongue, "Oh, so just because you defend yourself in front of him, that means you're okay?"
They don't use names and for that she's grateful. She furrows her eyebrows, taking a step closer to him, "What do you mean?"
Leo takes a step as well, too many, till he's right in her face, so close she almost loses sight of him, pretty murky in front of her, and she knows this is the most terrible moment, but she can't help but linger her eyes from above on his tired eyes, his crinkled nose, his lips, just for the shortest of moments, and wishes immediately to sink in the ground as some boys from around whistle juvenilely.
Her face is heating and she doesn't know if it's because of this, or because Leo's next, unfazed, hard words are like a crisp slap on her face.
"Cause I just happen to know you still revolve your life around her. Get over it, Karai! You think you have, but-"
She screams. Literally. She screams, pressing her nose on Leo's nose, foreheads smashed, because he is so right and she is so mad that he knows how to strike her nerve, just as well as her. He's learned from the best.
"Enough!" she bellows and he pushes her away from where she's pressed to him, breathing as if he's gasping for air. She won't fucking cry over her mother right now, in front of everybody in the hallway, she is not sensitive – she is not.
His face is unreadable, even to her, as he says, "How does it feel like, now, Karai?"
She nearly regrets the way her eyes lingered on his lips before. "You know what, fuck this." Her tone is cold as she turns around and leaves, budging through the crowd they've gained, which looks lost.
"Karai. Karai! Karai!"
But she ignores him, walking faster, hating the way her voice breaks, "Stop saying my name!" She feels a hand on her arm, and realizes it's Shinigami's from the lingerie glove, but she shakes it off, not even looking at her.
She does look once, before she leaves entirely, back at the center of the crowd again, where Leo can be spotted, half-fainted on the lockers and his brothers and friends above him, faces full of concern.
She turns her head back, the urge to run to him too strong, but she swallows it just like the lump in her throat.
She's in her bed now, sobbing on the pillow like she's nine again, like she's a child, so damn sensitive, always wishing to be covered in a thick layer of 'I don't give a fuck', only when, she does, and she hopes this is all a dream, a bad dream.
Because it's only in her dreams where she loses him.
Weeks later and the nightmare continues.
At first, she doesn't notice it. She's too focused on wrapping her mind around the fact that the faint figure of her mother is still somewhere around her brain, somehow haunting her. Until, she sees it.
They have distanced themselves.
It's hard to realize it, with the persistent matter of her mother, her father's comments, but, after that fight, they haven't talk. And they don't talk – for weeks.
It's so weird to not to be with any kind of contact with him. In school, they barely see each other, she's not sure how they manage that, with almost every class they have together, but their eyes do not meet, not in the classrooms, not in the hallway, not in the cafeteria – nowhere.
So, it doesn't feel right to send him messages, to call him. She walks down the street and an extraordinary graffiti of a majestic dragon catches her attention. And it's only after when she has her phone camera out, once she realizes she can't send it to Leo. Damn it, he'd love that dragon.
Karai is surprised with herself, she never expected that she'd need someone so much, that she would desire to be next to him, involuntary, but there she is, begging herself to swallow that stupid pride, pick up the phone and give Leo a call, begging mentally Leo to call her right now.
It doesn't work.
She doesn't believe it could be worse, but her father is at the door of her room, pounding it and Karai doesn't even make a move to get up from the bed. When did he care? And she's right, because it seems that he's not here for her, but, he's here to leave a stupid letter under the door.
It's her mother's.
The sky is grey and foggy, the possibility of rain floating in the air, and yet, she sits on a cold bench, with ripped jeans and probably the lightest jacket she has.
Who does her mother think she is? Disappearing for years, and then send a letter, to what? To check up on things? Ask her how she's going? 'I miss you sweetie', the words of her letter make her want to scream and start pulling her hair. 'It was wrong of me', yes, it was, damn right it was!
She feels as if her insides are collapsing and all the words are trapped in her throat, wanting to come out. Oh, how easier it'd be if her friend was here, hold her, tuck the locks of her hair behind her ears and whisper to her that it's all going to be okay.
But, she destroyed that too. She hurt him the way she hurts everybody first, before they can hurt her. Leo, though, bruised from her harsh words, he still managed to get right into her and say the truth her heart couldn't speak.
She hated to admit that her mother was an issue she hadn't got over yet. But, just because she understood why she left, that doesn't make it okay, right?
She wraps her hands around herself, as claps of thunders bang in the distance, or maybe exactly above her – she isn't sure. She can't hear right, it's like she's underwater, all the noise drowning in her ears. Prickles of rain run on her face, barely there, watering her dried cheeks, while the skies open and lightings fill the view.
She breathes through her nose. Most of the people leave in a rush, before the raindrops give their place to a downpour, but she doesn't even get up, adamant to stay on the bench and create her own personal muddy puddle around her. She deserves it after all the shits she has fucked up.
The puffer jacket that falls slightly on her shoulders is as barely distinguishable as the small voice that tickles her ear, "I'm sorry." She whips her head so hard it hurts, startled, because, shit, he always was so much stealthier than her, and his eyes in the pitch black of the street are bright.
Leo.
"Leo?" His name feels strange on her tongue, it's been a while since she's spoken it out loud, for weeks, she had just been replaying it on her mind. She wants to ask him so much, how he found out where she was, why is he talking to her, after all, that happened, but, the only thing that seems to come out of her open mouth is: "Why you're sorry?"
Leo, right behind her, rubs her shoulder and Karai wonders why he doesn't sit on the bench. But, with the way he runs his hand through his hair, which is wet and messy, and with the way his pants and jacket stick onto him uncomfortably, she understands he probably doesn't want to ruin his situation more.
He ducks his head, as if that is going to help with the rain and stares at her with a look that she can't translate; just weeks they've been apart and she has already forgotten him? "You didn't think I would be sorry?"
Karai wants to laugh at, practically no one, and she does, loudly, "Why the hell would you be sorry? For telling me the truth? I'm the one who started yelling at you in the middle of the hallway till you fainted!" she rants through runny words and Leo bits his lip, chuckling lightly. It makes Karai even madder. "What – why are you laughing? Leo!"
Her sixteen-year-old… friend smiles sheepishly and holds up his hand, "Okay, firstly, I didn't faint, well, completely, it was a slight malaise," he tilts his head as she snorts, "secondly, I'm happy you spoke to me like that, I needed to hear something like this, it was – it was enlightening. Not that I'm going to talk to him, yet, but still."
Her lips curl and she feels the raindrops edging in her mouth. It's getting stronger. Leo sighs, heating up the watery sides of her neck, "But – um," he hesitates, apprehensive fingers catching her chin and turning her head to him, "I'm sorry about – about your mother. I heard, from, well, Shini, and Karai," he stammers, rubbing his other hand on his face, "god, you do not deserve that, I know it's-"
But it's like she has stopped listening – her breathing getting shallow, rapid and her head canting to the side like it is full of water and Karai is getting dizzy trying to hold it up. Leo's eyes are looking for her in her face, but she's already lost – and doesn't realize it when she gets up.
And runs away across the slippery street.
Swift footsteps behind her propel Karai into a run – and she's familiar with it, that's the only thing she's familiar with, because she can't speak about her mother, she just can't. "Leave me alone! Fucking leave me alone now!" she shouts back.
"What? Karai, come on, this isn't new, we've talked before – what the hell? Karai!" his breathing is coming and going in pants behind her and she can hear it – or is it her breath that beats in her ears?
It makes her run faster, till she's on a pavement rather on the street, but she stumbles on something, her boot sticks on it, and she starts falling, her head rotating, the whole world freaking swirling – she's gonna meet the ground with her face, she's gonna fall – she almost falls-
But – strong hands are spinning her bodily around, clutching her shoulders so hard it should hurt. She blinks slowly, until she realizes the world is not going round anymore as she lifts her head from where it's pressed on Leo's shoulder.
Karai's head swims, and for some reason, Leo's words are all running and blurring together like watercolors, it's perhaps because the rainfall is so much heavier right now, plummeting on both of them, as he says softly, "Hey, you okay, buddy?"
His tone, so affectionate, she imagines that is how he talks to his brothers, whom he loves, and the fact that he doesn't even ask why she's acting like the shittiest brat, not that she'd knew how to answer, makes want to ramble and she starts to stutter through the rain, "I don't know, I do not know, Leo," she snaps sternly, "I don't want – I can't have you think I'm a child, I can't talk, don't need my mother, I don't, I don't, I don't!"
She's not afraid, she's not scared, she's-
He hugs her, his arms like a shield around her, blocking the hard rain, and then, he pushes their faces together with a hand cupped around the back of her head, whispering soothingly, "Of course you don't. You're so strong, Karai. One of the strongest people I know – and I mean that."
Karai sighs, as if all the water that falls from the skies is being collected in his lungs and she hates the way her voice sounds small, as she says, "You think so?"
And Leo smiles, repeating her own words as he tells her with feeling, tone firm, "I know so." She breaks into a smile and gets up from the kneeled position she is, her ripped jeans squelchy.
He gets up, too, that silly smile of his adorning his face and she swallows. "So, we're good? Friends?" she asks, just to be sure and Leo shakes her head, laughing slightly in the coldness of the rain, "Hell yeah."
The curse that flies through his mouth is so unusual it makes Karai chuckle, and she takes a step forward, but her boot finds the dip of the pavement from before, and she trips, falling right in Leo's arms, foreheads pressed, their lips close, noses touching – their lips close – !
Karai gazes at him, eyes glazed with fearful anticipation, "Or not."
Leo's hand, wrapped around her waist, is motionless. "What?"
"Maybe we shouldn't be friends," she presses and surprises herself, stretching each word and observing Leo's face, which turns from twisted confusion, to adorably scrunched realization, and he shifts his eyes around, giggling nervously, "Um, uh."
Karai thinks momentarily that she has to take over here, because a fumbling Leo might be cute, obviously, but right now is sort of useless – but, Leo's eyes drill into hers as he hums.
And Karai's breath, hot and sharp, wet from the foggy rain, gets stuck in her nose when he presses his lips against hers.
He kisses her. And kisses her. And kisses her. And she kisses back.
Easily, thoughtlessly and endlessly, as if the whole world around them has suddenly stopped to move, waiting for them kindly, as they stay under the lights of the city, lips, and breaths mingling into something they have yet to figure out, raindrops falling hard on their faces, again and again, and again, till the rain is too powerful and Leo ceases the kiss to catch Karai's wrist, ever so gently, and tug her along under a striped tent.
She feels faint and overwhelmed when Leo brushes his lips along her wet cheeks, kissing the raindrops away, which might as well have been tears.
"Karai," he says, reaching for her hand and she softens for him, tangling their fingers together comfortably. His face is open and soft when he starts, "I-"
But, Karai doesn't give him the chance to say it, because she always knew, and she doesn't even have the need to hear it – since it's always been her that couldn't articulate a word and-
And she takes her chance, now, before it's too late, because she's not a kid anymore, running away, and she frames his face in both hands, kissing the things she can't say, knowing he'll discover them, at the edges of her lips, hanging for him.
They're not each other's first kiss – but it's their first kiss, and it's slow and awkward, yet flawless, really something.
It's fearless.
Years pass and they are changed. They are broken in some ways, sharp edges that force them to hurt each other, sometimes.
They are strong, though. Made of fragile love that was shaped into something tough and untouchable-
They are untouchable. They are not children, anymore, they think, holding onto things they don't exist, wishing they could erase and fix things that even now invade in their hearts, misunderstanding what they could explain simply back then, not daring to forgive or forgiving more easily than they should-
No. Now, they don't crave this. They hold each other, fixing themselves.
And with the way they clutch each other's hand, hearts full of pure love and juvenile adoration – maybe, maybe, they are still children.
And the word doesn't make them wince anymore.
A/N: Oh, e… *softly* I love them so much.
This got way longer than I wanted, too. And I still feel I didn't do them justice -_- I don't think it's good sitting till 5AM writing on a computer; my eyes are already ruined, though, so they're not in danger, at least :D
I wanna hope these big one-shots don't make you bored, 'cause that's the last thing I want :) But, they're getting big, since my writing when it comes to Leo and Karai is super self-indulgent, so much that, while I was writing this, I had to get up and walk away from my word document at least seven times. XD