Chapter 16 Part 4: To Live → Leo and Yuichi at their Home
Leo and Yuichi in bed together
Yuichi slowly fell onto the bed after this tiring day, pulling the covers around him. Leo sat on the edge for a moment, his fingers playing with the edge of the pillow. They didn’t look at one another, not knowing what to say or how to break the ice. For a long moment, neither spoke, just the quiet rhythm of shared breathing. Yuichi turned slightly toward Leo, his hand brushing against Leo’s.
Then… Leo started to speak to his lover, slightly looking at Yuichi, not wanting to show that he was still a bit conflicted about Yuichi’s decision.
“I… I get it,” Leo said softly, almost in a whisper. His eyes still held a hint of pain, but there was also understanding. He sank onto the bed next to Yuichi.
Yuichi turned slightly toward him, his ears lowered and his eyes still open.
“I hate that I can’t take you with me… I wanted so badly for you to be there,” he said, his voice fragile but calm.
Leo placed a hand on Yuichi’s cheek, feeling the warmth of his face. “I don’t want you to feel guilty,” he said. His thumb gently stroked Yuichi’s fur, a small smile forming. “We’ll get through this. Together.”
Leo then also lay in bed and spread his arms a bit so Yuichi could lie in Leo’s embrace. Yuichi relaxed slightly, leaning against Leo. His heart still pounded wildly, but there was a certain calmness in the air now. Leo moved closer, and their hands met naturally. For a moment, the world seemed to stand still, only their breathing filling the room.
“I am going to miss you. Even though it will be 3 weeks, it will feel like forever,” Leo whispered, his voice trembling slightly. Yuichi looked at him, with their eye contact shining with emotions that said the exact same thing.
A silence followed, but it didn’t feel awkward. It was warm, safe, and familiar. Yuichi put his head on Leo’s chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath his ears.
“When will you be going?” Leo asked quietly, almost not wanting to know the answer, because he wanted to be like this in bed with Yuichi forever. Yuichi didn’t know it yet, as he was truthfully planning to tell everyone what he was about to do.
“I truthfully always planned to tell you and the others first. I am going to plan the trip when everyone knows about it.” Yuichi also said quietly. He did want to know his origin, but he also wanted, just like Leo, to be with him forever.
“Do you have an estimation?” Leo asked, slightly tired but still sounding serious enough, so Yuichi had to think about this.
“Half a year?” Yuichi answered, not fully knowing himself when he was going to go to Japan. But he wasn’t finished yet talking about the trip, as he wanted to make Leo feel more at ease about it.
“Donnie gave me his special tech so I can always reach everyone,” Yuichi jokingly said while grinning. He then proceeded to talk about Donnie some more.
“Donnie is amazing, honestly. At first, we didn’t get along. But now… we have mutual respect for one another, and I think he is super talented.”
“I am glad you think that about my brother,” Leo said, smiling while looking towards his boyfriend’s head that was still on his chest.
“He was always stronger than me. I just inherited a mystic power. But your brother… he has raw talent and the determination to back it up. If only I…” Yuichi interrupted himself, not wanting to admit that Donnie had to be careful now using his powers because of the situation they were in.
“We talked about this, Yuichi…” Leo said, the smallest bit of annoyance in his voice, but he desperately tried to hide it. Leo thought this got triggered when Yuichi was shocked seeing him holding the hippo hostage today.
“Donnie trained way too hard since the Kraang Yuichi, and I honestly think it would have happened anyway at a later time if another strong villain arrived,” Leo reassured Yuichi… Even though they were talking about Donnie burning himself out, Leo wanted his boyfriend to realise that these things take time to happen, not because of a single event. As Yuichi was about to talk about Raph’s arm, Leo just stopped his boyfriend from talking about it.
Yuichi’s shoulders fell a bit as a reaction, relief, and sorrow mingling as he whispered, “I just… I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me. Especially you.”
“We are crime-fighters, Yuichi. We take risks and can adapt when something bad happens. Raph uses his own mystic arm as a prosthetic, and it is working amazingly for him. It is okay to feel guilty, but realise that this could have happened too in another timeline without… Morris…” Maybe it could have even happened to me… who knows?
Yuichi understood what Leo meant, not making eye contact with the slider, just lying on Leo’s chest. Leo also did not move an inch, and he started caressing the bunny’s head.
There was total silence for a while, with the two just lying in bed together. Minutes passed like this, small touches, shared looks, breathing in sync. Finally, Leo leaned closer, resting his forehead gently against Yuichi’s own. Yuichi let out a shaky laugh, burying his face in Leo’s shoulder, holding onto the warmth and certainty of being home. Yuichi then started speaking louder.
“I am DEFINITELY going to miss this,” and as he said this, he put his hand on Leo’s thigh, slowly moving it towards…
“NU-UH,” Leo jokingly said, laughing out loud and putting Yuichi’s hand on the rabbit’s own abdomen. He secretly wanted to, of course, but he had to do something first. The slider proceeded to lie sideways, facing Yuichi, and put his finger on the rabbit’s nose.
“Firstly, don’t hold secrets like this anymore regarding our relationship! You don’t always have to tell how you are feeling, but stuff like this is important!”
Yuichi laughed as well! He then started speaking, still laughing a bit, but also sounding serious.
“I truly was going to tell you, I just didn’t know when would be the right time.”
Leo just caressed Yuichi’s face and looked him in the eyes. He then heard something from his boyfriend that was really funny.
“Donnie got the privilege, though, you know, even though he seems so objective sometimes. He is extremely smart, and he immediately deciphered what I was planning.”
“Always Donnie with the 300 IQ predictions, huh?” Leo jokingly responded. They then started to reposition themselves in their old position, with Yuichi lying on Leo’s chest.
After a long while of lying like this, Yuichi tried to lay his hand ‘there’ again… but Leo stopped him again, sounding a bit tired but still very loving towards Yuichi.
“Put it on my chest instead, love… I want to, but I am too tired tonight.” Yuichi did as he was told. He was slightly disappointed, but he started to see the positive side of the situation.
“Maybe it is better this way, I get to admire you without having to shower afterwards,” Yuichi giggled.
“Maybe you might have to take a shower tomorrow morning,” Leo teased Yuichi, with Yuichi immediately caressing his hand over Leo’s chest.
“We will see.” As Yuichi said this, he turned off the light on the nightstand. Even though it was a very emotional day, they both slept well that night. Yuichi did have one more thing in mind, but he didn’t say to Leo, though…
Another secret…
This one being one Leo would definitely not be unhappy about!