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Leo took a good look at himself in the mirror, staring into his bloodshot eyes with a grimace. It was official. Today absolutely sucked. He was exhausted, stressed, and anxious, never a good mix.
Today just was not his day, it wasn’t like any specifically bad happened. It was just overall a crappy day for him.
He got 0 hours of sleep last night, skipped breakfast, accidentally missed both lunch and dinner, lied about eating to not worry his brothers who ate all of dinner thinking he already ate so they wouldn’t feel bad. He burned his hand while trying to make coffee, and it was already 9:30 PM so Leo was currently living off spite, 2 Oreos, and three cups of tea, plus he felt too nauseous to eat now anyways and has had a killer headache all day.
Not to mention his stupid ass intrusive thoughts.
It happened every once in a while, his intrusive thoughts would come back after a month or two and cause him to feel stressed and anxious for the next few weeks. He had gotten used to it by now or tried too at least.
It was a big help knowing that nearly everyone had intrusive thoughts and him having them didn’t make him a bad person like he originally thought, there was a big difference between thinking something and doing it. Intrusive thoughts are mainly caused by stress or anxiousness, and over 90% of the population had them. Knowing that it was completely normal made him feel less broken.
But today was just sucky, nothing good happened, but nothing awful either. It was just bad.
And he knew exactly the right person who could cheer him up.
Señor Hueso.
The skeleton Yōkai was always like a second father figure to Leo, even though he and the skeleton had more of an uncle/nephew relationship.
Hueso was always there for Leo when Splinter wasn’t, which was most of the time. He had known the older man for just over a year and had been working for him part-time for the past few months, mostly as a waiter or delivery boy. The skeleton Yōkai provided Leo with things that any normal father should provide their children with, so it was incredibly hard not to look up to him, Hueso checked up on him weekly, made sure he was getting enough food and sleep, hugged him when he was sad, reassured him when he doubted himself, gave him advice when he was lost and many other things.
While he did have his amazing brothers to talk to whenever he was down in the dumps, it was usually his twin Donatello he went too when he needed to talk to someone, because Leo knew that his older brother would listen to him and wouldn’t try to sugarcoat anything for him.
But Donnie wasn’t always there to talk to, he was almost always held up in his lab, and Leo knew his brother wasn’t the best with emotions, all his brothers knew this.
That was why Señor Hueso was usually his go-to option, he didn’t want to bug his brother just because today was a hard day for him.
He didn’t want to be a burden.
‘It won’t be long.’ Leo thought, stretching his arms and legs before reaching behind his shell grabbing his mystic weapons. ‘I’ll be back in under an hour. They won’t even realize I’ve been gone.’ Leo reassured himself, cutting through the air and forming a portal in front of the Run-Of-The-Mill.
Stepping though the portal he heard it close behind and as he put his mystical weapons away. Taking a deep breath, he felt himself relax immensely at finally getting out of the lair, listening to the cars honking as they drove by, the sound of pidgins cooing at each other on a nearby rooftop. He walked towards the front doors; he could hear customers inside the restaurant happily chatting to one another.
Huh, he was feeling better already. Maybe all he needed was to get out of the lair.
“Hola Señor Hueso!” Leo shouted as he bust open the door with his usual dramatic flare, startling most of the customers who gave him weird looks.
The man in question turned towards him, he looked the turtle up and down for a moment before sighing and motioning for the other to sit in one of the stools.
“Hello Pepino” Hueso watched as Leo walked over and sat down in the nearest stool, putting his elbows on the counter and resting his chin in his left hand. “What do I owe the pleasure? The restaurant closes in less than half an hour.” He said it as if the blue turtle didn’t drop by after closing hours daily.
Leo shrugged, sticking his tongue out. A habit he did when he was anxious, he had yet to grow out of. “Nothin much really, can’t a guy visit his tío in peace?”
Hueso paused, blinked once, twice. Then he very slowly narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “What did you do?”
Leo scoffed, rolling his eyes and using his right hand to make a pointless waving motion in the air. “Nothing, jeez you wound me. It’s just been a long day.”
Hueso eyed him warily for a moment, leaning forward and poking the others arm with one of his boney fingers. “When was the last time you slept Leonardo?”
Damn, why does Hueso got to use his full name?
“Hmm, skip. Next question please.” Leo murmured as he closed his eyes and put his arms on the countertop to rest his head on them, that was all the confirmation Hueso needed.
Tapping the others hand to regain their attention Hueso asked a different question but more seriously. “Have you at least eaten anything today?”
All he got in return was a slightly hysterical giggle.
Hueso took a moment and gathered his thoughts and the rest of his patience, it looks like today was one of those days. Señor Hueso slid a menu towards the Red Eared Slider and spoke in a calm yet stern tone, making sure the other knew he wasn’t mad but was being serious.
“We’ve gone over this multiple times before hijo.” That got Leo to raise his head, looking between the menu now in front of him and Hueso with a mix of gratitude and embarrassment. “I know sleeping can be hard for you, but it is very unhealthy to not eat anything, you know this.” Leo jerkily nodded and opened his mouth to say something-
*DING!*
Hueso looked up when he heard the front doors of his restaurant open and watched as one of his regular customers walk in, she was a red and black butterfly Yōkai. He waved at her and motioned for her to take a seat at one of the many empty booths.
“My apologies, one moment Pepino. Please pick something from the menu.” Hueso quickly walked towards the table the new customer was now seated at and handed the lady her menu. He spoke to the butterfly Yōkai for a few more seconds before he turned back to Leo’s direction-
“Hello Mr. skeleton! We’re ready for you to take our order!” A young hedgehog Yōkai shouted from the other side of the restaurant. Hueso sighed and walked over towards the hedgehog and his daughter.
Leo didn’t even bother to hide the long sigh he let out, his shoulder slumping as his head hit the counter with an audible *Thunk* as he played with the corners of the menu with his hands.
At first, he didn’t bother to look at his menu, having been here so many times he had memorized it. But eventually he lifted his head and his eyes slid to the drinks section. He was hungry but still felt nauseous, maybe he could get a smoothie or some sort of milkshake with a side of fries? He probably couldn’t stomach anything else…
“Mind if I take a seat?” An unfamiliar voice startled him, Leo jerked his head to the side so he could see who was speaking to him, his whole-body tensing.
It was a wolf Yōkai, or at least that's what he looked like. The Yōkai had Sharpe features and scruffy dark brown fur, as if he had just recently gotten into a fight. He was wearing a black hoodie and grey sweatpants with dark red shoes. The Yōkai was around 5.9 feet, 4 inches taller than Leo. He sounded and looked like a man in his early 30’s, late 20’s in the very least.
That was a large red flag, this man was very clearly an adult and choose to sit next to him when there were multiple other seats and booths to take.
Despite the uneasy feeling in his gut, Leo waved for the other man to sit down with a mumble. “Go ahead.”
The wolf Yōkai looked rather pleased as he sat down in one of the seats, a little too close in Leo’s opinion but he didn’t say anything. Not wanting his big mouth to start an argument with a random stranger.
“The names Cliff, Cliff Walker. Nice to meet you.” The wolf- Cliff, held out a hand for Leo to shake, which he reluctantly did. Putting a fake smile on his face.
“Leo.” That was all he said in return, the wolfs grin turned a little sharper, his tail slowly started swaying from side to side.
“Leo…” The wolf said his name as if it was a word in a different language, and Leo only now realized that Cliff had yet to let go of his hand. “What a pretty name, it suits someone who has a face as cute as yours.”
…Gross.
“Heh, yeah. Guess you could say I’m having a bit of a ruff day…” Leo quipped, smile faltering when the other man laughed and took that as his cue to shimmy closer in a non-noticeable fashion.
To Leonardo, it was in fact, very noticeable.
“Cute and funny! You really must be one of a kind aren’t ya sweetheart?” Cliff said in a teasing tone, his grip on Leonardo’s hand tightened ever so slightly.
Leo did his best to not grimace at the comment and slowly pulled his hand back, his smile feeling more forced as the wolf Yōkai boldly put that same hand on his thigh without breaking eye contact.
Fuck that.
God this guy was either the boldest pervert in the world or an incredibly stupid Yōkai that couldn’t tell the difference between a minor and an adult. And even if he was an adult, this type of behaviour was disgusting.
Leonardo chuckled awkwardly as he folded his legs over one another, successfully getting the man's hand off his thigh. He didn’t know what to do in the situation he quickly found himself in.
On one hand, wanted to run away, feeling like he was going to throw up because who the fuck touches a stranger's thigh? On the other, he wanted to punch the man beside him, reach for one of his Odachi’s and threaten the dude too back off, but the biggest rule in Hueso’s restaurant was that no fighting was allowed so he couldn’t do that.
Well, typically he could. But he didn’t want to cause trouble for Hueso to deal with.
“Heh, yeah man. Sure, whatever you say…” Leo trailed off as he stared at his menu. He stiffened when he felt a furry hand land on his shoulder and squeeze. Leo watched with a feeling of dread and helplessness as Señor Hueso finished taking the order of the hedgehog family and went into the kitchen to relay the message to whoever was cooking,
“I was wondering…” Cliff said in a hushed tone and oh God this is how it always starts in the movies and books. “Perhaps you want to head over to my place for the night?” Wow, this guy really just went straight to the point. “If you agree you can go ahead and buy yourself as many things as you want, it’s on me.”
“Can’t sorry.” Leo wasn’t sorry in the slightest, and no his voice did not get higher. “I have a busy night ahead of me, lots of uh- chores to do and erm… work.” He could feel himself start to sweat as Cliff leaned towards him.
“Hey, no need for that all that” Cliff raised used his other hand and tapped the counter. “I’m sure you can put it off for one night, yeah? I promise I can make it worth your time.”
Leo put his hand on the other man's hand and forcefully pulled it off of his shoulder, scooting himself away from Cliff as far as the stool would let him.
“Okay, listen man.” Leo started, impressed with himself with how steady his voice came out. The tightness in his chest increased when Cliff gave him a soft smile. “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Clearly you can’t see the social cues, either that or you’re blind. But I’m a minor and if you don’t leave me alone now, I’m moving to a different seat. I’m not going anywhere with you, I don’t want to talk to you, and I don’t need you touching me or paying for my food, so kindly piss off.”
Cliffs eyes widened for a brief moment, and he really did look like he was going to back off but then the smile was back on display, this one more sharp and dangerous than the last. His tail started wagging back and forth like a dog offered a treat and his ears perked up like he heard something interesting, Leo scowled and clenched his fists.
It was at that moment when Señor Hueso exited the kitchen. When Leo saw Hueso he thought his soul would burst from joy and relief on the spot. Quickly raising his hand, he waved for the other to come over.
The creep quickly moved away from Leo when Hueso walked over to them, acting casual like he hadn’t just been attempting to flirt with a teenager only seconds ago.
Hueso shot a quick glance at the wolf Yōkai before pulling out a menu and handing it to him. Cliff gave him a nervous smile and nodded his head in thanks.
Hueso then turned his attention to Leo, who was sweating quite a bit and looked rather upset. “Have you chosen something to eat yet?”
Leo smiled up at him, to most people the smile would look real, but Hueso could nearly instantly tell it was fake. He was about to ask Leo what was wrong when the other started speaking in Spanish.
“Señor Hueso, por favor, aleje a este asqueroso de mí.” ("Mr. Bone, please take this creep away from me.”) Leo said, pointing at the cheese pizza on his menu to make it look like he was ordering something.
If you were not close to skeleton Yōkai you wouldn’t have noticed his stance shift into something more dangerous, or the way his eyes started to discreetly examine the wolf Yōkai who was looking between the two in confusion and worry, clearly not understanding what they were saying.
Hueso nodded and acted like he was writing something down in his notepad, but Leo knew he was just playing along. “¿Te está molestando el hombre, pepino?” (“Is the man bothering you, Cucumber?”) His tone was calm and collected, as if he was just taking an order.
Leo inwardly thanked God that Hueso gave him those Spanish lessons as he nodded and pointed to some fries on the menu. “Sí, está diciendo cosas desagradables y tratando de coquetear conmigo.” ("Yes, he is saying nasty things and trying to flirt with me.”) After a moment of hesitation, he pointed to the drinks, his smile now straining. “Él no mantendrá sus manos para sí mismo.” ("He won't keep his hands to himself.”)
Hueso froze, not enough to make it obvious but Leo caught it. Hueso stared at him for a moment before nodding, mumbling an “Ya veo.” ("I see.”) He then pulled up his sleeve and looked at his watch, tapping his notepad with his pen in an easy rhythm.
“Pepino, you can’t order anything right now. Your shift starts in two minutes, so I suggest you get to work. The dishes in the sink are overflowing.” Hueso said which was a huge lie, today was a Thursday and Leo only worked on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
It took a second longer than it should have for it to sink in that Hueso was giving him an opening to leave the situation.
“Oh shit!” Leo stood up and laughed, it felt fake. It sounded fake. He was uncomfortable and stressed and nervous. “Sorry bout that BM, I forgot that today was Thursday!”
The wolf Yōkai’s face expressed a look of panic for a moment and it seemed like he was going to make a grab for Leonardo’s wrist to stop him from leaving but he paused, taking a moment to consider his actions before smiling. “Wait- you uh… you work here Leo?”
Oh…
Oh no.
If Leo felt nervous before, he felt like shit now, which he didn’t understand. He fought bad guys on a daily basis, but now suddenly just because of one single creep knowing where he works, he’s all anxious and jittery.
“Uh… well heh, y-you see…” Leo stuttered and did a whole bunch of random hand motions, Hueso felt his heart break in 5 different places at the sight.
”Escóndete en la cocina ” ("Hide in the kitchen”) Hueso said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him towards the back of the restaurant. “Tengo la situación bajo control.” ("I have the situation under control.”)
The turtle's throat felt all closed and dry, unable to get any words out, he merely nodded and walked into the back where the kitchen was located and shut the door behind him. There he found his coworker and friend Kylie wiping the countertops.
“Sup Ky, how’s it been?” Leo asked weakly, the cheetah Yōkai in question turned to him, taking in his appearance for a moment before she smiled and waved.
Kylie was one of the few people who worked at the Run-Of-The-Mill, she usually helped Señor Hueso manage the food in the kitchen and if she wasn’t doing that then she was either cleaning or taking customers’ orders. She and Leonardo didn’t hang out all too much despite working at the same place but that was mainly because they had very different working hours. She was only a few months older than Leo, both of them being 15.
Kylie put away the wet cloth and started drying the countertops with a small hand towel. “Been pretty good, aside from some family stuff, my mom is still struggling with her leg and back pain. How about you?”
Leonardo shrugged and leaned against the nearest wall, his leg bouncing with anxiousness. “Meh, same old same old. Fighting bad guys, eating pizza, hanging out with friends. You know how it is.”
Kylie laughed and shook her head, her tail swaying with amusement. “Absolutely not, I prefer spending my time at home in bed then running around catching bad guys and fighting crime.”
Leo chuckled and shot her finger guns, smirking as he stopped leaning on the wall and walked more into the kitchen. “Well, you know what they say, evil never sleeps- AH! Ew gross!” Leo sputtered as a damp hand towel hit his face.
“And good never rest.” Kylie finished the sentence, lowering his arm and laughing when Leo took the towel off his face and started fake gagging.
*THUD!*
“QUIEN TE CREES QUE ERES HIJO DE PUTA!?” (“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU SON OF A BITCH!?”)
Hueso’s sudden enraged shout made Leo and Kylie jump, all noise in the restaurant instantly stopped.
The two coworkers sent each other worried glances before Leo turned back towards the kitchen door and rushed up to it, choosing not to open it and instead watch what was happening through the small window on the door. Kylie quietly moved beside him, also peeking through the glass.
With the skills of his pirate years Hueso managed to pin a now very confused Cliff down on the counter, both of the wolfs arms forcefully held behind his back as Hueso glared daggers at him. It looks could kill Cliff would have dropped dead on the spot.
Leo left a tiny pit of anxiety form in his chest, the wolf Yōkai was bigger than Señor Hueso and had much more muscle (Literally) but it seemed like the skeleton man was handling it well.
“¡TIENES EL NERVIO DE COLOCAR LAS MANOS EN UN MENOR!” (“YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO PLACE YOUR HANDS ON A MINOR!”) Hueso moved and kept a firm grip on the confused sputtering wolf Yōkai as he dragged him towards the exit, not caring that absolutely everyone was staring. “WELL CERTAINLY NOT IN MY RESTAURANT! ¡ESTÁS PROHIBIDO!” (YOU ARE BANNED!”)
“Oh shit, boss is pissed.” Kylie whispered; her ears pinned down on the side of her head as her tail wrapped around her right leg. Leo just nodded, unable to say anything as he watched the wolf Yōkai get literally thrown out of the restaurant by a fuming Hueso.
*SLAM!*
Both of them along with nearly everyone in the restaurant jumped when the front door of the restaurant was slammed shut with enough force to shake the building. The skeleton Yōkai scowled and beelined towards the back of the restaurant where Leo and Kylie were, both scrambling away from the door when they noticed.
“Uh… I’m gonna… go make sure BM doesn’t flip a table or something. See you later.” Leo said, doing a half-wave as he quickly opened the swinging doors, he just barely heard Kylie’s poorly hidden chuckle at his attempt to lighten the mood.
When he left the kitchen Hueso caught sight of Leonardo immediately and slowed down. He changed his direction and started walking towards his office, Leo jogged to catch up with him.
“You know Señor… I’m not sure whether or feel impressed or horrified that you dragged that dude out with literally no effort.” Leo commented, the anxious pit that was in his chest moments ago now gone, his tone softened as he added. “Thanks, Boneman.”
Hueso opened the door to his office and hummed, narrowing his eyes as he thought for a moment before speaking. “It was no problem at all, I will not have someone like that dine in my restaurant. Although I am curious, why didn’t you punch the man? You are a ninja, and a skilled one with that. You and I both know full well you could have knocked him out.”
“Well, you see!” Leo said nervously as he walked into the office as well, away from the eyes of the customers. “I know you don’t have many rules here, but it just so happens that one of them is “no fighting”, and I didn’t want to bother you over me just being overdramatic- ouch!”
Leo hissed in pain when Hueso detached his left arm and hit him with it, hard. He grabbed his shin and started hoping up and down on one foot.
“Leonardo listen to me very carefully” Hueso said, he quickly reattaching his arm he raised up one honey finger and pointed towards the teen. “Your reaction was anything but dramatic. You are fifteen years old. You are a child, and that man had absolutely no right to touch you or make you feel unsafe in any way.” Leo looked down at the floor and kicked the ground.
Hueso put his hand on Leo’s shoulder, regaining the turtle's attention. When he spoke, his voice was gentle but firm, making sure the other knew the urgency of the situation.
“If anybody- minor or adult, puts their hands on you without your consent or starts purposely making you uncomfortable you stop them. I don’t care if you must punch them or kick them in the back of the kneecaps to do it.” Hueso paused, closing his eyes for a moment as if remembering a long-lost memory.
“I would not want to ever imagine my son in that type of situation.” Hueso said, sadness leaking into his voice as he opened his eyes and gazed at the picture of him and his son that was on his desk. “Junior is a kind boy, but very naive. He puts his trust in people too easily. Unlike you, who is more skilled at detecting threats and understanding how people who act nice can be extremely dangerous. I want you to promise me right now that if something like this ever happens again, you will immediately tell someone.”
Leo felt his throat go dry and his mind go blank, he had met Junior many times before and they’d gotten along greatly. After babysitting the boy for Hueso on multiple occasions Leo learned that he was an incredibly sweet kid who saw the good in everybody, the skeleton boy reminded him of Mikey sometimes. And he would go as far to say that he somewhat saw the kid as a little brother.
He knows what had happened was wrong, and that he should have asked someone for help sooner. He knew that Cliff shouldn’t have touched him, but he didn’t want to cause a scene, his day had already been bad, and now it just went from bad to worse.
Leonardo jumped a bit when he realized he hadn’t yet answered Hueso, he rapidly nodded his head and straightened his back.
“Yup! Mhm yeah, for sure. I promise.” Leo smiled, giving the hand on his shoulder a reassuring pat.
Hueso huffed, taking his hand off Leonardo’s shoulder and crossing his arms over his chest. “Good, I’ll hold you to it. Now, do you feel that you are able to eat something? Or should I send you home with takeout to eat later?”
At the mention of food Leonardo’s stomach made itself known loud and clear. Leo chuckled and wrapped his arms around his stomach, giving the skeleton man a sheepish look.
Hueso simply rolled his eyes fondly, waving for Leo to sit down in one of the many chairs as he walked towards his office door. “Sit pepino, we close in twenty minutes. I will get you something to snack on while you rest. Some fries and a pineapple smoothie perhaps...” The last part was muttered under his breath.
When Hueso got to the doorframe Leo called out to him, he stopped moving and turned his head, locking eyes with the blue turtle.
Leo fumbled for a moment before smiling. Though this wasn’t one of his cocky smiles he put on for show. No, this was one of his real, genuine smiles. “I just wanted to say… thank you tío. For everything.”
Hueso did not smile, but he nodded, although it was a small thanks, Hueso knew that Leonardo was thanking him for more than just dealing with the wolf Yōkai. “It is of no trouble to me Leo. Now rest, I will be back shortly.” He said before walking out of the room, leaving the door wide open behind him.