[CLOSED] Finally, Some Pizza

[anything_it_takes]

Invited: anything_it_takes, seriouslytwisted, sureisaguy, duelkatana, meanandgreen & alphatar
Date: Post-demutation, pre-Tribbles
Location: WA-3B | Mike's Ninja-rama
Situation: Leo's got the cheese, Mike has the know-how, and everybody needs some family time. Let's do this thing.
Warnings/Rating: Thread-jacking encouraged. Heck, it's practically required.

Basic thread-starters in comments. If anybody desires a particular scenario, conversation or manifestation of terrapin chaos, feel free to either hit me up (you know where to find me) or start it yourself!

Comments

PARTY

[anything_it_takes]

Leo savors his third slice and leans back, watching the interaction around him with a small smile of engagement. More people in the same space means that this sounds a little bit more like a full family to him, rather than listening to just Raph and Mikey all the time. Nobody fills in for missing people, but it still eases the homesickness just a little.

He made this possible, and he's immensely proud of that, but right now he's just enjoying the fruits of his planning. It's good to put things together and watch them work.

Every once in a while, he looks at Korra when he thinks she's not looking and smiles. Sure, the crush is unrequited, but that doesn't stop him from fully enjoying her company and he's glad to have her here.

[alphatar]

After having her first bite of pizza, Korra’s shoulders slump and her eyes rolled up as she savored the flavor. There wasn’t any doubt whatsoever that this had to be the greatest food she had ever tasted. Cooked meat, on melted cheese, on sauce, on cooked dough.

Glorious.

After carefully, and delicately eating her first slice, Korra reach for her second which was mostly stuffing her cheeks after three bites. She caught a glance of Leo and somehow manage to speak through the food.

“I can’t believe you guys have been keeping this all to yourselves. Now I know why all the secrecy!”

[anything_it_takes]

Leo lights up at her praise. Best party ever.

"I'd like to tell you it's an ancient ninjutsu secret, but it's from a different part of the world. Should be one of ours though." He doesn't know where Mike learned to make them like this, but it's good enough to be a trade secret.

"I guess it kinda is now. But, you can tell people about this one if you want." He winks at her.

She is so cool.

[alphatar]

“I don’t think anyone would believe me on how good this really is.” Honestly, she had assumed Leo exaggerated a little on just how tasty it was and she was clearly very wrong. “But it would be funny to see Lin’s face if she tried it for the first time.” Seeing someone as serious and austere as Lin taking a bite out of the most delicious food of all time? Priceless.

“If I knew this was going to happen when we got out powers back, I know it wouldn’t have been nearly as rough as it was.” After managing to finish her mouthful of grub, Korra reached over to pour herself a drink.

[anything_it_takes]

"Well if we ever get a repeat, I'll definitely plan another." Leo perches himself comfortably on the arm of Mike's couch, one leg comfortably folded with his ankle resting in front.

It's really nice to socialize in a completely relaxed setting; he's missed partying with family 'plus one,' and it's fun to spend time with Korra without the weight of his katana on his shoulder inspiring constant vigilance. Leo doesn't relax when he's outside, not like this. The teenager in him is really showing, as opposed to the serious leader or cocky warrior.

"But… I'm sure we can find another reason." Because although wonderful as a comfort measure, pizza should not have to rely on de-mutation and power loss. That would just be depressing.

"Lin. She's that police officer from your world, right? Grey hair, earthbender, really serious?" You bet he saw her on the network. Leo instinctively keeps a wide berth around people claiming to be law enforcement, particularly ones who leave an impression that severe. A lifetime of dodging the fuzz and avoiding being seen by them at all costs will do that.

He takes two more bites, and begins to eye the remaining slices. Four pieces is pushing it, but the craving is strong. And he knows those leftovers won't last, not with two Michelangeloes in the house.

[alphatar]

The cup was held at her lips when Korra stopped herself from drinking to let out a small, airy smile. “Yeah, serious is definitely one way to describe Lin. She was the chief of police in Republic City and it took a while for us to get along. I met her when I got arrested on my first day there. She did everything she could to help stop Amon.” Pausing Korra looked at her reflection in the cup. “Her bending was taken away when she tried to save my master’s family.”

Finally she took that drink.

“She’s one of the greatest earthbenders I’ve ever met.” After seeing Leo’s eye wander to the last few slices, Korra quickly grabbed two slices and split them apart. Though it didn’t turn out evenly, one slice had the bottom half of the other.

“Here, I’ll let you pick.” She said with a small laugh, and held them out, one in each hand.

[anything_it_takes]

Leonardo has seen how even the temporary removal of bending affected both Korra and Toph, and has a keen appreciation for what it must be like for a talented and experienced earthbender to have that gift permanently removed. It would be like never being able to handle another sword. Lin now has his immediate and deep respect, although he's still not about to run up and introduce himself, considering her initial willingness to join up with the resident fuzz (who Leo dodges more nights than not) - even though the powers that be only seem to like hiring foreigners as cannon fodder against Malicant.

"Wow. Sounds like somebody you definitely want on your side. I'm – sorry she lost her bending, that's terrible." Amon must have done it, he gathers, but declines to ask specifics. This is a party, not a strategy session. "What did she arrest you for?"

Is she… Offering him choice of the last slice of pizza? When one is bigger than the other? This is a novel first, pizza plus turtle brothers being a free-for-all without exception, and not much better with April in the mix. Leo is both touched and delighted – and he takes the smaller piece. It's Korra's first time, she should have the lioness' share.

"Thanks." A shy smile lingers before the smitten turtle asks: "Can I get you a refill?"

Not helping that unrequited crush, Korra.

[alphatar]

“For stopping some scumbags from smashing up an old man’s shop that didn’t have protection money.” Korra said with a shrug, before taking a big bite out of her slice of pizza, waving at his thanks. To her, food was always shared and everyone got their piece. If someone didn’t, she’d simply give them hers. “Oh, and destruction of private and city property. As if not doing a little earthbending was more important than stopping them from doing it somewhere else.”

Not that she was sore about it.

Okay, she was kind of sore about it.

“Sure, I could use something to wash this down.” Somehow, she was still talking when she shoved the remainder of the slice into her mouth.

[anything_it_takes]

"Really?" He knows why his team dodged New York's finest, and the Alderwood squad didn't seem to appreciate their activity either, but it's surprising to hear that Korra had been arrested on her own world for, well, doing her job.

"So let me get this straight," he says as he takes her cup and heads to the side for a refill, continuing to talk over his shoulder, "she arrested the Avatar… For helping people. That's messed up," he commiserates as he returns with both her refill and a glass for himself, handing Korra her drink.

Leonardo would never allow himself to be arrested of course (or so he tells himself, since he's managed to avoid it so far), but he's got the stealth training to escape and leave the police scratching their heads. If things were different and the same thing had happened to Leo, he knows how he would feel.

Settling into his place on the couch, Leo leans forward, focused and interested. "So, what happened?"

[alphatar]

Taking her drink, Korra finished off her slice and chugged half of it one go and gave out a string of belches that seemed to interrupt her just as she was about to continue. “Well after that, I guess she was going to either hit me fines or even put me in jail, but then Tenzin stepped in and got me out of it.”

Smiling just then, she waved her hand dismissively. “Lin and I got along great after the Pro-bending Arena Bombing incident after the finals match. If there’s anyone here from home I know I can trust it’s her.” Even though it wasn’t much considering Lin’s competition for that statement was Tarrlok and Amon, Korra meant that statement.

“But hey, at least I know I can trust you guys; Even if you start shrinking into tiny turtles.” Jokingly of course, though she had to admit that a toddler-turtle was kind of cute to see.

[duelkatana]

It's a good while into the festivities before a new guest appears at the windowsill, peering briefly inside before he jimmying open the window and slipping into the room. He's fashionably late, one could say... or just late. Either one would be accurate.

Leonardo doesn't make a big show of his arrival; he just quietly slides the window shut behind him, still half on the lookout for trap triggers. He knows his recently de-mutated and then re-mutated cousin had to have disarmed most of them for this party, but it doesn't hurt to make sure. Plus, Mike always did have strange tastes in party games.

Once he's satisfied that a handful of shuriken aren't going to come flying into his face, Leo slowly winds his way across the room, keeping an eye out for the other partygoers. And food. Because even though he's all for eating the sea prunes and other abundant health foods of the Water Sector... that pizza smells amazing.

[anything_it_takes]

Somehow Leo is not surprised that 'Big Brother' is late. He also isn't surprised – at this point, he really shouldn't be – when he senses that the other him is there before any of his physical senses pick up on the older ninja.

Seriously, this is getting just plain eerie. But it's also kind of nice, having somebody who just Gets him and understands Everything, only needing words for the unimportant details; and after that connection helped him free Big Leo from possession, Lil' Leo is hard-pressed to see a downside here.

Leo turns his head, catches his double's eye and smiles. He knows the older him probably doesn't want any fuss over his arrival, so he merely jerks his head in a direction of the pizza. Grub's thataway, help yourself.

[duelkatana]

As he makes his way through the room, there's the friendly, unobtrusive something that alerts Leonardo to his double's presence. Their heads swerve to meet each other's gaze with clockwork timing, and he's pretty certain that the subtle chord of amusement that follows in Little Leo's eyes is mirrored in his own. This almost becoming something of an in-joke, isn't it?

Nonetheless, his counterpart saves him from any fuss that calling out might generate, and instead their greetings are exchanged in silence. When the younger ninja gestures in the direction of the food in an invitation to help himself, Leo flashes him a grateful smile and slinks off to do just that.

Shell yeah it's nice to have someone who Gets Everything.

[anything_it_takes]

Innit just?

Leo waits for an opportune moment when he's being effectively ignored by his brothers (it happens often enough) and quietly slips away to say hello to his double. If Raphael sees he will probably glare – he's been a little cranky about how close Leo is to the other Leonardo – but their silent resonance is both rewarding and undeniable.

"Meet your approval?" In his opinion, Mike can bake a mean pie.