#you know what's funny about Leo being a red-eared slider?

[stormy-nights-are-best]

Hey WHAT if I made your turtles [shiny emoji] slightly more scientifically accurate [shiny emoji]?

I'll start with the Disaster Twins.

Alright, so Leo is a red-eared slider turtle. At first I was skeptical about his blue shell and horizontal marks, but then with some research, I found red-eared sliders aren't always just the most gorgeous green - I found this lil blue gal in the pic! - AND their stripes CAN have some wiggles that make horizontal lines (first pic tart has one on its shoulder). So I didn't have to change those!

I did give him some actual stripes and plastron marks (there is no red-eared slider without those, plus they can be blue too so it suits him) though.

And a long thin tail because I'm okay with Trans Leo (male slider have short thick tails like in pic 2)

It was hard to figure out which type of spiny softshell Donnie was at first, but I was being dumb. It's obviously the Northern.

I started this whole project to fix Leo and Donnie's markings and DANG IT THEY'RE NOT INACCURATE- Spiny softshell turtles can have purple marks just fine (I'm pissed) so I let him keep his cool tech markings and just fixed his plastron. Picture one is a softshell's plastron, in case you hadn't realized. I know I took a while.

And!! Spiny softshell turtles have U-shaped nostrils. That's very important.

The hands and feet I gave Donnie are a little different from all the others' because so are spiny softshell turtles'.

But I think it'd be comical if the guys still couldn't tell the difference between the twins without their color coDING

OH, YOU MUST HAVE NOTICED LEO'S PERFECTLY FINE AND RAPH DOESN'T HAVE A HOLE IN HIS SHELL! That's because those are gonna be all in that time gap between the end of S2 and the movie.

If you WANt scientifically accurate post-movie wounds though.... Here's Leo's.

[vxlepop]

This fiction is for the amazing @someone1348 , they have hit 400 followers! How fucking awesome is that? I'm writing this to celebrate their marvellous achievement, I'm so proud of them <3! We're all so proud of you, K!

A funny matter.

As you know, this is a special fiction for a wonderful friend of mine. We all love our disaster twins. Leo is making jokes, as per usual. But what's that? Did Donnie really find a joke of Leo's funny?

Ler!Leo and lee!Donnie

Warnings: Some swearing. But that's it!

It was a regular day in the lair, well night. The family was sound-asleep. Even April decided to spend the night in the sewers with them, but she got to sleep in her own room that the turtles made for her. You could hear Raph's snoring, it never failed to make Leo laugh.. that's because Leo was awake. Leo quietly snorted hearing his older brother snore. Everyone was asleep apart from him, so he thought.

Donnie too, was awake. Leo as a red-earred slider turtle, only required 5-6 hours of sleep. For which, he already got that sleep. Donnie was working on his battle shell, to make it as good as possible. As many knew, his shell was quite the vulnerable area for the turtle. So in order to protect himself just a little more, he thought making a few upgrades sounded like a good idea. Donnie was careful. He avoided any mutant birds, since he's prey to them. And he'd never fight without his battle shell.

Leo tip-toed into the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee. It was 4 o'clock.. in the fucking morning. It was a daily routine. He'd get his required sleep, then have a coffee at ungodly hours in the morning. He took a sip of said coffee, before hearing a distressed "fuck's sake!" That was the soft-shell turtle alright. 'What in the pizza supreme hell is he doing up?' Leo thought to himself, before making his way to Donnie's room. Something had to be bothering him.

With being sleep-deprived, Donnie struggled to succeed in inventing new inventions without some sort of fail. He'd make a couple more errors than usual when he didn't get enough sleep. Poor Donnie, he accidentally cut the wrong wire, making him throw a screwdriver across his room. "Oh for fuck's sake!" He cursed. Donnie slammed his elbows into his desk, holding his head into his hand.

"Hey buddy, trouble sleeping?"

"What's with the interrogation, Leo? Everything's fine I said!" Donnie snapped.

"Uh huh, can tell." Leo placed his cup down on Donnie's desk, before sitting on his brother's bed. Leo patted the space beside him, signalling Donnie to sit with him. The older sighed, but got up and sat beside his younger sibling. The older let out a sigh.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Leo offered, but the other shook his head in response. Donnie struggled with his emotions, especially with expressing them or being able to communicate with them. Despite Donnie not being the biggest fan on any physical contact, he rested his head onto his brother's shoulder.

Leo was practically in awe. It wasn't every day you saw Donnie being physically affectionate. It was such the sight. All was silent. Too silent, for Leo's liking. The atmosphere was rather heavy. Leo had to lighten the mood up. But how?

"Hey D. I've done some research on some science jokes–" Leo couldn't even finish his sentence.

" 'Nardo, please don't." Donatello interrupted.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN - THE LEO SMIRK. THE LEONARDO HAMATO SMIRK. The smirk that makes you think, 'oh shit'. The smirk that makes you flush. It's all such a tease. The smirk that makes you realise, he's about to tickle the ever-living-shit out of you.

...

"What do you call an acid with an attitude?"

"... Go ahead, I suppose." Oh dear, how bad was this going to be? He loved his science, but how smart was Leo to be telling a joke about science.

"Amino acid!"

Donnie removed his head from Leo's shoulder as he placed his face into his hands. Donnie thought it was sly, but it wasn't. Everyone knew that it meant Donnie found something funny.

"You're doing it again, hermano~."

"What?"

"When you find something funny."

"... I-I aham not finding anything funny." Well done, D. Super convincing! The almsot-emotionless turtle letting out a snicker? Who, what, when, where, and why? Of course, little did Donnie know, Leo was finding this more amusing than beating his brothers at the lair games.

"Well, maybe I could help with that.." THE TEASE WAS IN HIS VOICE, EVEN DONNIE KNEW HE WOULD HE SCREWED. Donnie looked up, eyes widening when looking up at his brother. Leo was already wiggling his fingers at the soft-shell turtle. With that being said, the soft-shell turtle was gone. He scooted back on his bed. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The red-earred slider turtle scooted closer to the elder.

As a reflex / defence mechanism, Donnie had his arms across his chest in an 'x' form.

"Oh my beloved hermano, I'm gonna getcha! And quite frankly, there's nothing you can do about it~."

"Leo, I will personally murder you in your fucking sle– EHEHEP!" That was it. Leo targeted Donnie's thighs and knees, hoping it would bring his brother's arms down ( for which it did ). Leo kept squeezing at a rapid pace at Donnie's knees as Donnie kicked his legs and tried pushing Leo's hands away with barely any effort.

"I hahahate yohohou so much!"

"Awh, don't be like that. You know you love it. Tickletickletickletickle!"

Donnie threw his head back and kicked some more before Leo targeted Donnie's stomach. The soft-shell turtle's laughter increased in pitch as his giggles became more frantic.

" 'NARDOHOHO, FUCK OHOHOFF!"

"Well, that's not very nice, mister!" Leo put on a fake scowl before lowering his head down to nibble on Donnie's sensitive stomach.

" 'Om nom nom!"

The noises were so stupid that it made Donnie laugh more. Bloody hell, it tickled so much!

"THIHIHIHIHIS ISN'T AHAHAHA FUNNY MAHAHAHATTER, LEHEHEO!"

"It is not? But you sure are finding something funny. You're laughing your shell off! Is someone's cute, wittle twummy that sensitive? Awh." Leo put on a baby voice, making Donnie's face flush a crimson red.

"Is lwittle Donnie bwushing now?" Leo smirked, now gently tickling under his brother's chin.

"Y-You're thehe wohohorst!" Donnie smiled from ear-to-ear, scrunching his shoulders up and flapping his hands ( happy stims ).

Leo noticed, making him smile softly, too. Looks like his job was done. He made a grumpy Donatello into a happy Donatello. Before finishing his attack on his brother, Leo tickled up and down Donnie's arms ( his melt spot ), skittering his fingers around his wrists up to his muscles.

"Ehe! Yohohohou better sleheheep with one eye ohohohohohohopen, Leo!" Donnie pretended he was mad, but he gave up on squirming. His melt spot made him limp to the attack.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You love me really." And with that, Leo stopped his playful assault. Donnie, the poor turtle, was a flushing mess. The sight it was! How often do you see a ticklish Donatello blushing?

Leo layed down as he signalled his brother over by patting his chest. Donnie complied as he crawled over to Leo as he slowly lowered his head down onto the slider's chest. The red-earred smiled, noticing almost immediately his brother was falling asleep. The tickles really had tired him out. Donnie looked peaceful and at ease instead of being stiff and tense. Not even ten minutes later, the soft-shell was softly snoring. Following that, Leo began to fall asleep, just knowing his Donnie was relaxed.

°°°°°

Hey guys! Again, this fic was for the spectacular @someone1348 for their amazing achievement of reaching 400 followers! We're all so proud of you, K! <3

I have seen other requests you guys have sent me, I am working on them! Please be patient with me, I've got a lot going on at the moment.

( ￣▽￣)

Tags: @someone1348 @sunsetsandsunshine @mythica0 @tastybluesprite @blahhhhhhhohmigosh @alfi-always-writes @anxious-lee @leosmasktails .

[purple-tello]

Another special delivery of angst! These files are from the most recent updates to Facility 92's database by none other thaaaan, you guessed it, AGENT BISHOP!

Trigger warnings are implied experimentation and dehumanizing language

Subject Three - "Leonardo"

Filed by Agent Bishop in Facility 96.

After the ambush today, we were able to capture two of our assailants. The first of these is a mutated turtle, likely one of the, "children," referred to by One. There are no legal records of Three's birth, therefore its consent to DNA testing is not required.

From a quick glance, we have been able to identify Three as a species of Red Eared Slider, its human DNA matching that of Hamato Yoshi. Three's metabolism is also extremely high, as the drugs used to sedate them wore off extreme fast. Likely due to the mutagen. Extracting a sample will be necessary.

Three shows an intelligence that should not be underestimated. It waited until a guard's back was turned before drawing a sword out of nowhere to attack. All items have been apprehended from its possession as to keep it from using anything as a weapon. It has asked to see subjects One, Two, and Four. We have permitted it to see Four, though through bars. We cannot allow these subjects to escape, they are our only access to the mutagen.

It should also be noted that Three should not be left without supervision for long. Several escape attempts have already been attempted, and we cannot risk another. Three is extremely observant and should not be underestimated.

It is suggested that Three can be used to better contain Four. If either escapes, nonlethal methods are recommended, but should it become necessary, kill on sight.

Subject Four - "Raphael"

Filed by Agent Bishop in Facility 92.

Subject Four was quickly apprehended with Three, though it took much longer to sedate it. It was noticeably much easier to apprehend it when threatened with Three's safety. Due to the lack of citizenship or record of Four being a legal citizen of the United States, consent is not required for DNA testing of any kind.

Four seems to he a mutated form of Alligator Snapping turtle with the shared DNA of Hamato Yoshi. This connection between Three and Four suggests that despite their differing species, they are related. It is recommended that we push further for One's consent to its DNA to see if that connection extends to it as well.

Upon speaking to Three, this conversation was recorded.

Three: You okay?

Four: Yeah... Fine. What about you, you okay?

Three: Other than getting needles in my arm? Fantastic. It's always been my dream to be a guinea pig in a lab against my will.

Four: Leo stop, that's not funny. Did you see if the others got out?

Three: Don't ask that. They're fine, but don't give anyone an inch to investigate it again.

Four: You don't think -

Three: Shush. They're probably listening right now.

Four: Have you thought of a way out?

Three: God do you not hear me? Shush! And really? You wanna listen to my plans now?

Four: |after hesitation| You're probably right... I'm sorry...

Three: Oh I can tell.

Four: Leo I'm sorry.

Three: I believe you.

Four: LEO I AM SORRY. |Four was then observed panicking with its hands on its head| I'm sorry, okay? You were right, we shouldn't have done this! We should have just waited to get dad back and - you were right...

|several moments of silence|

Four: Please talk to me...

Three: You weren't listening before... Why would you now?

Four: Because... I don't have a good reason.. But I'm sorry. I was scared, I ran in when I shouldn't have, I put us all in danger, and now you're paying for it.

|more silence|

Four: I knew you were right, but I... I didn't want to listen. I was so scared I'd lose them, like how we lost you. I wasn't ready to face that again.

Three: I know.

Four: You do?

Three: Dude I literally did this same thing when you got taken by the - |Three cut itself off here and glanced towards the camera, as if afraid to reveal information. Note for later|

Four: You... Did?

Three: I got us all hurt trying to get you back. It took... God it took him talking to me to really sink in how dangerous this all is... I didn't think death applied to us before. I do now.

Four: Yeah... Because of what happened to you.

Three: No, because of what could have happened to you.

Four: What?

Three: Not here... But I get it. I just don't get why... You were always lecturing me for acting like that, why did you?

|silence|

Three: Raph?

Four: Because it's what you would have done, before.

Three: Huh?

Four: You're our leader. Doesn't matter that you gave that title to me when you got hurt, deep down we all know you're the one we follow. Even when we were kids, Leo, you always had the plans, the ideas. You got us out of trouble or figured out the answers to our problems. You gave me the chance to prove myself again, and I didn't wanna waste it.

Three: So you thought making the same mistakes I did would help?

Four: I dunno what I thought... Just that that was how we used to do things. Go in, get it done, get out. You and I would fight like we always did but we'd get the job done.

Three: Keep talking like that and the people here are going to think we're assassins.

Four: Oh... Right.

|more silence|

Three: ... Raph what are they gonna do to us?

Raph: Well... We know they didn't hurt dad...

Three: Dad has rights. We don't.

Four: What?

Three: They can prove dad is a US citizen. Us? We have no legal proof of existence anywhere. Nobody knows about us... They can do whatever they want to us...

Four: I won't let them. Not to you.

Three: ... We really gucked this one up, huh?

Four: Yeah... We did. I'm sorry, Leo.

Three: I know... And I forgive you... Hey, I have an idea.

After this both subjects refused to acknowledge or speak to each other. There was no indication of any communication between them other than their facial expressions. As ridiculous as it sounds, I suggest a mental connection of some kind.

It seems that Three is the only true motivation to keep Four calm and resistant to escape. It has not attempted to escape so much as see Three face to face. This could be utilized in their containment. Should Four escape, it's size is too big to kept alive. Do not engage, and kill on sight.

[raainy-daze]

Yo yo, guess who?

Leo x male!reader: reader had an idea and asks Mikey to draw/paint a red-eared slider shell pattern on his back and surprises Leo with it! Bonus if he has Mikey add red eye stripes, and double bonus if happy churring and cuddles ensue. Dunno if turtles have clingy instincts, but maybe Leo could take a deep dive in these hypothetical instincts and just incoherently latch on to Y/N for a couple of hours and make happy noises.

(*one of the brothers approaches*

Leo: *hiss*)

~🌺👸

Painted Shells

rottmnt leo x male!reader

summary: you think it’d be funny/cute to imitate your boyfriend, so you ask mikey to assist with your newest idea.

word count: 462

warnings for minor swearing

a/n: i’ve been forcing myself through a minor writer’s block these last few weeks, and i apparently just couldn’t figure out how to write this as a oneshot or anything, so it ended up being in this form, i hope that’s okay!

i’m finally back on requests you guys - i’m going to clear out my inbox before opening them again, but yay! sorry i was consumed by seasonal stuff. halloween’s soul itself possesses me every year ANYWAYS ENJOY

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

when you had the idea, you had gone to mikey immediately. he agreed, of course, and preparation began.

preparation consisted of two steps

step one: acquire paint actually safe for your skin

that wasn’t too hard. most craft stores sold body paint, it was just a quick errand.

step two: distract leo

also simple enough. you just had to send him out for pizza - he always took unreasonably long on tasks like that. he always got into some sort of trouble every time he even stepped outside.

all the guys did, actually - but that’s besides the point

so, you set your hoodie aside, and set to work. (or rather, you sat down down while mikey set to work)

(you paid him in candy)

you actually did the eye stripes, which weren’t in the original plan. you got bored while waiting, so you took some of the paint and just started on your eyes.

when mikey was done, you handed him a handful of starburst and left him to his own devices

you wound up waiting in leo’s room while the paint was drying - speaking of paint drying, it felt like it was taking forever.

(you had this thought about ten minutes in.)

leo’s return to the lair was hailed by several crashes, followed by “I DIDN’T DROP THE PIZZA THIS TIME!”

a few minutes later, he was in the doorway. “hey, i brought you a slice.”

he didn’t even process the paint for about ten seconds

“and then the guy gave me the box, and i swear to-“ *pause* *blink* “HOLY CRAP”

he kind of starts laughing at first - not in a mean way or anything, just from being caught off guard

“did you get mikey to do that? what the hell, (y/n)?”

he was grinning. “holy crap, that’s cool!”

cuddling ensued

this is absolutely an ego boost for him, you know

his arms were around your waist from the front, and you were patting his shell with one hand, your pizza slice in the other.

“y’know, i didn’t think this would make you so clingy.”

“i am not clingy”

“you are literally clinging to me right now. this is the definition of clinging. please be careful, i don’t know if the paint’s entirely dry.”

you remained this way for a good hour and a half.

you noticed donnie sneaking a picture for blackmail when he walked by the door, but you weren’t going to mention it.

“this is kind of gay.”

“you’re gay.” leo’s voice was muffled by your stomach, which he was pressed against.

“how could you even say such a thing, babe?”

it occurred to you that you would have to wash this off at some point. that’d probably be a nightmare.

oh well, that’s future you’s problem.

[blueberrypossum]

A Date Down Under (GN Reader x Leo)

OH MY GOSH IT’S BEEN FOREVER SINCE I’VE POSTED!!

If you guys are wondering where I’ve been I write more on A03 with two original fanfics in the making! But, my tumblr account deserves some love too! This fanfic has been siting in my file for a long while and I originally wanted to post it when I was deep in the ROTTMNT fandom (still love it and miss it man). So, I decided to take out my oc in it and make it a reader fanfic so everyone can enjoy!  @bootyyy-shaker9000 ​ I know how much you love Leo so have some of the wonderful boy in blue!!

When Leo asked you if you wanted to celebrate your Friend Anniversary in the Lost City, you couldn’t refuse. 

 The feelings for the turtle though were getting tougher and tougher to maintain. Leo was always the flirt, and you tried to not let him play with your heartstrings, but now a blush would creep around your face whenever he would fire a one-liner or when he would push the physical contact to the extreme. 

You weren't used to so much affection, nor letting the addiction of being touched take over you like a drug. 

But you have seen the way Leo fake flirts with others, and just believed that he was just doing the same thing to you, because you were just friends, right? 

You were brushing your comb through your hair when your phone started to vibrate on your desk. You brought it up to your ear as you got comfortable in your seat.

“Hello?”

“Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

There were a few knocks on your bedroom window.

“Me.”

You giggled and walked over to the window and pulled back the blinds to see the one and only Leonardo Hamato, a sly grin on his face as he hung up on the phone. You placed your phone into your pocket and unlocked the window to reveal yourself to him. 

The blue bandana turtle looked a little taken aback as he took in the sight of his best friend. With the season turning colder, you wore something that suited the chilly wind yet sunny season, the cloth clinging to you gently. What caught him off guard the most was the dazzling smile you presented to him, the pure excitement of seeing him causing his bandana to feel tight around his head. 

Leo almost lost his balance as he hopped into your room, sweat growing on him as he tried to find anything else to look at other than you.

“Hey, how's your fever?” He asked, his voice drowned with no confidence, his heart still pounding as he finally glanced over. 

You were picking up your bag and you frowned at the question.

“Hum? What fever?” 

“Oh, yeah, you just look hot to me,” he replied, pressing a confident smile on his lips as he hoped that you didn’t catch him almost slipping up. 

Your cheeks went pink and you playfully slapped his arm.

“Oh hush up and let’s go, we’re burning daylight.”

“That’s not the only thing that’s burning.”

“Oh my gosh, get going, Red Kamon.”

The tall turtle chuckled and pulled out his sword, swiping it around the room until a portal was created. Leo moved to the side and bowed his head towards you. 

“After you,” he purred and you rolled your eyes at him and took a step into the portal and was led right at the center of the Hidden City. The colorful and mysterious city was weird to say the least, nothing but weird creations and magic lingered in the air as yokai walked past you. Leo stepped through the portal and was at your side as you both walked over to the city map. 

Leo used your shoulder as a rest while you gazed over at the map.

“Where do you want to go, shorty?” He asked as your eyes scanned the different areas and pointed towards the Witch Town.

Your mind seemed clouded from the close contact and you pointed to the spa.

“What about here? Sounds interesting.”

“Can’t do. My idiot and less attractive twin got us turtles banned there,” Leo commented and soon his arm snaked around your neck and was completely over your shoulders, bringing you close enough that you could feel his breath over your cheek. 

“What about here?”

“Nope. They banned me there.”

“How did you get banned from a spa?”

“My dashing good looks were just too much for them.”

You let out a gust of air and knew the real reason, Donnie told you the whole funny scenario of Leo needing hair to get into the spa, totally backfired and threw him in jail. 

“What places are you not banned from, blue?” You asked, turning over to him with your arms crossed. 

He gave you his signature smile and leaned down till you were face to face, his beak just a few inches from your nose. 

“Here, just those two places. Your heart? Never.”

“Then what about the Pirate Bazaar?” You mumbled, your heart almost leaping out of your chest as Leo’s eyes widened with excitement.

“Ohhh, I’ve been there! But only for a little bit, let’s go!” He squealed and took your hand and led you through the crowd of animals and other subjects of yokai. His three-fingered hand was cold against your warm one, and you knew Leo and his brothers like closeness to you and April since you were the only warm-blooded creatures; Splinter was too but hugs were hard to get from him. Still, the hand holding made others look over and gush at you two, as if you were a couple. 

If only.

He didn’t let go as he took you into lesser crowds, bringing you closer till your arms were touching. You then realized he wasn’t wearing an outfit, but then remembered most of the yokai’s were clothesless as well. His muscles bounced as he walked and you had to do everything to not wrap your fingers around the growing muscle. 

STOP STOP STOP THINKING LIKE THIS! HE DOESN’T LIKE YOU LIKE THAT!

His thumb started to brush against yours as he turned to you and you swore you saw a red dash against his cheeks, and it wasn’t his stripes.

“You’ve been friends with me for a whole year! Please, do tell how great it must’ve been to be called my best friend,” he said slyly, wiggling his non-existent eyebrows, causing you to laugh. The joyous melody made Leo weak in the knees.

“You mean, me always having to save your shell from dangerous bad guys, having to endure all your jokes, and then the constant-CONSTANT- marathons of Jipiter Jim and Lou Jitsu to the point all I could do was speak quotes from the movies.”

“Oh yeah, may I remind you that you would text me excited about every movie date? Didn’t someone make their signature hot chocolate just for me when I showed this specific someone their now favorite movie? Ring any bells?” He replied back.

“Pffts, you know what? Your one-liners stink.”

The sword yielding turtle let out a gasp and grasped where his heart would be over his plaston as if he had been shot as he looked down at you. 

“My one-liners stink like Raph’s victory stink!”

You laughed and took back his hand and Leo felt his heart flew as your warm hand was gripping onto his cold one. You took the lead and finally made it to the entrance of the pirate grounds. There were booths of stuff that were related to the pirate theme of the area and some were just random selections of things to sell. The smell of seafood and other fried foods drifted into your nose and you led Leo to the entrance. 

After getting Lost City Cash at a money machine, you both took a selfie at the front entrance, Leo bringing you close and him having to lean down due to your height.  

There was a goblin looking woman in the booth at the entrance and the woman took your money and gave each of you a bracelet to get on rides and such. 

“For an extra 20 dollars, you can have a custom pirate outfit that you can switch on and off with ease,” she explained and you and Leo shared the same look, giving the worker a simple nod. She pointed to where single bathrooms were after she got the money.

“Last one there is a rotten turtle egg!”You challenged out as you raced over to the bathroom stalls, the mutant turtle schoffing and charging after you.

With a little bit of magic, you were able to think up your very own pirate outfit with a second band around your wrist so that you could switch it off and on with ease. Leo picked the same outfit he had when he first came to the pirate utopia with Hueso, but didn’t pick an eyepatch this time since he didn’t want to trip in front of you. 

You quickly raced out of the changing room after saying thank you to the worker who helped you and looked around, your eyes trying to find the mutant turtle in the crowd. You spotted the long strands of his bandana and felt yourself shudder at how good he looked in a pirate outfit, how the white shirt clung to him and how he had his sword hung against his side instead of over his back. You swallowed the saliva that was swimming in your mouth and quickly dashed over to him, clearing your throat before you spoke in the worst pirate accent. 

“My, my, isn’t ye the best booty I’ve ever seen in these vast oceans!”

The red slider turtle quickly turned around but you moved out in front of him.

“Aye, wanna shiver me timbers?” You laughed, throwing another one-liner at him and he turned, his eyes going wide as he almost told you that if you were a pirate, you would be the most beautiful treasure that no man or woman could handle or capture. If you were a pirate he could definitely walk the plank. 

“Those jokes are so lame, that they need a peg leg,” he replied, almost hating himself fully for using one of Huesos jokes instead of his own. But you flashed him a smile anyway and motioned him to follow as you made your way through the crowd. 

The teenage turtle felt his heart leap after you and gave chase as you made it to the center of the pirate theme park. 

Once in the middle, you pulled out the map the woman at the booth gave you and started to read over the activities that you could do. 

Leo leaned down close, still a little out of breath, but his confidence had awoken him as he said: “Ya certainly put a shiver in my timber!” he said in a deep pirate accent. You booped his beak away from your face and he blew a raspberry on the index finger.

“So, there is a treasure adventure we can go on, a booth section of stuff to buy, a pirate show of a reenactment of pirate history-Oh! They have timed dances throughout the area! And you can join in!” 

“Are you going to join in?”

“Maybe. I could finally dance with someone who doesn’t only do fortnite dances and dabs.”

“Hey, my moves are almost like a work of a pirate ship.”

“Old and needs remodeling?”

“What?! No! Unique and cool.”

You rolled your eyes and wrapped your arm around Leo’s and led him to the show since it was the closest. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You stood on the pier as ships and flying creatures dashed by, the glowing lights of the underworld turning into a creamy orange to signify that the day was coming to an end. You leaned your arms over the railing as you scrolled through the photos that had been taken throughout the day. You couldn’t help but smile at seeing your goofy pictures and would scroll past the ones you took specifically of Leo without him knowing. 

Speaking of the turtle, he leaned in close to your shoulder as he noticed that your attention was not on him.

“Whatcha lookin at?” He asked, his head slowly getting closer. You felt your body grow warm and quickly turned your phone. 

“Bruh,” you giggled and he gave a quiet chuckle and tried to snatch the phone. 

“If you’re looking at something, then as your best friend I have a right to see.”

“Fine, hang on.”

You quickly saved the single photos of him into a secret file and moved the phone between them, his head still on your shoulder as he scrolled through the photos, both of you laughing at the one where you fought the pirates and failed. 

“What about you? I know you took photos of today for your social,” you commented as you placed your phone into your bag. 

Leo took out his phone and hid it out of sight since his home screen was a picture of them together at an abandoned skatepark and he had you in a piggyback ride and he just had to capture the moment. He handed his phone without thinking and started to go through your bag due to boredom.

You scrolled through the photos until you stopped at a specific one. You didn’t remember him telling you to pose for this photo; it was when you had stopped to eat dinner and you happened to watch one of the kids getting a fake pirate hook from a vendor. Your head was supported by your hand as a breeze caused your hair to ripple around your face in an alluring photo. A blush rushes to your face as if you had been hit and soon you started to scroll faster and found more photos of just you; of you waiting in line, in your pirate outfit, several were taken of you during the pirate treasure hunting, when you grabbed a candle from one of the booths in excitement, he even got a cliche photo of you holding his hand while you led him through the crowd. 

You felt your heart stop in your ribcage and looked over at the ninja turtle, who was still looking through your bag as if he was hunting for treasure. You didn’t want to snoop, but you couldn’t help but exit out of his camera roll and looked through his folders on the right side; there was a folder for comic books, shopping, epic moments, even a puns list, then found it at the bottom. It was labeled with a first letter of your name and a heart, and with twitching fingers, you opened it. It wasn’t many photos but enough to where you almost dropped his phone into the water below. There were pictures of you whenever you both hung out, and some he probably got from your social. 

Holy Hot Soup, he liked you.  

“Okay, now you really look like you have a fever,” Leo commented as he reached for his phone, causing you to swallow and quickly turned off the device and handed it back to him.

“But don’t worry, Doctor Neon Leon will help you get all better,” he said in a baby voice and wrapped his arm around you and brought you close. 

“Maybe you need some Vitamin ME,” he whispered and you laughed at yet another ridiculous one-liner made by him. He grinned at the sight of you laughing and rested himself against your side, taking in your scent and warmth. 

“Maybe I do, where do I get my prescription Aka Kamon?” You asked slyly, a shit eating grin on your face as Leo blushed. Whenever you could, you would fire back a one-liner and was overjoyed to see him be the one to get flustered and a stuttering mess. 

“ Oh, um, well,” he stuttered and mentally kicked himself as he couldn’t think of something to say back and then a question he always wanted an answer to.

“Are you ever going to tell me what those words mean?” He asked. 

“Are you ever going to open a book and find out for yourself.”

“Ha! Jokes on you, I don’t know how to read. And also, there are phones now, boomers.”

“Then look it up.”

“JuSt GiVe Me A hInT.”

You released a sigh and gave him a look while he returned to you his huge puppy dog eyes look and placed his hands together as his bottom lip wobbled as if he was trying to get out of trouble. 

“Finnnne, but only because it’s our best friend’s day.”

You poked the red stripe against his face and then pointed upward, a smirk growing on your face as he gave a confused one.

“WHAT KIND OF HINT IS THAT??”

“A pretty good one in my opinion.”

The red slider turtle let out a large groan as he crossed his arms, his face growing tight as he tried to think of what the hint meant. 

“Are you just calling me stripes but in Japanese?” He said with a groan. 

“Leo you insult me, it would be kind of stupid to call you stripes in both English and Japanese.”

He mimicked your talking right as you finished and he received an eye roll as he continued on thinking.

 So, it wasn’t the stripes, maybe the color? Or the shape?

“Man, this is hurting my brain, this best friend day sucks.” He said as he stuck his tongue out at you.

“Okay, okay. The two words are a color and a shape. Is that better?”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

You continued to watch as Leo tried to put the pieces together and you wished you could get this on video, but it would be too obvious, so instead you painted it into your mind. 

“So, the color is totally red, but the shape I’m lost at. Why did you point at the sky? Is that a clue? Why did you make this so difficult?”

“Because I’m a difficult person.”

“I do like a challenge.”

“One more hint, it’s the shape of something in the sky.”

Leo looked up at the fake Lost City sky and squinted as the fake sun started to set and the moon would start to rise. 

“Red Moon?”

“Close. It’s Red Crest.”

The blue bandana turtle searched the horizon for an answer for why you called him that as you looked away due to embarrassment. 

“Why?” He simply asked as he looked over; he could always tell when you were nervous, your eyes would always dart around and your left foot would start to shake. You rose to a tallen stance though and looked over at his hands.

“I just find your marks...alluring. In Japanese culture, the red moon is respected due to its power. I just thought you deserved to have a nickname that represented you.”

Leo felt his face go completely red that it could put Raph’s mask to so much shame that it would go bland. All this time he thought you were just calling him something insulting in Japanese, but it was a nickname that you made up for him. Not like Raph’s, Donnie’s, Mikey’s or April’s, it was one you made up for him and only him. 

“Stop looking at me before I throw you off this dock so I can live the rest of my life without this embarrassment,” you laughed nervously as your fingers combed through your hair and let out a shaky breath. 

Leo started to get his little shakes as he let out a confused laugh. 

“All this time I thought you were calling me a stupid turtle or somethin in Japanese, whoa oh boy was I wrong.”

You both looked away from each other and the atmosphere became heavy. 

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, I still don’t know, you thought, but then you felt his finger poke your elbow and looked over at him, and the soft expression on his face almost made you melt.

“But how can I stop looking at you?”

Your breathing immediately hitched.

“Are you blushing? It’s a good feeling to know that I do it.”

You could only cover your face as you leaned against the railing on your elbows and looked between your fingers at him. You hated being so flustered up, but with Leo dripping with confidence, it made you want to curl into a muttering mess. 

Leo watched you with amusement and went to touch you, but then fell back. He remembered how he started the physical touch between you two, holding your hand, always leaning on you, every movie night you would be his cushion. But you two couldn’t kiss, couldn’t cudde too close, he couldn’t tell you he loved you more than just a best friend.  

 He hated how the day went by so fast and now he wanted to do what he has wanted to do for months. But he couldn’t work up the courage, he had a ton of one-liners to ask you out, to ask if you returned the feelings, even though he was mutant turtle that lived in the sewer and fought enemies that could destroy the whole world and wholly Ōdachi he can’t ask you to be a part of that life. 

But, the way you would smile at him and how you always gave him credit for the growth into someone you wanted to be. How you saw something in him that he didn’t even see, and he wanted to keep being whatever you saw. 

He just wanted you.

So, he worked up the courage, tried to make the sweat stop rolling down his body, and looked at person he had fallen for

“Y/N.” 

You tensed up, you had never heard Leo sound so serious in his life. 

“Yeah?” 

“With this being.....I mean if I’m wrong. Would you consider this a date-date?” He spilled out, and he wanted to climb into his shell like Mikey and never come out. He let out a gust of air and didn’t look over at you, his fingers messing within each other. It was silent between you, the city life buzzing around them as yokai’s came and went. You wanted to scream out in joy and say yes a hundred times, but you also had to be careful, along with if Leo was being a bubbly mess, you wanted to take advantage of it as long as you could. 

Spotting a red and blue flower with a bright yellow center growing on the side of the deck, you wrapped your fingers around it and pulled it from its roots. To Leo’s surprise, you pushed your way under his arm until it was back over your shoulders. The blush on his face was noticeable and with being against his chest you noticed his uneven breaths. 

“I do. And I would like more of them, if you want to.” You answered and handed him the flower. He shakenly took the flower in his hand and his confidence came crashing back to him, knowing that the feeling was mutual. As quickly as you gave him the flower he leaned over and placed the flower over your ear. Your eyes widened with surprise and quickly averted them away, a nervous but sweet chuckle escaping your lips. But the Red-eared slider never averted his gaze away from you. 

“I would like that too,” he answered back. 

You both stood there for a while, your head curled into Leo’s chest as his own head rested on yours. You were used to being close, but this was different, this filled you up with knowing and it made the physical connection much more warmer and scarier. Little lights started to flicker around as the city started to get dark, even with no sun or moon. Leo brought you closer and buried his face into your hair, a long sigh escaping his lips in content, his mind slowing down for once and just taking in this moment.

 But the moment went quicker than expected as a low yawn escaped your mouth and the red slider turtle remembered that it was getting late. 

“Alright, sleepy head, I think it’s time to raise anchor and set sail for home,” he joked as he lifted himself off of you and then held out his hand. With a roll of your eyes, you gladly took it and let him lead you back to the entrance of the Pirate Bazaar. He could just use his sword, but he wanted to juice out every moment with you.

The hand hold was different in some way, you gripped his hand tighter and when he came to a stop you would use your other hand to lightly touch his biccup before continuing on. 

You gave the booth teller their costume bracelets back and walked a few feet ahead before Leo pulled out his sword and created a portal. 

He once again bowed his head as he moved to the side. 

“After you.”

Through tired eyes she gave him a smirk as she was halfway through the portal. 

“Thank you.” 

He followed you through the portal and took the step onto your apartment’s fire escape, the flashing lights of New York City spilling over your side as you opened your bedroom window;  throwing your bag inside before turning to Leo. You both turned to each other and then quickly averted eye-contact with each other. 

“I had a lot of fun today, Leo. Thanks for being a good fri-” you stopped yourself since you didn’t know if you two were still just friends, or more.

He let out a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, chief, it was,” Leo said  and then let out a groan at the terrible execution.

 You knew that you had to make the first move now or else you both would accidentally place yourselves into the “friend zone”.

 “Leo, can you bend down a little bit?”

“Why? Tired of being the only short one?”

“You can say that.”

He bent down till he was on your level, a smug smile on his lips. You let out your form of a chuckle as you curved your fingers under his chin. The teenage turtle instantly felt weak in the knees and thought that his legs would give out from under him and became a stuttering mess as you both made eye-contact. 

“Um, haha, is it hot or did you know that, uhh,” he mumbled as you tilted his head to the side and placed a small kiss against his red stripe, instantly making his whole body, for once in his life, burning. 

Your lips were soft against his skin and he stood there as you leaned away and climbed back into your room. 

“Goodnight, Leo,”you mumbled, your hands shaking against the window. 

“N-night.”

You closed the window and walked away while Leo stood there, his mind racing a hundred miles an hour. He got a kiss from you, from you. He never felt so much adrenaline rush through his body and all he wanted to do was go back in time so he could’ve moved his lips over. 

He took a step towards the window and then took that step back. What should he do? What could he do? Were you both dating now? Or were you two at the very edge of the line of a relationship?

He wanted to call his brothers or April for advice, especially since she would slap some sense into him. His shakes were coming back.

He let out a grunt and rubbed his eyes as he tried to decide what to do. He looked back at the window and saw that you had turned on your lights. He walked up to the window and knocked.

You had just gotten out of the bathroom when you heard the light tap against your window and your heart started to race faster than it already was. You were already shaken up by having enough courage to kiss him but if that was him then what if he didn’t want the kiss?

The knock came again and you took a few deep breaths before you moved the curtain aside and there he was, his face all flustered up as he gave a small wave as she opened the window. 

“Yes?” You questioned as you leaned your hands over the window seal. You hoped that the silky night of the sky hid your flustered face.

“I honestly didn’t think this far ahead,” he spilled out as he let out a nervous laugh as he leaned against the window. 

You looked up at him and Leo blinked several times in wonderment at the startled expression that crossed your face. Leo took a deep breath and gave you his signature shit-eating grin.

“Knock knock.”

“Wow, you’re doing jokes in the same place now are ya?”

“Just do the joke.”

You giggled and fluttered your eyes mockingly at him.

“Can I who?”

“Who’s there?

“Can I?”

“Can I...Can I kiss you?”

Even though it was a terrible joke, you felt like you could throw up all of your guts for how fast your heart rate was. Kissing him on the cheek was a challenge but at least you didn’t have to worry about his lips against yours. Do turtles have lips? Or beaks?

The word yes slipped out before you had a second thought. 

Before you knew it, Leo’s hands were slipping into your own, the tip of your fingers shaking but Leo reinsured you with a stroke of his thumb  You looked up at him and was taken aback at how handsome he was, how his stripes glowed in the moonlight and his blue bandana flew behind him as he leaned down. 

Oh you were glad he didn’t have his lips puckered or drool hanging out of his mouth like in the cartoons. 

Swallowing any other signs of panic that were trying to build in your body as you leaned in. 

The city of New York continued on around you both as the kiss ended; it was soft and sweet, not a full one, but it left both of you speechless. You felt as if your stomach was falling apart and Leo thought he could slip off the stairway. He was still holding your hands before you both departed, but with your free hands, you grabbed his face and brought him in once again. The red slider turtle’s eyes went wide as moons as this kiss much more, more than he could ever dream of. 

He wrapped his arms around your waist and slightly lifted you up, burying his face into yours under the moonlight. He tangled himself around you as your hands wrapped around his neck and Leo felt his stomach flip at the actions. Your shirt was warm against his chest and he tried to focus in on that instead of the worry of messing this up. He leaned more down as his hand slipped into the back of your neck. Due to the lack of experience, the kiss was sloppy and messy and anxiety swam between the connection between the two of you. 

But it was a tender memory of a kiss between the two of you, to remember as your first. 

You both finally separated, your chest heaving as you tried to get your feelings under control. His arms were still wrapped around you and your hands had slipped down onto his plaston, the hard material rising and falling under your fingers. Leo felt himself lean back, the shock setting in that he just had his first kiss and it was that deep and romantic and that….

The teen turtle felt his shell bump against the railing and you quickly latched onto him to stop him from falling, a horse laugh coming out of your mouth. 

“Guess you can say that you’re falling for me?” You asked, Leo knew now that he had to have a fever for how hot his face felt. He let out a few breathless laughs as he tried to calm himself down, longing and fear still lingering in his heart. 

All he could do was pull you into a hug and whisper out, “I just want to stay here and kiss and hold you and Y/N I can't feel my heart.”

He buried himself into your neck as he once again slightly picked you up, hoping that your warm body would calm him down, but the organ in his chest raced on as you hugged him back, your arms barely going around his shell. 

“Leo, will you be my boyfriend?”

My boyfriend. My boyfriend. My boyfriend. My boyfriend.

The words rang in his head like chimes as he slightly pulled away to look at her, the harsh blush on her face giving him an ego boost as he grinned at her. 

“Being called a boyfriend, eh? Neon Leon already has so many cool names, but boyfriend is probably the best name to be called, especially if it’s only you saying it.”

“Probably? I guess I should just give the boyfriend title to someone else, then.”

“What?! No, no, no. I already called it, I’m your boyfriend capiche? Now come here.” He pulled you into a tight hug and gave you a little spin, a laugh escaping your throat as you held on.

“Leo! We can fall, and my back cannot handle cement like yours!” 

[remmushound]

Beyond the bay part 16, What Lurks?

Summary - Leonardo assesses Mikey’s physical and mental state. 

Tags - @selfindulgenz @brightlotusmoon @ilo-artistry

Content warnings: Medical exams, medical assessments

Everything was wrong. Wrong and so very dark. Mikey felt as if the clouds had fallen from the sky and come to settle in his mind; yet, despite the mental lag that weighed on him like lead, his body felt impossibly light, almost drifting. He had to find them; he had to find his team! But he felt like he was suffocating, like there was hundred pound weight bearing down on his chest. There was… something that he was wading through. Something that shifted and rippled and flowed around him like a cool, moving blanket.

He had to find his team. He had to get back to the mission! He had to find that mutagen and he had to find his way! And… he had to wake up…

“Ow…?” Mikey opened one eye, and then the other as he was suddenly and acutely aware of strong fingers digging into his muscles. His head was throbbing with a steady thump thump thump.

“Mike.” Donnie’s voice was breathless and urgent, but nonetheless gentle as he momentarily paused his massage in favor of more important exams. 

“Ah— again with the light?” Mikey whined and raised a hand to cover his eyes as Donnie shined his flashlight in them.

Donnie returned to the painful massage. “Do you know your name?”

“Mikey…”

“Do you know where you are? Do you know what happened?” The more questions Donnie asked, the more pressing his voice became. When Mikey didn't respond, Donnie repeated himself louder and clearer.

Mikey could only sputter. He knew he should know those answers, but when he reached out to grab them, they slipped through his fingers like sand. His eyes grew wider, and he shook his head. Why couldn’t he remember?

Leonardo was there too; Mikey didn't notice him until the red eared slider moved directly in front of him and waved a hand. The motion made Mikey focus on him, though at the time there seemed to be more than one of the blue-clad ninja, like Mikey was seeing double.

Leonardo, as opposed to Donnie’s bombardment, only asked a single question. “Can you tell me who is best turtle?”

Mikey’s face wrinkled in his concentration, and then split in a grin. Now that he could remember! “Trick question, it’s me! I’m a triple threat: brains, brawns, and a dazzling personality.”

Leonardo couldn’t have smiled wider if he tried. Now that Mikey could focus better on the room around him, which slowly came back to him as the infirmary, he finally located the source of the thumping that he had thought was just in his head. He saw Donatello hanging in the background, the young mutant looking blatantly bored, like he’d rather be doing anything else at that moment. He was bouncing a tiny, purple ball against the wall, catching it, and then bouncing it again in a steady rhythm. Unlike the other turtles, he didn't seem to notice nor care that Mikey was awake; his only acknowledgement was to Mikey’s self-declaration of being best turtle.

“Well that is too bad, because I am a quadruple threat.” Donatello bounced the ball one last time, then caught it as he made his way over to the group. “Strong, funny, amusing, and hilarious.”

“Aren’t three of those just synonyms?” Donnie questioned without looking up from Mikey’s tensed muscles.

“You.” Donatello said. “I do not like you.”

“But I like the confidence!” Leonardo declared, and held out his hand to Mikey. “High three!”

Mikey was all too glad to meet the inviting gesture— that is, until his hand seemed to faze through Leonardo. Mikey frowned, and then he tried again with the same result. He missed? If Leonardo noticed Mikey’s confusion, he didn’t show any reaction to it. Instead, he grabbed Donatello’s ball, much to the grievance of his twin, and tossed it up in the air a few times.

“D’ya wanna play catch?” Leonardo offered, his smile slight and soft. He grabbed the ball between his thumb and pointer finger, showing the tiny rubber toy off to Mikey. “Might help you concentrate~”

Having something to do with his hands did help. Mikey nodded eagerly and held out the arm that wasn’t currently being assaulted by Donnie’s therapeutic rubbing. Leonardo swung his arm back and forth a few time, allowing Mikey the chance to focus before Leonardo tossed the ball with a careful swing. Mikey’s eyes followed the ball as it glided smoothly through the air, and he raised his hand to catch it. It slipped right through his hands. 

Mikey blinked. His eyes pinched together as they searched and eventually found the ball on the floor rolling away from him. He missed? Again? Now he had a tight pain in his chest, one that refused to go away. A ball of discomfort and anxiety and fear that grew bigger and bigger, trying to force itself up his throat to choke him.

“Are you playing tricks?” He didn't know why his voice sounded the way it did, like a child who hadn’t yet found the confidence to speak up.

Donnie frowned at the weakness of the voice, gently cupping Mikey’s head in a hand to tilt him back and examine his throat. Mikey gave a low churr of disapproval, but didn't resist.

“No tricks!” Leonardo said, and he held up his hands as a show of surrender. He held that stance for a few seconds more before gathering the ball from where it had fallen and placing it back into Mikey’s hand. “Okay, now you pass it to me.”

Donnie backed away from Mikey to let him have space while the younger box turtle stuck out his tongue and tried his best to focus on Leonardo’s shifting figure. It was like a filter had been laid over Mikey’s vision. A filter that made Leonardo seem as if he were in constant, blurred motion and made his voice like something at the end of a cavern.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Came the echo of Leonardo’s voice, so distant and lost to Mikey’s ears. The tunnel was so dark, and the sewage was up to his knees and uncomfortably warm. He breathed, but it burned so he did it as little as possible. For the republic, he had to keep moving. Mutagen was fuel, mutagen was life, and there was mutagen in this dark place. He just had to get back to Commander Mozar and find it. Mozar would know what to do. He was hand-picked by the prime leader himself!

There was someone calling his name. His commander? No, someone more familiar, more like a brother. Zog? No… no that wasn’t it either.

“Leon…?” There was a slick, cool hand pressed over Mikey’s forehead.

“Hey, bud.” Leonardo said, and he was smiling; Donnie’s face was turned into a tight frown. “You zoned out for a sec. All good?”

“Head hurts…” Mikey swatted Leonardo away and tried to sit up.

“Hey hey hey hey!” Leonardo didn't let Mikey get very far, “Easy. You need to lay now.”

“No… no we need to find him!”

Leonardo cocked his head. “Find who?”

“I… him!” Was all Mikey could offer, “He’s scared and alone.”

“Where is he?”

“I… I don’t know!” Mikey knew he should know but he didn't, and in retaliation against his own mind he began to repeatedly strike himself right between his eyes. Donnie intervened before he could hit himself more than twice, forcing Mikey to lower his arm but only making the box turtle more frustrated.

“Mikey, take it easy.” Donnie tried, but Mikey didn't seem to care about doctor's orders. He started to try and resist Donnie’s efforts to keep him still. “Little help here?”

Leonardo was hesitant to lay a hand on the thrashing Mikey, but when he finally found a hold, he pressed down firmly on the older turtle. His attempt to restrain the mutant wasn’t very effective, and when Mikey was able to stand, Leonardo pulled back and simply let Mikey leave while Donnie kept trying to stop him.

“Ge’ off!” Mikey shook his shoulders trying to dislodge his brother.

“Mikey, what—?” Donnie was unrelenting.

“GET OFF!”

Mikey got as far as the doorway before he was picked up around the middle and carried back inside by Raphael, holding the shinobi like he was nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum. He laid Mikey back down on the bed and Donnie skirted around the snapping turtles shell, grabbing Mikey’s arm to keep him still while Mikey tried to shake the grabbing hands off of him.

“Mikey, if you don't stay down I’m gonna have to strap you down.” Donnie said with a voice even and placid.

“What happened?” Raphael’s lips pulled into a frown, his hand going down to feel Mikey’s forehead.

“I don’t know, he just freaked out.” Donnie said calmly. He ran his hand across Mikey’s cheek and made soft, shushing noises intended to sooth. “How is Yoshi?”

“Yeah, he uh… he’s fine.” Raphael said absently, his head nodding along with his words, “Just hate to think how long he was alone for…” 

“Mikey, do you know where dad went?” Donnie asked softly; Mikey seemed calmer now, no longer resisting his bedrest, but his teeth were still bared to show his discontent. Donnie sighed. “Guessed not.”

Raphael laid a hand on Donnie’s shoulder and prompted the box turtle to look up at him. “He can’t have gone far. Maybe he just wanted to explore a bit.”

“He wouldn’t just leave your father here alone.” Donnie sighed, shaking his head.

“You’re probably right.” Raphael admitted. “Your Leo’s probably going crazy.”

Donnie closed his eyes and, ever so slowly, leaned his head back as he sucked a deep breath through his nostrils. Then he lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to nurse a growing migraine.

“I’ll go talk with him. Can you sit here with Mikey?”

“Of course.” Raphael said with a patient nod, sitting beside the bed and resting a hand over Mikey’s plastron.

Donnie left the two younger turtles in charge of his brother while he left the room in search of the oldest. He first found Michelangelo and Raph in the exercise room; the massive box turtle practically had steam rising off of his muscles from the heat of his body, slick with sweat and eyes focused determinedly on the ceiling above him as he worked his reps. Michelangelo wasn’t exercising, but he seemed to be having a good time hanging onto the bar while Raph lifted it so he could dangle and swing like a monkey. Donnie felt his migraine only worsen as he slumped against the doorframe, rubbing his eyes with enough force to make stars dance in his vision.

Raph had been in that same spot since they had made the discovery of their fathers absence several hours before, and Donnie could practically smell the frustration and understand it too, because he felt the exact same way. He needed to go and find his father before something awful happened, but he couldn’t leave with a clear conscience with Mikey in the state he was in. When it came to the choice of which was more important to him…

Donnie shook his head. Mikey would always come first. He and his brothers had agreed on that when they were little, and that agreement would live as long as they did. Splinter was strong and Splinter was capable, and right now Mikey needed them more. All of them.That didn't make the worry for his dad any less burning.

“You gonna say something?” Raph’s voice rumbled, “Or just stand there starin’?”

Donnie laughed, but it was a half-hearted and weak laugh. He shook his head and didn't bother to answer the question verbally. He simply walked into the room to stand over Raph; the middle child didn't pause his reps, not even for his brother.

“How’s Mike?” Was Raph’s next question.

Donnie almost naturally reached out an arm so that Michelangelo could climb onto him, and Michelangelo was more than happy to do just that. He swung on his friends arm with happily, monkey-like giggles while the other brothers retained composure and hardly reacted to the childish games.

“Awake.” Donnie said, “Confused. Raphael and the other Leonardo are with him now.”

“Good.” Raph kept pumping, eyes focused.

Donnie sighed. He carefully picked Michelangelo off of his arm, one of his hands enough to completely engulf the box turtle's plastron, and placed him on the ground. He stepped over the smaller mutant and grabbed Raph’s bar, yanking it pointedly from Raph and replacing it on its shelf. Raph’s eyes sharpened, snapping to Donnie and ready to give him hell before he saw the icy, cobra look in Donnie’s eyes. Instead of yelling, or saying anything, Raph simply sat up and shouldered his way past Donnie. They didn't need to exchange words for Donnie to know where Raph was headed.

Donnie shook his head once more before grabbing Michelangelo, who had his arms up asking to be held. He carried Michelangelo the rest of the way back to the infirmary; Raph was there, kneeling on the ground beside the bed and holding Mikey’s hand in his. He was talking slow and soft words to his youngest brother, words Donnie couldn’t make out, but the intent was there. Donnie plopped Michelangelo down on the floor and turned back around, leaving the rest of his family and continuing his search for Leo.

He found his eldest brother in the zen room; the room itself wasn't very well-maintained, once teal paint peeling off the walls and plants that were either overgrown and swallowing the walls of the room or dead at the root. The dead ones were the fault of none— being so low in the sewer, access to any sort of sunlight was a scare rarity that growing such plants were always difficult. For the rest of the plants, it was sheer neglect that led them to grow as immensely overpowering as they had, seeking any glint of light to sustain them. Leo sat in a lotus position in front of a green pool, just as neglected and forgotten as the plants, though it seemed to be from natural deterioration and not any contamination from the sewage around them. 

“Hello Donatello.” Leo said without bothering to open his eyes or drop his position. “How is Michelangelo?”

“He’s okay.” Donnie sat beside his brother; his long legs weren’t built for the lotus position, so he just sprawled out and got comfortable. He had the feeling he was going to be here for a while. “Are you?”

Leo took his time to consider the question, rolling potential words around on his tongue before he settled for something that felt right. “I am dealing, considering. If Michelangelo is well, then we should think about going after father. Is that why you’re here?”

“Yeah.” Donnie nodded, “Everyone’s sitting in with Mike to keep him company.”

Leo nodded slowly and finally opened sapphire eyes. “Then perhaps just us two should go. Let Raphael and our friends stay here with Mikey. We can move faster on our own.”

Donnie couldn’t help but agree with that, but there was still a twinge of doubt that refused to be ignored. “These aren’t our sewers, Leo. We should bring at least one of the Hamato’s to lead the way.”

Leo considered. “Alright. We’ll take the other Leonardo then. Perhaps his sense of direction is as good as mine.”

Leo’s sense of direction had always been advance, far more than his brothers. You could place him in the heart of a maze and within minutes he would be able to find his way back out again. He knew he would be able to navigate these sewers even with what little knowledge he had of them, but Donnie’s anxiety was never something to ignore. Leo took a final, sharp breath before standing, inclining his head ever so slightly toward his brother.

“Let’s go now. No time to waste.”

“But— but Leo, we can’t take both me and Hamato Leo, we need a medic here in case Mikey has another fit.” Donnie reasoned.

“Fine, then we’ll take the other Donnie.” Leo decided promptly, waving for his brother to follow. Donnie obeyed.

“What about other Raph? It might help to have some extra muscle if we find ourselves in a pinch.”

“Uh.” Leo looked down at his bicep and, just for good measure, he flexed to make the muscles more defined.

“You know what I meant.” Donnie’s eyes rolled, but he pursued the issue no further. There was very little time to do so even if he wanted, because already they were entering the med bay.

Mikey had his eyes closed, lips pulled down in a tight frown as he stretched his head back as far as his neck allowed. Despite the position, Donnie knew he wasn’t asleep; he knew his brother too well to assume such things. All eyes turned to them as the two entered, and both older Splinterson’s could feel the shift in energies tingling their skin. 

“What’s up?” Leo asked. 

Donnie’s instinct was to immediately go to Mikey, doing a quick check of his vitals and finding them as steady as they had been when he left. Donatello seemed to be the only one of the turtles who wasn’t entirely on edge, taking the time to yawn and stretch before pulling out his phone and pulling up an article. He held his phone out where the older brothers could see that it was a current article posted just hours before, the headline bold enough to catch anyone's attention.

DINOSAUR SEEN IN SEWERS

[remmushound]

Bay/rise 14! @errorfreak88 @brightlotusmoon

Leonardo explained everything as fast as he could manage without giving out any important details. He said that they had been attacked by Shredder, but said nothing of the situation leading up to it. He said nothing about what had happened to his city. He said nothing about Big Mama. He said nothing about why it was so important that they find his April fast. They told him about finding his brothers and what state they were in, and how they had found Leonardo and Michelangelo in the first place. That they had sights on his father and potentially his April too.

“Donnie,” Leo said, “Any update on the last mutant?”

Donnie hummed and clicked his wrists to bring up a transparent blue hologram. As he began to swipe away on the impressive device, both Michelangelo and Leonardo gawked in awe.

“Wow! You have mystic tech here too?”

“Mystic what—?” Donnie yelped as Michelangelo grabbed a sudden hold of Donnie’s shell and pulled himself up onto Donnie’s back. Donnie forgot his tech a moment and kept trying to turn around to see what the younger mutant was doing. “Hey— what are you doing back there?”

“Getting a better view!” Michelangelo pulled himself finally onto Donnie’s shoulder and hung over him. “Okay, go!”

Donne tried to look to Leonardo for assistance, but the turtle was far more enraptured by the shiny hologram than anything his brother was doing. Donnie cleared his throat and tried to ignore it while he got back to his work.

“Uh… the status of… um…” Donnie was starting to feel uneasy with just how intently Leonardo was staring at him, “Wait what was the question?”

“The last mutant?” Leo reminded slowly.

“Oh… right… status on the… last mutant.”

“Leoooo!”

Donnie flinched as the loud voice sounded right in his ear. 

“It looks like you’re staring at him! He doesn’t like it.”

“Huh?” Leonardo snapped back to reality and shook his head, though his eyes still kept glancing down the screen. “Oh— no— your tech is just cool! Did you make it yourself?”

Leonardo ducked under Donnie’s extended arm and popped behind it so it was almost like Donnie had his arm around the slider. He grabbed Donnie’s wrist and pulled it down so he could see the details of the screen closer.

“Uh, yeah?” Donnie answered with a slight laugh to combat just how uncomfortable he was.

“Dude, you sooo gotta show this to my Donnie when after we get pops and April. He’s gonna flip!”

“Well, that’s gonna have to wait.” Leonardo said firmly.

“Wait for what? An invitation? Dude— if we go now we can beat rush hour!”

“Or get caught in the middle of it and be exposed.” Leo retorted.

“Dude, you seriously need to take a chill pill.” Leonardo finally left Donnie alone in favor of approaching Leo. “Besides, it’s not exactly your decision, is it?”

“You think it's yours?”

Leonardo laughed, but it faded into a scoff when he realized his counterpart was being serious. “No. It’s his.” Leonardo nodded to the otherwise silent Raph.

“What?” Raph narrowed his eyes and tilted his head ever so slightly.

“What do you say, oh merciful leader.” Leonardo’s voice was leaking with sarcasm as he addressed Raph, “Can we go save my fam or not?”

“Wha— me?” Raph pointed at himself.

“I don’t see any other six foot tall, red-mask wearing mutant turtles.”

“Dude, you’re the leader?” Mikey was at Raph’s side in an instant appealing to him, “Why didn't tell me? We coulda been doing so many cool things!”

“I’m not, shell-for-brains.” Raph growled.

“No?” Leonardo was genuinely surprised. He spun on his heels to better take in the group of four as a whole. Raph was strong and tall like a brick wall, and at his side Mikey was touch-positive and bouncing in place through his excitement. Donnie was slouched slightly and adjusted his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, his eyes darting around to look at anything other than the anomalies in front of him. Leo was smug and confident, standing at the ready and straighter than the rest. Leonardo wanted to believe that it might be Donnie as the leader—second oldest, the tallest, it might make sense— but the stance and demeanor was totally off. Not Mikey either; he hardly seemed to be paying attention to anything that was going on unless it was funny or interesting. “Wait… no.” Leonardo finally turned his attention to Leo. “You?”

“Something wrong with that?” Leo almost seemed to challenge.

Leonardo was quick to throw his hands up in surrender. “Hey, why’s everything gotta be a fight with you?”

“Wait— were you meaning that… your Raph is the leader in your world?” Donnie asked slowly, his eyes finally starting to glisten with a shine all too familiar to Leonardo.

“Of course not, Don.” Leo answered for Leonardo, crossing his arms and giving a laugh, “Mister ‘Shrek looking ass bitch’ here is just trying to get under our skin.”

“One— I’m not even gonna deny that cause I totally was.” Leonardo laughed and so did the Mikey’s, “Two, he asked me, not the incredible hulk so you shut up.”

Leo winced at the audacity. This mutant, two heads shorter and a world weaker, was standing up against him like they were evenly matched. Leo couldn’t help but liken it to a Jack Russel challenging a Pitbull.

“And número tres!” Leonardo declared, “Yes. My Raph is, in fact, the leader in my world.” He started to advance on Leo, but the box turtle held his ground. Leonardo walked right up and prodded his finger against Leo’s chest. “And if you have a problem with that, then you can take it up with him because even though he just got shredded by Shred-Head, he could still knock your sorry ass on your shell!”

Donnie shoved himself between both Leo’s before the situation could escalate any further. “Guys, chill out! Here— look. Your Splinter still hasn’t moved— he’s down on Bay Parkway.”

Leonardo looked at the map on the mutants arm and hummed. “Okay. Come on Mikey.”

Leonardo grabbed his odachi from the floor and replaced it in its sheath before making his way to the window. Michelangelo scrambled off of Donnie and scurried after his brother.

“Woah woah woah, where do you think you’re going?” Leo quickly tried to intervene and block the window.

“Didn't you hear the guy? Bay Parkway. Now move.”

“Didn't you hear me when I said we’re not making any more moves until nightfall?” Leo growled a threat.

“That is my dad out there, my April, and every second your ugly face is in mine is another second that they could be in danger. I’m going.”

“No you’re not.” Leo stood steadily.

Leonardo moved faster than Leo could have imagined. Leo managed to get a grip on the smaller turtle's shell, but he slipped off as if the shell were made of ice. Leonardo jumped out the window and scrambled out of reach before he could be caught again. Leo didn't bother trying to stop Michelangelo from following.

“Great.” Leo sighed and slapped his hands against his sides.

“Leo, you can’t just leave them out there alone.” April said finally, approaching the frustrated turtle.

“I know.” Leo sighed, then turned to his brothers. “Donnie, find us a place where we can cut them off. We can’t just leave them free in the city.”

While Donnie worked on an intersection point, he tried to comfort April. He could see the worry etched on her features even if she tried to hide it for the benefit of the younger turtles.

“It’s okay April. We’ll get them back here and— and Casey’s not hurt.”

“It’s not that.” April shook her head.

“Then what is it?”

“If they could come through so easily then… couldn’t other things? Their Foot Clan— their Shredder.”

Donnie winced at the thought. “He— he said that it was Krang that brought them here so… I mean… If Krang wanted to, he could theoretically bring more through… but at the moment there’s nothing we can do to stop it. But we will stop it. We always do.” Donnie’s bracelet dinged and he checked the map for the intersection point. “Uh. Leo? We have a… slight issue.”

“What is it Donnie?”

“They’re already there.”