"𝓘 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓮, 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓮, 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓼𝓸 𝓫𝓵𝓾𝓮 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓮, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓭𝓸."

You panted as you skated back to Antonio's Pizzeria. You knew they would go back there. Everything had yet to be moved out, but you knew they were going to move back into the Lair. It was their home, but first you wanted to congratulate them. You wanted to be there for them and let them know that you were more than just a friend - you were family.

"Guys!" You burst through the door to see no one there, and your heart broke a little.

You knew Master Splinter was helping Mr. Kurtzman find his own family again. Casey went looking for his, and April went home... But where were the turtles? The Mutanimals? For some reason, a wave of helplessness began to bubble up, but it was washed away just as quickly.

"(Y/N)? What are you still doing here? I thought you went looking for your family like Casey and April- Oof!" You turned and skated right into Leonardo's chest. Your arms wrapped around him and you gave him the tightest hug you could. "U-um... (Y/N)?" Leonardo stuttered over himself. "What's wrong? Could you not find them?"

"What are you talking about? They're right here." You said before taking a step back and gesturing to him and the others who had walked in through the door.

"What are you two talking about now?" Raph asked, raising a (nonexistent) eyebrow.

You only chuckled and wrapped the other three brothers in a hug as well. "Good job you guys." You said with a warm smile.

"Aww, thanks dudette!" Mikey cooed.

"Heh, it was nothing." Donnie replied.

You let all of them go, and finally they started asking you more questions.

"Hey, (Y/N), it's great you're here and all, but what about your host family? You're not gonna go find them? I know April and Casey probably aren't going to be back for days." Raph said crossing his arms.

"Yeah, they miss their families a lot." Mikey said nodding. "Don't you?"

"What are you guys talking about?" You said with a soft expression. "Alaric and his parents are fine, but you guys are my family, too."

All of them stared at you with emotional expressions, but eventually Mikey broke the silence. "I can't take it anymore! Group hug!" He called, pulling you and all the brothers together. "I love you too, dudette! You're like the sister I never had!"

"More like sister-in-law." Raph whispered to you, earning him a quick shove with your elbow.

"I hope you never leave, (Y/N)!" Mikey said with a broad grin.

"Don't worry, Mikey. I don't leave real family behind, ever."

.

.

.

Why did you stay?

Leonardo asked himself this question over and over again, and every time he remembered the answer, he felt even more guilty. He wasn't sure as to why, but something about how you always put him and his brothers first, unnerved him. You'd known them for a little less than a year, but you kept putting your life on the line beside them. You stayed even when you could be with someone else, like Alaric and his parents.

Maybe it was because Raph was right. They never had a mother figure in their lives. Not to discredit Master Splinter, but sometimes the warmth of a mother figure was needed.

But that's to say that Leonardo didn't think of you like you were his mother. No, it was different. He wanted you to stay with them as long as you could, but he could feel you drifting away. Was it because of him?

It was. He'd been treating you colder. When was the last time he spoke to you alone? It had been less than a week before the battle for New York, but even then he was cold to you as you laid out your intentions. You only wanted to help, and he gave you nothing but a chilling reply.

He had his head so wrapped around Karai and saving her, that he'd almost forgot that he needed to take care of his family and save New York. When you reminded him, he'd acknowledged it bitterly and left you in the dust to fight the battle without you.

If he did it again, by accident or not, would you forgive him?

Then again, why would he ever do that to you again if he was so worried about you leaving? Why was he so worried in the first place? Did he care for you like a sister? Not quite, if anything, it seemed like you treated all his other brothers like they were yours, but not him. You were always more careful about your approaches toward him.

And it was reciprocal. He was always more careful with you than with April. He was always worried about you leaving, just like Karai.

. . .

Just like Karai.

Karai had always managed to get herself into trouble, or give them trouble - Raph was right! Damn it! That's why he was so desperate to find her and bring her back home, but you... You were the opposite. He didn't need to worry about getting you home, you were always just there. The hard part was not hurting your feelings.

You always seemed so sensitive to his emotions. You always catered to him. Why was that? Why did you work so hard just to comfort him after every incident?

Could it be? No, no it couldn't. I mean, after all...

Why would you ever be in love with him? He's done nothing but whine to you about his problems. How could you ever love someone like him?

Especially when he was just beginning to love you?