Leo had to make sure everything was perfect. This would be the first Father’s Day he was able to celebrate. All four of them worked tirelessly on an awesome card, Mikey baked cheese frittatas, Donnie made a big coffee thermos with heating and cooling tech on the inside to make the inside drink hot or cold, and Raphie knitted a blanket with all their names. The eldest turtle brother was impossibly fast with knitting needles and yarn.

Leo had spent weeks on a small photo album of him, his brothers and Splinter. He didn’t even sleep some nights to work on it. The cover of the album had “Hamato Clan” written in Leonardo’s beautifully loopy scrawl with the clan crest drawn on with Mikey’s help. His little brother helped him practice until he was confident enough to do it on the cover in permanent blue marker.

He walked down the hall with his brothers, stifling a yawn as they walked into Splinter’s room. It was the first time Leonardo set foot in the room. It was as if the room didn’t receive daily cleanings from maids. The room was filthy and littered with soup cups, cookie packages, empty drink cups, fast food wrappers, old movies…Leo was appalled and even more so when his brothers didn’t question it.

“Dad! Happy Father’s Day!”

“Thank you boys. What is the stuff you’re holding?”

Leo waited until after his brothers to try and hand over the album, but Splinter didn’t even glance at him, or the gifts his brothers spent hours or days working on.

“Thank you three. I’m very proud of all three of you. Now go play, my show is almost back on.”

Raphael: “Dad, Leo still has a present for you?”

Splinter: “Hmm? Oh yes. Thank you Blue one. It’s very nice.”

Mikey: “Aren’t you going to look inside? He spent a long time working on it.”

Splinter: “Hush Orange. My show is back.”

Leo felt tears welling in his eyes, but plaster a fake smile on his face. The tears started rolling down when the album he spent literal weeks making was soon used as a coaster for Splinter’s tea cup. Leo made a portal to his room and started sobbing into his pillow. He tried since the moment he met Splinter to be a good son and make the rat proud to call him his son. Only for all of his efforts to blow up in his face when all his present was good for was a damn coaster.

A large clawed hand was hesitantly placed on Leo’s shell. Leo’s tear and snot covered face was raised to meet Godrick's worry stricken face.

“Leo, what’s wrong -”

The tears started back up but this time Godrick held him tightly, and rubbed his shell.

“It’s alright. Get it all out. Take your time."

He shot a quick text to Mr. Shaan in the kitchen to have a mug of peppermint tea brought up and a separate text to a maid who did laundry to bring up a change of clothes for the Young Master. Leo eventually stopped crying and told Godrick what happened over the calming cup of tea. Leo was sent to take a shower while Godrick seethed. There wasn’t an easy way to get rid of the disgusting rat without getting rid of Leonardo’s brothers. What he could do, however, would be to stop the maids from cleaning the pigsty Leonardo described to him.

The rat lived in the sewers, if he likes the mess, he can deal with his mess. He would also tell the cooks to not provide him with luxury meals, only the most basic things like microwave burritos or peanut butter sandwiches. If that rat wanted something he could get a job and work for it. If there was one thing Godrick hated, it was freeloaders.

“GoGo?”

"Yes, I’m right here Leo.”

Leo was dressed in his favorite unicorn onesie with something in his arms.

“I made this for you earlier this week. You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to though.”

Leo held out a little book to him with a carefully drawn lion face and a lion cub face on the cover. Godrick smiled and lifted Leo into his arms and flopped down on the bed behind him. Leo was sprawled across his chest confused until Godrick gestured to the book. Leo gained his signature thousand watt smile and opened it to the first page. It was a thirty page album of him and Leo as he helped raise the kid.

A picture of him pushing Leonardo and Shika on a swing set and a picture of him “losing” a wrestling match with a six year old Leo. A picture of him and baby Leo at a human zoo looking at ordinary lions; little Leonardo didn’t know better and kept pointing at them calling out “GoGo” repeatedly, it was the cutest thing ever. A picture of him bench pressing Raphael, a picture of him reading to Donatello, a picture of him baking with Michelangelo, a picture of him and Suzie sparring, a picture of him and the fox twins locked in a two v one arm wrestling match, and a picture of him holding Leo for the first time when he was merely three years old. He was a tiny child and he remembered that picture vividly.

<~<~>~>

“GoGo, GoGo, GoGo! Look, look, look!”

“I’m looking Young Master. It’s a very nice, uh, drawing.”

It was a crude crayon drawing of him and Leonardo. It was abundantly clear that the three year old had done it himself and he was clearly proud of it.

“GoGo is a strong guy so he has big muscles, do you see them?”

“Yes I do. I look very strong here.”

Leonardo yawned and rubbed at his left eye. Godrick failed in fighting a gooey grin from creeping onto his face.

“Come here Young Master. It’s time for your nap.”

“I don’t wanna sleep.”

“Why not?”

“Scary man with black dogs. They wait for me and then there’s lots of fire and loud booms. It’s really scary.”

Godrick felt his heart go out to the child. He was tortured by humans in his youth and could only imagine what had inspired Leonardo’s night terrors.

“What if I sit with you? I can scare the scary man and black dogs away?”

“Okie…GoGo is super strong…”

“That’s right. The scary man is no match for me. Now let’s get you to bed.”

“Good night Daddy…”

Godrick froze as Leonardo fell asleep in his arms. A warm grin spread across his face.

“Good night, Leonardo.”

<~<~>~>

It’s been ten years, almost to the day since Godrick started working as Leonardo’s personal bodyguard. It’s been the happiest ten years of his entire three hundred years of living. And now, like it always does, history repeats itself. Leonardo was sleeping in his arms as he flipped through the last ten years of his life in just thirty pages of pictures.

“Good night Leonardo.”

“G’night Daddy.”

A moment of pause, then a chuckle escaped from the lion yokai. Yeah, he’d always be this kids father. No matter the cost.

Vite, comment, and have a fantabulous day 😊😊💖💖
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