"What do you mean, 'Leo's missing'?" You demanded, rising to your knees as you held your hips, eyeing the mutant before you. "How do you lose him? Your older brother? The giant identical turtle in your midst?" Your voice had risen, almost to the same octave of Yaki and Raph arguing in the next room, your eyebrows furrowed. You didn't mean to sound so angry but you couldn't believe that they had simply lost their brother again. You understood why it had occurred last time, because he had been injured, but now you couldn't comprehend why. The text he had sent the night before hadn't indicated anything of Leonardo's mood, only his joy at how much they had bonded together.

    "Well there are four of us, it's easy to get confused." Donatello stared at you, unblinking.

     You stared at Donatello, your mouth slightly ajar, an eyebrow raised. "Um..."

      "That was supposed to be a joke, by the way," Donatello chuckled softly, rubbing his shoulder as he tilted his head to the side with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

     "It's-it's alright." You laughed quietly, plopping yourself back down onto the floor. "You just don't seem to be the sort of type to make... Jokes." You winced softly, wondering if you had overstepped the line with your remark.

     "It's my face, isn't it?" Donatello sighed, massaging his temples with a frown. "Ugh, my father always said I always looked too serious, just really grumpy all the time." He quietly grumbled, tugging at the collar of his deep purple sweater.

     "Donnie-" You exhaled, shoulders slumping, rubbing your hands along your forearms. Worry was consuming you, as you were desperate to grab any silver of information concerning your dear friend.

    "Oh- right," Donnie let out a shrill nervous laugh, quickly clearing his throat. "As I was saying... I went to check up on Leo a few hours ago and- he wasn't in his room." He frowned as he glanced down at the palms of his bandaged hands, exhaling. "He wasn't in the dojo, the tunnels, or any of the rooms."

    You nodded your head as if you knew what he was going on about. What the hell was a dojo anyway? Was it anything like the training room from that show, ninjago? It was probably that same room, seeing as they were all... ninjas. 'Oh wait Donnie's still talking-' You thought sheepishly, slightly shaking your head to regain your train of thought concerning Donnie's droning.

      "And he disabled the tracker I had on his phone!" Donatello huffed, crossing his arms out of annoyance as he looked up at you. He seemed to be more annoyed at the death of his little tracking device, then of his older brother missing.

      "You-" You rubbed your eyes, dragging your hands across your temples, gently shaking your head. "You put a tracker inside of your older brothers phone?" You let out another small flustered, full of disbelief.

      "Uh... Yeah." The mutant scoffed, twisting the purple bandanna that was tightly wrapped around his wrist. "He wasn't supposed to know about it, it was simply a precaution to keep him safe."

      "Safe? Safe from what?" You questioned cautiously, gently shuffling forward on the hardened carpet that seemed to scratch at your grey sweats.

      "Himself." Donatello paused to allow the dramatic revelation to settle, while you merely eyed him, awaiting his next sentence.

      "Are you saying... That you think, Leo went out tonight to... hurt himself?" From the little that you knew about him, the thought seemed absolutely absurd. You didn't know whether to laugh or fall back against the carpet full of tears and shock. But who were you to question the man who was literally Leo's brother? He obviously knew the mutant better than you did, and though you had learned much about him through their few days together- it would never be enough... Would it?

      "Look, Leonardo is going through a lot right now." Donatello let out a sigh as he propped his elbows up on his knees, leaning forward to eye the girl before him.  "Our fathers death... anniversary is coming up in a week. He's going to be repeating our fathers last moments in his head over and over again- and, if he keeps pondering over it, he might lose it. Like last time." He allowed the words to spill, somewhat surprised that he was telling everything to this teenager that he barely knew. But you had a kindness that surrounded you, and that seemed to pull at his sensitive heart as well.

     "What... Happened last time?" You twisted your shaking hands into your shirt, a frowning tugging at your lips.

     "He..." Donnie looked up at the ceiling for a few long moments, swallowing harshly before looking upon you with remorse. "He cut himself, Y/n."

      "Where do you think you're going, Baba?" Yaki called out, arms crossed over her flat chest as she laid across the couch. Her feet propped up on a few pillows, a yowling cat with his little fluffy head thrown back, standing on her bladder with his heavy little paws. Raphael sat at the small kitchen island, sulking as he dragged his sais across the wooden counter top, leaning the side of his face against his propped up hand.

      "Erm... A friend needs me." You gave your friend a quick little smile as you scurried to the kitchen, throwing open the pantry door as you rummaged around. Your trusty pink backpack swayed loosely across your right shoulder, bulging with a coat and other materials. You had switched out your baggy shirt for a warm blue sweater and a large grey trench coat that obviously belonged to six foot Yaki. Your sweats were tucked into a pair of polka dot rain boots, and you had discreetly brushed on some blush and a bit of mascara. You were hoping that neither Raphael or Yaki noticed, or you would be in for the teasing of a lifetime.

      "Isidore?" Yaki questioned in worry, sitting up as she turned in her seat to eye her friend, an annoyed Lady Garbage mewing in self pity as he clambered up Yaki's shoulder to nestle himself into her messy short black hair.

      "No!" You blurted out, snatching up two packets of ramen and tearing them apart with your fingers. You realized how suspicious you seemed, even as Raphael seemed to be glowering at you, as you simply averted your eyes, clearing your throat. "Another friend."

      "Love," Yaki sighed, standing up as she perfectly balanced the napping cat perched on her head. She walked over to the kitchen island, long strides that put her aside an annoyed Raphael, who was rummaging in his jackets pocket. "You don't really have friends."

     Rude, but; true.

     Raphael stood, pulling the bar stool across the cheap plastic tiles as he rolled a cigarette between his fingers. He popped the tube of cancer into his mouth and quietly chewed on it, leaning against the kitchen wall to put as much space between himself and Yaki.

     "You're not supposed to smoke in here." You pointed out, disapproval coating your eyes as you glanced over at Yaki with a look that screamed, 'this is your boyfriend?' You opened open one of the cabinet doors above the stove and pulled out a large pot, placing it against your hip as you hobbled over to the sink to fill it up.

     "I'm not." Raphael retorted, a bit whine-y if you might say, with a huffy annoyance as he prodded his finger with his sais, drawing a drop of blood that stained the metal. "I don't do it around her." He nodded to the side over at Yaki, as he flipped his sais in his hand, tucking it neatly away into its holster.

      You paused, blinking in surprise as the pot began to overflow with water inside the sink. You hadn't realized that Yaki had an aversion to smoking, though it did make sense why she had once choked out a man at the subway station who had blown his cigarette smoke into her face. By this point, the police had really gotten to know your face and Yaki's shenanigans. It had come to the point where brought home baked goods to the officers whenever you had to bailed out Sukiyaki.

     "My mom was a smoker, Y/n." Yaki shrugged with a sheepish crooked smile, answering the question you had in mind as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. She shuffled from foot to foot, Lady Garbage's long fluffy tail swaying back and forth in front of her face, tickling her nose and lips.

     You nodded at the explanation, somewhat jealous that Raph knew a slip of information more than you, the best friend, did. "Dooo you remember the girl I met in the bookstore?" You hummed, shutting off the faucet, tipping the pot over to allow excess water to spill forth. You slammed the pot on the stove, turning up the heat. "Naia?" You hinted, glancing over your shoulder.

      Yaki snorted, rolling her eyes as she brushed her curling hair from her eyes. Her hair was much longer when it wasn't flat ironed, gelled and brushed into a whiff. It took her about an hour every morning to get- it was horrible. "Barely."

      You took Yaki's pause to glance over at Raphael, who seemed way too invested in how Yaki's dark brown fingers pushed through her messy curls, or how strong her bare shoulders and forearms seemed to be. You didn't know whether to gag or awe in slight joy, preferring to continue with your lame excuse of getting Yaki off of your back. "She needs help with some..." You paused, not sure what your imaginary friend needed help with. "Studying for an exam- civics, you know? My favorite... thing." You pinched yourself in annoyance as you opened up another cabinet, stuffed to the brim with herbs that you grabbed and mixed their contents in with the pot full of water.

       "Mm." Yaki grunted in slight suspicion, pulling forward one of the bar stools as she slid easily onto the hard wooden seat. She propped up her chin onto her hands, lazily watching her friend cook. At least she seemed to pretend that she couldn't notice her sort of boyfriend who seemed to inconspicuously worship every movement she made.

     "Hey, what's with up with Raph?" You inquired, fully aware that he was only a few feet away from you, but deciding to be a bit more petty for that 'when I want a humans opinion, I'll ask' comment.

      "He's grumpy." Yaki snickered, leaning the right side of her face against her hand, eyeing the pouting mutant turtle with a little teasing smile.

      "Why?" You inquired, opening the small white fridge littered with magnets, notes, and collages and school related art projects that Mason had specifically created only for Yaki.

      "He wants some of my homemade pocky and I don't want to make it." Yaki grinned cheekily, chewing on her thumb as she winked over at Raphael, who simply glared back with a flushed face, shuffling nearer and nearer to the bedroom that Donnie was rummaging through.

     "Can't he do it himself?" You scoffed in surprise, grabbing a few glass containers filled with cut up green onions, mushrooms, and garlic. "We have all the ingredients here anyway." You pointed out, as you peeled off the plastic tops of the tupperware and dumped the resulting concoction into the boiling water.

      "I like the way she makes it..." Raphael's sulking voice mumbled out, his brow furrowing as he shuffled behind Yaki to caress the napping head of Lady Garbage, who soon awakened and became annoyed by Raph's presence. Even with Yaki seated, Raphael still wasn't tall enough to even tower over his kind of girlfriend.

      "Aw poor thing." You clicked your tongue, pulling a wooden spoon from its drawer, as you scraped the Tupperware free of any excess vegetables and stirring the pot. "C'mon Yaki, charm the man." You pleaded quietly, sure that you were only humoring Raphael for the sake of Donatello's sanity.

     "I've already charmed him enough." Yaki scoffed with a grimace, scrunching up her shoulders as Raph attempted to wrestle a yowling Lady Garbage's claws that had dug into her scalp.

      "So..." You hummed, dumping out the hardened block of ramen noodles into the pot. "I'm assuming you two made up?" You quietly hoped that they did. You didn't know if you could handle any more of their arguing. Besides, you did want Yaki to be happy. Though, by the looks of things, Raphael hadn't given you any good reason that his relationship with Sukiyaki was worth it.

      "Not really." Yaki answered back with a frown, kneading her temples with her fingers as an annoyed Raphael wrestled the screeching cat into a forced cuddle.

      "What?" You began in horror, holding onto the edge of the stove. 'Maybe they'll break up and Yaki will be yours again!' Your brain chirped, forcing you to pause and reevaluate your intentions. Did you really not want Raphael and Yaki together? Were you really jealous at the fact that these two had a better, closer, much more longer relationship then you had with Yak-Yak?

       "We're talking to you, but not to each other." Quipped the woman with a frown and a raised messy eyebrow. She folded her arms as she leaned them against the wooden counter top, totally indifferent to the fight scene occurring behind her as Raphael and Lady Garbage tussled across the carpet.

       "Come on you guys!" You sighed, pushing yourself off the stove as you moved towards the small kitchen island, planting your hands against it as you leaned forward, to gaze upon your best friend and confidante. "This has to stop already. You can't keep avoiding one another like this. Don't you want to fix your relationship?" You demanded, poking Yaki's nose.

      "It's way more complicated than that, Y/n." Raphael spoke, standing up as he cradled a snoozing Lady Garbage in his strong arms, his face and neck covered in angry red scratches. "It's not like ya know the whole story." He sniffed loudly, eyeing the young girl with only slight displeasure.

      "What I do know is that you two love each other very much-" You snapped, quite frankly fantasying the day you would be able to strangle that very annoying brother of Leonardo, narrowing your eyes as you pointed from a flustered Yaki to a huffy Raphael. "And that this petty little squabble over a cat and a freakin' leather jacket isn't necessary."

       "It's not about that." Raphael began, his eyes flashing with a pent up anger that seemed to be hiding a deep sadness. "It's the fact that she doesn't..." The mutant paused with a sigh, the rage melting away and being replaced by a hurtful indifference. "I'm going to check on Donnie." He muttered, hunching over as he bundled his precious pet to his plastron, glaring over at you as if it was your fault for his sudden change in mood.

       "You knew he was in my room, huh?" You gasped as if he had just declared that he had dumped all your paints down the drain, as you began to realize how sweaty you were under your sweater and winter jacket.. "Didn't even bother warning me?" You spoke with a miffed tone, crossing your arms over your chest, your face twisting up as you tried to bite back the pout that was threatening to erupt.

      "I wanted to hear you scream." And with that horrifying statement and a indiscernible glint in his eyes, he shuffled to the bedroom. Cooing over his little fur baby who laid on was sprawled across on little back, batting at the chewed up cigarette that hung out of Raph's mouth. The mutant soon kicked open the door and proceeded to yell 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING DONNIE—' in a tone that would probably alarm the neighbors- and anyone who had the misfortune of being called 'Donnie.'

      "Don't mind him, he's just teasing you." Yaki scoffed slightly, her hand reaching out your wrist; a wrist that was attached to a raised clenched hand that clutched a rolling pin, coupled with a face of annoyance or sweaty rage. "Plus, it doesn't help that he's still pissed off at me. And Leo. And everyone in the vicinity of New York City." Yaki hummed, shrugging sheepishly as she easily wrestled away the rolling pin and stuffed it down her leather chest binder.

       "Including me?" You couldn't help but allow the childish sadness to leak through her tone. Sure, you didn't necessarily like Raphael, and honestly believed that anyone else would be a better partner to Yaki, your amazing, beautiful, bad-ass of a best friend- but who were you to judge Yaki's choice in men?

      "Of course not." Yaki huffed, seemingly annoyed at the question. "I've told him all about you since we were kids. He knows you as well as I know you." She chirped, separating long tendrils of cat hair from her own ebony black hair, tossing them aside to flutter to the ground.

       "That doesn't exactly... " You pursed your lips, eyes narrowing as you eyed the empty hallway that contained one room where many things were being knocked over and tossed into walls. "Comfort me."

     "You'll get used to him." Smiled the dark skinned young woman, as she began to lovingly trace her fingers along the long indents that Raph had carved into the counter top.

       "I can't do that if you two aren't really together." You retorted with a slight smugness, moving back to the stove, plucking a spoon from the open drawer to dip into the boiling soup.

       "Oh, I'm sure he'll get over it." Yaki shrugged once more, plucking at the straps of her tank top before pausing for a moment. Raphael had carved multiple little hearts into the wood, alongside the little pencil drawn name that she had sketched when she had first moved into the apartment. She cleared her throat, looking up at her friend with a slight... raw expression across her face, which disappeared as quickly as it had attacked Yaki. "Sure, we've been fighting for about... six months, but-"

       "Six months?" You erupted, clutching your spoon in your hand as you waved it about in pure disbelief. "Yaki!" You scolded, seemingly the adult in this situation. What was up with these terrible relationships? First your parents and now this mess!

      "What?" Yaki stared at her friend wide eyed, her hands gripping the edge of the counter as she sat upright.

"I- He's your boyfriend!" You swiftly smacked your forehead with the metal spoon, letting out a small hiss at how much it stung. "Ugh, never mind." You paused. You slowly turned to the small digital clock above the stove and froze. 'LEO! You forgot about Leo you idiot! Is the fact that Donnie told you he thinks Leo's gonna cut himself again not enough to get you moving faster!?' screeched your conscience, it's tone clawing it's metaphorical nails down your spine. "I have to go!" You squeaked, throwing open the cabinet doors above you to rummage through for two thermos's- one a light pink, the other blue.

      "Y/n..." Yaki began, slumping forward as she perched her elbows against the scuffed countertop, not at all fazed at your sudden change in mood, it occurred more often then one would think. "Like Raph said, there are some things you don't understand." Exhaled the woman, feeling the weight of twenty years chew away at her confidence.

     "No, Adachi 'Nessie' 'Sukiyaki' Ashika-Shojikiya-Kareem." You suddenly snapped, ladling ramen into the thermoses, slamming on the tops and twisting them on with great anger. You swifty turned around, marching towards Yaki and grabbing the woman's bare shoulders. "I do understand, because I know the type of person you are."

      Yaki was silent, staring at her friend with wide, hurt eyes, decorated with purple bags and one with a small little scar.

     "He told you that he loved you, didn't he?" You spoke slowly, releasing Yaki's shoulders, leaning back with widened eyes, your mouth slightly ajar. You couldn't imagine anyone saying that they loved you. 'What about Le-' began your cheeky conscience, to which it received a slap on your own head. "shut up!" You hissed to herself- before quickly realizing how insane you sounded. Luckily, Yaki was too horrified at the realization that anyone could love her.

     "Maybe." Muttered the woman, gently sinking in the bar stool, scratching the side of her head, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.

      "And you didn't say it back, right?" You pointed out, gently playing with your hands as you looked down at the counter top, before glancing up at Yaki.

      "Well..." She winced, covering her face with her hands, letting out a small, yet pained, groan.

     "Yaki." You sharply spoke, suspicion filling your eyes as you narrowed them, leaning forward. "What did you do?"

     "I... I may have, sort of..." Sukiyaki pressed her hands against her reddened cheeks, trying to ease the heat with her cold skin. "You know, panicked, and pushed him off a roof into a garbage bin, and then avoided him for a month..."

     You pressed your hands against your face, slowly shaking your head back and forth in utter disbelief. In all the years that you had known this insane, chaotic woman- this was the stupidest thing that she had ever done. "... Are you kidding me?"

     "I... wish I was." She winced. "But, I don't think he's mad about the whole, pushing him off a building..." Began Yaki, rubbing her shoulder as she avoided eye contact with the disappointed teenager in front of her, knowing that at this moment, she was vulnerable and sharing way too much personal information for one day. It was exhausting.

      "I mean, that might be one of the reasons." You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you kneaded the nape of your neck with your fingers. Man, this backpack was really digging into your shoulder. You should just switch it to your other shoulder and race off to save your mutant damsel in distress, but right now; the happiness of your best friend and the woman you loved as a big sister needed your help.

     Yaki sighed. "Raph is... really delicate when it comes to his feelings and expressing them. And... I guess he didn't quite appreciate the reaction he got from me when, just this once, he tried to show that he loved me. But I... I couldn't say it back." The shame that Yaki has been with holding for months was suddenly punching her in the face, and already her eyes burned with the realization that maybe, this was it for herself and Raphael. That because she couldn't say one simple, stupid word, she would lose one of the few things that made her happy. Yaki angrily pushed her fists into her eyes before staring with melancholy at the scratched up counter top. She gently tapped the little carved hearts with a small smile, her vision blurring. Her heart was simply racing of everything that Raphael meant to her, every little memory, even the one of her shoving Raphael off that rooftop was funny in its own way. But all Sukiyaki truly felt was shame and anger. Anger at her mother for creating this broken woman who couldn't even say 'I love you' back to the guy who never judged her. Never belittled her masculine looks, never questioned why she wrapped leather around her chest since she was a child, and never once looked at her without that hint of adoration and love in his eyes. Raphael was perfect for her, she realized. But if he couldn't accept the stupid, trauma laced reasoning for her not being able to repeat a phrase that had been difficult for Raphael to conjure up, then it wouldn't be worth staying together.

      "Seems like you need a little bit of time for yourself." You spoke softly, reaching out to grab the scarred, yet surprisingly soft hand of Yaki in your grasp, squeezing it tightly. With your other hand, you pushed forward a bowl of soup. "... And some ramen."

    Your hands tightened around the drawstrings of your blue hoodie, burrowing your nose in the collar of your sweater. Your fingers were numb from the cold that blew through the threads of your clothes, sinking into your bones. You gazed upward at the city that towered above you, looming with an intensity that was aglow in the hollow windows of the thousands of buildings that peppered Manhattan. A city that you had grown to love through books, movies, and tv shows- only ever being a drive away.

       Now, you were on a mission. Walking alone, with a backpack full of items. It was only eight in the evening, a Monday, yet the street you walked upon were filled with only a few stragglers. Strangers that you eyed with only suspicion as you hurried by. Never had you been alone on the streets of Manhattan, especially at night, without Yaki. Sure, it may have been you simply fretting over the many news stories that your mother had sent to you in your first few weeks of you moving to Manhattan, but you were simply a teenage girl; alone, with little ways of defending yourself.

     The street began to divide into two, revealing a plot of land surrounded by a metal fence, littered with oak trees devoid of leaves, and graves. You suddenly felt ill. You had too many memories of graveyards, filled with generations of your family- and the boy who had ripped your innocence away from you. You swallowed down the bile that was welling up in your throat, and quickened your pace. There was a small nagging part of yourself annoyed for spending such a long time with sukiyaki- but it was worth it... wasn't it? Would it have been better to run after a newly found friend, or to support an old one? Was Leonardo out there in that graveyard, cutting himself?

     You took off into a sprint, your brain conjuring up horrible images of blood, butchered up flesh, and a rusty knife. Were you too late? Did you really waste your time trying to mend a failing relationship when you could have saved Leonardo?

     You jumped over the metal fence, feeling the prongs prod at your sweats but ignoring the slight pain and annoyance as you sprinted across the desolate graveyard. Two empty streets curved around the patch of nature, a large church looming before the cemetery. Street lights laid out their sullen yellow light, casting shadows across gravestones, trees, and Leo-

     "Leo!" You gasped, forcing yourself to run faster until you were behind the mutant, breathing heavily but overjoyed to see the mutant craning his neck over his shoulder, his eyes wide and mouth ajar as he stared up at you.

     "Y/n?"His hoarse voice whispered, and oh how you wanted to grab his face and feel the slightly damp skin under your hands and kiss him until he smiled- 'okay. woah there. calm down or you're going to start sweating arousal.' Your conscience mocked, with, good measure, as you recollected herself.

      "Um... hi." You smiled, rubbing the back of your neck as you slipped off your backpack and let it fall to the round. You fingered the ends of your sweater, glancing from side to side, your breath creating a white sort of smoke that soon dissipated into the cold air. You wondered if you made the right decision to come. You should've left this whole mess to his brother- but, wait- Donnie had come to you for help. Did that mean you were already at a level of friendship that meant more then awkwardly sharing a soup? Or were his brothers just too scared to face their depressed brother alone? You let out a small sigh as you glanced around the serene cemetery. It was probably the latter.

      "Y/n!" His gaze of confusion soon morphed into one of relief, joy, before twisting into confusion. The oak tree that towered before him allowed its raindrops to coat Leo, dampening the small pile of stones before him. He stood up slowly, pressing his hands against his back as he straightened with a wince. You could almost hear his bones creaked and quietly wondered how long he had been situated in that hunched over position for. "You- You're not supposed to be here." He took a step forward, his puffy eyes scanning your face as his hand reached out to touch your cheek, but froze. He let his hand fall to his side as his skin was filled by the sickly yellow light of the streets. "How... How did you find me?" He questioned softly, twisting the mask that was tied around his wrist in between his fingers. He tilted his head, chewing on his bottom lip as he rocked back and forth on his flat bandaged feet.

      "Well... this is kind of awkward but..." You chuckled, twisting your hair between your fingers as you smiled sheepishly at Leo. You took in his mask less face. It was a weird, and yet an oddly a very soft, gentle look- and for some reason his eyes seemed smaller, but that was probably from the puffiness from hours and hours of crying... okay, this got depressing. "When you were telling me about your dad you told me what graveyard he was buried in. I googled it and well... here we are." It seemed simpler than the truth. When you had first met Donnie that fateful night, he had shoved a small transmitter into your hands and started spewing scientific crap before topping it off with the wonderfully chaotic idea of slipping it into a piece of tofu in Leo's vegetable soup. Which you did, because you wanted at least one of Leo's brothers to like you. You hadn't known that Mikey would be so forgiving after the whole, 'attacking-him-with-a-rag-'cause-paint-was-eating-through-his-shell.'

      "Look I-" Leonardo exhaled, staring at his bare hands, which he slowly curled into fists. You saw the harsh slits and horizontal scars across his inner wrists and felt your heart sink. Donnie had been right. Sweet, selfless, caring, funny, chaotic, brave Leo was cutting himself. "I appreciate you coming here but," He gave you a small forced smile that quickly melted into a frown. "I'm not sure I want you to see me like..." He motioned to himself; exposing his disheveled state. From his puffy red veined eyes, to his shivering frame in the cold, his shaking hands, and the lack of the padding that usual covered his elbows and knees. He seemed... naked, and you felt yourself blushing. "This."

     "Leo." You exhaled, thankful that the darkness and lack of good lighting didn't show off your reddened cheeks. "I literally had a mental breakdown last night in the shower because I pondered a bit too long about that coronavirus. Nothing you can do will faze me. I swear on the grave of my pet fish." You nodded solemnly, pressing your right hand against your chest, jutting chin slightly into the air. You hoped that that it was enough to drag a smile out of him.

      "You buried... a fish?" Leonardo blinked slowly, the corners of his lips slightly twitching, but alas a joyful smile was replaced with even more confusion.

      "I accidentally poisoned him by pouring my moms... 'Apple juice' into his bowl." You cleared your throat, hoping that your tone of voice was enough to indicate that it was alcohol that had killed poor little Montgomery. "It was the least I could do for him. May he Rest In Peace." You shrugged, as if it was usual for a mother to be such a drinker.

      "... I-" Leonardo inhaled, his left eye slightly twitching from the morals that he had learned that your mother probably lacked. He had to hold back the urge to wrap his arms around you and run off with you to a place where you would be safe and happy. Aka, not New York City. "Never mind." He sighed, giving you a small smile, as he tilted his head slightly to the side, as if he was trying to get a better look at you in the depressing lighting that broke through the leaves of the oak tree.

     "So..." You began, scuffing your sneaker against the moistened dead grass of the cemetery. You leaned to the side to glance around Leonardo, a small smile on your lips as you glanced up at him. "Can I meet him?"

     Leonardo blinked, silent for a few fleeting moments as he glanced over his shoulder, letting out a melancholic sigh. "Of course." He tried to force a sad smile as he rubbed his forearm, but only managed to grimace at her.

     "Oh! I forgot!" You hummed, unzipping your backpack and, with a flourish, yanking out a black trench coat. You shuffled forward and slipped it over Leonardo's surprisingly broad shoulders, rubbing your hands against his forearms slowly. Your gazes caught one another before you both looked away with a blush.

      "Thank you." Leonardo spoke softly, pulling the ends of the long coat around him, gently ducking his head to quietly admire you.

      You bit down on your bottom lip, holding back a smile, (because hey, this was a cemetery-), as you nodded slowly. You stepped around Leonardo, crouching before the small pile of rocks, tucking your jacket underneath as you sat down on the damp ground. You cleared your throat, adjusting your messy clothes. "Hi there, Mr Splinter Hamato, sensei, Yoshi, Father, Sir." You heard Leonardo snort loudly beside you as you slapped his calf playfully. "My name is Y/n. Y/n L/n. I recently helped out your son when I found him in an alley. He wasn't drunk, sir, we used Yaki's breath analyzer and checked. He was just very hurt, and not himself." You glanced up at Leonardo, who stared at the small makeshift grave with a bitter melancholy etched across his face. "I don't know what happened to you sir, or what has affected your family throughout the years- all I know is that I care for Leonardo and the rest of your boys- and I thank you for raising some of the most kind hearted brothers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting." Your voice fell silent, your words torn away and carried by the slight breeze that rustled through budding spring leaves and beaten down grass. You felt your own eyes burning, surprised that those wonderful words had erupted from you.

      You were even more surprised when you felt Leonardo fall to his knees beside you, his strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. Tears dampened the shoulder of your sweater, feeling it seep through the cloth and damp your skin. You were stiff and rigid, listening to his hiccuping raggedy breaths, his legs tucked underneath him as he pressed his face into your neck.

      "Oh, Leo..." You muttered, relaxing as you snaked your arms around his waist, one hand rubbing circles along his coat covered shell. You rested your chin on his strong shoulder, glancing over at the makeshift gravestone with only sadness, and pity at the life lost. After a few minutes, you managed to loosen an arm from around him, and yanked your backpack towards you, wiggling off the zipper.

     "I wanna show you something I made, Leo." You hummed softly, as you both pulled away from another, as you gave him a kind smile and wiped away his tears with your cold fingers.

     Leonardo quickly smeared the excess tears across his face, inhaling shakily. As quickly as his meltdown had begun, it quickly dissipated. "Yeah. 'Course."

       You slowly pulled out six broken pieces of tamahagane, reflecting the yellow light onto Leo's face of awe. Each piece had an eerily life like personal painting of each member of the Hamato family. From a grumpy Raphael with his arms crossed, red paint smeared around his head as if it was a halo, to a hugging, grinning Yaki and Murakami, black speckled along the silver as if they were stars. The final one was of Splinter, his calm serene expression almost radiating off the thin piece of metal. "You know, Donnie was the one who had to break it to me that your father was a giant mutant rat." You snorted, a sheepish grin spreading across your lips. "And!" You chirped as you took out the two blue handles of Leonardo's katanas, stabbing them into the ground before the grave marker. "A little reminder that not all that is broken, is lost." You hummed, patting your hands against your pajama covered thighs. "So." You quipped, turning your head to look over at Leo with a face of pure joy. "I brought you some of my special homemade ramen- want some?"

     Leonardo, who was still staring awestruck at the pieces of painted portraits of katanas spread out before him, then to you, then back to the to painted pieces. "But... You..." He picked up the katana piece of himself, his grinning face surrounded by light blue paint covered with stars and planets, turning it so that it reflected your confused features. "You forget to paint yourself."

      You paused, your heart even interrupting its own beating as your nervous energy seemed to screech to a halt. "Leo..." You spoke after an awkward minute of you staring wide eyed at Leonardo. "I'm- not family." You chuckled awkwardly, glancing down at the ground.

     Leonardo grasped your shoulders, his serious gaze burrowing into yours for a very long moment as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to yours, shutting his eyes as you stared dumbfounded, somehow forgetting how to breath.

      "Kazoku." His deep voice resonated with the syllables of his native tongue. He pressed his hand to his chest, inhaling deeply, before pressing his hand to yours. "Family. You're family."

     You stared at his face, your mouth ajar as you held to your arms to your chest. Well. This was it. You had officially died via his kind sweet words. Were you really worthy of being apart of his crazy hectic family? Did you even deserve the title? But as you looked upon Leonardo, raw and broke, trying to give upon you a name in front of his fathers grave- you knew he meant it. You knew that you were worthy of being his family. You may not have known him for even a week, but already, you knew that he was going to your friend- forever. "Okay." You pressed your hand over his, the one that pressed your chest, draping the other arm around his neck.

     "Family."

—————

I should be working on my new fanfiction but I was oddly inspired to write this chapter instead.

I know I've been slightly diverted from our little bastard children, aka those little stick figures, but there will be something similar to it, something suspicious that'll be seen in the next chapter, and even more in the one after that! ;)

If you would like to see more chapters like these, please leave a vote! 🥺

Until the next chapter, my dears!
~brianna✨

word count. 6665.