Chapter Text
For the final time, Miyamoto Usagi found himself in a situation that he would’ve never, not in a million years imagined himself getting into.
“GET BACK HERE!!”
A burly bellhop yokai charged after them, tearing through the luxuriously carpeted first floor of the Nexus Hotel. That caught the attention of the other bellhops in the vicinity which… was not good for Usagi and the gang to say the least.
As it turned out, Mikey’s ‘razzmatazz’ only bought enough time for the rest of them to dash into the nearest elevator. Raph, being the natural older sibling he was, immediately turned on his heels to rescue his youngest brother.
So now Leo, Donnie, and Usagi were sprinting for their lives through a lavishly decorated hotel lobby with a whole crew of jacked bellhops right on their tails.
“Great plan, Leo!”
Usagi huffed out sarcastically between breaths. Sot chirped frantically from his perch on Donnie’s shoulders. Donnie was using some kind of robot extension he had in his battle shell (The shell had also held snacks. Hence, the shoulder tokage). The spindly spider-like mechanical arms did all the running for him as he stuck his nose in the foray of screens displayed in front of him, chunky goggles pulled down over his eyes and purple bandana.
Usagi tore his eyes off the purple turtle in jealousy. He wanted his steamcycle back.
“I know! We gotta take the next left here-“
Leo was surprisingly upbeat for someone getting chased through a never ending maze towards their inevitable demise.
“GRAB THE TURTLE FIRST!!”
“WHICH ONE?!”
“THE DUMB BLUE ONE!”
The ‘dumb blue one’ scoffed in indignation, whipping his head around to retort to their assailants.
“Hey! I am not duU- WAUGHH!”
Leo tripped over a small lump in the carpet, face planting into the plush red fabric. He nearly took down Donnie and Usagi too, but managed to pick himself back up just in time.
Donnie tapped something into his wrist-screen as he snickered, looking up at Leo with an expression of sheer amusement.
“UGH, you shut up!- Wait! Left! Left! Take this left!
The trio careened into an offshoot of the hallway, buying just a bit of precious time to recuperate as the bulky guards crashed into each other at the sharp turn.
“Donnie, where’s the nearest hotspot of mystic energy?”
Usagi caught his breath, looking up at Leo who… somehow actually looked like a leader?
In that moment, the usually cocky and overconfident turtle had a different look in his eyes. He was focused and serious and… Attractive- Despite smashing into the floor just a few moments ago.
Gods, Usagi was smitten.
“Donnie?! What’s taking so long?!”
Leo shoved his way past the mechanical arms to peer over Donnie’s wrist.
“You know the Nexus Hotel uses free wifi, Nardo! Do you think I like staring at a spinning loading screen while sharing a network with hundreds of yokai?! WHY?! WHY in the name of Galileo-“
Donnie looked seconds away from blowing a fuse, angrily stimming with his hands and grtting his teeth at his brother before a ping sounded from his wrist-tech and he abruptly stopped.
“oh… It loaded.”
Donnie tapped for just a few more moments and his twin watched in earnest.
“What?- Oh, the biggest hotspot of mystic magic in the building is on the top floor in Big Mama’s office. I dunno why you need to know that though.“
Usagi saw one of Leo’s eyes twitch in annoyance. The turtle’s hands came up in an almost strangling motion, unbeknownst to Donnie who was rambling placidly about ‘algorithms and whatnot’.
The rabbit reached to the side and intertwined his fingers into Leo’s. If anything, to stop him from murdering his friend in cold blood.
Leo blinked, once in confusion and once at their clasped hands. The turtle then looked at the rabbit, right into his dark brown eyes.
Usagi couldn’t help but note just how different Leo looked without his mask.
He liked it.
He liked it a lot.
The pair drew closer until Usagi could feel the cool shell of Leo’s plastron under his other hand. Leo’s fingers found their place on the rabbit’s side, cool to the touch, just like his shell. Usagi hadn’t really noticed a difference in height until right then. It wasn’t drastic or anything, but Leo had at least a good two inches on him. If Usagi tilted his head just right and stood in his toes-
“Ahah! Behold my genius, dumdums! For I have located our mystic weapons!”
Donnie shouted, just a few decibels too high.
Usagi pushed his palms away from himself, launching the turtle off him. They were similar shades of red as they both tried and failed to look serious.
“Am I… interrupting something?”
Donnie arched one thickly drawn eyebrow.
“Nope! You’re not- interrupting anything, that is! Nothing was happening!”
Usagi almost kicked himself from how stupidly flustered he sounded. Donnie turned away to flip down his mystic goggles, but the red and blue lenses did nothing to mask the look of mildly disgusted skepticism.
“Uhuh, and that’s not Leo’s bandana around your ears.”
If Usagi and Leo got any redder, their heads would’ve combusted into twin flames. They pointedly avoided each others gazes as Donnie fiddled with the bits and bobs on the sides of his goggles.
“Thataway, my fornicating fiends! Our weapons are locked away in a hidden closet. Much like some of us.”
Leo slapped a hand over Donnie’s mouth, much to the latter’s shrieking disgust.
“Oh-ho- kay then, let’s go!”
It took no time at all for Donnie to tech-whiz his way through the mystic lock, kicking down the door with a flourish to reveal a line of mystic weapons.
“Aaaand you are welcome and you are welcome. I await your many thanks-“
Usagi burst into the closet, finally reuniting with his dearly missed weapons.
“My swords!”
“You did not say ‘Thank you’-“
Leo pushed past his brother, shoving the softshell to the side and following Usagi in suit.
“My swords!”
“You also did not say ‘Thank you’-“
Still being ignored, Donnie crossed his arms and pet Spot along his long neck, muttering under his breath.
“Sigh. You’re the only one who understands my utter intellectual genius, Spot.”
Usagi tensed as he felt the floor rumble with the footsteps of dozens of bellhops.
“What do we do?! Raph and Mikey have been captured and-“
Leo bounded over, grabbing both Usagi and Donnie.
“Okay, huddle up. I know Raph and Mikey have been captured by Big Mama’s bellhops- BUT I’ve got a plan to rescue them-“
Donnie raised a perfectly drawn brow.
“No offense Leo- Actually, much offense. But, as you can clearly see, your plan is not working.”
The footsteps grew louder and Usagi tooka breath to stay calm as the brothers bickered.
“What? My plans just take a while to explain! It’s not my fault we’re being chased by well-dressed hospitality workers!”
“Um- May I remind you, dear brother- That it quite literally IS-“
Usagi tugged down on his ears.
“GUYS!”
They froze like two deer in headlights. Leo’s mouth was actually half open, mid retort when he snapped his attention to the rabbit.
Why, why, why did Usagi love this fool?
“Okay, I said some things, you said some things.”
Donnie opened his mouth to interrupt, but Leo gave him a look and he closed it.
“But the important thing is, that you trust me.”
He turned, tilting his head and pitting a gentle hand on his shoulder.
Oh, that’s why Usagi fell for him.
Those eyes, that sense of utter reassurance. Leo made him feel safe. Like he could honestly trust him.
Usagi attached his sword to his hip, feeling more comfortable than ever now with the familiar weight.
“I trust you.”
Leo smiled and then clanged his twin katanas in the air above his head.
“Come onnnn- Magic portal!”
The swirling blue mass of light coagulated above the trio.
Many things happened at the same time.
A small army of bellhops dressed smartly in red and gold attire tumbled through the doorway. The crowd surrounded Leo, Usagi, and Donnie immediately and swooped in as a unit, descending on them.
Usagi jumped upwards through the portal as an escape, squeezing his eyes shut and preparing for the queasy feeling that always came from these unplanned portal travels.
And right before all sound was drowned out in a sea of noise, Usagi was certain he heard Donnie pipe up and complain.
“What am I? A side character? I for one, do not trust you-“
The portal spat them all out onto a lush carpet. Honestly, not the worst portal trip Usagi had ever taken.
Pushing himself into a sitting position, Usagi squinted at the intricate carpet pattern, inspecting it. That shade of red seemed eerily familiar.
Wait-
He whipped his head up, hoping to the gods that he wasn’t where he thought he was.
“My my, what a splendiferous surprise!”
That voice sent a chill down his spine.
“Leo! How could you?! You brought us right back into Big Mama’s office?!”
Usagi’s tone was laced with confusion and betrayal. How could Leo promise something so great, just to dump him right back where they started?
Regret stinging his eyes, Usagi reached at his hip for his sword. The gleam of steel barely left the sheath before Leo was waving his hands in front of him.
“Wait! ’Sagi- look!”
Usagi shoved down the swell of affection he felt from the nickname, replacing it with rigid anger. He grit his teeth, but darted his eyes around the room anyways.
“ Don’t call me…”
His eyes fell on a webbed mass sitting in the center of the room.
“...that…”
Upon a second look, he saw two two captives squirm from within their spidery bonds. Two very familiar captives.
“Raph? Mikey?! How-“
Usagi spun around to see Leo already holding his sword at the ready.
“Big Mama always takes her captives to her office. I would know-“
With a hiss, Big Mama stood from her chair and slammed her palms on the table.
“ And she always makes sure the office is dead empty when she threatens them. Drama queens, am I right?”
Leo’s smirk felt contagious. Usagi realized all at once that the turtle was, in fact, correct. There were no guards, bellhops, janitors, or yokai of any kind present in the office. The dark empty space sure looked threatening, but that was all that it really was.
Empty space.
Dramatic empty space, but unprotected empty space nonetheless.
“Enough!”
Big Mama clutched at her brooch with a snarl, instantly transforming into her menacing spider form.
Usagi also drew a sword on instinct, joining Leo at his side as Donnie slipped by unnoticed to free the two brothers. As Leo crouched in his ready stance, a notion suddenly struck Usagi. Exactly what were they doing?
“Wait- We aren’t fighting her, right? I know there are no guards around and it’s four-to-one, but this is Big Mama-”
As if proving the rabbit’s point, Big Mama let out a spitting hiss, some sticky strands of web filament lacing into Usagi’s fur.
She charged, leaping over the desk.
In a panic, Usagi whipped his head over to Leo for guidance. Surely the slider had a plan right?
Right?
Leo winked with a smile that padded a sense of reassurance. Before he dashed and leapt, sword above his head at Big Mama, he mouthed one word at Usagi.
Trust.
Okay, Usagi could trust. He didn’t have to divert into his own plan. He didn’t need to handle it all alone. He didn’t need to run.
He could trust.
“Hot souuuup!”
Unsurprisingly, Big Mama easily evaded the attack, gripping Leo’s sword in her claw-like pincer hands.
“Leo!”
Usagi expected Leo to let go of his trapped sword because that was the logical thing to do, but the turtle stubbornly stuck onto the handle of his odachi with both hands.
So Usagi just watched with his own sword prepared, trusting.
Finally free from Big Mama’s webbed confines, Mikey hopped onto Donnie’s back and stuck his hand into his battle shell, clearly looking for something.
“Wha- Hey?! Just what are you doing back there, Michael?!”
With an excited shout, Mikey held up his kusari-fundo. He grinned from ear to ear.
“Thanks for finding this, Donnie!”
He leapt off his brother who crossed his arms with a sarcastically irritated sigh.
“First, a painful third wheel and now an over glorified backpack? When will my suffering end? ”
Leo was still gripping his odachi like his life depended on it, swinging this way and that as Big Mama shook him about, trying to fling him off.
“Just- let go, you- little-”
She spoke in between swing, grunting in frustration. Leo arched through the air like a stubborn fly on a windshield with the wipers smearing its body across the glass. Thankfully, leo was still alive, just barely holding onto his sword grip.
Mikey bounded across the office, using the big oak desk to get a bit of height. He swung his weapon, the chain wrapping around Big Mama’s arm to stop her from flinging his brother around like a fishing line.
The spider struggled against the restraint once before whipping her head over to its source. She let out an animalistic hiss at the box turtle, shaking the chain wildly. Mikey raised his arm above his head to protect his face from the stray web strings, but was otherwise unaffected by the display as he defiantly stood his ground.
“Let him go!”
He clutched the orange handle of his weapon, keeping Big Mama as restrained as he possibly could. Leo swung freely in the air for a moment before letting go of one hand to gesture towards his brother.
“No, Mikey. You let go.”
“Oh, okay!”
The second Mikey retracted his chain, Big Mama stumbled backwards from the sudden release.
“You bumbling idiots!”
Leo seized the moment to wrap his legs around Big Mama’s forearms, only making her shake him off harder.
“Hey- Big- Mama- WHere’s your- Portal- ?”
Leo called out, obnoxiously loud as he held on for dear life.
Big Mama actually paused for a second and Usagi let out a sigh of relief at no longer seeing Leo being flung about like a ragdoll.
“Ha! Why would I ever tell you?”
When she moved to shake off her turtle attachment once more, Leo's eye markings began to glow a bright hue of pink. Usagi had to blink twice to make sure he was seeing things correctly.
Leo tightened his grip on his sword, squeezing his eyes shut. On the next downward swing, a flash of blue extruded from the tip of the sword, arching downwards into an impressive portal, bigger than any Usagi had seen from Leo before.
“AHAH! IN YO FACE, BIG MAMA!”
“What?! How did you even-”
In her shock, Big Mama accidentally let go of the sword, letting Leo fall to the ground. The turtle landed with a graceful flip, immediately gesturing to the wide-open portal.
“Everyone! Inside!”
Usagi didn’t need to be told twice. Trusting Leo fully and completely, he leapt headfirst into the portal, leading the group.
He landed in a room that was missing the plush flooring that carpeted the rest of the hotel. Rph, Donnie, Mikey, and Leo followed suit, one after the other into the strange room.
A raging cry sounded out from the other side of the portal that led into Big Mama’s office and Leo hurriedly slashed the portal out of existence.
The five of them caught their breath, resting in the juxtaposing silence of their new space.
“Leo…”
Raph tentatively spoke up for the first time
“Leo, that was amazin’! How did you even do that?!”
Instead of answering, Leo just coolly leaned on his sword. It was probably an attempt to look nonchalant, but everyone could tell he was just exhausted.
“It was… It was a simple plan, really… Anyone could’a… could’a done it”
He spoke between huffs of breath, showing how much effort really went into his ‘simple plan’. Leo began to sway a bit unsteadily, so Usagi slipped an arm under his shoulders, supporting him so he could stand straight.
“Like, portals work because of mystic stuff and thoughts, right? So I just thought, like- If I could get Big Mama to think about where the dimension portal was while holding my sword… Big Mama is also like, chock full of mystic uhm… mystics.”
Leo leaned heavier into Usagi, who tightened his grip on the turtle.
“Are you going to be okay?”
Usagi absentmindedly ran a thumb along Leo’s facial markings. The same markings that were glowing neon pink just a few short seconds ago. Leo looked back up at him with a weary smile, no less cocky than usual.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry ‘bout me. I’m getting you home, ‘Sagi.”
With Leo’s mask gone, the faint bags under his eyes were oh so apparent, especially with the close proximity. Usagi let his hand cup under the turtle’s jaw.
“I will worry, thank you very much! That was completely insane! You just made a portal the size of Neo Edo’s city gate! And I- I-”
The rabbit rushed forwards, wrapping Leo tightly in his arms. The hug must have caught him by surprise. Honestly, it caught Usagi by surprise too.
He hoped that the tight squeeze said everything he wanted to but couldn’t find the right words for.
Leo’s arms came up to match his embrace. Usagi could feel them shaking, but decided not to comment on it.
When the two separated, Usagi let his touch linger on Leo’s arms and shell. Leo himself leaned forwards a little bit. His eyes locked onto Usagi’s lips. Perfect and soft-looking in the low light.
Usagi’s hands made their way back up to his neck, creeping up around his flushed cheeks which were ever so visible without his mask.
He rested his own hands around Usagi’s chest, fully intending to close the remaining distance-
Out of the corner of his eye, Leo caught a full view of his brothers. All watching with various expressions. Mikey was bouncing on his toes, excited eyes as big as saucers. Donnie stood completely still and unimpressed with a single raised brow. And Raph looked mildly panicked, darting his eyes back and forth between Leo and Usagi.
All watching Leo…
“AHAHA-”
Instead of bringing him closer, Leo straightened his elbows, pushing Usagi away with the palms of his hands. He looked off to the side, intentionally avoiding both the confused look from Usagi and the stares from his brothers.
“ Might be a bad time to say this, but we only have a few minutes before Big Mama gets here with enough bellhops to punt our shells all the way to Jersey.”
He cleared his throat.
“Uh- Donnie, do you think you can get this interdimensional portal up and running?”
Donnie uncrossed his arms, shifting his weight as he surveyed the strange looking cords and cables cluttering the room.
“I've never seen this kind of tech before… It’s almost… alien…”
He crossed over to a pink, fleshy-looking box that Leo guessed was the console. He began to tinker with the new tech, starstruck eyes covered with his red and blue goggles. With each new piece he uncovered, his manic grin grew more and more gleeful with giddy excitement.
“So… can you get it working?”
Leo followed up, trying to get his twin’s attention.
“Yeah yeah, uh huh. Now, shut up so I can focus.”
No less than five mechanical arms shot out from Donnies battle shell, inspecting and prodding different parts of the alien-like console as Donnie himself began to laugh a crazed sort of cackle as he toiled away at the tech.
Leo left him to his own devices.
“They’re in there!”
The voice was incredibly faint, but it was Big Mama’s voice no doubt and the sheer rumbling of footsteps following after her could have been mistaken for a minor earthquake.
Not good.
Donnie was still crouched over, practically foaming at the mouth over the control console and his robot arms were still whirring away with various tools, bits, and bobs that were all stored in his shell.
All the while, Big Mama’s bellhop attack squadron grew louder and louder as they got closer and closer.
“Any chance you can't hurry this up, Dontron?”
Leo’s agitated tone flew right over Donnie’s head as the latter pointed a mechanical finger up in the air as he spoke.
“You can’t rush science, brother! Every piece of this new tech must be examined to the utmost-”
“This is takin’ too long!”
Raph sprang into action, scruffing his younger brother by the lip of his shell like a kitten and depositing him to the side. The snapping turtle looked down at the rectangular mass of pink, squishy tech, squinting at it as if her were trying to figure out of to work it.
Donnie quickly scrambled to his feet, goggles askew on his face and nearly tripping over all his mechanical arms.
“Wait- wait! Raph! Whatever you’re thinking is probably-”
“Smashin’ usually works!!”
With two fists above his head, Raph brought them down in a destructive hit that rattled the walls of the hidden room.
Donnie made a noise that could have been equated to one of a dying elephant as he dropped to his knees.
On the wall behind the five of them, a blinding flash of light made them all cover their eyes.
Right there, from wall to wall, was a swirling portal. It was green, unlike any portal Usagi had ever seen before.
It was spectacular.
It was his way home.
Home, that had been so far away. He was going to see his auntie again. Oh, he was going to pick Hana up and spin her around as many times as she wanted and then he was going to finally do all his farm chores. He was going to go strawberry picking- it was strawberry season by now, right?
He couldn’t wait.
Except-
Wait-
What about Leo?
What about all the memories and friends he made here?
“In there! Get those turtley-boos!”
The wall opposite to the portal blasted open, crumpled bits of drywall and concrete tumbling into the room. Big Mama breached the crash sight with what could have constituted as a small nation of bellhops trailing in her wake.
Usagi used his arms to shield both himself and Leo from the flying bits of material.
“USAGI! NOW!!”
The rabbit shook himself out of his daze. The turtles all worked so hard to get him home, and now he was finally finally going home.
Despite himself, a smile crept across his face.
“You sure you’ll be alright?”
Leo winked.
“We’ve dealt with Big Mama before. Now c’mon, it’s time for you to go home, man.”
Leo smiled at Usagi and they both turned to face the portal. Taking a breath, Usagi took a step towards the swirling green light.
“Remember to write!”
The turtle called out jokingly as Usagi’s front foot crossed the portal. The rabbit just had to smile at that. Of course Leo’s last line to him would be a quip.
Leo watched his friend walk into the portal, going back home. Going back to where he belonged.
The last bit of Usagi to disappear into the portal was the fluttering trail of his hair ribbon- of Leo’s bandana.
Once that was gone, Usagi would be gone from his universe- probably forever..,
But… that speck of blue didn’t disappear. The tiniest speck of blue waved at him from the middle of the huge portal.
Before Leo could wonder what was going on, Usagi’s voice echoed from somewhere within dimensions.
“Oh wait! Leo, I have something for you.”
Almost all the way through the portal, Usagi suddenly spun on his heels, racing back. His face emerged first, smiling with something that made Leo’s heart stutter. Then his hands- those warm, soft hands- which slid lovingly around Leo’s jaw once more…
They say your first kiss feels like fireworks. Or at least that’s how it goes in cheesy movies and trashy teen romance novels. But to Leo, it’s absolutely correct.
He froze as Usagi pulled back, a cheeky smile on his face.
“I’ll see you around, sewer boy.”
The rabbit winked and turned to the swirling blue light, stepping back into his own dimension.
He wanted to move, grab Usagi and kiss him again, maybe even drag him right out of the portal. But all he could do was stand there dumbly, arms hanging limp with his jaw slightly parted.
And all Leo could feel were the fireworks. Bright, bold colors lighting up his chest and heating up his face.
From the kiss that was still burning on his lips despite Usagi being gentle.
But also from the fact that the portal fucking exploded two seconds after it closed and Big Mama’s lackeys dog-piled him immediately after.
Epilogue:
Hueso crossed his arms, pacing the checkered floor of his restaurant. He looked once more at his watch out of habit, his worry increasing tenfold when he saw the time.
It was late.
He didn’t even care about the usual end-of-evening rush.
How could he? Usagi hadn’t shown up to work for days.
He knew that the officiality of the rabbit yokai’s hiring was iffy at best, but he had hoped that Usagi would’ve stuck around for a while. He was a good waiter, that kid.
The opening of the door caught his attention and in walked his least favorite group of ragtag teens.
They looked worse for wear- worse than usual , that is. They always looked at least a little bit beat up.
The big red one was covered from head to toe in some kind of sticky webbing that he was picking off while muttering angrily under his breath about some kind of “bunny boy”. The purple one was doused in green goop which he was continuously flicking off his body. Despite his smiling face, the orange one was singed and one of his short bandana tails was very much still on fire. That one was absolutely ecstatic. He was bouncing on his toes, teasing excitedly as he repeatedly poked his blue-themed brother who…
Oy vey…
The blue one was in a state of all three of them combined. His shell was covered with a variety of soot and burn marks, he was soaked with the same green sludge, and like a tar and feather situation, was also covered in fine strands of fluffy webbing that he wasn’t even making an effort to take off.
On top of all that, he was smiling like a complete loon.
“Senor-”
A voice called to him from behind, snapping him out of his observations and scaring him. He whirled around to face his newest new hire.
The salamander yokai had been outside the night prior at the same time Hueso had stepped outside his restaurant to continue worrying about Usagi with fresh air. One thing led to another and the girl was hired. Also a very fine waitress.
Also very strong. He didn’t ask her what she did before working at Run of the Mill (frankly, he didn’t care), but it clearly was something physical. The girl was built like a tank.
She had also been standing around a wreck when Hueso found her. Much like Usagi’s, except she was with a machine that looked suspiciously like an alien spaceship…
But, Hueso didn’t look too closely.
All he saw was a perfectly capable yokai available for hire.
“Sorry, did I frighten you?”
That accent… Hueso couldn’t put his finger on it. It didn’t sound like any dialect from any of the Hidden City regions, but he pushed the thought tangent aside.
“No no, you are fine… Erm-”
He squinted at the name tag. It was written in unfamiliar characters that didn’t even look like they were from that planet.
“Y’gythba.”
The girl finished for him.
“Ah, yes! Y- Uh… Y-Y’gythba.”
He struggled a bit with the strange sounding name, but eventually fumbled his way through. The girl raised a brow, clearing having thoughts she wasn’t saying aloud.
Hueso cleared his throat.
“Ahem, there’s a table over there that needs to be bussed. The one with the four turtles.”
He changed the subject quickly, sending Y'gythgba away. The girl nodded and headed off towards the table he pointed out.
Oy vey, indeed…
“Ooooh, when I see that bunny again- Oh, I’ll let him know exactly what I think! Kissin’ my lil brother like that! I’ll-”
Raph was very pointedly talking to himself, gesturing wildly at Donnie and Mikey who, to be honest, couldn't care less about Raph’s internal unrest.
“Hello, earth turtles.”
Raph nearly jumped out of his seat in fright as a voice spoke up from behind him.
He turned around to apologize and-
And…
And saw the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen.
The apology died in his throat at the sight of her. Clearly, Donnie didn’t share the same sentiment as he rattled off his order, flicking off another dollop of portal-goop that had splashed on him during their fight with Big Mama.
“I’ll have a Creepy Supreme with extra cheese- no pineapples. Gross- and a tall glass of flavorless juice, please.”
Raph didn’t even hear Mikey’s order. He was too busy watching this new, pretty girl write everything down. He leaned backwards onto a certain red-eared slider who was so out of the moment, he didn’t even care.
She looked strong- Like, really really strong. The contour of her muscles were visible even through the long sleeves of her waitressing uniform. Raph wondered what it would be like to spar with someone like her. She would definitely be a tougher opponent than any of her brother’s. She could probably even teach him a thing or two about fighting by the looks of her.
“-aph… Raph… Raph!”
The snapping turtles tuned back into reality. Donnie was waving a hand in front of his face.
“Helloooo? Are you gonna order?”
The salamander yokai stared at him with kind, expecting eyes.
Flustered, Raph fumbled with the menu despite having the thing memorized from cover to cover.
“I- uh, I’ll um… Hey, what’s your name?”
The girl tilted her head. Raph immediately realized what an oddly timed question that was, but he bit his tongue to avoid embarrassing himself further in front of this beautiful girl.
“My name is-”
She looked like she was about to say something. Something beginning with a ‘Y’, but then she stopped herself. Her eyes roamed over to one of the many posters and pictures hanging on the wall. When she went silent, Raph followed her gaze to a poster of a certain Italian painting with the name of it written directly underneath.
“My name is Mona Lisa.”
“My name’s Raph. Raphael.”
He grinned a friendly snaggletoothed grin, which Mona Lisa returned with a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth.
“I like that name. Raphael.”
The way Mona Lisa said his name made Raph’s heart leap in his chest. She said it so gently, with so much care.
“Heh, thanks. I like yours too.”
The two held each other in their gazes, oblivious to the outside world.
Donnie crossed his arms, still waiting for his oldest brother to order his pizza so they could finally get something to eat. He was staring daggers into the side of Raph’s bandana, silently signaling for him to get a move on, when he noticed something.
The way Raph was looking at the waitress seemed eerily familiar.
He looked from Raph, to the waitress, and back to Raph again.
Then he looked at Leo, who was now getting fully leaned on by Raph, and still had the biggest dumdum lovestruck grin on his face. So obviously out of the moment, and probably broken.
“Oh, for Newton’s sake! Not again!!”