Chapter Text
Churrrrrr.
You awoke slowly, a strange noise being the cause. A muscular pair of arms held you tight against a firm chest in a spooning position, and a deep rumbling sound vibrated against your back. You blinked your eyes blearily, your brain taking its sweet time to catch up. You yawned as you looked around. The area seemed familiar. Your tired eyes darted down to see dark green arms holding you like a teddy bear.
Finally, your brain turned on and you remembered the previous night. The most prominent memory being Leo’s shockingly soft lips pressed against your own. Your face heated up as the rumbling behind you continued its steady sound.
You carefully rolled over to figure out if Leo was purring like a cat just to mess with you or something. One look at Leo’s face told you that he was still out cold. His mouth hung open slightly, a small spot of drool on his pillow. The vibrating was definitely coming from him though. You remembered he made a similar noise on your first date while cuddling on the couch. But he covered it with a cough and seemed embarrassed at the time.
You smiled at Leo’s peaceful expression. You booped his snout with a finger, giggling softly at the way his nose wrinkled subconsciously. You loved that Leo was getting rest, but you also needed to get up and use the ladies’ room. Or turtles’ room. You poked him again, slightly more forcefully. The purring noise stopped, and Leo’s brow furrowed. His beautiful blue eyes greeted you as he arrived in the world of the living.
He blinked a couple of times, his eyes unfocused. After licking his chapped lips, he finally acknowledged your presence. He smiled at you and one of his hands rubbed up and down your back. “Morning.”
“Good morning, sleepy head. What was that noise you were making?” You quirked an eyebrow at him.
Leo blinked a couple more times, clearly not understanding what you meant. “Noise?”
You nodded, “Yeah! You were purring like a cat.”
Leo suddenly blushed and looked away. He chewed on his lower lip for a second before sighing softly. “I-It’s called churring, actually. It’s something turtles do when they’re content.” He muttered something way too quiet for you to understand, even in your close proximity.
“Repeat that for me, chief.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. Leo was so cute when he was embarrassed.
“I said, we also make that noise when with a mate.” Leo’s cheeks were flushed, and he continued to avert his eyes.
You rolled your own in response and patted his cheek, turning his gaze to yours again. “You don’t need to be ashamed or embarrassed of your turtle-y behavior. I think it’s cute!”
Leo’s blush faded and his charming grin appeared, “Yeah well I think you’re cute.” He pressed a soft kiss to the tip of your nose. You let out a girly giggle at the action. Your eyes flicked down to his lips and Leo definitely noticed. You two began to lean in, your eyes closing.
“Lame-a-nardo, you awake?” Raphael suddenly opened Leo’s door. You and Leo startled away from each other, but you couldn’t get very far, as you were still in his bed. You two made eye contact with Raph, his eyes wide as dinner plates and his jaw on the floor. Nothing was said for a whole minute.
“Who’s got no rizz now?” You snapped your head in Leo’s direction, his question catching you completely off guard. He was blushing like a tomato, but his handsome face held a confident smirk.
“I- You- Never mind, Mikey made breakfast. Get yourselves decent before it gets cold.” Raph stumbled out of Leo’s room and slammed the door behind him. After a moment, the two of you started laughing like a couple of maniacs. The situation was just too ridiculous to warrant any other reaction.
“W-Why the rizz?” You choked out in between bouts of laughter.
Leo rubbed his eyes before responding, “Raph made a comment saying I didn’t have enough to get laid. O-Obviously we didn’t do anything, but he definitely thinks otherwise. Maybe it’ll get him off my shell. He’s been making comments about my, um, sex life for years. Saying I’d be less stressed out if I ‘found a girl who’d tolerate me enough to bed me’. H-His words, not mine. Well, I changed one of his words.”
Your face reddened at the thought of being with Leo so intimately. You could definitely hear Raph’s statement coming out of the sassy turtle. Before you could respond, Leo shimmied out of the bed. “A-Anyway, let’s go get breakfast. And deal with the aftermath.”
Leo stumbled out of his bed. He grabbed his mask and tied it around his face. Your eyes followed his form as he slid on his arm and leg coverings. His socks ended above his knees. You licked your lips, practically salivating from watching his tight thighs flex. Once he deemed himself ready, he turned back to you. He blushed under your intense gaze. He then looked around, “I don't really have any spare clothes for you. Sorry.”
You shook your head. “It's fine, I can change later. Let's get going.” You both exited his room before ou found the bathroom. You let Leo go to the kitchen on his own.
After relieving yourself, you found yourself in the small kitchen with the four brothers. Raph was pointedly not looking at either of you. Even though he wasn’t good at hiding his feelings, he was keeping his discovery to himself. You could appreciate that. You glanced at the four turtles all sitting at the table. Leo was trying to act normally, but his leg bounced rapidly, giving away his anxiety. Raph kept his gaze on his plate, his body rigid. Donnie was glancing worriedly at his older brothers. Of course, he had caught on immediately that something wasn’t right. Mikey, on the other hand, was humming quietly to himself as he ate his toast.
“Okay, this is ridiculous. What happened?” Leo flinched at Donnie’s question. He was using the tone that only appeared when he needed to know something. It was often referred to as the “I don’t need sleep, I need answers” voice. You glanced at Leo, letting him take the lead. This was his family after all.
He sighed softly before setting down his fork. “I guess it’s time I tell you guys. (Y/n) and I… we’re…” His voice trailed off as his eyes met yours. He seemed to be questioning what you two even were. Boyfriend/Girlfriend? Partners? Kissing buddies?
You took Leo’s hand above the table to emphasize the point you were about to make. “We’re dating. Since last night.”
“Technically, you’ve been going on dates for the past month. So, you’ve been ‘dating’ for a month. Romantic partners for a day.” Donnie’s voice piped up.
Raph glared at his tallest brother, “Wait, you knew about them? Then why did you bother asking?”
Donnie rolled his eyes, “I wanted to know why the air was so thick with tension. You could cut it with a knife.”
“Oh. Raph saw me and (Y/n) in bed. N-Not like that!” Leo blurted out the second part of his sentence when Donnie’s eyes widened. He really needed his brothers to stop thinking about his sex life.
You turned towards Mikey, the only one to not have spoken yet. His baby blue eyes were practically sparkling as he grinned at you. “You’re gonna be my sister-in-law??” Leo choked on his orange juice as he tried to take a sip.
You chuckled nervously as you patted Leo’s shell, the poor turtle sputtering as he tried to clear his airway. “No, n-not yet, Mikey. We’re still very early in our relationship.”
The sparkles faded from Mikey’s gaze, his entire body deflating. “Aw, fine.” He suddenly stood up and grabbed Leo by the edge of his plastron. He pulled in the leader close to his face, his eyes stern, “You better treat her right, son! Or I’m gonna go all ninja on your ass!”
Raph barked out a laugh and Donnie covered his own mouth to prevent him from doing the same. You decided you did not want to get on Mikey’s bad side. Leo’s shocked expression turned to one of minor annoyance, “Language!” That made you cackle. Of course, Leo wouldn’t be upset about being threatened. It was Mikey’s use of profanity that mattered.
Mikey let go of Leo and sat back down. He had a satisfied smirk on his face as he continued eating his scrambled eggs. Leo relaxed next to you, a soft groan escaping his lips. You rested a hand on his thigh. His very muscular and toned thigh. You tucked that thought away for later as Leo didn’t look too good. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes held discomfort.
“You okay?”
Leo nodded, placing his large hand on top of yours. “Y-yeah, just a headache.”
Donnie perked his body, his smile disappearing, “That’s probably from the poison. You need to take it easy, Leo. No training or patrol today. Doctor’s orders.”
Leo groaned again, this time from disappointment. “Fine.” You could tell he was irritated by the order.
You gently rubbed his thigh in a comforting manner, “If your head’s bothering you, I can get you some aspirin. Where do you keep your medicine?”
Donnie directed you to a closet where they stored their basic first aid supplies. You set off, wanting to make your boyfriend feel better. You quickly reached the small closet and began to sift through it.
“Aha!” You exclaimed when you found the painkillers. You grabbed the aspirin and searched for the expiration date. Your eyes widened. “Oh wow.”
You walked back to the kitchen, the boys deep in conversation. You felt bad for interrupting, but they needed to know. “Hey guys?” They quieted and looked at you, all four pairs of eyes curious. “Did you know your aspirin expired in May?”
“Oh, that was like three months ago. That's not that bad!” Mikey shouted.
“Yeah, May of 2020.” You tossed the bottle to Donnie so he could see for himself.
“Oh! Yeah, that's a tad bit expired, huh?” Donnie chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah. It is. It's probably not a good idea to have medicine that doesn't work when you guys literally face danger every day.” You planted your hands on your hips, scolding them as a mother would.
The guys had the decency to look like they felt bad. Minus Raph. “In our defense, princess, it's a little difficult to get drugs when you look like we do.”
You pursed your lips, feeling determined to help these idiots, “Well not anymore. I'll go restock your first aid. All of it. Your supplies are looking a little sad.” You walked over to Leo and kissed his cheek. “Take it easy, I'll be right back.”
Leo blushed at the affection in front of his brothers. The other three managed to hold it together until you were out of sight. Then Raph and Mikey started laughing and making kissy faces at Leo.
Leo scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. If I can't train, then I'm gonna go meditate in the Dojo. Do me a favor and leave me alone.” Leo stalked off, his mood seeming especially down once you left.
In truth, Leo was pissed. Not at you, God no. But at himself. Everyone was treating him like he had broken his leg all over again. And it was all his fault. He should've been better. He should've been able to tell that woman, Angel, wasn't out of the fight.
Was he going soft? There's no way. Sure, the chivalry ingrained in his soul always hated fighting women. But Karai had proved to him that you can fight a woman with honor. He didn't go easy on her when they were enemies. He couldn't afford to. Showing mercy wasn't the same thing, was it? He absolutely loathed killing. It was against his very nature. He still used all his strength, just not with the blades of his swords.
So stuck in his thoughts, Leo was at the Dojo before realized it. He moved to sit in front of the beautiful tree when his eyes caught his swords resting on the wall. Memories flashed as he gazed upon his katanas. Memories of not being good enough. All of his failures replayed like a movie he couldn't look away from. The most recent of which, of course, being Angel. He couldn't believe how incompetent he was for not being able to dodge her dart properly.
His hand grasped the handle of one of his swords. When had he even walked over there? A decision had been made before he even realized it. Screw doctor's orders. He needed to get better. Be better. And taking a day off to relax wasn't going to accomplish that.
With his mind made up, Leo began to run through his katas. Easy enough. His body flowed through the motions. It was too easy. He needed to challenge himself if wanted to improve his skills.
Furrowing his brow in concentration, Leo began to work on a move that he saw in Splinter's old scrolls. He knew the motions by heart, but he had yet to actually put them all together due, to the difficulty. He took a breath before swinging his sword, not yet realizing his girlfriend had arrived back at the Lair.
You happily trotted back into the turtles’ domain. You carried a plastic bag full of first aid supplies. You glanced at the bag. You probably should've gotten a paper bag. You know, to save the turtles and whatnot.
Pushing your environmental guilt aside, you approached Mikey and Raph who were lounging by the TV. “Hey guys, I'm back. Where's Leo?”
“Dojo.” The two spoke simultaneously, too absorbed in their show to even look at you. You hoped your stubborn boyfriend was only doing calm activities, like meditation. But a twist in your gut made you doubt that.
You approached the sliding paper doors, not hearing anything inside. You quietly slid open the door, your eyes widening when you saw what was inside. Leonardo was sweating as he stiffly swung his sword around. He seemed to be working on a new move, as he kept repeating the same motions over and over until he got it right. You weren't sure what he was doing. What you were sure of was that you were ticked off.
You and Donnie told him to rest! He promised he would! You curled your lips in anger as you watched him. While you wish you could just marvel at his musculature, you were too angry to appreciate it.
Just as you were about to storm in, Leo stumbled. He brought his free hand up to his head, his eyes slightly crossed. He must've had a dizzy spell and headache, courtesy of the poison.
As a result of his sudden dizziness, his hand holding his katana slackened its grip. The sword fell. The very sword that his father gave him after he passed away. In his panic to keep it from hitting the ground, Leo reached to grab it by the blade.
“Ah!” Leo hissed through his teeth when the blade bit into his skin. But he kept his grip, unwilling to let it fall carelessly to the floor. He refused to disrespect his late sensei that way.
“Leo!” You dashed in, finally making your presence known.
Leo jerked his head at you, eyes wide. He mentally scolded himself for not noticing you sooner. Another mistake.
You skidded to a stop and gently took the handle of Leo's katana. “Leo, you need to let go. You're bleeding.” He glanced at the floor and saw a couple of drops of blood. He winced as he slowly pried his hand open. You took the sword away and set it on its rack. You knew how much he cherished his weapons.
“You're lucky I just came back from the pharmacy.” Your voice startled Leo out of thoughts. You were back in front of him, a pack of bandage wraps in hand. Leo's legs were shaking, he noticed. Whether from his intense workout or the intense headache, he wasn't sure. Probably a combination of the two.
“Leo, you need to sit.” You gently took his uninjured hand and guided him to sit on the floor. Leo's legs all but collapsed under him when he met the soft mat. You then took his bleeding hand and assessed the damage.
There was a clean line down his palm, blood bubbling the surface of his green scales. You sifted through your bag and pulled out disinfectant and a wipe. “This is gonna sting.”
Leo barely nodded before he felt lava course through his hand. He bit his lip harshly, not wanting to reveal how much it was hurting. You could feel how tense he was as you wiped the blood off his hand.
You sighed as you pressed a gauze pad on the cut and then began to wrap up his entire hand. “You shouldn't use this hand for a while. You need to heal. Boy, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?”
“Huh?” Leo looked up from his bandaged hand, eyes clouded and confused.
“For God’s sake, Leo, what were you thinking?! You were injected with an unknown poison yesterday! You were told to take the day off and relax to let your body recover. And you, what, thought working yourself to exhaustion counted as relaxing?”
Leo’s eyes widened before narrowing, “No, that’s not what I thought. But it doesn’t matter if I’m recovering. I can’t take a break when I just got my shell handed to me! How can I call myself the leader when my skills are lacking?”
You growled at his admission. You know he said ‘it’ doesn’t matter. But what you heard was he didn’t matter. And you were not going to let that slide. You gripped his shoulders tightly. “Of course it matters! What, you think everyone’s just okay with you collapsing ‘cause you refuse to rest for even one day?”
“They should be! This is nothing new! Even when my leg was broken and I could barely stand, I kept working and training. I need to do this, (Y/n). You wouldn’t understand.” Leo’s breath was heaving after he finished yelling. Your eyes were wide with shock. He had never raised his voice at you.
You took a breath to keep yourself calm, “I may not understand what it’s like to be in your shoes. But I do understand that I don’t want the man I love to kill himself by running himself into the ground.”
…
Leo’s face was full of shock. He was completely silent as he contemplated your words. You sighed and started to stand to give him space. But before you could get up off the ground, his hand shot out and grabbed your wrist. You looked at him and were startled to see flecks of tears in his eyes. “... Y-You love me?”
You blinked a couple of times as you replayed your argument in your head. You didn't even realize you had said that. But that didn’t mean you were going to take it back. You sat on your knees and gripped his free hand. “Yes, I do. So if you’re not going to take care of yourself for you, can you at least do it for me?”
Leo bit his lip, still processing all his feelings. So many emotions were felt in a very short time span. You waited for him patiently. After a moment of silence, he nodded as he blinked his tears away.
“I-I’m sorry. I’ve always been hard on myself. But ever since Sensei died, I’ve held myself to a higher standard. Master Splinter told me that it was now on me to be my brothers’ sensei and even father figure if needed. It’s a role I don’t take lightly.”
You smiled sympathetically at him. Leo let go of your wrist and you moved that hand up to gently caress his cheek. “Even senseis and fathers need a break now and again. You’re not going to be useful to your brothers if you can’t use your hands.” Leo glanced down at the bandages, blood already blotting through the stark white.
He nodded in understanding, a soft sigh escaping his beak. You let go of him and wrapped your arms tight around his neck. “Just promise me you’ll try, okay?”
“Okay.” Leo spoke softly into your ear as he hugged you back. His hot breath on the shell of your ear caused a shiver to run down your spine.
You pulled away from the embrace just far enough to gaze into his beautiful ocean-blue eyes. Your forehead bumped his lightly. “Thank you.”
You then adjusted your position and met his lips with a soft press. The kiss echoed love and adoration. You couldn't get enough. So you kissed him again. And again. Two pairs of lips were molding together perfectly, as if they were made for each other.
You acted on your earlier promise and your hands slid to grip his shoulders. You two had always used respect when touching each other. Now you were going to grope this man. Respectfully.
Your fingers massaged the tight muscles in Leo’s shoulders. He quietly groaned in muffled pleasure into the kiss. His soft noise lit something in you. You wanted to hear it again.
To achieve this, you ran your tongue along Leo’s lips. You had forgotten he wasn't experienced and didn't know what to do. You decided to show him by nibbling on his lower lip.
Leo gasped and you held back a smirk. You seized the opportunity to slide your tongue into Leo’s mouth. Your hands continued to work on Leo’s deltoids. Leo let out a soft moan, his larger tongue meeting yours.
You decided you two were not close enough for this. So you crawled into his lap, straddling his hips. Leo’s hands moved to grip your waist to pull you closer. Your tongues intertwined, dancing to the music of muffled sounds of pleasure echoing from you both.
“Leo, have you seen my-” Raph's voice, once again, interrupted you two. You broke off the kiss but didn't bother getting off of Leo. You wiped your mouth as you both turned to glare at his immediate younger brother.
Raph had already slapped a hand over his eyes and was walking away. “Seriously? In the Dojo?? Now I gotta wash my eyes.” He continued to mutter to himself as he stomped away.
You chuckled and looked back at Leo. He was breathing heavily and his face was beet red. He had the cutest dreamy smile on his visage. You cleared your throat and awkwardly clambered off your boyfriend.
“I, um, you should take some medicine. For your headache.” You grabbed your discarded bag and handed Leo the bottle of painkillers.
He accepted it and popped a pill in his mouth, dry swallowing. “Thank you, (Y/n), for everything.”
You nodded with a smile. “Of course, you dingbat. For you, Anything.”
Leo stood up and offered his good hand to you. You gratefully accepted and marveled at his strength once more when he lifted you to your feet effortlessly. “Oh, one more thing.”
“Huh?” Leo cut you off with another firm kiss. He pulled away as quickly as he leaned in and whispered. “I love you too.”