Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Leo was very aware of the fact that he shouldn’t have been awake. Bedtime had been a long time ago and he knew that if his Dad caught him out of bed, he’d be in big trouble. He wondered about the possible punishments as he tiptoed further away from his room. Maybe he’d have to clean his room again even though it wasn’t Room Cleaning day or maybe Dad wouldn’t let him watch Space Heroes. Those maybe-punishments would be awful because Leo really loved Space Heroes but that didn’t stop him. No T.V was a price he was willing to pay just for another chance to check up on his baby brother one more time.

The sound of water dripping down onto the concrete floor from somewhere off within the tunnels made Leo jump slightly but he still kept his feet moving further. He wasn’t used to being so scared of his own home. Usually, their home wasn’t scary or too dark at all. The darker corners were perfect for playing hide-and-seek and the long, damp tunnels were a lot of fun exploring with his Dad. But without Dad beside him and with none of the lamps on or the candles lit, his home was just a little bit scary.

And if Leo thought that the lair was a little too dark without Dad or candles, then his brother must have been twice as scared. All the more reason to break a few rules to make sure that he was okay.

Making sure to be extra ninja quiet as he passed by his Dad’s room, Leo did his best to not hurry as he finally made it to the living room and his eyes landed on the giant pile of blankets on the floor. Leo had helped Dad pick out the blankets and he’d made sure to pick out the softest and bestest ones they had. As he got closer, Leo noticed with a frown that the special lamp that Dad had found when he’d gone outside was off. Leo didn’t think it was suppose to be off but thankfully, he knew where the button was and he was quick to give it a press when he reached the blanket pile.

Instantly, the lamp’s special red light turned on and filled the living room with a warm, pink glow that caused Leo to let out a big sigh of relief. With the danger of the living room becoming too dark and cold taken care of, Leo turned his attention back to the pile. It wasn’t too high and Leo was pretty sure he could climb it without hurting his brother so with a little nod to himself, Leo carefully began to make his way up the blankets. His Dad usually just picked him up and set him down on top of the blankets when he wanted up but Dad was asleep and Leo couldn’t wake him up without getting into trouble. Which meant that Leo had to climb.

Slowly, being careful not to go too fast or to mess up the blankets too much, Leo made his way up the pile and let out another sigh when he finally made it to the top without knocking any of the blankets over. Leo smiled to himself because he’d done so good and then quickly turned that smile over to his baby brother, who was resting right in the middle of the blankets. The only problem was that he was still sleeping inside his egg.

The egg wasn’t too big, which bothered Leo slightly. Despite Dad trying to explain to him that his brother could fit inside the egg without being squished and that he was okay, Leo had a funny feeling that his brother would have liked a bigger egg. But Dad had said it was fine and wasn’t worried so Leo wouldn’t worry about that too. But sometimes, Leo wondered if his brother got scared or lonely in that egg all alone. So once up on the blankets, Leo scooted close to the egg, wrapping his arms and legs around it, and rested his head on top of the shell with a hum.

He couldn’t imagine being stuck inside a tiny egg and not getting scared. And the thought of having no one to play with made him really sad. And even though Dad had said that the egg was too thick for them to hear anything on the inside, Leo was almost positive that his baby brother could hear everything from the outside. So he made sure to always let his brother know that he was there. That he wasn’t alone.

“Don’t be scared,” he whispered to the cream-colored shell. He ran his hands over the egg, remembering to be as gentle as possible. “I pushed the lamp on and it’s not dark anymore so you don’t have to be scared.”

The egg didn’t answer, just like always, but Leo didn’t mind. He just snuggled closer to his brother and enjoyed the special light from above. “I wasn’t scared,” he was quick to assure his brother, not wanting him to think that Leo wasn’t brave. “But maybe you were because it was so dark so I hadda make sure you were okay.”

Again he got no answer but Leo imagined that his brother was happy that he’d been thinking of him. Rubbing his cheek against the top of the egg’s shell, he huffed out a breath. “I wish you could wake up now,” he said. His fingers twitched like they wanted to tap against the egg but he stopped them. “Dad says that we need to wait for you and that you won’t be happy if we wake you up too early but I think you would like it if you waked up now.

“I have lots of colors that we can color with and I can show you Space Heroes and we can play space together. And I can show you the tunnels like Dad showed me! But I can’t show them to you if you’re sleeping ‘cause you can’t leave the pile until you wake up so you gotta wake up, okay?”

Leo waited for his brother to answer because after hearing about how cool it would be once he woke up, he thought that his brother would listen to him and wake up. But even after Leo waited for a whole minute, nothing changed. The egg stayed still and the only sounds he could hear was the buzz from the lamp and the drip of the water in the tunnels. Leo couldn’t stop the whine that escaped him and he flopped down onto the blankets next to the egg with a soft growl. Granted, he wasn’t too sure how his brother was suppose to wake up from the egg. His Dad had never told him. But he was sure that the egg wasn’t supposed to do nothing.

“Fine,” he said with a pout, glaring at the egg. “Stay sleeping. But I’m gonna stay here for just a little bit, okay? So that you won’t get scared again, okay? ‘Cause I’m your big brother and I gotta protect you.”

Wiggling around to make himself comfortable in the sea of blankets, Leo let out a yawn and cuddled up close to his brother’s egg. Even though he didn’t want to, the special lamp’s heat was making him sleepy. The warm glow was so nice against his shell and even though his bed was the best, he sometimes felt a little jealous of his baby brother for getting the lamp all to himself.

Yawning again, Leo closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into the blankets. He knew that he couldn’t stay out for too long. He’d have to sneak back into his room so that his Dad wouldn’t catch him out. But he promised his brother that he’d stay for a little while and he didn’t want to break his promise. What kind of big brother would he be if he did that? His eyes fluttering open, he gave his brother’s egg another smile and felt his throat go all fuzzy as he purred.

‘Just for a minute,’ he thought and he rested his forehead against the egg’s warm shell. ‘Then I’ll go back to bed…’

A sharp cracking noise too close to Leo’s head for comfort woke him up with a start and he jerked up instinctively with a little yelp. This caused him to almost tumble out of the blanket pile but he was quick to sink his fingers into the fabric to keep him from rolling off the edge. Horribly confused from being woken up and nearly falling off the pile, Leo felt tears spring into his eyes and he let out a soft whine as he pulled himself upright.

It took him a minute to rub his tears away because almost falling was too scary after just waking up but after taking a few big deep breaths just like his Dad had taught him to, Leo fell himself calm down a little bit. He rubbed at his eyes with another whine though and tried to remember why he was sleeping in the blankets and not his bed. And what had been that weird sound?

Another loud crack from behind him caused his eyes to grow wide and his simmering tantrum to freeze in its tracks. ‘Baby brother!’ he thought and he quickly spun around, nearly falling off again in the process, and gasped loudly when he saw his brother’s egg beside him. It was cracked! And it was leaking! From a big, sharp looking hole right on the side of the egg, Leo watched as a thick, clear goo leaked slowly out onto the blanket and he felt his heart stop.

Leo’s mouth hung open as he stared at his brother’s now broken egg and he felt his tummy do the worst kind of twist inside. Because he suddenly could remember where he was and how he had broken the rules Dad had been very clear with. He’d climbed on top of the blankets and had fallen asleep. And now, his baby brother was broken. Because of him!

“I-I didn’t mean to,” he whispered as tears once again sprang into his eyes. Another sharp crack made another piece of the egg fall away into the gooey mess on the blankets and Leo felt his throat go tight. He’d broken the rules and he’d broken his brother and he didn’t know how to fix it. This wasn’t like when his space doll’s head broke off. Leo didn’t think he could push the egg back together. His breath hitched painfully in his throat and Leo felt his tears fall down his face. He couldn’t fix his brother, it was all his fault, so he did what any four year old would do.

He threw his head back, tears spilling down his face, and wailed, “DADDY!”

Leo buried his face in his hands and sobbed so hard that his shell shook. He hadn’t meant to hurt his brother’s egg! He’d only wanted to stay with him a little bit so that he wouldn’t be lonely. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep! And now his brother was broken and Leo didn’t think he could be fix with glue! So caught up in his tears, Leo didn’t hear when his father rushed out of his room with his cane in hand. But the moment his Dad was within Leo’s watery view, he could only let out another wail and point to the egg.

“I b-broke my b-brother!” he cried and he hid his face in his arms again. “I didn’t mean to, Dad! I p-promise!”

He eyes and his face hurt so much from his crying, which only made him cry harder, and Leo just knew that he was never going to have a brother now because he’d broken him! And Dad was going to be mad at him and never give him another brother or sister ever again and he would never get to be a big brother! So Leo just cried because he didn’t know what else to do but when he felt his Dad’s arms around him, he threw himself into the hug with zero hesitation.

“Please fix him!” Leo cried as he rubbed his face into the warm, familiar robes. “I promise to not break the rules again so please fix him!”

Leo whined as he sobs got caught in his throat and he coughed as he tried to catch his breath. A hand began to rub up and down his shell and though he couldn’t hear what his Dad was saying, he could feel the vibrations from his voice against his cheek. He curled further into the hug and let out a stuttering sigh as he tried to calm down. It took a long moment of gentle shell pats to do so, but finally Leo managed to calm down enough that he could make out what was being said to him.

“Easy, my son,” Dad said softly and now that Leo wasn’t sobbing anymore, he noticed that they were still in the living room with the egg. And that Dad wasn’t trying to fix the egg at all. He peaked out from his Dad’s robes over to his brother and felt another wave of guilt rush over him when he saw even more cracks over the egg. But before he could start sobbing all over again, he heard Dad hush him.

“It is alright, Leonardo,” he said and with one last shell pat, he carefully drew Leo away from his chest so that they both had a clear view of the egg. “Though you are correct in saying that you disobeyed me by leaving your room so late after bedtime, you did not break your sibling’s egg.”

Leo sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, making them watery all over again. He looked up and saw a small smile on his Dad’s face. He sniffed again. “I d-didn’t?”

Dad chuckled and, after giving his brother’s egg another glance, moved to sit down next to the blanket pile with Leo in his lap. Above them, the special lamp was still glowing strong and the warmth felt good on Leo’s sore face.

“You did not harm your sibling,” he said and he rested a hand atop Leo’s head. “And I will admit that your fear of doing so is unfortunately my doing. I was not expecting the egg to hatch so soon and failed to explain to you exactly how your sibling would awaken.”

From the blankets the egg shook violently, jumping slightly, and Leo flinched, hiding his face back in his Dad’s robes. But he wasn’t allowed to hide for too long before he was carefully pushed away again. He glanced up and saw that Dad was watching the egg with one of those special smiles he sometimes had and that his eyes looked just as watery as Leo’s.

“I think you might want to watch,” he said as he moved Leo from his lap to onto his knee, even closer to the pile. “Because you are finally going to be an older brother, my son.”

Leo gasped and give his Dad a sharp look of disbelief before turning back to his brother’s egg. This was his brother waking up? He knew that his brother was inside the egg but he had always thought that Dad would be the one to get him out after his brother decided it was time. He hadn’t thought that his brother waking up would be so…

Another large bit of egg shell broke away and the clear, sludgy goo spilled out, soaking into the blankets and making a big mess. Leo frowned. ‘Gross,’ he thought but he had to admit that the goo was kind of cool. He wiped away the rest of his tears with his arm, holding onto his Dad's sleeve as he did so. Even though his face hurt a little, he felt a lot better now that he knew that he hadn't broken the egg.

“He's coming out?” Leo asked as more goo ran down the egg’s side. “Why is it taking so long? Is he stuck? Can I help?”

“Patience, Leonardo,” his Dad said and Leo pouted. “Your sibling must do this on their own.”

Leo whined but listened, settling back down and just watching the egg shake. Bits of shell broke off that fell all over the blankets but no matter how hard he tried, Leo couldn’t see any signs of his brother. Then, just as Leo was beginning to wonder if maybe his baby brother was just made of goo, a small, green head popped through the top of the egg with a tiny chirp. And Leo felt his heart skip a beat.

Without wasting any time, Leo quickly wiggled out of his Dad’s arms and tried to get up the blankets as fast as he could. Thankfully, with a little help from Dad, Leo made it up the pile in no time and he sat down next to his brother, not even caring that the egg goo was touching him. The baby was still halfway in his shell and was also covered in goo but Leo ignored all of that. His cheeks were aching from how big his smile was and even though his eyes still kinda hurt from crying so hard earlier, he didn’t dare rub at them. If he did that, he wouldn’t be able to watch his brother. Who was finally awake! And who looked just like him!

He had tiny green hands with three fingers, just like him! And he had a shell just like him too, though the baby’s shell looked a little soft and squishy. He would have to be extra special careful with him if that was the case. Leo watched with wide eyes as his brother finally tumbled out of the egg completely only to be scooped up by their Dad, who started to carefully pick away stray bits of egg shell that were stuck to him. As Dad gently wiped the baby down with his robe’s sleeve, Leo could hear his brother’s tiny chirps and clicks as clear as day and he happily answered back.

“Hello! Hello!” he chirped, doing his best not to squirm and get more goo on him. “Hello!”

It took a long time for Dad to be finished cleaning the baby. Way too much time, in Leo’s opinion. He wanted to see his brother! But finally, after Dad checked his brother for any bumps or hurts and after pressing a really long kiss to his forehead, Dad sat back down on the floor and motioned for Leo to join him. Leo happily rolled off of the blankets with a long string of clicks and practically flew into his Dad’s lap.

“Gently, gently,” Dad whispered as he tucked the baby securely into one arm. “He might become grumpy if we are too rough. Remember, he is a newborn so we must be careful.”

Leo nodded but didn’t tear his eyes away from the tiny baby in front of him. He even smelt just like he did! He wiggled closer to the baby and let out another happy chirp. “Hi, baby brother,” he whispered. “Hi! I’m Leo and I’m your big brother!”

He raised a hand but hesitated, not wanting to hurt the tiny thing. He looked so soft. But his Dad gave him a gentle push to the shell with his free hand, nodding when Leo looked his way. So Leo reached out oh so carefully and rubbed his fingers over his baby brother’s cheek. He was soft.

His brother whined and squirmed against Leo’s hand and he almost pulled away, terrified that he’d somehow hurt him. But instead Leo giggled when his baby brother let out a series of squeaks that he could barely understand. His giggles were sharply cut of though, when the baby suddenly latched onto Leo’s fingers with his own and snuggled in close with a yawn. His heart almost hurting with how happy he was, Leo moved even closer and gave his fingers a little wiggle. His baby brother didn’t let go.

“Welcome, Hamato Raphael,” his Dad suddenly said and Leo purred as he continued to gently wiggle his fingers. His baby brother was really strong!

“Welcome, Raphael,” he whispered, purring louder when Raphael let out another squeaky yawn. And he only felt a tiny bit grossed out when he leaned over to give his new brother a nose nuzzle and got goo all over his face.

Chapter Text

The dojo was, without question, Leo’s most favorite room in the lair. Granted, his bedroom was pretty cool with his glow-in-the-dark stickers and the living room did have the T.V and the heating lamp. So they were close contenders. But the dojo was where Leo felt the most at home and he loved everything about it. The giant tree in the middle of the room was perfect for climbing up high and seeing how far he could jump, though Sensei didn’t like it when he did that so now the tree was used to swing from its branches. The rugs that covered the dojo’s hard floor were so soft and colorful compared to the rest of the lair that sometimes, Leo would just sit and run his fingers over them. He’d fallen asleep more often than not doing that, waking up to his own purring as he curled up on top of the rug. And the very best part, in Leo’s opinion, was that the dojo was where his father taught him how to be a ninja and how best to protect their family.

And really, there was nothing Leo loved more than training in the dojo with his Sensei.

“Yame.”

Leo froze mid-swing with his bokuto. He looked up to his father, who had been watching him practice his kata from a few spaces away, and frowned. He still wasn’t the best with his bokuto and sometimes he would trip over his feet or drop it, but that time he was almost positive that he hadn’t been messing up at all. But instead of correcting Leo’s footwork or gently adjusting his grip on his weapon, his father simply smiled at him.

“I believe that someone is displeased over having been ignored for so long,” he said and Leo blinked. He lowered his bokuto further and turned around with a growing smile on his face.

Well, there were a few things he loved more than the dojo and training.

Sitting on one of the many rugs with an expression of pure rage on his little face, Raphael looked about three seconds away from a screaming fit. The few toys that Sensei had managed to find for them were well within his reach but he ignored all of them, his bright green eyes focused solely on his older brother. Leo giggled at the toddler’s face but made sure to give their father both a bow and his bokuto before he hurried over to his brother.

“Come on, Raph,” he said, trying to sound stern and failing miserably. He reached up to tug at his mask, which was still a little itchy even after a week of wearing it. Though he loved his newest gift from his father, it was taking time to get used to the blue material. “I have to practice. And you know that you can’t play ‘cause you’re still too little and you could hurt yourself if you tried.”

Seeing that he finally had Leo’s attention, Raph’s grumpy expression smoothed out slightly and he wiggled around on the rug with a whine. Once Leo was within reaching distance, Raph grabbed onto his big brother’s outstretched arms with an iron grip and wordlessly demanded up. Always weak to Raph’s demands, Leo did his best to pick him up and gave him a nose nuzzle.

“You’re getting too heavy,” he said. Raph didn’t answer as he nearly headbutted his brother while returning the nuzzle. “Maybe we need to stop feeding you so many worms.”

Raph glared at him even as he rested his head against Leo’s shoulder with a loud sigh, content now that he had the attention he’d desired. He didn’t seem to care at all that his older brother was struggling to hold him up. Leo huffed and readjusted his grip the best he could. Behind him, he heard their father as he put away the bokuto. For a two year old, Raph was really big. As Leo could easily remember how small he’d been when he’d first hatched, he was always surprised by how much he’d grown in just a couple of years. He’d been such a tiny turtle!

“It seems that Raphael has a very good sense of timing,” Sensei said as he joined them, reaching down to take the toddler from his eldest’s arms. He chuckled when Raph let out a string of babbles and curled into his chest. “It is nearly time for bed.”

Leo’s arms were never really sore from practice, though sometimes his legs were, but he still let out a relieved sigh when his arms were freed from Raph’s weight. His sigh then morphed into a yawn and he blinked in surprise when he realized just how tired he was. ‘When did that happen?’ he thought as he yawned again.

“Can we check on Donnie before bedtime?” he asked, taking his father’s outstretched hand when it was offered. “I want to make sure that he’s warm enough. I can give him another one of my blankets if he is.”

He heard his Sensei hum as he led them out of the dojo and into the living room, Raph still curled up against his chest. “I suppose a quick visit before bed would be acceptable,” he finally said and Leo smiled brightly up at him. “But remember that there is to be no rough housing near your sibling.”

“Thank you, Sensei!” Leo said, wasting no time in escaping from his father’s grip and rushing over to the very familiar looking pile in the living room. Behind him, his father followed at a slower pace.

The blanket pile wasn’t as big as it had been when Raph had been in his egg, they didn’t have that many blankets to spare anymore, but Leo had helped their Sensei make sure that it was just as comfortable. Leo had even donated one of his own blankets to the cause, not wanting Donnie to think that they didn’t love him because he got less blankets than Raph. The just as familiar heating lamp above it was on full blast, as it had been the entire night, and it made the room so much warmer than the rest of the lair.

Reaching the pile, Leo was quick to start his examination. Now that he was old enough that he didn’t have to climb to get to the egg, checking for any imperfections was super easy. Donnie’s egg was just as small and as cream-colored as Raph’s egg had been. Leo reached out and ran a hand over its smooth surface, his eyes scanning both the egg itself and the blankets surrounding it. As he did so, he also watched as their Sensei placed Raph down onto the pile right next to Donnie.

“I will go get your milk,” he said and he gave both Leo and Raph a pat on the head. “I will be right back and remember, no rough housing.”

“Hai, Sensei,” Leo said cheerfully, quickly returning to his pile examination. Despite his best searching though, he couldn’t find find anything wrong with the pile. Satisfied that Donnie was as comfortable as he could be, he turned his big brotherly attention to Raph. The turtle toddler was staring down at the egg in front of him as well, one of his hands almost completely in his mouth. His other hand was resting on the top of the egg. Leo grinned.

“You know, you used to be in an egg too, Raph,” he said and he laughed when Raph glared at him. “You were! And your egg was just as small as Donnie’s! And I was there when you hatched.”

He looked back down at the egg and felt a purr start to build in his plastron. “It was funny too because I didn’t know how turtles hatched and I thought that I’d broken you.”

Raph grunted as he wrapped his arms around Donnie’s egg and Leo laughed again. “I know,” he said. “That was pretty silly of me. But Sensei never told me that we had to break out of our eggs. Or that it would be so gross and gooey.”

“Bah,” Raph said as he leaned forward to rub his forehead against the egg. “Bah, bah, da.”

Leo hummed in agreement and he smoothed out one of the slightly scrunched up blanket. “I know, I know. It wasn’t your fault for the goo. But still. Too much goo, Raph. It was gross.”

His little brother glared at him again, which Leo didn’t take too seriously because his brother was almost always glaring at something, but didn’t move away from Donnie. And honestly, Leo couldn’t blame him. He knew exactly how comfy and warm the egg could get after being under the lamp for so long and though Leo was too big to do so, he still felt the urge to just rest his cheek against his brother’s egg every now and again. It just offered the best of both worlds; he could be warm and watch over Donnie all at the same time.

“Dee,” Raph said and he closed his eyes, rubbing his face against the egg. Leo could feel his blankets themselves start to vibrate from his purrs. “Dee…”

Leo giggled. “Donnie,” he reminded him gently. “Donnie, remember? ‘Cause you can’t say Donatello yet.”

Raph growled at him, as if he were mad that Leo had dared to correct him. Then, all while keeping his green eyes locked onto Leo’s, the toddler raised his head and slammed it against the egg with a loud crack.

“Raph, no!” Leo screamed and he quickly snatched the egg out of Raph’s arms. His brother tumbled into the blankets with a yelp, but Leo wasn’t worried. He knew just how soft those blankets were. “You can’t headbutt Donnie! You could break him before he’s ready!”

Raph growled again as he pushed himself up from the blankets. “No!” he screamed back. “No, no, no! Mine! Dee!”

Leo held Donnie’s egg closer to his plastron, giving it a quick look-over to make sure that it was okay. To his relief, it looked just fine. He glared at his brother on the pile as he tried his best to calm his facing heart.

“Very bad, Raph,” he said. He narrowed his eyes when Raph hissed at him. “You can’t be too rough with Donnie. It’s not nice!”

“Mine!” Raph screamed again and tears started to well up in his eyes. “My Dee! My Dee!”

“He’s not just yours! He’s my brother too and you have to be nice!”

“Yame!”

Both Leo and Raph jumped at the sound of their father’s voice echoing off of the lair’s walls, Leo instinctively curling around Donnie’s egg. He turned to see their father standing at the kitchen’s entryway. In his hands he had a big cup and a sippy cup. And he didn’t look happy. Instantly, Raph burst into tears and pointed at Leo, who could feel his own tears start to flow.

“Raph headbutted Donnie!” Leo said in a rush as their father walked over to them. “I know that I’m not supposed to hold him but I had to ‘cause Raph was being too rough and you said that we couldn’t rough house!”

“It is alright, Leonardo,” his Sensei said, cutting of his rambling. He set the cups down on the T.V and picked a still screaming Raph up from the pile. “You are not in any trouble. Now please, put your sibling back.”

Leo hurried to do as his father had said, giving Donnie’s egg a quick kiss before bundling it back up. He sniffed as he made his way back to their father, doing his best to try and dry his tears. Raph had his face buried in Sensei’s robes, his shell shaking as he sobbed.

“My Dee,” he said, voice muffled and soft. “Da? My Dee…”

“We do not fight over our siblings, Raphael,” Sensei said as he reached out for the milk waiting for them. “And you cannot headbutt your sibling’s egg. It is not nice.”

Raph whined high in his throat at the reprimand and kept his face hidden. Leo sniffed again but took the cup when it was handed to him. “I’m sorry that I didn’t watch Raph good enough, Sensei,” he said softly, staring down at the milk. “And I’m sorry for picking up Donnie when I’m not allowed to.”

He felt his father’s hand rest atop his head and he arched into the touch with a sigh. Risking a glance up, he saw his father was smiling. Tucked into his arm, Raph was sucking on his sippy cup with a wet scowl.

“As I said before,” he said, rubbing his hand over Leo’s head. “It is alright. You were merely protecting your sibling.”

Leo nodded and took a sip of milk. It was nice and warm and he let out a huff of breath. “Raph needs to be more gentle,” he said into his cup. “I think he got mad at me when I told him Donnie’s name.”

“I see,” his Sensei said, moving his hand to the back of Leo’s shell and began to gently push him away from the blanket pile. “Well, perhaps it is fortunate that it is bedtime then. Hopefully, after a good rest, your brother will be in a better, less territorial mood.”

“...Teratorial?” Leo asked. He took another drink of milk as he walked. “What does that mean, Sensei?”

Their father let out a loud sigh. “It means that I anticipate many more future altercations between you and your brother over your youngest sibling,” he said. “Now come. It is time for bed.”

Leo pouted, not understanding his father’s answer, but stayed silent as he just continued to enjoy his milk. Leo’s earlier sleepiness, drowned in his brotherly panic, returned with every step he took, the warm milk making his stomach feel all fuzzy. Since Raph was still too little to have a room of his own and had to sleep in his crib next to Sensei’s bed, Leo was the first to be put to bed after a quick trip to brush their teeth. His empty cup in his hands, Leo handed it to his father as they reached his bedroom. He yawned.

“Do you think Donnie will be okay?” he asked as he climbed into bed. “I didn’t see any cracks or anything but do you think he’s scared ‘cause of the noise? Raph has a loud headbutt.”

Pulling his blanket over Leo’s shoulders, Sensei leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I am sure that your sibling is fine, my son,” he said. “But before Raphael and I retire for the night, I will check to make sure.”

Leo yawned again and snuggled into his pillow. “Thank you, Sensei,” he said and, even though he was still a little bit mad at him, nuzzled Raph’s cheek when their father set him down next to him. “Have a good sleep, Raph. Don’t be too rough next time, okay?”

Raph purred weakly against Leo’s cheek, too tired from crying and his milk to fuss anymore, and Leo smiled. As their father picked Raph back up and tucked him in close, he gave Leo a funny look.

“You know, Leonardo,” he said as he rocked Raph gently from side to side. “There is a possibility that your sibling could be a sister instead of a brother. And if that is the case, the you will need to get used to calling her ‘Artemisa’ instead of ‘Donatello’.”

Unable to help himself, Leo giggled into his pillow. “But I know that Donnie’s gonna be another brother,” he mumbled, his eyes growing heavy. “But a sister would be okay too. For next time.”

He heard his Sensei chuckle at him as he wished him pleasant dreams but he didn’t care. He’d known that his youngest sibling was going to be a brother the moment he’d felt his shell, just like he’d known with Raph. But it was okay if Sensei didn’t believe him. He’d see when Donnie decided to hatch. Whenever that was.

Nothing was worse than waking up with a yucky, dry mouth. Leo whined as he was pulled from sleep, scrunching up his face as he coughed. Rolling over onto his plastron, he rubbed his face into his pillow before raising his head with a sad warble. He didn’t want to be awake. He just wanted to go back to sleep. But with every swallow, his throat reminded him just how thirsty he was and how badly he wanted a drink. So, instead of lying down and going back to sleep, Leo sat up with another whine and rubbed at his eyes.

He yawned and made a face at the gross taste in his mouth. He had no idea what time it was but he knew, in that weird way he also knew that Donnie was a brother, that it was late in the day. His father and brother were probably still asleep and he didn’t want to wake them up over a glass of water. And besides, he was six. That was old enough to get water all by himself.

So with a stretch and another yawn, Leo slowly climbed out of his bed and made for the hallway. He wasn’t bothered by the darkness that greeted him. He hadn’t been scared of the lair during the day for a long time. The only reason he tiptoed was to avoid waking up his family and, after he made sure that he’d passed by his father’s room without making noise, he walked with no fear. The lair was his home and, as Sensei had told him many times, he should never be afraid of his home.

Leo continued to rub at his eyes as he passed by the living room, still super sleepy despite his best attempts to wake up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the heating lamp was still on and he smiled at his youngest brother’s luck. Donnie probably didn’t have to deal with getting thirsty. He just got to sleep all day and night under the lamp.

Thankfully, there was a spare cup resting on the kitchen counter that seemed to be waiting there for him. He carefully grabbed it and placed it next to the sink before going over to the little wooden stool in the kitchen’s corner. Even though he could soft of reach the counter without any help, the sink was still a little tricky. So his father had gotten him the stool to use for when he wanted a drink.

He ended up filling the cup full of water twice he was so thirsty and he hummed happily as he gulped them both down. Deciding to take an extra third cup back to his room with him just in case, Leo hopped down from the stool with his cup and started back to his room.

As he walked past the living room again, Leo gave the blanket pile a glance as he brought his cup to his mouth. He sleepily noticed with another happy hum that the egg was right where it was supposed to be. Broken and separated into five big pieces on top of the pile, with goo slowly leaking over the edges. Just like it was supposed to be. Leo blinked, slowly lowering his cup. The egg was broken on the blankets. Leo blinked again.

The cup slipped from Leo’s hand with a loud clatter, spilling water all over Leo’s feet and the floor, but he hardly noticed. Heart leaping up to his throat, Leo let out a loud, high-pitched screech as he all but flew towards the blankets, nearly tripping over himself as he did. He skidded to a stop right as he reached the pile, his eyes wide and his stomach sinking. He stared down at the gooey, broken mess, his hands shaking as they hovered over the pile. He whined again and felt like he was going to throw up.

There was no baby turtle anywhere to be seen.

“Sensei!” he screamed, no longer concerned with waking up his family. “Sensei, help! The egg is broken and there’s-”

A high, thin sob cut Leo’s own scream off and he froze, hands still frozen along with him over the broken mess. Inhaling sharply, the six year old jerked his head up and listened. He heard his father’s voice calling to him from his room, along with the sound of Raph crying, but he made no move to answer them. Instead, he fell to the floor beside the pile and crawled behind it, tears springing into his eyes as he did. Because lying there on the floor, his tiny body covered in goo and his face covered in tears, was his missing brother.

Sobbing softly into the lone blanket underneath him that had most likely cushioned his fall, Leo’s newest brother let out a sad whine as he wiggled around and Leo found himself answering with a whine of his own.

“Donnie,” he whispered. He quickly crawled over to his crying brother. “W-What are you doing on the floor?”

Leo reached out to pick his brother up but hesitated right before he could. He remembered how soft and fragile Raph had been when he’d hatched and just the thought of hurting Donnie made him want to cry even harder. But then Donnie sobbed again, sounding so lost and afraid, and Leo’s hands moved all on their own.

“Shh, shh,” he whispered, pulling Donnie into his lap as gently as he could. “Please don’t cry, Donnie. It’s okay. I’m here, okay?”

The baby instantly curled up against Leo’s plastron, whimpering and sucking on one of his fingers as he cried. Leo felt a low rumble build in his throat and he wrapped himself further around his littlest brother in a desperate attempt at comfort. He ran his hand over Donnie’s soft shell as his rumbles vibrated in his plastron, checking him over for any bumps or bruises. The goo that still clung to him and that threatened to cover Leo made him shudder but he ignored it. He’d be more than happy to be covered in goo if that meant that Donnie was okay.

“Are you hurt, Donnie?” he asked the baby in between rumbles. “Don’t worry, I’m right here so you don’t have to cry or be scared and Sensei will make sure that you’re not hurt, okay? I’m so sorry that you fell down and-”

“Hamato Leonardo, answer me right this instant!”

Leo jumped but managed to shout out, “H-Here, Sensei!”

A frantic flurry of footsteps answered him and Leo hiccuped back a sob as he looked up to see his father’s head suddenly appear over the blanket pile. Sensei’s eyes were wide as he stared down at his sons and Leo swallowed hard. In his arms, Donnie just continued to cry.

“I-I think he fell out of the pile when he hatched,” he said with a hitch in his breath. “I don’t know if he hurt.”

His father quickly vaulted over the pile with a tearful Raph in his arms, setting the toddler down gently next to Leo the moment he landed. Leo wordlessly handed Donnie over to him and their father was even quicker to start examining him with a fearful look in his eyes. As he did, Leo pulled Raph into his lap and cuddled close to him. He hadn’t felt any bumps when he’d checked the baby over but he wasn’t their father. He had no idea if Donnie was hurt from the fall and he could only hope, as Raph sniffled in his arms, that their younger brother was okay.

Both Leo and Raph were quiet as they watched their father calm Donnie down, his hands continuing to run over his head and shell. Leo shivered despite the heat from the lamp above, his hold on Raph tightening. Then, after what seemed like forever in Leo’s mind, their Sensei let out a long, loud sigh and turned to them. He smiled and nodded as he held Donnie close.

“He is alright,” he said and Leo let out his own rushed breath as a shaky smile began to grow on his face.

“Donnie’s okay?” he asked and in his arms, Raph seemed just as worried for his new brother. He was unusually quiet as he stared up at his father with wide eyes.

Sensei nodded again and Leo couldn’t help himself. He sniffed, relief washing over him, and he felt tears start to slowly travel down his face again. Raph let out an unhappy yelp as his big brother started to cry all over him and he quickly wiggled himself free, crawling over to their father and plopping down beside him with a grunt. Leo didn’t even care, he was just so happy that Donnie wasn’t hurt. He wiped at his face as he cried, his shoulders shaking. He knew that it was kind of weird to cry when he was happy but he just couldn’t stop.

Donnie had looked so sad and so scared on the floor and Leo wished, as he felt his father wrap an arm around his shoulder, that his youngest brother hadn’t had to hatch all alone.

‘He was probably so scared,’ Leo thought and he cried even harder at that, even as he felt Sensei pull him up off the floor. ‘Maybe he thought that we weren’t there because we don’t love him enough!’

Leo choked on his next sob and nearly caught himself in a coughing fit but thankfully, his Sensei gathered him up close. Leo hid his face in his father’s robes the moment he could. He took in a shaky breath and rubbed his face against the fabric.

“Leonardo,” Sensei said softly, giving Leo a gentle shake. “Perhaps you would like to greet Donatello properly? He is alright, my son. You must calm down before you make yourself ill.”

Hiccuping again, Leo refused to move and he shook his head. “W-What if he thinks that we don’t love him?” he asked and he felt his father pull him in closer. “What if he doesn’t love us because we didn’t catch him?”

Sensei chuckled and pressed a fuzzy kiss to the top of Leo’s head. “I promise, my son,” he said. “That none of that is true. And if you open your eyes, you will see that Donnie is just fine now.”

Leo let out a shaky breath but dutifully opened his watery eyes. It took a few blinks to chase away his tears but after a second, and after some help from his father’s sleeve, Leo was finally able to get another good look at the newest addition to their family. Almost completely hidden in their Sensei’s other arm, his finger still in his mouth, Donnie was staring at him with wide eyes. Leo sniffed and wiped at his face again. Raph had kept his eyes closed when he’d hatched, so it was surprising to see Donnie just staring at him without making a sound. Swallowing down his guilt, Leo offered the baby a wobbly grin.

“Hi, Donnie,” he said and he felt his smile grow more sturdy when the baby’s eyes grew even wider at the sound of his voice and began to wiggle. “My name’s Leo and I’m your big brother. I’m really sorry that we let you fall off the blankets but I promise that we love you very much, okay? So don’t think that we don’t, okay?”

Donnie pulled his finger out of his mouth and let out a soft chirp as Leo spoke, giving his a smile before latching back onto his finger again. Leo sighed again shakily and rested more comfortably against his father. He’d take that chirp as a sign that they were forgiven. From the floor, Raph let out an angry wail and Leo laughed when Donnie’s face scrunched up unhappily at the noise. He felt more than heard their father sigh and kept on giggling as Raph was expertly scooped up into Sensei’s arms alongside his brothers.

“And this is Raph,” he said and he moved forward with help of his father to wrap his arms around Raph. “Your other big brother. He’s grumpy but we love him too.”

Raph snuggled into Leo’s arms and started to purr, his green eyes focused on Donnie. Leo decided after a minute to join him, his plastron buzzing happily as his father’s arm wrapped itself back around him. He watched as Donnie wiggled again and felt his heart grow warm when the tiny turtle started to purr himself, his soft buzzing barely noticeable compared to his and Raph’s. And although he knew that Sensei couldn’t purr like them, he felt his father hum alongside them until their entire family was purring and humming together on the floor underneath the heat lamp.

“We love you,” the purrs and hums said and Leo closed his eyes with a smile. “Love, love, love you so much.”

“Welcome, Hamato Donatello,” Sensei whispered in between his hums. “Although you gave us quite the scare, we are so happy that you are here.”

Leo opened his eyes and squirmed even closer to his siblings. He stretched an arm out over Raph’s curled up form and rested his hand over Donnie’s soft plastron, feeling his tiny purrs vibrate against his fingers.

“Just no more falling,” he said and he giggled when Donnie nuzzled at his hand. “I don’t want you to get hurt. But don’t worry if you fall again, okay? ‘Cause I’ll make sure to catch you.”

Chapter Text

Leo inhaled deeply, holding in the breath for a long moment before he exhaled with a soft sigh. His hands were resting comfortably against his knees, his eyes were shut, and his shoulders were relaxed. As he sat there, poised and at peace, Leo knew that no one, not even Master Splinter, would find any faults with his posture. He inhaled again. He was still. He was calm. Nothing could possibly break his focus.

“...Leo?”

Releasing his breath in a rush, Leo slowly opened his eyes with a small, self-deprecating smile. ‘Never say never,’ he thought wryly.

Sitting in front of him, with his tongue peaking out from the side of his mouth, Donnie was glaring down at his own knees with a look of pure frustration. He looked up at Leo and he huffed, his cheeks puffed out, and Leo couldn’t help but smile wider.

“I’m not doing it right,” his eight year old brother said with a slight whine.

Leo glanced down at Donnie’s form and frowned. It was pretty decent, nearly matching his own. Shoulders back, shell as straight as it could be, feet together. He hummed. “Your form looks just fine, Dee,” he said and he felt his confusion grow when Donnie’s expression fell even further. “What aren’t you doing right?”

Donnie huffed again. “Sensei said that meditation is an important skill to master because it helps to focus your mind and that one of the ninja’s most important skill is the ability to go quiet inside,” he said. He paused, glancing up at his big brother, and Leo nodded silently for him to continue, knowing that all he needed was a gentle push.

Unlike his older brothers, Donatello needed to talk out his thought process more often than not and had a bad habit of growing embarrassed about it. It had been a particularly frustrating habit during his younger years, back before Leo and Raph had figured out that making fun of Donnie's one-sided conversations had been doing more harm to him than they'd understood. Thankfully, their father had intervened before the situation had had a chance to really spiral out of control and had been quick to correct them all of their teasing. Now, a little older and a little wiser, Leo had grown very skilled at encouraging his brother to talk out his thoughts if he needed it.

Taking his big brother's silent nod of encouragement, Donnie growled and his hands slowly began to curl into fists. “And I’m doing everything you and Sensei showed us but I still can’t do it!" he said. "I try to go quiet inside, I try to be present but I can’t! My brain just wants to keep thinking!”

Seeing that his youngest brother was actually growing upset, Leo quickly unfolded from his position and crossed the short distance between them on the dojo’s floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Raph was still practicing his hand-to-hand combat with their father, his red mask hanging from his neck as he punched and kicked. Leaving the rest of his family to themselves, Leo reached out to take Donnie’s clenched hands into his as he settled in front of him and offered his frustrated brother a reassuring smile.

“Easy, Dee,” he said. He took in an overly exaggerated breath, once again encouraging Donnie to follow along. “Let’s take a minute to calm down.”

He could tell that Donnie was still upset with himself over his supposed “failing” but he did as Leo asked, breathing deeply along with him until both their plastrons were rising and falling in tandem. After a moment of watching Donnie’s shoulders slowly start to relax, Leo gave his brother’s hands a gentle squeeze to recapture his attention.

“Now, let’s think about how we can fix this,” he said. He moved to sit beside him, planting his feet together and readjusting his shoulders. He looked down at Donnie and nodded when his little brother readjusted his posture as well.

“First, you have to remember that meditation is different for everyone,” he explained, reaching over to inch Donnie’s feet closer together. “And that’s okay. Even though we copy Sensei’s posture, we’re not suppose to copy his techniques exactly. You know how Sensei likes to whisper his mantra when he meditates?”

Donnie nodded, his tongue slowly starting to peak out of his mouth again as he listened. Leo chuckled. “Well, I don’t use any mantras, do I?”

His brother shook his head and Leo really couldn’t help himself; he reached out and poked at Donnie’s tongue. Donnie’s face scrunched up with displeasure even as he giggled and leaned away.

“That’s because I can’t meditate exactly like Sensei,” Leo continued to explain, giving his brother’s knee and nudge with his own. “I have my own way of meditating that works just for me. And so does Raph. So all you need to do, Dee, is find your own technique.”

“But every time I try, I fail,” Donnie said and Leo could see that he was starting to lose him again.

Looking over to the giant tree in the middle of their dojo, Leo thought back to when Raph had been in the exact same position just a handful of years ago. He'd had the same look of helpless frustration on his face back then.

Sensei had figured out pretty early on in Raph’s training that what had worked for Leo wouldn’t work for his more aggressive brother. He could remember watching as their father struggled to teach Raph how to meditate. Their lessons had often ended with Raph feeling angry and disappointed in himself and with Master Splinter looking slightly lost. Unlike Leo, Raph had lacked the patience and desire to sit for long periods of time and his failed lessons threatened to drive a wedge not only between the two brothers, but between Raph and their father.

Then one day, after yet another failed meditation lesson, Leo had spied on Raph as his brother had taken his aggression out on the makeshift training bag they’d help Master Splinter create. He’d watched for a full hour as Raph had focused on punching and only punching before he'd run off to find their father. And after that, and with a little bit of experimentation, the family had realized that while Raph couldn’t sit and meditate, he could punch and meditate.

“Meditation in motion,” Master Splinter had explained to Leo the evening of the discovery. “Though it is not a method of meditation that I would choose for myself, it does seem to be working well for young Raphael.”

So while Master Splinter and Leo sat quietly on the dojo’s rugs, their father whispering to himself and Leo silently focused on his breathing, Raph attacked at the training bag. And it worked. But Leo highly doubted that meditation in motion would work well for Donnie. Just like with Raph, they needed to find something that Donnie could connect with. Something that his genius mind could latch onto without running off into more numeral equations. And that’s when Leo felt that little light bulb go off over his head.

Looking down at Donnie, Leo offered him a smile. “What about counting? Maybe that could work.”

Donnie frowned. “Like, counting sheep?” he asked and Leo laughed.

“No, not like counting sheep,” he said. He straightened up again. “I mean like counting inside your head. Here, close your eyes.”

Instantly, Donnie shut his eyes and Leo let out a breath. “Try to imagine, inside your head, a journal full of blank pages,” he said softly. “I’m going to count from one to nine and with every number, I want you to imagine writing that number down inside the journal, turning to a new page with each new number. And when I reach nine, we’ll start all over again.”

Donnie frowned, eyes still closed. “Do you think it will help?” he asked, doubt clear in his voice.

Leo reached out and gave the back of his brother’s purple mask a gentle tug, earning himself another badly suppressed giggle. “Trust your biggest brother, Dee,” he said. “Now, let’s begin. And… one, two, three…”

With every number, he paused for a beat to give Donnie enough time to really visualize his number. He kept his eyes open and watched his brother’s face, waiting for any signs of his earlier frustration. He watched as Donnie counted along with him, mouthing the numbers silently, and he smiled.

“...six, seven, eight…”

They continued to count, Leo out-loud and Donnie inside his mind, until they reached nine and started all over again in a loop. As they did, Leo began to quiet down with each number. By the fifth loop, Leo had lowered his voice to a whisper, eyes still trained on his brother. And by the time they were on their ninth loop of numbers, Leo had stopped counting all together. But Donnie kept going.

Eyes closed, hands on his knees, and his shoulders relaxed, Donnie was the very picture of stillness as he silently counted and Leo felt a rush of pride.

“Very good, Dee,” he whispered.

He sat there with him for another minute, just to make sure that Donnie could keep his rhythm, before he silently stood up and started for the dojo’s exit. As he did, he passed by the rest of his family who were taking a short break from their training. Raph gave him a bright smile as he leaned against the tree, slightly out of breath, while their Sensei waited for him with his hands folded behind his back. As Leo approached them, Master Splinter glanced over to where Donnie was still deep in his numbers. He smiled.

“Well done, Leonardo,” he said and Leo grinned at the praise. “Would you like to join Raphael and I before we retire for the day?”

Raph pushed himself off the tree and bared his teeth, trying to look intimidating and failing. But Leo had to give the ten year old a point for effort. “Yeah, Leo!” he said and he returned to his fighting stance. “Come on! Scared that I might beat you this time?”

Leo grinned but shook his head, giving Master Splinter a bow. “If it’s alright with you, Sensei, I’m going to go check up on Mikey. Donnie said earlier that the heat lamp was making funny noises, so I want to make sure that it’s still on.”

Raph pouted, crossing his arms over his plastron. “Hmph. Fine,” he said. “But you gotta come back after though. I wanna spar before bedtime!”

Master Splinter chuckled at Raph’s enthusiasm, giving Leo a nod. “You are free to go,” he said and he cleared his throat to regain his second son’s attention. “Now focus, Raphael, and let us begin again. I am sure that your brother will spar with you some other time. But right now, your opponent is me.”

“Hai, Sensei!” Raph screamed, not caring at all about the meditating Donnie in the dojo’s other corner, and rushed at their father with a snarl.

Leo laughed at his father’s fond and exasperated sigh and quickly ducked out of the dojo before Raph could notice his giggles. He passed by the kitchen, taking a short detour to snag an apple from the refrigerator, and munched on his quick snack as he made his way to the living room and towards the very familiar pile resting in the middle of their sitting area.

It had been a long time since the blanket pile had been needed. Leo had been six when Donnie had hatched and now, he was fourteen. Eight years was a long time to go without any signs of another sibling. And after Leo had asked Master Splinter if he was ever going to get another brother or sister and had gotten back a cryptic, “It is not for me to decide, my son,”, he had simply accepted the fact that he would only ever have two siblings. No more, no less.

So to say that Leo had been surprised when, after eight years of nothing, Master Splinter had suddenly returned from one of his nightly topside exploration missions with a familiar looking egg tucked close to his chest would have been an understatement.

When he’d asked his Sensei where he’d found the egg, Master Splinter had said very little. He'd simply told the three brothers that he’d found the egg in the hands of very bad people and that it hadn’t been safe to leave it with them. He had then handed the egg to Leo, asking him if it was alive. Leo could remember holding the egg in his hands, Raph and Donnie huddled close beside him to see better. He could also remember instantly knowing, in that strange way of his, that the egg held within it another turtle the moment it touched his hands. When he’d told his family so, both Raph and Donnie had cheered while their father had smiled. And another future Hamato had been added into the clan.

Leo hopped over the concrete slabs in the sitting area, finishing off his apple with a few quick bites as he did, and settled down legs crossed next to the blanket pile. Nestled into the giant quilt that Master Splinter had found a few weeks earlier, the cream-colored egg sat still. Leo smiled brightly down at it and felt a warm, fuzzy feeling start to grow in his plastron.

Admittedly, Leo was still a little curious over just how Master Splinter had found Mikey’s egg and why he had seemed so hesitant to tell them. Raph and Donnie didn’t seem to care, too excited over another brother, but Leo couldn’t help but wonder. However, he knew just how dangerous the surface could be for his family and if his Sensei felt that it was too dangerous for Leo to know where the egg had come from, then he would accept that. After all, his Sensei knew best.

Of course, that still didn’t stop Leo from thinking about asking Master Splinter if he could join him on his next surface mission, but that was beside the point. Until their father decided that Leo was ready to go up to the surface, he would focus on what he did best: Being the oldest brother.

“Hey there, Mikey,” he said, running a hand over the egg. “You doing okay? Not too cold, not too bored in there?”

Even after all the years of watching over them, Leo still couldn’t shake the habit of talking to his brother’s eggs. He was positive that Mikey couldn’t hear him as he had thought in his youth, but he had talked to Raph and Donnie when they’d been in there eggs so he would talk to Mikey. He didn’t want his egg-bound brother to feel left out, after all.

Satisfied with his quick egg check, Leo turned his examination to the old heating lamp above the pile. He frowned when he realized that he could still hear that weird buzzing noise that Donnie had mentioned. He reached up to tap at the long red light bulb that had all but become a Hamato itself and narrowed his eyes as it flickered ominously.

“That can’t be good,” he mumbled to himself and he glanced over to the egg with a frown. “Maybe we should get Dee in here to make sure that we won’t be lampless anytime soon. You need to stay warm.”

Mikey’s egg stayed silent, not even giving his older brother a wiggle or a jump. Leo nodded, crossing his arms over his plastron with a pleased hum. “I knew you’d agree with me,” he said and then he had to chuckle under his breath at his own silliness.

Still sitting next to the pile, Leo continued to just smile down at the egg holding his new brother. As he did, he thought about how nice it would be with another baby in the lair and how much fun Donnie would soon have being a big brother. He thought about how hard Raph had trained the night Master Splinter had brought Mikey home, telling Leo when he’d asked about it that he would do his best to beat up the bad guys who’d had him until their teeth caved in. And he thought about how happy their father had looked as he'd helped build up the blanket pile, his eyes misty and his hands quivering ever so slightly as he ran them over the egg.

“We’re so happy that Sensei found you,” he whispered as he returned his hand to the egg. “And when you finally decide to hatch, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

He snorted and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of the egg. “And then Donnie will stop trying to build an x-ray machine in order to get a look at you,” he said with another chuckle.

Giving the egg one last kiss, Leo stood up from his seated position and stretched his arms out with a grunt. “Alright, Mikey,” he said, twisting and stretching and sighing happily when his shoulders popped. “We’ll all check in on you again before bedtime so prepare yourself for your other brothers. Now, I’m going to go remind Raph why biggest brother will always win no matter what.”

And then, with a sharp fizzle and a pop that had Leo scooping the egg up out of the pile before he could even think about it, the red light bulb in the heating lamp exploded and rained glass down all over the blanket pile. Holding the egg firmly against his plastron, Leo watched with wide eyes and a pounding heart as the rest of the lamp then decided to collapse on top of the blankets with a sharp, grinding sound. Right where Mikey’s egg had been resting just moments before.

Leo felt his mouth fall open and a strangled sounding wheeze escaped him. A single drip from a pipe somewhere within the lair fell against the concrete with a loud splat as he simply stared at the mess of broken metal and glass had invaded his youngest brother’s sanctuary, unable to form any sort of response because that's where Mikey's egg had been and if Leo hadn't grabbed the egg when he'd did...

And then the pile caught on fire.

And then Leo found his words.

“Sensei!” he screamed. His arms were tight around the egg as he vaulted over the hard couches, sprinting towards the dojo. “I need the fire extinguisher!”

“I can’t believe you broke the lamp,” Donnie said, his voice muffled from the screwdriver jammed into his mouth. “And that you caught it on fire. How do you even do that?”

Leo bristled at the accusation as he stood beside his brother, who had the charred remains of the broken lamp strewn out before him on the living room floor. “I swear, I didn’t do anything,” he said, ignoring how Raph was cackling behind him. “I just touched the bulb because of that weird buzzing sound. I didn’t think it would break!”

In his arms, Mickey’s egg was still tucked securely in his arms. Along with the thick quilt that they’d managed to save from the fire and shards of glass. And though he knew that he didn’t have to keep holding their youngest brother, there was nothing stopping him from simply handing the egg over to their father, Leo outright refused to do so. Not after almost seeing Mikey’s egg fried. Just looking at the burnt lamp for too long made his stomach turn.

“See, this is why you’re not allowed to touch the toaster,” Raph said. He was still giggling like a madman. Nothing was more hilarious to him than watching his older brother fail “Or the stove.”

Leo shot him a glare and had to swallow back a huff when Raph just stuck his tongue out at him. From the floor, Donnie spat the screwdriver out from his mouth into one hand and tugged at Leo’s leg wrappings with his other. The eldest held his glare for another moment longer before turning his attention downwards, wincing when he saw the damp screwdriver and the soot covered fingers. Sometimes, he wondered how Donnie could handle being so filthy when he tinkered with their many appliances.

“It looks like the bulb overheated,” Donnie said, pointing to the lamp’s broken bits. “And I think you might have bumped into it when it popped and that’s what made it fall into the pile. And then, you know…”

He waved his free hand in the air and made a soft, explosion sound under his breath. “Fire.”

“So it was your fault,” Raph said and Leo groaned, leaning his head back as his did. He could practically taste his brother’s glee over watching him suffer. “Some ninja you are, bro. And I thought my footwork was bad!”

Thankfully, just as Leo was contemplating drop-kicking Raph to the floor and trying to judge how much trouble he’d be in if he did, Master Splinter returned from the kitchen and gave Raph a sharp look.

“That is quite enough, Raphael,” he said. Though his voice was stern, he still gave his second son a fond pat on the head as he walked past him. “I am sure that Leonardo does not need further reminder of his mistake.”

Raph frowned and planted his hands on his hips, obviously upset over his fun being ended prematurely, but obeyed their father with a short nod. Master Splinter then turned his attention to Leo, who bowed his head in an attempt to avoid his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Sensei,” he said quietly. “I didn’t realize how close I was to the lamp when the bulb overheated. It’s my fault it broke.”

He looked at the egg in his arms, barely able to see the shell from how bundled it was. Noticing a corner of the quilt starting to slip, he tucked the stray corner back into place. He didn’t want Mikey to lose even a degree of heat, especially when their only means of keeping him warm was now broken because of Leo’s own foolishness. Pulling the egg in tighter against him, Leo felt his stomach twist with guilt. Without the lamp, he wasn’t sure how they were going to keep the youngest Hamato warm.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he reluctantly looked up to see his father giving him a tired looking smile. “To be fair,” he said. “I am surprised that the lamp had lasted as long as it did. But Leonardo, you must be more aware of your surroundings. Especially in times of panic and when you are surrounded by precious equipment.”

“Hai, Sensei,” Leo said and he bowed his head again, his father’s words simply adding to his guilt.

Master Splinter then moved closer to Donnie and the burnt remains of the lamp, his nose twitching as he took in the mess on the floor. “Can you save it, Donatello?” he asked.

“I don’t think so, Sensei,” Donnie said as he shrugged and he set his screwdriver down on the floor. He dug his hands into the parts and, with a grunt, pulled a short, sharp looking metal… something that didn’t seem as charred as the rest of it. “I’m sure there are some parts here that I can use for something, but I’m pretty sure that we’re down a lamp.”

“Which means we will need to find an alternative heating method for your brother,” Master Splinter said, running a hand down his thin beard. “And while I am sure that I can find something appropriate to use for tomorrow and onward, that still leaves us empty-handed for now.”

Leo felt his chin slowly start to sink further and further into his shell with every word, more and more guilt just piling onto his shoulders. He was the oldest, the strongest, brother. The one in charge of keeping Raph and Donnie safe and happy and now, he’d failed Mikey before he was even out of his egg. Turtle eggs, even mutated ones, needed to stay at an appropriate temperature until they hatched, judging from the research done by Master Splinter and Donnie respectively. And if they couldn’t find a way to keep Mikey’s temperature level until their father could find a new heating source, then he could start to get sick. Or worse…

A whine escaped Leo’s throat and he snuggled the egg even closer. What were they going to do?

“Maybe we should sit on him.”

All eyes turned to Raph, who was still just standing behind everyone with his hands still on his hips. He raised an eye ridge at the stares his family gave him and he waved a hand towards the egg in Leo’s arms.

“What?” he asked. “Birds do it all the time, don’t they? Just have Donnie sit on him or something ‘cause he’s the littlest and we’re good!”

“Hey!” Donnie waved his piece of metal in the air, glaring at him. “Just because birds do it doesn’t mean we can, Raph. And just because I’m little doesn’t mean that I have to be the one to sit on him!”

Before either of the two could continue to antagonize each other, Master Splinter’s tail thumped against the floor once in a wordless request for silence. “Actually, the idea is not without merit” he said, hand still running over his beard. “Though I doubt any of us should sit on Michelangelo, perhaps body heat will be enough to keep him warm for the day until I find another lamp.”

At their father’s words, Leo’s head perked up from his shell with a soft pop. Body heat? From the floor, Donnie tapped at his chin with his mystery metal piece with a contemplative look on his face.

“I mean, I guess it could work,” he said slowly, like he was hesitant to agree with any idea that might have come from Raph. “We do run pretty warm, even though we shouldn’t. And as long as whoever is keeping him warm keeps him at eighty-four degrees and doesn’t shake him or roll over onto him or anything... it should be fine.”

As Leo ran the idea over in his mind, he watched as that piece of metal started to stray closer and closer to Donnie’s mouth as he talked. With a short click, he gave his genius brother’s shell a tap with his foot and shook his head. Donnie's red eyes glared at, his cheeks turning just as red from being caught, but pulled the metal away from his mouth with an even shorter hiss. Leo nodded and then turned to Master Splinter with a bright grin.

“Sensei,” he said, doing his best to stand up straight. “If we need someone to keep Mikey warm, then I should be the one to do it. It is my fault that the lamp’s broke, after all.”

He kept his smile up even as Master Splinter stared at him, his expression thoughtful. Because really, there was no other choice. As much as Leo loved Raph and Donnie with everything that he had, they just couldn’t be trusted with Mikey. Donnie tossed and turned like a worm on its belly when he slept and Leo had seen Raph wake up from a dream swinging before, nearly smashing his fist through his bed frame.

Plus, Leo needed to redeem himself. It was his fault the lamp was broken and it was his fault that Mikey was in such a dire need of heat in the first place. It was Leo’s job to protect his siblings and if that meant snuggling with his youngest sibling’s egg all day long, then so be it. So Leo kept on smiling, even as Donnie and Raph started to giggle at him until finally, Master Splinter raised an eyebrow and nodded.

“Very well, Leonardo,” he said with a smile. Leo beamed even further right along with him. “I will trust you to keep Michelangelo warm until another lamp can be found.”

“Hai, Sensei!” Leo said, unable to stop the happy chirp that escaped him. “I promise, I’ll make sure that he stays safe and warm.”

As he cuddled Mikey’s egg close, a purr already starting to build within him, he heard Raph snort again. “Does this mean that he’s gonna be Mikey’s mom now? Does that make him our mom now?!”

After explaining to Raph that no, Leo helping to keep Mikey warm did not make him a mother, Master Splinter left putting his brothers to bed to Leo as he prepared to go up to the surface. While usually their father kept his topside adventures to during the night, when the possibility of being seen was lower, they couldn’t use body heat forever for the egg. They needed a heating lamp until Mikey decided it was time to hatch. So Master Splinter would need to risk going to the surface just as the city was waking up.

“I will not be gone long, my sons,” Master Splinter had said as he’d slung his pack across his shoulders. “Remember to brush your teeth, listen to your brother, and Donatello? No welding tools in bed.”

Once their father had disappeared off into the abandoned subway rail lines, both Donnie and Raph had sent their big brother twin smirks. And the battle had begun. Though Leo was the oldest and was the one in charge during their father’s absences, he lacked Master Splinter’s ability to calm his brothers down with a look and a word. So instead of going to bed, the two decided to start an impromptu game of hide-and-seek. Which lasted a whole hour past their bedtime.

But while Leo couldn’t force Donnie and Raph to listen to him the same way they listened to their father, he could pile drive them into their beds once he found them and tickle them until they were breathless and weak. So there was that.

“Remember not to squish Mikey while you sleep,” Raph mumbled as Leo tucked his blanket around him.

His hand was creeping closer and closer to Mr. Stuffin’, the old teddy bear he’d been insisting for years he was too old for, and that alone was proof enough for Leo that he’d finally managed to calm his brother down.

Leo chuckled and leaned down to give Raph a nose nuzzle. “Like you’re one to talk, baby bro,” he said. “But don’t worry. I won’t squish Mikey. Now, get some sleep, okay?”

Raph tried to glare at him but was betrayed by his own body, yawning instead, and he buried his face into his pillow with a sigh. Leo smiled down at him, one hand still rubbing slow, small circles over his little brother’s shell, and felt a warm flutter in his stomach when he heard a soft, muffled voice from the pillow.

“...Love you, Leo,” Raph practically whispered and Leo couldn’t help but laugh again.

Ever since Donnie had hooked their old T.V up to get cable, no longer limiting them to the same Space Heroes VHS tapes they’d had for years, Raph had decided with the help of said cable television that “feelings” were lame and that actually admitting to having feelings was even lamer. But his childish conviction only lasted until bedtime. And the more exhausted Raph got, the easier it was for him to admit that he still loved his family.

And while Leo usually liked to poke fun at his baby brother whenever he showed his softer side, bedtimes were sacred so he simply smiled happily and tucked Raph’s blankets around him further.

“Love you too, Raph,” Leo said, giving Raph’s shell one last pat before he stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The only answer Raph gave him was another long, high yawn as he finally gave into sleep, Mr. Stuffin’ tucked safely in his arms. Leo quietly eased his way out of the bedroom, eyeing Donnie’s room as he did. His purple-banned brother had a bad habit of waking up at the slightest sounds until he had a chance to hit deeper sleep, so Leo made sure that his footsteps were silent as he crept down the lair’s hallway and towards his own room.

Letting out a long sigh as he finally made it to his bedroom, Leo looked over to his bed and felt a small wave of relief when he saw that Mikey was right where he’d left him. Wrapped up in the quilt and leaning against Leo’s pillow, the egg sat still. Safe and sound. And maybe it was a little silly that he’d been so worried about the egg as he’d chased his other brothers down. But he figured it was because of the whole exploding lamp episode and really, was it so weird to be worried about his most vulnerable brother?

“Don’t worry, Mikey,” Leo said, stepping further into his room. With another sigh, he started to strip off his elbow and knee pads. “I know you probably miss your lamp but we’re working on it, okay? For now, you get to have a sleepover with your biggest brother.”

Setting his pads down on the wooden crate near his own personal meditation mat, Leo started the long process of unwrapping his many wrappings. He wasn’t as patient as he usually was, however, and finished in record speed. Even as he put them away as well, he kept glancing back at the egg. Even as he took his mask off, he still kept his sights on Mikey.

“I better not start turning into a mom,” he mumbled to himself, embarrassed over how he was acting. Shaking his head at himself, he quickly flicked off the bedroom’s lights.

Normally, he would spend a hour or so meditating before he went to bed. He found it almost necessary to unwind after a night of training and brother wrangling. But that night, he skipped it. Sitting down on his bed, Leo tested the egg’s shell with the back of his hand. It was still pretty warm but he could tell it had gone down a few degrees. He frowned.

Carefully, he picked Mikey’s egg up and set it to the side in order to slip under his own blanket. “Alright, Mikey,” he said as he settled down to get comfortable. “Let’s hope this works.”

Resting on his side, Leo gently pulled the egg towards him and curled himself around it. The quilt made the egg feel extra bulky but he made no move to remove it. Still, it felt a little odd to be cuddling up to something in bed. He’d given up Mr. Stuffin’ to Raph when he’d hatched and he’d grown out of the habit of sleeping with a stuffed companion long ago. The wrapped-up egg felt strange in his arms but he ignored the minor discomfort, pulling it closer until he could wrap both himself and the egg up in his blanket. He made sure that the corners were tucked in under him, not letting a sliver of the cool lair’s air in.

Leo then curled up in himself a bit further, until he was practically an egg himself, and closed his eyes. And waited. Within moments, much to Leo’s relief, the little pocket he had created with his blanket started to get warm and he let out a triumphant chirp.

He opened his eyes ever so slightly and beamed down at Mikey’s egg in the dark. “It might not be as comfy as the lamp, but I think it’ll work for now,” he whispered and he closed his eyes again. “Sleep well, Mikey. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And when he’d agreed to keep Mikey warm as they searched for a replacement lamp, Leo had figured that he’d get little to no sleep. He had figured that he’d be too worried about the egg or that the heated blanket pocket would be too uncomfortable for him. He’d been prepared for a sleepless day of just keeping Mikey warm.

So when Leo found himself starting to fade in and out of sleep only minutes after settling down, he was almost too sleepy to feel surprised. But he didn’t bother to fight it off.

Secure in the knowledge that his brothers were both tucked into their beds, that his father was more than capable of taking care of himself topside, and that his egg-bound brother was the safest he could be in Leo’s arms, Leo slipped peacefully into sleep with one last sigh.

As first, Leo wasn’t sure what had woke him up. He knew that he shouldn’t have been up though; it was too late in the day. Blinking blearily up at his ceiling in the dark, Leo yawned. Somehow during his sleep, he must have moved onto his shell. Leo stared up at his ceiling for a minute, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, sleepily wondering again why he was awake. He would have heard Raph and Donnie’s feet in the hall if they’d woken him up and Master Splinter would have been at his door informing him of his return if it had been him.

But he didn't hear any pattering of feet down the hall and there was no father at his door so it couldn’t have been them. Leo glanced around his room from his pillow, still not awake enough to lift his head. He didn’t feel as if anything were wrong within his home and though he was still young, his felt that his instincts were pretty good. So if that too wasn’t the reason he was up then what?

Yawning again, Leo raised a hand to rub at his head as he continued to blink the sleep away from his eyes. But when he did, he noticed with a fuzzy start that his hand was wet. And… sticky?

It took Leo’s sleep-fogged brain a shamefully long minute to put two and two together. With a yelp, he jerked his hand away from him and stared at it. In the dark of his room, he saw the tiny bits of egg shell that were stuck in between his three fingers and he felt a sick lurch in his stomach.

‘Mikey!’ he thought and his head snapped down, finally registering the strange weight on his top. ‘Oh shell, I’m sleeping on my back! I was suppose to-’

Leo’s frantic thoughts screeched to a halt. He inhaled sharply, felt his heart pound against his plastron. Distantly, he felt the goo from the broken egg running down his sides and into his sheets but he ignored it. The egg shell pieces were itchy and poked uncomfortably into his fingers and chest but again, he ignored it. Leo felt like the entire world ground to a halt in the blink of an eye. In that moment, nothing else mattered.

The impossibly tiny, almost lime green baby turtle resting on his plastron, covered in goo and egg shell, blinked back up at him with a chirp and Leo’s breath hitched.

Using the same goo-covered hand, he shakily pulled the blanket covering them both away to get a better look. “Mikey?” he whispered and he felt a smile start to grow on his face when the infant chirped again. “Holy crap, Mikey, you hatched on top of me…”

Leo felt a bubble of shocked laughter escape him because holy crap, his brother had hatched on top of him! His laughter caused his plastron to shake and Mikey let out a surprised warble at the sudden movement, eyes still locked onto Leo with something that looked like wonder. Leo smiled down at him, eyes becoming suspiciously misty, and he carefully started to scoot up.

“Easy, easy,” he whispered, more to himself than to the baby. “Careful. Oh, wow. Sensei is going to freak out when he gets home. Donnie and Raph are going to freak even harder!”

Brushing away the rest of the egg shell pieces, Leo gently scooped Mikey up into his hands as he sat up in the bed. ‘Oh shell, he’s small enough to fit in my hands!’ he thought with another nervous giggle. ‘He’s so tiny!’

As he was raised up, Mikey started to warble and wiggle in obvious excitement, his oh so small hands reaching up towards his brother. Leo felt his insides go all warm and gooey. But before he could give Mikey the cuddles he wanted, he needed to act as their Sensei for a moment. Ignoring the happy tears that were threatening to fall, Leo’s eyes ran over the baby turtle’s body in an attempt to see if he’d gotten any cuts or scratches from his egg shell bits. Making sure to remain as gentle as possible, as if he were holding a glass figurine, he ran two of his fingers over Mikey’s soft shell and he laughed when Mikey let out a soft purr. The baby’s tongue stuck out as he did so with an expression of pure bliss.

“You have freckles,” Leo noted with wonder and he ran a finger over one of the infant’s fat cheeks. “And you like shell rubs, just like Raph.”

Satisfied with his examination and not sensing any sickness within his brother, Leo finally allowed those happy tears to fall. “Jesus, Mikey," he said with a sniff. "I’m so happy to meet you.”

He raised his tiny brother to his face, cupping him safely in his hands as he softly nuzzled him with not a care to the egg goo getting all over his face. It was already covering his plastron and his sheets. What did he care if he got covered with even more? Mikey let out a high, tiny squeak of joy and he latched onto Leo’s face with his hands and feet. He was practically vibrating against Leo’s cheek from his purrs.

Leo purred right along with him and he tried his best to stop his tears. “I’m such a sap,” he said in-between his purrs. “Raph always makes fun of me for crying.”

Mikey nuzzled his face against Leo’s, stopping only to mouth at his brother’s cheek. He was just as little ball of purrs, chirps, and nuzzles in his hands and Leo hadn’t realized how much he’d missed having a brother small enough to properly cuddle until just then. Carefully maneuvering Mikey into one hand, and again marveling at how tiny his new brother was, Leo grabbed at his disregarding blanket and used a corner to gently wipe away some of the goo that covered them both.

Seemingly fascinated by the blanket, Mikey watched it with wide eyes as Leo wiped away the mess on both of their faces. The moment it was near his mouth though, the baby latched onto it with a chirp and Leo laughed as he watched Mikey gnaw on it. He had a quick pang of sadness when he realized that the rest of their family had missed Mikey’s hatching, especially their father. Somehow, Master Splinter had managed to miss all three of his brother's hatching.

“Sensei will be so sad that he missed this,” he whispered, gently pulling the blanket out of Mikey's mouth. “And Raph and Donnie will be mad that they missed this too. They really wanted to welcome you properly into our family. And Donnie really wanted to see the goo.”

Mikey whined as the blanket was pulled away from him, reaching out for it with his hands. Leo gently hushed him and raised him back up to his face. Now that his brother was goo free, he pressed a kiss to his forehead. Just as their father had done to Raph and Donnie when they'd joined their family. As he did, he couldn’t help the zip of glee that hit him and he giggled as Mikey latched back onto him with a chirp.

“They’re going to be so jealous,” he said and he pressed another kiss to Mikey’s cheek.

Keeping his new brother close, Leo leaned his shell back against his bed frame and watched, slightly cross-eyed, as Mikey continued to explore his big brother’s face. In a minute, he’d get up and give Mikey a proper bath. In a minute, he’d go wake Raph and Donnie up so that they could meet their new brother too. In a minute, he’d go into the kitchen and show his brothers how to feed Mikey while they wait for their father to return home.

But right then and there, Leo didn’t move. He simply continued to purr as he held Mikey close, drawing his knees up so that he could curl around him.

“Welcome, Hamato Michelangelo,” he whispered. He leaned back just enough to look his brother in the eye. Mikey purred and reached out for him, his tiny freckles so clear against his green skin. “Let’s try to enjoy the quiet while we can, okay? Because the minute the rest of our family finds out you hatched, it’s going to get real exciting.”