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Lukas leaned back and rubbed his nose as he recoiled from the hit. He reached out, and grabbed the excited kid’s wrist before he could smack Lukas again. The kid’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d done, and he still immediately.
“Sorry,” L.J. said as he hung his head.
“It’s alright. Just try not to take someone’s eye out. Your mother would kill me,” Lukas told the kid with a wink.
“I can’t believe you got me actual nunchucks! Now, I can be a real ninja turtle!”
“First of all, those aren’t quite real. Not even I would give you real nunchucks at your age. Second of all, you’ll need this too.” Lukas held up a strip of orange cloth with two eye holes cut out.
“Awesome!” L.J. called as he hurried to tie the mask around his face.
“C’mon Michelangelo. We gotta go.”
“What about your costume? Aren’t you going to be a ninja turtle too?”
“You think I should be a ninja turtle?” Lukas asked, raising an eyebrow. There was very little chance of him dressing up at all, especially as a ninja turtle.
“Being a ninja turtle is the coolest thing ever! And you're the coolest person I know, so you’re the only one who could actually pull it off!”
Staring into his son’s earnest expression, Lukas felt his resolve waning. Who could say no to that? Besides, they only sold the masks in four packs.
“If I’m going to be a ninja turtle, I need a sword, and I happen to know just where to get one.”
“Yay!” L.J. cheered with the biggest smile Lukas had ever seen on his face.
L.J. followed Lukas out to his old truck, and climbed in the backseat. Lukas slipped in the driver’s seat before pulling out his phone. He unlocked it, and dialed Nat’s number before passing his phone back to L.J.
“Tell your mother we’re going to be late because I need to make a stop. She still hasn’t figured out texting.”
About 15 minutes later, Lukas was pulling up to the warehouse. He got out of the car, and rifled through his wallet for his agency I.D. card. L.J. climbed out of the backseat, but hesitated before following Lukas inside.
“L.J. c’mon.”
“Dad, you’re not wearing your mask.”
“You want me to put it on right now?” At the child’s rigorous nod, Lukas sighed, and walked back to the truck. He opened the door and intentionally grabbed the blue mask, wrapping loosely around his eyes, sincerely hoping that no one would be around to see this. “Better?”
“Definitely!”
After scanning in, Lukas grabbed L.J.’s hand and started pulling him in the direction of the training room. The key was getting in and out before anyone noticed his attire, or ideally, his presence. His hope died when he heard some grunting coming from the training room. He decided the best tactic would be to just pretend nothing out of the ordinary was going on, and just walked straight in the training room, L.J. in tow.
“Now, If I have you here, how do you get out of this?” Lukas looked up at the sound of Adam’s voice in an attempt to figure out who the vampire was addressing. He typically trained alone, and this sounded like he was actually teaching someone, so Lukas was curious.
In the center of the ring, Adam had Lucy in a hold not unlike one Lukas had used on his own students back when he was still teaching self defense courses on weekends, tight enough to accurately display the move, but loose enough to avoid hurting her. Lukas watched as the girl shifted her weight and attempted a counter move that had used himself in several fights. She was successful though it was painfully obvious that it was only because Adam was allowing her to be. As soon as Lucy had stood up and brushed herself off, Adam had her back in the hold.
“Your move only works if your assailant is human. How do you get out of this when fighting a supernatural?” Lucy groaned at his question, and started trying a variety of moves, no of which even moved the vampire an inch.
Ignoring his daughter’s attempts to break his hold, Adam turned to face Lukas. “What are you doing here, and what are you wearing on your face?”
“It’s called a mask,” Lukas supplied, helpfully.
“We’re ninja turtles!” L.J. piped up, excitedly, causing Lucy to scoff.
“I just need to borrow a sword,” Lukas told him, pointing at the supply closet. He kept his tone polite, but also made it clear he wasn’t asking for permission. “No one ever uses them, and I’ll bring them back.”
Lukas heard a yelp from Lucy as she tried capitalizing on the distraction Lukas provided. She clearly failed, yet again, barley moving Adam a few centimeters which, given her age and relative size and the fact that Adam was a vampire, was still pretty impressive.
“That was better,” Adam told her, releasing his grip. “At least you are utilizing your situational advantages.”
It only took five minutes for Lukas to find the sword he needed, so he grabbed it and his son, and started back home. He made it back without running into any other company at the warehouse, which was a relief considering that Felix would never let him live this down.
Lukas barely finished pulling into the driveway before L.J. had jumped out the car, yelling for his mother. Lukas smiled to himself, following the kid in the house.
“Mom! Look at my ninja turtle costume!”
“Wow!” Lukas could hear the joy in her voice as she answered. “You look great, Honey.”
“And, and Dad is a ninja turtle too!”
“He is?” Now her tone was filled with surprised amusement, and Lukas walked around the corner, still wearing the proof. She shifted her hold on their baby, so she could hold an arm out to him. “Is this the errand that made you late?”
“Grabbing the sword was,” he confirmed, stepping forward to hug his wife. “And I got you something too.” He stepped behind her, and pulled out a purple cloth that matched the one’s he and L.J. were wearing. He brushed her hair out the way before putting it on her. “It occurred to me that there are exactly four turtles, and exactly four of us.”
Nat turned to look at him. His tone was light, and made it sound like a fun family activity, but his eyes were saying if I have to dress up as an overgrown turtle, you do too. He pulled out the last mask, a red one this time, and gently put it on the baby.
“Best day ever!” L.J. cheered, running out the door, clearing already ready to go.
“I am surprised he was able to talk you into this,” Nat commented, as he rested his head on her shoulder.
“He just looked me in the eye, and said I was the coolest person in the world, and I lost it.”
“Well, I think you look cute,” she told him as she started walking towards the door. “And, look at that smile on his face, it's all because of you.”