Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They did it. The impossible.

Saving the world from an alien race is officially checked off Leonardo’s bucket list. Another victory for the books, another day in the life of a mutant turtle ninja teenager.

Leonardo lays on the ground, his gaze up towards the sun as he marvels at how bright it is; a stark contrast to the darkness of the Prison Dimension. That place was a hellhole, and Leonardo never wants to go back there. Thankfully, Michelangelo was able to make a portal to save him. He’ll never forget that.

Leon realizes that no one is speaking, so he decides to break the tension. How? With a joke of course!

“Eeeeww, are we on Staten Island???”

Immediately, Leonardo is tackled by 2 of his siblings in what should have been a warm and loving embrace. Only, Leonardo didn’t feel anything besides the painful shifting of what he assumes to be broken bones. He bites his tongue.

It’s not about him, after all.

Either way, he should begin to heal soon. The mutagen granted them accelerated healing alongside the whole sentience thing, which is really useful when you’re constantly throwing yourself into danger.

But what kind of person would do that?

“You’re such an idiot..”

Leonardo shifts his gaze to Donatello, who’s glancing down at him with tear-filled eyes. Leo expected to get scolded by him, but the look on his face was new. Donnie looked like he'd lost something. Something important that he knew he’d never get back. Something he couldn’t replace. Leo had never seen such an expression on his twin’s face, and he wishes to never see it again.

“Donnie..” Raphael begins to say, his voice cracking slightly as he says the younger's name.

The way Raph speaks is horribly wrong. He sounds scared, but Raph isn’t supposed to sound scared. He’s the strong one, the oldest brother. He doesn’t get scared; and yet Leonardo hears Raph’s voice tremble, and his arms shake. It was wrong, and Leo wanted nothing more than to forget this whole day.

Donatello’s eyes snap to Raphael, his gaze full of frustration and conflict. At first glance, one would assume he was angry, but the longer Leo looked at him, the more he realized that wasn’t the case. In Donnie’s eyes, Leo sees grief. He sees his twin, smart and stoic, mourning someone he didn’t know he could lose. Mourning him.

“He can’t do this to us!“ Donnie exclaims, gesturing wildly to Leon’s beat-up form. His breath is ragged, and suddenly he’s gasping for air.

“He can’t, he can’t, he can’t—“

“Breathe,” Mikey says, and Donnie’s breath catches in his throat. He shifts his eyes to look at the youngest who clings tightly to Leonardo’s left arm. The sight makes the tears return, but they never spill. He is already so close to the edge, to breaking, and Mikey’s reminder to take care of himself sends Donatello over the edge. Leonardo can hear them, the cracks in his emotional walls spreading and connecting until—

“No!”

—Donnie shatters.

“He almost died!” Donatello keens, like Leo isn’t right in front of him; alive. The slider in question had half a mind to remind them he’s still there; but that wouldn’t result in a good response. So he remains silent, and listens to the symphony that is his family falling apart.

And Raph? Raph agrees.

“I know, I know.”

There’s a brief pause where Donatello stares at Raphael, searching for something; anything. When Donnie doesn’t find what he’s looking for, he screams. His arms wrap around his plastron as his upper body bends forward, tears finally falling from his eyes onto the bloodstained floor. Leo’s blood.

“Why? Why! What did we do to deserve this!”

Leonardo doesn’t want to hear this. He doesn’t want to see Donnie fall apart.

The arms around him tighten, and Leo holds back a wince. He can’t complain; not now. Not when he’s caused all this. Looking down at his bloody hands, Leo tries to block out Donnie’s lament. Clenching and unclenching them hurt. He’s sure he jammed his thumb against some rubble, and a few of his fingers may have healed incorrectly. That or he somehow gained arthritis in the span of 10 minutes.

Leon was never good at doctor stuff. He’s more of a plant guy, choosing to study which plants are edible and which ones aren’t. He actually built an indoor garden in Donnie’s lab, with his permission of course. Their love of science was the one thing he shared with his twin. Well, that and wanting to be like their childhood hero, Lou Jitsu. Regardless, Donnie may have gone a bit overboard with the whole science thing, but who is Leo to judge? Sure he pokes fun at the guy, but he doesn’t actually mean to be, well, mean. It just sort of happens!

A shiver goes down Leo’s spine. It’s cold out tonight isn’t it? They should head back to the lair, or meet up with Dad, Casey, and April.

Shit. They forgot to tell them he’s alright. They’re probably worried sick right now! So, as much as Leo wanted to continue zoning out, he had to snap out of it to tell them he was okay. Blinking, he takes a look around to see all 3 of his siblings looking down at him with worried expressions. Again.

“Leo? Oh thank pizza supreme you’re okay.”

Now he was confused, shifting his eyes from one brother to the other, hoping that one of them would explain what happened. Well, he knows that Donnie’s not crying anymore, so he must’ve been out of it for awhile. He also knows that they’re still on the roof, and that he’s covered in dried blood. His blood.

“You zoned out pretty hard, Leo. You sure you’re okay?”

Just..act natural.

“We just saved the world and you’re asking if I’m okay?”

Raphael grimices, and Leo is quick to backtrack.

“I mean- I should be asking you that, ya know? You kinda became a whole kraang monster. Like- who knows if it’s still inside you—”

“Leo!”

“—kidding! Kidding! Geez, you guys are acting like someone died or something.”

There’s a brief pause, awkward and full of frustration. What did he do wrong this time?

“Leo you— nevermind. Can you walk?”

Raph’s hovering over him, closer now than before. He’s always been the mother-hen of the group, so it was no surprise when the snapper didn’t wait for an answer before scooping Leo into his arms and beginning the long trek home.

“I could’ve done it myself, ya know.” Leo grumbled, though he did nothing to change his current situation.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Donatello says from beside them, “you have approximately 4 broken ribs, a dislocated ankle, a shattered collarbone, and who knows what else. You won’t be moving for a long time.”

“Uuuugh, don’t remind me.”

“Whatever.”

While the others bicker, Michelangelo makes a mental note to address the tension between the twins when things are better. If they get better. He already knows why Donnie is upset, but he can’t understand why Leo would do..that in the first place. A part of him is afraid to ask. Afraid to uncover something that may change how they act around Leo.

They may have saved Leo from the prison dimension, but will they be able to save Leo from himself? What if they were too late?

“Did you guys tell the others I’m okay?”

There is uncertainty in Leo’s voice, and Mikey comes to the sudden realization that they hadn’t told the others of the rescue. He can already hear his dad and Draxum scolding him for overusing his mystic abilities. Not that Mikey regrets it. He’ll do it all over again if it means his brother gets to come home.

“I’ll do it now, hold on..” Donnie raised his bracelet so he could click the “call papa” widget on its homescreen. The sound of ringing only lasted a second before the telltale sound of a phone being picked up cut it off.

“Purple, are you with your brothers? Are you alright?” Splinter began asking in rapid succession, the worry practically dripping from the comm.

“Yes, we’re fine. All four of us.”

“Four..”

Donatello was sure everyone on the comm system could hear him. The echo from Mikey’s and Raphs comms which were right beside him told him so.

“Yes, we got Leo too. We’ll explain when we’re back home. Meet you there!”

He then hung up the phone and lowered his arm, turning his attention to the other three who were looking at him like he did something wrong.

“What?”

“It’s nothing, let’s just go home. Leo needs medical attention anyways,” Raph speaks for them all, continuing to lead the way to a manhole they recognize. There, just a few blocks away, was April’s school. They could sneak to the back, into the sewers, and make their way back home through there.

And that’s exactly what they did.

It took a good hour before they were back. An hour of poorly timed jokes, light conversation, and awkward silences. Upon their arrival, the four brothers are swarmed by their family and friends.

April is the first to notice them step into the lair.

“Leo!” she shouts, running over to them with a relieved smile. A startled, “Master Leonardo?” and the sound of fast paced steps followed soon after.

“Hey guys,” Leo says, trying to act like his normal self. He wanted to put them at ease, tell them they should see the other guy when their gazes drifted to his wounds and the blood that soaked them.

However, April’s relief didn’t last long.

“That was incredibly stupid of you, Leo! You could’ve gotten killed!”

The turtle in question frowned, his eyes drifting from April’s face to the ground. He already got lectured once for his actions. He didn’t need to hear it a second time.

“I’m…I’m glad you’re alright,” she says, her anger melting away back to relief. Leo knows she is going to talk to him about his stunt later, but for now, he’ll take this as her way of saying “I love you.”

The sweet moment is cut short when Raph begins carrying Leo towards the medbay. The slider feels dread crawl up his throat at the thought of being forced to stay in bed for however long Donnie deems necessary. It’s basically a form of torture, in Leo’s very humble opinion.

Settling Leo down on the medical table they may or may not have stolen some years ago, Raph stepped away to give Donnie room to “do his thing.” Putting on modified rubber gloves for 3-fingered mutant turtles, Donnie begins the process of wiping the blood off Leo’s wounds. The slider, of course, complains throughout the entire process.

“So tell me doc, will this affect my good looks?”

Donatello sighs, dragging a wet towel across Leo’s plastron to soak up the blood.

“The hope is that you’ll look the same as before, but with injuries such as these—”

Leon hisses as the towel brushes over the main wound.

“—you’ll just have scars. Nothing more.”

Chapter Text

basically...

• slice of life scenes post-movie where leo copes and learns how to forgive himself
• hurt/comfort
• leonardo hears the kraang's voice every now and then, as though he's still searching for him
• donatello says it's PTSD and auditory hallucinations
• little by little, leo recovers and bonds with his family
• casey jr and cassandra meet
• raph and leo have one on one leader time
• turtle piles
• but ..
• but then leo is standing on a rooftop with his family
• similar to the ending scene of the movie
• and his vision flashes back into the prison dimension
• he cries out for someone to notice what's happening
• but no one responds or acknowledges him
• his sight flickers again, and he looks down at his hands
• or .. hand .
• one of them is missing
• his whole right arm is missing
• what the fuck is happening
• leo panics, frantically trying to wish away the visions of the prison dimension
• but he can't
• because that's the reality
• the peaceful life he conjured was the illusion
• a hallucination his mind created to cope with his circumstances
• he never left the prison dimension
• he doesn't know how long it's been
• too long...

Chapter Text

Alright, so I've been thinking and it's about time I get around to writing this. The motivation isn't back, but I feel like I should do this. So many of my fic ideas go unwritten, but not anymore.

All Good Things is going to be real. I don't know how long it's going to be, but it's coming.

Prepare.

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Firstly, thank you all for supporting me and my ideas. Thank you for also sticking with me this long and putting up with my long hiatus! I'm so glad to announce that the plot of "all good things" has become the 5.5k one-shot called "all good things must come to an end." I'm so proud of this one-shot, and I can hardly wait to share it with you. 

So, without further adieu, here is the link to "all good things must come to an end!"