Chapter Text
“Hey, how much longer til they give me the good shit, huh?”
Leonardo scrubbed a hand over his face for yet another time, as the voice of his younger self broke through his thoughts and reminded him of where he was.
He was currently sitting in a 24-hr urgent care center waiting room, surrounded by humans and yokai alike, all nursing various wounds or bumps of varying degrees. The fluorescent lights buzzed above their heads, while a dragon looking toddler cried across the room at the bruise they had on the top of their head, while an older yokai comforted them. A few of the seats were empty, and thankfully, nobody sat near the two sliders as they waited their turn to be seen.
It had already been nearly three hours, with the younger Leo whining that he didn’t have good reception to “snap April pix of this sick break”, meanwhile his elbow was in a completely different angle than it should have been. Despite his years of being a trauma medic, the older turtle hesitated to operate on his own self.
They’d made it. He had spent the better part of twenty years fighting an invasion, watched his family die, raised Cass’s son for Christ’s sake, and in the end, found himself yanked back, hurtling into the portal with his surrogate son into a reality he thought he knew all too well. New variables changed their odds, and in the end, the Kraang didn’t stand a chance. Even while being stapled together, and at one point buried under a building while Splinter and April worked to dig him out, they somehow, somehow, defeated the odds and successfully prevented the invasion. And after a week when he and Casey didn’t disintegrate (since their reality was no longer possible, as Donnie helpfully reminded them on a near hourly basis), he realized that he was now stuck here. He planned to die. He was fully prepared to see his brothers on the other side, and was content to know Casey would be able to see a future he wouldn’t.
But then he looked down at the kid as a big, toothy grin spread across his face, and he found he couldn’t be too frustrated. He’d still get to see the kid grow up, he’d be around for when he was needed. If he was still needed.
And unfortunately during the year he and Casey had existed in this timeline, his younger self and brothers proved that he was in fact, desperately needed.
Leon had forgotten that his family was woefully stupid, and accident prone, and no amount of common sense or mischievous boyish charm could erase the permanent wrinkle between his eyebrows. He had run out of burn cream several times for when Don had zapped his fingers, Raph had received three concussions in the first six months, and poor Mikey had to have weekly hand massages whenever he’d overdo it while painting. It broke his heart a little to see his youngest brother try to convince him “I’m okay, really!” when he had spent countless hours talking with an older version of the box turtle about hiding his feelings for everyone else’s sake.
When Mikey smiled that 75% smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, Leon knew he was lying. He had spent far too long seeing the same faces suffering, and after the first massage session, he couldn’t help but pull Mikey into a hug, mumbling that he was too old for the bullshit, and demanded honesty. He gently scolded the younger turtle with a voice thick with regret, telling him that there had been too many times he had neglected to check in on his siblings, and that he would give anything to even see them at their worst again.
Truth be told, the apocalypse was the worst on his relationship with Michelangelo. For nearly five years, Mikey had left the resistance and focused on his mystic training, after one too many arguments about what Leon’s problem was. Finally he just snapped, screaming at his little brother with the words, “because our dad is dead and you’re still smiling and trying to make everyone feel better! It won’t bring them back, so just cut the shit and be miserable like the rest of us, why doncha, Michael??”
He would never forget the way the light dimmed in Michelangelo’s eyes after that. He raised an arm to reach for his brother, but the box turtle took a step back, staring him down with an icy cold expression. This wasn’t Doctor Delicate Touch, this was something different. Something Leonardo had never seen before, and before he could say another word, Mikey spoke.
“I am miserable, Leo. He was my dad too, yknow.”
With that, he turned around and left, his short ponytail flipping behind him as he walked out. Leonardo found himself alone in the war room, watching the door for when Mikey would inevitably come back with a decorated plate of rations for them to share and joke over.
But he didn’t.
Leon found himself ripping shelves apart and violently sobbing for hours, yelling at nobody but himself. When his twin found him, he numbly sat down beside him on the floor among the debris and placed an awkward pat on the slider’s shoulder.
“I fucked up, Don.”
“Mm.”
“I.. oh god, I really fucked it up.”
Donatello brought his knees to his chest with another hollow hum.
“…he hasn’t been fine for a while, Nardo. None of us have.”
Another wave of tears racked Leon’s body as he turned to hide his face into his twin’s shoulder. He babbled apologies, but for the first time in their lives, Donatello didn’t push him away with a gag and resentful comment about “keeping your bodily fluids inside the turtle at all times”. He just sat there, fingers tapping at his knee pads while he found himself being a snot rag for Leon.
They never spoke about that day, but there was a renewed sense of closeness between the twins from that day on.
Mikey returned after Cass had died.
She had been leading a team for a supply run when they were ambushed. The entire group, former foot soldiers, yokai, even normal humans all torn to shreds by Kraang dogs, all while their screams distorted into their radios. Leon had snarled into his comm, demanding they fall back, when he heard Cass’s boisterous voice crackle through.
“Ha! Do you think I’m one to get myself killed by a few fucked up pit bulls? You are MISTAKEN! When I come back, you and CJ better be greeting me and TOASTING MY HONOR, you hear me? Now come get so—“
A deep rumble echoed through the bunker, even miles away. Static greeted the war room, as Leon desperately yelled for her to reply, to let him know she was okay.
“….Kraang mech leaving the perimeter. Blast radius is approximately two hundred kilometers. It..”
Leon cut his twin off by throwing his communicator to the floor, shattering it with a roar of helpless anger. Not again, not Cass. Not like this.
But she didn’t come back. CJ was little, barely pushing three, but for several weeks would be found peering into different rooms of the bunker, calling for his mama. Leon felt a little bit of him die every time he heard the toddler ask when she would come back, but he was at an utter loss for words.
Raph took on baby duty for a while, after Leon nearly yelled at CJ for asking “where’s mama” one too many times.
Leon sequestered himself to the war room after that. For weeks, food was brought to him, even a cot was maneuvered in for him, but he hardly used it. He grew harsher, isolating himself. He gave the order that killed Cass. It was all his fault. He..
A crackle of orange light drew Leon from his thoughts. And another. It soon opened into an all too familiar sight; a portal. When he looked up, he met his youngest brother’s eyes again.
Michelangelo had changed. His hair flowed down his back, and wore a somber expression on his unmasked face. It softened when his eyes met Leon’s.
“…I.. Didn’t realize it would be you—“
A crushing hug cut him off, as his elder brother scooped him up off the ground. Leon was afraid to let go, shaky breaths the only thing to keep him from crying. He didn’t know what to say, but he knew that the only thing he could do was hold Mikey, as if he’d float away when he let go. Mikey hugged him back, hiccuping, and whispering affirmations to his exhausted sibling.
The four brothers were all together again, and things would be okay.
During his mystic training, Michelangelo had clearly grown wiser and quieter. He still cracked jokes here and there, but was far more mindful of those around him. Leon could have sworn he gained mind reading powers somewhere down the line, and conceded to the fact that his little brother was not only grown up, but had matured far faster than he ever did.
After that point, they shared everything. When something even mildly annoyed Leon, he would sigh deeply and go to Mike’s meditation chamber, knock, and ask if he was in the headspace to vent. Often times, Mikey would nod, and they’d cheerfully complain together over tea. He’d go to him for advice when it came to parenting Casey, and how to control his frustration when his adopted son pushed his buttons. When Raph died, and later Donnie, Leon made sure to return the favor, sternly telling his little brother that he was allowed to mourn, allowed to feel grief, and he didn’t have to pretend that things were okay. As they approached their thirties, the two of them became formidable foes on the battlefield, completely in synch as they had once been decades earlier.
They talked about what should be done if the unthinkable happened again, if one of them was killed in action. Who would take care of Casey, who would lead, and ultimately, what they would have done differently. Mikey worried his bottom lip, and then told Leon, “if anything happens to us, no matter what, Casey needs to be safe.”
Leon nodded, raising an eyebrow at him. He knew there was more to what he was saying.
“…I’ve been working on something, Leo. I don’t know if it’ll work, and frankly, it’s been eating me up.” He unwrapped his hands to show golden squares of skin missing from his palms. “I’ve been trying to figure out time travel. If there was any way I could send someone back to.. I-I dunno, maybe undo what we did. Do something differently. I’ve been able to send a few objects back at a time, but it’s incredibly painful.”
He lowered his hands and looked his older brother square in the eyes.
“If everything has failed, I’m going to try it. But I won’t unless you give me the okay, and see that it can be done.”
Leon searched his expression for any sign of humor, and found none. “…Mike, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“That if it comes down to it, I’m willing to die for our kid? Yeah, I am.”
Leon went quiet. He’d thought about death every single day for the last nineteen years. He had seen all but Mikey, April, and Draxum die in the line of duty, and had been close to giving his own life for others. The nub of his right arm ached, as he thought of the night Raph had died, how he tried in vain to block the red beam of light from his older brother’s carapace, only for it to slice clean through his arm and into Raphael’s chest. He thought of how Raph smiled up at him as he faded, croaking out his last words:
“I’m proud of you, Leo.”
Leon swallowed the lump in his throat to prevent himself from getting too emotional at the memory. Even with all of his failure, all of the times he’d let his family down, Raphael made sure that the last thing he ever said to his brother was proof that his efforts weren’t really in vain. That being a hero often came with great loss, but that those who were gone didn’t regret what they did to protect their loved ones.
He thought of Casey, a few weeks out from turning sixteen, and saw a young man growing into his own. He’d shrieked with joy when his first bits of stubble came in, running into the war room to tell Leon and Mikey, the latter rubbing his balding head with a slight pout when the teen wasn’t looking. He had grown up in unspeakable conditions, but somehow, he was the light in their lives. Somehow, he managed to keep hope in their hearts.
Fuck, he was so proud of that kid.
A smile tugged at his lips as he wiped his misty eyes, looking back at Mikey. He could tell similar thoughts were swirling through the box turtle’s head, as his own eyes looked wet, despite the determined expression on his face.
“….Casey deserves better than this.”
Mikey nodded, and rested his scarred hand on his shoulder. “Yeah. He does.”
They had grown up, apart, and together again. And when the fateful day came, Leon gritted his teeth, pressing his hand over the open wound on his abdomen, and gave his brother the go ahead.
It broke his heart, knowing that he would be leading his last family member to his death. That he did it on purpose. Even the wink as Mikey turned his head to reassure Casey that everything was going to be okay had hurt more than his attempt to keep his organs internal. The last time he would ever see him was with his bright, genuine smile, confident in his actions to the very end.
So getting the second chance with Mikey, seeing him nearly do the same thing his older self had? Leon couldn’t help it. They spent hours talking, tears were shed, and at some point the teenager had curled up into a ball against the older turtle’s side.
“….thank you,” the younger Mikey whispered. “I.. I don’t want that to happen to us. But I’m glad you guys made up in the end. And maybe someday Leo and I will figure out how to be more open like you guys did.”
At that point, Leon knew that he was screwed. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he’d let his family go for a second time. He was home. He was safe. His kid would have a chance to be just that, a kid. And that thought made all of the frustrations that came with fatherhood a little more worthwhile.
Of course, none of these thoughts really occurred to him as he jiggled his leg impatiently, the dragonlike toddler going into a full blown tantrum as his younger self tried to take selfies. Mutant healing be damned, he was still silently furious with how the seventeen year old boy in front of him had shouted “HEY GUYS WATCH THIS” only to slip off of a fire escape and get his arm caught in the bars with a sickening crunch. Their patrol was clearly over, as Donnie couldn’t keep his dinner down and Mikey shrieked in horror at his brother’s very broken arm. Leon told Raph to take them home, and volunteered to take Leo to get his arm sorted out, all the while the slider wobbled around laughing off the situation, despite his hand now being backwards and at a wrong angle to boot. He waved his floppy arm at his brothers after making a portal to the lair, and Donnie gagged before making a quick dash through.
A belaguered sigh escaped the older man’s mouth as he rolled his shoulders, suddenly very stiff. Leo looked up at him, quiet for a moment, before asking, “hey, um.. I’m sorry. About this. I thought I could make the railing, and.. I dunno. I thought it was gonna be cooler than it was.” Leo turned his gaze down to his feet, clearly ashamed all of a sudden.
Leon felt his face soften at this, and he gently nudged Leo’s shoulder with his much larger one. “Eh, I’ll cope. Donnie probably won’t, but I’ve seen a lot worse. Hell, you wanna know how Casey got the crack in his tooth?” He grinned as Leo’s expression turned giddy, and before he was about to launch into the story, a voice called through the waiting room.
“Hamato Leonardo?”
Leon closed his mouth and stood up, feeling his knees pop slightly after being seated for so long. He ignored the little “aaawwww!” from behind him, as the two turtles followed the nurse into an examination room.
Leo had somehow forgotten that his arm was well and truly fucked up, and tried to lift himself onto the exam bed with both arms, only to hiss in pain and nearly fall to the floor. “Nope nope nope that was dumb that was real dumb.” Leon chuckled as he used his foot to pull out the little step attached to the bed, and climb up properly.
The nurse asked basic questions, clearly bored, eyes barely leaving the screen with Leo’s information. After a few uneventful minutes, she got up, and nonchalantly informed them that someone would be by to get him squared away soon.
They were alone in the room for about ten minutes, and by the time Leon was about to strangle the kid for his ninth verse of “I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerrrrrves…!” the door creaked open.
“Ayyy lo siento, I’m so sorry, kiddo, we shouldn’t have kept you waiting. We just had a group of college kids come in needing some stomachs pumped, so you can imagine I wasn’t gonna come in right away in the same scrubs.”
The woman in front of them wore a pair of horn rimmed glasses on a lanyard around her neck, that she pulled onto the bridge of her nose as she walked in. She had dark hair tucked into a messy bun, a stained coffee mug in her hand, and light blue scrubs under an off white cardigan. She shed her outer layer to wash her hands, and smiled at the two mutants in her exam room.
“I’m Juliana, I’m the resident trauma nurse here, so trust me, you’re in good hands.” Juliana’s brown eyes crinkled as she spoke, clearly exhausted but keeping up a cheery demeanor. “Now, and I’m assuming by the look on your dad’s face, what stupid thing did you do, hijo?”
Leon snorted, covering his mouth with his hand. He turned his head to avoid the glare boring into him from his younger self. Leo cleared his throat, “Uhhh I think you mean the AWESOME thing that I didn’t quite nail?”
The nurse raised her eyebrow, narrowing her eyes at the turtle in front of her. “Riiiiiight. And I’m assuming it hurts when you move it, right?” She gingerly touched the joint, shushing him softly as he yelped. “Yup. I don’t even think I need to ask if it hurts. We’re gonna get an IV, but I need to know if you’re allergic to any medications?”
Before Leo could quip something about not knowing, Leon chimed in, “Nope, but he’s got a high metabolism though, so it might process quicker than a normal yokai. Mutant genes.”
Juliana looked up at him, and nodded, “Thank you, that’s actually very helpful. We don’t get as many mutants here, so any additional information we can record is critical right now. Especially if he’s gonna look anything like you when he’s older, it’ll probably go through his system quick.” She paused, “Are you a paramedic or something?”
Leon shook his head, leaning against the exam bed, “Nope, trauma medic in.. the military.” His voice dropped, forgetting that the war he was in would no longer happen, but given the sleeve of his shirt tied around his arm, it was a convincing enough half-truth.
Juliana’s eyes widened briefly, before she continued her exam, “So you’ve probably seen your fair share of broken arms, hm?”
“Yeah, Junior here has no idea how badly this is gonna hurt.” Before Leo could question it, a large hand plopped onto his head. “I’m honestly amazed he hasn’t really reacted as much.”
“I’m right here,” Leo mumbled.
Juliana tsked before grabbing a blood pressure sleeve, placing it on the not-mangled arm. “I’m just gonna go ahead and get some vitals, okay? If anything feels off, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“You got it, mamacita. Estoy a tu merced.” Leon’s eyes went wide as he balked at his younger self. 'Are you fucking kidding me?!?'
Juliana’s lips twitched into a smirk, “Ah.. Entiendo. ¿Crees que eres lindo, hm?”
Leo grinned, “Nah, but you think I am.” That earned him a flick on his shoulder from Leon, “Hey!”
“Don’t flirt with your doctor, kid. Trust me, you don’t wanna screw with the person re-breaking your arm.”
“Do what now.”
—
An hour had passed since Leo’s arm was put back together, while he tried very hard not to cry in front of the nurses helping him. When it was all said and done, Leo was floating somewhere between Mars and Neverland, humming to himself as the drugs did their work.
Leon sighed, certain he’d done that more times today than ever in his life. A knock came at the door, and Juliana popped her head into the room, “How’s our little daredevil?”
“I’m gooooood…” drawled Leo.
Leon could tell that their nurse tried very hard to be professional, but a little snort escaped her anyway.
“That’s better than screaming pain, so that’s an improvement. I’m just gonna talk to your dad about some stuff, so if you feel sleepy, you’ve got plenty of time to nap.” She gently put a hand on the side of Leo’s face, and smiled down at him as he let out a goofy little giggle.
“He’s not my daaaad.. my dad’s a rat.”
“….oh, okay.” Confusion crossed her face, but didn’t stop her smile, tucking him in a little better. He was out in minutes.
Juliana led Leon to the hallway and sighed, “That was by far one of the worst arm breaks I’ve ever seen, by the way.”
Leon chuckled, “Yeah, he really did a number on himself. I’m pretty sure his brothers are traumatized.”
She took off her glasses and let them dangle down her front once more, looking up at him with a serious expression. Even with a good foot of height between them, he had to stop himself from gulping.
“I know who you two are. You don’t grow up in New York and not pay attention to the news, and while I’m grateful that we didn’t die, I do want to throttle you just a little bit. What the hell was that kid doing when he got hurt?”
Leon hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “….ugh, I know you’re not supposed to lie to your doctors, so there’s no point in that.”
“No, there isn’t. Lie to cops, not your docs. Continue?” She crossed her arms and bore into him with stern brown eyes.
Leon inhaled with a hiss through his teeth, avoiding her gaze to look at a spot on the wall that became very interesting all of a sudden. “We were uh.. patrolling the neighborhood, and uh.. well, we were on a roof. And he wanted to show off, launched onto a fire escape, and got all tangled.”
There was a long pause before she let out a strangled sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Tienes que estar bromeando.. really???”
Somehow, all the times Splinter had looked disappointed at his sons for their stupidity felt so small, compared to the Latina woman grumbling in front of him. “…..it might not be a good time to mention that we don’t have insurance. But now might be a really good time to look into it.”
“Ya think?” She peeked back up at him, sighing. “Look, I had all sorts of little cousins back home, I get that sometimes they do some stupid and reckless things and it does get a little embarrassing. So I don’t wanna give you too hard of a time, because I can tell you care about the kid. Just make sure he doesn’t forget this and think he’s invincible.”
Leon’s thoughts drifted to hearing his younger self’s voice static through their comms last year, telling Raph to go on with their brothers without him. He remembered the feeling of his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach, seeing his dad curl up on the ground in tears, and the look of horror on Casey’s face.
He knew the conversation was overdue, and sighed. “Yeah.. I just don’t want to overload on him, y'know? The kid’s gone through a lot.”
Juliana’s expression softened, and she pursed her lips a little. “Yeah.. I saw. He’s lucky to have people looking out for him.” She peered through the window, stifling a giggle at the loud snore in the other room. “He’s also gonna feel like he got hit by a truck tomorrow.”
“Eh, he’s got expe—“ he shut his mouth suddenly with a click.
“…..I swear to god if you were about to say he’s experienced that.”
“…..noooo…?”
She sighed, and pulled out a notepad. “I’m gonna prescribe some pain meds, but if you find that anything goes awry, I’m also putting my phone number here. Some of my colleagues won’t treat mutants, not since that pig-chef came through looking to eat someone.” Leon shuddered. “But seriously. Anything at all. And not just because we don’t have enough information and I’m absolutely not intrigued from a medical standpoint. Nope.”
Leon chuckled, “Of course not. We definitely aren’t anomalies with unique anatomy. Not at all.”
She quirked her eyebrow at him with a little smile, and it only took a second for him to cough and avert his eyes, “I mean.. god that sounded really fucking wrong, didn’t it?”
“I mean, at least buy me dinner first,” she joked, giving him a little wink. A beeping sound came from her pocket, and she sighed, “Aw man.. I’ve gotta go. My assistant will be able to help discharge you, as long as he keeps the cast dry, you shouldn’t have any issues. And uh.. I don’t think I caught your name?”
“Oh, uhm. Well, it’s easy to remember, we have the same name. But I go by Leon to make it a little easier.”
He couldn’t help but feel his cheeks warm up when she let out an appreciative hum, “Leon, huh? I like that. Anyways, don’t be a stranger, okay?” She turned and finally answered her phone with a grumble as she walked away, “Alright Nancy, forgive me for finishing up with another patient, his arm was broken six ways to Sunday!”
Leon stood there for what felt like forever. It had been years since he’d flirted with anyone, and even longer since anyone flirted with him. Is.. is that what that was? No, there’s no way.
It’s not like she wasn’t pretty, in fact, she was gorgeous. Her heart shaped face was a perfect frame for her eyes, and the Roman slope of her nose kept dragging her glasses down to show them. And he couldn’t pretend like her scrubs weren’t well fitting either..
He slapped himself in the face. “No. Stop that. You’re thirty seven, cut that out.”
A nurse walked by as he talked to himself, eyeing him suspiciously as he nervously chuckled and ducked back into Leo’s room.
They were discharged without issue, and a payment plan was set for the cost of treatment (although Leon didn’t hide his wince at the number). He woke the kid up long enough to make a portal home, and carried him through to the lair, finding it pleasantly quiet. The projection screen in the middle of the room was playing the credits to a Lou Jitsu movie, and three turtles and a teenage boy sprawled out on a pile of pillows and blankets, clearly out cold. Leon smiled when he noticed the bottle of ginger ale that Donnie cradled in his sleep, as he placed Leo in their dad’s comfy chair.
Once the kids were tucked in, he stood up to watch them. He never thought he’d feel paternal, and sometimes they drove him nuts, but he couldn’t help the fondness he felt for these numbskulls. They were his numbskulls, and that would be enough.
As he got ready for bed, brushing his teeth, he remembered the phone number in his pocket, and hesitated. Would it be too soon? He spat out his toothpaste and bargained with himself in the mirror, “I mean, if it’s just thanking for helping Leo out, that shouldn’t be weird. Don’t make it weird. Why are you worried about making it weird?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, and summoned enough courage to do just that. Just a quick thank you and promise to keep an eye on the kid. Nothing weird.
He trudged into his own subway car, further down from the rest of the family, but close enough to hear for an emergency. Even in the year he’d lived here, it was still pretty minimalist. It wasn’t like he carried momentos with him in the apocalypse, just his sword with Donnie and Raph’s bandanas. A couple of orange beads were wrapped around the hilt now, as Mikey felt it was only fair to have all three of his brothers represented. He smiled as he touched the hilt, murmuring a soft “g’night, fellas” before letting himself flop onto the mattress with a resounding whump. He only had enough presence of mind to plug in his phone, and down a few Tylenol for the incoming headache before he was asleep.