"Lair sweet lair," Mitch sighs happily. "MJ is home, baby!"

"You're so weird," Copeland huffs.

"Weird and proud of it, cousin!"

"Yup, they're home alright," Raphael comments as he walks by.

"Mommy!" Venus squeals, seeing the wolf-raven woman enter the room.

"Vennie!" Destiny exclaims, scooping her little girl into her arms, tail wagging as she nuzzles her forehead. "How's my sweet girl?"

She grins. "I'm good!"

Dean waves lightly, and Destiny sets Venus down and hugs her son, ruffling his dark hair. He returns the hug, lifting her a little.

"Copey!" Taylor greets enthusiastically, hugging her daughter.

"Ugh...mom..." she groans, but her eyes shine, letting everyone know that she's incredibly happy to see her mom.

Annalise nearly tackles Mitch in a bear hug, kissing his forehead repeatedly. He returns the hug willingly, eyes shut as he embraces his mother. He's taller than her by a little, but he's still her little boy.

Sarina keeps one arm around each twin, alternating kisses between the two. They return the loving embrace, smiles on both their faces.

"It's good to be home," they all whisper.

🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕

Master Splinter returns later that day, having been on a small vacation. His first order is that the kids have a training session with him while the parents tidy up.

Masks on, they warm up with some kicks and flips, feeling a bit stiff from the extended period of no training. Dean seems distant, something Copeland notices.

"Hey Junior," she calls, snapping her fingers near his face.

He blinks and shakes his head. "Huh?"

"You were off in la-la land again," she accuses.

He rubs the back of neck. "Oh...yeah."

"What's up?"

"I was just thinking about Katie-" Copeland makes a disapproving hacking noise in her throat. He narrows his wild blue eyes. "Co, she's been a lot nicer," he says. "She's been giving me space, being nicer to all of you...she even stopped giving me awful nicknames!"

"Yeah, she has. Doesn't mean I like her."

He sighs. "I want to show her who I am."

He ducks as her chigiriki swings past his head, his eyes wide. When he straightens up, Copeland doesn't look one bit regretful.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

She shoulders her weapon, one three-fingered hand on her hip. "No. I knew you'd duck. It was more like trying to...uh, KNOCK THAT IDEA FROM YOUR HEAD!"

He purses his lips. "We've known each other since grade nine. I trust her, and I think I should be honest."

"How long have you been together?"

"Um...six or seven months causally? I mean, that's with movie dates and little things. We made it official official only...one or two months ago?"

"Have you kissed?"

He blushes. "What? Yeah..."

"Have you confessed your love?"

"...no."

"Obviously, it isn't time. Just saying." She flicks her dark hair over her shoulder. "If anything, I'd tell Elisabeth first."

Dean huffs, sheathing his sword. "Why does everyone bring her up?! She's my best friend! Nothing more, nothing less!" He storms past her. "Thanks for the talk."

As he leaves, the turtle girl rolls her eyes and returns to her warmup. "Just a friend, yeah right."

🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕

Dean storms out of the dojo, taking deep breaths and unclenching his fists. He hates how every single conversation about Katie somehow turns around to talking about Elisabeth. Why can't people understand that she's a friend and he wants to keep it that way?

Even as he tells himself that, he can't help but think of their goofy little Spin the Bottle kiss back in grade nine, or the way her eyes light up when she talks about her books or Space Heroes...

He shakes his head. Snap out of it, Dean. You have a girlfriend.

The wolf-raven mutant comes to a stop when he hears soft music floating across the room. He inches closer, listening in and peering around a wall. Destiny sings softly as she sweeps the floor, the radio playing the tune.

"And don't go to bed yet, love, I think it's too early," she sings, the broom moving with her graceful strokes. "And we just need a little time to ourselves..."

Leonardo walks in, seeing her cleaning and dancing lightly with the broom. Dean notices that his dad's eyes seem to grow misty with nostalgia as he moves towards her. His eyes shimmer with adoration as a smile falls across his face. Dean leans against the wall, curious.

He decides to pull a page from Asher and Dakota's book, relating their scenario to his life and finding connections.

"If my wall clock tells me that it's four in the morning I'll give it hell..." Destiny continues, unaware of her husband's presence.

He wraps his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She jumps in surprise, her singing ending.

"Don't mind me...I'm just enjoying the sounds," Leo murmurs.

"Well, now you messed me up," she teases, flicking her tail.

He smiles, pulling away and turning her towards him. He pulls the broom from her hand and puts it to the side, his hands falling to her waist.

"Wasn't that the song we danced to on our first date?" he asks. "And...the one you sang to the moon around the time we met?"

"How would you remember all that?" she inquires.

He leans closer, resting his forehead against hers. "Darling, I remember everything about those nights...especially the ball. Your hair pinned into an elegant bun, your beautiful blue dress hitting the floor gracefully, your head resting on my shoulder as I held you close..." He tugs her into a hug. "And everything after."

Her cheeks become slightly pink. "Oh...yes, I remember."

He chuckles. "Here, I can start you off again." He takes her hand gently, resting his other hand on her hip. "'Cause I've been trying way too long to try and be the perfect song. When our hearts are heavy burdens we shouldn't have to bear alone..."

He sweeps her away, spinning gently as he dances. She follows as if the steps are forever imprinted in her memories.

"So goodnight moon..." he murmurs.

"And goodnight you..." she continues.

"When you're all that I think about, all that I dream about..."

"How'd I ever breathe without a goodnight kiss from goodnight you..."

"The kind of hope they all talk about..."

"The kind of feeling we sing about..."

"Sit in our bedroom and read aloud..."

"Like a passage from goodnight moon..." they finish together.

Destiny laughs, and Leo leans over to peck her lips.

"I love that song..." she whispers.

"As do I," he responds, still holding her close, her head tucked under his chin.

She smiles, brushing her hand along his cheek.

"There you go again."

"With what?"

"Making me fall in love with you."

He smiles. "I'll let you keep cleaning."

"Alright. Have fun with whatever you do."

"I will."

She smiles, picking up the broom and sweeping again with a skip in her step. Dean looks away, leaning against the wall and looking to the ceiling.

His parents are his role models for the kind of love he wants to experience; the perfect kind. The thing that bothers him is that everything he sees in his parents; the way they look at each other, the gentle touches, the soft kisses, the smiles thrown in each other's direction, everything they experience together...isn't what Dean feels when he sees Katie. When he sees Katie, he just thinks, Oh, here comes my girlfriend. She's really attractive.

Shouldn't he be smiling and have his heart race when he sees her, the way it used to be back in grade nine? Shouldn't he feel like their feelings for each other aren't just stupid little high school crushes?

He stops, Elisabeth crossing his mind for a fleeting moment; silk brown hair in her flowing ponytail, coffee brown eyes twinkling, her smile friendly and inviting. His face warms up and he smacks his forehead, letting out a low groan. His wings flap once.

"No," he growls forcefully. "I'm with Katie. I'm going to show her who I am...when the time is right."

He takes a deep breath, turning and returning to the dojo for training.