My ao3 crowd is gonna go feral for this one >:) lmaoo

Happy thanksgiving to all you Americans. Hope this chapter comes in clutch before a family dinner haha

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The run back was cold, night air rushing along the skin of your face and neck sent shivers throughout your body. Not like you weren't already shaking under the poorly suppressed excitement radiating from both you and Leo.

You wondered if Leo and the others were going to cry if Mikey came back. The thought of the emotions that's be running through everyone if Mikey were to come back tonight was enough to make a hopeful smile crack across your face.

Once you both had made it underground, Leo could no longer contain himself. "What do you think they did?!" He asked with a lively jubilance that felt like the sun itself. He tossed a glance back at you with an intense, shining smile you hadn't been expecting. "Do you think Mikey is gonna be awake?!" He laughed as light as a feather while Turing his head forward again. "God, Y/n I can't believe it!" Such a relief fell from his shoulders you nearly slid right off with it.

You breathlessly laughed into the cool night air that fervently rushed along your cheeks. Absolute music to his ears in such a wonderful moment of optimism.

The night fled past as you deftly fell to a back street before Leo pulled the man hole aside like it was nothing. The strength of this guys was almost scary if you didn't find it so attractive.

He slipped down, holding your leg closer to him while the other hand gripped the descending ladder. Both he and you ducked yours heads as he switched his hand from your thigh to press his forearm on the bottom of the lid, dragging it back atop the hole. His deltoid and bicep flexed  above his head in a way that made your intrusive though pour in unwelcomed. A few of the thoughts being to bite the muscles, but you refrained.

His hand returned to your leg as he fled down the ladder as such a speed you momentarily thought you were free falling. The last few steps down he simply slid down and shot off once his feet met the ground.

"Leo, be careful," you chuckled with a slight pinch in your brows. "Isn't your leg still hurt?"

"Oh yeah it is, definitely," he confirmed, earning a half-hearted deadpan from you. "But I don't think I can even care about that right now!" He laughed into the cold air, the light in his eyes and excitement in his step flooded your body with the warm fuzzies all the same.

"Okay, okay!" You laughed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Just don't hit landings like that so hard."

He chuckled and affectionately leaned his head against yours that rested on his shoulder. "You got it." He hummed giddily.

The breakneck pace he held was only etched into the world's knowledge by the muted patter of his feet. "What if Mikey's awake?!" He asked, the smile on his face widened while his feet energetically skipped for a few paces at the thought.

You smiled softly at him, the jubilance radiating off him was contagious. Despite the doubt, you held in your head, optimism had been in short supply lately. Who were you to take that away? "That would be amazing," you said through a thick laugh as you bounced along on his back.

He continued to chatter all the way through the underground, not once doubting his hope for the best.

That was until he arrived at the entrance of the lair. It was horribly void of life. Everyone was in Donnie's lab no doubt.

Leo suddenly came to a full stop at the empty living space. So quiet and dull. The way it had been since Mikey was taken in the first place.

Crippling doubt befell the leader as he stared into his desolate home.

The shift was palpable as his hold on your legs tightened ever so slightly. You peered over at his paled face and carefully spoke. "Leo?"

His eyes widened as he shook himself out of the trance as best as he could. "Ah! Sorry Y/n." He couched a bit and gently released your legs, letting you slide off to land on your own feet.

You kept a hand on his shoulder while rounding to stand by his side. "What's wrong?"

His eyes remained fixed ahead, but the turbulence in his eyes was clear as crystal. "It's... really quiet." The word tumbled as he scanned his home.

"What if he's... not okay?" He spoke, mulling the suddenly far less positive possibilities around in his mind. He turned to look at you as his brows twitched together in a sharp pinch. "I-I don't know if I can see him again if he's not okay."

Your heart ached as you struggled to find some kind of way to comfort him. To communicate something of value. This was such a sensitive subject. You didn't want to fill his head with a perfect outcome that may not be real, nor did you want to be completely pessimistic and pull him farther down into a spiral, especially if Mikey really isn't okay.

"Leo," you began, but he interrupted.

"I did this to him," He blurted, causing your brows to shoot up. "I didn't make sure we were safe, and he paid for it—"

A severe frown crossed your face. "Leo!" You snapped, "blaming yourself is not helpful to anyone. That's going to eat you up inside and cause way more problems than it's worth."

The turtle's eyes avoided you for a moment.

A softer expression fell over you. "You are not responsible for what happened. Polly pulled the trigger, not you. You can't blame yourself for something someone else did."

He stared down at you, his eyes becoming slightly glassy and angry. "But I could've stopped her."

"Me too! But I didn't because I didn't know. And so could Raph! But you aren't blaming us are you?" You asked.

His eyes widened in horror. "N-No! Of course not!"

"And we aren't blaming you!" You emphasized. "Look, whatever is happening in that lab, whether it's good or bad, remember you have a network of support to lean on. We want you to lean on us." You took his hands in yours and gave them a meaningful squeeze as you steadily held his gaze. "Don't force yourself to go through these feelings alone. We care about you, and I can't stand to see you chew yourself up like this."

He stared down at you in a moment of disbelief and confusion, as if his brain was trying to catch up. You waited for him, quietly, patiently.

His eyes adjusted with a sensitive recognition to which you offered him a smile. The glassiness in his eyes welled farther to drip down his cheek, his brows scrunched together while his lips pressed into a thin line. The sudden contact of his body to yours was tight and close, resting his head on your neck as his shoulders sagged slightly as if a weight, small as it was, slipped from their steady hold. You wound your arms around him, tucking his head closer as you lifted your chin to press your cheek down against him.

Tender and soft.

He stayed silent and pulled away, only to place his right hand atop your head. The warmth of his palm was kind, appreciative, and gentle. It poured love in waves.

It was love. Truly and unmistakable.

Your eyes remained fixated on his, awestruck. He took in a long breath that lifted his chest before it fluttered out from a subtle, meaningful smile.

"Let's go." He said, barely over a whisper. His hand slowly lifted from your head only for you to catch it in your hand. His brows lifted slightly but settled as you pressed his palm to yours in a strong hold. 

He smiled weakly, dread returning its grip on him as he faced the lab's door.

The steps were fast but felt numb. Like you weren't actually moving despite the sudden thundering within your ribcage. The only thing that seemed to tether you to the world was Leo's hand in yours.

He pressed his hand to the door and took in a deep breath. Like moving underwater he pushed the door open with eyes nervously searching for the best or worst.

But neither scenario was there.

The darkened room flickered to life upon the door swinging open. No one was there.

Leo's heart rate sped up as he stepped farther into the lab. Not a trace of the others anywhere. Not even Mikey was on the table he'd been lying on for days.

The leader's hand slipped from yours as he rushed forward, his hands gripping Mikey's table with cold fear dripping straight into his blood. "Wh-Where is he? Where is everyone?!" He spun around, desperately searching for his family.

You looked about, the same kind of flurry of emotions flooded you as you sped about, looking for any trace of the Hamato clan. "Donnie? Raph?" You called, trying your best to pin your skyrocketing anxiety down.

Leo scanned the lab again, his brain dizzy as he went back out the door, rushing out towards the bedrooms. "Guys?!"

You blurred through the lab, trying to find any kind of clue. Roy's stuff was still here too.

Oh god, what the hell.

Nothing pointed to any kind of solid lead. You fled the lab just in time for Leo to run back down the hall from the bedrooms. "Anything?" He asked hurriedly.

You shook your head as you both sped towards the kitchen "No."

Inside there was a strong smell of singed cheese and meat in the air. Leo jogged to the oven only to find something being cooked.  Or rather, something being burned.

He opened the oven just to see a pizza burning. He slammed the oven door shut and turned the heat off. "Where'd they go?" He growled to himself and pulled his T-phone from his belt, typing a flurry of buttons on the pad. "Where the fuck did they go?!" He cried out in distress.

As a moment of silence passed between you, small ripping, hollow scrapes upon cement could be heard. You frowned and fled towards the door. "Do you hear that?"

Leo lifted his head towards you, stopping his thumbs on his phone to listen as you cracked the door open, letting the sound flow in a bit better.

The sound ceased for only a moment before clacking loudly again, followed by far-off cheering and more sounds of scraping in tow.

Leo's lungs stopped as he walked forward like a ghost. His eyes dipped to yours as he stepped by you through the door before looking to the abandoned subways just outside the lair.

He walked, sped, ran, sprinted forward. You followed him as fast as you could.

Another course of cheering, this time louder. The voices were unmistakable. That was the family.

He leapt over the pay stations, followed closely by you.

He stood frozen at the ledge of the subway tracks, staring down the tunnels. You ran up next to him, waiting with shallow breath as your eyes flicked between him and the flickeringly lit tunnels.

The echoes of voices could finally be heard. "...Nice one!..." That was Raph.

Your heart swelled in hope as a smile rose upon your face. You looked to Leo who remained unmoving, eyes wide, breathing stopped as he remained trained on the sounds. Searching for the only thing that would allow him to be freed from his paralysis.

The wheels of skateboards encroaching were loud but not louder than the voices laughing and chatting over them. But there was one voice that stood out like an oasis in a desert.

Leo's body stepped forward in a disbelieving daze.

Again, there it was.

He grabbed your hand and leapt forward off the ledge. Your feet slapped desperately beneath you to keep up as he ran towards the voices.

"... I missed this!..." The voice cried happily, twinged with sad relief.

Finally, they came into view. Splinter, Donnie, Raph, Roy, Casey, April, and the most uplifting sight you'd never expected to find within the abandoned tunnels.

Leo stopped in his tracks as his knees started to buckle. You quickly caught him by the arm, remaining next to him as he needed, but your eyes automatically fled forward. Emotion began to overfill your heart and spill from your eyes in blurry rivers.

The youngest turtle spotted you both. His light blue eyes dilated in recognition as he stumbled forward off his board.

The eldest in your arms could only stare forward. Your eyes flicked between the brothers before you pushed Leo forward a few stiff-legged paces onward to the ghost in front of him.

The young turtle burst into a sunny grin, breaking apart the clouds with shiny eyes. "Leo!"

That was all Leo needed. He shot forwards, taking no more than three seconds to reach his brother who was walking with his arms outstretched.

He tackled Mikey to the ground, clutching him tight in the firmest hug he could muster.

A peal of laughter pushed from the youngest as he fell back onto the ground despite the heavy tears that poured from his eyes.

The jubilant sound bounced around, surrounding you all in a warmth that's been missing so desperately for too long. It washed away something that felt stuck, that's been hanging over this family's head for too long.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Leo cried to no one in particular through rough breaths, gulping air in relieved huffs as his eyes lifted skyward. "I'm so glad you're back."

Mikey nodded, his head hooked over his brother's shoulder. "Me too." His voice quivered through a weak laugh as he shut his eyes tight.

The world began to move again.

*•.*•.*•.*•.

"How'd you do it?" I asked, picking up some papers from Donnie's desk and squaring them all together before placing them in designated piles.

Donnie lifted his head to me. "What? Bring Mikey back?" He asked, taking one of the piles and plopping them in separate Manila folders.

I nodded.

"Well, actually, I wasn't the one who thought of the method that worked," Donnie said, tilting his head towards Roy and Y/n, who were packing all his lab stuff into a couple of boxes.

"Roy?" I followed Donnie's gesture to the human.

"Mhm," Donnie hummed, "We couldn't separate Mikey's DNA from the control serum, but we could sever and block the connection from the biomechanical components that received the control signals."

I frowned slightly and looked back to my brother, a bittersweet taste touched my tongue. "So... Mikey still has that stuff in his system?"

Donnie paused his filing before taking in a long breath. "Yeah, and as far as we can tell there's no way to remove it safely, or even at all."

A silence fell over us as I mulled the information over. "So, hypothetically, if someone could reinstate that connection... we could lose Mikey again?" The words fell hesitantly as I looked over to Donnie.

He kept his eyes trained down on a folder in his hands. "Hypothetically, yes."

My heart dropped to the floor— the ghosts that swarm around my katanas felt heavier.

Donnie sighed sadly and placed the folder away. "I know this isn't ideal, but it's the best way to manage it right now." He brought his hands back to another pile. "But I'll keep developing more complex protection for his particular signal to keep that from happening."

"Does Mikey know about this?" I asked as I watched my younger brother pick up a few filled folders and walk them to his scarce filing cabinets behind us.

He nodded as he pulled out a metal drawer with a long scrape. "Yeah, I don't think he's really let it sink in yet though." He closed the cabinet slowly, and a few moments of thought floated around his head. "He hasn't really talked to anyone about what happened, but he did say something about it that stuck out to me."

I turned to him from the table of paper, and an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach twisted and turned. "What do you mean?"

"When we broke through to him, it was like he was in the middle of a sentence. He was saying stuff like 'if you get me out of here I'll... something, something...'" Donnie waved his hand. "It's unimportant. But when he realized we could hear him... he stopped."

The information bunks within my head,
slowly bending and folding into new ideas of meaning. The final form these words morphed into turned scary, disturbing. "Wait... does that mean that... Mikey..." I lifted my eyes from the floor to meet Donnie's. Wave of nausea flooded me. "Was he, conscious the entire time?"

Donnie's grim expression remained as he turned away. "It only effected his motor functioning, not his consciousness."

I steadied myself on the work bench behind me. My baby brother was trapped in his own body. He must've seen what happened in the mansion.

The unsteadiness sloshed inside my head as the floor cracked and warped beneath my numbing feet, ruining my ability to remain perfectly upright. "Has he talked to anyone about it?"

"Not to my knowledge." Donnie sighed while running a hand over top his head a few times.

I hummed to myself as it settled in my mind, already mapping out possible threads of conversation. "I can do it. He'll need to talk about it eventually."

"Talk about what?" Y/n's voice popped up from behind me. I jumped and looked back across the table to see her curious face.

"Ehh..." I shot Donnie a panicked glance —who looked just as startled as me— before meeting her eyes again. "I uh..."

Y/n's eye brows crept up her face in a sudden realization. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to butt in." She turned right around and hurried herself away with bags of Roy's belongings in her arms. "Don't worry! I didn't hear anything important." She cried over her shoulder as she tried to claw the door open with her full arms.

I couldn't help the little amused smile that broke through all these swirling emotions in my head as I stared after her. My eyes soft as she stood strong amongst the chaos in my head, still persistent in her deliverance of light to me, no matter how small.

Roy to walked up next to her while chuckling and opened it for her with his free hand, and they both slipped out.

My eyes lingered at the door for a few moments longer before returning to Donnie, who was already honed in on me.

A subtle burn lit within my cheeks. "...what?" I asked, sounding a bit sharper than intended.

Donnie's eyes widened as he look away, waving his hands dismissively. "Oh no, no, it's nothing." He fronted as his mind began to connect some dots. His knuckle settled against his mouth and a mischievous glint in his eye surfaced as they turned back to me for careful evaluation. "But there were a couple bruises on Y/n's neck there."

A shot of adrenaline raced through my body with a sudden urge to fiddle with something.

"And... yours..." he said slowly. I tried not to let it show, but I knew I failed once Donnie began to smirk at me. "Would you know anything about that?"

"Huh?!" My mind evaporated as my skin burned up. "What? What're you talking about? Shut up!"

Donnie's sly expression grew as he started to chuckle. "Sheesh, what were you two doing?" A few moments of silence passed as Donnie slowly turned a bit disgusted as his brain plugged along. "Wait... were you two... when I called?"

I couldn't look at him anymore and slowly turned my body away to the table behind me.

"Wha— Leo! Oh gross!" Donnie cried as I desperately shuffled through the files on the table top, my throat had closed in on itself for a while already. All I could do now was hope no one else noticed her neck, or mine for that matter. Still, this moment moment was pleasantly light, even if it was at my expense. It was easier to enjoy time like this. Although there are tough conversations with my brother ahead, the fact they can even happen now lifted a crushing weight from my chest.

"Woah ho ho hooo!" Raph's voice came from just outside the lab, and I immediately assumed the worst.

As I hesitantly walked out of the lab with Mikey on my tail, I came upon exactly what I was expecting.

*•. *•. *•.

You desperately tried to lift the collar of your crew neck sweater to hide the dark purpled marks along your skin. But it was too little too late as Raph was pointing and laughing. "Splinter is gonna kill him!" He laughed, supporting himself on the couch that's held a laughing Casey and slightly shell shocked Mikey.

An intense twist in your stomach followed Raphael's words as your face burned like seven suns. "No he isn't." You grumble, but the uncertainty you held was evident.

Roy, ever the pacifist, hopped to your defence. "I doubt it's that big of a deal, it's normal for people to do this kind of thing!" He explained as he put down a couple boxes next to you at the lairs entrance. Casey only started to laugh more.

Leo came into view, a slight grimace painted his knowing and annoyed expression. "How about you knock it off Raph," he said through a tight sigh.

"Speak of the devil!" Casey cried. He brought his hand outstretched to Leo, "The artist," then pointed the tips of his fingers to you, "and the art."

Your shoulders jarred up towards your suddenly burning ears. "How about you shut up!" The words were meant to sound menacing, but the command fell flat atop your shrivelled and squeaky voice.

This only egged them on. "Better stop it Casey! Y/n can't handle any more busted blood vessels." He teased through a barely suppressed laugh.

Leo's teeth bared in a sneer as he walked towards Raph. "You're insanely annoying, you know that?" He declared, glaring down at his brother as he stood before him.

Raphael's eyes flicked about Leo's face, satisfied. "Yeah I know. It's part of my charm."

Leo huffed as crossed his arms. "You have the same amount of charm as a wet plastic bag."

Casey's eyes thinned at Leo as he inspected the leader, but by the time Leo understood what he was looking for it was too late. "Wait... what is that?" Casey asked, pointing at Leo's neck which was quickly under inspection by Raph. Leo smacked his hand over his neck instinctively just as the humans eyes widened. "Oh my god."

He didn't have to say anything else before the pair of turds started to howl in laughter again. The patches of reddened skin along his neck were almost undetectable compared to yours, the green hue in his skin did him many favours but not enough it seemed.

Despite the malicious laughter directed at Leo being regrettable, you couldn't help but be thankful you weren't their target anymore, and hoped it would stay on him for the rest of their crusade.

"I can't believe you were out there being a degenerate. Y/n, I could understand, but you? Our oh so fearless leader?" Casey lamented dramatically.

Raph chimed in with a flair of melodrama as the back of his hand pressed to his head. "What would our dear father think?"

You huffed to yourself as you began to walk back to them with Roy at your side. "He'd probably be glad at least one of his sons is pulling." The words —although meant to be quiet— were picked up easily by the red clad turtle who's eyes snapped open and whirled back over the couch to you in a bewildered stare that tried to look hardened. Roy stared to snicker under his hand.

Casey tumbled to the floor at this and their ranks fell apart. "Wah— hey wait, you don't count!" Raph scrambled with a growing frown. Leo's expression only grew more irritated.

Mikey, bless his heart, looked completely lost as his eyes fled between you and his older brother. "So... wait.. you two are together? Like, a boyfriend and girlfriend kinda situation?"

"Yes." Leo answered shortly, staring daggers into Casey and Raph. "That's what people in relationships do."

This was far more flustering to hear than the teasing, your knees suddenly felt like jelly as your approach slowed. Roy shot a surprised look at your frozen profile as he came to a full stop.

"It's not my fault you guys don't know the touch of a woman." He snapped, crossing his arms as he stared down his nose at the pair.

Casey stopped his hyena-like laughter. "Hey wait! That's not true," he said into the void.

You sidled up next to Leo and bravely peered up at him. He stiffened at your presence and quickly looked down to you, surprised as he seemed to come back to earth. A wincing smile slowly spread across his face.

The shock of his word began to wear off as you blinked back the suddenly rising joy in you. Finally a confident grin lifted your expression as you stared down at Raph and Casey. You wrapped your arm around him as a mean spirited tone coated your voice while you pointed. "Haha! You gameless losers."

"Stop it!" Casey cried angrily as he fell over his words. "I have an April— A girlfriend! April is my girlfriend!"

"Yeah right bozo," You huffed as a smugness began to float about you.

"What—?! I—!" His eyebrows pinched together as an unforeseen determination grew. "April!" He hollered as he jumped from the crunch and off towards the kitchen. "April! Tell Y/n that we're dating!" He demanded as he pushed through the door.

That left Raph who sat for a moment before meeting your challenging eyes. He pressed his lips into a tight line and quietly got up and walked away. At least he could accept defeat with some dignity.

Mikey smiled to himself as he watched Raph stalk away before dissolving into laughter. "I guess he couldn't bring himself to lie about it."

Roy stepped up next to you with an amused grin. "I'm impressed he didn't to be honest."

"What would that solve? He'd just make a bigger tool of himself." Leo quipped with a satisfied smirk that followed where his brother disappeared around a corner. "Besides," Leo slipped from your gentle hold and sat next to his brother. "I doubt Raph and I fighting is something you really have the energy for."

Mikey offered a shy smile. "Actually, it's kinda... nice?" His eyes fell forward on his knees. "I missed it."

You and Leo shared a slow glance as a heavy feeling settled over you both. Your eyes flit to his little brother for a moment and you gave a small nod in understanding before nudging Roy and taking your leave. On your way past however, you placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. "It's good to have you back." You said quietly.

He looked over at your softly smiling face with big eyes that softened into appreciation. "Thanks Y/n."

You nodded and gave him one last squeeze before giving Leo an encouraging look and walking out into the kitchen with Roy. You tossed a last look at the pair of brothers before slipping through the door.

"I know... I just wanted to— Y/n!" Casey yelled just as you entered, climbing out of his kitchen chair like a feral animal. April who sat across from him looked less than pleased. "Y/n! Look here she is!" He flung his arm behind him to the redhead as he finally made it to his feet. "April tell her! Tell her we're dating!" The flurry of emotions flying through him simmered to a tight lipped embarrassment at the sight of Aprils stale glare. "...April?" He questioned. Her frown deepened as she crossed her arms.

"I guess you forgot what we just talked about?" She chastised as she sat back in her chair.

You and Roy winced.

Casey stumbled over his words. "Uh... no, I uh..."

April hummed, displeased. "Uh huh, right, yeah, so you remember the part when I said flaunting me, our relationship, around like some kind of prize wasn't cool, right?"

Casey stood stalk still, his widened eyes remained on April for a few silent seconds. That was until they momentarily fled back to you with a lowered voice. "You heard that right?"

"Oh my god Casey." April exclaimed.

You sighed and took a seat on one of the counters. At least you wouldn't hear Leo and Mikey's private conversation over all these 'marital issues.'

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This chapter feels cut off,, but I wanted to get it out soon bc I know the convo btwn Leo and Mikey is gonna be hard to write and idk when I'm gonna get that done. So I'm sorry about that you guys, I hope you like it despite that tho.

Also,
I've been binging ninjago for the past week, finally catching up since I stopped watching back when the movie came out. I missed out on so much, back to my roots baby.