Chapter Text
Chapter One: What a Bunny Would Do
“Donnie, what have I said about putting your gadgets in the basketball so you can win?” Raph sighed.
“Egads! How dare you accuse me of cheating! I would never!” The hoodie teen put his hand to his chest. “For shame Raphael. For shame.”
“I can clearly see the ball glowing,” he deadpanned as the usual black lines of the ball glowed purple.
“That is just the light hitting the ball.”
“Donnie, it’s glowing purple.”
“Your eyes are faulty.”
“So basketballs don’t usually glow,” Casey Jr, who had both hands in a blue sweater, asked his human friend/sister.
“No, that’s just Donnie trying to cheat,” April explained as she climbed over the gate. “Which goes to show that if you try to cheat, make sure it’s not obvious. That’s how some of the greatest sports players win a game, they know the art of subtlety.”
“Cheat? But I thought athletes have to win by talents alone and honor the sport they play?” Raph had told him the glory of basketball and how all the greatest athletes are the best of the best that don’t fall to underhanded techniques but overcome all those who stand in their way to victory.
April laughed.
“HA! As if! I can honestly say that not single team in any sport hasn’t either cheated or found some other way to trip up their opponents. Those who say otherwise or naive,” they both looked towards the eldest turtle with arms crossed.
“Ugh! Fine! I guess we’ll play it the boring way,” Don sighed and put away the high tech ball and brought out the regular ball, which they had for a few months now after Raph had destroyed their previous one for slamming it down too hard.
“Thank you.”
“Uh huh,” Casey slowly nodded his head, but still not fully comprehending it.
“Don’t worry, you’ll sit on the sidelines for the first few games and you can watch us play to get the feel,” she patted his shoulder. “I guess it’s good that Lee isn’t here, someone else might have joined you to keep the teams even.”
“Why couldn’t he come again?”
“Leo mentioned hanging out with some yokai's he met a few months back,” Mikey chirped up, taking his attention off of his phone for a brief moment.
“Who?”
“I dunno.”
“Wait, you don’t know their names?” The sister asked with surprise lace in her tone. “Usually, you would be all over that.”
“Well, I would if someone would let me. Apparently, someone decided to finally dial back on barging into each other's privacy and someone decided that he would start that month by forcing me to not ask,” he emphasized, sending a glare to a certain turtle.
“Hey, I’m not taking the full blame. You're the one who insisted the most on me not intruding on what we do outside family time unless said turtle said it first,” Raph crossed his arms.
“Yeah, but did you have to start that month,” Mikey grumbled as he held up his hand and caught the ball Donnie tossed him, he began to dribble it as they walked.
“And you haven’t just asked him in private?” Casey whispered.
“I forgot,” he shrugged his shoulders, Leon just mentioned it a month ago. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but he was still a bit miffed at his eldest brother for actually listening to his words for once and it’s when it’s the most inconvenient for him!
“What you should be worried about instead is me kicking your shell,” April stole the ball and dribbled away.
“Hey no fair! We’re not on the court yet!”
“That just means it's free game,” she shot and began to play keep away as she tossed it to Raph.
“Gotta be quicker than that little brother,” he laughed as he quickly passed it to Donnie when Mikey launched at him.
“Better luck next ti-I’m not a launchpad!” The genius yelled out as the smaller turtle leaped off his brother and try to catch the ball mid-air when the turtle threw, but Casey was quicker on the draw and leaped for it.
Thus a game of keep away was invoked as though Mikey did catch the ball when Raph tried to throw it again, but that didn’t stop him from being the next victim. It was only when Donnie stopped, the ball still in hand, as a look of utter contempt spread across his face.
“You good there man?” April asked as she paused in her attempt to steal the ball.”
“ Him,” he hissed out as pointed to a figure like a poster horror movie child before slamming the basketball down and running.
They turned to see a rapidly running figure-no they saw a familiar running bunny figure yelling out
“I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!”
“That prick!/Tasteless Madman!/Don't kill him,” Raph, Mikey, and April all respectively yelled/sighed out as they followed a running Donnie.
What they didn’t hear was a gasp as Casey, who accidentally caught the bouncing ball, stilled for just a moment before chasing after them.
‘Sensei is here.’
“How do you know this jerk Don?” The eldest asked once they caught up to him as they ran/stealth their way through the main roads.
“I was looking for that fool for days!” Donnie spat out as he quickly hid behind a floating fruit stall to remain undetected. He was already mad that the only descriptor he had for this cretin was that he was a white bunny and wore a red cloak, but apparently it turned up absolutely nothing! He even tried to add his fox friend he was with that day, but that led to an even bigger bust! It was like someone was purposely trying to keep him out or something! “How do you know him?”
“He insulted Jupiter Jim!”
“No!” Mikey gasped, “And here I thought he just had bad taste! But it’s so much worse, he’s a hater!”
“Of course he would be an anti-fan, goes to show the depths of his low IQ,” Donnie almost growled out.
“Why are we even following him in the first place Donnie, murder is still illegal,” April piped up and she looked at the rabbit doing some impressive parkour as he jumped over a few stalls just to avoid the crowd of people.
“Only if you get caught!”
“Donnie no.”
“Donnie yes!”
“I wonder what’s he in a rush for,” Casey mused outloud, half in curiosity and half to hopefully direct the attention away from the possible murder of his sensei.
“Probably something so diabolical and twisted that even the nemesis from Jupiter Jim: Final Destination will weep,” said Raph as he peeked from behind a barrel.
“Okay slow your roll there big guy,” the human girl slowly said. “Maybe he has some important thing he has to get to, which we,” she gestured to all of them, “are obviously not invited to. We’re just sneaking like a bunch of weirdos.”
“Oh contraire, we are not merely some sneaking weirdos, but elite ninja warriors that will gather information about the enemy,” Donnie interjected.
“You're just mad he called you a fool.”
“I’m not the fool, he is!”
“Shush, quiet!” Miguel shushed them and pointed to the bunny that suddenly stopped. “He’s doing a thing.”
“An evil thing?“
“No, just checking himself in the mirror,” April rolled her eyes as they watched the yokai push down his fur and straighten up his aviator jacket and cargo pants. They creepily watched for a little longer to see him roll back his shoulders and calmly walk towards a figure leaning against the building wearing ripped blue jeans and a short sleeved plain red shirt with blue flames design along the sleeves.
“Do my eyes deceive me or is that-” Raph started before the figure head turned and they clearly saw the face of a smiling red eared turtle slider.
“Leo?!”
“How can I be so stupid! I should have checked the time,” Yuichi muttered to himself as he ran through the streets at full speed. He got so lost in picking a good outfit that by the time he had it ready, it was almost time for the meetup. He was running so fast that he lived up to the ‘jump like a rabbit’ as he literally jumped over people and vendors alike before finally coming to a screeching stop just before he arrived.
“I look like a hot mess,” he groaned to himself as he examined his trussed up fur and messy clothes. He usually wouldn’t dress up like this, but today was the day. After his friends' constant nagging and reassurances, he was finally gonna confess to one Leonardo Hamato.
(He also owed Kitsune a big one for not spilling to her sister about them meeting Leo. Both for not wanting Sunita to worry about their little mission and not wanting her to spill to April about his feelings for Leo.)
He has the entire plan on how this day is gonna go, after much tweaking thanks to Chizu, and at the end, he will confess his love.
‘Nothing is gonna ruin this day!’ He determinedly thought before finally fixing himself up. He took a deep breath and casually walked towards the turtle as if he hadn’t just run like a demon lord was chasing after him. “Sorry I’m late, got a bit held up.”
Leo turned and causally waved the apology off with a smile. “By just five minutes cottontail, it’s no biggie. But if you insist, pay for that bubbly soda we got the other day and call it even.”
“Your wish is my command my lord,” he jokingly bowed.
“Of course peasant,” the mutant turned up his nose before dropping the act and looking around. “Speaking of, where’s everyone else? If anything, they should be paying for our meal.”
“They couldn’t make it today, so it’ll just be you and me,” Yuichi causally said as if he had begged his friends not to come today just so that he could spend some alone time with his not so secret crush. He made some sacrifices, specifically covering a shift at Kitsune family restaurant or grabbing some heart scales and iron barbs for Gen and Chizu, but it was so worth it, especially with none of them bothering him for blushing at the sight of Leo in those clothes.
“That’s too bad, guess it’ll be us today,” the turtle grinned before pausing and doing a once over. “You look nice, love the jacket.”
Oh yeah, extremely glad none of them are here.
“Thanks, you too,” he quickly complimented back before his stutter did it for him.
“Nah, I just threw something on,” the ninja shrugged off the compliment with a laugh, but Usagi was unyielding as he caught his shoulder.
“No, you look pretty today,” the samurai told him right in the eye. Whether it be him wearing those fancy clothes at the party to his casual wear now, he always looked beautiful in his eyes.
Leonardo stilled for a brief moment before he ducked his head to cover the faint blush that emerged and rubbed the back of his neck. “You don’t have to be insistent about it.”
“What? I can’t call out a pretty person,” Yuichi leaned in with a smirk.
“Stopp,” he snorted and pushed him aside. “On a completely totally natural topic shift, how about instead of this embarrassing moment, we talk about another embarrassing moment.”
“Want to hear the reason as to why I’m the only one allowed to cook because an entire building almost got blown up by a certain feline yokai tried to pop popcorn?”
“ Yes.”
“What in the Laws of Physics is he doing with Leonardo?” Donnie glared as they watched the two chat.
“Conspiring ways to turn him into a Space Hero fan/Advertising false propaganda about his cooking,” the eldest and youngest brother respectively said.
“Or it could be his friend that he mentioned,” Casey said with a wide grin.
“Thank you Casey Hamato-Jones jr for your common sense,” April sighed. “Leo made a new friend, that isn’t weird.”
“Oh that isn’t the weird part, as much as Dum Dum is a loud and obnoxious brat, he is apt at making social connections. What is weird is that wannabe of a false Nuralagus rex has somehow enraptured Leon into his radar and is now making insincere pleasantries,” Donnie said as the rabbit and turtle duo laughed as they made their way through the street. “It could be a form of espionage to get into my system.”
“I highly doubt it,” the human blandly stated.
“It’s too bad we can’t hear them,” Mikey grumbled.
“We’re not gonna stalk Leo when he’s hanging out with his friend,” April sighed. “No matter how much you may dislike him.”
“Oh ho ho, as if I would ever give up an opportunity like this!” Unfortunately, that flew over the intellectual turtle's head as he brought up his arm, and with a few clicks, they all heard it.
“And that’s why Chizu is not allowed to practice any Fire magic anymore,” they heard a voice say through the device.
“Ha! That’s hilarious! Wait, is that why Gen has that scar on his right ear?” The voice of Leo echoed.
“Precisely, he never let her live it down.”
“I bet.”
“You made an eavesdropping device,” the human raised her brow, not even surprised.
“You say that as if it wasn’t an option,” he deadpanned.
“Donnie! That is bad, tell him Raph!”
“Now usually I would agree, but Raph wants to learn more of the enemy too,” his need for vengeance against his space hero had overtaken his morality compass for the time being. Besides, he needs to know why the bunny decided he wanted to hang around his little brother, and talks about privacy have been thrown out of his mind.
“Raph no, Mikey?” She stopped as she saw the turtle, who literally read a psychological book about boundaries and privacy, staring very intently at the listening device. “Oh my god, I have to be the brain cell of the group. At least you have my side,” she groaned and knocked her head on Casey's shoulder.
The human boy just grinned and patted her shoulder, but that didn’t mean he too wasn’t listening in.
“You know, this kinda looks like Boba if it decided it wanted a glow up,” the blue turtle gently shook his pink drink with pearls that were lighting up like disco lights floating at the bottom.
“Boba? Is that another one of the human realm drinks?” Yuichi asked as he took a bite of the red pastry ball on a stick that tasted like strawberry pie.
“Yeah, but Raph is the biggest fan, he doesn’t care for the drink so long as the rainbow boba is in there,” he still remembered the first time they got it, he had never seen his eldest brother's eyes widen as much as it did when it doesn’t involve cute baby animals.
“Don’t mention it to the enemy,” the red turtle grumbled as the group disguised themselves within the crowd.
“It’s not like he’s wrong,” April smiled, the big guy liked it so much that he tried to order the boba by itself with no drink.
“I’ll have to get you some someday,” Leo continued.
“Or we could go together. You mentioned an M&M store the other day,” he coolly brought up.
“M&M World! That place is the bomb! It may be ridiculously overpriced and expensive, but it was worth every penny. They had to drag me and Dee out of there,” that was one of the few times the two of them agreed on the same thing, m&m’s are the best kind of candy there is.
“You fool, you shouldn’t mention that to the cretin,” Donnie harshly said over his book he confidently had stashed on him for disguise purposes.
“Isn’t it just candy though?” Casey muttered, but got no reply back.
“Dee as in Donatello correct? He’s the genius twin you mentioned.”
“Oh now I’m a genius,” said turtle grumbled.
“Yeah! You already know how he made my cane.”
“Which you effortlessly solo’d against that chimera yokai.”
“I’m sorry what now,” Raph poked his head up, but Mikey quickly pushed it back down. The only reason why they haven’t been caught yet was because of the orange turtle snagging a few nondiscrete clothes to help them blend in. Not that it helps much due to some people's statures or loudness.
“Yes, please compliment me more, it only does good things for my self-esteem,” Leo joked. “But yeah him. Let me tell you that Don is so smart that he made his entire lab out of nothing but scraps and spare parts. There’s not a doubt in my mind that if he wanted to, he could build a working spaceship.”
“Oh now he wants to tell off my excellence to an enemy,” Donnie snarked in a mulish manner, but that didn’t stop the pleased smile from spreading across his face.
“Like the Dauntless!” The bunny piped up with an eager smile. “Would it also have triple plasma rays that blasted through even the sturdiest of enemies like Zithromax?”
“Dauntless? Oh, from that Space Heroes show you talk about right?” The turtle snapped his fingers in recognition.
“I don’t talk about it that often,” the samurai chuckled nervously.
“Yeah you do, almost as much as I go on and on about Jupiter Jim,” Leon chuckled.
“His nefarious plan had already started, he got Leo to like that despicable show,” Raph grumbled. To be honest, he was the one out of the entire family to have a fierce hatred towards the rival show and in actuality both shows had their similarities. But neither turtle was gonna step forward and say anything, his ire greatly benefited the both of them for now.
Yuichi, in an attempt to save himself from slapping himself at his inability to not seem like a giant nerd in front of his crush, quickly shoved down the rest of the pastry.
He then choked on it.
“Whoa, here,” the mutant held out his drink which the yokai gladly took a few sips of, letting the pink lemonade taste wash it down. “Don’t die on me now.”
“Many thanks,” Usagi said once he got his breath back. He was unable to face his crush after that sad display, but quickly realized what he just had a drink of as he watched Leon take another sip of his drink.
“Noo, don’t let his disgusting bad cooking cooties infect you,” Mikey moaned.
April paused as she watched the rabbit's face turn red. “Am I seeing things?”
Casey was smiling like a moon though. He felt like he should be embarrassed watching his pseudo father figures get together, but he is too damn happy to know that Sensei Yui is here.
‘Indirect kiss,’ Yuichi silently stared at the turtle's lips for a brief moment. The way his pink tongue flickered out of his mouth to catch the straw and it rested comfortably in his mouth, the same straw that Yuichi had around in his mouth.
CRASH
“Shit, are you okay today?!” Leon just witnessed Yui slam right into the wall. He held out his hand, “seriously, you're usually much more observant than this Bugsy.”
“Sorry, it’s just one of those days,” he managed to wheeze out and instead clasped onto the turtle's hand and stood up
“Of course he walked face first into a wall,” the purple turtle snorted, making the other two giggle as well. But it was at that moment when the bunny tripped over as he stared completely at Leonardo, did it cement it for April.
“I don’t know if I want to laugh or get my bat and threaten him with plastic surgery” she grinned like the cat caught the canary and instead looked towards Casey. “Was this a thing?”
“Oh it was a thing. Sensei Yu-I mean Yuichi was a lot less clumsy and obvious and it wasn’t really stated out loud, but everyone knew it was a thing,” he nodded.
“And I know my brothers. Leo doesn’t suspect anything right now,” RiRi was now smiling like a lunatic as she held out her phone to film. “I’m not letting this opportunity go to waste for anyone,” before she slowly eyed the other turtles still fervorously whispering, “and I mean for anyone. How much do you want to bet until they realize?”
“Won’t be much of a bet when Yuichi makes it obvious,” the human boy knowingly stated.
“He has a tell?”
“Oh he has a tell,” Casey grinned widely.
And what a tell it was.
It started with the two of them wandering out of the vendor stalls and towards a more rural area filled with a mix of stores, but further out there was a vast open field filled with strange plants and strange white trees all intertwined with one another.
“I seriously need to go out more, this place is wild,” April whistled as she took in the view.
“The yokai realm is amazing,” Mikey nodded.
“That’s one word for it,” Donnie grumbled.
“These are Veil Auras trees!!” Casey internally squealed. He knows this because Yuichi had had a habit of bringing back plants to the base and Leo kept them pressed in a scrapbook filled with other plants his partner got for him. This was the last thing he got for Sensei before the base got invaded and he got thrust back into the past…The last time he saw Sensei Yui was when he gave Sensei Leonardo a searing kiss and told him to take everyone and run.
(He pretended not to see Sensei's bloodied nails when they heard the explosion behind them nor hear his hitched breath.)
“Veil Aura?” Mikey's confused words brought the human boy back to reality. “Is that some kind of plant?”
“Even better,” Casey smiled widely as his eyes stayed invested in the scene in front of him as the yokai and mutant pair went towards the trees.
“Do these look familiar?” Leo asked as they walked on the pathway by the valley of trees. “Or has me staring at my phone for too long finally damaged my eyesight? I hope it’s the first, I won’t hear the end of it from Raph if it’s the second.”
“He’s not wrong,” the turtle muttered.
"You're not going hard of seeing yet,” Yuichi joked, “watch this.” He then reached out a hand towards one of the pale white tree trunks and with almost an inaudible creak, the leaves began to glow a bright cerulean as all the leaves accompanying it began to synchronize as well, creating a sea of misty glow all around them.
“The Ancestral Trees?! They exist?!” Leo's eyes sparkled as the lights died down.
“Well you mentioned how you always wanted to find a real one in life when we played Ori and well it took me a while, but here it is,” he gestured to the field. He spent days searching for this specific field, but boy was it worth it as he was left wide open to a sudden armful of turtle as Leon all but tackled him and wrapped his arms around him.
“That was nice of him,” Mikey grinned.
“Now I don’t say this often, but maybe I was wrong,” Raph cracked a smile at the show of kindness.
“ThankyouThankyouThankyou! And you found it for me?” Leo stepped back just enough to see the rabbit's red face.
“Uh huh, I just wanted to surprise you,” Yuichi would, later on, beat himself up at his sudden lack of words if he wasn’t brought back into the firm embrace of the turtle.
“Surprise! I am! Thank you so much, this is amazing! You’re amazing,” the smile Leon beamed at him made the rabbit's heart practically beat out of his chest as an unconscious dopey smile spread across his face as he stared into the simmering cobalt eyes that were lighted up in a happy summer breeze…and at that moment, what neither of them knew was that Yuichi ears, which were tied back by a green ribbon, uncontrollably turn into a heart.
But that didn’t escape the notice of a certain stalking family.
“No. Way,” all three brothers' jaws dropped in pure shock at what they were seeing.
“Oh my god no, that’s so obvious,” April snorted.
“I know,” Casey matched her grin. It would never not be funny when Sensei Yui would assume his outward standoff appearance for the world, but when his eyes landed on Sensei, his ears would make Heart Ears. It got to the point where he had to tie up his ears into a bun else it would constantly be in that state. He may have abhorred his tell, but Sensei Leonardo loved it.
“Is Leo on a date?!” Mikey was the first to come out of his stupor with a barely withheld screech lodged in his throat. “And he didn’t tell me?!
“I doubt it, Baby Blue would be much more nervous if he knew it was a date,” RiRi pointed out, which was too true. He could barely keep himself together with his own celebrity crushes let alone an actual while on a date.
“Raph wasn’t wrong. He tricked my brother into a date?” Raph angrily growled. He was already iffy about the fact that his baby brothers will one day have romantic feelings for someone and he will root for them, but not when the first date was built on lies! How dare that rabbit take advantage of his little brother's kindness for his own plans!
“I wish to engage in necessary barbarism against the Lepus brachyurus and turn him into a visceral disarray,” Donatello blankly stated.
“Huh?”
“I want to smash that rabbit into a bloody mess!” He hissed as he suddenly had his tech bo in hand. He may be a cool and unemotional brother to the outside perspective and sometimes his own family, but the only person to not fall for his facade was Leo. Internally, he knows he is wired differently from the rest of the world, even his family. There is something deep within him that harbors an apathetic and callous bone deep collagens that even shakes him to his core.
Leonardo knows all of this and probably even more because despite the viva la vida masks he showboats around, there is no one that knows him better than his younger twin (yes younger, he won that rock paper scissor fair and square) and still harbors nothing but love and affections towards him. So to think that someone unworthy dares to take advantage of him, makes him want to shed his skin and rip the fur right off the bunny like the primal animal he was created to be.
“Oh! Raph agrees,” and both were fully about to march in there and start a massacre if it wasn’t for April kicking both turtles in the shin.
“You’re both overreacting,” she pointedly told them before looking towards the last of the brothers. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m too indecisive! On one hand I am so happy that someone likes Leo and I physically have to stop myself from rushing over there and asking how they met,” the orange turtle hummed.
“Good on you-“
“But on the other hand I want to grab the rabbit by his ears and strangle him with it for his insulting cooking! He has no taste! If he obviously has no taste for food then he is not a viable option for a brother in law,” he glared at the bunny whom his brother had dragged further into the trees. His older brothers deserve only the best of the best despite what psych books say there’s no such thing as perfection. Lee Lee deserves all good things and this rabbit has not proven he is deserving of his brother's unwavering love.
Cause that's what Leo will do. He knows his brother is a romantic at heart and loves with his entire being and he will not let anyone crush that for some paltry fleeting love. If this rabbit really loves Leon then he will back down and go full throttle on wedding planning, but until then he reserves his right to fight anyone who dares to try to take his brother away from him.
“Ooo, so close,” she snapped her fingers. Though a part of her wants to join her brothers and shake down the bunny, she knows to let it happen. The human girl knows that normally the guys wouldn’t normally be this angry, but with Leo's sacrifice and what happened during the invasion, they were feeling more than their fair share of protectiveness, which she hopes will dial back soon.
She had her fair share of failed boyfriends and girlfriends and though her fam had her back and tears, she learned from it. She had many regrets about some of her picks, but she had a few good ones that she doesn’t regret. The college girl might not know if this will be a regret or not, but Leon will have to decide that on his own.
(That doesn’t mean she won’t have her trusty bat ready in case the yokai turns out to be a major dick. She may take a step back, but that is still her little brother and ain’t nobody about to mess with her family.)
“I love you guys, but if you do anything to ruin this. I will fight you,” Casey deadpanned as he watched Yuichi gift Leon an ivory Veil Aura tree branch, it was almost similar to the one before. “I will go full John Wick on all of you.”
“Nice reference,” April whispered.
“Thanks, Leo is having me binge watch movies every week. This weekend is Lilo & Stitch!”
“Ah, the classics,” she nodded appreciatively before turning back to the rest. “You heard the man, don’t try us,” she threatened.
Raph attempted to speak up, as did Donnie, but the two were cowed by their sister's threatening glare as she suddenly had her bat in hand.
“Fine, I guess that leaves only one option,” the eldest turtle unwillingly backed down.
“Leave them alone and let them spend time together,” the human girl hopefully said even though she very well knew it wasn’t.
“Continue to stalk them and make sure that the rabbit-”
“Yuichi,” Cj corrected.
“Yeah him, doesn’t try anything to corrupt Leo!” He pumped his fist in the air, which his brothers copied. “To not turn his back on Jupiter Jim!”
“To not fall for the dastardly rabbit foolhardiness!”
“To not acquire horrible taste buds and cooking!”
“I can’t even with them,” April sighed.
“I’ll get my hockey stick ready,” Casey nodded.
“So what’s last on the agenda Thumper,” the blue turtle said as he walked side by side with the snow white rabbit.
“You really have to show me the movies you're getting all your nicknames,” the yokai grinned as he unconsciously fondled a small kaleidoscope bouncy ball in his hand that the turtle offhandedly gave him a few weeks ago. The mutant had a bunch back home and he accidentally brought this one with him and he just gave it to the rabbit. He was for sure certain he forgot all about it, but Usagi has been carrying around with him since.
And yes, he had to endure his friend's teasing when they found out about it.
“You can join Casey and I, I don’t think he would mind.”
“No I would not,” the human boy piped up a little ways behind them. It was only by the loitering of people still on the path that their obvious group was not outed yet and the fact the pair were too lost in the other orbit to pay attention to much else.
“Of course you will traitor,” Mikey side-eyed him.
“Is that the same Cj who made a working water purifier out of plants, a few plastics, and leaves?” Yuichi asked.
“Yep, same one. You don’t know how proud Todd was that there were some in our family that had survival expertise,” Leo remembered when they went camping again at Raph's insistence. It wasn't as bad as the first time with the creepy human dentists, but his son/brother truly shined in the field.
(Later on Casey would tell them that future Todd was the one who taught him in the first place, but at the moment the human boy was far too amused at seeing his brothers and sister fail at fishing.)
“You talk about your family a lot,” the rabbit yokai mused. “You must really love them.”
“Is the world still orbiting the sun? That isn’t even a question, they're the best,” he plainly stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world as he rubbed his arms.
“Awww,” the group awwed with big sparkly eyes, barring Donnie, but that didn’t stop a small smile from forming on his face.
“Are you cold?”
“Of course he would ruin the moment,” Raph snapped as if he was there and not stalking them and watched as Leon waved off the rabbit's concern, but that didn’t stop the yokai following actions.
“Don’t you even dare,” the purple turtle knew immediately what was happening due to his numerous experience in reading shoujo manga, but due to his precarious position, he could do nothing but watch the most cliche of all cliche occurs.
“Here,” Yui took off his aviator jacket and handed it to his companion.
“Damn it,” the turtle groaned. Of course this dimwitted mammalian would enact this form of banality.
“How forward, I didn’t take you for such a suave,” Leon joked.
“Just take it before you become an ice cube,” he forced it into his hands, averting the turtle's sight from his red face.
“Points for niceness, but points off for forcing it on him,” Micheal muttered under his breath.
“Are you really critiquing him?” April questioned.
“He already lost points to his bad taste and his cold demeanor when it came to first impression, but I’m willing to haggle it back with his good listening and always staying on Leo right,” the turtle said instead.
“His right side?” The human was confused as to why that was important until it clicked. “His bad leg.”
“I’m not totally sightless, I can see that the bunny seems to be committed, but that’s not enough for me,” he then took out a notebook with a list of pros and cons and a criteria list. “He needs to score well enough to even be acceptable.”
“You already have a whole ass list. Why am I shocked about this, I shouldn’t be shocked by this development,” she refrained from pinching her nose. She already had bruises since this whole ordeal had started in the first place.
“Just the pros and cons, I had the criteria checklist since I was nine when Raph had his first crush.” This has been a long term work in progress ever since that moment when Raphie's big ol heart got crushed to smithereens when Lona Misa turned out to be a traitor in Jupiter Jim and was actually an evil salamander in disguise. He knew that love was tragedy and to make sure no one in his family got smothered by it ever, he would create a list that would rule out anyone that was unworthy of their family's undying love.
Crazy? Oh most definitely, but his entire family is crazy, so just add this to the list.
Not even Big Mama or Papa Drax were exempt from this.
(His brothers did not even try holding back their laughter as they witnessed their youngest brother interrogate two of the most frightening yokai when they had their first date(?) Donnie made sure to record the entire proceeding and save it to multiple backup drives, he will make sure that neither forgets they got cowed by a turtle not even half their size.)
“You better not have used that on me,” she blankly said.
“Only when in a serious relationship! I trust you to see the red flags,” he gave her a thumbs up, not at all telling her that he already approved of her and Sunita. He already has their wedding decor all thought up and the color theme is gonna be emerald and gold.
“Thanks,” Leonardo smiled, not knowing of the silent chaos a little ways away, after he put the slightly large jacket on him. He closed it tight and couldn’t stop himself from subtly smelling the warm waft of a combination of lemon and fennel emitting from the jacket.
‘Smells nice,’ he unconsciously thought as he snuggled a little deeper into it and placed his hands in the jacket pocket, only to pause and pull something out. “What’s this?”
“It’s nothing! Nothing at all!” The rabbit immediately attempted to make a grab for it, but he was too slow for the turtle as he dodged to the left. “It’s really nothing,” he insisted.
“Well I think it’s not nothing,” he got a closer look. “Is this a yo-yo?”
“Oh my god he’s a dork too, they're perfect,” April snorted.
“Haha! Is it? Man, I think that’s Chizu, I must have forgotten to give it back to her,” Yuichi nervously laughed as he silently cursed himself for leaving the toy in his pocket.
“Well Chizu is more of a red and black color scheme girl, this,” he holds up the green yo-yo, “squeals all you.”
The yokai held on for a minute longer before his ears dropped. “Yeah, it is. I know it’s stupid and childish, but I like doing yo-yo tricks from time to time.”
“At least he admits it,” Donnie chuffed.
“Dee, no trashing others' hobbies no matter how stupid you think they are,” Raph reflexively said as if this wasn’t the first time.
“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
“Childish have you met me?” Leon snorted, “and stupid? I’ll be the judge of that,” he tossed the yo-yo to him. “Come on, let me see a few tricks Bugsy.”
“Alright, but don’t you laugh,” Usagi reluctantly agreed and in the next period began to show a few tricks. It was slow at first, but the more he got engrossed in his tricks, the more advanced the tricks got.
“Of course Nardo would be fascinated with these little tricks,” the genius rolled his eyes at his twin wide eyed admiration at one particular trick that involved a rapid succession of loops to create a Ferris wheel-esque image with Ferris carts attached.
And he wasn’t the only one that noticed as when Yuichi saw Leon's steadfast interest he began to show off a bit more as he aimed his yo-yo at tree ten feet away from them. In that next moment it lit up a viridian glow as translucent green blades emitted from the object and churned at rapid speed and made a clean cut straight through the middle of the tree.
“Tada,” the rabbit jazzed hands once the yo-yo, blades no longer to be seen, was back in his hands.
“And you call that stupid? Your toy just became a bladed projectile weapon that cut straight through that tree with no effort. That’s not stupid, that’s awesome! It’s like Miguel's weapon, but is it more spiritual than elemental?” Leon wrapped an arm around him.
“Yeah! It's actually the Usagi mystic arts, it's similar to my sword!” He proudly stated and thanked his ancestors that his moon did not think he was weird after that display.
“We need to have a spar, betcha I kick your ass.”
“Whatever you say Squirtle.”
“Excuse moi! I am no Squirtle,” he said, mock offended. “I am obviously a Greninja, other acceptable answers would be Quaquaval and Gardevoir, specifically a male one just because.”
“What about Shuckle?” Yuichi quickly ducked underneath a swipe to his head and proceeded to run.
“I’ll see how far I can shuck you!” The turtle chased after him, but couldn’t keep up with the yokai speed.
“Ha! You can’t catch a rabbit-oof!” He was stopped in place as a ball had smashed in his face.
“My ball,” Casey pouted at his empty hands.
“Donnie!” April hissed as they are now down one basketball.
“What? No one else was gonna stop that gross display of flirtations,” he crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t have resorted to such a primitive display if you have only let me go out there and-”
“Not after that you ain’t!”
“Guys duck!” Raph grappled them all down as they saw their brother scan the area after helping the rabbit up.
“Where did this even come from?!” Yuichi was befuddled as he held the ball in hand.
“I don’t know, but it does look familiar,” the group gulped when Leon loudly said that as he inspected the basketball. “Verrryy familiar. Almost a couple months familiar…oh well, can’t be that important.” He threw the ball away.
“Whew,” they reflexively took a breath of relief.
“You good there Yui? No bloody nose?”
“No, just my pride,” he sighed as he double checked. “How bout we head over to my place now before any bones get broken, I promise you a meeting with Spot.”
“Yes!” Leo's fist pumped the air. They couldn’t do it the first few times as both turtle and bunny would spend hours just talking or hanging out with each other and it would entirely slip their minds.
“Whose Spot?” Mikey asked.
“Oh Mi God,” the orange, and everyone else barring a grinning Casey, turtle jaw dropped at the unreal sight ahead of them. It wasn’t the sight of a cozy cottage amongst a setting sun nor was it the different animals and flora milling around the open wide pasture. No, their eyes were locked on a large, green winged lizard that was a good head taller than the cozy home. “Is that a dragon!”
“Not a traditional dragon one for certain, but this one seems to stem from a Roman slash Greek origin mythical creature that Leon used to shove in my face,” Donnie hummed to himself. They all had their phases, Leon had his mythology stint, Micheal was putting rainbow polka dots on everything, Raph was headbutting everyone, and April had her own wrestle mania phase.
(He would never admit that he had his own stint where he wouldn’t take off his atrocious zebra leggings for days. He still doesn’t know why those pair, except that those were gonna be his new thing. He permanently deleted that from his mind.)
“Don, you're allowed to freak out over a dragon,” RiRi couldn’t help but remind the turtle.
“In that case- by Newton Law, that’s a real dragon!”
“I want to pet it,” Raph's eyes sparkled.
“He is an Amphiptere!” Leon excitedly said as he petted the dragon about. “And what a magnificent sight you are! I bet you amaze everyone with how amazing you are.”
“Only if he gets a free meal out of it,” Yuichi joked as he absentmindedly caressed his buddy's green-black scales. “He’s got some killer mopey eyes that yokai’s are a sucker too.”
“Oh do you now,” he cooed and cupped the giant head in between his hands. “Well it must be the fiercest puppy dog eyes across the land. Yes you are, yes you are,” he furiously scratched under his chin.
“RARRRR!” Spot happily crooned loud enough that no listening device was needed as his tail wagged furiously under the touch.
“Awwwww, he’s so cuteee!” Raph squealed at the large animal, barely holding back from popping out from his hiding spot to give him all the scritches he deserves. “I want one!”
“We could totally sneak him in,” the youngest turtle was on full board.
“As much as I would love to agree, dear brethrens, papa wouldn’t allow it,” Donnie pointed out. “You know how he feels about pets.”
“But-but dragon!” Mikey whined then he turned to April, who quickly put her hands up.
“Oh no, I’m not getting involved in this. I was lucky that ma let me keep Mayhem in the first place, I can swing a dog cat animal, but not a fully grown dragon that ain’t even gonna fit in our apartment.”
“Casey!”
“Don’t look at me, Piebald has told me the time you all flushed her down the toilet,” the teen had met his pseudo aunt (once more) and boy she was just as fun as he remembered her. She used to be one of the top scouts next to Todd and Mikey with her being able to camouflage. “Badass ninjas you may be, but I don’t trust any of you with a pet rock.”
“Gasp, rude,” the turtle held his hand up to his chest.
“If the shell fits.”
It was during all that though that Yuichi unabashedly stared at the turtle as he continued to coddle his oversized lizard.
‘He really loves dragons,’ he amusedly thought as his hand had grazed over his buddy's wings. Then he paused before continuing, “Hey Aoi Tsuki.”
“Oh now you're finally picking up nicknames after insulting…me?” He trailed off into a question as Yui, who was now sitting on top of Spot's back, held out an outstretched hand towards him.
“Nooo,” Donnie hissed, already knowing what was happening next.
“Do you want to take a ride?”
“Don’t get on that cool dragon. Don’t get on that cool dragon. Don’t you dare get on that awesome dragon,” Raph fervently whispered
“I swear this is every cliche imaginable, don’t you dare take his hand Leonardo,” Donnie gritted his teeth as he stared at the nauseating scene.
“Awww, I mean nooo, I mean aww, I mean-” Mikey was very indecisive at this point in time.
“This is like in Aladdin,” April was minutely shocked at the switch in attitude. “And here I thought bunny boy couldn’t be suave after his yo-yo tricks.”
“Sensei was always a sucker for his dorky side,” Casey sighed as he held out his phone, that the genius turtle made for him.
“I believe that.”
Leo stared at the outstretched hand before an involuntary blush faintly spread across his face and he forced out a chuckle.
“Ok,” then he took the furry hand.
“Noooo,” all three brothers groaned as the other twin continued. “You cannot be that easily swayed!”
Yuichi pulls him up in front of him and wraps his arms around his waist (“Inappropriate touching!” Raph growled from the sidelines) before leaning in.
“Hold on tight. Let’s fly Spot!” And with a single flap of his majestic wings, the two took off into the air leaving behind the quiet air of the open fields, past the marvelous depths of the Hidden City, and a very enraged twin brother.
“Every cliche imaginable!” He yelled as he shook his fist in the air.
“Come on guys, let’s-”
“If you say catch up to them, I know you lost your mind,” the human girl cut the eldest brother off. “First off, there ain’t no way any of us is catching up to that dragon staying hidden at the same time. You think they won’t notice a purple jet pack and a bright ass red and orange glowing figure following them?”
“It’s not that bright,” he pouted.
“It’s bright enough to light up Central Park at night. Secondly, we are done stalking them. Let them enjoy the rest of their day without us creeping on them like a bunch of creepers.”
“We weren’t that creepy,” the youngest grumbled.
“Yes you were,” both humans simultaneously said.
“Well damn then.”
“Language,” Raph briefly said before turning to the front line obstacle. “But Ape, you don’t understand. That rabbit-”
“Seems to be head over heels in love with Leo and is practically stumbling over himself to win his approval? Yes, good observation. Ten points to Gryffindor,” she crossed her arms.
“Firstly I’m more Hufflepuff and second, he is acting so differently than before. That’s already suspicious!”
“People have different faces for different people, that’s just how life is, get over it,” she bluntly told him. “He had his opinions and I know despite your usual lovable self, you can be vicious when it comes to Jupiter Jim.”
Raph averted his eyes, she wasn’t wrong.
“And the same goes for you two, I know you get protective over your cooking and you for your tech,” she eyed the other two.
“His taste is atrocious!”
“I won’t apologize for standing correct over a small minded asshole.”
“Asshole or not, we are done. I’m putting my foot down on you guys, no more chasing after them like a bunch of zombies wanting to feast on their brains.”
“That’s to instigate that they share one between the both of them,” Donnie said under his breath as the elder turtle stepped forward.
“But-”
“If your butts don’t start moving, I will tell splinter just who exactly broke his recliner chair in the first place,” she threatened as she knew these three had blamed Leo after they were jumping off it one too many times.
“Well would you look at the time, it’s time to go back home,” the red masked turtle swept his brothers up and spun around in the other direction. He does not want that little secret to be revealed, Leo gets nasty when he wants revenge he was barely able to stop him in the first place when they pointed out that the recliner was old in the first place and in need of a new one.
“We are interrogating him when he gets back right?” Mikey spoke up.
“Oh for sure.”
“He will speak even if I have to tie him up and torture him for his brainless decisions.”
“No torture,” the eldest sighed.
“Just a little bit.”
“No.”
“Sigh, you never let me have my moment of fun.”
“This is totally different than portal hopping,” Leon sighed as the cold winds brushed across his face upon the open skies.
“A good different?” Yui asked, making sure his hands stayed firmly on the turtle's middle section and dared not go any lower.
“Definitely good different,” he smiled and leaned forward to take in the quiet night air silence.
“…want to jump off?”
“As if that was a question!” The blue masked turtle excitedly said before full on tilting off without hesitation and yelling. “Bet I can do the most flips!”
“Dream on!” Yuichi quickly backflipped after with his own large grin as both yokai and mutant were now freefalling in the night air.
In an almost reminiscent of their fight with Jei Black, the two danced through the air in a dysfunctional harmonious fashion. There was no rhyme, there was no rhythm, no enchanting beat or corrupt enemy opposing them.
It was just two teenagers having the time of their life as they free fall to their impending doom.
And when Leonardo looks up, seeing Yuichi laughing like bells chiming in an autumn breeze as he continuously flips and twirls in the air, before proceeding to moonwalk. Then it clicks.
‘Fuck, how long have I been in love with this doofus,’ the turtle goofily blushed before air diving over to his bunny friend and full on crashed into him. “I know the sky’s the limit, but I don’t think your dancing counts for that hop pop.”
“Insulting my dancing? That's rich coming from you, I would rather fall off the face of the earth than see you dance again,” he shot back, not even flinching as the two locked hands with one another.
“Is that a challenge I hear?”
“You heard me or have your ears started to ring with all this high flying.”
“You mean high falling.”
“I’ll show you falling!” The rabbit swung the turtle farther away, but Leon got his retribution; he shell bashed into him once he got back over. Thus an intense game of pushing/throwing the other the furthest commenced, but it quickly came to an end when an exasperated Spot swooped under them before they went splat on the approaching ground.
Next thing Leon knew, his shell was on a smooth scaly back and his eyes were locked on bright viridans as Yuichi stared back down at him.
‘Pretty/Fuckkk he’s so pretty,’ both yokai and mutant helplessly thought.
“Sorry!” The rabbit quickly got off with a blush.
“It’s no prob,” the turtle said with a matching look before scrambling back to the front with the familiar chest softly caressing his shell.
It was after a beat of silence, when his blush finally died down and he could no longer hear the beating of his own heart did he speak up again. “Today has been almost a dream,” he looked up at his friend with a questioning smile playing on his face, “was today a special day that I so rudely forgot?”
He could say it. Yuichi could say it right here and right now. As he looked down into Leonardo's mesmerizing eyes, he knew this was the perfect opportunity to confess, to lay it all out there and lay himself bare.
It’s on the tip of his tongue, he could do it, he could do it!
Then he looks and stares into the eyes of cerulean majesties as they are focused only on him and him alone. It’s enough to float aimlessly and drown and he would be thanking every deity he knew for the eternal bliss.
So instead he says, “I like hanging out with you, what else can I say?”
(More. He can say so much more that even the moon he wax poetry about will grow envious of the words he had constructed tied together in love and wishes.)
“I guess it’s not so bad hanging out with you too,” the turtle was not so dense to not realize that there was an unmistakable pause and something churning behind those green eyes, but he decided to just let it lay to rest for now. Instead, as he leans back into the soft fur (no he wasn’t cuddling him!), he can abide by the fact that this was more than enough.
And it was so for Yuichi as well as two soft arms wrapped around the turtle's body and just laid there for rest.
‘This was a good constellation prize,’ the yokai softly thought as he gently put his head on top of the mutant shoulder. ‘This is good.’
And so, riding on top of a dragon, the two teenagers spent the rest of the flight in warm silence as they embraced the last of the warm sun hues and took in the simmering lights of the passing by Hidden City and the crimson depths of the field abound.
It wasn’t until a blue portal opened back up in the lair did all three brothers, plus two humans, all scramble up to see a content Leo walking through the portal.
“What up fam that creepily popped up here like some sort of undead zombie,” he waved to them with one hand as in his other held a certain veil branch. “How’s it been hanging?”
“Oh nothing much,” April nonchalantly held up her hand as she kicked her feet up as she stared at one turtle in particular that she knew was gonna start this show with just how fidgety he was.
“So, where have you been?” Raph, the fidgety one, blurted out.
“Nowhere, just with a friend,” he hummed as he twirled the branch. He needs to find someplace to put this cause as much as he likes it, he has no green thumb whatsoever.
“WiTh a FrIeNd he says” Donnie scoffs with arms crossed.
“Yes, with a friend. And you would know that like the stalkers you were,” he sent them a knowing look.
“You knew?!” Mikey gasped.
“You were literally screaming, it was hard not to.” He was just grateful that Yuichi decided to ignore it as well, he did not feel like redoing those introductions when they were stalking them.
“Well then I guess we can skip the formalities and get to the crust of the situation,” the purple masked turtle slammed his hands down. “What on earth were you doing with that ruffian!?”
“Yeah he is seriously the worst of the worst! He likes Space Heroes! Space Heroes!” The large turtle reiterated.
“And he has absolutely zero taste buds! How can you be friends with someone like him, he is a monster in fluffy clothing,” Mikey shakes his brother's shoulder.
“Okay, how about we take a chill pill hermanos,” Leo slowly tore his brother's hands off him. “Man, I didn’t think you guys would be this mad when he told me about already meeting you.”
“Yuichi told you about that?” Casey spoke up, a little surprised.
“Oh he did,” he grinned widely. “He most certainly did.”
Leo could barely catch his breath from laughing so hard after Yuichi explained his interactions with his brothers and sister. How could he? It was hilarious!
“You’re not mad?” The bunny hesitantly questioned when they busted out in laughter.
“Mad? Why would I be?! That is hilarious!” He choked out after he finally calmed down. “You managed to set off each of their pet peeves without even trying! That’s talent!”
“I’m so glad my misery brings you such joy,” he deadpanned.
“Relax,” he slung an arm around his shoulder. “It was a one time thing, they are probably long over that at this point.”
“Then you know, he insulted my brains!” Donnie hissed out resembling a pissed off viper.
‘Okay maybe I underestimated their threshold,’ Leon thought. “I’ve insulted your brains before.”
“But you’re not an uncultured swine of a stranger! You’re just an uncultured swine! There’s a difference!”
“Yeah big difference! He’s a total sellout! You should definitely stay away from him.” Raph nodded.
“A tasteless monster!” Mikey spat out.
“Our villains had done and called us all way worse things, what is wrong with you guys?” The blue turtle incredulously said. He doesn’t think he has ever seen them all get collectively this upset since that one attack during Big Mom's grand reopening happened and that was because they ruined the food, that was a good reason to be mad, but this? Something doesn’t add up.
“It’s because bunny boy has a crush on you,” April bluntly said, smirking at a trio of incredulous stares.
“April!”
“What?!” Leon spoke up from his eldest brother's yelp, but his face involuntarily blushed and took on a hopeful look. “He does?”
“Absolutely not!” the genius barked out. “You will not loiter around with a neanderthal like him!”
“Really Dee,” the turtle crossed his arms. “I think I can hang around whoever I want first of all and secondly, why are you all so upset that Yuichi likes me? I thought you all would be ecstatic, especially you Miguel?” He turned to his youngest brother. “I know you already have Apes' wedding already planned out.
“Say what now?”
“That’s because we know Sunita and the two of them are so cute together that it’s perfect, I’m not worried about them. I just want you to be happy and I have doubts about someone that likes pickles for a topping,” Mikey argued.
“No seriously, what was that about my wedding?”
“Don’t you guys always complain when I eat pineapples on mine?” He amusedly said.
“Yeah, but you're my brother and I already know you have an odd taste, his is just bad.”
“Look, what Mikey is trying to get at is we don’t want to see you get hurt,” Raph awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
“What I think is that your little overprotective head of yours has spun wild ideas big guy,” the middle child walked forward and poked his head. “It’s been going crazy in there hasn’t it.” He didn’t let him speak before turning his attention back to Mikey and noogies his head.
“And you, I know you want the best for everyone, and while I agree, this is my love life and not everything can be perfect, even with bad taste.”
“Says you,” he grumbled.
“And my lovely, wonderful, evil mastermind twin,” Leon spun around and wrapped an arm around the turtle's shoulder. “I love you, you know I do, but I do like him and I can very well take care of myself. I know in that brain of yours, you're already over the insult, you just want to be petty because you can.”
“Hmph, I still don’t like him,” he grumbled before sighing. “But I suppose I cannot stop you from your rendezvous with him. If he does do anything unwarranted towards you though, I have full rights to tell you ‘I told you so’ before enacting my revenge.”
“I doubt it’ll come to that but sure,” Leon held out his fist and the two fists bumped on it. Then he turned to the rest of his brothers, “and that goes for the rest of you as well. No more stalking, he’s a pretty cool dude.”
“I guess it was real nice of him to show you those cool trees,” the eldest sighed. “Fine, but Raph reserves the right to give him a beatdown if he does hurt you.”
“I have dibs on the shovel talk!” The artistic turtle raised his hand before creepily rubbing his hands with a maniacal face. “I have plenty to say.”
“So do I,” April wrapped an arm around the turtle's neck before pulling him in tighter. “And we’re gonna have that talk about you planning my wedding?”
“To be fair, I have everything set out and planned, since it was officialized that Sunita was all good. You can’t blame for creating your dream wedding.”
“We’re gonna have words Mikey.”
“…yes ma’am.”
“Just don’t scare him off,” Leo chuckled before holding his other arm out. “Now get in here my stalker family.”
“For your information, I find no fault in Yuichi,” Casey was the first to join. “You two will be perfect for each other.”
“At least one of you isn’t murderous,” he chuckled as everyone else soon joined in. “Wait, is this a future thing? Were we together in the future?”
“Spoilers~”
“Boy this is life! There ain’t no spoilers in life! I have answers and especially about today and…wait a damn moment.” Leo paused as a thought ruptured into his head. “Was today supposed to be a date?!”
“If they aren’t boyfriends by next week I will lock them in a room until they make out,” April groaned.
“WHO HAS A BOYFRIEND?!” A voice echoed and they turned to see Splinter aghast face walking into the room.
“Ooo, shouldn’t have said that out loud,” the human winced.
“You think,” Leo hissed before plastering on a smile. “Dear father of mine, it’s not a big deal.”
“I’ll be the judge of that, explain.”
“Whoops and would you look at the time, I need to check on my ‘be anywhere but here’ invention,” Donnie quickly evacuated from the situation with the rest of his family following suit making up their own excuses
“Cowards!” The lone turtle yelled as he had to endure an hour long lecture from his dad before the older man settled down.
(“I still want grandchildren.”
“Dad no!”)