A/N: Happy Halloween everyone!
I hope you find this tale of intrigue and romance a sweet little Halloween treat. It was meant to be a one-shot, but grew into a monstrous, hairy Halloween chapter-fic!
The trick's on me this year- I checked, and Kame shows no signs of transforming. *sigh* I had such hopes of the full moon.
Ah well, thanks for reading! And thanks to Fair Drea and Melody Winters for ideas and rambling chats of insanity, and to Duckie Pray for beta-reading some bits and helping with the growing process.
This one's a work in progress, so for the first time ever, I'm not making a guarantee of daily updates! Muh-wah-hahahahahahaha!
~Leonardo's Game~
"Woooo!" yelled Raph as the coaster roared through a loop. Leonardo put his arms up, all the while wondering if the bolts would be strong enough to hold the car to the track and how he'd let himself get talked into this particular form of insanity. Michelangelo was screaming, sounding remarkably like a twelve-year-old girl.
Leo knew, as they hit the bottom of the last drop and Mikey's voice went even higher, and Sierra giggled in the seat beside him, why. It was a chance of a lifetime and an experience his brothers and their wives would not soon forget. They filed off the ride. Mike leapt into the air with a whoop. Leo winced.
"Mike," he hissed, "Low profile, remember?"
"Bro, that was awesome. Let's do it again!" Mikey shouted.
"You sure?" Austin gave him a sardonic look, one eyebrow rising.
"Yeah." Raphael clapped his brother on the shoulder with a grin. "I never heard Mikey scream like dat."
"I don't know, Raph. I heard him screech last week when you guys were sparring," teased Ann. Raphael guffawed.
"Hey!" protested Michelangelo, but he was grinning. "That's cold, Sis."
Donatello chuckled, laying his arm over Beverly's shoulder. "Let's try the water park," he suggested. "It closes soon."
"Ok," said Raph. "But I want to do Fahrenheit again before we go."
Leonardo groaned. "Raph, you've been on it three times already."
Ann laughed. "He's nuts," she said.
Raphael smirked. "Nah, I just like da way ya grab me at take-off."
Ann punched his arm, blushing.
"What do you want to do, Leonardo?" asked Sierra. Leo smiled into her eyes. He still couldn't quite believe her; she was too good to be true.
"I'm doing it," he whispered. "I just want them to have a good time and be safe."
"Hey, Fearless, why don'tcha go on an' have fun wit' yer girl," said Raph. "It's yer vacation, too."
"Well…" Leo hesitated.
"Don't worry, Leo" said Austin. "You know I'll take care of Mike and Don's got Bev to watch his back. We've all got our phones and we know what to do if anything goes wrong." She laid a hand on his arm and gave him the smile he'd always had trouble resisting. "Leo, go. Have fun."
Leonardo nodded, realizing he was defeated. He grinned. "Well, Sierra, what do you say I win you one of those big stuffed tigers?"
"Oh, that would be amazing," said Sierra shyly. She tucked her arm in his, and Leo saw her shoot Austin a grateful look over her shoulder as they walked toward the midway.
"Have I really been that distracted?" he asked as soon as they were out of ear-shot of the others.
"Mmmhmm." She leaned into him. "They really can take care of themselves, Leo."
"They can get themselves into trouble, too," he grumbled good-naturedly. "This kind of freedom," he gave a small wave to a little girl who was staring at them with eyes stretched wide. "It can be intoxicating. Besides, Mike and Raph don't need any excuses to get into trouble."
Sierra snorted. "They've got Ann and Austin to look out for them."
Leonardo grinned. "Those two can be just as bad," he remarked. "Bev's the only one I'd trust to really keep them in line."
"I'm sure they'll be fine," said Sierra. "Besides, how often do I get you all to myself?"
Leo snaked one arm around her waist, drawing her closer.
"Do you want to try The Comet?" he asked as the cars roared past along the wooden track. "Don says it's one of the last wooden roller coasters left in the United States."
"Pass. How about the Tilt-a-Whirl?"
"Really?"
"Sure. Unless you don't want to."
"Let's go."
Sierra laughed like a little girl, skipping ahead. Leo chased her, catching her hand, and she spun around aiming a playful swat at his plastron. Leonardo captured her other hand, pressing his face against her palm. A familiar shiver ran through her and she came closer until she stood against his plastron.
Leo stared down into her face, lost in her green eyes until a distinct giggle had him stepping back, instinctively reaching for the katana that wasn't in its holder. Don had managed to smuggle his bo, and Michelangelo his nunchucks, in as part of their "costumes", but his and Raphael's blades were too obviously dangerous, and they'd been forced to leave them in the BattleShell. A small group of teenage girls nearby were watching him and Sierra. One of them turned away, covering her mouth with her hand, obviously trying to stifle her laughter.
"Come on, love," said Sierra gently, taking his elbow and steering him toward the ride.
Regret rose in Leo's chest. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"For what?"
"For… not being… well, normal." For holding you back. For not being able to take you places like this all the time. For not being the man you deserve.
"Hamato Leonardo!" Sierra's voice was so sharp he stopped short, turning to look at her. She reached up to cup his cheek with one hand. "Leonardo. You are…" She trailed off, and Leo was startled to see tears standing in her eyes. "You are amazing. I am so blessed. I wouldn't change you, wouldn't change us if I could."
Leo bowed his head, humbled. Her arms came around his neck, and she pressed her lips to his mouth. "I don't care what anyone thinks," she whispered. "They don't know what they're looking at. They don't know what I have. Leo, I love you. Would you love me more if I were a Turtle, like you?"
Leonardo blinked. "What? No, of course not." He ran his fingers through her silky black hair.
"Well, I wouldn't love you more as a human," she said. "In fact, it would be weird." She giggled, and something loosened in him, letting a chuckle loose.
"You are really something, Mrs. Hamato," he whispered.
"So are you, Hamato Leonardo-san," she answered with a smile. "Now, come on. Let's check out that ride."
He let her lead him up the ramp. The line was short, and the were able to get right on. Leonardo settled into the inside of the car, letting Sierra take the center. She pulled the bar down across their laps and laughed with delight as the ride began spinning. Faster and faster it went until Leonardo found himself pressed into the corner, with Sierra pulled against him by sheer centrifugal force.
"I see why you like this ride now," he called to her over the happy shrieks of the other riders.
Sierra laughed with delight, deliberately pressing even closer against him. Leo laid his arm over her shoulders.
When the ride stopped, they climbed out, following the few teens off the ride.
"What now?" she asked.
"Hmm I seem to recall offering to win you a stuffed animal," he said with a grin.
"Let's go."
They headed for the midway. Sierra shook her head at the huge stuffed bananas in one booth, and the oversized pink gorillas in another. Suddenly, she pointed. "That one!" she said. "I'd like one of those."
Leonardo shook his head. "Are you sure?"
"Yep."
Leo shook his head, but approached the booth, dropping his dollar on the counter. The man laid five baseballs in a small raised ring.
"Knock down the bottles, three down wins a prize," he rattled, his eyes sliding over Leo disinterestedly as he kept a look out for other unwary park-goers he could lure in. "Knock down three groups for a medium prize, four for a large, all five groups gets you an extra large stuffed Turtle." He smirked slightly. "Looks like the lady collects turtles, Friend, see if you can win her another."
"I intend to," answered Leo good-naturedly.
He picked up a ball. His first shot hit the bottles squarely, knocking down the stack.
"Whoa, got it in one," called the carny, loudly enough so passerbys could hear. "Think you can get another, Friend? Remember, three groups down wins a prize, give it a try, dollar a ball," he called to a group of teenage boys who were looking their way.
Leo ignored the man's heckling, taking another deadly-accurate shot and dropping another stack of bottles with a rattling crash.
"That's two, that's two, need just one more for a prize, that's right folks, he makes it look easy, doesn't he? Just one more group of bottles gets the lady one of these monkeys, cute, isn't it folks? But she wants a turtle…"
Leo grinned. You have no idea.
Crash. The third group of bottles flew off the table. The cary's eyebrows rose.
"That's three, that's three, folks, the lady wins a prize! See how easy it is? You there, Edward Cullen," he pointed to a young man wearing a vampire outfit. "Win one for your girl, look how easy it is…"
"I've got two more shots," said Leo calmly.
"You do indeed, sir," answered the attendant, backing out of the line of fire. "Just let me set these up for you again…"
Leonardo watched as the man set up the bottles. He noticed that he'd set the configuration slightly differently this time, and frowned. With the weight of the top bottles balanced that way, it'll be harder to knock the stack down unless I hit it just… there. The shot's meant to be tricky, but it's not for a ninja.
"Two more, two more wins the giant Turtle for the lady." The man was smirking now, confident in his con game. "Just two more shots, or she goes home with a monkey…"
Leonardo tuned out his spiel as easily as Mikey's chatter, lining up the shot and hitting the bottles exactly in the right spot to send them tumbling. The carny stared, shocked out of his speech for the instant it took Leo to throw the second ball, taking out the last stack of bottles with hardly a flourish.
"There you have it," cried the man behind the counter. "See how easy it is, folks? A prize for the lady! She wins the giant turtle."
He reached up, leaning to reach one of the stuffed animals.
"I'd like the blue one, please," said Sierra with a smile. The man shot her a look over his shoulder, but met Leo's stern gaze and gave them a sheepish grin.
"All right, lady. Hang on." He climbed up onto the counter, lifting down the turtle with the blue hat.
"That was a heckofa shot, Pal," he remarked. "You played this before?"
Leonardo grinned. He'd been throwing shurikens since he was old enough to hold one, and target practice had been part of his training.
"I've played a few games in my time," he said casually, hooking an arm around Sierra's waist. She grinned at him over the stuffed turtle.
"Skylar and Kouki will adore this," she said, hugging it.
"You mean you're not going to keep it for yourself?" he asked lightly.
"Hmm, I may have to keep it on our bed," she answered, laughing when Leo grimaced. "How'd you beat that game, anyway? I've never seen anyone win the last two shots. Usually there's one bottle standing."
"Secret ninja trick," said Leo with a smirk.
"Oh, you."
This was a good idea, after all, thought Leonardo as she leaned her head against his shoulder. I just hope the others are having as much fun as we are, and that they stay out of trouble.
