These Small Hours

By: Hitokiri Musei

Rated: K+

Summary: Leo thinks about the bond he shares with his brothers; how deep it goes, and knows that it's the small hours they share that show how much they truly love each other. Implications of turtlecest.

Warnings: There are some implications of turtlecest in this, but it's cute, so who cares. I suppose it doesn't have to be taken that way, but that's what I meant it for… This is my first TMNT fiction, although I have been a fan of the series for so many years I can hardly count that high, and I've been reading it for some time, so I might be a bit OOC, but I like to draw my own conclusions about the Turtles' personalities. I draw references from basically every TMNT element, except for The Next Mutation, which I've never seen. The layout of the rooms, for example, I take mostly from the 2003 cartoon, while I take the workings of how Donny's computer is laid out from the newest movie.

I don't own the turtles or the song "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas.

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

Let it slide,
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine
Until you feel it all around you
And I don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Chorus and Second Verse

Leonardo made it a habit a long time ago to look in on his brothers before going to bed. When they were young, they slept in the same room, so it wasn't hard for him to look up and double check on all three of them, make sure that they were near him and still safe. From even that young age, he had felt a sense of possessiveness for them, a will to protect all of them with all of his being.

When they grew older and got their own rooms, Leo still kept up his nightly check, although now he would quietly go to each of their doors, looking into the dark to let his eyes rove over the still, peaceful forms of his brothers.

But as their teenage years crept up on them, their hours changed, and soon Leo was no longer the last one to go to sleep; it was usually Donatello, although sometimes Raphael was up longer. Michelangelo loved his sleep too much; he was usually the first in bed.

Regretfully, Leo slowly stopped his ritual, though he sometimes peeked in on Mikey before heading to his own bed in his incense-scented room. At the same time, though, he knew that his brothers could take care of themselves, there was no reason for him to check on them now.

After every battle they had, every brush with danger and death that they experienced, Leo would renew his ritual for a few days before letting things go back to normal. He found that he couldn't sleep until he had verified that they were there and that they were all okay.

Now they had returned home after April and Casey's wedding, and for Leo, it was another sleepless night, lying in his bed staring at the ceiling, debating silently with himself if he should go and look in on his slumbering brothers.

It wasn't a hard choice; he pushed himself to his feet quietly, moving with absolute grace over the stone of the floor.

He went to Donny's lab first, smiling faintly when he saw the faint glow of the computer screens from the cracked door. He knew that his brainy brother would be there, and not in his own room. Donny could never resist the call of his mind when he got working on some invention or experiment.

Sure enough, he pushed open the door quietly to find the chair turned towards the computer, a form slumped onto the keyboard that was attached to the right armrest. Leo crept forward with all the stealth of a ninja, not wanting to wake his sleeping little brother. Donny's arms were folded, his cheek resting against his forearm as he slept peacefully, carapace rising and falling slightly with his even breathing.

The smile warmed Leo's cheeks, and he glanced to the side, locating a blanket and carefully draping it over Donny before leaning down to press his lips gently against the younger's forehead. Donny shifted faintly, mumbling, but didn't wake as he snuggled into the warmth of the blanket.

Leo left the room quietly, heading next to Raph's room. He could already hear his immediate younger brother's rather thunderous snores, chuckling lightly to himself before pushing open the ajar door and heading into the darkness of the room. Raph was draped in his hammock, left arm and leg hanging off the cloth and his right arm above his head. His blanket was barely hanging on, almost falling off of his chest as it moved with his snores.

Carefully and gently, Leo lifted Raph fully back into his hammock, grinning when the red-clad turtle snorted faintly in his sleep and shifted in the direction that Leo encouraged. Excellent ninja might all of his brothers be, but they never awoke when Leo checked on them, no matter what he did. He knew that it was one of the signs of the love and trust that they shared; they allowed Leo to touch and see them at their most vulnerable moments.

After draping the blanket over his brother, Leo ran a gentle hand across his forehead, his sign of affection for Raph. He knew that this brother would never get over a kiss to the forehead. He used to do so, but as Raph had grown older, he had changed it, some part of him knowing that Raph would feel it even in sleep and be embarrassed.

Mikey was next, and Leo felt the smile stretch across his face as he spotted his youngest brother sprawled out on his bed, lying on his plastron. Just like when he was awake, Mikey still had to take up as much space as possible when he slept. He was everywhere when he was awake, and so that carried over into rest. He was missing any blankets at all, and Leo wasn't surprised to find them all thrown across the floor. He lifted them quietly and draped them over Mikey, pressing a gentle and loving kiss to the crown of his head before turning towards the door. He pressed the nightlight back into the wall where it had been knocked out by the flung blankets, and then carefully left the door ajar as he walked out.

17 years old might Mikey be, but he still didn't like being in the dark.

Going back to his own room, Leo climbed back into his bed, feeling more at ease now that he had checked on his family. The warmth and love swelling in his heart made him feel calm and at peace, and with a sigh he closed his eyes, snuggling into the warmth of his bed. It amazed him at how even though time had changed things so much, he could still have these small hours when he knew that his family needed him, and that he could provide them with some comfort and protection. It was the moments like this that made him feel as though he was really needed, and had a true purpose. He lay there for some time, but found that he still couldn't sleep, though he wasn't sure why.

It wasn't long until he heard his door swing nearly soundlessly open, and then there was the gentle padding of feet across the stone of his floor. He didn't bother moving until he felt his blanket being lifted and a warm body settled against his mattress, pressing against him. He cracked open an eye to see the sleepy blue eyes of Mikey, and the orange-clad turtle smiled at him, tucking himself under Leo's covers and snuggling close. Leo shifted to make room for him, allowing the youngest turtle to cuddle up to his plastron, his head just beneath Leo's chin. Mikey's legs slowly tangled around Leo's and then they both let out contented sighs at the same time, closing their eyes.

Another few moments and then the door opened again, and this time Leo felt a body sliding onto the top of his bed, taking up the top part of his mattress. Mikey scooted down the bed, taking Leo with him, and then Leo's head was lifted with his pillow to be placed against a warm plastron. Leo opened his eyes slightly to connect gazes with Donny's warm hazel eyes, watching as the younger placed his pillow on the mattress and lay back, breathing out deeply. Leo's head settled back against the pillow and Donny's chest, smiling as he felt Donny's arm come down to rest his fingers gently against Mikey's carapace, connecting the circle.

Warmth flowed though all of them, and their breathing slowly began to sync, and they all felt the humming warmth of their connected bond flowing around them. Leo still couldn't help but feel that their circle was incomplete, and he found himself wishing that Raph would come and join them, though part of him was sure that he wouldn't.

To his surprise at that moment he felt the blanket behind his carapace lift, and then a warm, strong arm draped over his side, a plastron slipping against his shell. He felt the gentle breath waft over the back of his neck, and then the soft feeling of Raph's lips gliding over his skin. His immediate younger brother pressed himself all along Leo's body, his leg shifting over his and Mikey's, his hand resting on Donny's where the purple-clad turtle touched Mikey's shell.

Raph dropped another kiss against Leo's neck, and then went still, his breathing evening out once more. It wasn't long before he was snoring, and Leo smiled warmly, snuggling into the full-body hug that he was receiving and drifting towards sleep in the comforting, warm circle of his brothers' sleeping bodies.

Yes, he knew that no matter what, he was needed, and that he was loved in return, and then no matter how time fell away into the endless stream of life, these small hours that he spent with his brothers, the three that he loved more than the world, these hours would always remain with him.