Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They belong to Mirage Studios, and Gosh darn it, you're not allowed to be the head of a major company until you're of age! D:

So…I'll just have to wait a little longer before I can legally take over. That's not saying that I'll use legal and fair ways to take over, but…it'll be partially legal!

Here's the DL (yeah, I still use this term): This chapter is Leo/Rachel central. It takes place roughly a month after the fluffy chapter I wrote simply to tie up loose ends, so they've all gotten more used to each other (as you will soon find out). This can get pretty steamy. You will want to be wearing your sunscreen SPF 30, because this is going to get hot!

Leo: O.O

On with our story. Enjoy!

Rachel winces as Leo flips her over his shoulder for the third time in a row onto the mat and she lands with a loud thump on her back. She gets back to her feet quickly to impress Leo and show him she's not weak, but hisses as she lifts one of her arms, a shot of pain going from shoulder blade to elbow.

"You okay?" he asks and she nods, rotating her shoulder to work out the tension and sending another duller spurt of pain up her arm. The grimace on her face concerns him and he orders her to take five which she gratefully accepts. Breathing heavily, she regrets agreeing to do a training session without the other girls. Being the only girl and least skilled singles her out, not to mention how intimidating it is; she wouldn't have even allowed herself to be talked into these training sessions suggested by the four boys and their father because of their now jeopardized safety. Leo was adamant that she not wait long to learn a little self defense to keep herself from being killed within the first five seconds of meeting a Foot lackey. Usually she wasn't so alone, but today Lily, Vanessa and Sam all had other commitments. Always the overachiever, Rachel decided a solo session might not be bad-poor judgment on her part.

'Darn them for having lives,' Rachel says to herself, exhaling a huge breath before she strides over to the entrance of the dojo. Brushing some hair from her eyes, Rachel mutters, "It's hot in here," and pulls her oversized red shirt off, revealing a light blue tank top underneath. Leo is mesmerized by how her shirt hugs her slender body perfectly, her gentle curves more pronounced as sweat glistens on her collarbone and beads on her forehead. Unfortunately, Leo is still staring at her when she notices him, and smiling self-consciously, she jokes, "Control your hormones, Leo."

His eyes dart away from her like lightning, a flush forming on his face. Mikey and Raph chuckle quietly and Don doubles over to hold in his laughter. Rachel smiles and walks back over to the mat, asking, "Who wants to take me on? I'm ready."

Raph volunteers, knowing it will only take a second to flip her. Cracking his knuckles, which earns a remark about arthritis from Don, Raph moves in front of the rookie, poised to attack. Little does he know, Rachel is anticipating that cocky smirk sliding right off of his face with relish. Having watched them many times while practicing, she has learned the style of attack most used by Raph: impatient blunt force. All she has to do is ride out his furious attacks and she can win.

He gives Rachel a small dip of the head in place of a formal bow and she returns it more respectfully, readying herself for what she's decided to do. Raph lunges at her quickly to just flip her and get it over with, taking the direct approach as usual. Rachel waits until he reaches for her right wrist and then dodges to the left, kicking him in the shell as he passes by her. Slightly surprised, he turns and aims a blow to her shoulder. She smiles as she drops down to one knee, swinging her leg around and missing his feet as he jumps over it. He backs up a bit more and waits for her to return to her feet, coming in again. She moves to the side, but this time he kicks her hard in the torso, and she staggers back. The wind in completely gone from her lungs and gasping she regains her balance, giving her head a sound jerk before she takes a defensive stance.

'She's persistent, I'll give her that," Raph muses, ducking in close to her to reach her wrist and flip her over…

Rachel slips away again, still gripping her side, and deflects a hard punch aimed at her shoulder. He tries to punch her again, but she blocks it, ignoring the crack that issues from her forearm. 'At least it's my arm and not my face.'

Twisting around, she attempts to spin kick him across the face but Raph catches her foot, flipping her onto her front. With a whoosh, the air exits her lungs again, and she can barely breath as she stands up, putting up her dukes. Raph's fists come at her in a rapid onslaught, and she backs up to the wall behind her, softening most of them with her forearms. An idea comes to her, and when he aims a particularly hard punch at her, she moves to the side. His knuckles smash against the brick wall, and he mutters a curse under his breath before he kicks Rachel hard again, knocking her onto her back upon the mat. Rachel releases a groan as she rubs the back of her head, rolling out of the way just as Raph lands on the mat. She gets to her feet in a crouch and eyes Raph as he stands up, his fists clenched tightly. Her posture straightens slowly, and Raph's height becomes less apparent as she stands erectly, knees bent and her hands held up in front of herself. For the first time in his life, Raph decides to wait, and use his words instead of his fists.

"Ya know, there's no way you can beat me," Raph taunts, trying to provoke her.

"There's certainly a way I can kick your sorry butt," she counters. Smirking, Raph insists, "Hit me with yer best shot."

Eyes becoming mere slits, Rachel lunges at him. Her second mistake of the day-Raph catches her hands as she comes at him, rolling over backwards and landing on top of her. Panting heavily, she looks up into his smug face, knowing she can't do anything at this point. She's pinned. They stay like that a few seconds longer, and Leo shifts uncomfortably, joking dryly, "I'm not sure I want you two that close."

Grinning at Leo's undeniable jealousy, Rachel says, "It's okay, my shirt's between us," and adds as an after thought, "…although that could change."

The look of alarm on Leo and Raph's faces as he lurches off of her is priceless, Leo's swiftly becoming a glare and Raph's a frightened glance. Mikey and Don can barely contain their laughter as they lean against the wall, watching Raph's face camouflage with his mask and Leo's eyes shoot daggers at him. Giggling, Rachel assures, "I'm joking, Leo! You take me way too seriously. I mean-would I ever really go for Raph?"

Leo's arms fall from their position across his chest and Raph's brow furrows in offense. Before he can retaliate to the insult, Rachel suggests, "It's your turn next Mikey," motioning for him to come towards the mat. He pads over stiffly, surprised by how well she fought Raph. He beat her, but it was a close fight; closer even than the fight between himself and Raph at the Battle Nexus-

'…where I became Battle Nexus Champion! Okay, never mind that, she nearly kicked his shell! Wow, she can be intimidating when she wants to be…and she obviously wants to be now. I guess I'm gonna have to face it like a man, there's no way around it. I'll never live it down if she wins…'

Holding his hands up at the ready, he swallows nervously and waits for her to make a move. She ducks in close to him in a quick movement and swings her leg out, knocking him off of his feet. Embarrassed that in the first five seconds of their spar she has him on his back, he kicks up his legs and lands soundly on his feet, staring her directly in the eye. Rachel watches him very carefully for a giveaway, and rockets to the side when Mikey comes at her, executing a round-off before landing in a crouch. Mikey comes in close and they punch and dodge each other, Mikey's hits faster and more accurate, but Rachel's determination and ability to move around him keeps her in the game. Tired of the hit and dive approach, Mikey drops down on one knee and knocks her off of her feet, pinning down her upper body. Releasing a loud gush of air, Rachel somehow manages to kick Mikey off and rolls away, standing up quickly. As he gets to his feet, he's bowled over by Rachel as she attacks him from the side with a powerful kick, planting her foot on his chest just below his throat.

"Hey, that's cheating!...Okay, okay! You win! Can you lift your foot now? I can't breathe!" Mikey whines. Rolling her eyes, Rachel mutters, "If you couldn't breathe, you wouldn't be talking," but lifts her foot off of Mikey and pulls him to his feet. "Not bad, dudette!"

"Thanks, Mike," Rachel replies, panting heavily as she brushes the perspiration from her forehead. She smiles and gasps, "That…was some…workout," stretching upward and bending back down to touch her toes. Leo smiles faintly as he watches her, unaware that anyone notices him at all. But Don catches him looking at Rachel and smirks at his brother's uncharacteristic lack of subtlety.

'He's got it bad!'

Rachel grabs her bag and heads off to the shower, Raph and Mikey making their way to the couch. When the buzz of the television can be heard, Don closes the door to the dojo slightly and begins to put away the equipment with Leo. Trying to be conversational, Don asks nonchalantly, "What did you think of that training session?"

"It was good," Leo replies slowly, a little surprised Don didn't bolt straight to his little hovel like he usually does after practice. Frustrated that Leo didn't get the hint, he adds enthusiastically, "Rachel has really improved."

Fingering the hilt of an intricately carved sword, Leo sighs softly, "Yeah," in a different world as he hangs it on the wall. Noting the look on Don's face, he blurts, "I mean she's really dedicated, and…eager to learn. She's progressed a lot."

Placing his hand on Leo's shoulder, Don encourages, "You don't have to pretend for anybody, because no one's buying it. Go for it Leo, you're not going to find another girl like her just anywhere. Forget about being the leader for one second and tell her how you feel. She's worth it."

Leo moves away from Don and turns to arrange the weapons in their cabinet, surprised when he forced to turn back by his brother. "What are you waiting for?!" Don shouts in exasperation, insisting, "She's out there right now, so go tell her you love her, and don't give me that glare Leo, because there's no denying it. You love her."

It's not a question; it's a statement. Leo closes the mouth that was forming words in protest, stumped for a legitimate answer. He has to wonder… 'Do I love her? No, I really can't love her, that's too powerful a word to describe this. This is a…a crush.'

Wanting to avoid giving any response at all to Don's bold but true statement, Leo pulls closed the doors to the cabinet and exits the dojo without daring to glance back. Shaking his head, Don smirks as he says to himself quietly, "He's got it really bad."

Leo enters the living area to see Mikey in his usual place on the couch playing a loud, violent video game and Raph reading a book in the leather armchair. 'Hold the phone. Raph? Reading? Something isn't right here.'

Shockingly, Raph does have a book in his hands, but he doesn't really seem to be paying that much attention to it. In fact, his eyes never waver from the one spot on the page. Leo furrows his brow as he notices something that gives the whole act away. Shaking his head in disbelief, he strides over to Raph with purpose. Pretending to be surprised at the arrival of his brother, Raph looks up and stammers, "Oh…hey, Leo. What're ya doin'?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?" Leo counters, folding his arms across his plastron in displeasure. Portraying innocence, Raph asks, "What are ya talkin' about, Leo?"

Leo rolls his eyes at his brother for believing him so naïve and accuses bluntly, "You were listening to my conversation with Don in the dojo."

"I was not!" He squawks indignantly, and gestures to his book, defending, "I was readin' my book the whole time."

"Upside down?" Leo asks doubtfully, plucking the book from Raph's hands. Unable to find a way to fill the hole in his alibi, Raph points out, "I woulda found out eventually, Fearless." Leo sighs, defeated, and ignores the immature jibe, wondering, "Do you know where Rachel is?"

Smiling smugly at his brother, Raph replies, "She's cleaning up in the bathroom. The water shut off about five minutes ago, but maybe she's puttin' on make up or something? I don't know what girls do."

"Thanks," Leo mutters, turning to leave. Stabbing the pause button for a mere moment, Mikey advises, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," throwing his brother a cheeky grin before he returns to defeating the evil goombas. 'Mikey. You never know when he's listening,' Leo says to himself as he heads to his room, planning to talk to her after her shower. He slips through the door and shuts it behind him quietly.

Hehehehehehe…cliffy!!!! XD

I did that especially for you, you know. Alright, I psyched you all out, but I promise there will be some action in the next chapter. This time I mean it.

That was fun, wasn't it? What a little fibber that Raphie is, he should get in big trouble!

Seriously, next time I'm going to give you guys more relevant stuff, I promise. That's all for now, so R&R!

Peace,

The Light Of Reason