Requested by AmarantaBlue: "Are you taking requests? Could you make a story that's like leoxcasey or Leox(guy version of) Karia?"

Warning: Dialogue heavy.

"You taken your meds, Blue?" Leo nodded, then pawed at the air in his hand's direction. "Nada. Not yet," he grunted, lifting the headphones further in the air and out of the turtle's reach. "C'mon, talk to me, man."

"Nothing to say."

"Four months and you have nothing to say?" Leo made that wheezy sigh, limbs going limp on the bed and eyes dancing about the room. "We're missing you out here, outside your emo music. I know you're hurting, I understand that, but you're not helping yourself by wallowing."

"I'm not trying to help myself."

Casey scowled at him, then pointedly leaned towards the window and tossed the headphones through it.

The turtle and the human stared at each other, both looking invariably irritated. "I'm gonna ignore the fact you could easily give me an atomic wedgie, break a few of my bones and throw me out the window after them with one hand behind your back, and get right to the part where I help you."

"No wonder Donnie punches you so much."

The vigilante folded his arms and his glare hardened, but Leo simply turned his gaze to the floor. "Talk to me."

"I don't feel like it."

"I'm not a push over like your brothers. I'm not moving until you talk to me. Properly. Even if that means I have to sleep with you for the next few nights."

"April wouldn't like that."

"April doesn't like a lot of things I do."

Leonardo sighed again, more drawn out this time, head drooping solemnly. His family had been prying with him for the past few weeks, which he understood to some extent, but all he wanted was the thing he'd arguably never had with three little brothers down in the sewers; solitude. What was it about leaving him be that his brothers and single sister didn't comprehend? Admittedly, Casey and Donnie had been the least nosy, letting him mope about the farmhouse with little more than inquiries on his medical state. But he realised that the older boy was probably more stubborn than the rest of their family combined. That may pose a problem. "You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe not. Never know until you try." Leo's brow twitched in annoyance, then closed his eyes and turned his nose into the air. "It's not a matter of understanding anyway, Blue. It's the fact that bottling everything up and mixing in chemicals, even medicinal ones, won't do anyone any good. I'm offering you an ear and a shoulder to metaphorically cry on."

Silence fell, and Leo drifted through his thoughts, distantly aware of just how patient Jones was being. "I prefer keeping to myself."

"We both know that's a lie. You have any idea how twitchy Raph's been for the last few months?," Casey hissed. "He's not used to you being this distant with him."

"Judging by the sounds I've been hearing through the walls, I think Mikey's taking care of Raph's stress build up." The boy snorted, though tried to muffle the amused sound to keep up an air of seriousness.

"Doesn't mean he's not freaking out."

"If you wanted to help me, you and April would keep the shouting to a minimum." Casey scowled at Leo; he was trying to make him angry, draw attention away from his depression. He wouldn't give him the pleasure.

"We'll work on it. You aren't the only one who's lost a Father in all this," he jabbed back, repressing his guilt at the twitch of the reptile's shoulder. "Your brothers lost him too."

"I know."

"They had to watch."

"I know, Jones."

"I understand the heart ache, more than you give me credit, but fucking hell, Leo, they need you."

"Shut up, Casey!," Leo suddenly screamed, fist snapping back and ready to wallop him in the jaw. The human reacted faster than he'd expected, which gave Leo the impression he'd been waiting for it, grabbing his wrist and rolling them over before pinning Leo down to the sheets as gently as possible. "You don't know anything!," he yelled, broken and fragile body useless to him against Casey's muscle. "You've never gotten a taste for a poison, never gotten so addicted that you think about him everyday, but you think about quitting just as much! You've never risked everything you love, everything you've worked for, just to keep that feeling! To keep him! Then the inevitable happens, and the poison takes its toll, and you knew it would end grimly, but you just... wanted it so badly!"

Casey stared down at Leo, hands holding his bandaged wrists loosely, dark eyes skittering over his expression.

"Surprisingly, yes. Yes I do."

Leo went very still. Tanzanite eyes squinted hazily up at the human - a mixture of pain, emotion and heavy sedatives leaving him with very little control over his bodily functions - as tears began welling in them. Casey let go of one wrist and wiped under the turtle's eyes, removing any hint of moisture for the sake of his friend's dignity.

"I've been going crazy for your brother lately, Leo. It's pissing me off as much as it is April, but Donnie's just got me wrapped around his finger. But I think you can guess where the problem lies."

"He still loves April." He nodded solemnly, free hand resting on the bed beside Leonardo's head. The ninja's vision started to unblur, peering up at Casey suspiciously. "Is that what the yelling is really about?"

"Yeah," Jones grunted. "April and me, we've already slept together once or twice. Don't get me wrong, it was great! But since we came down to Northampton... y'know, she's been kinda cold and distant, so we said we'd give it a break for a while. I understand, I'm not expecting her to be Little Miss Sunshine or anything, but she's being outright nasty."

"I hadn't noticed."

"I didn't mean to you guys." Leo tilted his head, the sheets crumpling and folding around his cheek, looking sympathetic. "The colder she gets, the more appealing Donnie's optimism is."

"Mikey's optimistic."

"And he's Raph's mate. I'm not stealing my best bud's primary source of sanity." The turtle looked away guiltily, then back up again. "I know I pick on Don, and I tease him about stupid things like his teeth and stuff, but he's awesome. Amazing, even."

"He is." Jones went quiet, then shifted his weight back, making the bed creak. He sat crossed-legged between Leo's bandaged legs, quickly assessing them on sight alone. The younger boy slowly sat up, body screaming to remain prone but he felt it necessary to make eye contact at this point. His gaze skittered over Casey; he had no shirt on. He'd been practising hand-to-hand combat with Mikey out in the yard. Leo had sat in the windowsill and watched. A song by The National had been playing, he recalled - Exile. It takes your mind again. Exile. It takes your mind again. You've got suckers' luck. Have you given up? - a rather prominent six pack and broad biceps glared back at him, and his eyes darted away like he'd been scolded. If Casey wanted Donnie, then a pleasant sight like that should only be for him. "And so are you."

"Thanks." He closed his eyes, lids heavy like thick hoods. Casey was anything but stupid; what he lacked in intelligence he made up for with worldly wisdom. The kind Leo had never had the opportunity to learn for fifteen years. Wisdom came from experience, and experience came from... making mistakes.

"Does it ever stop hurting?"

"Eventually," Casey breathed. "It'll leave a scar. Like a war wound."

"Have you ever been... hurt like that?"

"When I was thirteen, there was this chick three years older than me. She was on the girls hockey team, she was a beast. She took me for a whirl a couple of times. Lost my virginity to her. Then she gave me a tongue lashing and went off with a buff jock who was in college right in front of my pals. Not quite as bad," he shrugged. "But heartbreak and humiliation... I know that feel." Leonardo nodded, mildly relieved. He'd have been extremely concerned if Casey had experienced the same physical beating he had at any point in his life.

"What was her name?"

"Sophie," the boy replied. "Bitch."

"Sounds like it." Again, his eyes travelled away, this time drifting towards the window where Casey had thrown his headphones. It was getting dark out. "Shredder took him out of the circus. He was paraded around as an acrobatic freak of nature. Got taunted and abused and starved half to death. He was the only mutant, but at the time, he had no idea what he was." Casey's dark eyes were focused on the side of Leo's face, but the reptile tried to keep his gaze on the sun setting behind the tree line. "He offered him chances he'd never had before, retribution and honour. I gave him someone to screw on a regular basis."

"Don't."

"That's all I was good for."

"You stop that." A large hand reached up and grasped his cheeks from under his chin, gently but firmly turning his head to look him in the eye. Casey had very long, calloused fingers. "You're worth more than that. If he couldn't see that..."

"I'd have done the same." Casey tilted his head. "If situations had been reversed, if it was Splinter that had ordered me to break him..."

"The Ol' man would never tell you to do something like that. He's too damn nice."

"Nevertheless..."

"Leo, you listen to me," Casey said firmly, leaning forward and cupping the turtle's face in his hands. "If he values someone's approval over how he feels for you, he ain't worth it. You are not like Tiger Claw, just like Splinter ain't like Shred-head. Even if the situation had been reversed, you're too sweet to hurt anyone that bad, especially someone you care about."

"Thanks, Casey."

The human nodded, arms retracting back to rest in his lap. "Anyone would be lucky to have you. You're a killer babe, Blue." A ghost of a smile graced his lips, making Jones grin in some measure of triumph.

"Never been called that before."

"I can say it more often if it'd make you smile more." There it was again.

Leo's arm began to lift, but he hesitated. Casey's eyes darted down to it, a touch of panic as he scanned the wounded limb. Then it continued, and Leo brushed a stray lock of sweat sodden hair away from the centre of Casey's face. "The same goes for you, you know."

"You think I'm a babe?"

"Well, yes, but I meant what you said about someone valuing another person's approval over you." Jones blinked in confusion. "I love my little brother, but no matter how smart he is, he's essentially as thick as a brick. Mikey has more social perception than Donnie."

"So does that brick."

That smile again. "Promise me you won't agonise over him if he doesn't figure it out for ages and ages," Leo said. "It isn't his fault, he just over thinks things so much that he completely misses the obvious."

"I noticed." He winced, dark grey eyes duelling with bright Tanzanite blues, but he eventually gave in with a heavy sigh. "I promise, but only if you promise me something."

"I think I can guess what it is."

"Promise you'll smile at me at least once a day." Leo's expression betrayed his surprise.

"I was apparently wrong."

"Thought I was gonna say cheer up, din't you?" He nodded, to which Casey snickered and shook his head. "You can't force someone to cheer up. You take your time, Blue. But I wanna see that pretty smile more often."

Leonardo tilted his head, considering Casey and his muscles, and his sweaty hair, and his dark grey eyes. He considered his calloused fingers and his large hands, his warm skin and his snarky humour. He wanted to hear Casey call him unusual pet names again. "I'll smile at you if you call me babe again." Jones lifted an eye brow.

"April hates it when I call her that... most girls hate it, actually."

"A babe is someone that's supposed to be attractive, right?" He nodded. "I haven't really ever been perceived as attractive by anyone other than Tiger Claw."

The human nodded minutely. "I get'cha," he murmured. "I'll call you anything you like, Blue."

"Thank you." He bowed his head, staring sombrely at the sheets between their legs for a moment, then back up again. "This might seem strange, but... can I hug you?"

"Hug?," Casey asked in surprise. "You want a hug?" At Leo's shy nod, a wide grin burst over his face. "Well heck, all you had to do was ask!," he chuckled, arms opening out wide and welcoming. That almost-smile touched Leo's lips again, and he crawled into Casey's embrace, nestling his head under the older boy's chin and looping his arm around his back. Muscular human arms stretched over his shell carefully, warm breath brushing over his face.

Leonardo closed his eyes and soaked up Casey's warmth, a quiet and contented moan humming through his nostrils.

They sat there for a while, until Leo's back started to ache and Casey moved them to lay down. The human lay on his back with an arm looped around the turtle's waist, who was curled up contentedly on his bare chest, one leg carefully slung over both of Casey's. Leo listened to his friend's heartbeat, and decided it was rather rhythmic. It would do as a replacement for his music for now.

"You'd better get my headphones in the morning."

"We're having a moment, Leo," Casey chuckled, one hand gliding over the surface of his shell.

Tiger Claw lay with him like this sometimes; on a tree branch or a roof top, heartbeat still erratic and breath uneven. They'd bask in the afterglow, but never in one another's company, despite sweet nothings being husked into his ear in the heated frenzies as Claw would rut him against hard concrete.

Casey wasn't as strong, or furry, but he was remarkably warmer. The tentative nuzzles and swirling patterns traced over his carapace were easy, affectionate. He decided he liked it.

"I got a proposition for you, Blue." He looked up curiously, blinking blearily without even realising he'd been dozing off. "I think it'd do us both some good."

"Alright..." Casey stared at the ceiling, one arm pillowing his head even with a cushion beneath it.

"I gotta keep my promise to you about not angsting over Don," he started. "And you gotta keep your promise to me about smiling every day. You gotta get your mind off the cat, and I gotta get mine off of April and your brother. We talk to each other fairly easily, we're obviously pretty comfortable with each other, and I told you before that I think you're a real babe."

"Is this going where I think it is?"

"If it don't work, we can call it quits and go back to just being cuddle buddies." Leo half-smiled again. "Whad'ya say, wanna give it a shot?"

The turtle thought for a moment, eyes grazing over the expanse of Casey's chest. "Donnie's the jealous type, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"That I have."

"Perhaps if he notices that your attention has been directed away from him, he'll begin to realise how much it means to him."

"And if it didn't mean anything to him?"

"His loss is my therapy." Casey laughed, gently squeezing Leo against his side. "Plus, I like you a lot, Casey."

"I like you too, Leo." He removed the arm from under his head, hand snaking its way down to tangle with Leo's. Five fingers wove together with three large green ones, then they clasped together tightly. "And I'd like to try being your boyfriend."

Leonardo watched their hands as they lowered to rest on Casey's tummy, just above his navel. He was warm and soft, but different to Claw. Less brazen, not the touch of a scorned and blood soaked mutant, but the embrace of a wisely foolish teenaged boy. It was nice.

"I accept."