One look at the sad faces of the boys chosen to stay behind and his former plan to only take two sons out to scavenge the sewer tunnels fell apart. Every. Single. Time.

And then they would make it less than ten steps on their journey before he'd remember why he preferred only two boys at a time.

Michelangelo was fast. Yoshi had to admire the turtle's speed, especially since he was the smallest of the group. But teaching them how to move silently through the tunnels was pretty pointless when he had to yell in order for his voice to reach the little turtle in order to call him back to the group every five minutes.

Donatello wasn't slow. But when he stopped to examine every piece of debris he came across, Yoshi was stuck constantly stopping as well in order to force Donatello to catch up to the rest of the group, while also reminding him to only pick up what they could actually use. It was several months before Yoshi realized that Donatello could actually use almost anything he found after the appliances and other electrical devices around the lair suddenly began working.

His eldest would look for useful items like the rest of them, but Yoshi noticed that Leonardo spent most of their journey with his attention spread around them, as if he were watching the shadows for intruders. And while Yoshi was thankful for the seriousness that Leonardo displayed in his ninjitsu training, he wished that Leonardo could relax and enjoy being out of the lair with his family as easily as his brothers did.

Yoshi called out to Michelangelo and reminded him to return to their group while he watched as Raphael challenged Leonardo to a race down a side tunnel and back. He watched Leonardo's eyes snap away from the shadows and over to Raphael. Leonardo seemed to consider the offer for only a split second before he joined Raphael at the designated starting line.

Yoshi couldn't help but smile as well as he watched Raphael force Leonardo to play and act like the seven-year olds that they were. For Leonardo's sake, he was grateful for Raphael's presence as Raphael often distracted his big brother from his self-imposed role as family protector and forced him into childish, often competitive games instead. Although, appreciating Raphael didn't mean he thought Raphael was the most well-behaved of the group on these outings. In fact, Raphael was quite the opposite, the majority of the time. While Raphael displayed great strength and talent in the dojo, quiet and subtle were never going to be two words he'd use to describe his small warrior. And Yoshi reflected that it was often Leonardo who reigned in Raphael's temper and talent for getting into mischief.

In fact, Yoshi knew better than to ever scavenge the tunnels with Raphael and not Leonardo. And vice versa.

"Cheater!" Raph yelled out as Leo took off a split second before him. Leo looked back at him with a broad grin on his face and Raph found himself smiling in return.

Raph knew Leo was faster than him, so he forgot about trying to pass Leo and instead lunged for Leo's legs, doing his best to tackle his brother to the ground to gain an advantage.

Leo saw him coming, though, and laughed as he pushed himself off the side of the tunnel wall and dodged Raph's attempt. Raph crashed into the wall instead and Leo was left to sprint to the end of the tunnel alone. He turned to head back and suddenly realized why he hadn't heard Raphael following him.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he spotted Raphael in the same spot where Leo had left him behind. His green eyes were huge as he stared at something on the ground in front of where he stood frozen. Leo sprinted back towards his brother but stopped suddenly when he heard Raph whisper a harsh, "No!" in his direction.

"Raphie?" he whispered back. Raph didn't look up at him, though. Instead, he just shook his head at Leo and kept his eyes pinned on whatever had him spooked. Leo began to slowly edge his way towards where Raph stood. However, a sudden hissing noise had him stop again and his eyes finally found the source of Raph's fear. Raphael's tackle attempt must have disrupted the rather large snake who now sat hissing at his brother's feet.

"Leo, stay back," Raph said slowly in a harsh whisper.

Leo wanted to call for their father, but he was afraid that yelling would startle the snake and cause it to strike out at Raph. So instead Leo looked around where he stood for something that would extend his reach so he could try to chase the slithering creature away from his brother. Unfortunately, the floor of their tunnel was unnaturally clear. Leo looked upwards and got an idea.

Raphael tried to keep Leo in his peripheral vision while he stared down at the hissing creature, but when Leo disappeared from his sight, he didn't dare move his eyes away from the snake in order to figure out where Leo went. He also didn't move his eyes when he heard Leo whisper again, seemingly from above him.

"Raph, lift your arms."

"What?" he whispered back, flinching slightly as the snake moved closer to his feet.

"Do it."

Instead of arguing, Raph slowly lifted his arms above his head and felt Leo's hands wrap tightly around his wrists. With a grunt, Leo pulled Raph upwards and quickly began to swing him back and forth to gain momentum as Raph moved his feet higher and away from the snake who had moved to strike the second his feet had left the ground. He realized that Leo was letting go of him only after he was flying towards the entrance of the tunnel. He landed with a loud thud a few feet away and then stared incredulously up at Leo who hung upside down with his legs wrapped around the pipes that ran the length of the ceiling.

Yoshi rolled his eyes as he heard a loud thud from Raphael and Leonardo's tunnel as he assumed their race had turned into a wrestling match, before he glanced over at Donatello, who was excitedly shoving what looked like electrical wiring into the bag he carried, before he cringed as he heard Michelangelo, who was quite a distance away again, yell out that nonsense word he'd recently made up. A word he insisted on repeating at least eight thousand times a day, despite the threats he received from Raphael.

To say that it was difficult to scavenge and keep his eyes on all four of them at the same time was an understatement. And he vowed, once again, to only bring two out next time.

Raph glanced back behind their couch again and rolled his eyes at the sight of Donnie and Mikey already asleep. He could understand why their father was already asleep over in his chair. Watching Mikey bounce off the walls all day would make anyone tired. But his younger brothers hadn't even made it halfway through the movie before they'd fallen down asleep on their makeshift bed.

He glanced back over at Leo and found him frowning at the movie they were watching on their small television.

"She never should've made a deal with the sea witch," Leo muttered.

Raph huffed out a laugh. "We can't all be as good as you, Leo," Raph teased. "Besides, how else is she gonna be human?"

Leo glanced at him. "She's got that whole ocean to live in. Why does she need to be human?" He shook his head. "This is going to end badly."

"I'm pretty sure these kinds of cartoons never end badly," Raph said with a smile on his face. He could see Leo shiver as a cold draft moved through the room. He turned back towards the movie but scooted himself closer to Leo in order to press his shoulder against him. He smirked as Leo shifted his own shoulder behind Raph's for warmth while stealing most of Raph's blanket.

"If we got to go swimming in the ocean, do you think we could find a mermaid?" Leo asked.

"Donnie says they're not real," Raph said.

"Do you think we'll ever get to go swimming in the ocean?"

"We'd have to find one first," Raph muttered. He watched Leo's hope-filled blue eyes move over to meet his own eyes and couldn't help but smile and nod at him in return. "We'll find one. You'd probably freeze to death in the water, but we'll find one and we'll go swimmin."

Leo laughed and bumped Raph's leg with his own. He left his leg to rest against Raph's warm leg and rested his head on Raph's shoulder before he turned his attention back to the movie. He pursed his lips and frowned later as the mermaid's father was forced to give up his kingdom in order to save his daughter. "See what trouble she caused her family?" he whispered.

"Keep watchin."

Leo shifted on the couch and pulled more of the blanket over himself. Raphael was never cold, but oddly enough, he was the one who always brought the blanket when they watched movies. And he never complained as Leo slowly stole it away from him. Leo thought about it and realized Raph must bring the blanket purposely for Leo's own use. He lifted his head to smile over at Raph.

"See, happy endin for ya," Raph said, oblivious of Leo's sappy thoughts.

"You were right," Leo murmured, turning back to the television to see the happy sea wedding.

"We should do that," Raph said.

"Turn into humans and say goodbye to our family forever?" Leo asked, suddenly frowning again.

"No, ya dork. He helped save her and they got married. You saved me today from that snake."

"So you think we should get married?" Leo asked. He'd never seen two turtles get married in any of these movies. There weren't a whole lot of turtles to begin with, though.

"Yeah. They're gonna protect each other."

Leo shifted his body, leaving his leg pressed against Raph's leg for warmth, but twisting his upper half so that he was more easily facing Raphael. "So it's just a vow of protection?" His eyes scanned over Raph's face and he watched Raph's eyes dart to the screen and then return to meet his again.

"Well, yeah, but they love each other, too."

Leo felt a grin grow on his face as he listened to Raph's words and watched him fidget. Even now, when he was clearly uncomfortable, Raphael was brave. And Leo loved that about him. Still, he couldn't help but to tease him as well.

"Well, what about Donnie and Mikey?"

Raph rolled his eyes and looked again over the couch at their sleeping brothers. "I'll protect them too, but I'm not marryin them."

"Just me?" Leo asked, doing his best not to smile.

Raph's eyes narrowed on Leo's falsely innocent face when he realized Leo was teasing him.

"I dunno. I might be changin my mind," he responded. But he couldn't help but smile again when he watched a grin grow on Leo's face.

"Well, I don't want them to feel bad. Like they're being left out. You know how Mikey is, especially."

"It'll be our secret," Raph whispered back.

Leo thought about that. Their father said secrets in a family could be destructive. But he didn't see how this one would hurt anyone. And if he was going to have a secret with anyone, he would want it to be with Raphael.

He nodded to Raph before shifting himself further so that he was fully facing Raphael on the couch. He held out one hand and was pleased when an emerald hand easily fit into his. He squeezed his fingers around Raph's fingers and, mindful of the others sleeping in their one-room home, began to whisper.

"I, Hamato Leonardo, marry you, Hamato Raphael. I promise to protect you and love you for the rest of my life."

Raphael flushed. This had been his idea, but leave it to Leo and Leo's intense blue eyes to leave him feeling flustered in his own plan. He squeezed Leo's fingers in return and softly cleared his throat as he kept his eyes locked with Leo's eyes. He told himself that he was brave and that there was no need to be suddenly nervous. This was just Leo. His Leo.

"I, Hamato Raphael, marry you, Hamato Leonardo. I promise to always be here with you. For you. For the rest of my life too."

Through their combined hands, Raph felt a shiver run through Leo and he smiled at him, pleased that Leo seemed to feel the same way that he felt. He got a big dorky smile in return from Leo.

The television suddenly made a high pitched sound as the tape they'd been watching ended and the VCR Donnie fixed up for them ejected the movie. Their father startled quietly awake from his chair and both boys turned to him.

"Good, your movie is over. It's time for bed," Yoshi said, rising slowly from his chair and ushering the two turtles over to the mattress. He helped shift Michelangelo and Donatello over to one side to make space for the two eldest before covering them each with their blankets. He smiled down at his four sleepy sons. At some point, he had plans for a larger home, with separate rooms for each of them. But, for now, they weren't complaining and he liked how easy it was to check on them during the night. He returned to his own chair and settled down for sleep as well.

Leo was settling down on the edge of the mattress with his shell to Raph when he felt one of Raph's hands come around his middle for a hug. He smiled as he felt Raph's face nuzzle into his shell before he felt a small kiss on the shell's rim. Leo took hold of the hand Raph had wrapped around him and pulled it up to his mouth to brush a small, quiet kiss on the back of it before closing his eyes for sleep.

Raph listened to Leo breathe and waited until he knew Leo was asleep before he let himself fall asleep as well.

A/N: Want to see something adorable? Check out this sketch from a scene from this story (Just remove the * from the link): selene467.*deviantart.*com/*art/*Leo-and-Raph-Secret-*614644664*