It was just after nightfall when Leonardo spotted the boy sneaking through an alley in a seedy part of town. He was about to call out to him but stopped when Casey began looking around him to make sure he wasn't being followed or watched before tossing his backpack through a broken window in a boarded up house and then jumping and squirming in behind it.

That's odd. He thought to himself and followed. What would Casey want to do in there?

The building was run-down and abandoned and this streets were known for junkies and drug dealings, not a place Casey should be hanging out at. He thought about calling Raph to ask him about it but decided against it, he'd follow Casey and confront him directly. If he was in any trouble maybe he needed his help right away and he couldn't wait around for his brother. He sent Raph a quick text asking for the whereabouts of his human friend before jumping across the alley and onto the roof of the building he'd seen Casey disappear into.

He was lock-picking the access door when his phone buzzed.

R: Said he had to stay home to babysit his sister today, why?

Leonardo frowned. He didn't want to jump to conclusions but he suspected he'd lied to Raph and that probably meant he was in some sort of trouble he didn't want them to know about. Leo snuck through the building using his ninja stealth to avoid being detected as he searched the place for Casey.

The boy wasn't difficult to find. The house was covered in a thick layer of dust and Casey's footprints could easily be spotted going into one of the rooms. He made sure there was no one else there before he stepped out of the shadows.

"Casey?"

Casey yelped and jumped up from the stained mattress he was sitting on. "Leo! What? What are you doing here?"

Casey looked terrified and Leonardo turned his head slightly to make sure they were alone before facing him completely. Why was he looking at him as if he were scared of him? "I, uh... saw you and thought you might need... help."

He looked around the room and noticed how lived-in it looked. There was a garbage bag in a corner full of wrappers, paper cups and take-out food containers. The floor here looked relatively clean, the dust had been swept up and there were dirty clothes at the foot of the mattress, blankets and a pillow on top of it. There was even a makeshift clothesline across another corner of the room with some of Casey's socks and underwear hanging up to dry.

As understanding dawned on him he turned his wide eyes to Casey and the boy spoke up. "Just, don't tell anyone, okay? Please, not even Raph."

Alarms went off inside his head. Something bad must have happened for him to be keeping this a secret from Raph. "Did you run away from home? How long have you been-"

"Sort of." Casey cut him off quickly. He was looking more annoyed than angry now. "Look I just... it's none of your business, okay? I'm fine. I don't need help so you can go back to your... whatever you were doing."

"Casey, how long have you been staying here? You know you could have just stayed at the lair whenever you... needed to."

Leo's mind spun as he suddenly recalled all the times he'd just randomly shown up at the lair at stupidly late hours and then stayed the night without even having to call home about it, just falling asleep on the couch and then heading off to school early in the morning as if it were a normal thing. Those times he'd just shown up and ate with them before disappearing again just because he was passing by or when he'd asked if he could use their shower and washing machine because he hadn't been able to at the gym and needed to be somewhere later or some similar excuse. He'd been doing it since they knew him. Donnie had picked on him countless times for his perpetually greasy hair and sweaty shirts and he'd just laughed it off.

"Where..." Leonardo swallowed, afraid of the answer he was going to receive or worst of all of not getting one and being kicked out with this huge secret and no explanation at all. "Where is your family, Casey?" He asked quietly.

Casey seemed to deflate with the question, hunching in on himself before answering. "They're gone." He said with a half shrug and a small voice. He breathed in and crossed his arms defensively, "Ain't no way I was gonna stay in that stupid orphanage. I'm doing just fine on my own! Still going to school and on the hockey team and everything."

"Why didn't you tell us? You could stay with us, Casey, you know you're always welcome."

He squared up to Leo defiantly and made the turtle take a step back. "I don't need your pity or your charity. I don't need a place to bunk for a few nights, Leo. This is my life. What are you saying, that you're going to take me in and care for me? I'm not some abandoned puppy and I'm not a child. I can take care of myself."

"You... jerk." Leo answered back once he found his voice again, his fisted hands trembling at his sides and then put on his sternest big brother, leader voice making the other cower back even if he was a head taller. "Give you charity? We live in a sewer, Casey, mostly off of other people's garbage. Don't act like we're rich assholes taking in the poor little orphan to make ourselves feel better. We're friends, damnit! We even lived together at the farmhouse for months like family. Now pick up your shit, we're going to the lair!"

Casey stared at him for a moment. At some point during Leo's tirade he'd uncrossed his arms and his mouth had hung open and now he shut it with a snap. "Holy crap, Leo!" He threw his head back and laughed. "Do you kiss your father with that potty mouth of yours?"

Leonardo couldn't help but laugh right along with his friend's obnoxious cackle but in the end he returned home alone, assuring Casey his secret would be safe as long as he promised to call him if he needed anything. When Raph asked him about his text he just waved him off saying he mistook someone for Casey and then went to sit in his room... and worried.