AN: This is the extent of the romance in this fic. It's mostly one-sided, and only talked about. This is not a romantic fic, and none of the drama is even based off of it. The problems between Leo and Karai, I feel, are much deeper than a missed chance at love. Her father tried to kill them repeatedly, Leo helped put her father away, Karai literally stabbed him, etc.

Chapter 2 – Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

"Friends are the family you choose."
― Jess C. Scott, The Other Side of Life

-o-

The next night, when evening had finally settled in the sky, Leonardo headed out to April's place. Knowing that Casey sometimes likes to drop by April's apartment after work, he figured would be able to catch them together. If Casey never showed up, he would try to stop by his little studio before heading back to the lair. It was just hitting seven thirty by the time he knocked on April's window, hoping she decided to keep her regular weekday hours at the shop. He thought it would be prudent to surprise his human friends rather than to try to answer awkward questions over the phone on why he had decided to drop by. He was in luck, because just a minute after he knocked on her window, the redhead was walking to the window with a look of surprise.

"Leo!" She exclaimed, opening the window with a smile. "I didn't know you were coming over."

Leo gave her shy grin. "I thought I'd drop by to say 'Hi.' I know you guys had been busy so I thought I'd treat you to some Chinese."

April stepped back to let him and looked down at his empty hands. "Did you?" She sounded both confused and amused, but before Leo could answer, a knock resounded at her door and a Mandarin-accented voice called out through the wood claiming to be delivery. She turned to the door then back to Leo, who had already disappeared from sight.

"Great timing," she stated and headed to the door, grabbing her purse. Not surprising, the money needed to pay for both the meal and the tip was magically at the top and she gave the kid the cash and accepted the food, thanking him as she closed the door. When she turned back to the living room, she was greeted with Leo having already made himself at home on her sofa, giving her a sheepish grin. He remembered a time when he would ask permission to even sit on the couch, but it had been April's welcoming nature and insistence had basically beat that out of him.

"I called ahead," he stated unnecessarily and she could only laugh. She had to be used to their quirky nature by now, and Leo was comforted in that. It made being here easier, despite his purpose.

"So," April said, setting up their food up on the coffee table, smiling at the sweet and sour chicken Leo remembered to order for her. "What brings you over, besides the Chinese?"

Leo thanked April as she handed him his Mongolian Beef, broke apart some chop sticks, and started to rub them together to rid them of splinters. He was quiet while he did this, trying to see how he could start what was surely going to be a heavy conversation.

"Can't a turtle bring two of his best friends a meal every now and then?" He tried to joke, feeling his nerves settle lightly in his voice, and he eternally winced. Yeah, that won't ring any alarms, Fearless.

April gave him a gentle smile, indicating she wasn't buying his excuse for a minute, but she didn't seem to want to pry. He gave a sigh, though, because if he wanted this to go as planned, he needed to give her a reason. Otherwise she would feel the need to inquire further, from someone other than him.

"It's just," he started, trying to keep the nerves from escaping into his voice again. It would make his voice sound younger than he already was, and he wanted to be taken seriously. "Things have been quiet on our end, now that the mutagen outbreak has been fixed and the crime rate seems to be taking a dive along with the temperature. And you and Casey seem to be always busy with work, so we so rarely get to see you guys anymore, and…"

Leo paused at the pitting look in April's eyes. He felt heat rise to his face, realizing he sounded like a needy teenager, which wasn't his intentions at all. Before he could correct himself, April leaned over and patted his arm.

"I'm so sorry, Leo," April said sadly, "I sometimes forget how young you guys are, with the way you are practically save the world every week. You guys must feel abandoned by us."

Leo straightened his back, a look of horror flitted across his face before he could school himself. "What? No!" He said insistently, "We completely understand your responsibilities come first-"

"No, Leo," April talked over him, a persistent look coming over her face, "you are our responsibilities, too. I know we haven't been the best friends lately-"

"No!" Leo started, "No! I wasn't to try to imply -"

Leo protest was suddenly silenced when she placed a hand on his mouth.

"Let me finish, Leonardo," she quietly said, giving him a reassuring smile and he allowed himself to quiet down and she removed her hand. "I know that your world of forced isolation doesn't allow you guys to have many friends, and we have been neglecting, unintentionally, our obligation to your friendship. Trust us, we would love to hang out more with you guys, and maybe soon, when work starts to die down, we'll come over and hang out more often." Her voice was warm and soft, both apologetic and promising, and without realizing it, Leo felt a little better. Leo waited a moment to let her words sink in before moving forward.

"Yeah…" he quietly admitted, "It does get a little lonely, when the people we are used to having around suddenly not around anymore, but we don't blame you guys." This wasn't his intentions at all when starting this conversation, but perhaps this was the perfect cover to allow him to get out what he felt for them while he could. "You're right, we are young. It's just we are not used to having companions outside our family. It's been great having you guys around, and with you guys suddenly busy, it just taking us a little time to get used to it. I do know we all miss you, especially Donnie. He's-"

This time, Leo couldn't stop the cringe from showing on his face as he stopped talking. His brainy brother's crush on April was a not-so-secret thing, and he was sure April was well aware of it. He felt like a heel to even hinting at it up without his brother's permission.

April's smile never diminished, though it did seem a little sad around the edges. "Yeah," her voice was impossibly soft, and a little bit wistful, as if she was talking about a lost forgotten dream, "I really miss hanging out with him, too. With all of you, really. But Donnie, he's like a kindred soul." She took a shaky breath and squared her shoulders, as if she were preparing for battle. "If things were different and Casey… well," she gave a shake laugh, "As much of a bonehead he is, I love him and I wouldn't trade him for anything."

Leo nodded. Casey Jones was a remarkable human being, with his brash nature and giving heart. Boy, did he love April. Still, the katana-wielding ninja's loyalty would always lie with Don and a small part of him thought April a fool to pick Casey when she could have that gentle brother of his. It was her life, and he knew, despite Don's feelings for her, he genuinely wanted her to be happy.

"It's sad, though," April started again, after a moment of reflection, "he deserves someone who will make him happy. You all do. You guys deserve the best. But who you are… the kind of life you live." April had her face turned to the blank TV, but Leo saw her eyes were still looking at him sideways, "You guys deserve to be loved by people who won't disappoint you."

The terrapin froze. There was no need to guess who she was talking about. He guessed that his infatuation with the daughter of Oroku Saki was just as secret as Don's was with April. Though, he was sure, nobody knew about their correspondences, and how close they almost came to each other. April was full out looking at him now, and the pitying look on her face was almost too much to bear. Leo gave her a smile that he was sure looked more like a grimace, and placed his rough, reptilian hand on her soft and warm one when she reached out.

"You have never disappointed Don, April. I can assure you of that." Leo knew this to be true, even without consulting Don on the matter. "And as for me, well. I don't think romantic companionship is just in the cards for me. With the way we live, and the dangers that we face on a daily basis, I don't think I could ever ask someone to put themselves in danger for me. I feel bad enough that we've reigned in so much trouble for you and Case, but to bring someone in closer. I-" Leo felt his throat close for a moment, remembering the feeling the helplessness he felt whenever Splinter talked about his master, Hamato Yoshi, and Tang Shen, and how horrible it would feel if it had been to see someone cut down because of who they were to someone. "I don't think I could stomach it."

That was one of the reasons he that had drawn him to Karai. She was no delicate flower, easily be felled by a jealous man's sword. She knew how to defend herself and while Leo would have still been worried about her wellbeing, as he was with his very capable and very skilled father and brothers, he would rest a bit easier if he had a fellow combatant share his bed than someone who was not accustomed to the warrior way. Whatever love connection the two had shared, that sweetness had turned bitter with the part he had played in the exile of her father, and her very literal stabbing of him with his own sword. Leo gingerly reached his right hand and touched his left shoulder, internally wincing at the phantom pain that coursed through the appendage at the remembrance of that day. The scar had finally healed, and it was so barely noticeable that you had to know it was there. Leo, for once, was glad his carapace finally filled in the empty space Karai's attack had left. Don explained that turtles will naturally heal their shells, but they had the added pleasure of being aided by their ever functional mutagen. In fact, Don had been worried when it appeared to have taken a longer time to heal over, but he surmised that the emotional stability of the injured party played a large part in the speed they healed. Leo had been in a very dark place right after the incident. His building negativity towards himself had probably slowed down the healing process, but once he started training with the Ancient One, it kicked back up again.

"That's just sad, Leo," April said, her eyes mirroring her voice and shined with unshed tears. "You're still young, there is plenty of time for you to find somebody who you can spend the rest of your life with." He knew she was trying to be comforting and he couldn't begrudge her of that. However, the thought of trying to find someone who make him feel like he had with Karai, made his insides ache in a way he was unfamiliar, and he tried to distances himself from those emotions.

"For some reason, I really doubt it, April." There was a finality in his voice that caused his friend to tilt her head in confusion, but being so much like his intellectual brother, she did not say anything. "But I know that I want my brothers to have that chance, if they want it."

April gave him a smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. He was sure she wanted to press him on his vow of loneliness when they heard keys jingle at the front door and it opening to reveal a disheveled Casey, coming back from his shift at the shop.

"Hey, Ape, I'm home!" the human male shouted, not noticing the two on the sofa until the door was closed and he had time to put down his duffle bag. When he did finally realize that they had company, he stopped in his tracks and gave a crooked grin. "Yo, Leo, what's up?"

"Hi, Casey. I got you guys some Chinese food," Leo said, gesturing to the small spread on the coffee table.

"Nice!" Casey exclaimed, rubbing his hands together before looking down at them. "Let me just wash up an' I'll join you guys."

As Casey headed to the bedroom, Leonardo turned to April and raised a non-existent eyebrow at her. She grinned guiltily.

"We meant to tell you guys, but we never really had the time." Her voice was quiet, careful not to have it carry to the back room. "He only moved in last week. We haven't even had time to get the rest of his stuff from his studio."

Leo's been to Casey's studio and could only think that there wasn't much he could bring over, but he let that slide. He just gave a nod and let the matter drop for the moment. Which was lucky because Casey chose that time to reemerge in the living room and plopped down on the chair closest to April.

"Yo, thanks for the grub, Leo," Casey said as he reached over for his shrimp mei fun and started eating it with the plastic fork that Leo had the aforethought to ask to be put in with the chop sticks. "I'm starvin'. It feels like I had ta fix like fifty mufflers today, I swear!"

Casey kept a running commentary on his day for a few minutes with his mouth full of Chinese as Leo tried to drink up how normal this seemed and allowed himself to relax in the monotonous of it all. The venting had lasted about fifteen minutes before Leo heard the vigilante start die off, and finish off his supper. Leo was just figuring out how to turn the conversation when his male companion did it for him.

"So," Casey said, putting his food container back on the coffee table, and sat back in his chair again, obviously getting comfortable. "The mood was kinda heavy when I got here. What's up wit' that?"

April couldn't help but giggle. "That very perspective of you, Mr. Jones," she said with a winning smile, and Leo couldn't help but agree with her. "We were talking about the possibilities of love."

Casey Jones made a face that had Leo fight hard not to grin at. It was a mixture of disgust and humor, showing all the maturity of a thirteen-year-old. Expecting something juvenile come out of his raven-haired friend's mouth, the turtle was taken aback when he turned to him and said, "What? Leo, don't tell me you're still hung up on that Karai chick!"

A groan escaped Leo's mouth before he could suppress it. Obviously, he was nowhere near as subtle as he thought he was about his affections for the current Foot Clan leader if Casey had picked up on it.

April leaned over and gave a sharp swat at Casey's arm, ("Ow, what?") and turned back to Leo. "Don't worry about him, he has the subtlety of a blunt ax.

Leo gave her a small smile. "It's okay." It wasn't, not really, but he could pretend it was with the best of them.

April's smile was sympathetic, but then turned serious again after a few moments. "Speaking of the Karai, the Foot has been very quiet lately."

Leo watched his friends as Casey nodded and April gave a thoughtful look. He couldn't help but think that this was the opening he was looking for and ran with it.

"Yeah, I've been noticing that, too. Our major scrimmages lately have been with mostly with drug dealers and small time criminals. Even the Purple Dragons seemed to have backed off."

"Which as much as I like ta think that they've finally learned 'deir lesson when it came ta crime," Casey mused, "It's almost too quiet, if ya know what I mean?"

Both Leo and April nodded, and Leo continued, hoping he could play off the 'I'm just paranoid' card well enough, "I can't help but feel like they are planning something, and that it might happen sooner than we think."

He allowed himself a pause, as if he were just contemplating what that 'something' was, "But if that does happen, I want to make sure we ready, especially you guys."

"Ya mean," Casey couldn't help the grin that spread across his handsome face, "you want us ready to kick some Foot butt?"

Leo had to bite his lip. There were times Casey was just too much of a kindred spirit with his hotheaded brother. "No, actually," his voice was almost deathly serious as he leaned slight forward to address them, "I want you guys to promise if things go south, you protect yourself."

Karai's vow of protection had only said his family, and while he had long since considered the two humans in front of him family, he couldn't be sure Karai would have the same thought in mind.

"I want you guys safe. I want you guys to promises me, above all things, to stay safe, to leave New York if that happens."

If their earlier conversation had been heavy, this one's infinitely so. The normal protests that usually occurred with these kinds of talks (and sometimes it felt like they had them every few months) didn't come. The couple shared a look with each other that Leo was not familiar with, but they quickly turned to back to him.

"Of course, Leo," April said, and he recognized the tone in her voice to know that they think he's just being paranoid and was trying to placate him. "We'll be careful."

There was pause, before she continued, "But why? Do know what's going to happen?"

Okay, maybe they didn't think him completely paranoid. It was difficult for him to lie, being the honorable turtle he was, and it was extremely difficult to do it to the person who he saw as a big sister, but Leo found it in himself to look into her worried green eyes and fib.

"If only," he allowed a little chuckled that felt real, at least, and continued, "I would love to be able to see enough of the future to be able to plan accordingly. I'm just going to have to wing it like we usually do."

Leo knew hit his mark when April's brightened with an encouraging smile. "I'm sure you guys will pull through whatever is thrown at you. Look at what all of you've accomplished, and you're what? Only seventeen?" Her grin turned cheeky. "Not bad for some youngin's."

"We not like normal teenagers, April," Leo said, feeling his face grow hot with her compliments. "We've had to live our lives outside the norm."

The smile turned genuine as she settled further back into the sofa, obviously showing comfort in the topic on hand. "That's so very true, but still. You guys amaze me."

Leo somehow couldn't get his throat to open after that, and April took advantage of his touched silence. She reached out her foot and poked her boyfriend's leg. "Casey, can you put in the movie? I want to start watching it soon before the food starts to put me in a coma."

Casey grunted at having to get up, but he rose from his seat anyway and headed toward the entertainment center to grab a DVD case from the small collection they had to the right of the TV and placed the disk in the DVD player. It was the same one that Don had to fix twice times over since it had been purchased. Leo made to get up from his seat, thinking it was the perfect time to head out, but April reached out an arm and stopped his ascent.

"You should stay," April claimed. "We're watching one of my favorites, The Wizard of Oz."

The teenager was intrigued. The Wizard of Oz had been one of his favorites reads as a child, and while he had known there was a theatrical release of the novel, he had yet had the pleasure of watching it. He had told his family he would only be gone for an hour, at most, and it was coming very close to when he had to leave. Besides, he wanted to get some more practice in before heading to bed.

"I'm grateful for the offer, but I really should head back..."

There was a sternness in April's green eyes that made him bite back the rest of his excuse.

"You fed us, the least we could do is provide you some quality entertainment."

"I didn't know dancin' munchkins counted as quality," Casey muttered, and it was clear to Leo who had actually picked the movie. April still had that no-nonsense look on her face and he just didn't have the heart to say no to it, especially since he basically came here to say goodbye. He wanted to create memories, right? Allowing April to experience one of her favorite movie in the eyes of one of her young friends would probably make a good one. So Leo grinned and sat back. He sent out a quick text to Splinter and Raph, telling them he's staying over to watch a movie, and set himself up to enjoy what he was sure a very pleasant film.

AN2: Chapter title from the Fall Out Boy song.