Chapter 2: What Would We Do Without You?

Time: 15 hours

Leo's P.O.V.

My eyes flutter open and I feel…wet. Why the shell am I wet? And somethings leaning against me. What the shell? I turn my head a little and see a red bandana in my perhipial vision. I smile. Raph.

His head is resting on my shoulder, and he's still asleep. His light snores are followed by his drool that covers my neck and shoulder, rolling down my arm. Gross. I'm gonna have to sanitize my arm after this.

Raph's right. I live in a sewer and somehow I've become a germaphobe. I am such a dork.

I want to wake him but I don't. He looks so nice, like an angel, when he's asleep. Plus, I can catch a few more z's if he's just gonna sleep on me. So I lean my head back and slowly drift back to sleep.

As I slip into that sweet oblivion, I get interrupted by a screech and a boom coming from Donnie's lab. I jump awake right as Raph slams into sitting position, his slobber trailing him all the way.

"What happening?! Who's attacking?!" he yells. I snort. He would make a great guard dog.

"Donnie's machine is malfunctioning again." I say, yawning and stretching. My arm pops, then I stand. Raph stands, too, and walks with me as I head to the bathroom.

I feel him watching me as I look at the drool all over my arm. I flinch when I feel a cold wetness on the back of my neck from my bandana. He smiles, "Drool all over yourself there, dork?"

I grin back, "Only if my drool is coming from your mouth, doofus."

"So that's why my mouth tastes like crap."

Raph and I laugh as we pass Sensei's room. I wonder if he had that nightmare again. I'd ask but I don't want to interfere in his business.

When I reach the bathroom, the smoke alarm starts going off. I sniff the air out of habit.

"MIKEY!" Raph howls," WHAT DID YOU BURN NOW, YOU IDIOT!"

With that, Raph runs off to give Mikey a beat down. I just smile. Same old Raph. He never lets things beat him down for too long. It will due him good in the future. Plus, it helps that he got a new friend.

In the bathroom, as I'm scrubbing my arm as hard as I can, Donnie walks in, face black with powder. He looks devastated. I decide to break the ice," Whatcha building now, Don?"

"Nothing," Donnie hisses, "nothing. Nothing at all. I'm never building anything again. No inventor in history has failed as many time as I have. I suck at inventing!"

I watch Donnie kick the wall, than sit down, almost sobbing. "Donnie, you're a great inventor-"

"You're just saying that cause I'm your little brother-"

"I'm saying that because you are one. Look around you, Donatello. You made all these things that have improved our lives over the years. Without you, Don, we'd be living back in the eighteen hundreds." Donnie smiles but it doesn't last long, so I keep going. "What were you building anyway?"

"A snow globe."

I stop scrubbing my neck and look down at Donnie with concern, "A snow globe. A snow globe went boom this morning."

Donnie laughs, "No, of course not. That was the heater back firing."

"Oh," I say, then realize what he said, "Oh." I don't know whether I should be concerned about that or not.

Donnie sighs, "Leo…do you think April will like a snow globe that I make for her."

"Only if you make it without things that will make her uncomfortable. Use a picture of her dad, for instance, instead of you."

"How did you know that I was going to use a picture-"

I give him a look and he just automatically stops talking. "Donnie, just be the Donatello I know who puts his all into everything, but not too much of himself okay."

Donnie just smiles up at me," Okay, Leo, but maybe just a small picture on the bottom," he muses.

"Donnie…"

"Okay, okay, no picture of me. I'll keep that in mind." Donnie stands and rubs my head before leaving. After he's gone, I just look into the mirror and stare at myself. I'm pale. Why am I pale? Why do my eyes look so dull? And why do I feel so…dead?

"LEO, BREAKFAST!" Mikey yells at the top of his lungs.

I smile, wishing my reflection would change, then head off to a breakfast, full of burnt food and arguing.

Time: 13 hours

Mikey is playing a video game, while an ice pack sits on his head. Raph had gave him a goose bump and a headache. Video games usually help Mikey forget he has one.

But his game is starting to get on his nerves.

"AARGH!" Mikey screams, throwing his controller down, "I SUCK!"

"What are you doing, Mikey?" I ask. This feels so de cha vu.

"I suck, Leo! I can't get past this stupid level!"

Mikey give me a weird look as I laugh. "I'm sure it's not that hard, Mikey. Give me the controller."

Mikey slaps the controller into my palm, mumbling, "You don't even know how to play this."

I study the game's obstacles, than begin playing. I march past the level as fast as I can which adds up to ten minutes. I only have two lives left by the time I've passed it. Mikey stares at me as I hand him back the controller. "Leo, you're awesome, you know that."

I sit down by Mikey and rub his head, being gentle so I don't hurt him more. "You're awesome, too, Mikey."

"No, I'm not." Mikey slumps, "Raph doesn't think so."

"Mikey, Raph thinks you're great, too. Besides, you shouldn't care what he, or any of us, think. You should be concerned with what you think."

Mikey smiles up at me and hugs me. "Really, Leo? You think so?"

I hug Mikey back and look into his eyes," I know so, you little piggy."

Mikey squeals as I tickle him. He tries to get away but I hold him to me, tickling his neck, sides and feet.

"Hey, Leo. Hey, Mikey." I look up to see April going to Donnie's lab. She is wearing a new outfit and playing a new hair due. A bun is on top of her head and strands of hair are on the sides of her face. She waves at us and I smile.

As she open the lab door, I call out," Hey, April, you look pretty." I know Donnie will be to dumb stuck to say anything so I might as well say it.

April blushes, smiles and twirls her hair around her finger,"Er…thanks, Leo. I…um…thanks." Then April rushes into the lab.

I sit back again, feeling Mikey staring at me. "What?" I ask. Mikey just shakes his head. What?" I ask again.

"Nothing, Leo."

I open my mouth to object his statement when Casey Jones's voice rings out. "Leo, where's Raph?"

I turn to Casey, who is standing directly behind me. "I don't know," I say, "I think he went for a walk or something."

"Oh," he says. I look back at the TV, expecting Casey to go and bug Donnie. Instead, he says, "Hey, Leo, want to wrestle?"

Before I can even answer, I find my chin bouncing off the floor as Casey lands on top of me, putting me in a head lock. I quickly bite him and he yelps.

"Raph never bites," Casey growls.

"Do I look like Raph to you?" I snap, bucking him off me.

After a few minutes, Raph gets back, but he nor Casey let me off the hook. When I try to leave they both tackle me. So I have no choice but to wrestle with both of them.

And I must say, hearing Raph laugh and Casey cheering me on, it makes me happy. But somehow…I still feel dead inside.

Time: 10 hours

I am sore to the bone. After wrestling for almost an hour, we all went and trained in the dojo. It was the best training session I've had in a long time. Imagine all seven of us training together. WHEW!

But Sensei seemed…off. He kept staring at me like he's memorizing me. He watches closely when Raph and I go against each other, but we don't harm the other.

The strangest thing is that he hugs me as I leave the dojo. He hasn't hugged me in years. It was strange, but he didn't say a word to me either. It's like he doesn't want to be too close to me…

Casey is sleeping on our couch, tired out from the day. April left and said he'd be back tonight. I am sitting, staring at Space Heroes but too tired to watch it. That's when my brothers come and sit by me. Donnie and Raph sit on either side of me while Mikey sprawls across all three of our laps. Raph curls into me the best he can, putting his head on my shoulder and an arm around me, making me warm. Donnie lays his head on mine while holding Mikey's legs so he doesn't fall off of us.

As Donnie yawns in my ear, he asks," Oh, Leo, what would we do without you?"

Before I can answer, Mikey says," That's easy, D. Nothing. Without Leo, we wouldn't have anybody to make us feel better."

I smile at the way Mikey says that. It's so childish yet cute.

As the two youngers fall asleep, I hear my lullaby humming between them. I slowly fades as they do.

"Leo," Raph whispers," You're too perfect, you know that?"

I just smile and whisper," I love you, too, Hamato Raphael."

I feel Raph's grin protrude into my neck. My heart swells at his happiness. Raph lays his head where he can hear my heart and I lay my head on his. But as much love as I am feeling right now, this one feeling still remains.

The feeling that the hour glass is emptying.