Disclaimer: TMNT are the property of Eastman and Laird

* Because Leo's had his slips before...

Temptation

"Don't step on a crack or you'll fall and break your back!"

Splinter watched his son cartwheel down the tunnel, his hands and feet avoiding every break in the concrete. He landed near a ladder leading up to a manhole and spun around, running back to his father. He scooped up his discarded salvaging pack and threw it over his shoulder, happily.

"Leonardo?"

His bright face flicked upward. "Yes?"

"Did you put sugar on your pancakes this morning?"

A rare mischievous smile appeared.

Splinter shook his head and whispered a prayer of thanks that Michelangelo had not developed his brother's secret vice. It was an odd one as Leonardo rarely had anything to do with junk food. But once the pancakes were divvied out, his were the only ones that looked like they'd been snowed on. And crunched for that matter. The only time he'd been asked about it, he had simply announced he didn't care for the maple syrup and trotted out of the kitchen.

Splinter chuckled and patted his son's shell. "Well, what say we head home? Perhaps afternoon training will ease some of that energy, hmm?"

Leo grinned and took off again, all but skipping. Splinter watched his son with a glint of amusement. His eldest was often so solemn and strict with himself, he had to admit he enjoyed the times when Leonardo behaved more like the ten year old he really was.

They approached the ladder again, the final landmark on their path home. Leo was humming quietly to himself as his father mentally arranged the training session he would soon be engaged in. Michelangelo was getting sloppy on his footwork again and Raphael had been struggling to conquer his posture during the latest kata. He also had to work in some of the kicks Donatello hadn't yet…

He heard the steps above them just as they passed the ladder. His hand shot out, pushing his son backward against the wall as a bright crescent of light appeared on the cement before them. Splinter felt his fur leap in every direction as he angled himself to shield Leonardo, his sharp teeth gleaming as he glared up the ladder.

But it wasn't the voices of men that he heard from the cracked manhole.

"Henry!" a girl wailed. "You'll hurt yourself!"

"Yeah," mocked a boy, "don't do it, man. You don't have to prove anything."

He heard a grunt and the crescent slid wider. The last voice panted. "I said I could do it! I can lift one of these!"

Teenagers. Splinter eased himself back, judging his chances of sneaking past them without being spotted. He felt Leo shift to peek over his shoulder and took his son's trembling hand. The crescent grew into a half-moon and then became more of a circle. The metal cover squealed against the cement as the boy grunted and panted.

"Eeew, it stinks!" the girl said.

The struggling boy let out a shaky laugh. "Hey, Jim…If…if I can lift this bad boy, I dare ya to go…down there…"

Alarm bolted through the rat and he looked desperately down the tunnel. It stretched too far behind them. He doubted he could make it to an adjoining pipe if the boys descended. Would the kids hear them move from their position now? He doubted -

"You're nuts, Henry. I ain't goin' down there. There's sewer monsters, ain't there, Kristy?"

"Stop it, Jim!"

Splinter glanced over his shoulder at his son. Leo was biting his thumb, nervously.

"Fine…" Henry wheezed. "If you…wanna be a -" he gave a final heave and let out a scream. The cover crashed down and Splinter heard the thump of a body striking the ground.

The boy let out a screeching curse. Leo gave a faint gasp and looked to Splinter in shock. The rat stepped forward, worried.

"Henry! Henry! Henry!"

"My guts! My guts exploded, man!"

"Lift up your shirt! Let me see!" Jimmy added another profanity. "Kristy, is that a hernia? Open your eyes!"

"I don't know!" she whimpered.

Jimmy swore again. "C'mon, man! You gotta get up! I'll take you home!"

"My friggin' guts, Jim!"

"You gotta move!"

Splinter listened as the boy whimpered and grunted but finally appeared to gain his feet. The kids stumbled away, their voices diminishing. Splinter approached the bright light and strained his ears for a moment, looking up at the exposed buildings and sky, doubtfully.

Had he been alone, he would have been up that ladder and had the cover back into place in an instant. He felt Leonardo sneak silently against him. He shook his head and flitted across the light, sneaking a glare towards the surface. Humans had removed it, if someone was hurt, it would be on their heads, not his. Not when his child was with him.

He looked to where Leo was standing apprehensive.

"It's quite safe now, Leonardo. Come."

The young turtle nodded, licked his lip, and trotted forward. Sunlight spilled across his face and shoulders and he froze, his black eyes widening.

He stood illuminated by pure yellow light for the first time in his life. Of course he had seen sunlight before, but through the grates, never in one strong beam. Leo looked upward, his leaf green scales shining with the movement. The lines of his scrawny limbs became defined, hinting where muscle would soon harden. His teeth flashed as he turned his palms into the warmth as well, his eyes closing lazily.

Splinter smiled as his son swayed back on his heels and when his eyes opened again, they were smudged by sleepiness. The rat wondered at that as all trace of Leo's sugar high seemed to have vanished under the sun's spell.

A small hand extended and closed around a rung.

Splinter's smile vanished. "Leonardo!"

His son's neck snapped towards him, startled. Then he looked at his hand and snapped it back as if the rung had burned him. Leo jumped into the shadows, stumbling a little as he ran to his father.

The rat frowned at him. "My son, what were you thinking?"

Leonardo shifted from foot to foot, uneasily, as he searched for an answer. His gaze was inadvertently drawn towards the sunlight again and he couldn't keep the longing off his face.

"Leonardo?"

"I…someone may get hurt, sensei…"

The rat drew back, his nose wrinkling doubtfully. Of all his sons, Leonardo had shown the least interest in going to the surface, at least he had thought so. How many times had he heard his own lectures spouting from his eldest to discourage his brothers from even imagining adventures in the outside world? Splinter had thought he had himself a strong ally in this matter.

But Leo could not pull his eyes from the sun.

"Indeed," he said slowly, startling his son once again as he lowered his sack to the concrete floor. "Stay here." Splinter sprang up the ladder, feeling a slight breeze drift across his whiskers. Reaching up, he slid the cover back across the opening, closing them from the sun once again. He made his way down where Leo kept his eyes on the faint rays spilling through the openings in the cover.

"My son, we are returning home."

"Yes, sensei."

They walked along in silence for a while, an unhappy turn to their outing. Leo's brow was puckered with concern and he kept chancing peeks backward, opening and closing his fist. Splinter watched his son, worry eating at him too. He knew he could not keep them from the surface forever. Leonardo's small grab for the ladder felt like the first falling stones in an avalanche.

It was time to consider bringing them to the world. He bit his lip, anxiously.

"Leonardo?"

"Yes?"

"You know why my rules are in place."

"To keep us safe."

"Yes." He paused and knelt, allowing his crushed son to stand at his side. Splinter's ears fell. While Leonardo was unaccustomed to being in trouble, whenever he did fall beneath his father's short-lived wrath, it followed him far longer than Splinter ever intended. He wondered how many times the young one would pass that ladder and avoid looking at the rung that had tempted him so.

"You did no wrong. But I want you to remember what you almost did. Your brothers will soon try to journey to the surface and I will need your help to discourage them. Or at least protect them if you cannot stop them."

In the gloom of the tunnel, he thought he saw something shift behind his son's honest face. Leonardo blinked and then dropped his chin in a nod. "I'll do my best, sensei."

A faint voice hissed in the rat's mind. You old fool. You've given him a loophole!

Because Leonardo would want to go too. Why would he stop them?

You're being paranoid.

He patted the child's shoulders and gave him a quick hug. "Very good. I promise, my son, you will see the surface. I will take you there.

"When?" Leo asked as they started on their way again.

"In a year or two, when you've trained a bit longer."

"Oh," Leonardo wilted at his side. "I understand, sensei."

Splinter smiled in relief. "Thank you, my son."

Two months later, he found all four of them at the top of that accursed ladder, teaching a young boy how to defend himself.

No lectures had been given that day, only six hours of intensive training.

And as Splinter directed them into harder and harder exercises, he vaguely wondered when he should bring them to the surface himself. He stroked his lower lip as their shaking legs struggled to hold a difficult position.

He allowed himself a silent chuckle as sweat broke over Leo's temple and his balance began to teeter.

Not tonight, my son.

* Is it just me or is young Leo like ridiculously hard to write? I had to give him a mild sugar high? Yeesh, this caused more trouble than it should have!