Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT.

Song for this Fic: Perfect as performed by Blaine and Kurt in Glee (I liked their rendition)

Leo and his brothers are 30 years old.

**Warning** This fic contains something that may be disturbing to some. Please if you choose to read do not flame this fic but rather comment concerning the quality of the writing.**

Chapter Eleven: Peal Back the Walls

Hidden: conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered: Where did she hide her jewels? 2. To obstruct the view of; cover up: The sun was hidden by the clouds. conceal from knowledge or exposure; keep secret: to hide one's feelings.

Tony's POV

I wake up to the sound of Leo snoring softly beside me.

At first I am confused as to why I am not in Leo's room, but then it all comes crashing back into focus.

I feel my skin crawl and squeeze my eyes shut.

Vega.

The very name makes my skin feel filthy, makes me want to scrape my body clean.

I feel the insistent and desperate need to take a wire brush over my body and then to lock myself in an impenetrable hideaway.

I'm aware that I am whimpering and suddenly Leo's golden-brown gaze snaps up to look at me and he holds my gaze.

I woke him up.

I feel horrid and start to open my mouth to apologize.

I feel a small piece of his strength and confidence surge towards me from his gaze and the thoughts I entertained briefly of apologizing, jump clean out the window.

I am scared.

I am so scared of Vega, of him finding me, of him getting a hold of me again.

I squeeze my eyes shut.

"He'll…" I start.

My chest heaves as panic takes a hold of me and I start to whine in terror at the thought of Vega getting a hold of me.

Then suddenly Leo is straddling me carefuly, holding my head in his hands and kissing my mouth and cheeks, my forehead, my neck and then moving back up.

The whole time he is whispering words of comfort and strength, words of promised protection; words of a warrior promising to protect his chosen one.

After a few minutes my mind clears as his words break through and I wrap my good arm around his neck and press my forehead to his lips.

I feel…safe.

Leo remains where he is rattling off something in Japanese, I don't know what it means but it sounds beautiful.

He continues to talk to me, not necessarily saying anything for a few moments and I felt my trembling quiet some.

I feel my fear slip away as he talks about protecting me.

"Watashi wa itsumo arudeshou, watashi wa itsumo anata o mamotte kureru, watashi wa itsumo anata o hozon suru tsumoridesu," Leo whispers in my ear.

I do know what that means.

I will always be there, I will always protect you, I am always going to save you.

I swallow and nod weakly; I can feel my lower lip trembling as I struggle to keep my calm.

"I love you," he whispers suddenly.

It's said with such conviction my eyes fly open in surprise.

It's not like I don't know it, but the way he said it, it startles me.

"I know," I reply softly.

"No, Tony. I love you…I'd spend the rest of my life with you if…" he pauses searching my gaze, "If Raph were to-?"

He stops as if trying to find the words to finish.

I stare, feeling a tear slip from my right eye, understanding the level of conviction and love he is stating.

I am more touched than he could possibly understand.

"Would you…marry me?" he finally asks.

Despite everything that has happened, despite what fears are tugging at me now, despite Vega's threat…I am suddenly safe.

"Yes," I breathe and I lift my head to brush my lips on his.

He returns the affectionate motion and we break apart after a few moments and he nuzzles my neck.

Scent marking. I am his.

It's the most blatant display of affection he has and can make around his family. Leo and his brothers can smell it, humans can't.

It declares to those who can tell that I am his mate…for life.

Neither one of us wants to move; we don't want to ruin the moment.

Personally I'd like to stay this way for the rest of forever.

But the pain in my left side is increasing slowly and I can't help but wince as I try to move to adjust my aching frame.

"Hurting?" Leo asks softly when he notices.

I nod.

"I don't want to move," I mumble against his lips.

"Neither do I, but you need a decent meal and those pills," he replies, stealing a quick kiss before getting up.

I watch him move and find myself remembering why I fell in love with him.

Leo is a protector, a warrior, a work of lethal art in motion.

As much as I could be considered as graceful as a dancer, Leo would be as lethal and beautiful as a tiger.

Something you can't ever take your eyes off of, but you never want angry.

Even when he isn't trying Leo moves with absolute silence, it is so natural to him that it always puts me in awe.

I'm admiring him and he knows it, but he doesn't stop me, for that I am thankful.

He doesn't let me do it often.

Leo's frame is wrapped in lean, solid, and gorgeously toned muscle; hours, days, years of repetitive katas and just enough weight lifting.

His dusty gold plastron is a series of eight tough, but flexible, plates that interlock and slide gently against each other as he moves. His carapace is a sleek black domed arch that frames his shoulders, dips with his lower back and narrows slightly at his hips. The arched dome isn't large or obstructive but just enough to be there, enough to prove he has a carapace. His face is narrower than his brothers', with strong cheek bones and a broad brow. His skin is slightly leathery and the color of fresh grass, dappled in slightly darker green and even a few black and brown freckles.

Under his mask, which sadly I can't see, is what I call his eyeliner.

Leo has black marks under his lower eyelids that trace up along the edge of his eye like eyeliner and trails off into dots as it meets up with the streak of red that just barely starts at the edge of his upper eyelids and streams along with the dotted black to his temples where it briefly changes to a burnt yellow before fading into the color of his green skin.

This is what remains of his red-eared-slider marks.

I find them beautiful. He finds it embarrassing.

Every inch of him has at least a slight scar, evidence of a rough youth, of fighting to survive and to conquer his enemies.

My warrior.

I lift my gaze back to his and manage a weak smile.

"I love you," I find myself finally returning.

He offers a slight smile before extending a hand to help me up.

I lean against him, smiling slightly at our height difference. It isn't as much as it used to be, but still I am just two inches taller than him.

Leo is 6'2" and I am 6'4".

"Aren't you ever going to grow?" I hear myself tease as I lean into his embrace.

He chuckles softly and I feel the vibration in his chest.

"Now be nice," he teases back softly before gently touching my face, "the bruising looks like it's almost gone."

He means around my nose. Finally.

"Good," I sigh.

"Come on, your mom promised food. Then we break the story to my family," Leo says as gently as he can.

I swallow and nod.

Up until now the only four people who knew about what happened to me when I was fifteen were Leo, my mom, myself, and Vega.

That's it, not even Meir knows.

It is not in any concept of the word a pretty tale.

"Do we have to?" I hear myself ask, this story is not something I like to think about.

Leo smiles gently before stroking my cheek with the pad of a forefinger.

"Raph already considers you a brother…which means he's protective and he'd like to know who to kill. If I don't get to him first," Leo states, ending with a protective anger.

I chuckle.

"Just…I," he stops me with a gentle look and then a quick kiss.

I missed the affectionate side of him.

"He can't touch you here," Leo informs me, it's not stern, but it shares the raw power of Leo's protective streak in every word.

I take a centering breath before nodding and taking Leo's hand as he leads me out into the kitchen.

April and Casey are there with Leo's brother's watching us.

Mike's eyes fall on our hands and then he smiles at us and winks.

I'm honestly not sure as to what to make of that and chose to ignore him.

Leo grunts and I see him roll his eyes at his brother and I smile slightly in good humor.

Then I spot my mother and can't help the wave of relief and joy that hits me when I see her.

She's making her lemon and chicken roast and I become aware of just how hungry I am.

Not to mention that I have missed her cooking.

Leo gives my hand a gentle squeeze before he guides me into the kitchen and with one hand gets my pills and a glass of water before releasing my hand so I can take them.

I'm using my sling and I realize how much my arm hurts but manage to hold my arm to my stomach to keep from bumping it on things.

My mom frets over me for a minute before patting Leo's shoulder gently in greeting and then fretting over him.

Leo like normal patiently tries to work his way through her affection.

Splinter doesn't realize how much damage he did. Leo needed a father the past ten years and instead Leo lost a small amount of faith in parental love. Splinter unintentionally told Leo that not even a parent could love him and it broke Leo's heart.
My mom is slowly changing that view, that broken trust is being mended.

Leo excuses himself as my mom turns to ask me to help and walks up to his brothers.

They are talking in Japanese, which is technically Leo's native tongue, so I understand that it is more natural for him to talk to his family in and find no offense in it.

Sort of like me talking with my mother in Spanish.

Mike's head snaps around and looks at me with a big grin and I realize Leo is asking his brothers to help him with his request he made earlier. Mike starts to say something and Leo swats at him. Mike dances out of reach and then darts forward and sing-songs something at Leo. This time both Raph and Leo swat at him.

Mike doesn't avoid both of them.

Leo catches him and drags him into a head lock with Mike's face in his armpit.

Leo, Raph, and Don continue talking as if nothing has changed despite Mike's squirming.

I'm trying not to laugh, gripping my ribs as they flare up in pain in protest to my repressed laughter.

My mom is laughing softly at the show despite the fact that she doesn't have a clue as to what they are talking about.

I haven't told her yet.

I chuckle as Mike finally manages to squirm free making gagging motions, only to be clothes-lined by Raph and to have his bandanna tails snagged by Don.

Leo cuffs him over the head and scowls slightly but returns his attention to Raph.

Raph is watching his elder brother in silence for a moment and then after exchanging a look with Don he nods.

My heart about explodes in my chest with excitement and I turn to smile at my mother.

She gives me a confused smile in return before going back to her cooking muttering something about the strangeness of boys.

I settle in to help her, taking comfort in the feeling of cooking alongside my mother.

It is the most therapeutic thing I know…well except receiving a massage from Leo I guess.

That is rather relaxing and therapeutic.

Poor April and Casey they are out of the loop about the upcoming wedding.

I'm trying to figure out how that will work precisely.

I'm not sure tonight is the best time to mention it as things are going to get rather somber after dinner, it would spoil the news.

Which is why I haven't told my mom yet, I don't want April and Casey to feel like the last ones to know nor do I want the good news being ruined by my grisly tale.

After we eat we move into the den area and settle into comfortable positions.

I settle myself into Leo's lap with my mother sitting beside us and take a deep breath.

"This…this isn't something easy to tell," I whisper, "I…I don't like to think about it let alone talk about it; which is why my mom and Leo are going to tell this story, because I won't be able to finish."

April nods and squeezes Casey's hand.

Her blue eyes radiate strength and love.

No wonder Leo trusts her so much.

Leo's brothers, soon to be mine as well from what I've guessed, are all sitting in varying positions watching us…me.

But they each offer a nod of encouragement and silently offer comfort.

As my mother's voice starts the story I close my eyes, lean into Leo's embrace and try not to let my mind travel down horrible trails.

Let the nightmare see light again, abet briefly.

A/N: Cue "awwwwwwww". Honestly I hadn't planned for that proposal until later but it just sort of happened as I was writing and I was like, nope, not changing it. Also I may not get a chance to update until after Christmas, I will try to but no promises, I am out of twon visiting family. : ) Leave me reviews guys!