(A/N): Sorry again for the long wait. School is rather time consuming, don't you think? Anyway, I'll do my best to get more chapters up. Thanks for sticking with this story for so long!

Disclaimer: Turtles ain't mine.

Chapter 11: Different

Izzy twirled her nunchucks skillfully. She flipped backwards, avoiding Mikey's aim at her legs, and landed with grace. Using nimbleness to her advantage, she was able to whack Mikey in the back of his knee with her nunchucks, causing him to fall backwards. Izzy did a victory dance as Mikey picked himself back up again.

She and Mikey had decided to start out their day with a friendly match in the dojo. Now, they were sitting by the tree, taking a break.

"You are so amazing, you know that, Izzy?" Mikey said, dreamily. Izzy blushed.

"I-I don't know a-mmph!" She was cut off as Mikey pressed his lips to hers. He pulled her closer to his body, until she was pretty much in his lap. Izzy couldn't deny it; she was surprised. Mikey had been acting differently lately, but this was really new. He used to be shy when it came to kissing, and now he couldn't seem to get enough of it. Izzy's thoughts drifted back to what Hazel had told her this morning; the stuff regarding the turtles' mating season. She pulled away from Mikey, only to see a disappointed look flash across his face.

"Mikey, have you been… feeling any different lately?" Izzy asked, cautiously.

"I guess I've been feeling extra happy when you're around. And I want to kiss you, like, all the time!" Mikey reached toward Izzy's face again, recapturing her lips. Izzy sighed, and Mikey smiled. Who knows what's really going on here?

Alex added the finishing touches to her drawing. It was a picture of her and Raph sparring in the dojo. She had to admit, this drawing was one of her best ones. She figured it would be a nice surprise for Raph when he finished training. Speaking of finishing training, Raph chose that moment to bust through his bedroom door and fling himself onto his bed. Alex sighed; she was used to Raph's sudden outbursts. She scooted his desk chair closer to his bed.

"What's up, Raph?"

"Stupid Leo," Raph turned his head and looked at Alex. "I mean, he always has to walk around and be all leader-y all the time and it's getting on my nerves!"

Raph was glad Alex didn't freak out or scold him for exaggerating. She just sat there and listened to him until he was done ranting. When he had calmed down a considerable amount, Alex handed him the drawing she'd just completed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Raph stared at the picture.

"You like it?" she asked him. He didn't answer her. He just looked at the sketch, then Alex, then back at the sketch again. "Ok, maybe it's not my best work, but I tried, at least." She looked at him expectantly.

Before she knew it, her back was against the wall, and Raph was kissing her hungrily. Alex couldn't suppress the moan that escaped her lips, which only encouraged Raph more. One of his hands was pushed against the wall, and he couldn't help but drag his other hand down her side to rest on her hip. Suddenly, he pulled away.

"S-sorry… I-I don't know what c-came over me…" Raph stuttered. He looked away. Suddenly, Alex flipped their positions so that Raph's shell was pinned against the wall. She smashed her lips against his, resuming their heated kiss.

"Totally hot, Raphael" she whispered against his lips. She knew how much he loved it when she said his full name, even though he'd never admit it. He groaned as she deepened the kiss. Damn, I love mating season.

Hazel had been strategically avoiding Donnie all morning. She'd developed a rather unpleasant headache from all the thinking and stressing about the current situation. Unfortunately, she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid their daily training session, and the last thing Hazel wanted to do was spend the morning alone with Donnie. No offense to him, necessarily. Offense goes to the stupid mating season. "Damn mating season, complicating my life. Ugh." Hazel said to herself.

"Ready for training?" Hazel nearly had a heart attack.

"Damn you and your ninja skills, Donnie. I'm going to end up in the hospital one day because of you." Donnie smiled. Hazel then remembered that she had been avoiding Donnie all day.

"Why didn't you help out in the lab today? I-I mean, not that you h-have to, or anything, it's just that y-you usually do."

"Oh, uh, I don't know, I'm not feeling so great today I guess."

"Really? Sorry, we don't have to train today then."

"Hell yeah! No training! But seriously. My head really hurts. Where's Botti?" Just then, her beloved cat crawled out from under the couch and curled up on Hazel's lap. As she was playing with Botti, she increasingly became aware of Donnie's eyes on her. She began to get rather uncomfortable, so she shifted awkwardly and asked the question that had been haunting her mind for some time now.

"Donnie, have you been feeling… strange lately? Like different from normal…?" she asked cautiously. He seemed to ponder the question for a bit.

"I guess so. Like, there's this weird feeling in my stomach sometimes, and I also do or say things that I don't intend to do. Like, I won't think about the action until it's been done. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. Uh, thanks. Just wondering… cause… Izzy was worried about you guys. She kinda notices these things, I guess." Hazel lied. Well, not the part about Izzy noticing things. That was obviously true. She lied about the fact that Izzy was worried. She didn't want Donnie to get the wrong idea. "Have you seen Leo? He hasn't been around like, all week."

"Yeah, for some reason he's been spending a lot of time in his room. Wow, Izzy really knows her stuff; she was able to pick up these strange behavioral changes!" Donnie observed. That was actually me, not Izzy! But I'm not going to share that with him. For obvious reasons.

"I'm gonna go check on him, then."

"Ok. I'll be in the lab, as usual."

Hazel wandered over towards Leo's room, and hesitantly knocked on the door. She was mainly doing this in order to get away from Donnie, but she was also worried about Leo's condition. Did this strange isolation have to do with the mating season? It didn't seem to make much sense. Leo suddenly opened the door.

"Uh, Hazel? Is something wrong?"

"Hey, Leo. Can I come in?" He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and opened the door wider. Hazel sat down in a chair, and Leo flopped onto his bed, where it seemed like he'd been spending a lot of time recently.

"Is everything ok? You guys don't usually come in and talk to me." He said that last part with a slightly bitter tone.

"Sorry Leo, I guess I haven't been a good friend lately. But something seems to be wrong. Can you tell me what's up?"

"No."

"How am I supposed to help you if you won't tell me what's wrong?"

"I don't need help."

"Then come out and eat and chill with the rest of us."

"No."

"Okay. I'm going to share something with you now, that might help you open up a bit." Hazel started. Leo seemed a bit more interested now. "I did a bit of research when I noticed that you and your brothers have been acting differently. I came across some information about turtle behavior, and it seems like what's happening right now is turtle mating season." She paused and looked at Leo expectantly. He was silent, but Hazel could tell he was intrigued and was processing the information. "Obviously, the urges, for lack of a better word, have been suppressed a great deal by the mutation and the human aspects you and your brothers hold. Yet, you are still slightly affected by it, which explains your strange behavior. Now," she concluded, "would you care to explain why you've been hibernating in here? I never see you anymore." Leo was silent for a minute, staring at his ceiling. Finally he took a deep breath and seemed ready to talk.

"Well, you know, cause I'm the odd one out."

"Huh?"

"Izzy and Mikey are dating. Alex and Raph are dating, or whatever they call their thing. Either way we know they're together. And it's obvious you and Donnie are gonna get together at some poi-"

"WHOA dude hold up. Me and Donnie are not going to get together!"

"Uh, yeah, everyone knows that. Even me. We talk about it when you guys aren't around."

"What the hell? What's everyone's problem? No! NO!"

"Can I finish?"

"Yes, Leo, sorry."

"It's fine. Anyway, I figured that I'm just gonna be all alone, while my brothers all have awesome girls in their lives. You know? I doubt I'm gonna find someone. And lately I've just been feeling worse, probably due to this mating season you've mentioned." He sighed.

"Leo, you're not going to be alone! I'm sure there are plenty of girls out there that would love to date you! You just have to be patient. I thought patience was your thing." she teased. He chuckled, and seemed to be feeling better. "I hope you hang out with us again sometime, Leo." She stood up and left his room, closing the door softly. Now, she just had to face her own issues with Donnie. Yay me.