Chapter 25: On Edge
A/N: Here's the next chapter in this saga. Now we'll find out how Leo's coping with everything that has happened to him and his brothers. Thanks to all of those who have read and reviewed thus far. Your kind words mean the world to me. And if you're out there and haven't reviewed this story or any others in my Truth and Lies series, don't be shy. I welcome any and all feedback from someone saying, "I really like this series! Please update soon!" all the way to someone saying, "This series sucks and you are a horrible writer!" Seriously, I can take it no matter what you have to say, so don't feel that you can't review my stuff. Take that chance and let me know what you think. Feedback is not only what keeps me writing but it also helps me to see how readers feel about my story and how my work is resonating with others. In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the chapters to come.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and my OCs.
The night was clear and peaceful with just a bit of wind. Leo ran across the rooftops on his way to Madison's apartment. After the incident in the warehouse, Splinter had recommended that the Turtles stay indoors for a while until they were well enough to go off on their own. It had been very frustrating for Leo, who wanted to see Madison so badly. He was still reeling from the fact that Ali and Jack didn't believe that Robyn had been there and that it had been Jason all along. It made him angry that the detectives didn't believe them and acted as though the Turtles had merely imagined her.
A nearby rustling noise caused Lo to whirl around, his katanas out and ready to strike. He hesitated, expecting to see Robyn pop out of the shadows with a taunting smile on her face. However, it was only a pigeon who had alighted on one of the heating units. The pigeon cooed and then took off in flight.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Leo put his swords back and resumed his trek across the rooftops. When was he going to stop with this paranoid delusion? Why couldn't he just move on from all of this? It just didn't seem fair that all of this had to happen to them when all they really wanted was some peace and quiet.
Leo reached Madison's apartment and saw her in the window waiting for him. A smile broke out on his face as he landed in front of her window. She hoisted the window up and beckoned him inside.
"I was hoping you would visit today," said Madison with a smile. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too, Maddie," replied Leo. He pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips. She melted into the kiss, giving a little moan of pleasure. He had definitely missed kissing Maddie, and he reveled in this moment of how good it felt.
They pulled away and looked into each other's eyes, the love shining through. No matter how hard things got for Leo, he could always count on Madison to help him through it.
"How have you been?" Leo asked her.
"Pretty good," Madison answered. "Leah visited me the other day."
"Oh? How is she?"
"Still a pain as always. She keeps trying to get me to move from New York to California because she says it's so much better out there. I told her I wasn't going to move because I have better things out here for me. Then she asked me what I had, and I told her I had a really good friend who I couldn't leave."
"And what did she say to that?"
"She asked if I loved this friend, and I said I did."
A smile crossed Leo's face at her words. "And let me guess, she wants to meet me, right?"
Madison giggled. "Yeah but I told her she can't meet you because you have a skin condition."
Okay, that was a new one to Leo. Most humans they met never asked if they had a disease of some sort. They mostly just ran away in terror screaming about how there were aliens in New York.
"A skin condition, huh?" he teased. "So, what's it called? Mutantitis?"
Madison laughed again. "No, I haven't told her the exact condition. All I said was that it was serious and that you didn't like being around a lot of people. She said, 'Well, if that's the case, then he must not be too shy to be around you then. So why can't he be around me?' I told her you were very particular about who you met because you were bullied for your condition."
"Did she accept that?"
"Yeah, she did, and that made me feel better."
"I know, but I wish she could meet me to see how I really am. I just hate how people tend to judge me just for being a mutant and not for the good I do."
Madison gave his hand a squeeze. "It shouldn't matter, Leo. I love you, and that's all that matters in the end. You have been accepted by some humans, and maybe one day, more humans will learn how awesome you and your brothers really are. So, what's been going on with you?"
"Well, we had quite an adventure," Leo answered. "We went to a warehouse after we saw this figure running across the rooftops. We thought it was someone from the Foot, but it didn't look like them. We followed them to a warehouse and found a shrine to April was there. After that, we were confronted by Robyn and her accomplice, Jason Biggerstaff."
"Who's Jason?" Maddie asked.
"He's Robyn's boyfriend," Leo said. "Anyway, they trapped us and tried to kill us by putting cyanide in the warehouse."
Maddie gasped. "How horrible! How did you get out?'
"Ali and Jack tracked us to the warehouse after Splinter alerted them that we were gone," Leo replied. "So we were able to get out of there. They arrested Jason, but Robyn fled. We told Ali and Jack that Robyn was there, but they didn't believe us and said it was all Jason's doing. They said that we must have imagined her, but it's not true. We saw her, Maddie. We really did."
"I believe you, Leo," Madison said softly. "I know you'd never make up something like that. So what do you think is going to happen now?"
"We don't know, but we have to be on alert," Leo answered. "I want you to be on alert, too, Maddie. There's no telling what Robyn will do, and if she gets to you, I don't know what I'll do if I lose you."
Madison noticed the trembling in his voice and she grew worried. She embraced him, stroking his shell gently. "Don't worry about me, Leo," she soothed. "I'll be okay. You've been training me, and I know that as long as I have you in my life, things are going to be okay. We can even go over some new techniques if you want to."
Leo nodded. "Yeah, it's best for you to be prepared," he said. "I won't let Robyn take you and hurt you."
"Great. Can we get started?"
"Yeah, I'll show you how to get out of a hold," he said. He went through the motions of the many ways she could escape an enemy's hold and had her go through it with him. After a few tries, Maddie got the hang of it, and that made Leo feel good. If she could escape someone's hold, Robyn couldn't hurt her. After that was done, Leo had her go through other things he'd taught her to make sure she had the basics down. He was proud of all she had learned and felt better knowing that she could handle herself against any enemy she faced.
"Not bad, huh?" she said.
"You did great, Maddie," Leo said. "I'm really proud of you."
"It all comes of having a great teacher," she said as she playfully nudged his arm.
He blushed. "I'm not that good," he said modestly. "Master Splinter's way better than I am."
"And yet, if I recall, it was you who offered to teach me and I accepted," she reminded him. "If I wasn't confident in your abilities, I never would have asked you. You're a great teacher, Leo. I feel safe with you."
"Thanks, Maddie," he said. "That means a lot coming from you."
After their lesson was concluded, Maddie showed him a few new knitting techniques to help him avoid stress. With Robyn still looming out there, Leo was still stressed out, but knitting helped him get over that. Well, that and writing fan fiction which he was still doing as well. As they knitted, he and Maddie talked about his latest work and how so many people were excited about what he was doing.
"I swear, you could be an author yourself, Leo," she said.
"Nah, Mikey's better at it than me," he answered.
"Why are you always so down on yourself?" she asked him.
"I'm not down on myself!" he protested. "I mean, I know I'm good, but there's always going to be someone better than me."
She giggled. "Yeah, but you shouldn't act like you aren't good either because you are. You have a lot of talent, Leo. That has to count for something."
"It does, but I can't worry about that now," Leo answered. "I have to focus on what's to come."
"But what if Robyn's not even in New York?" she insisted. "She could be in another country for all we know. And if she is, you have nothing to worry about."
Leo shook his head. "Until Robyn's brought to justice, I'm always going to worry," he replied. "It's just who I am. I always have to be on alert. That's what true ninjas do."
She sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's not over until she's in jail, right?"
"That's right. But for what it's worth, I did have fun with you today."
'Me, too, Leo. I always have fun when I'm with you." She leaned over and kissed his lips once again. He responded in kind and melted into the kiss. Since the first time they tried this, they had become more attuned to one another and had found a way to kiss that wasn't awkward despite their different mouth shapes. Remembering how weird it was for them the first time caused Leo to start laughing which caused Maddie to pull away.
"What's so funny, Leo?" she asked.
"Remember when we first kissed?" he asked her. "I was just thinking of that and how funny it was."
She laughed, too. "Yeah, we were pretty bad at it."
"We've gotten better though," he reminded her.
"Yeah, definitely better. And you know, there is something else I want to try too."
Leo blanched at her words, a blush crawling up his cheeks. "Maddie, I don't think it's a good idea," he said.
"I'm not saying we have to do it now, Leo. I'm just saying that I eventually would love to try that with you. Don't you want it, too?"
"I do, but not right now," he answered. "A ninja can't afford any distractions."
She rolled her eyes. "And yet, you're fine with kissing me and don't think of that as a distraction.'
"It is a distraction, but not as much of a distraction as that other thing," he told her. "But maybe after all of this is sorted out, we can try it."
"I guess I can't say no to you, Leo," she said as she nuzzled his cheek.
"Nope, I'm too irresistible," he teased.
"You got that right," she agreed.
Leo looked at the clock. "I'd better get home before Sensei worries," he said. "I'll see you again soon, okay?"
"Yeah, that's cool," she said. "See you soon." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you."
"Love you, too," Leo answered. He waved to her before heading home, his heart filled with love. He was so happy, and he only hoped that Robyn wouldn't spoil it as she was apt to do.
When he arrived home he found Miwa lounging on the couch watching a reality show. She turned as she came in, a small smile on her face.
"How was your date with Madison?" she asked.
"It was great," he answered. "Are you jealous of me?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course not! I'm so happy for you, Leo. I could never be jealous of that. And maybe somewhere there's someone out there for me, too."
"Yeah, maybe," he said. "I'm gonna go report to Sensei."
"Wait, you're gonna report to him about your date?" Miwa asked him.
"Yeah. I'm sure he has some questions for me."
Miwa shrugged and said nothing more even though Leo knew she felt it was weird of him to do that. He waved to her and made his way to Splinter's room.
Splinter was seated on his tatami mat when Leo opened the door to his room. "Good evening, Leonardo," he greeted his son. "How was your date with Madison?"
"It was good, Sensei," he answered. "We had a nice time."
"And what did you do?"
"I showed her some new moves, and she showed me some new knitting techniques," Leo explained. "We talked about what happened to us and how we feel Robyn is still out there. She thinks the same thing, too."
"Well, at least she believes you," Splinter said. "Is that all you did tonight, my son?"
"Hai, Sensei," Leo said. "We didn't do anything you wouldn't approve of."
A twinkle shone in Splinter's eye. "Who says I would not approve?" he asked his son.
Leo blushed. "Well, you're our dad, so you're very protective of us, so I just figured that like any other dad, you wouldn't approve of us being intimate together."
"If you were still fifteen, you would be right," replied Splinter. "However, you are an adult and have the right to decide for yourself what you do or don't do. Most parents would not be this lenient if their children were still living at home. However, I am different in that regard. I feel that you and your brothers and sister are intelligent enough and mature enough to decide for yourselves what you should do regarding romantic situations. My own father did the same for me when I became of age. I feel that many parents are still too overprotective of their children in certain matters and that hinders them from growing."
"But you still are overprotective in some ways, Master Splinter," Leo pointed out.
Splinter nodded. "That is true, but I am doing my best to try and stop that. I have to have faith I my children and trust them or they will never grow as they should. You have grown so much, Leonardo, and I have faith that you will do the right thing. As long as you and Madison both agree on these matters, I will not worry about it."
"Well, she wants to try that, but I told her to wait until things settle down. I just can't be distracted as long as Robyn's out there. I don't want Robyn to get more ammunition to hurt Maddie. So until Robyn is stopped for good, I told her we had to wait. I just can't get distracted from this task."
"I understand, my son, and I'm sure she does as well. Were you really afraid of what my reaction would be?"
"Hai, Sensei. I just can't get over the fact that you're still the parent and I still have to tell you about certain things."
"That is true, but in time, that will go away. I trust you, and I hope that you understand that."
"I do, Sensei, and that means a lot to me that you have faith in me. I hope I won't disappoint you in anything that I do."
"You never will, Leonardo. You will always be my brave warrior no matter what you do and how many mistakes you make. I will always love you, your brothers, and your sister with all of my heart as any parent does."
"I love you, too, Father," Leo said as he embraced Splinter.
"Good. Now it is time for you to get some rest."
Leo nodded and bowed to his father before heading to his room. He was glad he'd had that talk with Splinter and that Splinter trusted him enough to make his own decisions regarding Madison. He just hoped that all of this madness with Robyn would end soon so that they could get on with their lives. He looked at his phone, expecting to see a taunting text about kissing and telling, but his phone was silent as it had been since the warehouse incident. He had a feeling Robyn was biding her time and would strike when she felt it was the best time. But when she did, he would be ready to stop her once and for all from hurting his family.
A/N: And another chapter is done. This one turned out longer than I thought it would, but I'm happy with it. And what Splinter says is very true and something I think he would feel about his sons and daughter now that they're adults. They have to grow on their own and learn from their mistakes and they can't do that if Splinter is always the one to tell them they can't do this or that. He trusts his children to do what is right, and that's always important with parents and children. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day. Only two more chapters to go before this story is complete.