A/N: Everyone has a dirty mind and Mikey just wants to do Leo's hair! Is that too much to ask?

Chapter Fourteen:

Insecurities

{April}

"Just kill me now, Red."

I laugh at Casey's melodramatic performance as we walk to school. It's early in the morning, and it's still pretty dark out with winter approaching. I hug my coat tighter around my body and watch the breath cloud from my lips.

"You said you'd come with me," I retort as I adjust the straps of my backpack. "You need to ace this test, Jones. You want to stay on the hockey team, don't you?"

"That's not it, though!" He groans again and slumps over himself. "I used to never care about stupid things like school or grades or tests, but ever since I started hangin' around you, I've gotten all—"

"Civilized?" I joke.

"No!" he gripes. "I'm turning into a freakin' nerd, April!"

I laugh out loud, swaying slightly from the force of it. The cold air stings my lungs a little bit, but Casey's being too ridiculous for me to care.

"Okay, first off, you're nowhere near being a nerd. And are you blaming me for being a good influence? Because I'll gladly accept that."

"Ugh." He tugs his beanie over his face. "No, it's just—I'm getting all jittery for that stupid Physics test!" He continues to flail his limbs in exaggerated expression. "I never get jittery! This is horrible! How am I supposed to do good if I can't even concentrate—"

"Casey, you're going to be fine, alright?" I reassure, stopping him so that he can focus on what I'm saying. "We've studied—a lot. And we're going to study some more right now, so you've got nothing to worry about."

He sighs, averting his gaze to the concrete. I watch him with concern.

"I know," he murmurs. "It's just… I've been doing so good lately, and I'm scared I'm gonna mess it up."

I offer a warm smile to contrast the bitter chill of the morning. To be honest, it's kind of cute to see him so flustered for something like school—something he never cared about until he met me.

"You have been doing really good, which is why I know you'll pass this test." I grab him by the arm and tug him along. "Come on, Mr. Fischer's going to start the tutoring any minute now, and we've got to—"

Beep, beep, beep!

I almost jump as my T-phone goes off in my coat pocket. Frowning, I dig my hand into the fabric and wrestle the device out.

"Who is it?" Casey asks, leaning in.

"It's Raph." I press the answering button and lift the phone to my ear. "Hey, Raph, what's—"

"Where are you?" His urgent voice rushes in a little too loud. I wince and pull the cell away for a second to keep my eardrums from bursting.

"Uh, we were just heading to school. Did you need something—"

"Skip school," he retorts sharply. "Just come to the Lair. Like, right now."

"What?" I put my free hand on my hip. "Why?"

"Because as of today, I'm the only sane one in this place!"

"Raph, we can't just skip school. We've got a test—"

"Oh, and bring some clothes! Like pants. Definitely pants."

Okay, this is weird, even for Raph. I roll my eyes at Casey, who shrugs back at me, looking just as confused as I am.

"Raph, you're not making any sense, and we've got a Physics test, so unless you can give me a more specific reason, we're not coming, and—hey!"

Casey snatches the phone out of my hand and, despite my protests, overrides my words.

"Yeah, we'll be there," he says, giving me that smug grin. My nostrils flare and I cross my arms in annoyance as he hangs up and hands the phone back to me.

"What the heck, Casey?" My eyes narrow and I jab my finger at his chest. "We can't skip school! We don't even know what's going on!"

"April," he chides in a calm tone. "How many times has Raph called us at six in the morning? The dude's never up at six in the morning."

My nose wrinkles. "Your point?"

"My point is that something must be going on, and I wanna find out what." He hauls his pack over his shoulders and promptly turns in the other direction, away from school.

"So what, you're just gonna skip the test?" I ask incredulously. "After all that work?"

He scoffs, as if he wasn't just on the verge of having a panic attack over the class. "The test is still gonna be there, Red. Besides," he winks. "I'm not full-on nerd yet, remember?"

Now it's mine turn to be melodramatic. I groan and stomp after him, shoving my T-phone back in my pocket while my brain attempts to calculate how much trouble I'm going to be in when Dad finds out I skipped school. Again.

Casey grins as I catch up, and we both walk to the nearest alleyway and go for the manhole cover. As I check to make sure no one's around, Casey lifts the metal lid and fakes a bow.

"Ladies first."

I glare at him, shouldering my pack and grabbing the first rung of the ladder that leads into the dark below.

"This better be good," I grumble.

~T~

{Leo}

"Donnie, are you going to help or not?"

"Hm?" His response is so absent-minded, it's like my words are simply a gnat buzzing around his head.

I heave out a sigh and sit up on my knees, arching my aching back. Man, if I had known the mutagen would be this much of a mess, I might've second-guessed rushing into the process.

"You haven't helped clean since I asked you to do the mirror," I grumble, flexing my cramping fingers.

"Sorry." He doesn't sound sorry. "I got…distracted."

I roll my eyes at his "distraction." I guess it was my fault for asking him to clean the glass, but I didn't think he'd get stuck checking himself out for half an hour.

Honestly, Donnie…

"Okay, well, distraction aside, could you get that part by the top of the door frame? 'Cause I can't reach it." I wring out the towel in the soapy, now-green water bucket and work on the crust along the tub's edge. Realizing Donnie's not doing what I asked, I clench my jaw and glare at him from over my shoulder. "Donnie, I said—" I stop and arch my brow at the sight before me. "Are you…posing?"

He jumps a little, breaking his model-like stance and bumping into the door like the dork we all know he is. "N-No! I was just, um…" He sighs in defeat as his shoulder slump. "It's kind of fun, though."

I stare at him a good while before he groans and snatches his cleaning rag from the countertop. "Alright, fine—I'll get the stupid door frame." He continues to mumble under his breath as he scrubs, and neither of us say anything for a few moments. Managing to break the dried layer of mutagen along the tub, I rinse my towel again just as he breaks the quiet with a timid question.

"Leo…do you think April will like me now?"

There's something in his voice that just about breaks my heart. And it's not just in his voice, it's in the way he chooses his words—the way he says "now," as if she could never like him the way he was before. As if this transformation was nothing more than a desperate attempt to win her affection.

Knowing I must be careful in my response, I answer his question with a question. "What do you mean?"

"Do I look…do I look okay?"

A crease forms between my brow. "Yeah, Donnie, you look okay."

"No, I mean—" He groans and rubs his forehead. "This is kind of awkward—but do I look attractive?"

All I have to offer in terms of response is the same face I give all my brothers when they do something ridiculous. "Donnie," I chide. "We've spent the entire morning naked together in the bathroom. The last thing you should be asking me is if you look attractive."

His face turns red and I swear steam starts to spout from his ears. "Okay, first off," he snaps, "we're wearing robes, so we're not even naked right now."

"Yeah," I snort. "Loose robes. They cover the back, but not exactly the front, if you know what I mean—"

A soapy rag hits the back of my head and sends warm, bubbly water running down the back of my neck.

"Just—just shut up!" he hisses, flustered. "Geez, you're almost as bad as Raph!"

My eyes narrow as I peel the cloth off my skin and toss it back. It takes a lot to not hit him in the face. "Then don't ask me stupid questions."

He huffs out a breath and slams his towel down on the counter. "You know what I'm asking, you dunce! Do you think April will find me attractive?"

I merely shrug. "Do I look like April? How would I know?" Seeing his frustrated expression breaks the snarky banter, and I sigh. "Donnie, I don't know, but April should like you for you, not for how you look." I go back to washing the tub and move to the chrome faucet, groaning inwardly at the amount of work left to do on this stupid shower. "For the record, though, I think you look better than Casey."

It's like dropping a match in a bucket of gasoline. He lights up instantly, as if I just gave him a billion dollars and his own private island.

"Really?" he asks, incredulous. He pumps his fist in the air and hops around excitedly in a way that makes me smile. "Yes, I knew it! Take that, Jones!"

Chuckling at his behavior, I decide to take this a step further. "I'm not going to ask you if I look attractive, 'cause that's weird," I start. "But do you think I look okay?"

He stops his little freak-out and pauses, looking me over for a moment, and the mood takes an awkward turn. A knowing smirk pushes one corner of his lips up. "Karai's gonna be all over you."

That sends a jolt of lightning and heat right up to my face. All the feeling seems to suddenly flush out of my being, and I momentarily forget where I am or how to use my brain. Donatello simply laughs at my reaction, but I can't move because now my head's full of images that really shouldn't be there—

All over me?

Wait, no, that's wrong—

Don't think about it, don't think about it, shut up!

I clench my teeth and clamp my eyes shut, forcing down the inappropriate thoughts inadvertently caused by my brother's comment. I throw my focus into making that chrome sparkle and start scrubbing like there's no tomorrow.

"Something I said, Leo?" Donnie snickers.

A growl pushes up my throat. "Just shut up and clean, Donnie!"

~T~

{Casey}

I don't know what to expect when we finally reach the Lair, but I don't really care. I just got out of a test and I get to skip school for the whole day, so I'm pretty much set. April, however, is acting like the world's going to end—a total opposite extreme to her behavior earlier, when she was being all motherly and calm. She had the cutest little expression on, too—still does, actually. Except this one is her angry one, so it's a different kind of cute.

We shuffle on past the turnstiles that squeak the arrival of our presence just to find the living room completely empty. I stop at the steps leading down into the space and my lips pull into a frown.

"Raph?" I call. "Yo, dude, we're—"

The sound of a door jerking open brings my words to a crashing halt—and speaking of crashing, Raph comes running in from the hallway like a crazed bull, practically knocking the couch over in his haste.

"Oh, good, you're here," he says, breathless.

"Is everything okay, Raph?" April asks cautiously. "You sounded weird earlier—"

He jumps right up the steps and is standing in front of us in a split second, yanking the backpacks off our shoulders and frantically searching through them.

"Did you bring the clothes?" he asks sharply.

I give him the stink-eye for so rudely taking my bag from me. "No, Raph, we didn't."

"Why the shell not?" he snaps, tossing mine to the floor. "I specifically told you guys—"

"You didn't specifically tell us anything!" I bite back, getting up in his face. "You can't just say 'Bring clothes' and expect it to happen, dude! We don't know who they're for, or the size, or anything else useful—"

"They're for Leo and Donnie!" he shouts. "Now go back to the freaking store!"

My heated response melts instantly, and my brow furrows. "What?"

April steps past me with that concerned face of hers. "Raph…what happened this morning?"

"Yeah, man," I add, hooking a hand to my hip. "What's your deal?"

He shoves a breath from his lungs and flails his arms over his head. "My deal is that Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dork just mutated themselves, and I've been scarred for life!"

"Whoa, wait," April interrupts. "What do you mean they mutated themselves?"

His chest heaves with breath, and I can't keep the grin from my face, 'cause it looks like he's gonna pop.

"I just saw Leo naked!" he screams. His voice gets so high, it cracks. "So if it's not too much trouble, could you please go get some clothes before I lose my freaking mind?!"

Yeah, Raph's on a whole new level of coherency for sure.

"Raph, what's all the yelling—April, Casey, hey!" Mikey's bubbly greeting is the only normal thing in this moment. He slinks in from the hallway and comes bouncing up the steps, beaming as usual. "What're you guys doing here?"

I open my mouth to answer him, but he immediately points down at our bags Raph so rudely dropped on the floor like he totally forgot we're here. "Oh, cool, backpacks!"

I don't even both to protest as the little guy starts digging through my binders and crumpled gum wrappers, tossing my stuff all over the place as he searches for any leftover snacks I may have had stashed in there.

"Raph called us," I comment, eyeing the red-clad turtle and his flustered appearance. "He says Leo and Donnie mutated themselves…or something."

Mikey's head slowly lifts from inside the bag. "Oh." I can't pin the expression on his face, but his eyes flash with an anxious gleam.

"Oh?" April repeats angrily, crossing her arms. "What do you mean, 'oh'? Guys, we're missing school right now! Do you know how many times I've been absent because of this whole second-life thing? A lot!" Her nostrils flare in the cutest way and she stomps her foot demandingly. "Now one of you is going to tell us what the heck is going on, or I'm leaving!"

Mikey timidly stands to his feet, leaving my backpack and all of its contents sprawled out on the floor. I'd be mad if I weren't so curious as to what's going on here. He glances nervously at Raph and rubs his arm, averting eye contact, like he doesn't know what to say. That, or he's wondering how much trouble he'll be in if he does.

But Raph simply huffs out a breath and whips around, stalking back to the couch as if he no longer wants any part in this. So Mikey's left standing in front of us, sheepish in every sense of the word. Hands clasped behind his shell, he nervously digs his toe in circles along the concrete.

"Um, Leo and Don kinda…sorta…mutated themselves." He clears his throat awkwardly and glances back at Raph for some support, but his brother refuses to lift his face out of the comic he's suddenly entrenched in. "They're, uh…human…now."

I practically choke on the spit I was just about to swallow.

"What?" April shouts. "They're human? Like, human, human?"

"Heh, yeah…" Mikey offers a smile and rubs the back of his neck.

"W-When did this happen?" April runs a hand through her hair as she grows more flustered by the millisecond. "And how—how did they mutate themselves?"

"This morning, and uh…mutagen." Mikey snorts. "Duh."

Her chest heaves like she's forgotten how to breathe like a normal human being, but I'm standing here just trying to remember how to function properly. Did I wake up this morning, or is this all some weird alternate dream universe? Is this what the Matrix feels like? Wonder which pill I took—

"Casey?" April's voice yanks me from the random tangent of my brain and I shake my head. "Casey, come on, we've gotta go see this."

She grabs my arm and tugs me along behind her, but Mikey jumps in front and stops us.

"Whoa, wait a second!" He glances back at the hallway, and then to Raph, like he's still searching for direction. Finding none, he turns to us and swallows. "I-I'll go get them. They're in the bathroom."

"What for?" I ask.

"Cleaning," he answers hastily. "Long story. But, uh…I'll be right back." He points down at the spot we're standing. "Just stay here, okay?"

April huffs impatiently and crosses her arms over chest as Mikey scurries off towards the hall.

"And you wanted to go to school today," I smirk. She jabs me in the side with her elbow. "Ow!" I hiss, rubbing the bruised area. "What was that for?"

"This isn't funny, Casey!" she snaps. "This—this is crazy!"

I scoff and shove my hands in my pockets. "I'll believe it when I see it, Red. I mean, Donnie's smart and all, but turning himself human is just…" I trail off when I see Mikey emerging from the dark hallway, whispering behind him. The rest of my words tumble uselessly down my throat as two other figures step after the youngest brother, and everything in my brain just sorta…stops.

It's the weirdest feeling ever. I'm standing here, staring at them, knowing it's them, and yet it's like my mind just refuses to wrap around it. My gaze flicks up and down, taking in the robes that are too big for them, the crazy mess of their hair—hair, for crying out loud—the skin that suddenly seems too white and too smooth and the fact that there's no shell, no scales, no green, and no masks.

Somehow, impossibly, I know exactly who is who even from where I'm standing. It's not even just the difference in height or eye color—it's their faces, their build, everything about them just seems so perfectly…them. And when Leo offers that awkward smile of his, I really do feel like I'm trapped in some crazy alternate universe.

Donnie swallows and laughs nervously—still his voice, and holy crap, he's even got the gap between his teeth!

"Uh…surprise?" He shifts his weight from each foot, looking ridiculous in that huge robe, which I'm guessing is Master Splinter's. Which means they're both naked…

Well, at least that explains Raph's spazz-attack earlier.

I haven't really pinned down an emotion before April just explodes next to me. One second she's here, the next she's across the freaking room babbling like no tomorrow.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" She squeals excitedly as if she wasn't just telling me this whole thing was nuts. Leo winces at the high-pitched noise and leans away awkwardly while she jumps around them, grabbing their hands and arms and poking their upper torsos. The oldest brother flinches at her intruding touch and looks like he's trying really hard not to back off. Donnie, however, doesn't seem to mind.

"Just—just look at you two!" she shouts, ecstatic. Her ponytail swishes back and forth as she darts around them both, entranced. "You're both human!"

"Yeah," Donnie chuckles timidly and rubs his arm. "Do you, uh, do you like it?"

"Of course!" she answers, enthusiasm radiating from every pore of her being. "This is so cool, Donnie! How'd you even get this to work?"

The beanpole's tension practically melts instantaneously and he shoots into a nerd explanation about subatomic particles and mutagenic properties. I zone out, of course, but it's not because I don't understand or even the fact that I don't care—it's the way April's looking at him that has me glued to the floor.

She's standing there, staring up at him because he's still taller than me, and those blue eyes of hers are completely fixated on his face—his human face. A human face that's actually…good-looking.

Anger ignites in my gut and steams with the self-pity. My glare turns to daggers as I rip apart every piece of his new features: from his big, dark eyes, to the brown hair that curls at the ends, to the obvious build of his lean muscles strapped to his tall frame, to his nose and jawline and the stupid high cheekbones that girls seem to faint over—and the heat inside only gets worse. I honestly feel like I'm getting sick from the overwhelming sensation of jealousy that's suddenly gripped me.

Calm down, I tell myself. He's still Donnie. He's still that stupid dork that reads textbooks in his free time and is locked in some limbo of social awkwardness and squeaky, pubescent vocals.

But the other side—the smart side—simply scoffs at my analyzation.

Yeah—he's still a genius, an inventor, and a freaking ninja. Oh, and now he's human, so there's absolutely nothing separating April and him from moving beyond the friend zone created only by the fact that he was a mutant turtle living in the sewers.

My shoulders slump and I think a part of me dies somewhere inside. He's still babbling, and now Leo and Mikey have joined in explaining the mishaps of the morning, but I can't hear a single word because of the way she's staring at him. In fact, I'm so absorbed in this sudden and intense feeling of envy that I don't even notice Raph until he slings an arm around my shoulder and makes me jump.

"Yo, Space Cadet," he sneers. "You done checking out my brother like a weirdo or what?"

His comment brings a rush of blood to my cheeks—but it's not even embarrassment, it's just sheer anger.

"I wasn't—" I stop myself and push a breath from my chest, even though it does nothing to take the weight off. "Where did this even come from, Raph?"

He shrugs, and as he looks over his brothers, his eyes narrow when they land on Leo. If they haven't fought about this yet, there's a storm coming. "I'm the last person to ask, Case. I just woke up and found the two idiots in the bathroom, butt-naked and covered in mutagen."

Even despite the massive, broiling mess of emotions inside of me, I remember how flustered Raph was only moments ago and decide to take a jab while I can.

"And how was that?" I ask slyly, taking advantage of the moment. "Seeing Leo naked, I mean."

His hand comes flying outta nowhere and smacks me on the back of my head.

"Ouch! Dude, watch it!" I snap, glaring at him while my hands shoot back to shield my aching skull. "I was just kidding. Geez."

"Shut up," he growls, clearly unamused at my antics. "You shouldn't be crackin' jokes while tall, dark, and handsome over there is flirting with your girl, Casey."

My brows tug downward as the feelings swoop back in, burning like crazy.

"Donnie-boy's got the one-up on you," he continues dryly. He gives me a hard smack on the back for good measure and steps away, nodding towards the turnstiles. "You better go get some clothes for these two… Unless, you know, you want April to be here all day with Donnie while he's human…" The ridge of his brow raises suggestively. "And naked."

Yeah, okay, no. I snatch my bag from the floor, and my voice comes out so sharp and urgent, it surprises me.

"April, we should get going." Am I talking too loud? Too fast? Does anyone notice that I'm about to blow up or something?

No? Okay.

April turns on her heels, finally taking her eyes off Mr. Perfect. Her gaze flashes with a surge of confusion.

"What?" she asks, frowning. "We just got here."

I shoot a glare to Raph, who simply nods in return. "We've gotta go get the clothes, remember?"

Her frown deepens as those adorable pink lips tug into a tight pout. "Well, yeah, but…we both don't have to go, right?"

Crap, she wants to stay and she wants me to leave so she can oogle some more at freaking Cheekbones over there—

I can't even stop the small growl that crawls up my throat. "You're gonna make me go alone?" I ask, too angry to feign any other sort of emotion.

"Casey, it's okay," she says casually. She hooks a hand on her hip and gestures towards Leo and Donnie with a soft smile. "You go get some clothes, and I'll see if there's anything I can help with here."

"Anything you can help with?" I repeat dumbly. "What could they possibly need help with?"

She rolls her eyes as if I've just asked the stupidest question ever, but no one else seems to hear the snort Raph makes at the comment. "Just go, will you? You'll be back before you know it."

"Better hurry, Casey," Raph eggs, smirking as he crosses his arms over his chest. His voice lowers to a taunting whisper. "The longer you take, the more time you'll give Donnie to make a move."

My fists clench at my sides, and immediately, my eyes snap up to meet Donatello's dark, gleaming gaze. He's staring at me with the most irritating and smug look I have ever seen on anyone's face ever. If I weren't clear across the room, I'd punch him and break that stupid tall nose of his—

"Go on, Casey," April prods, waving me off. "Just grab some of your stuff until we can take them out."

"Will his stuff fit us okay?" Leo asks, slightly concerned. Honestly, I think he's just weirded out by the idea of clothing in general—especially wearing someone else's.

"I don't know," Donnie adds, lifting a haughty brow as the corner of his lips draw into a confident smirk. "We have different builds."

That immediately translates to "We're way buffer than he is" in my brain, and I just about lose it.

"Okay, I'm leaving," I announce much too loudly. "I'll be back in a bit."

Whirling around, I sling my backpack roughly over my shoulder and try to refrain from stomping past the turnstiles. I hear the individual voices of everyone saying goodbye, but Donnie's seems to drift up from the rest, sharp and condescending—so much so, that it almost feels like his words are stinging the back of my neck.

"Bye, Casey!"

Oh, I am so going to murder him.

~T~

{Donnie}

So today is officially the best day ever. I thought Leo might've just been trying to make me feel better earlier by comparing me to Casey, but when I saw the look on that little punk's face, I knew my brother was right. More importantly, April seems to think the same thing, if her unabated enthusiasm is anything to go by.

In fact, she's still bouncing around firing questions on how I managed to accomplish this and what it felt like then and how we feel now. I can tell Leo wants a little space, but I could care less. For once, April is fully focused on me, and this time, there's no inhuman physicalities between us to ruin the moment.

"It actually really hurt," Leo answers beside me. He laughs and rubs the back of his neck. "I thought I was gonna die there for a second."

Shaking my head, I root myself back into the present situation just as she asks if there's anything she can do to help us adjust.

I can think of a few things.

Oh, whoops, that's not right—

"What do you mean?" Leo asks. I realize now that he's giving me the face—that same one where it's like he knows what I'm thinking. My skin flushes and I avert my gaze in a hint of shame.

"Casey's going to get us some clothes…I can't really think of anything else," he continues.

April suddenly chirps up in front of me. "Oh! What about your hair?"

Leo frowns, confused. "What about it?"

She arches a brow and gestures to the top of his head with a pointed finger. "To start, you've got dried mutagen all over it. Kinda gross, don't you think?"

Gross? My hands subconsciously fly to cover the sticky locks. My hair's gross?

She takes notice of my reaction and lifts a hand to her mouth in an attempt to conceal her giggle. Heat floods my cheeks.

"That's not what I meant, Donnie," she smiles, as if directly answering my insecurities. "But we should probably wash it out. It can't be comfortable to be all sticky and stuff."

"Wash it?" Leo repeats, his lips pursing. "Like, with soap?"

"Well, shampoo—but yeah, same concept."

My older brother mutters something about humans being high-maintenance under his breath, but nobody hears him over Mikey's sudden burst of excitement.

"Oh! Can I help, April? Please!"

She smiles gently, despite the confused look in her eyes. "Uh, sure, Mikey. But you should wait until I get the mutagen out first, since I'm the only one here really immune to it."

Mikey does a fist-pump and hops around. "Yes! Alright Leo, I'mma give you a Mohawk and then Donnie can—"

"No!" Leo shouts, appalled at the thought. He drapes his arms over his head protectively. "First off, I'm not letting you come near my head with anything sharp! And second, why the shell would I let you do that?"

"Because I'm your brother and you love me?" Mikey pleads in a hopeful tone.

Leo scoffs. "Not that much."

Mikey's expression droops, but Aprils puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder and winks at him. "How about you give Leo a shampoo Mohawk instead?"

"Don't encourage him, April!"

I'm not even paying attention anymore as the light-hearted argument continues around me. Something about this just seems so…perfect.

Perfect. Have I ever used that word in such a way? Have I ever truly felt like a moment in my life was perfect?

The warmth blooms in my stomach. Everything in me feels light and fluttery and strange…but good. Yeah, definitely good.

"You coming, Donnie?"

Leo's voice snaps me back to the present. "Hm?"

He arches a brow, noting my daydreaming, and nods towards the bathroom. "You gotta fix the shower so we can rinse this stuff off."

"Mikey and I will wait till you're done," April adds, smiling as my youngest brother leads her to the couch.

"Yeah!" Mikey pipes with a grin that seems too large for his facial structure to allow. "I'll show April how to beat the boss-dude on level 54. Then you're gettin' a Mohawk, Leo!"

My older brother groans at Mikey's persistence and grabs my own arm as he trudges off to the bathroom.

"Let's just get this over with," he grumbles. The sound of April laughing at whatever ridiculous thing Mikey's doing rings in my ears and drifts through the Lair like something sweet and pure, completely washing out Leo's apprehension and replacing everything with that warm, fuzzy feeling again.

Yeah, it's a good day.

~T~

{Leo}

"Are you done yet?" Donnie asks from outside the shower. I made him go first after he fixed the pipes, just in case some more of his retromutagen came spewing out or something. Like shell I'm getting anywhere near that stuff again.

"Almost," I answer, fiddling with the temperature of the water for the hundredth time. It streams down my back, dripping down my skin and pooling at my feet. The steam plumes from all sides, gathering and rising against the shower curtain Donnie had to put back up.

My brother groans impatiently. "I told you we could've just taken one at the same time—it would've been faster."

"Yeah," I scoff. "How about no?"

I swear I can hear him stop his foot. "You're taking forever, Leo!"

"April will still be there when I'm done," I answer simply, shutting him up. I know he's just antsy to get back out there with her. We all saw how she was staring at him earlier, and I think the attention's going right to Donnie's big head. I've got to watch him and make sure his confidence doesn't spike to the point of being an obnoxious punk, like Raph.

Raph.

A frown pulls at my facial muscles. I've hardly seen Raph. He was out there with Casey when he and April showed up, and then he just…disappeared. He keeps giving me this evil glare—the kind I always get right before he tries to beat the snot out of me. He may not have confronted me yet, but I know it's coming, and I'm not too excited to have that particular conversation.

Another turn of the knob, and the water gets hotter. My thoughts are torn from my tempered brother to the new body enveloping me. There's something so strange about human flesh; everything feels so much…more. It's like my senses have been heightened. Every drop of water hits me and I feel it, and when it goes down my chest and my back, it's even stranger. I mean, I could still feel things when I had a shell, but it was a dull sensation. The roughness of my skin deterred sensitivity, and now that I'm like this, everything feels much more invasive and fragile and exposed. Definitely exposed. I've always liked my personal space, but now the need for it has reached a whole new level—hence me taking a separate shower and making Donnie put the curtain back up. When I was a mutant, I didn't need to worry about being "naked" because we had shells. But humans are so weird and fleshy and openly exposed that I'm not sure how I'm going to adjust to the constant need of covering myself.

"Leo!" Donnie's sharp voice prods at my mind, and I sigh. "Hurry up, or I'll shut off the valve again!"

I refrain from muttering under my breath and use the last few seconds to finish scrubbing myself down with the soapy rag. The bubbles tickle as they pop, suds sliding down my limbs, and the rough texture of the cloth effectively removes any trace of sticky mutagen from my skin. The steaming water rinses the last of the soap away and I twist the knob, turning the shower off.

"Finally!" Donnie groans. I roll my eyes and stick my hand outside the curtain. He shoves a towel into my grasp and I dry myself off methodically before wrapping the fabric around my waist and stepping out from the shower.

"Let's go," he says quickly, tossing my robe at my face before I have time to catch it. I pull the heavy fabric off my head and glare.

"Donnie, you've got to chill out. April's not going anywhere." Wrestling the robe back on, I make sure to tie it extra tight around my waist. The nice thing about it being so large is the fact that I can practically double it around my stomach and completely cover myself. Plus, it's kind of comfy.

"It's not that," he dismisses, carefully securing his own robe. Something in his voice shifts, and I pause. "I just… I'm scared I'm going to wake up, you know?"

My eyes lift from the rope I've tied in my hands to my brother's averted gaze. The same feeling grips me—the sensation like that of a dream. It's warm and fuzzy and it feels too new, too good, to even be real. My stomach feels light and my head feels clear, despite the unknown stretching out before me. Even after what happened with Splinter, I still feel the weightlessness. It's so…different.

"Yeah," I mutter, looking down at my feet. I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing this body and knowing that it's my own. "I get that."

He hesitates for a moment while his hand rests limply on the door handle, as if he's trying to ground himself in this moment, this state of being. I've had to remind myself that this isn't some dream multiple times now, and still, I'm not entirely convinced.

With a quick shake of his head to clear his thoughts, his gaze hardens, focusing, and he pulls down on the handle.

"Come on." The door opens, and he glances back at me for a moment—long enough to crack a mischievous grin that throws my stomach into little knots. "You don't want to keep Mikey waiting, do you?"