Author's Notes - Hello! I've been MIA for years but here is a new chapter of this story. It was rushed because I had to figure out where I left off on the story and although I think this chapter is a little bland, I promise the next one will be more put together :) Happy Reading everyone!

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. I do however own this story and my original characters. I'm borrowing the characters to make a plot of my own.

Ever since Leonardo could remember he wasn't the one to lie. He couldn't lie. He hated it and the consequences that came with it.

He didn't know how he ended up in this situation that was bestowed in front of him. He couldn't even look at the face of who he admired and idolized. He sat there in meditation form, sitting on his legs looking down shamelessly.

He lied earlier. He did know how get got himself into this situation. A trained ninja, who worked harder than any of his brothers, who was the leader, who eats, breathes, and sleeps the art of the ninja…happened to be the one who broke the sacred rule.

The fearless (guilty) leader kept replaying the events that led up to him shamelessly in his Sensei's room. His brothers caught him topside, not mediating but instead helping a girl…a human girl, who happened to know about him…his brothers…and his Sensei.

"What the hell is going on!?"

Leonardo replayed his hot-headed brother's question in his mind. Leo's face was burning hot with embarrassment and anger while sitting in the room, just like how it was whenever Raph asked not to long ago.

Leonardo remembered he couldn't speak. He was in shock. Every blood cell drained from his body. He knew he was in deep sewage water. Shame was written all over Leonardo's face when he was caught with Leolani. But he knew. He knew it was going to happen sooner or later. He knew his lies and sneaking out were going to catch up to him eventually.

He knew Raphael wouldn't let it go. He also knew that he would confined in Donatello and Michelangelo at some point in time. He just didn't know it was going to be this soon. The blue masked turtle thought he had more time.

He thought he had more time to sort out his feelings or maybe get rid of them altogether. He thought he had more time to find the courage to talk to Master Splinter about what he did…how he felt for this particular person who happened to be human. But it was too late.

"Master Splinter may I please explain what I have done?" Leonardo asked his father. He didn't even look at him whenever he asked the question. Again, Leonardo was too ashamed.

"Leonardo, how could you do this? You lied to your brothers. You lied to me." Master Splinter kept pacing back and forth, his paws behind his back…thinking. He was thinking of what he was going to do. His family was at stake. It was one thing for April and Casey to know about them, but it was another situation if some random human knew about their existence.

"How could you do this Leo?"

Leonardo could hear the disappointment and shock in Donatello's voice being replayed over and over again.

"It's not what you think." Leonardo tried to explain to his brothers. It actually was what everyone thought. He just wanted the situation to go away.

"It looks like you've been lying to Master Splinter and your brothers!" Raphael yelled. He was beyond upset, but Leonardo couldn't blame him.

The hot-headed brother was right. He had lied for months, but at what cost? Was it worth it in the end? The leader's stomach started to turn. He was getting butterflies because he could picture her. He could picture of all the good times they had together during the past months. He could imagine the night he saved her. He liked their friendship. He craved it. It was something he never experienced before and that's what he loved.

"I didn't mean to lie Master Splinter." Leonardo spoke and peeked up at his Sensei, who was still pacing around in front of him. "I'm sorry and I'm ashamed of myself. I disappointed you and my brothers."

"Yo, Master Splinter isn't going to like this Leo. You know better. This is like the golden rule. We can't let anyone know who we are."

Even Michelangelo, the jokester, knew that Leonardo broke a rule that should never be broken.

"So this is the reason why you've been sneaking around? Not fully having your head in the game! I would expect this from myself, but never in a million years I would expect this from our fearless leader.

Raphael's comment stung Leo. It stung because it was true. All of it. He could expect this sort of situation happening to Raphael, but himself? No. It just wasn't right. It was like he was in a parallel universe. Instead of Leonardo being the fearless leader and poster child for following all the rules and being the perfect ninja, it was quite the opposite. Instead, he was the rule breaker. The rebel. The one who was slacking off and for what or should we say for who?

"Master, please. I know this situation is hard to understand but you have to listen to me." Leonardo pleaded. He was desperate.

Master Splinter could hear the shame in his son's voice. Although it seemed like he wasn't listening, Master Splinter was indeed hearing and watching his son's demeanor. He knew for months that something wasn't right with his eldest son. He saw the changes, the loss of focus, but most importantly he noticed a different side to him that he never has seen.

Happiness.

That is what Master Splinter saw. He was not saying that Leonardo wasn't happy before, but if someone really payed attention to his son's attitude, overlooked the sneaking around, loss of focus, if you looked deep down and payed attention, anyone could have seen that Leonardo was happy.

This revelation made Master Splinter stop his pacing. He looked into his son's eyes. He could see the guilt in them. He never thought it would be the leader of the bunch, kneeling before him. He always placed a bet with himself that it would be any of the other brothers before Leonardo. He chuckled at the thought.

He let out a deep sigh. He knew the turtles were getting older. He knew that keeping them from being seen wasn't going to last forever. If he could control that he would make sure of it, but he knew that wouldn't be fair. He just wanted to protect his sons, even himself from the topside world.

"My son," Master Splinter spoke as he kneeled, facing his son. "I know in the past I have been very strict with this rule that you have broken. I have my reasons. You and your brothers know this. So, can you please explain to me why would you do this?"

Leonardo didn't know where to start. He wanted to tell his father the truth. The truth was that he was very fond of this girl that he saved. He had a weird feeling for her that he couldn't explain or maybe he was just in deep denial. The fearless leader didn't know anymore. He had so many emotions and thoughts running through his head and he hated it. He hated these mixed emotions so much.

He was the one that had it all figured out. The leader. That's why he was chosen to be the leader. To lead his brother and himself through combat because he handled himself with poise. He was calm and collected even in situations that were stressful. He trusted his instincts. He based his decisions on thinking rather than emotion, but he did trust his heart. He had the perfect balance of the two. He thought he had it all figured out, but he didn't. He realized that during these past few months he wasn't thinking. He was following his emotions. His heart.

"Whatever I tell you Master Splinter you wouldn't understand," Leonardo looked down at floor. He couldn't look his father in the face just yet. "I can't make sense of it either. I have all these emotions flowing through me and to be honest, I really don't know what I was thinking."

Master Splinter could make sense of the situation as best as he could. Well from what he could understand because when the situation was brought to his attention let's just say it wasn't a happy family gathering.

~*TMNT*~

"You lied to us! Master Splinter!" Master Splinter could hear the voice of his sons from sewers. He knew that something was about to happen.

Four of his sons came running through the sewers shouting explicit words that Master Splinter would never repeat himself. He heard yelling and a name he never heard of coming from his eldest son. He heard father and Master Splinter mixed with lying and rule breaker.

"My sons what is going on?" Master Splinter demanded. He never seen his sons so worked up before. He witnessed squabbles here and there from time to time. He was used to the teasing and wrestling. He was even keen to the shouting and yelling but this time, he sensed that something was right.

"Why don't you tell him fearless? Tell him that we just caught you with some random human on the rooftop having a romantic rendezvous!" Raphael shouted.

"It was not a romantic rendezvous! You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" The fearless leader clapped back at his hot-headed brother.

"Then explain the sneaking around," Donatello chimed in.

"Yeah!" Michelangelo crossed his arms.

More shouting from the brothers echoed their home. Master Splinter couldn't believe what was being said to him. Leonardo, his eldest son, breaking a rule? It had to be a misunderstanding. The skillful ninja couldn't believe it himself. He held each of his sons on a high pedestal. He treated them all equally and loved them all the same, but at the same time he expected a little bit more out of his eldest son.

"Maybe we all should pay your 'friend' a visit," Raph threatened. "You know, just to make sure she isn't bad news for us."

"Don't even go there Raphael," Leo said sternly.

"Oooh, I'm so scared," Raphael taunted. "What are you going to do lover boy?"

"Leave her out of this!" Leo pointed a finger at his hot-headed brother. "I know what I'm doing! I would never put this family in danger. You don't even know what's going on. You're just talking out of your shell as per usual."

"Well maybe if you thought with your head and not your…." Raphael was interrupted by voice of their father.

"Enough." Master Splinter sternly said. "I have heard enough. I hear yelling and shouting but not an explanation."

He looked at each one of his sons. "Leonardo. Let's go." Master Splinter walked towards the dojo and Leonardo followed. He wanted to hear what the eldest has done with his own words. He had a lot of explaining to do.

~*TMNT*~

"You broke the one rule I set for you and your brothers," Master Splinter explained. "How could you risk our lives for this girl that you have kept a secret from me."

"I don't know," Leo sounded defeated. "I guess I was ashamed. Ashamed as to how I felt about…her."

Master Splinter tilted his head to the side and stared at his son. He sensed his oldest son shift his demeanor. He could tell that the topic of discussion was making him uneasy.

"Do you," Master Splinter cleared his throat. "Like her?"

Leonardo's eyes became wide with embarrassment and immediately shook his head in denial. "No! How can you even ask that question Master Splinter? That's crazy talk! I mean yes, I like her, but not in the other way. I like her as a companion yes, but not in a romantic way. That would be crazy!"

Master Splinter chuckled to himself. He knew his son was in denial. It was a typical teenage thing to do and it was quite entertaining to see Leo embarrassed. But at the same time, he knew that one day Leonardo would figure out his feelings for this girl and as a father, that concerned him.

It concerned him because it wasn't normal. Him and his family wasn't normal. They could never have a normal life, but he didn't want them to be unhappy. Leonardo was still a male. A teenage one at that. Master Splinter figured if Leonardo kept seeing this girl for so long, then he has to trust his judgment.

"Do you trust this girl?" Master Splinter asked.

Leonardo looked up at his father. It was the first time since he entered the dojo that he actually had the courage to look him in the face. The blue-masked turtle knew the answer to his question. He trusted Leolani. As much as an ass his brothers thought he was, he wasn't stupid. He did his research. He kept his eyes open whenever he was around her. He may have investigated her home to see if it wasn't a set up from his enemies. He only did this because he cared about his family and he knew that it was next to impossible for a normal teenage girl to hang out with him and understand who he really was.

"I trust her Sensei." Leonardo simply said.

"Then I cannot stop you from seeing her." Master Splinter said. "If she is a good companion then I trust your judgement."

Leonardo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was expecting to get his shell chewed out, but for some reason his Sensei was being reasonable and understanding.

"You trust me?" Leonardo asked. "But why?"

Master Splinter put rested his paw on his son's shoulder. "My son, I did not choose you as leader because you were the oldest. I chose you based on your decision making. I do trust you Leonardo."

"So, does this mean you're not mad?" Leonardo sounded hopeful.

Master Splinter rose up from his position and looked at his son. "You're not getting off easy." He said sternly. "I am upset at the fact that you couldn't come to me. All I ask is for you to please protect yourself."

There was a hidden meaning to that phrase, "Protect yourself." Master Splinter wanted Leonardo to not only protect himself physically, but emotionally. He didn't want the eldest getting his heart broken if things ended badly.

"I promise Master Splinter," Leonardo stood up. "I trust Leolani. She is just a very good friend and that's all that she is. A friend."

"That's what you think now," Master Splinter said to himself.

Master Splinter nodded and the two walked towards the exit of the dojo. Opening the door three teenage turtles fell to floor. Master Splinter rubbed his forehead. He knew that if the brothers were listening to their conversation, that this was just the beginning.

AN- I hope you loved this chapter. I will try to update again really soon!