Disclaimer: If I owned TMNT, I wouldn't be sat here desperately wishing for the next episode :')


Things were a little better the next morning. Karai exited her room and walked right into Leo on her way to the bathroom. The make-up bag she was holding clattered to the floor.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," Leo apologised, crouching to pick the bag up.

She exhaled to calm herself down. "No problem."

"Hey, Karai...?" He offered her the make-up hesitantly. "About last night..."

"Don't say anything," she interrupted. Worry flitted across his expression and she smiled internally. She strode closer. "Just hug me and we'll forget it happened."

Sighing in relief, Leo obliged, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She still had no idea what had happened to her partner, but at least he was opening up to her a bit more again.

When Leo's grasp had tightened uncomfortably around her, Karai wriggled free, making sure her lips were still curved in a half-smile. "Well, I should probably go put my make-up on-"

"Wait." He held the make-up bag away from her. "Don't put it on yet."

"Why not?" she questioned. It was a Sunday (the only day they didn't have training), so she didn't see why she couldn't wear it.

A three-fingered hand cupped her face. "Because I like seeing you without it. You look... cute. I want you to leave it off until after breakfast."

"Is that an order, Leader Boy?" Karai inquired.

Leo nodded. "Absolutely."

She smiled; this was more like the Leo she knew. "Okay, you win this one. Let's go and get breakfast."


Small explosions had been relatively common in the Hamato household ever since the five-year-old turtle with a purple mask discovered that mixing one thing with something else could make them "go boom". For this reason, neither Donatello's brothers or his father felt great concern when they heard a fizzling bang and a cry of, "Aw, sewerapples!"

"And he's the genius," Raph remarked in amusement before returning to his previous task of tackling Mikey for the remote.

Karai, however, had been not been raised in an environment where explosions or loud noises of any kind could casually be written off as "Donnie being Donnie" so was alarmed by the commotion. Ignorant of the bemused expressions on her brothers' faces, Karai ran past the wrestling duo and into the lab, waving smoke away from her face as she entered.

"Donnie?" she called tentatively. The smoke had yet to clear, so her vision was fuzzy. "Are you okay?"

He coughed heavily, but his answer was nonchalant, "Yeah, no worries. Just poured a little too much hydrochloric acid in. No biggie."

The light mist dissipated quickly, and Karai could soon see her brother sat at a desk. Soot covered his whole frame, except a strip and two rings of green skin and purple mask where his goggles had been. He looked quite comical, and he wasn't injured. "Of course. I forgot; an explosion's just Tuesday afternoon for you, isn't it?"

"Sometimes Wednesday," he replied, though he broke down in a coughing fit soon after.

"Were you leaning over the beaker when it exploded?" asked Karai.

Donnie shifted in his seat. "Maybe..."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on." When he didn't react, she took hold of his arm and dragged him to the kitchen. Mikey and Raph, who had since been joined by Leo, watching in confusion as they passed.

"What's-" Donnie began, but his own coughing cut him off.

His sister placed a tall glass of water in front of him. "Drink this."

He sipped it and shivered. "It's cold," he complained.

"Exactly; to-"

"Soothe my throat, I get it."

As the turtle drank the water, Karai ran a wash-cloth under the warm water and wrung it out. Once it had stopped dripping, she beckoned Donnie over and wiped the streaks of soot from his scaled face. He fidgeted and squirmed a bit at first, insisting he was perfectly capable of doing the job himself, but soon relaxed into the warm feel of the cloth.

She cleared his face and neck then tossed the cloth onto the counter, neglecting the makeshift wash basket that had been cobbled together out of spare wire in the weeks following her arrival. "Okay, you can handle the rest yourself."

"I could've handled it all myself," Donnie pointed out.

"Whatever." The kunoichi extended a hand. "Give me your mask so I can wash it."

"I'll need it for patrol later."

"Then I'll have to wash it now, won't I?"

"Geez, fine, Mom," he teased, but he handed the strip of purple fabric over anyway. "You're right, though; I should probably go shower once I tidy my lab."

Karai shook her head. "Shower first." Seeing him about to argue, she added, "You'll just track soot everywhere if you don't."

Donnie rolled his eyes at her but still conceded, thanking her for her help before leaving to wash up. After he left, Karai began washing his mask and the cloth in the sink. Her purple-clad brother had repaired a washing machine about a month after she came home, and a dryer had been present in the lair for years (damp things rotted quickly in the sewers), but Karai chose not to use them, as the laundry was primarily her and her father's clothes, which she had no desire to ruin with soot. When she was certain she had washed the soot out, she threw both items in the dryer and set out for the lab.

"Where are you going?" Leo demanded from the couch.

She smirked. "Relax, I'm only going to Don's lab. Figured I'd help with the clean-up."

"Aww, aren't you sweet?" Raph mocked, though he shut up quickly when her boot skimmed the crown of his ducking head.

Mikey calmly threw the shoe back to her and she caught it in one hand. "Thanks, little brother."


Considering he had effectively blown himself up, Donnie decided to treat himself to a (shallow) bath, so by the time he returned, Karai had cleaned up the worst of the mess.

"Hey," she greeted. She gestured to a haphazard pile of papers on his now-clean desk. "I didn't want you to lose any of your nerd-notes, so I just stacked them up there for you to take care of. I also didn't feel like messing with explosive chemicals today, so anything that wasn't pooling on the floor is just wherever it landed after the blast."

He chuckled. "The one time you would've had a good reason to mess with dangerous chemicals, too."

"Well, it's not as fun if there's a good reason," she answered with a wink. Peeling the disposable latex gloves off her hands and throwing them into the bin, she asked, "Has your cough cleared up?"

"Oh, yeah, it's fine; I think my lungs are used to processing smoke by now," Donnie admitted with a laugh.

As if on cue, Karai's throat tickled and she coughed. "Apparently mine aren't."

"Are you okay?" Donnie's hand was on her shoulder before she realised he was moving. "You didn't breathe too much in, did you?"

"Not as much as you did, genius." She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, it's just a cough."

"... Okay," he agreed. "Just tell me if it keeps up and I'll check it out."

"Yes, Mom."

Donnie shook his head. "Fine, fine. I'm gonna finish tidying; see you later."

"See you."

Karai made to leave the room, but Donnie seized her shoulder. "Hey, sis? Thanks for the help."

She paused awkwardly, then smiled half-heartedly at him. "Don't make this sappy, brother."


Later that week, Karai found herself venturing out into the sewers without her family's knowledge, wrapped up in a soft sweatshirt she had 'borrowed' from Mikey's collection of random human clothes a week or two ago. Apprehension gnawed at her stomach but she pressed on, knowing in her gut that she was right.

Said gut feeling ultimately proved true when she discovered a muscular turtle in a red bandana huddled in on himself behind a mass of dripping pipes. Not bothering with stealth, the girl climbed over the metal pipes carefully and stepped down beside her younger brother.

He eyed her with an unreadable expression. "You shouldn't be out of the lair."

"Right now, neither should you," she quipped, "but since you're sat out here, so am I." She sat beside him with ease.

He scowled at her. "Get lost, would ya."

"No, I don't think I will."

"I want to be alone."

"Too bad."

They sat together in silence for a while, the only sound coming from the various pipes dripping around them.

Eventually, Raph huffed. "Go home already, Karai, before Sensei finds out you left."

"Sure. Come on, let's go."

"I'm serious."

"Me too." Karai leaned against him gently. He didn't move away from her.

Silence descended upon them again. As the minutes passed, the air of tension between them eased off as Raph relaxed, until they were seated comfortably on the small stone ledge with a pleasant silence between them. Unbeknownst to her brother, who had his eyes squeezed shut, Karai checked the time on her phone; they had been out for almost half an hour.

"... Fine. Let's go home already."

"Do you want to explain why you blew up first?"

He frowned. "I really don't."

"If you say so." Karai stood and extended a hand to him. "You know where my room is if you change your mind later."

Raph ignored her hand and pushed himself up. "Not likely."

She shrugged. "Okay."

Since Raph didn't move, Karai walked back to the pipes and heaved herself up. As she was still keeping an eye on her brother, her foot slipped and she struggled to grab a metal pipe before she fell. Though Raph's arms were already around her waist by then anyway.

"Be careful, you idiot," he chided, lifting her up so she could climb over.

Thankfully he followed afterwards, and allowed her to lead him back to the lair.

Nobody was really sure why Raph lost his temper this time. Mikey was still cowering in his bedroom when they returned, hiding from his brother's wrath, but everyone was aware that the water balloon sneak attack was just the last straw that broke the hot-headed turtle. The family had considered it a priority to find Raph and calm him down after he punched his youngest brother to the ground then fled the dojo, but Karai knew they wouldn't find him. She had taken note of the small, enclosed alcove a while ago, on one of the last late-night Stealth Bike escapades they went on before Hun attacked her and she got grounded, because Raph had always glanced fondly at it as they passed. She had almost ended up lost in the sewers trying to find it, though.

"How did you even find me?" Raph muttered the question, but she still heard it.

"You used to look at that spot every time we drove past on your bike," she explained.

He turned to her, surprised. "You noticed that?"

"Yes, stupid. I'm not blind."

Her brother fell quiet after that, so she assumed that was the end of the conversation. They were just stepping over the turnstiles when Raph slugged her shoulder and sent her down onto her knees. She turned back to him with an eyebrow raised, but he merely grinned. "Go hide in your room or somethin' before Splinter sees you were out."

Karai stared at him for a moment, and an understanding passed between them. "Good call; he's probably with Mikey."

Raph chuckled. "Guess I should go apologise to the twerp."

"You did punch him to the ground."

"Yeah, but I punched you to the ground and I ain't apologisin' for that."

Sitting up, she placed a hand on her hip. "Apologise to him, Raphael."

"Leave before Splinter comes in, Miwa."

"Well played. See you."

"See you." He ruffled her hair as he walked past, and she playfully swatted his hand.

Karai retreated to the kitchen quickly, then leaned against the counter and texted Leo and Donnie; they were both still out searching the sewers for their brother.

Found Raph. Back home now.

Donnie responded first, Okay. Good job getting him home. Coming back now :)

She smiled at that text, but when Leo's came in, said smile faltered. Will come and get him and Mikey for patrol. Of course she hadn't been expecting paragraphs, but some kind of positivity or thanks would have been nice.

Karai frowned and typed back a simple, K. He wasn't the only one that could be cold and impersonal.

Though she did feel an uncomfortable tremor run through her. Something was wrong with Leo, and she wanted to know what.


Hey, I wasn't late uploading for once! Hope you enjoyed the fluff, and sorry for distant-Leo (there's a reason, I promise!).

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you so much for reading xD