Leo stared at Karai. It had been over six years since they'd last seen her. Over six years since they'd defeated the Shredder. With her help.
He'd hoped it would be a turning point. That she'd finally come live with her true family. Mikey had gone on and on about having a sister. Donnie had still been trying to create a permanent retromutagen for her. Even Raph seemed to warm up to the idea after she'd joined forces with them.
But instead she'd disappeared.
He'd been disappointed. But it was nothing compared to watching Master Splinter's growing depression as each day went by without hearing from her.
"Karai," he repeated. He glanced around, trying to sense if there were others with her.
She smirked at him. "I'm alone, Leo."
He looked at her again. Except for hair that reached her shoulders, she looked exactly the same as the last time he'd seen her.
"We looked for you," he said.
She sat down on the side of the tunnel and patted the spot next to her. She watched as he somewhat reluctantly put his swords away before taking the offered seat.
"Well unless you boys figured out how to cross oceans, you wouldn't have found me."
"That's a pretty far distance to run," Leo said, staring at the tunnel wall in front of them.
"Well, I got to a take a private jet."
"I didn't mean literally." He turned to look at her. "You ran away."
She found herself scanning over his face. She took in the scar across his forehead before her eyes traveled down the rest of him. Her eyes narrowed in on his side.
"You've been recently injured." She reached a hand out to touch the scar covering his side and was surprised when he jerked away from her before she could even make contact. She ducked her head so she could hide the shock from her face. When she looked back up at him she found him standing with his arms crossed and his blue eyes staring hard at her.
"What are you doing here?" Leo asked her.
Karai stared back for a moment before speaking. "Actually, I've been looking for you guys for a couple weeks. I finally found the lair but it doesn't look like anyone actually lives there anymore." Leo continued to stare at her and she cursed his ability to hide emotions behind that blank face. Well, mostly blank. His eyes looked a little angry.
The turtleshell-shaped phone on his belt buzzed and she watched him glance at the screen before his eyes brightened and his mouth twisted in a wry smile. He appeared to send a text in reply.
"I have to get back," Leo said, barely glancing at her as he reattached the phone to his belt.
Once again she was startled. Some time had passed since they'd last seen each other but she wondered what happened to the nervous, flirty Leo she'd known in the past. And even if he was no longer going to act like a total dork around her, didn't he wonder where exactly she'd been? What she'd been doing? Or why she'd been searching for them now?
"I'd like to see Master Splinter," she said. She figured that would get his attention and she watched his blue eyes meet her own eyes again. But it wasn't interest she saw in them, but anger. "I have something I'd like to discuss with him regarding your clan."
He stared hard at her again. "I'm the clan leader now," Leo said. "So if you really have something to discuss, it will be with me. But not now."
"You have someone waiting for you, Leo?" She couldn't hide the irritation from her face.
He raised an eye ridge at her. "I'll meet with you tomorrow."
She paused and looked down at her feet. She wanted more of a reaction from him. She had pictured their reunion going much differently. Finally, she raised her head to nod at him and her mouth dropped open when she realized he was already gone.
Leo rode the elevator to the top floor and headed into the dojo where Raphael was sparring with Akito while Machi sat on the sidelines with a toy. Raph's eyes lifted to Leo when he walked through the door and Leo saw the relief on his face. Then he hid a laugh as Raph's eyes widened as Akito took advantage of his distracted sparring partner and twisted one of Raph's sais out of his hands.
Akito's eyes widened in surprise as well and he spun around to Leo with a wide grin. "Did you see that?"
"Its important not to be distracted when facing an opponent," Leo said as he watched Raphael take advantage of their now distracted son as he twisted his other sais around Akito's wrist and flipped the little fox onto his back.
Akito landed with an "oomph" and a "Hey!" and Raph reached down to help him up with a grin.
Leo walked over to them and rubbed his hand down Raph's arm, stopping at the blue bandana tied around his emerald wrist. Raph smiled back at him.
"What is Machi playing with?" Leo asked after a moment.
"Throwing stars."
"Raph!" Leo said, whipping around towards Machi, only to be stopped by Raphael's grip on his shoulder. He looked back to find both Raphael and Akito doubled over in laughter.
"Papa said you'd believe him!" Akito said, laughing as he wrapped his bushy tail around Leo's ankle. "She's just playing with paper dolls from Aunt April!"
Leo took a deep, calming breath before glaring lightly at Raphael.
"Made the kid laugh," Raphael said in his own defense with a shrug. Leo and Akito had had a tight bond even before Akito had moved in with them and Raph had been working hard to form a close relationship with his new son as well. "How was yer run?"
"Interesting," Leo said, watching Akito run over to where Machi sat. "I ran into Karai."
Raphael had bent down to pick up his sais from the ground but quickly straightened. "You what? She's here? In the sewers?" He made a face.
Leonardo nodded.
"What did she want?"
"She said she's been looking for us. She wanted to speak to Master Splinter about a proposition that would involve our clan."
Raph smirked. "Did you tell her she'd have to go through you now?"
Leo nodded. "She was irritated I wouldn't stay and talk to her about it then. I told her I'd meet her tomorrow."
"Do you think maybe she just wants to talk to Master Splinter?"
Leo shrugged. He glanced back over to the kids and smiled as he watched Akito try to play with Machi.
"I'm surprised you didn't stay to find out today."
"I got your text and I just wanted to come home," Leo said, leaning over to give Raph a quick kiss.
"How'd you feel seeing her?" Raph asked, his voice quieter than before. He watched Leo shrug.
"Surprised. And then angry," Leo said.
Raphael frowned. He knew better than anyone that it was easy to use anger to block out other emotions. "Why angry?"
"I just remembered Master Splinter's face every time we came back to the lair without her," Leo said. "And she doesn't even care what she did to him. She had that same smug look on her face that she's always had."
"Or what she did to you," Raph supplied.
Leo shook his head quickly. "It was never about me, Raph. It was about all of us. About our family. She had a place in this family and she walked away. More than that, she ran away without even telling her own father goodbye. We've had no idea what happened to her."
Raph felt something in his chest loosen at Leo's words. He'd always been irritated by Leo's strange behavior around Karai. But knowing Leo's strong loyalty to their family, he knew Leo meant what he said. And it had hurt to see how upset Master Splinter had been after Karai's disappearance.
"You ready to go back downstairs? I need a shower before dinner."
"Sure," Raph said, heading over to the kids so he could pick Machi up. Akito helped by collecting all the pieces of the paper doll set. "Are you going to tell Master Splinter?"
Leo paused at the dojo door. His eyes darted over to the wall that separated the dojo from Master Splinter's apartment. "I don't think so. Not yet anyway."
Raphael nodded in agreement as they headed back downstairs.
After Sunday night dinner at Mike and Woody's apartment, Donnie and Sadie said goodnight to Master Splinter in their shared hallway before they headed into their own apartment.
He sat down on the edge of their bed and watched Sadie kick off her shoes before she began pulling her pajamas out of her dresser.
"Sadie?"
She hummed in response and turned to him as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.
He paused. He'd wanted to broach this topic with her but now that he had her attention he wasn't sure how to begin.
"Donnie?" she said, trying to draw his attention back to her. She walked over to him and situated herself standing between his long legs.
His large hands automatically wrapped around her waist and he rubbed his thumbs over her flat stomach. He thought back to the family dinner and the subtle expressions he'd seen on Sadie's face when she'd look at April.
"I'm just - ," Donnie started but paused before saying a rush, "I can't get you pregnant, Sadie. I'm a mutant turtle."
Sadie immediately giggled. "You're a what?!" she said in mock surprise.
Donnie sighed. That hadn't come out the way it had sounded in his head.
"It's just, you've given up a great deal to be with me. And I can move us out of the sewers and create a company that lets us work together and be productive. But there's nothing I can do to be less of a turtle."
"I don't want you to be less of a turtle," Sadie said, the giggles gone as she frowned at him. "And I appreciate all of the changes that you've already made to make me more comfortable. But I'd still be in love with you even if we were still working in your lab in the sewer."
"I love you too, Sades. But you've still given up other things. We can't legally get married. You can't bring me to your friends' parties or weddings when you're invited to go. They probably think you've made me up. And seeing April pregnant is another reminder of something that you've given up by being with me."
Sadie cupped Donatello's sad face in her hands. "You've thought about marrying me?"
His eyes flew up to hers. "Of course I have. You're amazing."
She leaned forward and kissed him. "That's a strange proposal but I'll take it."
Donnie smiled at her. "I hope you weren't picturing a church wedding."
"Atta boy," Sadie said, moving her hands to the back of Donnie's neck where she began rubbing at the muscles. "I know you like to plan eighty steps ahead but let's focus on things one step at a time."
Donnie leaned forward and kissed her again. "Deal."
Leo lay on the couch with his head in Raphael's lap as they watched TV later that night. He could feel Raph's fingers trace over the edge of his shell. He noticed that Raph spent a lot to time running his fingers over the most recent crack. It was healing, but it was healing slowly.
Leo turned his head and glanced at Raph's hand working its way over his shell. He eyed his old blue bandana tied around Raph's wrist. He knew Raph took it off when he worked in the garage or when he took a shower. And he must take it off to wash it, but Leo really never saw Raphael without it.
"That bandana doesn't remind you of when I was gone?" Leo asked, inadvertently rubbing his hand across the scar that ran the length of his own forehead.
Raphael pulled his eyes away from the screen and looked down at his wrist. "It just reminds me of you," Raph said back to him. "Not that I need much of a reminder, but," he shrugged his shoulders, "I just like seein it there." He brushed Leo's hand away to make him stop rubbing the scar on his forehead. He frowned down at Leo, "Does it remind you of when you were gone?"
"No," Leo said, sitting up to face Raphael. He pulled Raph's wrist into his hands and ran his thumb over the blue cloth. "I think it's sweet that you wear it." He grinned when Raph scowled at the word sweet. He moved closer so he could duck his face into the emerald neck where he nipped some of the skin between his teeth. "It's like another mark of mine on you."
Raph moved his head to the side and tightened his fingers around Leo's. "I hear a but in there," he said.
"I don't have anything of yours," Leo said, pulling back from Raph's neck.
"Well, I don't exactly have a class ring to give ya," Raph said, grinning at him.
"I know, smartass," Leo said, dryly.
"Then what do you want?"
"I don't know. Something permanent, though."
"Permanent? Sounds like you expect us to be long-term." Raph raised a smug eye ridge at Leo.
Leo scowled at him and snatched his hands away from Raph's hands. Raph responded by laughing and surging forward to press Leo into the couch as he climbed on top of him.
Leo laughed beneath him and half-heartedly tried pushing him away. Raphael jumped up from the couch suddenly and Leo watched him head into the kitchen. He returned seconds later and pulled Leo upright again.
"This isn't completely permanent, but it'll do for now," Raph murmured as he pulled the cap of the sharpie off with his teeth and then drew the kanji symbol for a capital R on Leo's upper arm. He looked up at Leo's face when he was finished and smiled at Leo's dorky grin.
"Thanks, Raphie."
