Willow walked around her apartment in the great City, picking up some things and straightening pillows on her sofa as she heard a rap on her window. Looking over her shoulder she smiled at the familiar shadow standing on her fire escape.

"Hello love." She said as he smiled, giving her a small kiss and stepping into her apartment.

"Something smells good." He said walking into the kitchen as she shut the window not wanting to let the AC out.

"Making pizza." She said as he turned towards her arching a brow.

"Pizza can't smell that good." She chuckled a little.

"It's homemade, with chicken and onions, some Italian seasoning, green peppers…" She said walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He smirked as she leaned up and kissed his lips softly swaying her body on his.

"This my desert?" He asked pressing his forehead on hers as she chuckled leaning back from him and slipping from his arms.

"Well, if it is I don't want you to spoil your appetite." She said arching a brow. He smiled following her into the kitchen as she checked on the pizza. "So, how are the boys?"

"Tiring." He sighed sitting down at the table as she smiled rubbing his shoulders.

"Want a beer?"

"Babe, when have I ever wanted a beer?" He asked as she rolled her eyes, leaning in towards his neck and kissing it softly.

"Oh please, I've seen the great and powerful Leo cocked off his ass." She said as he groaned putting a hand over his face.

"That was Saki, that was a different thing." He said as she laughed nodding her head.

"Right." She said patting his shoulder and sitting next to him as she put her feet up on his thighs. He started to message her feet as she smiled perching her elbow on the back of her chair as her hand held up her head. "Babe…" She asked softly as he looked up from her legs and into her honey eyes.

"Yeah?"

"You love me right?"

"Yes."

"We've been together for five years…"

"And a month." He said as she smiled nodding her head.

"Right. I just…" She sighed as he stopped rubbing her feet and looked up at her furrowing his brow.

"What's the matter?" He asked pushing his chair closer to her as she smiled rubbing his arms.

"Tiger, I love you."

"I know Willow, what's going on?"

"Are you ever going to ask me to marry you?" She said finally as he sat up straight and his eye widened slowly. "I mean, I know there's a lot to consider and the differences and all but I don't care. I've proven that and either way this is forever. I couldn't hurt you like I've seen Mikey and Raph hurt. I couldn't do that to you because I love you and because I wanna be with you. Forever." She said taking his hands in hers and he smiled a little.

"I didn't think you wanted…"

"Of course I do!" She exclaimed happily as he smiled back. "I love you Leo! I wanna be your wife and have a traditional Japanese ceremony, your so sexy when you talk in Japanese and I want to have your babies and live here, with you forever!" She said as he smiled grabbing her by the side of the face and kissing her deeply. She pulled away quickly. "My pizza!" She said getting from her seat and pulling out the pizza before it burnt.

Leonardo sighed as he walked through the lair's doors later that night, rubbing a hand over his tired face. Hearing the familiar clicking of his brother's lab he looked up towards the doorway as light from a assuming computer screen or two pooled into the alcove. He walked towards it seeing his brother's face, contorted up in deep thought as he looked over a piece of paper in front of him.

"Don, you should be in bed." He said as Donatello jumped slightly from his brother's voice. Leo smiled a bit as his brainy brother whirled around in his chair with his oversized goggles over his face.

"Leo, you're not going to stay at Willow's tonight?" He asked pushing the goggles from his face as Leo sighed shaking his head.

"Needed to think. She understood."

"She always does. Man, you are lucky." Don said shaking his head with a smile as Leo returned it nodding his head. "So what are you thinking about?"

"I just…" He sighed pulling up an extra chair beside Donnie as he looked from his brother to the glowing screen. He furrowed his brow as he quickly read over a formula on it and the files' name. 'Human Test: Protocol One.' "What's that?" He asked pointing as Donnie smiled.

"Oh this? It's just a prototype I have been working on for awhile. Something far fetched, however if it's done efficiently it may have an awesome effect on our blood types. Over the years I've kept files of our DNA and fooled around with the different variations of what could happen if we were to ingest this certain formula. It might have certain effects, bad and good I'm not sure, however…"

"Don." Leo said holding up a hand to cut off his brother's rambles. "What would it do…exactly?" He asked as Donnie smiled.

"Well, it would change our DNA, causing our bodies to transform into that of what we would appear as humans." He said as Leo furrowed his brow raising his tired head to meet his brother's happy expression.

"Really?"

"Well, that's what it is supposed to do. Like I said, it's just a prototype, thesis if you will. Nothing in the works as ofyet. I haven't even done anything but play around with the files making up mock conclusions of what could happen. I would need actual blood, live cells in order to see if the transformation would take." He said turning back towards his screen as Leo sighed nodding his head.

"Don't work too hard little brother." He said patting Donnie's shoulder as he got up from the chair and left the room.

"I shouldn't have said anything…" Willow sighed to herself laying back on her mattress as her fingers thoughtlessly twirled in her wavy hair.

As soon as she said it she instantly kicked herself. How could she put that on him like that? He can't possible be thinking of marriage, a family? It might be in the back of his mind, sure but, this is Leo we're talking about, not Donnie or Mikey. He doesn't exactly scream romanticism. He doesn't concern himself with love other than the fact that he knows he loves her and she loves him. He only concerns himself with her safety. His brother's safety, April and Casey's safety. Not family life and a white picket fence.

She never realized this would be a problem until now.

Staring up at her white speckled ceiling she placed a hand over her forehead. He was different, there was no sugar coating or forgetting that fact. He was different and most importantly, not human.

She couldn't have her wedding with her whole, large extended Italian family and friends. Some DJ that thinks they're the funniest thing since the Stooges announcing her and him as Mr. and Mrs. Leonardo Hamato. She couldn't have the white dress with the wedding photos. Flower girls and ring bearers. Stargazer lilies in her bouquet and silky black braid maids dresses with dark pink trim. Her brother's walking her down the isle. The warm, perfect summer wedding she had been dreaming up since she was a little girl.

Listening to Riley, Izzy and Felicia give speeches of her when they were all little girls. Her mother and father making up a slide show of her as a little girl running around the yard with dirt all over her face, and birthday parties.

Mikey toasting his brother with stories of Leo when he was little, and his corky jokes making everyone laugh. Raph hitting on waitresses with Tyler, Casey sneaking beers to the underage kids as April and her girls danced in their beautiful dresses to a series of songs.

Her getting up on the stage and singing a song she would have written for him on that special day as Hayden plays his guitar. Dancing the first dance together to a song as she wore her black Chuck Taylors under her beautiful wedding dress, making her mother and grandmother groan at her.

She furrowed her brow as tears started to gather in her eyes, turning onto her side as she hugged the pillow next to her to her body. It smelt like him, and just made the tears form faster as she buried her face into it, tears soaking into the fabric.

She couldn't have all these things. These materialistic, selfish, ungrateful to what she really has things. She couldn't have them, she could still love him and marry him without all those things. But, she wanted them. She wanted all those selfish, materialistic things and she knew she could never get them. Not with Leo, and if they weren't with Leo she could do without them. He wasn't the problem, she would never think of him as the problem.

She knew coming into this what she was getting into. His heart, all of it, forever. No matter what, he was hers and she was his. She couldn't walk away, not now. Commitment. One hundred percent, twenty four seven.

The thought never accrued to her, that it was only her commitment, not him. He could leave whenever he wanted never thinking of the hurt he might cause her, thinking he was a burden on her life.

She cried harder into her pillow to the thought of him thinking such things. She could never leave him, but if he left her she couldn't deal with that kind of heart break.

Leaning up from the wet pillow she pushed her hair from her dampened cheeks and turned onto her back. Her head ached from all the thoughts, memories, wants, needs and thinking too far ahead. Putting words into his mouth and coming up with a million scenarios that might happen, but she knew in her heart never would. Her head wouldn't shut up. She had to talk to him.

Placing his katana strap on the place on his brick wall Leo sat on the edge of it, settling his elbows down on his thighs as he leaned his head into his hands. Rubbing his face a few times he leaned back onto his mattress, bending his arms so his hands rested under his head. He slipped his mask from his face as he rubbed his arms with his forearms.

Marriage.

The word alone made his head spin. He wanted it. He wanted the life upstate, having his brothers visit on the weekends with Splinter. The kids playing in the yard with Boba and another two dogs Willow was sure to want.

He wanted that life for her, for himself but he knew it was never a realistic thought. He couldn't change who he was, Donnie couldn't even 'play around' with the idea of them changing what they are.

They're protectors and even if he could change, would he really want to? For love? For something that they were never even suppose to have. Something that he fell into without even knowing for so long? He was supposed to just save her and let her be on her way, like the millions of other girls his brothers and himself rescued in this city.

Then, her leaving. Something happening to her because he couldn't prevent it, he wasn't there for her when she needed it. Her love just stopping because he couldn't give her the life she wanted, the life she rightfully deserved and shouldn't be denied just because of what he is.

He sighed rubbing his face again as he pressed the heal of his palms into his closed eyes.

She deserves better than this. She deserve a love that doesn't have to compromise. A love that knows no boundaries because Willow can't live with boundaries. She pushes them until they break and fold to her will, much like his heart did without even knowing it. Her powerful way to make him just weak. One touch, one look and he's just, weak.

Maybe someday she'd come to realize this? Maybe one day she'd figure out that she was worth more, worth something that he could never give her. He felt tears start to burn behind his eyes as he clenched them shut under his hands, pressing them in harder. He sighed letting the pressure go from his head as he moved his hands onto his plastron.

"I hope that day never comes…" He sighed to himself.

Feeling a vibration on his lower plastron he reached in his belt and pulled out his Shell Cell. Flipping it open he rested his arm over his eyes.

"Leonardo." He said tired as Willow's voice sighed on the other end.

"Tiger, are you ok?" She asked softly as he smiled a bit.

"Just…"

"Tired?" She asked as he sighed.

"Yeah."

"So, it wasn't anything to do with what I had asked you?" She asked sheepishly as she sat on her full sized bed in her apartment. Her knees pulled up tight to her chest as her grey tank top and light blue boy short underwear were on her, and her on top of her sheets. She looked out towards the window as the city lights shinned in the background.

"No babe." He said sitting up and untying his belt and sliding it from his body. "It has a little to do with the principal of the matter, but not the fact that it's you. I always knew it was you." He said as she smiled twirling her fingers nervously through a strand of hair that fell loosely from her messy bun.

"I know it's you too Tiger." She said softly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said with a smile as she nodded her head.

"Ok. I love you."

"To the moon and back." He said as she smiled again. "Night."

"Night Tiger."

Setting her phone down on her night stand she sighed as she looked back towards her window. Rolling her eyes to the thoughts screaming in her head she laid back on her pillow, tucking herself under her sheets.

"I shouldn't have said anything…" She sighed again to herself shaking her head and staring at her ceiling.