To GuestGirl: Thank you! I thought it would be interesting and I couldn't bear having Leo in that position for long. I'm really happy Crystal Violeta let me write it. It's an AU, so don't expect things in my story to reflect in hers. The three brothers? Hm.. well, Splinter loves them. But since Leo's gone, I guess they'll have to do the chores around the place. I'll add that in next chapter. As for the room, read on and find out.
I updated this chapter, taking out a piece of a conversation for later.
"Okay, Leo? A friend of Steve's is coming over to help with your room okay?" Heather says. Leo looks at the door that Steve had been leaving each day. Heather's phone rings. Leo is startled at the noise, but Heather places a comforting hand on his shoulder. She answers the call. "Yeah?.. Uh huh... We'll be here.. thanks." She hangs up.
"What's wrong?" Leo asks.
"Nothing. They are in the elevator and will arrive in a few minutes." Leo shrinks from the door and whimpers. "Leo, it's alright. Mr. Wilson is very nice. You'll like him, I promise." The doorbell rings. Heather rolls her eyes and looks at the door. "You live here Steve. It's open." The door opens and Steve walks through, holding a bunch of boxes.
"Hey buddy. How you doin'?" He asks Leo.
"I'm healing. I'll be able to get started soon," Leo answers simply. Steve looks to Heather for explanation, but all she gives him is a shake of the head. A thud interrupts the trio's thoughts.
"Hey Cap. Why didn't I take the lighter stuff?" The new voice surprises Leo, even though he knew of the guest. It sounds different from Steve's. Steve walks back out and drags in a few much larger stacked boxes. "Thank you."
Leo looks at the new person with curiosity. He's about as tall as Steve, but the similarity stops there. His skin is much darker than the pair Leo's living with. His hair is short and the same color as his skin, if not almost black. His brown eyes spot Leo and he smiles.
"Hey bud. You must be Leo," Sam says, walking closer. Leo backs up behind Heather's leg. "Uh, sorry if I-"
"No no Sam. He's just new to this. It isn't you." Heather stoops down and turns to face Leo. "Leo, this is Sam Wilson, Steve's friend. He's one of Steve's teammates." Leo looks back at Sam, who is squatting as well. Leo walks over to Sam.
"You're.." Sam looks confused at Leo's intense stare. But then Leo lays a hand on his cheek and Sam understands.
"People come in different colors. But I'm no different than Heather or Steve," Sam says, chuckling. Leo smiles a tiny bit.
"Hey Sam, a little help?" Sam stands up.
"You're the super soldier." Heather takes Leo's hand and leads him to his room.
"Now, time to pack away some stuff."
"Pack away..?" Leo asks.
"We'll use this box and put your toys and books into it. Then we'll put it on the couch so it is out of the way when the big stuff is taken apart for storage. Here," Heather picks up a book as an example and puts it in the box. "Like that."
"Okay.." Leo and Heather finish putting the LEGOs and other toys in the box. Leo carries the Ugly Duckling book himself as they walk to the living room. All the boxes are in the space behind the couch. Heather sets the box on the floor.
"Do you guys need me?" Heather asks.
"Yeah, we could use you." Heather looks to Leo.
"Will you be alright by yourself while I help the guys out?" Leo looks at his box of stuff and nods. "Great. You can practice reading, or build something.. ooh! You can play with Captain Ryan. How fun is that?"
"Okay.."
"Just stay here, alright. Stay at the couch."
"Okay Heather." Heather sends him a smile and then leaves to help the guys. Leo fidgets for a second before hopping off the couch onto the floor. 'I shouldn't sit on the couch,' he tells himself.
"Okay guys, what are we starting with?" Heather asks.
She is assigned to stripping the bed as the guys dismantle the dresser and shelf. Then they box away the bed as well and the sheets go to the laundry room. Sam rolls up the rug and Steve takes the curtains down. Heather had gone to bring Leo to see. She finds him with the Ugly Duckling book out.
He's staring at the picture where the little duckling is being teased by the more pretty ducklings. It doesn't seem like he's done anything else. "Hey Leo, we are ready to start painting. You want to help?"
"Uh.. not really." Heather sits next to him and slowly closes the book. "I guess I could help out."
"That's the spirit. C'mon." They walk back and the newspaper is all spread out on the floor. There are two cans of blue paint and an array of brushes to choose from. Leo doesn't pick one up, so Sam chooses a little brush and hands it to him.
"You make the first stroke Leo," Steve says. He helps him dip his brush into the paint. Leo looks at the bare wall and back at the paint on his brush.
"This is your room Leo," Heather encourages. Leo walks over to the wall and presses his brush to it. He pulls it down, making a blue smear on the white. He looks at the color. He smiles.
"My room.." He moves the brush so it makes an 'L'. Next to it, he makes an uppercase 'E'. Finally, although lopsided, he forms an 'O'. He looks at his hand and sees the bandage. "Heather?"
"Yes Leo?"
"Can you.. paint my hand?"
"Say 'May I,' Leo," Steve says. Leo blushes and corrects himself.
"Sure Leo." Heather takes the brush and paints over his palm and fingers. Leo looks at the color for a moment before slapping it on the wall next to his name.
"My room." He claimed it. He owns it. His room. He looks at Heather. Then he turns back to the wall and smacks it again with glee. Another three fingered hand print stays on the wall. Leo smiles at his handiwork. Heather cleans the paint off his hand and then they all start painting. There was no pattern they were going for. They just put paint on the walls. Sam would splatter it, Heather would go wild, Steve would draw hidden pictures, and Leo.. Leo would make sure nothing touched his signature. There is a half and inch of white around his handprint and letters, but he doesn't care. He took that part and fills all the other spots blue.
When they are done with the first coat, everyone has bright blue on them somewhere. Heather gives Leo another bath and Sam finds a spot to sleep for the night. Due to his room needing to dry, Leo was to crash in the living room, on the couch. Heather tucks him in and stays by him.
"Sam is nice.." Leo says, falling asleep.
"Yeah, he is isn't he."
"Is everybody as nice as him?"
"No. Unfortunately there are bad people out there."
"Like Master Splinter?"
"Yeah Leo.. Like Splinter."
"..Heather?" Leo asks when she starts to get up.
"Yes Leo?"
"Are the other people that live in the other 'partments nice?" Heather doesn't know a lot of the other residents, but she has interacted with a few.
"Uh, yes. I'm sure they are nice people," she answers. Leo nods and closes his eyes. "I love you buddy." Leo doesn't answer. Heather smiles sadly and kisses his forehead.
The moment Leo hears Heather's door close, he scoots off the couch and onto the floor. He then curls up and manages sleep.
The next day was solely for fixing up the room. The two guys finished up the second and final coat of paint in the morning while Heather fixed up a large breakfast for the workers. Leo watched her. He would have helped, but his injuries from before keep his mouth shut.
Heather calls the painters over and Sam sits next to Leo. He gets a small conversation going and he tells him about his job as the Falcon. Leo is amazed at how Sam can fly and mentions Donnie. But further questions concerning his brothers makes him grow quiet.
Soon, the plates are cleared and Heather watches Space Heroes with Leo and checks his wounds as the men unpack the new furniture. Heather quietly calls for Steve to get the camera and he snaps some photos of Leo watching, his face mimicking that of a child on Christmas.
The paint is dry and everything is organized and unpacked by lunch. Heather checks Leo's wounds again and decides his burn will be okay, as long as he doesn't bump it and give the elbow rest. He listens and watches Sam as he takes his turn as lunch maker. The air is cheery and light-hearted. The only sourness in the moment is Leo's wounds and his reluctance to participate. He cracks a smile a few times, but mainly holds his face in a stoic expression.
Then comes the hard part. Heather brings Leo into his room. She sits on the bare wood floor and opens her notebook. She has a rectangle drawn out. An extra line on one wall for his window and a 'D' for the door in the corner. A list of all the furniture is off to the side. They spend the next hour picking out where everything will go. Then she hands it to Sam and he tells Steve what to drag into the room first. Leo and Heather stay in a corner, out of the way while they piece together Leo's white dresser. They had chosen a short stool to stay in his room so he can reach higher places. Then the shelf comes in and is set in its spot. The bed is next. It has a white head board and a small step attached to the side. The mattress is set on top of the frame. Heather gets up and makes the bed. Then Leo sits on top, moving around.
"Do you like it?" Heather asks. Leo looks at the Space Heroes logo in big letters below him. He nods, smiling. His room is Space Heroes themed. They didn't pick out a rug, so the floor stays bare. But a chair is sat in the corner and a small table is set up next to it.
Then Steve brings in the decorations. Heather shows Leo the surprise she bought. It's an array of Space Heroes posters. They put them up around the room. But nothing covers the signature and handprints on the wall. Then the lamp is set up on the table and a clock is hung on the wall above the door. His toys are brought in and put away. Heather hangs the Captain Ryan curtains and looks at Leo.
He had fallen asleep under the lamp light. It was pretty late and they worked all day. She noticed he was smiling with the light shining directly on his face. 'That's right,' Heather tells herself, 'turtles love sunning themselves. The light helped him fall asleep.' She shuts the light off and picks up the sleepy turtle-boy. She tucks him in his new bed to sleep.
He's getting there. And he has a vulnerable moment when he fell asleep under the lamp light. Aww!
There will be interaction with his brothers next chapter.
Stay tuned!