Chapter 8

"He did what?" Leonardo stood swiftly, mouth agape. Layla giggled at him.

The two had finally found some time where they could hog the tv all to themselves.

"How in the world can he do…do…that with that guy who abducted his daughter?" Leo was still standing, swaying with disbelief.

"I told you this documentary was wild!" She continued to laugh as Leo sat down, shaking his head.

"I have never seen two parents as stupid as they are," he said as he held lingering eye contact with her, admiring how her blue eyes danced with his reaction to the ridiculous documentary.

They sat next to each other on the couch, arms touching, both afraid to initiate contact further. Layla felt the familiar heat pooling between her legs, and her mind wandered as she had seen this documentary before.

She thought about how it would feel if he grabbed ahold of her hand. Would he eventually put his arm around her? Kiss her on the head as she snuggled into him? Her thoughts quickly turned into a wicked fantasy.

Underneath the blanket, he slipped a hand up her thigh. Gently teasing, he stared straight ahead at the tv with that smirk she had grown to love.

"Keep quiet, love," he whispered into her hair as he finger-fucked her. "Wouldn't want anyone to hear."

She bit her lip, stifling a moan. "Not fair," she whispered as she nuzzled her face into his bicep.

"Is that so?" he growled. Without warning, he flipped her onto her back and swiftly pulled off her sweatpants. Folds slick, he gently slipped into her, causing a loud moan to escape her lips. He hurriedly put his hand over her mouth as he stifled his own moans into her neck. His other hand intertwined with hers as he guided it above her head.

His pace was painfully slow as they attempted to keep quiet. "Faster," she whimpered. Layla dug her nails into his shoulder.

"Are you going to be quiet?" He hovered over her.

"Yes," she said as she pulled back to look into his lusty brown eyes.

"Good girl," he purred, capturing her lips in a deep kiss as his pace increased. She buried her face into his shoulder, biting down to silence any noise. He buried into her, stretching her, snapping his hips back before pounding into her over and over.

He reached his hand down to gently rub her clit –

"The mom was with him too?!" Leo's shout snapped her back to reality.

She smiled at him, still hazy from her daydreaming. "Crazy right?" Can he tell how much he turns me on?

She unconsciously moved just a hair closer to him, and he responded by doing the same. She could feel her heart racing in her ears as their arms were now solidly touching. Leo knew he was breathing faster, and silently prayed that she wouldn't notice. He clamped his hands together.

It was late, but the pair were still wide awake.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" He asked softly. He hated going to sleep, if only because it meant he had to leave her company. "You still have to show me that meadow you sneak away to."

"I would, sure," she replied as she slipped on a sweater, and they headed out into the dark. The air was slightly crisp, promising the coming fall, and the crickets sang boisterously. They were far enough outside of Tokyo they could see the stars. She led him down a moonlit path through a dense wood.

They walked side by side in comfortable silence. The path became darker, and Leo offered her his hand when the path became rocky. She smiled bashfully at him, whispering out a "thanks".

"Your hands are cold," he murmured, keeping quiet so as not to disturb the serene quiet of their walk. He admired how fragile they were, and how silky her skin was. That was yet another thing he liked about her, she seemed so dainty, and he was intrigued, sometimes aroused even, by noticing the difference between them. By how strong he seemed in comparison to her.

"They usually are," she laughed quietly. "It's a good thing yours are warm." Though the terrain had evened out once more as they approached the pond, he continued to hold her hand.

Then it hit him. He had never held hands with a girl before. And hers fit perfectly, he thought. Never had he imagined intertwining his hand with someone who also had only 3 fingers.

"How do you lift anything with hands that tiny?" he teased her, brimming with confidence when he realized that she had not made any indication she wished to let go of his hand.

"Hey!" she laughed.

Layla was acutely aware of how strong and calloused his hands were, and she had fantasized about them more than once. She didn't pull away and was delighted when he continued to hold her hand. He is being very gentle. If his hand is this warm, I wonder how warm it would be to cuddle.

The initial awkwardness surrounding their intertwined hands faded as they continued their trek.

"Are you nervous about going to see the tribunal tomorrow?" she asked him.

"More curious than nervous. I've met them before, well we were, are, their acolytes, but I just can't figure out why they would want to meet. The Shredder is long gone, and he was the main reason for their existence."

He continued. "It's been so peaceful the last eight years or so, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that something else would come up eventually."

"Eight years?"

"When we were around 19, 20, was the last time we had any really big fight. I was uh, sent away by Splinter to train in South America. I was only supposed to be gone for 6 months, but I ended up staying a whole year. When I got back, it –" he paused, "well, our family had kind of fallen apart. And Splinter told me to fix it the moment I got back. On top of that, there was this guy, billionaire I think, Max Winters, who decided to awaken these stone generals and unleash a bunch of monsters into the city." He continued to tell her the details of their fight with the stone generals as they approached a moonlit clearing. In the middle sat a tranquil pond. Two cranes up and flew away as they sat down on large rocks at the pond's edge.

He continued, finding the stillness of nature relaxing. He gazed out over the pond, his own hands clasped together as he leaned forward.

"It wasn't fighting the stone generals that was difficult. It was that I didn't know my family anymore. And I felt so guilty. Guilty that Donnie was shouldered with the responsibility of keeping everything under control. Guilty with how I made Mikey feel by not communicating with them. And guilty that Raph was so angry he endangered everyone with his vigilante nonsense. I tried to talk to him. It worked with Donnie and Mikey. They understood, and they forgave me for going MIA."

He paused again, and Layla stayed quiet, not wishing to interrupt him. She looked at him worriedly, hating how furrowed his brows were with sadness.

"But every time I tried to talk to Raph, he just shut down. It was so bad, when I confronted the Nightwatcher, I didn't even recognize it was him, that's how far apart we had grown. I just couldn't imagine –" he sighed. "Don't tell anyone, but him as that vigilante was becoming more and more violent, which is why I went to confront him. The whole city was terrified. And I was so shocked he would spiral that far."

"I know when I came back I didn't handle things as well as I could have. I was so eager to get things back to normal to please Splinter I didn't see what was really going on. I didn't want to fight with him that night, but he wouldn't back down. He kept telling me over and over how much he didn't need me. I didn't understand why he would hate me for being sent away, to be better for them. For him. I didn't ask for it. I know I was wrong to stop writing and to stay longer. But he hated me so much for something out of my control, for being the eldest, for being chosen to lead them, that he tried to kill me."

Layla was horrified. She could see that even years later, it still weighed on him. His shoulders were slumped, and he continued to stare out over the water. She gently slipped her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. A comforting gesture to show she was listening, rather than saying anything. He paused for a beat, and she could feel his body relax against hers.

"The toughest part is being put in a position between what Splinter wants and what my brothers want. Sometimes I really do just want to be their brother, and not have to tell them what to do. It's not that I don't like the responsibility, honestly sometimes I do enjoy being in charge, but it's hard when I've told them to do something because of Splinter's wishes, and Raph just blatantly disregards it. It puts me in a difficult position because I'm the one who ultimately takes responsibility for their actions. When all that was going on a few years ago, Splinter forbade us from fighting until we were cohesive again. Raph would go off and find fights anyways, and I got blamed for it for not keeping them in line. It's tough being disrespected by him, then getting held accountable for it. I love my father and my brother, but I don't think either of them realize what position they put me in sometimes."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, as she noticed how tightly clenched his hands were. She silently took his hand in hers and very tenderly massaged his hand. Her sisters did this almost weekly to each other when they would have little spa days and do each other's nails. His hands were calloused, and very tense.

Leo sucked in a breath. Not only did he just divulge something extremely personal, feelings he never expressed to his brothers, but she had listened quietly, responding kindly and tenderly. Fuck that feels amazing, he mused as he intently watched her tiny hands soothe the tension he carried in his hands.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I told you all that."

She smiled softly, still looking at his hands. "You don't have to apologize. I'm always here to listen."

"Thank you," he whispered, turning to admire her. She looked stunning, the moonlight shining off her hair, making her kind blue eyes almost appear silvery.

"You don't have to thank me, I only listened," she chuckled gently at him.

"That feels so nice," he murmured into her hair as she continued her massage. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she purred back, continuing to focus on his hands, and definitely not how hot his breath felt against her hair.

"This view is incredible," Leo said as he continued to admire her. "I see why you like to come here to think. It's peaceful."

"Mmmm," she said in agreement. "I um, used to come out here when we would visit as kids. Mom's haka is over in that grove of trees." She gestured to a secluded spot across the pond.

"What happened to her?" Leo prodded gently. "If you don't mind my asking."

"Of course not, I don't mind." It was her turn now to look contemplatively across the pond. "My dad murdered her." Leo whipped his head towards her quickly, shocked.

She slowly stopped massaging his hand as she focused on her words, and he leaned back, putting his arm just behind her. He gave her silence so that she could continue.

"He shot her after they had an argument. I remember she had sent us out of the house to go to our grand-maman's because they were fighting. She was a very kind woman, protective, and when we were with just her, everything was perfect. She doted on us. But he was…violent," she looked down, brow creased. Leo shifted closer to her, wanting to say something, but kept quiet, letting her speak.

"She never called, and so we stayed with grand-maman, this was in France where we were living at the time, for a few days. Father came to pick us up eventually. He told us –" she paused, taking a deep breath, "he told us she went back to Japan. I found her body that night, in his study. He just let her sit there for three days. I want so badly to remember what she was like, to picture her face, but as I get older I can only see her lying there, and I can't remember what she was like." She wiped a single tear that had fallen, and her voice became shaky.

"I remember I called grand-maman, but I couldn't get ahold of her, so I left a message. Father heard me and –" she cut off, and looked down at her hands, holding back tears. "Anyways it doesn't matter. I never found out what he did with her body. We moved around a lot for awhile. I know grand-maman was trying to get ahold of us, but we didn't see her again until we were 15 or so, after we were mutated."

Leo was furious thinking about how horribly her father had treated her. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on her face, worried about her.

"My grand-maman took us in, and we lived with her for a long time. I wish she would have answered the phone that night. I used to be so angry at her for that, but I know it's not her fault. I always wondered how differently things would have turned out if she did." She paused, and Leo could sense there was much more she hadn't shared, but she was holding back. This was clearly very difficult for her to talk about.

"What is she like, your grand-maman?" He stuttered over the word, making Layla smile a bit.

"Magnifique," she said, her French coming through. Leo grinned, not knowing until now that she spoke the language fluently.

"She wasn't the best influence, and she spoiled us," Layla chuckled. "She would take us for picnics, and drink ridiculous amounts of wine, smoke cigarettes, and read aloud dirty novels to us when we were kids. She loves us though and tries her best, even if she is a bit wild. We go stay with her still every year for Christmas. Sometimes we visit more often. I talk to her every week." Leo smiled at her clear fondness for her grand-maman.

After a beat, she added, "I told her about you. She has so many questions. She so desperately wants to meet you."

"I've never been to France, but I suppose this is as good excuse as any," he said to her, winking.

She quietly overlooked the pond once more, staying silent for several minutes.

"What about your father? Is he still alive?" Leo asked, needing to know. Needing to know if he needed to…take care of it. He gently traced small circles with his thumb on her arm.

"I don't know. Honestly, I wish he was dead. The not knowing is frustrating. I – this may sound horrible, but I wish he would suffer for everything he did to us. He used to beat us, especially Mina and I, because we were the eldest and we would try to protect our younger siblings. Mom tried to protect us but -" she trailed off, but Leo understood what was unspoken. He scooted closer to her, until she was against his side.

"It's not horrible to think that. He hurt you –" Leo's voice darkened with anger, and he took a breath to compose himself, "He deserves to suffer for that. I could –"

She cut him off, knowing what he was about to say. "Maybe someday. But I'd rather not bring him into anything. I've made peace with the fact that I may never know. Thank you, though," she said as she offered him a grateful smile. "That's very kind of you."

"How did you end up staying here then?"

"Grand-maman contacted him to tell him about our mother when we were teenagers. He asked if we were up to coming for a visit to set up her haka. So we went, and he offered for us to stay with him. We still try to divide time equally. They don't like each other very well, and get jealous if we stay at one place for too long," she smiled fondly.

"They don't?"

"He thinks she's – well, did you ever watch the golden girls?" she giggled.

Leo snorted, "Yeah, why?"

"She's like a rich French version of Blanche. He thinks she wasn't fit to raise us. And she thinks he's a fat old rigid miserable killjoy. She uses more colorful language when she talks about him, of course."

"And she helped raise you?" Leo raised an eye-bridge.

"She tried. It still fell quite a lot on me because she travelled a lot."

He nodded in understanding. He was still enraged by the thought of her own father being violent towards her, but he didn't ask more, as she clearly said everything she had wanted to. Never had he felt the urge to kill as strongly as he felt now. If I knew where he was, it would be so easy.

"Is the necklace that's broken from her?" he asked.

"Mmhmm."

"I haven't forgotten, you know. I promise I'll fix it before we head back to New York."

"Thank you."

They stayed silent for several minutes, enjoying the scenery and pondering what they had told each other. It was Leo who broke the silence first.

"Your mother would be very proud of you."

She smiled sadly, before saying, "If Splinter knew how much was on your shoulders, and how well you handled it, he would be proud too. He is proud of you. I am too."

He beamed as he looked down into his lap, hiding his embarrassment.

"We should get going," he said after several minutes, not really wanting to end the night but sensing it was time. She yawned as she nodded her head.

They stood in front of three of the ninja tribunal, Hisomi, the master of stealth, absent.

"My lords, where is Hisomi-Shisho?" the Ancient One said as he bowed deeply. The turtles behind him did the same.

"He has been struck by something grave, and we know not what. Something has caused his compassionate spirit great suffering," Kon answered, inflection as callous as ever.

"There is an unknown threat that is looming, and is causing our spirits great anguish and sorrow," Chikara added, looking rather haggard herself.

"It is something sinister, and we have called you here to discuss it, and warn you to keep an eye out for anything amiss. I believe this presence has been here before, but the Shredder had captured our entire focus, so it was missed," said Juto. "We have laid out every clue we can find, but it is not all adding up. We are missing the big picture."

Leonardo and his brothers looked at each other, surprised. This is certainly not what they expected. If anything, they were waiting for them to say that, yet again, the Shredder had somehow resurrected. Or for more brutal training. Help on figuring out a new sinister threat was not on the list of possibilities.

They arrived back in Tokyo two days later, late at night. Three of the girls fell asleep watching tv in the living room, but Layla was absent. Leo softly padded up to her room, knocking gently. He carefully peaked in the door, and saw she had fallen asleep curled up in her window seat. He smiled. She had clearly tried to stay up until they arrived.

He shook her shoulder gently. "Layla?"

She slowly turned towards him, opening her eyes. "You're back home," she smiled. "How was it?"

"Interesting," he chuckled at her drowsy state, butterflies forming in his stomach admiring how sweet she looked. "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow morning," he whispered as he lifted her from the window seat and gently laid her down on the bed.

"I did try to stay up," she smiled as she curled onto her side.

"I know, but now you can go back to sleep, and I'll see you in the morning." He tucked her in, moving slowly as to relish in the moment for as long as possible.

"I'm so glad you're home safe," she uttered dreamily.

He leaned down close to her ear, "Me too princess. Go back to sleep."

"Goodnight, Leonardo," she dragged out his full name. He grinned.

"Goodnight, Layla," he said as he shut her door. He leaned against it for a second before heading to bed, chastising himself for calling her princess.

Splinter and the Ancient One were talking seriously with one another in the garden, clearly trying to figure out what it was the Ninja Tribunal warned them about.

"So you have no idea what it could be?" Layla asked him.

"Not a clue. I wanted to ask you though, seeing as there is some threat lurking out there…you know some self-defense, right?" He asked her seriously.

"Not a whole lot, no," she shrugged.

Leo's brow creased with concern. "I think you should learn. You and your sisters."

"It's probably a good idea."

"My brothers and I talked about it, so they'll show your sisters, but if you want, we can go to the dojo now and practice," he offered. She was already in those tight little bike shorts and sports bra from her and her sisters' daily yoga and pilates. He thought to himself that he wouldn't mind getting a chance to see her in that little outfit for a while longer today.

"Sure," she said.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck. Layla smiled softly, but her posture told Leo she was nervous.

"Uh, ok. Where to start?" Leo smiled at her, trying to make her feel more comfortable. A peal of laughter rang behind them, and they turned to see Mikey trying to show Nora how to punch unsuccessfully. The rest of his brothers had been in the dojo already, with their respective new students. Leo rolled his eyes. "C'mon. It's a bit loud out here." He led her to a small room off the dojo. He stopped at the entrance and nodded his head for her to go in first. He followed closely behind, and Layla felt him very gently brush against her upper arm as he switched on the light. She felt the now familiar pooling of heat in her lower abdomen that surfaced every time she was near him, or even thought about him.

He spoke softly. "Have you ever even punched someone before?"

"When I was little, I hit a few people, but no, not really." She laughed softly. Leo snorted.

"Ok, well it would be best if we started with how to stand. You're really small," he said as he stepped towards her, "so this would be a good way for you stand. Really the best thing to teach you is how to buy you enough time to get away from a situation if you needed." He used his hands to guide her stance, trying his hardest, but failing, not to let his touches linger. This was the first time he didn't mind that he failed this particular task. She kept her eyes trained on him, feeling intensely the tension that hung in the air.

Leo could feel himself straining within his shell. She was trying her best to follow his instructions, trying not to be nervous. Her hair was braided into two French braids, and he couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to run his hands down her exposed abdomen. To tug on those little braids while he took her from behind, right here against the wall of the dojo. He could hear her scream his name as he fucked her senseless, as she dug her nails into the wall...Leo stopped his train of thought before it got out of control. He shook his head to clear his thoughts but could help but notice the goosebumps that prickled her skin wherever he touched her. She was so delicate. Leo smiled and continued on teaching.

"Don't be nervous Layla." He stopped in the middle of what he was teaching her, worried about her. She was trying, but she was being so timid, and he was worried it was because of him or something he did.

"I'm sorry Leo. Just the idea of having to fight someone makes me uncomfortable. You're doing a great job though! I'm sorry I'm not a better student."

"The idea of you fighting someone also makes me uncomfortable," he laughed, and he saw her shoulders relax. "It's a good idea to know how to defend yourself in case, but really if there was ever a dangerous situation, I'd be there to keep you safe. You wouldn't have to fight. And you're not a bad student." He smiled softly, and she looked up at him bashfully, cheeks tinted red.

"Promise?"

"I promise." He murmured, subconsciously stepping towards her. She held her eye contact with him, as if beckoning him in further. She wanted to reach out and touch him, trace her fingers down his muscles. She wondered what his plastron felt like, how much he could feel of her touch. She wanted him to hold her while he promised that he would keep her safe. Her mind played it out like so many romances she loved to watch on tv. Don't be absurd Layla. That's tv, not real life.

BANG. A loud crash jolted them apart, and Leo peeked out the doorway. He heard Donnie apologizing profusely; Talia giggling at him, reassuring him everything was alright. Leo rolled his eyes and cracked his neck, trying to shake himself from how close they just were. How close he was to leaning in and kissing her.

"C'mon, we can be done for today. We did quite a lot." She followed him out of the dojo and to the kitchen, where he put on the kettle. She shivered slightly. "Cold?"

She chuckled. "I'm always a little cold."

"Tea?"

"Yes please." He sat down next to her with a cup of green tea. They had the kitchen to themselves.

"Oh, I have something for you," he said. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out her heirloom necklace. "I fixed it for you."

She jumped up out of her chair and skipped towards him, grinning. "Thank you!" She said as she threw her arms around him briefly. Too briefly, yet he beamed proudly at her reaction.

"Here, let me," he murmured as he clasped it around her neck, letting his fingers trace her neck and shoulders.