Leo felt lighter than he had in what seemed like ages. He barely noticed the aching in his leg as the familiar banter of his siblings surrounded him, and despite his pronounced limp and reliance on the crutch he felt light enough to skip. Almost everything about the Hidden City was different from New York City: the sights, the smells, even the sounds. But somehow, the atmosphere wasn't. The streets were bright and vibrant, the chatter of pedestrians punctuated by the calls of vendors and a kind of energy in the air that radiated a mix of excitement and ease.
"Glad to be out again, huh, little brother?" Raph said, grinning. Leo returned his grin.
"It's not midtown Manhattan, but the city air's just as sweet!"
Usagi gave him a gentle shoulder bump.
"I haven't been to New York much, but I know 'sweet' isn't the best way of describing the air," he said, his tone light and teasing.
Leo directed his grin back toward the rabbit.
"Maybe, but hey, it's home. Besides, you're talkin' to a guy who grew up in the sewer."
Usagi chuckled, and Leo could see his eyes brightening as he took in the slider's face, as if just seeing Leo smile was enough to make him happier. The thought brought a familiar heat to the slider's face, along with the instinctual hope that he wasn't visibly blushing.
But the slider's thoughts were interrupted when April stepped over, patting his shell with a wide smile.
"Sweet air or not, it's great to see ya out and about again! You're looking great!"
Leo returned his honorary sister's smile with a grin of his own. April hadn't been able to visit as often as she wanted, thanks to the demands of college, but had jumped at the chance to join in their celebratory pizza night. Leo was secretly glad it wasn't finals week, since he knew April would have gladly blown one off to be here. Not that he'd have really argued… as a wise person once said: all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
"Thanks, April!" he said. "Glad you could come too!"
The older girl laughed, pressing to his side in a gentle one-armed hug.
"'Course I did, we should all be here!" She cast Usagi a warm, grateful expression. "And a lot of it's thanks t' you, and your gramma."
Usagi gave her a somewhat shy smile in return. He hadn't interacted with humans as much as Leo and his brothers and was still a little awkward around April and the Joneses, even though he enjoyed their company too.
"Of course, we're glad we can help."
Leo snorted and gave the rabbit's head a teasing ruffle.
"Aw, you're so cute when you're modest, cottontail."
Usagi pushed his hand off with a groan, though he was grinning widely.
"Well, someone's gotta be."
Returning the rabbit's grin, Leo then glanced at Casey. The older boy was looking around with wide eyes, taking in the Hidden City with obvious awe. He was used to seeing non-humans, of course, but never something like this. Shifting on his crutch, Leo moved to rest an arm across Casey's shoulders.
"Great first visit so far, Case?"
The human teen looked at him with bright eyes and a huge smile.
"It's incredible!" he exclaimed. "Sensei always told me stories about this place, and he was great at storytelling, but actually seeing it…"
Raph laughed lacing his hands behind his head.
"Yep, in this place, seein' is believin'.
Mikey gave Casey a bright grin of his own.
"Could hardly believe it was real when we first fell down here!"
"Very literally," Donnie added in his usual dry tone.
April flung an arm around his shoulder.
"Don't be a killjoy, Donnie! We're here t' have fun, remember?"
The softshell raised a Sharpie brow at her.
"Of course."
By now, they'd nearly reached Run of the Mill and Leo's grin widened when a small, bony figure raced out with a delighted squeal.
"Leo! You're here!"
The slider laughed as Junior barreled into his side, notably the one with his good leg, and returned the enthusiastic embrace with his free arm.
"Hey there, kiddo!"
His excitement leaped as Senor Hueso strode out, wearing a smile that was full of warmth despite his skull face.
"Ah, Pepino! So good to see you up."
Leo gave the skeleton yokai a toothy grin.
"Hola tio hombre de huesos!" he said happily. "Great to see you too!"
The slider gestured to Casey, then Usagi.
"Casey, Usagi, meet Senor Hueso."
The skeleton yokai stepped forward to shake hands with each of the newcomers, his smile widening.
"Pleased to meet you both, young senors."
"Thank you, sir!" Casey said, looking eager. "I never met you in my time, but Sensei talked about you a lot."
Hueso shot a look of bemused annoyance at Leo.
"Yes, Pepino tends to enjoy speaking now. I imagine that did not change much in later years."
He directed his next words to Usagi, a look of gratitude on his face.
"I understand you and your abuela have helped him a great deal, along with the others."
Usagi returned his smile with humble one of his own, along with a small bow.
"Yes, sir. We've been glad to."
"Oh, no need for any of that!" Hueso said, giving the younger rabbit yokai a hearty clap on the shoulder. "You are all here for fun tonight, no? Well, come in, all of you."
Hueso Junior grabbed Leo's free hand and tugged, bouncing in place with excitement.
"There's other people here too, they wanna see you guys!"
Leo returned the little yokai's smile but couldn't suppress a twinge of unease. Once upon a time he would have delighted in basking in public adulation, and he couldn't deny that a good part of himself still enjoyed it. But it was now tempered by a feeling that he didn't really deserve it… and he was acutely aware of the less than flattering image he would probably cut, hobbling in with a crutch under his arm. What would the people who looked at him think? Words began ringing in his head, each seeming to embed deeper and deeper like a needle being pushed under his skin.
Different. Sad. Weak. Disappointment.
The gentle brush of a hand on his broke into the self-deprecating spiral, and he was surprised to find Usagi looking back at him. His warm brown eyes seemed to radiate a sense of reassurance that soothed in a way that was so similar to his brothers, yet somehow completely different. He became aware of the others moving in, not fencing him in but bolstering him with their presence.
"Well, don't know about you, bros," Mikey said cheerfully. "But I'm ready for some real Run of the Mill food n' fun!"
Leo felt a grin form on his face, and some tug of instinct he couldn't quite understand he reached out and took hold of Usagi's hand. There was just a second of hesitation, then the rabbit gave a gentle squeeze. And the slider was relieved when he didn't let go.
"Well then, vamanos hermanos!"
His statement was met with enthusiastic whoops, and his heart felt lighter than air as they all moved forward together.