#reader is ambiguous

(TMNT IDW Leonardo X Reader)

Word count: 1816 words

When the world throws a punch, you want to punch harder. This time, the punch was time travel, and the punch didn’t land on you, but on your friends. Lita, or Lita from the Future, came to prevent the timeline she came from from happening. At first, it was a lot to process, especially for you and Jennika, who were thrown into the deep end. Learning about New York becoming New Mutant City was already a surprise, but the future Lita painted hit harder.

Raph and Alopex becoming rival bounty hunters, Donnie transforming into a cyborg in isolation, Mikey turning his family’s life into an exposé and severing ties, and Jennika reverting to a life of crime were already enough to deal with. However, nothing hit you as hard as hearing about the fate of your partner, Leo. According to Lita, no one knows what happened to him. One day, Leo just vanished. No trace or sign of where he went, as if he never existed. A few whispers about what could have happened have echoed in your mind since—was it anguish, or something else that took him away? The way Lita avoided details makes you wonder if there is more she isn’t saying. That information made your insides swirl together; something just didn’t seem right. Before you can even process it, the Splinter Clan is off to rescue Karai from a helicopter crash.

While left to marinate on this info, part of you still can’t process it. Parts of the story sound accurate with the turtles you know, especially Raph and Alopex, but Leo? Your partner, the one who’s so fiercely devoted to his family and duty to protect others. It’s how all the turtles were raised by Splinter, after all.

Back when Splinter, their father, took leadership of the Foot Clan, something in him shifted. He grew more distant, even cold, choosing power over the principles he had once taught. It was a turning point for the family, and as Splinter became more entrenched in the Foot’s ruthless ways, the brothers had to adjust. Leo stepped up, holding fast to Splinter’s original values and becoming the new leader of the group, even as their father’s vision for them was blinded by fear and domination of the city. Then came the Triceratons' invasion and the EPF. Against the impossible odds and even facing Splinter as an enemy on the battlefield, all of them stood their ground together, refusing to back down. Mikey may have been the first to leave that life behind, but Leo is the one who stepped up to keep everyone together. His undying loyalty to his loved ones is what drew you to him, which is why him leaving in the future is hard to believe.

The rest of the evening phases into a blur. The next thing you know, Karai, Koya, and Bludgeon are in the spare room getting patched up from their wounds. You stay in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall near the curtains. Jennika, beside you, has her arms crossed and her eyes to the dull tiles. Donnie is carefully wrapping Bludgeon’s tricep, while Leo covers Karai’s wrist in a bandaged cocoon. After that, everyone went their separate ways for the night.

Despite how late it is, that feeling deep in your stomach won’t disappear. In a half-asleep attempt to shake that sensation away, you decide to go for a walk around the Dojo. You wander down the halls, ensuring to soften the contact your heels make with the floor. In this family, it doesn’t take much for someone to hear a peep. After a couple of minutes of this, your exhausted brain’s patience is limited. Maybe it’s time for some fresh air, you think to yourself.

As you tread up to the balcony and open the door to the roof, your eyes squint from the illumination of Leo’s greenhouse. When the T.V. static vision, as Mikey coined it, fades and your vision returns to normal, a glimpse of a familiar silhouette catches your gaze. Leo is donning a cool grey sleeveless hoodie with rolled-up indigo denim pants. His eyes are down at his flowers, plucking dead heads off of them and into his compost bucket. While it’s not unusual for Leo to be a night owl caught reading or doing one of his hobbies, his expression is what grabs your attention.

Leo’s lips are pursed together tight, his browline drawn up in the inner corners. His hands work with such precision that it almost looks like he’s working on autopilot. Your feet move before your mind can catch up.

Inside the greenhouse, three gentle knocks snap Leonardo out of his solemn state of mind. His honey gold eyes widen briefly, but soften when he sees you at the other end of the door.

“Hey…” Leo murmurs, holding the door ajar, “What are you doing awake?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” you reply candidly, shrugging. You glance over his shoulder to look at the full compost bin of dead-headed flowers.

“What are you doing awake?”

His beak scrunches partially at the ridge, and his eyes dart from making direct contact.

“I…couldn’t sleep either.”

In an attempt to grab his attention back, you, albeit youthfully, poke his scrunched-up beak. It works in grabbing his attention, paired with a baffled expression.

A soft smile forms across your face, “Penny for your thoughts?”

For a small moment, Leo’s face contorts in thought. Eventually, he exhales, closing the door to the greenhouse behind him.

“Let’s talk out here. It can get stuffy in there.”