ITS A BABEH!!!!

ITS A BABEH!!!!

Toddler Leo (One-Shot request)

I can't remember how exactly this came about anymore, but it's here. I would like to give special thanks to @thelaundrybitch for coming up with the idea and then letting me write it. Beware the diabetes.

One-shot, pure fluff, Rise Leo, set in main timeline (AU?)

You're not sure what to think about when you get the messages. You're even less certain when you call after work and the only thing you get is, "Please get down here right this second" and nothing else. However, the thing that worries you the most isn't the fact that Donatello seems to be ordering you around or the fact that your best friend seems to be panicking. That seems par for the course for the Hamatos. No, what worries you is the lack of messages from a certain someone that makes your heart squeeze.

He's gotten good with his timing. Incredible, in fact. He never asked, but nowadays, it feels like the second you get up for lunch at work, there's a message waiting for you. He bugs you with everything and anything, from memes to heartfelt messages that always manage to make you smile, even giggle sometimes. But there was nothing today. Not even the start of the conversation you have to sadly shoot down because someone thought it was a good idea to occupy your lunch with a meeting.

So, it's with a heavy heart and worry on your mind that you step into the lobby of the Lair.

"LEO! DON'T RUN!"

Only to blink as you hear Raph shout, you barely catch a blue streak zip up the stairs, and you flinch as a weight hits your legs, making you look down.

… Is that…? There's — There's no goddamn way.

You watch as the snapping turtle makes it up the stairs only to sigh when he sees you. He, thankfully, doesn't hesitate to approach you, just holds up his hand in greeting, which you return before watching the hulking man sit and make himself as small as possible before speaking in a tone that can only make you smile.

"Leo, you need to let go."

"No!"

"Leo –"

"NO!"

Although… you can't help but blink at the name and the voice you're hearing.

"Leon?"

And the fact that the blue-covered head finally moves to let you see lime green and red…

"Eya."

…

Oh dear god.

You watch as Leo unglues himself from your leg and brings his arms up. You look at Raph in confusion.

“What happened?”

“Donnie. He’s working on a solution.”

“Is this linked to the Empyrean?”

And the snapping turtle’s acquiescence gets cut off by quiet hiccups, making you look down and feel your heart almost shatter.

His eyes are watery. Leo is trying so very hard not to cry but he wants up. And you can’t…

You kneel and open your arms. The intelligent boy picks up on it immediately and, after a blink, rushes into your arms and settles his head into the crook of your neck as you lift his surprising heavy body off the ground.

“It’s the shell,” Raph explains and you believe it. He’s not particularly pudgy although he seems well-fed, but the weight doesn’t match.

Although, considering how fast he settles down in your arms, you’re not sure you mind. No, you don’t mind at all when you feel a tiny rumble against yourself.

Churring. He’s so damn cute.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He refuses to let go of you.

You want to say that you’re surprised with him refusing to let you help with dinner, but if you’re honest…

“Leon, I gotta help your brother.”

“No!”

“You want to eat late?”

Considering his current age, to not expect him to be glued to you would be wishful thinking. Certainly when the second question gets indignant chirping galore Mikey understands and translates.

You were missing all week. It’s his turn.

Not even two and already acting like a drama queen. You want to be angry but the fact that he insists on both staying on your lap during dinner all while eating on his own is too endearing to get mad at. Not to mention that he does seem to somewhat understand boundaries ‘cause he asks for Raph when you talk about getting ready for bed only to stick to you when you’ve showered and changed.

Little glue pot. Who is still incredibly brotherly as he points you to the Lab and has a chirpy argument with Donnie through the intercom about sleeping.

The fact that the softshell actually comes out is a testament to Leo's persuasion, certainly with how proud he looks in your arms. He, unfortunately, loses much of that pride as you get to his room, and not only does he insist that you sleep with him, but he tries climbing over you several times and complains so loudly every time you move him back to where he was, it catches Raph's attention who, thankfully, explains.

It's something you know Leo has been doing for months, now. Whenever you share the same bed, he insists on having an arm around you or sliding halfway atop you. Either way, it leads to the same thing, you wake up with him holding you tightly in his arm while he covers you with himself. At first, you thought it was out of being touch-starved. Now, after everything you read and him still doing it, you're thinking it's a dominance thing. It's neither. In fact, it's something much simpler.

His shell. Doesn't matter if there's damage, his shell and skin are stronger than yours. And he's protective. Extremely so as he tries again while you're distracted with his brother and you still catch him, leading to him trying to nip your fingers and forcing you to gently hit his beak with a "None of that."

He whines, then, rubbing his head against your hand while his eyes fill with tears. You barely notice Raph leaving as you try to reason with him, eventually boiling it down into the simplest fashion you can while putting his hand against his.

He's usually so much bigger. Leo might not be too much taller than you, but he is surprisingly broad despite how agile he is and his hands engulf yours. You can barely see the color of your skin in the lime-green of his, usually.

Not now. Now, your hand makes his disappear. Your skin is all you can see. And light hiccupping is all you can hear as just how helpless he is sinks into you.

He can't protect you. Not right now. That's your job. Until he's back to normal, you and his brothers have to make sure he's safe, happy, and, above all, loved.

You hold him close. Bring him against your chest before placing a pillow underneath him to make sure he's comfortable as he holds onto you. You listen to him churr as you scratch his head and shell while promising him security and protection. And while you're not sure he completely gets it, you know he's understanding some of it as he holds onto your shirt like a lifeline, leaving you to wonder one thing.

Is this… how he wishes he could behave? Or something close?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something close. Definitely something close from the fact that he wakes you up in the middle of the night with his screaming and crying and he looks like such a mess as you hold him tight against you. You doubt he wants you to hear the hiccupping he's unable to hold back or that wants you to see him as anything but strong. You doubt he enjoys the fact that he woke you up, no matter how little you care, and promise him that it's fine as you take him to the kitchen for a cup of warm milk. And nothing makes that more obvious than you waking up to an already awake Leo whom you can only smile gently at.

"Hey Leon."

Along with the fact that he immediately nuzzles against your hand as you hold it out.

"Did you sleep?”

A nod.

“After we came back from the kitchen?”

A very hesitant nod.

It's harder to lie, to deflect. Not to mention he's trying to lie to you, something you've had more than a hint of him disliking. However, it does tell you how ingrained the habits are and how soon Leo had to learn that sacrificing himself… could be necessary.

You just hope you know the perfect way to return the favor as you send texts to Mikey and Raph before settling into the bed a little more.

"How about we sleep in, then? I just cleared my day."

From the way his eyes light up at the offer before you find yourself tackled by someone half your size, you'd say you're not doing a bad job of it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You wish you were surprised when it turns partially into show-and-tell. You can only chuckle when Leo races through the room to bring you stuff he babbles and chirps about. And you smile fondly when, eventually, he brings over the book you've gotten him and, after triumphantly stating, "Eya book!" he lies with you to look at the images while you read the text aloud. But it's the way he cuddles against you as you speak that has your heart skipping around. Not to mention that he only snuggles closer when you quiet your voice to a hum and let him settle against your chest, breathing deepening by the second.

You know better than to stop. You might have only raised four-year-olds, but you remember their behavior skirting with this one, certainly after a nightmare or an awful day, and you're not about to leave Leo to suffer to his demons. You already can't let him when he's older, how can you now?

You help him settle a little better as he stretches and tries to snuggle closer, likely looking for warmth. You smile as he sleepily chirps.

“I wuv you, Eya.”

But there’s no helping the blink as you hear him whisper against you. No stopping your racing heart and fond smile as you wrap a protective arm around him, murmuring, “I love you, too, Leon."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You jolt as you hear screaming, shouting and tumbling throughout the lair. You notice the lack of weight against you and hear a very familiar three-letter word accompanied with some surprisingly familiar words as well.

“Leo! Get back here!”

“No!”

And you sigh, almost resigned to the mess you’re about to find as you step out, wondering what trouble the little chaos demon has managed to get himself into.

You blink when all you see are color-coded blurs. The blue one turns the corner so sharply, you wonder if you’re still sleeping until another blur, red one this time, does the same thing, reminding you of where you are. You sigh as you make your way up and blink at the absolute mess the lobby is in, recognizing the spots Leo might have thought he was safe before his brother tried to extricate him out of hiding.

Are you surprised that, upon his return to the lobby, he’s taken to the heights this time? Nope. In fact, you just sigh as Raph shouts at Leo who is absolutely refusing to leave his perch in the bar. It’s not until the little menace tries to get away and knocks a bottle off the shelves that they seem to realize how dangerous this is becoming as your heart nearly stops.

Oh no.

You can hear the crying before it starts. You’re still not ready for the chirps that mix with it as Raph realizes he can’t reach Leo, at least not without breaking the bar. However, the distress you see across that tear-streaked face is enough to make you move, thankfully easing Raphael's worry but not quite working on Leo's nerve, even as you step into the bar, round the shattered bottle, and hold yourself under the slider with open arms.

"It's okay, Leon. Come on."

It takes everything for you to stay calm as he cries louder, holding out his tiny hands towards you. You can't reach him. You're not tall enough. But he can jump down.

"Come on, big guy. Just a jump. I got you."

The distressed chirps make you want to cry. You have to keep smiling, though. You have to keep steady. He needs a rock, and you're the only one who can reach him.

"I gotcha. Te tengo, Leonardo. Jump."

He does. You buckle a little under his weight but hold steady as he hiccups before crying while gripping your shirt like a lifeline. You turn around to an apologetic Raph who gingerly points to what Leon has clasped in his right hand and the fact that the latter immediately lets it go to put his arms around your neck doesn't surprise you in the slightest. What does is the cause of the mess.

"A Lou Jitsu action figure?" you ask as you hand it over to the sighing snapper.

"Got it from Dad's room."

… Oh. You smile, even giggle as you half-rock the hiccupping Leon in your arms.

"Did you want to show it to me?"

Only to chuckle as you feel the faintest hint of a nod against your neck. This little rascal.

"Want me to take him off your hands?" Raph suggests and you shake your head.

"I have —! What… happened here?"

Before you can answer, though, the softshell appears in the lobby holding a vial you only hope is the solution to the mess.

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You're not surprised when quiet is all that finds you when you slide open the train car door. You almost expect him to pull back the second you lie in the bed next to him, something he does before you put a hand over his.

"You okay?"

However, you're glad when all that finds you instead of the lies he's been spewing as he helped fix the mess he created is silence.

He's not in the mood to lie. Not to you. Yet, he's also not wanting to talk about the past few hours and, honestly, you can't blame him.

"We don't have to –"

"I don't get you."

Although, you're not sure what to make of the remark, blinking at it.

"Leon?"

"I don't understand. I don't… I should have…"

"You didn't."

"Why not?"

"You were a child?"

"Not –"

"If you're about to say excuse, I'm going to get Raph to beat some sense into you. Besides, I raised twins."

He falls quiet, looking unsure. You squeeze his hand, not expecting but still getting one you almost want to laugh at as he brings you in and lays atop you.

Shielding you from the world. Keeping you safe. And, as you feel him freeze over you while you wrap your arms around his neck to bring him closer, so touch-starved he nearly melts over you when you start scratching his nape and the base of his skull.

The churrs are so incredibly deep, you can feel them reverberate through you. It's beautiful.

 "You'd make a wonderful mother."

It's not as heart-racing as his comment, though, your mind wondering if he means it, if he's thinking about it as he kisses and murmurs against your cheek.

"I love you, estrella mía."

You won't know now, though. Not yet. Patience is key and he needs his sleep.

You lean your head against his as you whisper your reply, "I love you, too, Leon."

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