Requested by @MirandaWinterbourne
Title: Forever and Always
Key: (N/n)= new name
Dear Leonardo,
I'm just going to come out and say it to rip the band-aid off and explain what has happened to me. I have cancer. Well, had. Chances are, if you have this letter, I'm already gone. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this, Leo. I just didn't want you to worry about me like you always do. Now, it's time for you to worry about you and your brothers. You don't have to worry about me anymore because my time is gone; my hurting is over. I know this will probably hurt a little- or a lot, depending on how much you enjoyed my awful jokes- but please, don't dwell on this. I will always love you and your brothers and I will always keep you in my heart. Just, don't forget me. And don't cry too much, please. You know I always hated to see you sad. Okay, well, my hand is starting to cramp up, so I guess this is it. This letter is explaining why I haven't been to see you in a month and why I haven't been home either. Just remember that I love you always and we'll be together one day. I love you. Goodbye.
Love,
(Y/n) Hamato
Leo dropped the letter and let it fall to the floor, not knowing what to do. His girlfriend had cancer and was gone. Forever. She was never going to walk into the lair again, she was never going to wake him up and one in the morning asking what a pigeon's favorite type of bread was, and she was never going to hug, smile, laugh, or cry with him again. Leo didn't know how to feel, what to do, or where to go. How was he going to tell Raph, Splinter, April, Casey, and Donnie? Oh dod, how was he going to tell Mikey?
"(Y/n), no. Please, no. No." Leo whispered as he slowly knelt down and picked up the letter, staring at the name written on the paper. (Y/n) Hamato. She had put his last name. That made his heart hurt even more.
"Leo, are you okay?" Donnie knocked as he walked into his brother's room, followed by his brothers and father. After a second, April and Casey entered also. They were both clutching pieces of paper in their hands.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just need some air." Leo sniffed as he quickly folded the letter and stuffed it into his pack pocket, trying to get by everyone.
"Leo, we know." Raph said after a moment of silence. Leo stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at Raph over his shoulder. The hothead pulled a slip of paper out of his pack pocket and held it out to Leo, Raphael Hamato written in cursive on the front. Donnie also held one with his name. Donatello Hamato.
With a silent gasp of air, he turned slowly and looked at Mikey, who was standing halfway behind Splinter, holding onto his robes. Mikey's face was half-buried in Splinter's clothes, the only visible aspects being his closed right eye with tears streaming from it, his mouth; closed in a silent whimper, and his hand, which also held a letter.
My Sweet Little Mikey.
Splinter had a hand on the back of Mikey's head and was rubbing gently, looking sadly down at him. Then, he turned and locked eyes with Leo, frowning sadly. Leo, not being able to say anything, turned and began running, shoving past April and Casey, who held an arm out to stop him.
"Wait, what are you-" Jones was interrupted by Splinter, who had begun walking to the dojo with Mikey in hand. He was slouching heavily, Leo being pretty sure that the only thing holding him up was Splinter.
"Yameru." He commanded, not stopping his pace with the smallest turtle. "Let him go." Casey quickly patted his arm as he and April followed Splinter and Mikey to the dojo. Donnie went to the lab and Raph shook his head sadly at Leo before making his way to his room, presumably to Spike.
Leo stood in place for a few moments, not knowing what to do again. Then, with a fierce scream in his throat, he began jogging. Jogging through the dark sewers was pain. He couldn't see a thing except (y/n)'s face in his mind which made him want to run faster, so he did. He ran until he made it to the surface, rain falling gently onto his forest green skin and mixing with the tears that pooled from his eyes. Then, he began sprinting as he realized she was everywhere. She was in the air, her scent lingering in his nose, in the sky, her (e/c) eyes twinkling brightly, and in his ears, her laugh radiating through his head with a loud echo that was no longer pleasant to him.
"Leo, stop tickling me!"
"Come here, Leo! I want to show you something!"
"Goodnight. Call me when you get home, okay?"
"I love your eyes. They're so beautiful."
"You and your brothers make such an amazing family."
"I love you, Leo. Forever and always."
"Forever and always."
"Forever."
Forever.
Forever.
"Help!" A scream ripped through Leo's head. His closed eyes snapped open and he immediately went into hero mode, his tears already dried. He followed the scream to a dark alley near April's apartment, a few feet away from an empty, lit-up playground. He hid on the building and looked down to see a girl, in a bright blue hoodie with the hood up, being yanked along the alley by three men that were trying to shush her.
"If you don't stop, we're going to have our fun right here and now. What do you say, boys?" One of the men said, causing the others to stop in their tracks and nod madly.
"Let me go! If my father hears about this, you're dead!" The girl screamed wearily, obviously making an empty threat. Leo wondered why she would say something that obviously wasn't true. He quietly jumped off the building and landed behind the dumpster, peering over it. There were two guys holding the girl and another a few inches away from his hiding spot.
Quickly, he reached out and snapped the guy back, seemingly yanking him into the darkness. Pushing his pressure point, Leo dropped the guy and slunk around to the other side of the alley, where the other men had stopped and were now listening for whatever had taken their friend. Suddenly, the girl reared her foot back and kicked the man on her left, shoving him into the darkness where Leo stood. He took the guy out and glanced over to the last man, who was terrified.
"Who's there?" He demanded weakly, yanking the girl further away. If he pulled any farther, she would be lost to Leo, who was unable to enter the streets.
"Take this!" The girl suddenly screamed as she thrust both of her hands into the man's face, knocking him out instantly. Leo stood in place, dumbfounded. He was really expecting anything but what she had just done. "Now, to get this rope off." The girl mumbled as she looked around for anything to help her predicament.
Leo began digging around in the men's pockets for a knife or anything else useful. Then, he clutched something hard and gently pulled it from one of the jacket's pockets. It was a big phone; even for his massive hand. Gently thumbing the button at the bottom, the screen lit up. It was a picture of a forest, a bright spot of blue in the shape of a hoodie on the outside of the tree-line. It was a beautiful picture. The hoodie looked like the one the girl was wearing- plus, he doubted one of those men would have such a wallpaper- so he gently set the phone down and kicked it with the side of his foot to slide it to the girl, who had finally got her hands untied.
She looked at the phone and picked it up, quickly opening it and typing something down. Then, setting the phone in her pocket, she looked over to where Leo stood and squinted as she started walking over to him.
"Stop." Leo winced as he revealed himself to her. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared right at him, her eyes flashing.
"You know I can see you, right?" Leo's jaw dropped. How could she see him? He was shrouded in darkness. "Uh, yeah, there's a light a few feet behind you, so I can see your outline." Leo turned and noticed that, indeed, there was a light behind him. So, although, she could see his outline, she couldn't see him. Good. But, there was something weird about her voice. Something familiar. Then, it hit Leo like a bullet.
"What's your name?" He suddenly demanded, a certain urgency in his tone. The girl looked a-taken back, but answered.
"(N/n)." As she said that, she pulled her hood off and revealed her face to Leo. He had to hide a gasp as he kept himself from stumbling back. It was (y/n). His (y/n) was standing in front of him. It wasn't her, but it looked like her. So much like her. "What's your name?" She asked, interrupting Leo's thoughts. Trying to ignore the fact that it was his girlfriend standing in front of him, he cleared his throat and stood up a little straighter, contemplating stepping into the light.
"My name is Leonardo Hamato. It's nice to meet you, (n/n)."
"Leo!" (N/n) yelled as she entered the lair, a huge smile on her beautiful face. Leo looked up and grinned, his heart giving a tiny pang of pain at the realization of her not being his (y/n). Don't get me wrong, he didn't just like her because she looked exactly like his deceased girlfriend, no. That may have been what interested him at first, of course, but who wouldn't be interested in someone that looked exactly like their dead lover? Now he liked her because of her personality as well. Everything about her had changed. It was like meeting his girlfriend from a different perspective.
"Hey, (n/n). What are you doing here?" Leo asked, turning around on the couch to talk to her. She made her way over to him and sat down, still smiling. "You look pretty today, by the way." (n/n) blushed and looked away from Leo, mumbling slightly.
"I have something to confess." She suddenly turned her head back to him and smiled wearily, a guarded expression on her face. Leo was confused for a moment. What did she want to tell him that was so important? And why was she so scared to tell him?
"Okay. What is it?" Leo didn't want to tell her not to be scared as that would most likely make her even more scared- especially if she knew that he knew that she was scared.
"I-I like you, Leo." Leo's eyes widened and suddenly, he couldn't breathe. He just stared at (n/n) and continued to do so, even when she dropped her eyes and began to frown. "I'm sorry if it's soon. You-you don't have to say anything to me if you don't want. It's okay if you feel the same; I just wanted you to know how I felt." She began standing up to leave as Leo reached over and grabbed her arm to keep her from running away.
"I'm sorry. I just needed a moment. I-I just..." Leo trailed off and began crying, leaning his head down to lay it on (n/n)'s shoulder. "I just miss you so much, (y/n). Do you hear me? I love and miss you, princess. I'll love you, forever and always."
Forever and always.
(N/n) suddenly gasped as she closed her eyes. Leo jerked away to make sure he hadn't hurt her. He stared at her when she did nothing but continue to breathe and hold her eyes shut. What was she doing?
"It's so beautiful up here." I breathed as I looked out to the city, the sun beginning to set. I was standing dangerously on the edge of the building, holding onto a pipe that was the only thing keeping me still. I stood there for a few more seconds, admiring the view, wondering what would happen tomorrow.
I was new to New York, having barely moved the day before due to my dad going to jail. My mom wanted to be somewhere to be promised safety, so she moved us here to enlist in the protection of a gang. I didn't care; whatever made her feel safe.
Suddenly, there was a tiny bang and a pain in my hand. I looked down and saw a bird pecking at my fingers, where I was holding onto the pole. Then, it threw its head back and then forward again, right into the middle of my index finger.
"Oh, I hate you!" I screamed at the bird as I lost my footing and began falling, closing my eyes tightly.
"Woah, what did that bird ever do to you?" I wasn't falling anymore. I was now in someone's arms, safely not splattered on the concrete like a gross pancake. I looked up to see a weird green thing holding me. It had a shell and a bandana wrapped around its eyes, revealing a startling shade of sea-blue.
"Are you a turtle?" I asked suddenly, immediately pursing my lips in disgust with myself. "I'm so sorry; I'm an idiot." I shook my head and the turtle laughed as he nodded and began climbing to the roof of my building.
"No, you're find. Believe me, I've had worst encounters with people. I'm Leonard." He smiled down at me and I felt my heart melt. His smile was so genuine he could solve world wars.
"Hey, Leo. I'm (y/n)."
"I'm (y/n). I'm (y/n)! Leo, I remember!" She screamed as she grabbed his arms. Leo suddenly sat up and looked at her with a confused look on his face.
"You what? You remember? Remember what?" Leo was firing questions at her faster than she could talk as he stared at her. "Wait, did you say (y/n)?" Leo froze as he slowly looked up at his girlfriend. She nodded slowly as she began tearing up, her memory restored. She'd finally come back from wherever she had gone.
"It's me, (y/n). (Y/n) Hamato. I'm yours. You're my Leo. I love you." Leo, not being able to say anything, just closed his eyes and put his forehead to rest against hers as she did the same.
"I love you too, (y/n)."
"Forever and always." They both mumbled as they put their lips together, locking their promise.
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