For those of you who put me on alert, I sincerely apologise for not updating Rise of the Legend or Heirs of the Lost in such a long time. The last couple of years have been trying for me and I lost my writing mojo. I'm not making any promises, but I will hopefully get back to them and finish them at some stage. I just thought I'd move on to something different to refresh my writing style.

For those of you who have never heard of me before, hi! So this is my first TMNT fic, which I hope you'll enjoy. I'm doing a mass post now, but I will warn you that my updates may be few and far in between because of my commitments in life. But I am determined to finish this story because it's been great to write.

This is set in the 2k3 series (because I grew up watching it and still watch it every now and again- me being a major geek :3) just after series 5 (when it all went to pot with the Tengu Shredder)

Warning though, for those of you who don't like the Leo/Usagi pairing, look away now because I would prefer not to see any flames on the matter. Personally, I think it's a cute pairing and anyone who's read the Usagi Yojimbo comics will know that, when the turtles visit him, Usagi is quite attentive to Leo. And ok yes, I never imagined this as a kid, but now that I'm older and understand these things, I can just see it happening. And if anyone wants another good Leo/Usagi story I recommend Elphaba-Rose's Impetus and SaberTail's oneshots. They are awesome!

I should also warn you that the first couple of chapters will feel a bit like strings of one-shots, but I just want to get to the good stuff without pending chapter after chapter going through series 6 and 7 of TMNT. For the moment, I am dismissing TMNT Turtles Forever, but I may consider on making some sort of reference later.

So sit back and enjoy, because all shell is gonna break loose!

Disclaimer- Damn it! Still don't own them. Not even Leo :L

Chapter 1- Crescendo

Hamato Leonardo was not accustomed to the terrain stretched before him. He had never indulged in the intense heat of the sun and the clear vastness of a blue sky like this one. His entire life had been spent underground, skulking around drainage junctions and leaping over sewage pipes. Not even the farm that he and his family sometimes visited could provide them with such a sight.

As he walked along the long dirt road, Leo pondered the events that had led up to him wondering down this literal beaten track. Only last week, his family had faced the Tengu Shredder and survived, though it had come close. New York had nearly been lost and he and his brothers had almost gone through Death's door. But they were alive, for which the turtle was extremely thankful.

However, over the last week, Leo had been pondering over a matter that he felt should have been addressed long before this. Usagi. The last time he had seen his samurai friend, he had harshly thrown the ronin's advice back in his face. And since returning from his training with the Ancient One, he had not visited his friend at all. Sure, there had been Karai, Bishop's monsters and the Shredder to think about, but Leo was ashamed that he had neglected his friend for so long.

Truthfully, the turtle considered Usagi to be his closest friend. Yes, his family had April, Casey, Leatherhead and the Professor, but he wasn't as close to them as the others. Usagi was really the only one he could relate to, which wasn't often as they lived on different worlds.

What worried Leonardo was that Usagi would not accept his apology. After all, it had been many months and they had not parted on the best of terms last time. He honestly wouldn't blame the rabbit. After a couple of days spent debating with himself, Leo had decided that he couldn't put it off any longer. He spoke to Master Splinter and explained his plan and his sensei had kindly agreed to let him go to Usagi, even sending word to the Daimyo to pass a message on to the samurai.

He knew at the end of the road was the village that Usagi had replied that they would be able to meet in and Leo had arrived a few miles out. One, because he didn't want to startle the locals- a ninja appearing out of nowhere was bound to cause chaos in a world where they were treated with mistrust; and two, because it gave him time to get his head together. Despite being the most calm out of his brothers (well maybe not as much as Donatello because of his frequent arguing with Raphael), he could not stop the twisting in his gut. He was nervous. Nervous to see his friend and nervous as to how Usagi would receive him.

In what felt like no time at all, Leo had entered the village and kept to the shadows to avoid the townspeople, slinking down the streets until he spotted Usagi standing outside what must be an inn. Unsurprisingly, the ronin spotted him and nodded before disappearing into the building. Feeling slightly nonplussed, the turtle waited, not knowing what to do. However, his confusion evaporated when he saw Usagi stepping onto a balcony near the top of the building.

Knowing that his friend was trying to spare him being stopped by anyone, Leo briefly slipped from the dark and quickly scaled the walls before clambering over the balcony and standing before Usagi.

There was a slight, awkward silence before the ronin decided to break it.

"Good day, Leonardo-san. You are looking well."

Mildly startled by his gentle tone, Leo had to swim for a reply. "Thanks… You do as well."

"It has been a while, my friend. You and your family have been busy from what I have heard. A tengu is not a small matter."

Looking at Usagi in surprise, Leo was again astonished, but this time because of the seeming lack of hostility in the samurai's gaze.

"How do you…"

"I too have been busy trying to discover Lord Hebi, but I have spoken to the Daimyo on a number of occasions."

"I apologise if I am interrupting anything."

Usagi held up his hands to assuage the turtle. "No, you are not. Besides, I was eager to meet you once more. But what is the matter, Leonardo? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No… why do you ask?"

"You are exceptionally timid. Have I offended you in some manner?"

Leo's jaw dropped and he ogled at his friend. Usagi offend him?

"Of course you haven't! I offended you!" With that, Leo decided that he could no longer skirt around the issue that had brought him here. "Last time we met, you tried to help me… and I… I was far from civil. I treated your words as if they meant nothing. And when you left again, I could tell that you were appalled with my behaviour. I came here to apologise for treating you in such a despicable manner. I know that you may not forgive me and I will not blame you for hating me, but I had to tell you that I do not resent you at all."

When he had finished, he hung his head and waited for Usagi to open up and tell him that he no longer wished to know him. However, he was shocked when he felt a hand on his shoulder and another one cupping his chin and lifting it so that their eyes met.

"You should not expect rejection from me, Leonardo. You may have been conditioned in such a manner in your world, but I am not one who would wish you ill."

"But what I said-"

"What you said and how you acted were understandable." Leo was again startled as the hand on his chin moved to caress his cheek, though he did nothing to remove it. "You are young- only seventeen. For someone to betray your trust like Karai did leaves scars, especially for one who has had limited contact with people all of his life. I mean no disrespect of course. But you have healed and that is what matters. You and your soul are more at peace."

"But how do you not resent me?" Leo whispered, his voice strained as the words left his mouth. "I hurt you and my family. I actually injured my sensei."

"And yet you regret these actions. I cannot think ill of you for regretting your mistakes. Without our ability to regret and admit our mistakes, we would not be who we are. And I doubt I could ever think ill of you, Leonardo."

The turtle had not realised that the hand on his shoulder had moved and he was frozen in place as he felt his mask loosen from around his eyes. He immediately felt vulnerable as the bandana had been a part of him for as long as he could remember.

Usagi had to stifle a small gasp as the piece of cloth fell away from his friend's face. When wearing it, Leonardo looked far older than he was- the leader he had been bred to be. His steely green eyes shone with a certain level of severity, cunning and sharpness, which was accentuated by the blue bandana. However, now that it was hanging from around his neck, the ronin was able to see easily under the metaphorical mask as well as the physical one. Leonardo's eyes were slightly wider without the bandana encircling his head and that particular shade of green now stood out in much sharper focus from his leaf-green skin, giving Usagi the sensation of being drawn in. Usagi smiled slightly by the fact that the ninja's age was now betrayed.

"You are so young," he whispered, promptly standing on the tips of his padded feet and placed a kiss on one of Leo's eyes, both eyelids having closed on instinct as he drew near. Once Usagi had performed the same action on his other eye, he drew backwards, but barely as his nose brushed against his friend's beak and lingered there.

They stood in silence, neither daring to move. The rabbit's eyelids had also closed and his heart continued to race when Leonardo made no move to show that he was unhappy. Indeed, through the small contact, he could tell that the turtle's entire body was shaking intermittently.

Daringly, Usagi leaned forward again once more, only this time his lips latched on to Leo's.

Leo felt as if his entire world had come to a standstill. He had not dared move when Usagi had kissed his eyelids. Part of him said that is was wrong because they were friends, but another part screamed that he didn't care. And now Usagi was kissing him, his mouth feather light against his own as if waiting and hoping for a reaction. Ignoring the increasingly smaller part of him that said this was not right, Leo started to move his lips in synchronisation with his friend's.

He had never felt such an electrical emotion before. Despite having spent years trying to master his feelings, this one caught him unawares and gripped him in an iron fist and threw him into a wave of ecstasy. It did not compute with him that his arms had wrapped themselves around the smaller waist. It did not register that they stumbled until he toppled backwards onto the bed so that Usagi was straddling him. He did not care that this had just jumped out at him. All that mattered was the fire in his heart that spread throughout his entire being as the kisses became fiercer by the minute.

All too soon, they had to break apart for air and lay gasping, Leo's arms still wrapped around Usagi's slighter form.

Usagi was sure that, if he was not covered in fur, his face would be a bright red from the exertion of kissing Leonardo. As it was, the heat surrounding them was like a blanket as they panted in time with one another.

Leo's expression suddenly changed, alerting Usagi that something may be wrong.

"Leonardo?"

"Why me?" came the small question, so quiet that Usagi almost though that he had misheard him.

"I will be honest Leonardo… Ever since you came to my world… It took me a while before I realised that I felt something towards you more than kinship. I have never cared that you were a ninja and your strength of character… stirred something inside me. That is the only way I can describe it. At the Battle Nexus, you accepted me without question, regardless of me having saved your life. You are determined, kind, compassionate, and a great many other things that I could spend forever listing."

Here, Leo flushed, his cheeks darkening. Never before had anyone described him in such a way. Though he was indeed flattered by Usagi's admittance, it had nothing to do with the rush of longing and he moved an arm so that his fingertips were hovering against the ronin's face.

"Do you wish for me to move away?" Usagi asked as the quiet dragged on.

"No… only… I'm a bit confused… I never imagined… I came here expecting you to scorn me for the way I acted… and now…"

"You need not have such a low opinion of yourself, Leonardo. It is in the past and there is nothing for me to forgive you for."

With that, to Usagi's surprise and joy, Leo initiated another heated kiss.

Leo awoke to the feeling of a furry hand casually tracing patterns on his cheek. Feeling refreshed after his light nap, he slowly opened his eyes and stretched, smiling up at his friend. Though now maybe he should think of him as his lover?

Nothing more than kissing had happened. Usagi was insisting that they take things slowly, and Leo

Agreed completely. If they allowed themselves to be driven by lust then it might ruin the beginnings of whatever this was. The heat had been suppressed and was only triflingly stoked when their lips met.

They had spent many hours enjoying each other's company. Either they lay next to each other and spoke of their lives in general or one would lean in for a chaste kiss that soon intensified and made their nerves tingle with the pleasure. Leo honestly didn't know if they would physically commit to one another without asking permission from the appropriate people, namely Master Splinter.

The turtle let out a small moan. That was another can of worms in itself.

"Leonardo?"

"Sorry, Master Splinter just sprang to mind."

They both grimaced.

"I do not see how your Master would disapprove of this. You may be a ninja and I may be a samurai, but that has never deterred our relationship before this and he has always approved."

"We can't tell him yet. My brothers as well."

"Surely we should seek permission."

Leo sighed. "They wouldn't understand."

"I do not follow."

The turtle gave Usagi a sad smile. "You said it yourself. We have gone our entire lives without much contact or experience with others despite the family that we have gained over the years. We are not used to being accepted, especially on a romantic level."

"But then how would they become used to the idea if we do not tell them?"

Leo hung his head. "I don't know… I need my family… but I don't want to lose this, whatever it is and whatever it may become. They may think that I would lose my focus as leader if I was romantically attached."

Usagi regarded the ninja for a moment. "As much as I do not like concealing things, it may indeed be best for now that we keep this a secret until we can measure what your family's reaction will be. Perhaps if we were seen to be trying to deepen our friendship?"

Leo couldn't help but let his mouth curl into a tiny smirk. "I thought you hated skulking in the shadows." His mouth stretched into a grin when Usagi playfully swatted at him.

"I may be no ninja, but I can still maintain secrecy when I wish. Besides, I do not wish to cause disharmony between you and your family."

"What about Lord Hebi?"

"That snake will soon meet his end. I may be campaigning for Lord Noriyuki's protection, but I am a ronin. I go where I am honour-bound and I would make sure that I would not neglect you."

Leo felt honoured that his friend would give up time for him.

As time passed, Leo and Usagi continued to meet. Sometimes Leo went to the other dimension with his family's knowledge (though they had no clue as to what was really occurring between the two). Other times, Usagi would open a portal directly into the turtle's room and they were both thankful that nobody, especially Master Splinter, heard them or suspected anything.

Usagi, much to his horror, discovered that Leo had no real hobbies apart from the art of ninjutsu or looking after his younger brothers. Yes he did activities with them, but nothing was really of his own volition. With that in mind, when Leonardo came to his world, he would try to encourage his friend to try something other than fighting or meditation. It wasn't that they completely avoided those matters altogether- they frequently sparred or shared meditation sessions- but Usagi was keen to see if Leo was interested in anything else; and it soon became clear that he was rather fond of drawing. Unlike the drawing utensils that Usagi knew the ninja had in his world, Leo was happy enough to sketch on parchment with a quill. He soon started to explore other forms of art, such as writing.

One time, on an official visit to Leo's world, Usagi had tried his hand at understanding his lover's scooter and watched, amazed, as Leo performed a number of acrobatics in a sewer tunnel. He had also witnessed Raphael and Michelangelo performing similar movements with their rollerblades and skateboard, but he had refused to try them as he had no desire to land flat on his face. Much to his chagrin, Leo had hinted that he'd one day persuade him to have a go.

Leo was also keen to learn about Usagi's hobbies, and was delighted when the ronin first took him star-gazing. Having grown up in a polluted city, he had rarely seen the stars and had never learnt the constellations. Of course, in this world they were different, but Leo still enjoyed hearing about the stories behind them. It transpired that Usagi was a great storyteller and would always tell a narrative in a way that it had an essential meaning.

However, a lot of the time was spent lying together and merely talking. They would either lie next to each other or curled together. They chatted about their childhoods, which were naturally different. They spoke of their adventures and of the places they had been and reminisced about things that they had been in on together, the level of their laughter depending on whether Leo's family were near or not. Usagi also admitted to a time long ago when he had once fallen in love with a girl from his village, but had had to leave her when he answered his call as a samurai. The two had remained friends, but Usagi's attraction had soon died down into friendship. Leo had no issues with this, though he smiled and shook his head when Usagi said that he had been young and naïve.

The samurai was also extremely happy that, as they continued to see each other, he could sense that Leonardo was gradually relaxing. True, he and his family no longer had to deal with a number of things since the defeat of the Tengu Shredder, but they were still their city's silent protectors and they still had Hun to think about. Usagi was merely glad that he had somewhat eased his friend's burden.

There were times though when Leo noticed that the rabbit went into deep thought when they were speaking. Though assured that it was nothing, Leo couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong. But whatever inhibitions he had on the matter were quickly wiped away with the strength of Usagi's affection.

"Hey Don?" Mikey asked, poking his head towards the table that was his older brother's laboratory.

"Hey Mike. Something wrong?"

The youngest turtle stared back around the rest of the main area of the new Lair to make sure that nobody else was present before turning back to the mechanic. "Dude… Have you noticed how Leo's been acting recently?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's more relaxed, bro. It's creepy. He's not constantly on our tails about training. Shell, you won't believe what happened earlier, but he actually asked if he could help in the kitchen! He hates cooking and he asked me to teach him! I'm starting to think that the Shredder knocked something loose when we were dragons."

At this, Donatello raised an eyebrow at his baby brother and then facepalmed.

"Mikey…"

"But Bro, Raph's noticed it too. You can't tell me that they've not been arguing less?"

"Whilst I don't think Leo's suffering from a head injury, yes I've noticed. But, Mike, think about it. Karai's basically shut down the Foot, Bishop is leaving us well alone and both Shredders are gone. All we have to worry about is Hun and regular thugs. Yes they could still hurt us, but we're not in constant fear of our lives anymore. Leo's starting to relax because he's realised that there is not so much to worry about."

"We are still talking about Leo right? Our paranoid and constantly worrying older brother?"

"I think Usagi's been a big help with helping him relax."

"How come?"

"Mike, you know that they're trying to develop their friendship more. Yes, Leo still has responsibilities here and Usagi has his own, but I think it's good that Leo has a friend he can turn to."

"What about us? And, dude, it's not as if we're friendless."

"That may be, but Leo isn't as close to any of them like he is Usagi. And yes, we're here for Leo too, but he's been catering for us for most of his life. Why do you think he trains? Despite what Raph constantly moans about, he does not do it to suck up to Master Splinter. He does it to protect us. So I really don't see why he can't be a bit selfish and relax more. He still trains a lot more than us, Mikey, but surely, after all he's done, he deserves to be able to let off some steam."

"As long as he doesn't turn into another Raph again… I guess… It's just I've never seen him like this… Not since we were tots. Okay, maybe not like when we were tots, but he's not let the 'Fearless Leader' thing slip ever."

"You and I both know that nobody is fearless- even Leo. But that doesn't stop him from a great big brother. Just don't worry about it, Mike. We need the downtime, and so does Leo."

So what do you guys reckon? Please feel free to leave a comment. I welcome constructive criticism, but flames will be used to make my dinner instead of my testy cooker

MerlinStar x