Thank you all for being so patient. I know my updates have been incredibly slow; sometimes life gets in the way and tries to ruin my plans.

Anyway, here you go! Last chapter of what started as a V-Day fic and ended up after 4th of July ._.' … yeah.

Oh and for old and new readers: this story follows the events on: "It's ninja sleepover time" and "Who's back?" (But mostly "Who's back?")

Enjoy.

…

Cupid's forced disappearance took Leonardo by surprise; not even his ninja reflexes could have foretold this would happen. Now there he was, with no clue of both Cupid and Who's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Cupid struggled and squirmed trying to free herself from whoever had dragged her at the back on the stage.

"Let me go! When my father knows about this, he'll…!"

"Don't panic! I won't hurt you" The cloaked figure revealed itself making the goddess gasp loudly.

"You? B-but you're… you were… weren't you supposed to be… h-how did you-?"

"You just keep watching, I'll explain later"

The masked girl was still on stage playing her guitar flawlessly and making the public go wild. Leo noticed his brothers were more than enjoying the moment and took this opportunity to mix with the crowd and try to find Cupid. Whoever Leo asked about the pink haired girl would give him a negative answer. This search was utterly frustrating.

'Who the heck took that crazy monster girl away…' Leo thought '…but most importantly, where is Who!'

When the red haired guitar girl finished her song, everyone cheered for her and applauded till their hands started to ache. She bowed elegantly and smiled brightly at the roaring crowd. The mysterious girl left her guitar on its stand and grabbed the microphone.

"Thanks everyone! S'been an incredible night, huh? Excellent musicians and amazing songs… but… everything's gotta end at some point"

Everyone roared 'no' and demanded another song. "Ya want another one?" The crowd cheered and whistled approvingly.

"Dis next one in particular, I never thought I'd be singing it; never thought it'd have a meaning for me either but…" she picked her guitar again and fixed her mask "…it's the only song I can use to answer a question a dearest friend of mine asked me this morning and if he's here, I want him to know the answer is yes… I forgive you…"

Leonardo's heart stopped; this had to be a weird coincidence of some sort but something inside him told him maybe and just maybe… this wasn't a coincidence after all.

"You've always been part of my life and there's no way I'm letting you go … oniisan"

The ninja's eyes opened like saucers after hearing the familiar term. "…one-chan?"

The lights turned softer and the band began to play.

Oh oh ooooh
Oh oh ooooh

You were in college working part time waiting tables
Left the small town, never looked back
I was a flight risk with a fear of falling
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts
I say: "can you believe it?"
As we're lying on the couch
The moment I can see it
Yes, yes, I can see it now

Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?
You put your arm around me for the first time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together
And there's a drawer of my things at your place
You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded
You said we'll never make my parents' mistakes
But we got bills to pay
We got nothing figured out
When it was hard to take
Yes, yes, this is what I thought about

Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?
You put your arm around me for the first time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?
You saw me start to believe for the first time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Oh oh ohh
And I remember that fight, 2:30 a.m.
As everything was slipping right out of our hands
And I ran out crying and you followed me out into the streets
Braced myself for the goodbye
'Cause that's all I've ever known
And you took me by surprise
You said: "I'll ever leave you alone"

You said:
"I remember how we felt sitting by the water
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter
She is the best thing that's ever been mine"

(Hold on, make it last)
(Hold on, never turn back)
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine
(Yes, yes), Do you believe it?
(Yes, yes), We're gonna make it now
(Yes, yes) and I can see it
I can see it now

Once the song was over, the lights of the scenario turned off but the people still cheered and yelled Operetta's name. When the lights went back on, she was gone.

…

Backstage a very excited Cupid waited for the girl to make her appearance to congratulate her. She had been pretty clever on disguising herself as Operetta and having fooled everyone. The real Operetta and Who had just traded clothes: Who would be her and Operetta would be "Miku", Who's previous disguise. The pink haired monster girl noticed Who as she walked downstairs and waved. Who, seeing herself discovered, had no other option than reveal her true self to the cheerful goddess. She removed the wig and Operetta's mask.

"That was amazing! Operetta was right when she talked to me about you and your voice!" Cupid exclaimed.

"Thank you. So… you are the famous Cupid, huh?"

"Yeah, and I suppose you know everything already. Operetta says she told you" Cupid said sheepishly.

"Precisely; now I wanna know what made you think you had the right to play with my emotions, forcing me to fall in love randomly and get hurt till the point I almost end up like a zombie!" Who said in a demanding voice.

Cupid's pale pink cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment. She stared at her shoes while playing with her fingers, the young ghoul sure never thought she'd find herself in a situation like this. "Well, my father gave me a task many weeks ago; to find someone never touched by love and help-"

"Hold it!" Who interrupted "I may be cold sometimes but that doesn't mean I don't know what love is"

"Let the poor ghoul talk, honey" Operetta said, giving an encouraging gesture at Cupid.

"When I saw the way things turned out and almost made you unable to participate in this competition, I brought Operetta to help and… it wasn't until a few minutes ago… that I realized you never were in need of my help"

Who arched a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Your performance; only someone who's been already touched by love can sing the way you did" Cupid explained "Feeling the lyrics and living them as well… making the song yours"

"Well, I don't see how I've been 'touched', Cupid. I just had a long night of rehearsals with Operetta"

"I didn't do anything, sweetie. You did" The red haired girl said with a smile. "And we both know who inspired you to sing like that; there's no use on hiding it anymore"

Now it was Who's time to blush and not precisely in embarrassment.

"It's… not what you're thinking" the girl stated firmly after turning around to hide her face. Too bad Cupid had already noticed.

The pink haired girl chuckled. "Well, I can only say the truth remains in your heart"

"Ghouls, they're gonna announce who won!" Operetta exclaimed.

"…we have listened to incredible and gifted musicians and we have been delighted by their performances but there can be only one winner and you, dear public, have decided!"

Tension took over the room, everyone was silent; no one dared to even breathe. In their seats, the public crossed their fingers and so did the four ninjas who already knew the one they voted for was someone familiar to them. Maybe too familiar.

Frida yawned lazily in her seat near the stage, waiting for the moment they announced the winner who she expected would be her though the strange looking girl had made quite an impact and she wasn't a bad singer either. However, she remained calmed and confident with an arrogant smirk on her face.

Backstage, Cupid, the real Operetta and Who, still disguised as her purple-skinned friend, also waited impatiently for the results.

"The undisputable winner is… OPERETTA!"

The once silent room filled with screams of joy and whistling of all the fans who now demanded to see the mysterious girl. Operetta and Cupid smiled and Who and nodded. The disguised girl picked the wig and rapidly pulled her long dark hair up in a ponytail bun which she covered with the red fake hair and after that, she put her friend's mask back on her face.

Once ready, she took a deep breath and ran upstairs to meet the cheering crowd; she waved and smiled at them and then, in the presence of tons of people, she removed her mask and wig letting them fall at her feet. Frida hit the closest person she could find in the arm all out of fury and left the room as fast as she could.

The moment Who revealed herself and listened to the crowd cheer even more loudly, she felt a powerful wave of energy hit her directly where her heart was. All that coldness and emptiness had been banished, hopefully, forever.

…

9:45 pm. Most of the people had left now; the place was full of streamers, popped balloons and discarded things. It was safe for Who to leave her dressing room, so after hugging her new ghoul friends good bye, she made her way towards the exit but first, she would go back to stage and stand there alone, remembering the crowd cheering for her. She was still wearing Operetta's clothes and mask, just for the fun of it.

Familiar voices called her from the distance; she turned around and noticed three ninjas in colored masks waving at her and running to the empty stage too. Smiling, she went to meet them.

"I love, love, love your costume!" Mikey said cheerfully "And what a cool mask… I want one!"

"I gotta agree with the knucklehead. Cool costume! And a great show!" Raph seconded him.

"You should have seen Frida's face when you took off the mask and the wig" Don said "She was furious!"

Who laughed. "I would've loved to see her throwing a tantrum!"

"Guys!" Leo ran towards his family.

"Leo, where the shell were you?" Raph asked.

"I… kinda got lost in the crowd"

"You totally missed your girl's performance, bro" Mikey giggled "It just needed a bunch of sparkly hearts and roses"

"You can blame my vocal coach; she picked the song" Who explained.

The guys stared at each other and then back at Who. "Riiiight~"

She rolled her eyes. "Let's go get a pizza. I'm starving"

The ninjas and the girl abandoned the scenario; the lights slowly turning off one by one.

"Quick question, Who. Weren't you singing that cute song for me?" Mikey asked batting his non-existent lashes.

"You ain't her oniisan, ain't that true Fearless?" Raph said with a teasing smirk.

"Awwww! Why does Leo get the girl?" the youngest pouted. "Yeah, I know she was moody and mean to me but don't I deserve to get the girl at least once?"

"Mikey, now you're being stupid. Don't make me hit you" Raph warned.

"It's not like they actually are together their just friends again" Don stated.

"They might fool you, my dear brother, but they don't fool me"

"That's it, c'mere!"

"AHHH! DON, LEO… SAVE ME!"

Leo laughed while he stared the scene before his eyes: Don trying to protect Mikey from a very angry Raph but getting tricked by the youngest in the process. Now Don and Raph chased the orange clad ninja.

"Leo…" Who's voice came from behind the sword wielder. He turned around just to meet his friend's slightly red face; she was staring at her feet, her arms crossed tightly against her chest.

"I…I just… wanted to thank you"

"For what?" the ninja asked in confusion.

"For coming" Who explained. "I thought you wouldn't be there after… you know… our argument"

Leo rubbed the back of his head, his face heating up against his will. "It was really nothing. Besides, I wasn't going to miss my little sis' big event" he ended ruffling the girl's hair.

"Hey! Not the hair!" Who protested. "And I'm not the little sis; we're the same age"

"Yo Leo! You coming or what?" Raph called from the exit door.

Leo saw Cupid and Operetta standing in the shadows and smiled. "You guys wait for me in the hauler. I have to make a quick stop"

While his brothers and Who left the theater, Leo walked back in and saw both monster girls smiling at him as well.

"So this is the real Operetta, huh?" Leo asked shaking the purple skinned girl's hand.

"Da one and only, honeybunch" she said with a wink.

"Thanks a lot for helping my friend, really. She deserved to win after all what she's been through"

"Nah, I didn't do all da job y'know? Lil' girl has a special gift… and a very special someone" Operetta teased.

"Not you too!" Leo whined. "It's bad enough I have to hear that from my brothers all the time"

"I better leave now; daddy must be probably worried about me. Those catacombs need more than one phantom to stay safe, y'know?" With this Operetta walked towards the backdoor and disappeared into the shadows.

"Well, my job here is done: your friend is not heartless or emotionless and I think after this weird experience, she'll look at love with new eyes. And she won't be the only one" Cupid said with a knowing smirk.

Before walking away she hugged the blue-clad ninja and placed a something on his hands. "You know how much she loves blue roses"

Leo stared at the rose and sighed. "Cupid, don't insist! I-"

He was shocked to find himself alone. Cupid had left… maybe forever. Leo let out a chuckle and forced a smile; he was going to miss that monster girl after all.

"Good bye, crazy love goddess"

…

It was midnight when the guys and Who arrived to the lair. They were full of pizza and sodas and dead tired so they all slumped lazily on the worn out couch.

"So, what are you gonna do with all the money you won from the competition?" Don asked.

"I don't really need this much, to be honest" Who answered.

"Cool! More for us!"

"Mikey!"

"I'll give half of it to the concert hall where I work at. They could use the money to repair some stuff and buy new instruments" the girl said resting her head on the couch's armrest.

"What about the other half?" Raph asked this time.

"I'll use it to take us all somewhere nice where we can relax and forget about the city for a while. We all need vacations!"

"Awesome! I wanna go to Hawaii!" Mikey cheered.

"We could stay at the farmhouse and use the money later for emergencies" Don suggested.

"Don! Don't be a party pooper!" Mikey protested.

"I'll tell you what: we buy what we need and then we go somewhere nice. Sounds good?"

"I'm good with that" the turtles said in unison.

From his spot on the floor, Leo played with the rose's petals absentmindedly. Then, he noticed the note attached to it and read it in silence; the note was signed C. A. Cupid.

'Someone has to give the first step. Go for it!'

He sighed. It seemed that nobody would stop teasing him while he lived. His concentration was abruptly interrupted by his youngest brother.

"Lookie what Leo got for you, Whoey~" Mikey grinned mischievously holding the blue rose he had managed to steal from Leo.

"Mikey!" the eldest brother protested. "Give me back that-"

"Is it really for me?" Who asked in wonder. Leo looked away but couldn't hide his embarrassed, red face on time.

"I- uh… you… well, it's your favorite, so…"

The dark haired girl smiled. "Thanks. I love it"

If there were voices in the background, nor Who either Leo were hearing it. She simply opted for caressing the soft petals and smelling the subtle fragrance while Leo silently walked away, letting his brothers tease him all what they wanted. After all, it was just a rose. A token of friendship. They were in good terms again and everything would be the same. However, Cupid's last words back at the theater and the note she had written were still haunting Leo's mind.

'Someone has to give the first step…' he thought.

He spared a glance at his family again; the teasing had stopped and now they were watching funny videos on some random channel. His eyes landed on the only girl in the room.

What if Cupid was right and she wasn't the only one who had changed? What if Cupid's arrows didn't work on him because he was indeed…

The sword wielder didn't dare to finish that thought.

'I don't think that will happen now'

For some reason, he glanced at the girl's direction once again; she waved good night at the other turtles and then walked across the living room very slowly with the blue rose on her hands and a bright smile on her lips.

The same smile was growing on the blue-clad turtle's own face as his thoughts turned more positive.

'Maybe someday… yeah, someday…'

THE END… is it?