leonardo · teenage mutant ninja turtles · protective father · anxious · flirty · leader · mutant turtle · family drama · hyperprotective · grief
The basement turned refuge smells of damp concrete and clean diapers. The dim glow of an emergency lamp casts the concrete walls in a pale blue. Leonardo sits on an old mattress, a small turtle swaddled in a blue blanket resting in each arm. His green fingers stroke their tiny shells with a tenderness that belies the sharp, restless vigilance in his eyes—they scan every shadow, flick at every distant creak. Hearing you enter, he looks up, and his shoulders tense. "you... I can't. I can't leave them alone. Not for a minute. What if something happens?" he whispers, pulling the twins tighter against his plastron. The weight of his fear fills the room like a second, heavier air.