#I kinda speed ran this because I'm super busy so I hope it's not just a complete mess

[dandylovesturtles]

Companion piece for Ell's comic about our boys teaming up in the @tmntaucompetition ! It's so cute I had to do something.

I forgot the tag lol @intotheelliwoods

Big thanks again for the perfect 50/50!! Teamwork and friendship rule the day again!

~~~

Leo doesn't expect anyone to be able to see him or hear him. That the other ghost Leo can is already surprise enough, and they had lots of fun between matches.

But other than that he doesn't get his hopes up. It's not like he needs anyone to see him; he participates well enough by puppeteering Donnie (who lets him do it, though with an excessive amount of complaining), so he's not completely bored. And other than the times when he goes to hang out with the other ghost, his brothers are always right there with him, and they make sure he doesn't feel left out.

So it's fine. Everything is fine and cool and dandy and he doesn't need anything more.

But then it's declared that they'll be teaming up with the Leos who are each missing an arm, and the older Leo, the one who seems so nice and cool but who still intimidates Leo a bit, turns and actually looks at him. Not through him, or around him, but at him.

The big Leo points, and now they're both looking his way.

"Are they... looking at me?" His heart jumps in excitement, and he turns to call out, "Hey Raaaaph! The one armed Leos are looking at me!"

He's expecting to need his big brother to translate, but that's okay, because at least it's something. Or hey, maybe these Leos know sign language too-

"Uh, we can hear you, dude."

It hits Leo like a shockwave.

"Wh..."

They can see... and hear him? But how? None of them have managed to achieve that!

Hope soars at the same time the fear of disappointment swims in his gut. If they can see him and hear him, can they... is he... "Am I..."

He stares at his hands in shock. They're the same as ever, and he can't feel anything from them, but then-

"New teammate!"

Then the other Leo is running across the court to him, and he-

hugs him. And Leo can feel it.

Leo melts. He reaches to hug back, and he can, and it's a bizarre feeling, to touch someone else's shell and realize it's his own, but it's not like his life has never been bizarre before.

His hand passes through the robot arm, which isn't a surprise - he can't touch Donnie's battleshell, either. For a second the other Leo stiffens, and Leo figures out the problem fast - moves his arm down so it's not encroaching on the weirdly blank space where his arm should be. The other Leo relaxes again.

"Oops... Looks like my robot arm still phases through..."

It doesn't matter to Leo. A one armed hug is still a hug. He realizes too late that he's shivering into it, and boy is that embarrassing, but the other Leo doesn't call him out.

"Haah... You're going to put Donnie out of business."

...

Afterward, after he's properly introduced himself to the older Leo (which was nerve-wracking but ended up being fine, actually), they get food for everyone who can eat and then find a place where they can all sit, waiting for the next match (and hopefully playing the right sport this time). Donnie has gone into full science mode, goggles down as he examines the two arms his alternate universe selves built, though the other two Leos seem so used to this behavior they barely react to it.

The other Leo perches on the big Leo's lab, snuggling in against his robot arm. He's so familiar with big Leo; it's clear that they rely on each other a lot. Leo's glad, because if he had lost an arm in the Krang invasion without any kind of support he's not sure what he would do. At least they have each other.

Big Leo pats his lap and looks at Leo, who freezes.

"Uh... is that okay?"

"Yeah." Big Leo laughs and jostles the other Leo, who scowls at him and swats at his plastron. "This one uses me as a climbing tree all the time."

"It's your own fault for being so big, you crinkled crape."

Leo hesitates a moment longer, but then he climbs up into the big guy's lap and settles in against his remaining arm.

It's...

ridiculously cozy, what the heck! No wonder other him does it all the time!

Leo curls up into the older Leo's embrace. He's shaking again, his whole body lighting up at the touch, and it's so embarrassing but Big Leo just pulls him in tighter without saying a word. He nuzzles in a little without thinking about it, and no one says anything about that, either.

"Comfy, Ghost Pepper?" asks Big Leo, and Leo looks up at him.

"Ghost Pepper? Is that me?"

"Yep." He puts his robot hand on other Leo's head. "This one is Pea Sprout, so you can be Ghost Pepper. I can't call you both Leo."

"You can call him whatever you want," says the other Leo, wiggling to get more comfy. "Wrinkled raison... Crinkly cantaloupe... Crusty carrot..."

Leo laughs. "What are these nicknames?" With that list, Ghost Pepper isn't so bad.

"Trust me, they all fit."

Big Leo makes a very put-upon noise but doesn't protest to the names, so Leo decides he'll have to come up with some of his own.

They chat for awhile about their worlds, the differences between them, funny things their brothers have been up to. The other Leo shows both him and Donnie what the array of buttons on his arm do (no demonstration of the self-destruct button is given). Leo tells them about how Draxum gave them magic fighting lessons.

Eventually, the other Leo starts to doze off. A quick look around shows Leo that his Raph and Mikey are snoozing, too, Mikey curled up on Raph's back. Donnie's still awake, messing with his phone as usual, though his half-lidded eyes betray that he'll probably join them eventually. He sits apart from them, enjoying having his personal space back for now.

"If you want to nap too, go ahead," says big Leo.

"Oh, uh... I can't sleep like this." He rubs at his head. "At best I just kinda... zone out."

"Oh." Big Leo looks sad about that, but he nods. "Well, that's okay. We can keep each other company, then."

"Mm..." Leo twists to get more comfy, and big Leo rubs his hand down his arm. It makes his shudder a little, but big Leo continues to be a real bro and not comment on it. "Am I going to be this cuddly when I get old?"

Big Leo laughs. "If you want to be, I guess you will."

He thinks that maybe he wants to be like this Leo. Kind and strong and so sure of himself and surprisingly very cozy.

"Maybe... I guess I wouldn't mind it," he says, and big Leo chuckles again.

He pulls him in tight, and Leo feels safer than he has in weeks.