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boots-with-the-fur-club · 29 days

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The Teenage Mutant Phantom of the Opera Chapter 9, final chapter!

@daboyau

“Leo! Stop!” Usagi shouts.

The crowd watches them all in confusion, not knowing yet if this is just some weird twist to the opera.

Other actors on the stage know it’s not in the slightest.

“He kissed you! On stage!” Leo shouts back, gripping Donnie’s collar tightly.

“It was a fake stage kiss to get you down here!” Usagi insists.

Leo looks over at him with betrayal all over his face.

“You……helped him trick me? You wanted me to do this!?”

“It was the only way! I can’t just let you keep being the phantom!”

Leo’s face drops completely and he turns back towards Donnie.

“You turned him against me!”

Donnie smirks up at him.

“He knows you’re living here and about the wall! Nobody will let you stay here anymore. You’re coming home with me.”

Leo punches him, making everyone watching have collective noises of shock.

“Wherever you live is ruined by your mere presence! You destroyed everything I’ve worked towards! I hate you!”

Donnie recovers from the punch fairly easily.

“I’ve heard and gotten worse! I wasn’t asking either!” He suddenly plants his feet firmly on the ground and lifts lower half up.

Leo gets shoved forward which allows Donnie to slip out from under him.

Leo stands up and grits his teeth.

“I don’t care what you do, this ends now!”

The actors make their way off stage in a panic which clues the audience in on the fact that none of this is supposed to be happening.

All of them begin running as well.

Donnie takes out his tech bō that was folded up in his costume pocket.

“This is ending now. You’re not spending a second more away from our family.”

Usgai moves between them.

“Both of you! There’s no reason to fight! Leo, staying here alone isn’t healthy for you. You’re not well. You need to talk to more people than just me, and you need someone to take care of you! The life you’re living isn’t really living.”

Leo can’t help but be angry.

“How am I supposed to want to go with him or trust you after what you’ve done!?”

“Well, all you have to do is- THROW!” Donnie launches his tech bō at Leo.

Leo dodges at the last moment. The tech bō flies into a metallic box that starts shooting out sparks.

The sparks begin setting the wooden stage ablaze.

“Donnie, get the fire extinguisher!” Usagi warns.

Donnie rushes to grab one while Leo feels himself fill with fear. His entire body starts shaking uncontrollably.

The fire spreads way too quickly for the fire extinguisher to stop it.

They all suddenly find themselves becoming surrounded pretty fast.

Donnie panics as he looks around, abandoning the now empty fire extinguisher.

“We have to get out!”

“We don’t have a gap in the fire to get out with!” Usagi says with fear.

Leo takes a shaky breath at hearing how scared he is and tears open a portal beneath them.

The three fall through and land with a thud on the catwalk.

The fire hasn’t reached up there yet but the heat and smoke have already made its way.

Leo is on his hands and knees, unable to keep himself up anymore from sheer terror.

While his brain doesn’t hold any perceivable memories of the fire that deformed him, his body clearly does.

Donnie and Usagi cough as their lungs burn.

“Leo, you have to teleport us out of the theatre!” Donnie shouts.

“You…..you did this to me….you’ve taken everything from me….why should I even want to leave here!?” Leo tears up.

“Because your life won’t end if you leave! It’ll just be different! Probably even better! If we don’t get out, it definitely ends here!” Usagi pleads.

“How will it get better!? Nobody is going to want me! Not his family, and not you! Not after what I’ve done! I loved you and now it’s all ruined!” Leo tears up even more.

Usagi is stunned into silence.

The pictures were an indication of obsession, but he didn’t know it was love.

“Leo! It doesn’t matter! Dad, Raph, Mikey, none of them care how many people you killed!” Donnie insists.

Usagi snaps out of it.

“Wha-the phantom never killed anyone!”

“Seriously? Well, that further proves my point anyways! Yuichi isn’t going anywhere and neither am I! I did all this just to bring you back with me! You are not going to be alone! In fact, Mikey not even let you go to the bathroom alone and it might get awkward!”

Leo starts gripping his mask, wrestling with what to do.

An ember falls at his hand, making it jolt and nudging the mask off his face.

He’s too late in grabbing it.

The starry mask falls off and is consumed by the flames.

He grips his bare face instead, looking back at Usagi and Donnie.

Donnie has moved closer, trying to shield both Leo and Usagi.

Everyone’s coughing gets worse as the smoke billows around them.

Leo shuts his eyes tight and creates another portal under them all.

They wind up outside on the ground, a safe distance away from the theatre.

The three of them are wheezing from the smoke still in their lungs.

Leo’s eyes start closing.

The last thing he sees is Donnie reaching towards him as black spots take over his vision.

When he wakes up again, bright lights blind him.

He squints and attempts to lift his hand to shield his eyes but feels that something is holding it down.

Once he glances down he sees the rat there. He’s asleep on and holding his hand.

Leo desperately wants to move his hand away, but he quickly remembers that his home is gone and his secret is out.

He and his family are the only people he has since Usagi probably will never want to see him again. There’s no way Donnie was right.

Tears start dripping down his face. His body shakes slightly.

Splinter starts to stir and he blinks away sleep before his eyes widen as he sees Leo awake.

Leo moves his legs a bit, insecure knowing his mask is gone and his burn is fully on display.

Splinter’s eyes fill with tears.

His mouth opens and closes.

He’s trying to figure out what to say.

Leo waits, not wanting to be the one to speak.

Splinter finally does.

“I dreamt about what you would look like if I hadn’t failed, sometimes.”

Failed?

“I dream of you a lot. I thought about you every day. I….I wondered what you would have liked. How your personality would be. I never forgot the way….you smiled at me, reached for me. I was supposed to protect you. I know I didn’t. I will never, ever forgive myself for it. You hate me and I don’t blame you. You deserve so much more than me but I want to at least give you something. I swear on my life that I will keep you safe this time. I will make sure you have a place you can be comfortable in, and you’re always going to have someone to rely on. You don’t have to love me, or even like me, but I need you to let me take care of you.” Splinter continues, very close to just absolutely sobbing.

Leo’s starting to get blinded by tears.

There’s so many things he wants to say, to ask.

Somehow, even with all the options, he can’t figure out which one.

The harsher options are dying on his tongue when he can see that Splinter meant every word he said.

“Did you always want me?” Leo finally asks.

Splinter holds both hands over Leo’s and squeezes.

“From the moment I held you.”

Leo pulls his hand away.

Splinter’s hands stay in the air where he held it. He purses his lips as he tries to contain his heartbreak.

Leo slowly sits up and pulls him into a tight hug.

Splinter can no longer prevent his crying and sobs into Leo’s shoulder.

Leo allows tears to pour down his face.

He’s so warm, and his fur is soft, smooth.

“Y-You’re not going to change your mind? You promise?”

Splinter pulls alway to put his hands on his face.

“There’s nothing you can ever do to make me change my mind.” His thumb rubs the burn on Leo’s face.

“Even…..even with this?” Leo asks quietly,

“You’re perfect, Leo.”

Leo takes a shaky breath.

He’s perfect?

He’s perfect.

“Thank you.”

A loud and long gasp catches their attention.

Mikey is standing there, jaw dropped as he holds a bunch of vending machine snacks in his arms.

“You’re hugging without me!? No fair!”

Splinter let’s go of Leo, knowing what’s about to happen.

Leo doesn’t.

Mikey dumps the snacks onto a table and leaps into Leo’s arms.

He holds him out of reflex and is reminded of how he clung to him when they first met.

“Are….all of your sons like this?” Leo asks as Mikey starts nuzzling his cheek.

This doesn’t make his skin crawl like last time.

“Clingy? Yes. Desperate for more family? Also yes.” Splinter answers.

“This is so great! I was worried you wouldn’t come live with us after last time! You can taste my cooking and look at my art and we can watch cooking shows together and have sleepovers!” Mikey’s eyes sparkle.

“Uh….sure.” Leo says sort of awkwardly.

Mikey squeals happily and keeps holding onto him like he’s a favorite toy.

He doesn’t exactly hate the feeling.

“Donnie! Get back to bed! You need to rest still!” A voice shouts from behind the curtain.

Leo recognizes it as Raph despite only hearing his voice once.

The curtain is thrown open by Donnie who’s in a hospital gown.

His eyes scan the room from Splinter, then Mikey, then finally on Leo. A proud smirk spreads across his face.

“I knew you woke up!”

Raph looks over at Leo as well. Their eyes meet only for Leo to look away uncomfortably.

Even though Splinter said they were all enthusiastic, the last time he saw Raph he was far more cautious than both Donnie and Mikey.

Mikey sees this interaction and a playful look spreads across his face before he let’s go of Leo and hops onto the floor.

“Raph! Leo is freezing, and he told me he hasn’t eaten in days!”

Leo looks at him quizzically.

“I never said-“

Raph charges forward, grabbing the snacks from the table in one hand and an extra blanket from the cabinet.

He wraps Leo up snuggly in the blanket while also putting an arm around his shoulders.

His plastron is against Leo’s arm as he opens up a snack and places it near Leo’s mouth.

“Come on, no little brother of mine is starvin on my watch.”

Leo takes a bite of the candy in front of him as he sees he has no choice.

Raph has an incredibly comfortable arm that he leans his head against as he keeps getting fed.

Donnie crosses his arms and smiles smugly.

“You never stood a chance against being in this family.”

Leo swallows the last bite of the snack.

“Where’s….Yuichi?”

“His smoke inhalation wasn’t as bad as ours so he was able to go home. I suppose not even mutation can trump our turtle DNA’s pension for upper respiratory issues.” Donnie explains.

Leo frowns, pressing his face more against Raph’s arm.

“He’s not coming back. Not to see me.”

Donnie’s smile turns into a smirk.

“My dear brother, it’s visiting hours.”

Leo’s eyes light up.

“Is he…?”

“He texted me a few minutes ago that he was on his way here. He’s coming to see you too.”

Leo smiles.

Splinter takes Raoh and Mikey with him to give them some privacy when Usagi shows up.

“Hey, Leo. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. I guess I’ll be going home with Donnie after this. I….I’m sorry. I put you through a lot.” Leo looks down.

Usagi wrings his hands together.

“You did things that weren’t right. You also helped me when no one else would. This has been….a lot….and I’m going to need some time to figure it all out.”

“I….understand….”

“But….when I do, I’d like us to start over. As friends. Will that be okay with you?” Usagi asks nervously.

Leo slowly nods.

“I know I can’t expect you to return my feelings after what I did. I don’t deserve another chance, but thank you for giving me one. I hope you and Donnie will be happy together.”

Usagi and Donnie blush deeply.

Donnie makes a cut it out gesture just in time for Usagi to catch it.

“Y-You like me!?”

“Leo! He didn’t know!”

“Whoops….”

Usagi covers his face with his ears in embarrassment.

“I can’t believe I’m this oblivious! I was just really happy to have two friends!”

“And….now that you know….?” Donnie questions.

Usagi moves one ear out of the way.

“It wouldn’t be fair to you or Leo for me to give an answer right now. I think we all need time.”

Donnie sighs in relief.

“It has been somewhat exhausting experience. Don’t worry about my feelings. I want to focus on helping Leo as well.”

Usagi smiles softly at them both.

“Then I’ll let you get to it. I’ll message Donnie when I’m ready. See you later.” He leaves the room.

Leo looks at Donnie.

“Congratulations, I guess you won.”

Donnie walks over and bumps his arm against Leo’s.

“I say we both did.”

#the teenage mutant phantom of the opera #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #rise fanfiction #tw fire #tw trauma #tw smoke #tw obsessive love #tw obsessive behavior #tw obsession #tw obsessive thoughts #leoichi #donsagi

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