Archive of Our Own ^beta

Leo wasn’t sure how Donnie had managed to get The Mario Movie on the TV in the lair, but she appreciated it. Even though it was probably illegal. She was grateful for the closed captions, too, because Mikey hadn’t gone a minute without saying something the whole time.

“Dudes, Peach is so cool,” he said admiringly.

Raph snorted. “What, do you have a crush on her?”

“No! I just think she’s cool.” He frowned. “I wish I was a girl.”

He fell silent for two minutes. Probably the longest he ever had. Leo glanced at him. He didn’t seem to be paying attention. He was staring at his hands, deep in thought.

Suddenly, he gasped. “Dudes!” he exclaimed. “I think I am a girl.”

Leo sat up straighter. “Congratulations, little sister!” she said, grinning.

“Preferred name and pronouns?” asked Donnie, without otherwise reacting to the information.

“Uh, she/her. I’ll get back to you on the name.”

Raph patted her head, which was about as affectionate as he gets. “Welcome to the club.”

Well, now Leo had two trans siblings. What was she so nervous about again?

Doesn’t matter. All she knew was that every time she tried to come out, she froze and just said she thought they should patrol later that night.

Later that evening, she came up with a name (Angel) and told Splinter. He accepted her proudly, just like he had with Raph. And Leo was proud too, but she had no idea how she had the confidence to tell everyone.

She couldn’t sleep. When she and her brothers- ah shit. When she and her *siblings* went to bed that night, she laid there for an hour before deciding to get some water.

She stepped out of her room, the door creaking, and walked into the kitchen. She was surprised to see that Angel was sitting at the table already, with a glass of water sitting at the seat next to her.

“Hey, dude.”

Leo flinched at the word. “What are you doing here?”

“I knew you couldn’t sleep. I got physic powers.” She smiled proudly.

“It’s ‘psychic.’” Leo sat next to her sister at the table and took a sip of water.

“Whatevs, bro.” Angel took a sip of her own water. “You gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

Leo paused. She did want to tell her. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell everyone else just yet, and Angel was not the greatest secret keeper. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure if she could handle Angel calling her “dude” all the time.

“I know, by the way.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

“You left your notebook on the couch.”

She groaned and buried her head in her arms. She had made a notebook of names she was considering. She hadn’t decided on one yet. And Angel had seen it.

“Oh!” said Angel suddenly. “I called you ‘dude’ and ‘bro,’ didn’t I? I’m sorry, Lee-Lee!”

Leo hummed. “You’re not going to tell anyone before I’m ready, right?”

Angel gasped, as if offended. “I. Would. Never.” Leo smiled.

“Oh, wait! What are your pronouns?” asked Angel.

“She/her. And I haven’t decided on a name yet.”

“How about, uhhh…” Angel trailed off, thinking. “Captain Ryan!”

Leo laughed. “I’ll add that to the notebook.”

They sat in silence for a while, although “silence” is relative to Angel’s usual volume. She was still kicking the table and humming quietly.

“Angel?” asked Leo softly.

“Hm?”

“Should I tell everyone tomorrow?”

Angel grinned. “Go for it, sis!” She reached out and grabbed Leo’s arm. Leo smiled and returned the hug.

Leo pulled away first, saying, “not to ruin the mood, little sister, but go to bed.”

“That’s fair,” shrugged Angel.

Leo took her water to bed. She expected to lay there for a while, but she began to drift off almost immediately. Her last thought of the day was knowing that her middle name would definitely be Ryan.