Wow has it been an awful long time since I last uploaded any stories, and for that I sincerely apologise! After I uploaded the last story I decided to take a break in order to focus on my university essays and exams, but when they were finished I found it hard to get back into writing again. I was working a lot before uni finished, then it was a focus on job applications and sorting out graduation and just life generally getting in the way, as it tends to do ;) Though now I have a full-time job and am starting university again part-time from the end of September, so stories will probably be even more sparse, but I will try my best :)
Anyway, I hope you guys find this story worth the wait :) It's another idea that was inspired by Sairey13 during one of our conversations and is focussed on Leo and Splinter just after they get back to New York. I know it's been a long time since that episode, and I am loving the new episode that aired recently, cannot wait to see more :D , but I had a lot of ideas with that genre, so it's taken a long time to get them all out!
Obligatory disclaimer - I do not own TMNT, as it is currently taken by Nickelodeon, and what a wonderful job they are doing :)
All throughout the ride from Shredder's lair to their new home, which Mikey had now deemed as Antonio's Pizza Place, as if they didn't already practically live there, Leo had noticed it. Splinter had been staring at him curiously, even mournfully, but the blue banded turtle could not quite figure out why. Normally perhaps he would never have noticed, after all their father was a master ninja and was very good at being unseen. It must be the recent events which had caused that skill to slip, Leo reasoned. Splinter had been through a lot since they were separated during the invasion, and admittedly while Leo was very relieved to see their father alive after all this time, he was, dare he admit it, worried when they saw what had become of him.
The blue banded turtle was brought out of his musings by his youngest brother, who had taken to whining and flopping over the mothball-ridden sofa at the lack of a television to watch.
"Knock it off Mikey!" Raph whacked their orange banded brother upside the head, earning another whinging protest.
"But it's TV, it's a necessity!" Was Mikey's pitiful attempt at a counter.
"Michelangelo," Splinter said warningly. The orange cladded brother backed down, pacified when Leo came over with some paper and crayons that April had let the youngest borrow from the Farmhouse when they left. With Mikey now occupied, Leo turned his attention back to their father, but was again interrupted, this time by Donnie.
"I've had a good look and it seems as though this will be a suitable home for now, but there are some things we will really need from the lair, especially if I'm to continue my retro mutagen experiments,"
Raph and Casey looked set to volunteer themselves for the task, but Splinter shook his head, "We have all had a long day, and any attempt to return tonight will be too high a risk, it can wait until the morning," Everyone nodded, being exhausted from the day's events, both physically and emotionally, and very ready for some well-earned rest.
There was a moment of silence, no one quite knowing what to do in terms of sleeping arrangements. It wasn't like the farmhouse or the lair when all they had to do what split the bedrooms. Leo glanced at Splinter, watching again as the rat caught himself staring and turned away, before taking a deep breath and assessing what they had to work with. He told April to take the sofa, finding it fairer than trying to divide one sofa between the rest of them. She tried to protest, saying he needed it more because of his leg, and at the mention of his previously injured limb Leo could have sworn he saw their father's tail twitch subtly. However, he gently declined, insisting she take it, not only to save any fighting over it, but for his pride. His leg hadn't hurt him that much for a week or two now, but knew that he still had to be careful. That left the floor to divide up. Considering Donnie's temporary lab was going to be in the back of the parlour, he put the scientist and himself near the back and the others spread around the front. Hopefully Raph, Casey and Mikey would behave with Splinter sleeping nearby.
There were no protests, and whether this was because the arrangements were fine, Splinter was there, or everyone was tired Leo really didn't care. All that mattered right now was that everyone went to sleep so he had a chance to talk to Splinter, who had excused himself to the back of the shop for now in order to meditate.
Leo helped Donnie hand out the blankets and sleeping bags they brought from the Farmhouse then waited until he could tell that everyone was asleep. Raph and Casey were snoring away as usual, Mikey was snuggled up to his teddy bear, mumbling in his sleep, Donnie had managed to fidget his way to the back of the sofa and was whistling softly, and April was soundly, and the only one silently, sleeping on the sofa. The blue banded brother carefully made his way to the back of the shop, having stayed with Mikey until he had fallen asleep, and found their father tucked away in the corner. To anyone else it would appear their Sensei was indeed meditating, but having spent so much time partaking in and learning it alongside him, Leo knew Splinter was far from a peaceful meditative state.
"Father," Leo whispered, kneeling in front of the rat.
"Yes Leonardo," the blue banded turtle once again spotted the curious look in those warm brown eyes. The younger fidgeted with his hands, not entirely sure how to put what it was he wanted to ask, or even whether he should ask at all. Maybe he had been merely been seeing things? No. He had to make sure there was nothing wrong.
Splinter waited patiently for his eldest to reply, but the younger seemed to be having trouble forming what he wanted to say into words. The rat frowned at the distressed look on his son's face, despising that it had become something so frequent too soon for his liking.
"It's just that, well you, I mean I've noticed," Leo sighed in frustration.
"Calm yourself my son, the words will flow more clearly," The master watched as his student took a deep breath.
"Ever since we found you in Shredder's lair," Leo saw the disgusted face his sensei pulled at their archenemy's name, with which he most certainly agreed, "Well, I've noticed you've been staring at me, and I'm not sure why,"
Splinter froze. He had hoped that no-one had noticed, although perhaps that was a bit foolhardy to believe. He trained his sons to notice the subtle changes in those around them, and none were more experienced than his eldest.
He released a sigh, "I am sorry my son, I did not mean to alarm you,"
Leo swallowed, still unsure as to what would make his father look at him so curiously, "Is everything okay? Did something happen? Did I do something wrong?" His blue banded son asked the questions so quickly he might have missed them, but the last one struck a nerve.
Splinter snapped forward, enveloping his eldest in a tight embrace. It threw Leo completely off guard and there was a brief moment before it registered and he returned it, tighter than perhaps he had meant.
He listened as his father spoke, neither letting up their hold, "Do not think for a moment that any of this is down to you. You have led your brothers remarkably through the most difficult of times, and I could not be more proud of you Leonardo," Whilst Leo had reached a stage of leadership that meant he was not always vying for their father's approval, to hear such a sincere statement at a time like now was exactly what he needed, even if he didn't know it. They remained as they were for a moment before Splinter pulled back, though still keeping his hands on his son's shoulders.
Leo once again noticed his father making that same curious, mournful gaze, "Father you're doing it again," The rat did not bother to hide it anymore. It was only fair that he gave an answer, and, never once ceasing his gaze upon his child's face, that was exactly what he did.
"When I saw you with your brothers, physically saw you, I admit I was, at first, surprised," He regretted this wording immediately, as the mixture of confusion and panic contorted his son's face, "Not because I thought you would have abandoned your brothers," Splinter knew it would be something like that the younger was thinking, "But because of what Shredder said to me,"
"What did he say?" Leo asked quietly, tentatively, not entirely sure if he wanted to know.
It took a minute for the rat to answer, lost in his own thoughts as Saki's words echoed in his head: 'I take him like I took your child so many years ago'. After learning that Karai was indeed his own baby girl Miwa, and seeing what 16 years of Shredder's influence had done to her, he dreaded to think the horrors that Leonardo would have been subjected to in Saki's hands, particularly since his eldest was the most like himself. He could not have lived with himself if another of his children had been harmed by that mad-man.
"When I found your katana in the courtyard, I saw Shredder and demanded to know where you were," Another pause as Splinter remembered the knot in the bottom of his stomach when he found his son's katana without its owner and how Shredder had emerged from behind a wall, much to the latter's delight it seemed at seeing him.
Hoping to keep the conversation going, Leo mentioned where he actually was, "The next thing I remember after the courtyard was being thrown, I mean being in April's apartment," Leo stumbled his words, as he didn't want his father to worry about what had happened during the invasion. However, it did not escape his sensei's sensitive ears.
"Thrown?" If the others had not been asleep, that perhaps would have shouted in incredulity, but it actually came out more of a rasp.
"I, er, what did Shredder say," Leo said hurriedly, hoping to divert the conversation back. Splinter narrowed his eyes, continuing with his story but with a look that clearly stated they were not finished with this.
"Shredder told me he had taken you... Taken you like he had Miwa," The rat heard his son gasp softly, now understanding why surprise had been his reaction. He felt Leonardo's hand on his arm in a comforting gesture and covered it with his own, now smiling, "But after that brief moment, I could not have been happier to see you safe and sound with your brothers,"
Leo returned the smile, leaning forward to rest his head against his father's soft, yet sturdy, chest. Splinter brought his son in for another embrace, gently rubbing circles on his shell, not only to comfort his son, but to once again reassure himself that he was there. Safe and sound in his arms.
Splinter was reluctant to end this moment, but as a father he could not simply ignore his child's earlier comment, "Leonardo, when you said you were thrown," His blue banded child buried his head further into his chest at the word, but he had to know. He heard the younger mumble into his fur, though even he found it hard to understand. He brought Leonardo out of his fur, but again kept his hands on the younger's shoulders, and asked him to repeat it.
"Tiger Claw threw me through the window of April's apartment as a warning," He said quietly. Although he was fuming at this information, Splinter knew that these events has passed and becoming angry would not help matters. That did not however stop him from making a mental note to completely subdue and defeat the tiger with perhaps more force than necessary the next time they met.
"What happened when you left the lair?" Leo took this as a cue to explain what happened during the invasion before they fled to the Farmhouse, as they had agreed to all brief their father about the events at their home away from home tomorrow.
The blue banded turtle went into the whole story from the moment he left the lair with Donnie and Mikey to the last thing he remembered before falling unconscious for three months in a coma. He explained how he got separated from his brothers, that he had made a terrible mistake that cost them time and momentum by arguing with his purple banded brother, allowing the Krrang to catch them. He tried to gloss over many details of how he was ambushed by the Foot, but Splinter would not allow it, and was in fact particularly interested in this fight.
"I was completely swarmed by Footbots, I lost track how many I took down between the entrance to the sewer and that courtyard," Leo continued to describe, as he would in any other mission briefing, with Sensei listening carefully.
"There certainly seemed many left behind when I reached it, you did well to hold you're own against so many," His son smiled briefly, albeit only a sad one.
"They attacked from all over, and by the time I got them all, or at least most of them, I'd lost all my weapons, and had already resorted to hand-to-hand,"
"And when you had defeated all the soldiers?"
"Shredder sent his minions in, Tiger Claw, Fishface and Rahzar," Leo watched as Splinter stroked his goatee thoughtfully, before shaking his head in exasperation.
"Always the coward," He said softly. The younger mutely nodded his head in agreement and continued.
"I'm not sure how I did it, just pure adrenaline probably, but I managed to knock them down and out. But then..." There was a pause. The last image before he was knocked out, before coming to again briefly in April's apartment, was the hardest to process. That feeling of helplessness when he saw the Shredder before the metal claw came down was one of the scariest moments of his life. That he couldn't do anything, didn't even have a chance, was both frustrating and unnerving.
A gentle hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, "Then?"
"When I turned round, Shredder was there... I couldn't react in time,"
Splinter looked at him consolingly, "I very much doubt anyone could have," That did make Leo feel somewhat better. He'd already been through it with the others, that there really was nothing more he could have done, but to hear it from his Sensei was perhaps just a bit more comforting.
"Come, I think it is time for us to join the others," Leo nodded, looking around for the spot he had assigned himself earlier, but Splinter had other ideas. Getting up, he placed a hand on his eldest's shoulder, gently applying pressure to indicate to stay where he was, and went to briefly check on his other sons and the rest of their family. Noting that they were all sleeping soundly, he collected the two blankets they were to use and returned to Leonardo and lay down, opening his arms for his son to join him.
Leo happily joined his father, relishing in the feel of being wrapped in strong, secure arms like when he was younger. He hadn't acted like this with his father in many years. More like he had taken the role of head of the family, particularly in the last few months, and it was a relief to be able to let his guard down. Snuggling into the warm, familiar dark brown fur, Leo settled down and was asleep almost instantly, glad to be near his father after so long apart.
Splinter shifted so his son was more comfortable, leaning against his chest, and rubbed soothing circles on his shell. Not that it looked like he needed it. The elder dreaded to think how much weight the younger had had to take in the last few months since the invasion had driven them apart and out of the city altogether. Too much for such a young age he knew, and it had clearly taken its toll, even if he wouldn't admit it.
He knew that after so much time apart, out of all of his sons, Leonardo was the one that needed him the most right now. They had always been so close, and it was nice to be able to converse with someone about their shared interests. After everything they had all been through, it was the least he could do, to give his son the chance to act his own age, if only for a night. Yet, if he was completely honest with himself, Splinter needed this as much for himself. He had spent a long time without his sons, and although they had all hugged him when April had helped him remember himself, he needed to reassure himself they were okay.
As a father, he couldn't be more proud of his sons and all they had achieved. Looking down at the serene look on his son's, Splinter smiled, and with a kiss to the younger's forehead, the proud father pulled the blankets over them and settled down as well. Grateful that his family were now safe, sound and more importantly together, after so long apart.
Hope you enjoyed it :)
I kept thinking surely there is a difference between seeing someone spiritually and physically. You could know someone is alive spiritually, but actually seeing someone physically is bound to bring mixed emotions. You could be trying to convince yourself so much that someone is alive and safe that you perhaps see things spiritually, but when you see them physically in front of you it changes, for the better hopefully.
I definitely think Splinter and Leo have a lot in common, and are probably the closest out of the father-son relationships. Not necessarily because Leo is the oldest, but because of their shared interests in martial arts, Japanese culture etc. For example there have been a couple of occasions now, including the most recent episode, where Leo and Splinter can be seen drinking tea together, and I think that is an activity that they do together, just the two of them.
I do have the next story in mind, though I'm unsure as to how long it will take as it is a longer story than the usual one-shots I do. It's a request from Wolfy5678 and is inspired by the 2014 film, but done in the 2012 style. In the scene where the turtles are captured by Eric Sacks and Raph comes to the rescue, lets just say that things don't go to plan. My way of making a 'what if' scenario different by merely 'borrowing' elements from the film but making them unique enough, yet staying within the request! Don't worry Wolfy5678, I won't let you down! ^^