Okay here is another story for TMNT :)
It's still set in season 3 where Leo is recovering and I suppose it could be an extension of Hope but you don't have to read it to understand this. I hope you like it :)
Disclaimer - I don't own TMNT, they belong in this incarnation to Nickelodeon. I only own the story.
For the first time in a long time everything seemed to be going alright at the little farmhouse up state. The wildlife in the woods surrounding the newly occupied house were chirping and charring as four of the occupants wound down from their morning training. They all found solace in their training in some form or another, for it was one of the few things about their lives that was consistent, especially now that the eldest of the four was back with them.
As they headed back towards the farmhouse, the youngest was fooling around as usual, a jaunty smirk on his face as he tried to coax the second oldest to join in some more 'training'. They all knew he was really just trying to annoy his older brother.
"Give it a rest Mikey, I'm not gonna be bated this time," the red banded turtle quipped, pushing the youngest away from himself and his older brother.
"Aw you're no fun Raph," the orange-banded turtle whined, but still obeyed and started skipping on ahead.
"You're really coming along Leo," The second eldest said, slinging an arm around his only older brother, though mindful of the cane the blue-banded brother was using to steady himself.
"Thanks Raph,"was the appreciative reply.
"Yeah Leo, soon enough you're gonna be back to your old self again," the youngest happily bounding back alongside his older brothers as they headed back into the farmhouse.
A quiet groan came from their blue-banded brother, his form crouching in on itself as he had to come to an abrupt halt, "Donnie," Raph called the third oldest brother over, concern lacing his voice, and the purple-banded turtle was was immediately at Leo's side, helping Raph steady the turtle.
"I think you should rest now Leo, you might have pushed it too far this time," the purple-banded brother advised, ever the concerned family doctor. He was right though, Leo had been pushing himself a lot more recently and it seemed now he was facing the consequences. Nodding slowly, Leo allowed Raph and Donnie to assist him into the farm house and onto the sofa.
Mikey slipped a soft pillow under the blue-cladded turtle's head, the eldest mumbling his gratitude before snuggling down. Donnie placed a hand on his brother's forehead. He felt a little warm, but he put that down to the work out that they'd just had. It wasn't anything too high, but a cold cloth couldn't hurt.
"Raph can you go a get a cold compress for Leo please," Don asked. Raph nodded and went to the kitchen, coming back shortly with a damp cloth in hand and placing it on his brother's forehead. Leo once again mumbled his thanks and within a few minutes the steady sound of his breathing filled the otherwise quiet room.
Each brother drew up a place beside the eldest, Raph using a stool to sit near the head of his only older brother, with Donnie and Mikey taking up the armchairs. Raph carefully removed Leo's blue mask while he slept, no need for him to lie on the uncomfortable knot at the back. They sat in a relatively relaxed silence before the youngest sighed melodramatically, flinging himself around so that he was sitting sideways on the armchair.
Knowing that was a signal from the orange-clad turtle, Donnie asked, "What's up Mikey?"
The reply was immediate, "Just thinking,"
Raph scoffed, "That's never a good thing," Mikey protested fiercely, but continued,
"I'm just missing everything,"
"Like what?" Donnie's curiosity was piqued a the vague statement.
"Like the Lair, not that the farmhouse isn't a cool home away from home," Mikey babbled, hoping that April, who was currently with Casey in the kitchen washing up after breakfast, didn't hear him, "And Leo,"
"Leo?" It was not surprising that it was Raph who questioned this, the red-banded turtle had become a bit defensive lately where his older brother was concerned, "What are you talking about Leo's right here," Though his voice was quiet to avoid waking the slumbering turtle, Don could hear the conviction and slight annoyance in it.
"I know, but he's different now, I miss the old Leo, I don't like seeing him hurt," At this, Donnie came over to his younger brother and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I know Mikey, none of us like seeing Leo like this," All three pairs of eyes glanced apprehensively at the cane by the side of the sofa. Leo was still using it to get around sometimes, and although he was getting better it saddened them to know that their older brother was at least partly reliant on the thing to get around.
"But we can't push him too far too soon," the purple-clad turtle turned his younger brother around to sit in the chair properly, now placing both hands on his shoulders, "If we do it'll make it worse,"
"I know" was mumbled as the youngest pulled Donnie in for an embrace, which the scientist gladly accepted.
Raph watched silently. He too knew what Mikey was going through. Raph missed being able to spar properly with Leo, missed talks they used to have, just the two of themand even missed seeing the grin on his face when that annoying Space Heroes program came on.
Donnie had just sat back down when Mikey suddenly spoke up, this time with more vigour than before, "Oh I know, we can take a break from training tomorrow and watch TV,"
The other brothers stared confused at their younger, "What?" Don asked, genuinely confused since he never followed the erratic train of thought Mikey always displayed.
"Maybe it'll make Leo feel better if we don't train while he can't"
Raph frowned, "I don't think he'd be too happy to see us slack off Mikey," Said turtle pouting as his idea was struck down. "He's starting to join in, but even if he can't I think he'd like to carry on watching us," Raph continued.
Donnie nodded in agreement. He glanced briefly at Leo before realising that something was wrong. The older turtle's face was screwed up in what looked like pain and he was starting to jerk about as he slept. Believing it to be of some medical related issue, Don quickly shooed Raph from the stool so he could take it and examine the eldest. Placing a gentle hand on Leo's forehead, Donnie checked the turtle over thoroughly until he was satisfied that it was not health related. No, it was just a nightmare that the blue-cladded turtle seemed to still be in the throes of. Utilising a technique he'd seen Master Splinter use on the turtle currently in his care, Donnie started stroking Leo's head tenderly, whispering that everything was fine and that everyone was safe.
Raph was over in an instance once Donnie had given him the medical all clear and knelt on the floor next to the sofa. He took Leo's hand in his own and squeezed it reassuringly, knowing that Leo had been experiencing a lot of nightmares as of late. Sharing a room with the elder meant a lot of talking late at night about nightmares, though Raph would never admit to his younger brothers that it wasn't always Leo's nightmares that kept them awake.
Leo settled down quickly as the dream passed and allowed an easier sleep to take a hold. Mikey's sky blue eyes wandered around the room and noticed a large banged up blanket thrown over the back of the other armchair. He quickly grabbed it and skipped over to Leo, his brothers withdrawing so he could properly place the blanket around their brother. The orange masked turtle took great pleasure in tucking in the eldest, taking great care to wrap the blanket around his plastron, that it covered his feet and was secure. It was all for nought though. As soon as Mikey withdrew, Leo curled sideways on the sofa, one arm resting at the side of the pillow and the other draped atop the blanket. Mikey huffed impatiently, but diligently re-tucked the blanket to secure it, and this time Leo left it where it was.
Donnie watched, smiling as a thought crossed his mind, "You know even though I don't like seeing Leo hurt, it is kinda nice to look after him for a change," Mikey affirmed vocally whilst Raph just nodded, the red-cladded brother now sitting on the floor with Leo's hand back in his own.
"I mean, he does so much for us, especially when we're hurt," Don continued to no one in particular, his brothers knew of his habit to think aloud. A chuckle sounded from Don as his train of thought continued internally, "And you know he's the only one I trust to help me out in the Lab, Mikey's too clumsy,"
"Hey!" Mikey protested again, Raph laughing quietly in the background.
"And Leo's got a lot more patience than Raph when it comes to my 'techno babble'," Donnie made quote marks with his fingers when referring to what his brothers affectionately called his ramblings and explanations about pretty much anything they didn't understand. Which depending on the turtle, could vary from some to practically everything.
Raph scoffed again, "Ya got that right," before adding, "All you ever do is spend time in your lab, I bet that's the only thing outside training you did with Leo,"
Don glared slightly, but said matter-of-factly, "Actually we did more together than just work on my projects," Raph held his free hand out palm up, a cue for elaboration, "We used to play chess together and other strategic games we had or made up,"
Raph crinkled his beak, "Why?"
"Because not everyone gets all their thrills from beating up a dummy made of a sandbag," Donnie replied hotly, Mikey laughing at the dig. Raph's only response was a huff.
"Besides we both liked past times that involved thinking, the strategic games used to help Leo improve his planning and would give me a break from thinking about my projects," Don continued, "I think I had some of my best breakthroughs when we were playing chess,"
"Where did you play?" Mikey asked, having never seen them play in the lounge area.
"Usually in my lab, it was somewhere quiet and you guys rarely disturb me when I'm in there,"
"Yeah 'cause we don't want to end up being turtle soup when one of your projects goes kablooey," Raph mumbled.
Donnie huffed, having always took pride in how many explosions he kept away from his brothers. His experiments didn't endanger his brothers. Most of the time.
"Anyway, as much as I like playing those games with Leo, what I used to love was those times when he would get me out of the lab,"
"He actually got the mad scientist out of his lab?" Raph asked, feigning surprise as Mikey joined in with his own sarcastic shocked face.
"Ha ha," came the dry reply, "And yes, when I was in there too long he always made sure I ate and slept and had breaks, even if I didn't want to,"
"What he do, force the stuff down ya throat and drag you away from your desk?" Raph asked sarcastically.
Donne genuinely laughed at that, "Not quite force it down my throat, but there was more than one occasion he would literally drag me from my desk if I was being really stubborn," Raph smirked, he could imagine Leo doing just that when their little brother had been cooped up in his lab for days on end.
"I mean I would always protest, but it was nice to have some time with just me and Leo," Don smiled fondly at their big brother still sleeping peacefully beside them, "It was like,"
"Big Bro time!" Mikey interrupted, beaming at his brothers, believing he'd found the perfect name as per usual. He had settled in between Donnie and Raph on the floor before bounding up to announce his idea.
"Yeah, I guess you could call it that," Don agreed.
Mikey sat back down, looking intently at his brother in the sofa, "Leo used to make Big Bro time for me too,"
"Lemme guess, playing with action figures or scoffing down pizza," Raph asked, his sarcasm seemingly more frequent today.
Mikey pouted again, "No!" he whined, "Believe it or not he used to read to me,"
Raph and Donnie shared a curious look, brows raised, "But you can read yourself," Don reasoned.
Mikey only shrugged, "I know, but he does it better,"
"I've never seen him read to you," Donnie questioned, racking his brain for any vague memory of such an activity.
"That's 'cause he did it more when we was younger, before I learnt to read properly," Mikey explained, "He only really does it now when I'm sick, but he still asks sometimes, and it's always in one of our rooms, 'cause its quieter,"
Raph chuckled, "This coming from the biggest loudmouth in the lair," Donnie laughing quietly too. Even Mikey started giggling before continuing his story.
"Leo's the best at reading," the younger's eyes fixed firmly on their older brother, "He uses different voices for all the characters and and he makes the story come alive, even when I can see what's happening on the page,"
His brothers smiled as Mikey talked so enthusiastically about Leo, "Sometimes I wouldn't even look at the page of my comic and just listen to him read it,"
"Aren't the only words in a comic the characters talking?" Raph quizzed, "Not much to read,"
"No he would describe everything on the page," the orange-banded turtle continued, "He'd make it up as he went through the comic, but it was always in great detail,"
"Didn't think you'd have the patience for 'great detail'," Donnie commented grinning slyly, one hand ghosting over Leo's head whilst the other pulled the blanket until it was snugly tucked further under the eldest's arm.
Mikey turned to make sure the blanket hadn't shifted too far so Leo's feet were no longer covered and once satisfied smiled brightly at his immediate older brother, "Nah bro, he makes it interesting,"
Raph couldn't help but smile himself. There were many times he'd seen Leo be a sort of second parent to them, Mikey especially, and now they had no idea of Master Splinter's current whereabouts, or even if he was still alive, the eldest had been filling the parental shoes as best as he could. Raph had noticed that Mikey seemed to be clinging to Leo as of late and the eldest had been doing activities that Splinter had done, even though some were things he did when they were much younger, such as tucking the youngest into bed at night occasionally and taking the lead in their training sessions. It was a similar story with Donnie. While not as obvious, the purple-banded brother had been keeping quite close to Leo. He didn't stray farther than the barn and even when cooped up with a project he never seemed to focus on it for more than a few hours so he could take a break and check up on Leo, even if it was just a quick glance.
"He reads to me when I can't go to sleep sometimes too," The youngest continued, "When I've had a nightmare, you know what he's like he just always seems to know when we've had one," Donnie couldn't stop a smirk, that was so true, "Though he doesn't read the horror comics obviously,"
The other conscious brothers shared a chuckle until Mikey rounded on the only brother not to say anything about their current topic, "What about you Raphie?" he asked, plopping himself directly next to the red-banded turtle, chin resting on his hands and propped up on his knees.
Raph looked back to the eldest who still sleeping soundly and ignorant to the unusual serenity in the room. He squeezed his brother's hand gently before turning back to the suddenly patient youngest and answering, "Yeah we used to do things together,"
"You mean other than fight," Donnie quipped, the red-banded turtle flinched mentally at the saddened, almost regretful tone of his immediate younger brother. Both he and Leo knew how upset their younger brothers could get when they fought, especially Mikey. They didn't like to see the eldest two fight and rarely hesitated to make their feelings known. Donnie would usually berate one or both of them if they were out of line or if it had been a particularly bad fight, but more often than not they would be left to sort it out themselves unless it involved others. Mikey never needed to say anything, the distraught look on his face was enough to alert the elder two how the younger felt. Even if it was subtle.
"Yes," Raph didn't know why he suddenly felt the need to be defensive on the topic, but took a breath before continuing in a less sharp voice, "Yeah we did,"
"Sparring?" asked the youngest, to which Raph's only answer was to bark a laugh.
"You'd think wouldn't you," he couldn't stop grinning as he continued, "Yeah we did used to spar a lot, reckon 'ole Fearless here thought he could get rid of some of my anger that way,"
"Which worked... Some of the time," Donnie chuckled.
Raph pushed his little brother playfully, "There was one thing we used to do that I guess was kinda special,"
Mikey started bounding up and down on the spot, "Ooh ooh what was it,"
The red-cladded brother smirked to himself knowing that what he was about to say would be hard to believe considering the reputation he had with the Leo, "Well there were times when we would sit down somewhere quiet, just the two of us, and just talk, " He explained, "No arguments, no distractions, just talk you know," He looked at his younger brothers in turn, not surprisingly they both wore an expression of disbelief, "And we'd sit there for hours, just him, me and a pot of tea,"
"I'm sorry tea?" Don gaped, asking if he'd his older brother correctly.
"Yeah, and sometimes we had biscuits too, depended on if we had anyor if this little Goofball had eaten them all," At the nickname Raph took the youngest into a headlock, trapping him in his arm so he could give one of his dreaded noogies. Mikey squeaked when he was trapped and immediately started squirming and protesting loudly.
Don quickly shushed them when Leo started stirring again, a low groan emanating from their older brother, his hand batting aimlessly at whatever was making the noise before settling once again at the side of his head. Donnie rested a hand on the elder's shoulder, rubbing it gently to help ease the slumbering turtle.
Once sure that the eldest had not been woken, Don turned to his immediate elder, "I didn't think you liked tea, you've never drunk it before,"
"Yeah Bro and I can't imagine you and Leo talking for more than a few minutes before an argument starts," Mikey sniggered, only going silent when Raph's hand smacked him upside the head.
"I don't drink tea normally, but Leo used to make this special Japanese tea that was quite sweet so it was actually alright to drink, oh what was it called," He sat there pondering for a few minutes before, "Hojicha, that was it,"
"Aww," Mikey cooed earning himself another smack on the head by the red-banded turtle.
"Leo was the only one who knew how to make it so I only used to have it with him," Raph once again turned his attention to the blue-banded turtle on the sofa, taking his hand in his own once more, "I gotta admit it was nice to have some time just the two of us,"
"Big Bro time," Mikey interjected happily.
"Yeah," Raph sighed.
The three sat comfortably for a few more minutes before Leo started stirring again. Donnie checked the clock and felt happy that the eldest had rested longenough, though he did keep a hand on his shoulder, preventing Leo from sitting upright.
Deep blue eyes fluttered open, the hand resting by the pillow coming up to rub the remaining sleep out of them as he focused on the sight in front of him. Donnie was seated upon one of the stools in the farmhouse, the hand still on his shoulder rubbing up and down soothingly. Raph was sitting on the floor directly in front of him, his hand holding his own which he squeezed affectionately when Leo gave a sleepy smile. Mikey was perched on the edge of the sofa next to him, perched being the operative word as it looked like the youngest was barely on it so as to give the eldest all the room. He wore one of his famous bright grins and at first Leo couldn't help but wonder what prank had been played on him while he slept, but the lack of a mischievous gleam in those sky blue eyes told him otherwise.
"Hey," he greeted quietly still waking up from a much needed nap. Only Raph would know that it wasn't just the training that had him tired, that he hadn't had a good night's sleep thanks to a rather nasty and vivid nightmare jolting him and then keeping him awake. Right now however, the nightmare was the furthest thing from his mind as he drank in the comforting presence of his younger brothers around him, alive and well.
"Hey," Raph replied softly, "How ya feeling?"
Another yawn escaped his lips before he stop it, "Better thanks," was the answer, "How long you guys been sitting there?"
"Thought we'd be off doing something else huh?" Donnie asked to which Leo nodded, both his hands now coming up to rub his eyes again.
He missed Raph standing up though he felt Don remove his hand and went to sit upright. He was surprised however when his torso was lifted off the sofa only to be brought back down with his head back on the pillow he'd been resting on for the past few hours. The eldest couldn't help but laugh softly when he saw what had occurred though. His head was still on the pillow, but said pillow was now situated in Raph's lap.
"We just wanted some Big Bro time," Raph informed the eldest, one hand on the sofa arm and the other settled comfortably on Leo's plastron.
"Big Bro time?"
"Yeah dude like old times," Mikey was grinning ear to ear as he started explaining what they were just talking about. How they enjoyed spending time alone with the eldest and how special the activities were to them.
Leo smiled, "I was just trying to be a good brother,"
"Maybe we could do it again?" Donnie asked hopefully, "Would be nice to do something familiar to take our minds off, you know, everything," The other three nodded. There were days when they wanted nothing more than to forget about what had happened in New York, but so far the only thing that allowed this was training and the occasional family night in front of the television watching Mikey's new favourite show.
The orange-banded brother's eyes started wandering around the room while Raph and Don helped the eldest stand up. Or rather Don was insisting that Raph let Leo up so he could stretch his injured knee, something about cramps and kinks, but Mikey wasn't really paying attention. Something had caught his eye.
"Hey April!" He called over his shoulder into the kitchen where the teen girl was. The red-headed teen came to the door to see what her friends wanted, a teen boy strolling into the room to see what the commotion was also.
"Yeah Mikey?" She had a tea towel in her hands drying a glass, apparently she was still trying to get the dishes done from earlier that morning.
"Hey Casey," Raph greeted as the teen flopped on the now vacant sofa and turning on the television, having grabbed the remote on the way over.
"We have any good books?" Mikey continued his conversation with April, only for the girl to snap at Casey's lounging form.
"Casey! You have been slacking off all morning!"
"Sorry Red, you know how it is," he replied, smirking both at April's annoyed frown and Donnie's angry glare.
"Get your butt in the kitchen and help me with lunch," Casey made a show of flipping channels a few times before sighing melodramatically and sauntering back into the kitchen.
"I'll help ya April," Donnie interjected quickly, hurrying into the kitchen with hearts in his eyes. He'd been trying to find a way to impress April for a few days now and his brothers started laughing quietly as they knew how skilled their brother was in the kitchen. Mikey had been trying to teach all three of them how to do more than boil water after their only solo attempt had ended in the kitchen being a disaster area, but even though there was some improvement the orange-banded turtle was still the best at the culinary arts.
"Oh thanks Donnie, but you don't..." She started politely, but the purple-cladded turtle had already pounced into the kitchen. She sighed, but turned to Mikey who had now taken Don's place beside Leo. She was surprised to see Raph holding onto Leo's shoulders and Mikey's hands hovering in front the elder's plastron. Though Leo seemed to be smirking at his departed brother's behaviour.
"Don ran him over on his mission to make lunch," Raph explained dryly, green eyes glaring at the retreating form.
"Ah," April sighed again, "And as to answer your question Mikey, we have lots of great books, books with great stories and a lot of the classics, but I doubt theres anything like your comics,"
Mikey pouted, but Leo spoke up, "If you go to mine and Raph's room there's a book on the side table, can you bring it down?" Mikey brightened at the words and hurriedly dashed off to find the book as instructed.
April smiled and went into the kitchen to make sure that Donnie and Casey were actually making lunch and not killing each other in the process. Raph waited until Mikey had come back down before following the girl. He'd noticed the knowing look in Leo's blue eyes and the soft smile adorning his face when Mikey had asked about book to read, so he knew that the two of them would want some time alone.
Mikey bounded over to Leo and took his wrist in his free hand, pulling him gently to the sofa. Leo couldn't help but chuckle quietly and sat down at the end where Mikey was placing him, smile widening when the younger lay down with his head on his lap. The orange-banded brother snuggled into his eldest brother's plastron, hands wrapping around the elder's waist, and closed his eyes waiting for Leo to start.
Leo gave his youngest brother's head a rub before opening the book, making sure his bookmark didn't fall out so he could continue reading where he left off from later, "This story is about when America was first discovered told in the eyes of explorers who faced a lot of adventures to get here safely," Mikey giggled at Leo's choice in stories. Always someone on an adventure, but unlike his comics at some point he expected there to be a some mushy romance stuff and most likely the hero would be saying very cheesy lines. The blue-banded turtle used a hand to tickle the younger's side between the plastron and the carapace when he voiced this.
"No, this is nothing like Space Heroes," Leo said, ceasing his attacks on the youngest, "Although there is a little romance later on," Mikey smirked knowingly.
Leo started reading and Mikey closed his eyes again. He listened to every detail as Leo read and did different voices for narration and the characters. They got through the first few pages, Leo looking down at his content brother every now and then as he read. He smirked when he got to a point in the story where he could have some fun.
"They stilled at the noise, Chris turning sharply to make sure his partner was still there. They stared at each other a moment before Chris drew his rifle, his hands gripping it tightly. Another rustle drew their attention. The two made their way towards it, Chris using his rifle to poke around in the bush, but found nothing. They backed up into the clearing and heard another rustle this time behind them. Chris turned again and BANG!" Leo raised his voice and slammed the book shut for a more effect. It worked and Mikey jumped a mile into the air with a startled cry.
Leo laughed at the reaction and didn't stop even when Mikey pushed him playfully, "Not cool dude,"
"Sorry, couldn't resist it," He was still laughing when he pulled the younger into a headlock and pulled him back on the sofa on his shell.
The orange-banded turtle giggled again, "So what happens next?" he asked excitedly.
"Lunch is ready!" They heard Raph call from the kitchen.
Leo stood up and picked up the book, "I'll be there in a minute," he called back, "Just gonna put my book back," But before he could move an inch, Mikey had grabbed it and raced upstairs, returning a few seconds later, "I hope you put it back where you found it and didn't just throw it randomly," The younger merely smirked in response, sticking his tongue out at Leo, who shook his head good-naturedly and followed the hyperactive turtle into the kitchen.
Leo smiled when he found everyone at the table waiting patiently for him to join them before eating what looked like a mixture of sandwiches with salad and crisps. April got up asking, "What would you like to drink Leo?"
"Do we have any tea?"
"Sure," She went to go to the counter, but Leo spoke up again,
"I can do it,"
"I don't mind,"
"No no really I'll do it, you guys start eating," April nodded smiling, but refused to sit down until she had gotten the tea bags and a mug out for the turtle. As Leo walked over to where April just was he felt a pain run up his right leg again and had to stop, bracing himself against the counter. He managed to stifle the gasp that wanted to come out, but couldn't mask his face in time.
"Leo?" Raph asked, his concern clear as he made to stand.
"I'm fine I'm fine," He reassured everyone, flicking the kettle on to make his tea. He smiled when he saw the type of tea April had gotten down; Chamomile. Of course. He did like it, even if it wasn't as good as some of the tea he had at home.
Lunch was delicious. Turned out it was a joint effort and Leo smirked, he always knew Donnie and Casey would make a good team if they actually tried.
The blue-banded turtle got up and flicked the kettle on again, he'd grown quite fond of the chamomile.
"Hey do me a cup too?" Everyone stared at the red-banded turtle. April and Casey turned to look at each other and then started staring at Raph again in disbelief. Casey, who was sitting next to Raph, placed a hand on his forehead.
"You feeling ok Raph," Said turtle growling and yanking the teen's hand off him.
Leo chuckled knowingly, "Sure thing, you want normal or chamomile?"
"Whatever,"
Leo went about his task while the others started to file out. Mikey went out to go and feed the chickens, feeling a little guilty that he hadn't done it before lunch like he normally did. Donnie asked April if she could help him out with his experiments in the barn, and a fuming Casey followed asking the red head if she could help him with the truck he was fixing up. Leo couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for April, sending her a sympathetic smile when she bid goodbye.
Raph hung back, waiting for Leo to finish the tea. After giving his older brother's hand a gentle slap, the red-banded turtle took both mugs and nodded towards the door. Leo followed, but had to stop again as pain shot up his leg. This time he let out a pained filled whimper, one hand shooting out to grab the counter while the other gripped his leg.
"Hang on," Raph put the mugs down carefully and dashed out into the lounge, returning with Leo's cane in hand, "Here," He crouched down to Leo, who had lowered himself onto the floor breathing deeply to cope with the pain, and handed him the cane.
Leo crinkled his snout in disgust at the piece of wood in front of him. He hated having to use that thing. Sighing, he took the cane from Raph and started hoisting himself up, his brother helping him.
"Sorry," he mumbled quietly, eyes downcast.
"No need to be," Raph reassured his brother, hand squeezing his shoulder affectionately, "Come on, let's get you some fresh air," Leo nodded and headed for the door, Raph following behind, not forgetting the mugs still on the side.
Leo got to the porch and was about to lower himself when he spotted the swing and decided he'd prefer to sit there. At least that way he would be able to see the barn entrance and the chicken coop. Besides he liked swinging, found it relaxing.
After carefully lowering himself down, Raph handed him one of the mugs before sitting down himself. The elder was glad he'd made another mug for himself as he sipped at the still warm liquid. It helped relax him and helped calm the pain in his leg.
The two of them sat there in a comfortable silence, both just drinking their tea and taking in the beauty of the surroundings. It was Leo who broke the silence, "You like it?"
Raph took another sip, swirling the tea around in his mug, "It's not as good as the usual, but it'll do," he grinned cheekily at the elder, who smirked back.
"Too bad we don't have any biscuits,"
"Ah just pretend Mikey ate 'em all again," Leo chuckled and returned to his drink, falling silent again. Raph looked his brother over, pleased to see him relaxed. He'd been having more nightmares lately and with his leg acting up these past few days, the poor guy had been in near constant pain day and night. But despite the bad days there were good days too, days when Leo didn't need to use the cane and when he slept soundly through the night and Raph knew he would have more of them as time went on.
"You know you're coming along great," Leo turned to look at him, "Training seems to be going smoother,"
The elder nodded, "Yeah I'm getting the hand of things again," he placed the now empty mug on the ground, "It's a little frustrating having to go through old katas that I used to be able to do no problem, but best not to push it too far too soon right?"
"Yeah,"
"You guys have been great though,"
"Hey you're the one doing the recovery not us,"
"Yeah, but you've been patient with me, I mean let's face it I haven't always been the easiest guy to be around,"
Raph chuckled, there were a few times since waking that Leo had been a bit of a pain. Sometimes he would have a short temper when he was particularly tired or in pain and he would lash out at his brothers or the teens who were trying to help him. He always felt guilty afterwards though. To Raph, the times when he was the biggest pain was when he got down in the dumps and starting beating himself up for getting hurt. This was more when he'd first woken up and he'd gotten better at keeping a happy attitude now that all of them had refused to let him blame himself for what happened. Though Leo wouldn't let any of them feel guilty about what happened either, and he had spent a few nights with Donnie and April comforting them and telling them this.
"Yeah, but you can't help getting frustrated sometimes,"
"I'm not you Raph, spouts of anger are your thing," Raph knew that Leo was only teasing, he could see the smirk on his face and the mischievous gleam in his eyes. He gave a playful shove to his older brother.
"No-one's perfect Leo,"
"I know," They settled once again into silence. Raph placed his own mug onto the floor and looked around. Mikey had finished feeding the chickens, but they were still pecking at his feet for more. The two watched as Mikey scooped up some forgotten seeds on the ground and held his hand out to the two chickens that were looking for more, the chickens pecking his hand gratefully.
"I miss this," Leo said suddenly. Raph turned to look at him. His eyes were closed and he was leaning back, using his good leg to slowly rock the swing.
"Miss what?"
"This," Leo opened his eyes and turned towards Raph, "Spending time with you guys,"
"We're together almost all the time," Raph grinned cheekily again, earning a shove from his brother.
"You know what I mean, one on one time," Raph smiled agreeing, "And with Father," Leo closed his eyes again, sighing sadly, and Raph knew that he was praying once again that Master Splinter was alright. After all they hadn't heard anything in the few months they had been there. Raph wasn't sure if their Sensei was alive, they had watched him plunge into a drain and get swept away, but Leo had refused to believe this from the moment he'd woken up. In fact since Leo had woken he had a given a counter argument every time someone had given a reason why Splinter didn't make it. It seemed as though everyone was convinced that Splinter was alive, especially Mikey, but Raph wasn't sure if everyone actually believed Leo, save for Mikey, or they were just humouring him.
"Hey," Raph nudged Leo gently with his shoulder, "We'll find him," Leo smiled, grateful for his brother's words.
"I know," he murmured, closing his eyes once more as the sun hit the swing, basking in the warmth it offered.
Raph picked up the two mugs and told Leo he would be back in a minute, Leo indicating he heard with a quiet "Mmhm," and the elder stayed where he was until the sun was covered by a large cluster of clouds. When he looked Raph had returned and the two of them sat for a while until Leo grew restless and stiff.
"Fancy a spar?"
"Sure,"
They worked out until dinner, Raph making sure that they took regular breaks so as not to push Leo too far. They did some sparring and then focused on Leo's knee exercises that Donnie had given him to do three times a day, before going back to sparring.
Dinner was a welcomed affair. Everyone was hungry and after Mikey had fed the chickens he'd spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen preparing a feast. April said that she and Casey were going to go to the store tomorrow so Mikey was using a lot of the ingredients they had to make a hearty Shepherd's Pie.
After dinner, Donnie went back to the barn to continue working on his experiment whilst everyone else gathered around the television to watch Crognard The Barbarian. They stayed up for a few hours until one by one they went upstairs to bed. April was the first to leave as she said she wanted to read another chapter of her book before going to bed. Casey was the next to go, having had enough of watching Mikey act like his newest favourite character. Mikey would have stayed up longer if Leo hadn't said that they were all to go to bed now so they would be able to get up for training in the morning. Raph didn't protest and helped haul Mikey upstairs.
"You coming Leo?" The red-banded turtle asked, he was watching Mikey go into the kitchen to say goodnight to Ice Cream Kitty and making sure that afterwards he went to the room he shared with Donnie, though he knew that the youngest wouldn't go to bed straight away.
"I'll be up in a minute, I'm gonna get Don," Raph nodded and Leo watched him go upstairs before turning to go to the barn. It was dark now and Leo didn't want his little brother out here by himself. After the run in with The Creep Leo was wary of being outside the farmhouse at night, even if it was just in the barn.
Pushing open the door, Leo was greeted with a mixture of smells from the work-in-progress truck and the experiments that Donnie was currently working on with the earthy stench of the barn as it was before they got here. The blue-banded turtle limped over to his younger brother, happy that he wasn't having to use the cane to get here, and took one look at the younger before sighing quietly.
Donnie looked a wreck. They were all tired, but Don had been concentrating for the majority of the day and as such was drained mentally more so than physically. His eyes were puffy under his mask and his shoulders tense as he forced himself to concentrate on his experiment. His whole form was hunched and Leo could see that his hands were starting to shake.
Clearing his throat so as to not startle his brother too much, Leo moved forward to stand behind his brother. Donnie jerked, but continued to do what he had been before the interruption, "I'm almost done Leo," Leo shook his head frowning and placed a hand on the younger's shoulder, causing the purple-banded turtle to put his equipment down. At this, Leo took his younger brothers hands in his own, turning his brother around to face him.
"It can wait 'til morning," Leo was using his big brother voice, soft but stern. Donnie sighed quietly, resting his head on Leo's plastron for a moment and then stood up. He knew there was no point in arguing, they both knew who would win.
Making sure that everything was safely away, Donnie followed his older brother out and back to the farmhouse. Leo stopped briefly to turn off the lights in the lounge and then followed Don to his room. The younger was about to bid Leo goodnight, but Leo just gently pushed Don into the room. He was going to make sure that the younger was asleep.
"Leo go to bed," Donnie whispered, mindful of their younger brother who was already fast asleep on his side. He took off his mask and set it down on the side table.
"I will Donnie, as soon as you do," The purple-banded brother could only shake his head. Leo could be very stubborn when he wanted to be.
"We should be the ones taking care of you," He protested, but Leo shushed his brother softly, pushing him gently to his bed.
"You've been taking care of me since I woke up," He said, "But no matter what, I'll always be the older brother, and I like to know that my bro's are well looked after too,"
"You're the best at that," Don mumbled as he was lulled towards sleep. Leo perched himself on the bed, pulling the blanket and tucking his younger brother in. For good measure he started massaging the younger's shoulders. He'd seen how tense they were back in the barn and wanted Don to be able to sleep as comfortable as possible. Don gave a pleasured sigh as the tension faded away and he felt himself slipping away into the blissful throes of sleep. The last thing he felt was the elder kiss him tenderly on the forehead, something Splinter used to do when they were younger and had trouble sleeping. He murmured a goodnight to Leo as sleep claimed him.
"Night Don," Leo smiled, content that his brother was resting comfortably. He stood up and crossed to the youngest of his brothers and saw that the blanket had become crooked. Fixing the blanket, Leo smiled and placed a kiss atop Mikey's head, watching as the younger seemed to take comfort in it and snuggled against the stuffed bear that April had found in the farmhouse. He noted that for once Mikey had remembered to take off his mask before going to sleep and smiled.
"Night Mikey," Satisfied that his younger brothers were safe and peacefully sleeping, Leo left the room quietly.
He was about to go to his room, but felt that he should check on April and Casey too. Opening April's door ajar, the turtle saw that the red head was asleep, though it seemed that she had fallen asleep while reading her book. Using his ninja skills, Leo snuck in and gently prised the book off of April's stomach, putting a bookmark at the page she left off from, and placed it on the side table. He moved the blanket to cover the teen and switched off the table lamp, sneaking out without making a sound. Casey was easier to check on. He had fallen asleep no troubles and with a smile Leo shut his door and went to the room he shared with Raph.
Opening the door, Leo made his way into the room trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake Raph, only to find that the younger was still awake and waiting for him.
"You should be asleep Raph,"
"Yeah well so should you," Raph scolded, "You're pushing yourself again,"
Leo groaned softly as he practically collapsed onto his bed, "Looking after my brothers is not doing too much," he countered, stretching to remove the kinks littered over his body. He took off his mask and put it on the side table on top of his book. He knew he wasn't going to read tonight and was tempted to ask Raph if the book was there already or if he had to move it from wherever the younger had thrown it.
Raph came over and gently pushed his brother to lie down, "Yeah well sometimes even the big brother needs to be looked after," He tugged the blanket snuggly around Leo's body, the elder sighing quietly as he relaxed into the comfy mattress and pillow.
Returning to his own bed and taking off his mask, Raph bid his older brother goodnight, a sentiment Leo returned. Leo waited until he heard the snores of his immediate younger brother before allowing himself to be pulled into the throes of a much needed slumber. He was quite content to sleep now he knew that everyone in his family was safe and asleep. His last thought before drifting off to sleep was that he was glad to have spent some quality time with brothers individually today and planned to do so more often. With that promise in mind, Leo slept peacefully, not one nightmare entering his subconscious as all he dreamt of was his loving family, whole, home and safe.
And there you go :)
Once again I hope I got their personalities right, I try to find a good balance between what I want them to say and how I think they might say it :)
When I was thinking of the activities that Leo could do with each of his brothers I tried to think of things that were both expected and unexpected. Mikey was fairly easy, I thought reading to him would be a fun activity to do since he's the youngest :)
Donnie I remember reading another story where chess was mentioned and there are lots of fics out there that involve Leo putting Don to bed after working too hard in the lab, so I thought that would be appropriate :)
Raph was a little tricky, but I wanted it to be something that no one would expect them to do until they thought about it. Just talking and having tea I thought would be a good way to bring them together and sometimes that if you think about it they would be able to do without fighting... though I couldn't resist the little digs they make :)
Anyway, the fic was just a lot of brotherly fluff, but hopefully it wasn't too out of character for any of them :D
Oh and the type of tea I mentioned, Hojicha, I don't know if it actually tastes sweet. I typed Japanese Tea into Google and found that, it said that it smelt sweet, but I don't know about taste! The book Leo was reading I also have no idea if it exists, I made it up as I was going :) And if anyone hasn't tried Shepherd's Pie, try it! It's nice :D
Someone mentioned to me about having brotherly moments between Leo and April and Casey, and although I didn't really do it here (just a moment between the teens and Donnie!) I am planning on writing two one-shots for each of the teens with Leo :)
Thanks for reading :D