Okay wow, it's been a lot longer than I thought it would be to get this story written and posted. It started off because I had exams to revise for and essays to write, but then I didn't know what to write and got stuck!
Eventually this was the result, and can I say that I agree with JK Rowling in that trains are a really good place to write, especially long haul and delayed trains!
Anytime is sort of a continuation from One of the Family, those of you who have read it will recognise some of the elements from that story being mentioned, so if you're confused about something then check that story out and see if it makes sense then! I don't think it's essential to read One of the Family first to understand this, the plot is quite basic so it shouldn't be too hard to follow. It's essentially just Leo and April having a brother/sister moment where Leo opens up to April about all the stress he's been having and all the baggage he's been carrying since he woke up. It's all just got to him and something April says is just the final straw that breaks the camel's back... or perhaps turtle's shell might be more appropriate ;)
Anyway I hope you enjoy it :) The sisterly moment between April and Leo was again inspired by Sairey13 who wanted to see a fic of this nature. Hopefully all the characters are still in character and the title isn't too corny!
Oh and I've just realised that I haven't really done a disclaimer for some if all of my TMNT fanfics, so I'll do it here and hope that makes up for it! - TMNT is owned by Nickelodeon and I do not in any way have any ownership. The only thing I own is the story plot.
And scene.
Anytime
Sauntering into the kitchen feeling rather proud of himself for the way he dealt with his family, Leo went over to the counter to flick the newly filled kettle on and let the water boil for another cup of tea. April had accompanied him in and got down both the tea bags and the hot chocolate mixture. She was in the mood in indulge herself. The two waited in a comfortable silence while the kettle boiled, the only other noises being April clanging the mugs as she got them down from the cupboard and various indistinct noises from the lounge.
April let Leo pour the water for his tea first, the turtle nodding in gratitude, before taking the kettle and pouring some water into the mug, adding some milk and a cheeky spoonful of sugar to make it taste that much nicer. They sat down at the table together, casually sipping at their drinks, smirking when they heard Casey grumble about being told off like a child just moments ago.
The red headed teen had wanted to talk to Leo alone for a few days now. She, along with his brothers no doubt, had noticed the tension in his body and the distant look in his eyes and wanted to make sure he was okay. The only reason she'd waited this long was in case one of his brothers approached the subject with the eldest turtle first and it appeared she was either butting in or pestering the weakened brother. Since none had taken up the task, April took it upon herself.
She watched him for a while, wondering if now was the right time to talk. Leo had pushed his tea to the side after a few sips and slumped down in his chair, resting his head in his arms and sighing tiredly. Casey had told her about what happened in the barn and she'd decided then and there that it was time to talk. Seeing Leo now, how drained he was, only reinforced it.
"So," She started, not quite sure up how to approach to subject. Leo looked up from his arms, sitting up and giving the teen his full attention, though April watched his eyes flick over to the door every now and then whenever one of the others sounded off too loudly for it to be normal conversation.
"So," He parroted, grabbing the mug and taking another sip before swirling the warm liquid within and leaning back in his chair. Good, April thought, a sure sign he was somewhat relaxed.
"Tea okay?" Small talk was all she could think of right now. The teen was unsure if she should just blurt out a random question and hope the blue banded brother would take the bait, approach the subject delicately, or directly ask what was bothering him. The tea Leo was currently drinking was a bit different than what he was used to back at home, so it didn't seem to raise the turtle's suspicions.
Leo gazed thoughtfully at the liquid in his mug, before meeting April's eyes once more and saying, "Yeah it's nice, different," She nodded absently, staring at her own drink.
"How about yours?" He asked her politely.
"Good, I've always liked hot chocolate, though the sugar is probably bad for me," She grinned at her train of thought, "Donnie always did say I was sweet enough," Leo cracked a grin at that, eyes rolling at the predictability of his purple banded brother.
"So," She repeated once more after a brief lapse of silence. This time Leo narrowed his eyes slightly. She was hunched in her chair, hands gripping the mug tightly and eyes constantly roving around. Something was up.
"What's wrong?" He asked, leaning forward to rest both his forearms and his mug atop the table.
"Nothing, nothing," She reassured the turtle, though she copied his posture, an indication that she wanted to talk seriously and not just idle chit chat. Leo kept silent, waiting for April to make the first move.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," She watched him carefully for his reaction. Ever since he'd woken up he had been wearing a mask, something he had clearly learnt from Splinter, but every now and then she, and quite possibly the others, had caught the flicker of fatigue that crossed his eyes, amongst other emotions he had unhealthily been burying for the sake of his brothers and the teens.
The turtle held her gaze for a few moments and then sighed dejectedly, not really in the mood for any games, "I'm fine," though it didn't even sound like he believed it himself. The turtle refused to meet her gaze again, staring determinedly at the drink still in his hands, but April wasn't going to let him bottle it up any longer.
"Are you?" She questioned, wanting to see if he would open up to her on his own. He glanced up briefly, but otherwise remained quiet.
April sighed quietly, getting up from the table to put her mug in the sink. She looked out the window to see Raph and Casey wrestling around on the grass, each trying to win. Both kept pulling the other in a different direction to gain ground, and the teen mentally noted that this was probably how Leo was feeling right now. Torn. Trying to keep himself together for his family, but desperately needing some kind of outlet. She was sure that had Splinter been here, the turtle would have less hesitation about talking to someone. But now, with him being the eldest, the head of the family, he took it upon himself to not care about his own feelings. Maybe a bit of reverse psychology could do the trick.
"Leo?" She turned around and leant against the counter, Leo inclining his head to indicate he was listening, but still refusing to look at her properly, "If I needed someone to talk to about..." She paused here a moment, the emotion of what she was about to bring up overcoming her, "Dad," She didn't get to finish, and truthfully it was doubtful she could anyway.
"Of course," Leo's eyes had softened considerably, his own problems forgotten as he, as quickly as he could with the piece of wood glued to his side, made his way to the counter to comfort his friend. Placing his hands on her shoulders he added, "You know we're family, you can talk to me about anything,"
April smiled softly, guiding the turtle she considered a brother back to the table. Leo dragged his chair closer to April's, placing a hand gently over her fidgeting ones. He didn't press her for anything, he knew from experience that it was best to let someone say what they wanted to when they were ready. The red head waited a few minutes before speaking. She'd already spoken to Donnie about this, but even then she'd not said everything because she wasn't ready to face it yet. But she was doing this for Leo, if he was going to open up to her, she needed to open up to him.
Taking a deep breath, the teen began to talk, "It's just, I really miss him. I know it's been over three months now," She didn't miss the subtle flinch the turtle tried to school at the mention of how long he'd been out of commission, "But it still doesn't feel right, you know?" Leo nodded, but otherwise kept quiet.
"And being here made it worse. There's so many memories from when I was younger and it took a few days, but they all just came rushing back as we looked around,"
The teen started tearing up and from apparently nowhere the blue banded turtle handed her a handkerchief. She dried her eyes and then noted the colour of the handkerchief. It was a navy blue with a golden L stitched into the corner. She smiled again, this was Leo's Christmas present from her last year. She'd made each of the turtles one in their signature colours with a contrasting colour for their initial. She made Splinter one as well, a white one with a blossom tree and petal design.
"I'm dreading going up into the attic later. I've been putting it off as long as I could because I didn't want to face what was up there,"
"We don't have to go up if you're not ready,"
"No, no it's fine," She handed Leo his handkerchief back, "But I really miss him. And it's not just that, I mean even though I sort of know what happened to him, 'cause he was mutated just before we escaped," She muffled a sniffle as the sight of her father's terrified, pained face as he was mutated overtook her vision, "I still don't know what happened afterwards. The Krrang are ruthless and he's already been captured by them once before and that really messed him up,"
Going through the abducted father situation once was hard enough, but twice? On the one hand the teen thought she should be able to cope better because she'd been through it before, but on the other it still seemed just as traumatising. Maybe even more so as this time her father wasn't just abducted, but mutated. Perhaps that was a good thing and he wouldn't remember his time as a Krrang mutant, but if he did then who knows how he was doing.
"I'm worried Leo," She locked eyes with the turtle, "I keep having nightmares about it, even now. They're not as frequent, but they're still there," Her voice cracked near the end as tears flowed freely.
Leo patted her hand comfortingly and spoke for the first time, "I can't promise you he's okay," he wiped her tears with his thumb, something he did often with Mikey when the youngest was hurt or upset, "But I know one thing," He leaned forward and took her hands in his own, locking their eyes once more, "He would be happy that you're safe,"
"Worrying about him is natural, especially since you're so close, and I promise we will do everything we can to find Kirby and make him human again, along with the rest of New York. And you know if you do have nightmares still you can come and talk to me about it, no matter the time,"
"Thanks bro,"
Leo chuckled, "Anytime sis,"
April watched as Leo got up, probably to go and check up on his brothers, and quickly grabbed his arm. It unbalanced him and it was lucky that he was still near the chair as he fell back down on it. She wasn't about to let him leave just yet. The red head knew it would be better if Leo came to her on his own and opened up, but it was obvious that he needed a little push.
"What about you?" She asked the now confused turtle.
"What about me?"
April hardened her gaze and slapped his arm in annoyance. He knew very well what. Leo rubbed his arm, "Ow," he whined quietly, frowning.
"Are you okay?" She repeated, and hoped this time he would take the invitation to talk.
The blue cladded turtle stared at her, so many emotions swirling in deep blue eyes. Tears started forming and the turtle shook his head fiercely to try and stop them from falling. Following his example, April placed a hand over his now quivering ones and tried to get him to look at her. When he finally looked up the tears had already started sliding down his cheeks.
"No," he whimpered. The turtle buried his head in his arms again, ashamed of both his tears and admittance. Small sobs escaped before he could stop them and he pressed his face further into his arms in an attempt to stifle or muffle them.
In the week that he'd been awake, Leo had never really had the chance to take everything in. Between trying to cope with his leg injury, learning how to do even the most basic tasks again, and trying to reassure both his brothers and the teens, the turtle had barely even begun to understand what had happened and come to terms with it.
April glanced briefly at the door to the kitchen and went to close it to give the blue cladded turtle a bit more privacy. She knew that he wouldn't want everyone else hearing this... Breakdown for lack of a better word.
Raising his head so he could wipe the tears from his eyes, Leo desperately tried to get a hold of himself. He'd only cried once since he'd woken up and that was only because he'd been shook up by a nasty nightmare, after which Raph had been there to comfort him. But having to maintain an invulnerable mask had been wearing the poor turtle down and everything had just built up and up and up until he'd finally had enough. In the talk he'd had with Casey earlier the water nearly breached the dam, but now, hearing how much April missed her father and thinking about his own, it was just the final straw.
April returned to the table, but paused for a moment, weighting up her options. Eventually she settled for pulling her chair directly in front of his own and taking his hands in hers. Leo looked up, a few stray tears sliding down his cheek.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked him. It may have very well been a question, but he was going to, she'd make sure of it. There was no way that she would let him bottle it up a night longer.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Leo nodded. He licked his dry lips, an action April must have spotted for she gave a comforting squeeze to his hands before getting up and returning with a glass of water.
"I-I," He wasn't quite sure where to begin. Perhaps the most obvious subject to commence with was that of his father, since the red head had been talking about her own, "I miss Father," he muttered weakly. The teen gave a sympathetic smile, but otherwise copied the turtle's previous strategy and remained silent.
Closing his eyes, Leo continued, this time with more strength, "I know he's not dead, he can't be. I know I wasn't there, but I can feel it, I would know if he was dead, we all would," April nodded respectfully, "But that doesn't mean I don't miss him,"
The pure unadulterated sadness in those deep blue eyes pulled at April's heart, for she knew what it was like to feel this way. Leo's voice kept cracking with that last admission and just when he was about to bury to head in his hands again, April swooped forward to engulf in him in a tight, warm embrace. Leo returned it immediately, having another quiet cry on her shoulder.
The teen waited for Leo to pull back first before letting go. Whilst hugging, she'd pulled his handkerchief from his belt and handed it to him. The turtle chuckled weakly and wiped at his eyes again.
"Thanks,"
"No problem" She hoped that he would continue to let out his feelings and he didn't disappoint.
After another swig of water from the glass, Leo continued, "I'm afraid he's hurt. I mean it's sort of okay here because I have my brothers and you and Casey, but he won't have anyone to help look after him,"
"I'm sure Master Splinter will be okay. You said it yourself that he's a great Ninja Master,"
Leo nodded, "I know,"
"Would you like some more water?"
"May I have another cup of tea instead?"
"Of course," The teen made sure there was enough hot water in the kettle and flicked it on. Grabbing a fresh mug from the cupboard and another tea bag, she listened to the turtle talk while making the tea.
"I'm sorry about this, I..." He didn't get to finish. April whipped around brandishing the spoon she was holding like a Sai.
"Don't even think about it!" She growled. Leo actually shrunk back a little in his chair and dropped off what he was going to say next.
"Master Splinter always said that bottling things up is bad, that it only leads to the bottle bursting," Using his father's expressions against him was probably a bit of a low blow, but it did the trick and Leo opened up again after a sip of his tea.
"I guess I have kept a lot in," He sighed.
"What else has been bothering you?"
He hesitated, but ultimately spoke, "I keep having nightmares about what happened in New York," He swirled the contents of the mug around while he talked, a habit April noted meant the blue banded brother was deep in thought.
"They keep replaying that moment when Shredder came up behind me and I-I," Leo had never really gone into detail with them what had happened when he was ambushed. The only people he'd really told anything to was Donnie and Raph. Donnie so he could figure out where some of his injuries came from and Raph because he was the easiest to talk to about it, especially since they shared a room. He wanted to spare their youngest brother and the teens any more trauma, they'd faced enough already.
"'It's okay," She reassured the turtle that he needn't go into that much detail if he didn't want to.
Leo took another shaky breath and carried on, "I felt so useless after that. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness until we got to the Party Wagon and I just, I felt so weak and helpless and I was scared that Tiger Claw would get you guys too and I couldn't handle that,"
April saw that he was getting himself worked up again and brought him in for another embrace. He didn't return it this time, but leaned his head on her shoulder and took calming breaths.
"I know you guys keep saying that it's not my fault, but I can't help but feel guilty,"
"Leo..." She began sternly, pulling back from the hug, but the turtle cut her off.
"I know what you're going to say, but you'll never stop me feeling guilty," She glared at him, "I know it's stupid, and you're right that I couldn't do anything, but it's just the way I am," The teen punched him lightly, but otherwise said nothing.
Leo smiled softly and got up to put his mug in the sink, but then the final thing that had been bugging him acted up. He clutched the chair tightly and successfully remained upright, if a little crouched, as pain once again shot up his lame leg. April hopped off her own chair and went to his side, trying to coax the turtle to sit back down. He stubbornly refused though and even refused to resume sitting until he had placed the mug in the sink like he wanted to.
"And that would be the final thing that's been grinding on my nerves, though its more out of frustration than anything else," Leo said, angrily gesturing to his leg. April noticed that his knee did look a little swollen when he removed his knee pad.
"Want some ice?"
"Please,"
She journeyed to the fridge and opened the freezer above it where Ice Cream Kitty was already holding an ice pack for her to take. She fussed the kitty for a moment in thanks, who purred gratefully, then closed the door.
"Here you go," She'd grabbed a tea towel on the way back to the table and wrapped the ice pack in it to make it more comfortable.
"Thanks," Leo sighed contently as the cold soothed the pain in his knee. April dragged one of the other chairs over as well so he could elevate it properly and he nodded his gratitude.
"It's such a pain," He glared briefly at his leg, "I can't do anything and need help for even the simplest tasks, and it's annoying,"
"I can understand how you of all people would hate being dependant on others," She knew that his whole life he had been the eldest brother and as such was used to taking care of himself and helping out his younger brothers, not them having to care for him. It was a blow to his pride that he would only allow to be taken so far.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for everything you guys do to help, it's just that I feel a bit claustrophobic with everyone constantly fussing. I know I have to take it easy and there are some things I can't do without help, but I can do some things by myself,"
"We know you can Leo, and I'm sorry if we've been hovering a bit too close lately,"
"I appreciate you guys care, really I do, but..."
"I know, it's annoying," Leo nodded sheepishly, "We only do it because we don't want to see you hurt again, Raph's really protective of all you guys, Donnie's the family doctor so of course he's going to fuss and Mikey just likes to help out because you've helped him so much, he likes the idea of caring for you,"
"I know," The turtle smiled, "I'm lucky to have you guys,"
"You better believe it," She nudged him playfully and was rewarded with a genuine bought of laughter.
The blue cladded turtle shifted in his chair restlessly and took of the tea towel wrapped ice pack, but April pushed it gently back to his leg, "You need to keep it on a little longer, 10 minutes on then 10 minutes off,"
Leo pouted uncharacteristically, "Can I at least move to the couch?" April mimed thinking about it, putting her hand under her chin in a mock thoughtful manner. She almost lost composure when she saw the eldest turtle brother doing a decent impression of Mikey's puppy eyes, but managed to save it.
"I suppose, if you behave," It was Leo's turn to playfully push the teen and he very nearly knocked her off her chair.
Letting the injured turtle go first, April kept vigil while he walked the relatively short distance to the sofa. He lowered himself gently and a pleasured sigh escaped the moment his tension-filled body slumped into the softness of the sofa. April couldn't help but giggle quietly as Leo snuggled the cushions to make himself more comfortable.
It was starting to get dark and the pair momentarily wondered where the rest of the family were, but noises of Casey, Raph and Mikey playing some kind of game soon reached their ears and it was almost a given that Donnie would be in the barn. They should be returning to the house soon, they had missed lunch and as such would most likely be hungry for dinner sooner than normal.
Retrieving a blanket on the way over, April unfolded and draped it over the wounded turtle, sitting down next to him. Still unsure if he wanted to keep talking or not, April kept a respectable distance between them and remained awkwardly upright, turning her body so she was facing him. But Leo extended his arm towards her, and after a moment's hesitation she snuggled into his side, mentally agreeing with Mikey when he once told her that Leo was a good cuddle companion as the turtle put an arm around her shoulder.
At first April leaned against his shoulder, but when the turtle told her to put her feet up on the pouffe as well, she managed to slide down to lean her head on his chest. They sat in a comfortable silence, the red head listening to the soothing sounds of her brother's breathing and heartbeat.
"Thanks," Leo said softly. April looked up, "For everything,"
April smiled, "Anytime"
The red head watched as Leo tried to hide a yawn and infectious as they were she yawned as well. Closing her eyes, April wondered why they were both tired when everyone had slept in this morning, but then again they had both talked about the feelings and emotions that were deep within and that was enough to drain anyone.
Leo wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep. All he knew was that when he opened his eyes again it was completely pitch black outside and the source of the sound that had woke him up in the first place was standing in his right eye's peripheral vision.
Donnie appeared frozen, his eyes wide and mouth open slightly, showing his gap. The remote in his hand, which Leo remembered he had asked the younger brother to fix and then return to him, thankfully did not need another repair for it stayed in the ninja's hand.
Leo watched his younger brother through groggy eyes, lifting the hand not on April's shoulder to rub them.
"What?" was all Donnie seemed capable of.
Leo followed the purple banded brother's gaze to the teen now sleeping on his side and visibly rolled his eyes, "Close your mouth Don, you'll catch flies,"
The purple cladded brother seemed to catch himself, "There aren't any flies in the farmhouse," he said sheepishly. He knew Leo wouldn't try to hit on His April, it wasn't like it was Casey on the sofa all cuddled up warmly with his crush.
"I er fixed the remote," Don waved the electronic device slightly, "Where do you want it?"
"You can put it by the TV, I'll hear if anyone breaks their punishment," Don nodded and did as he was told. He hovered in front of the pair, a barely audible whine escaping his throat as he wished it was him with the red head.
"What were you guys doing, Raph told me the door to the kitchen was shut when they came in to get some lunch,"
"We just talked really," Leo replied honestly, "She helped me get a lot of things off my chest,"
Donnie smiled, "Good, I thought you looked less tense,"
"Where are the others?" Just as he asked the question, noise like an elephant stomping through the door filled his ears as Raph, Mikey and Casey came in from outside. Raph spotted the dozing pair and immediately shushed his companions. It was a bit late however, as April had already stirred and was blinking blearily at the wall by the sofa.
Leo rubbed her shoulder and she nuzzled him once before sitting up. Casey also seemed a bit flustered at the sight of April cuddling up with Leo, but a slap upside the head from Raph jolted him back to reality.
"Sorry," Mikey said guiltily, "Didn't mean to wake you bro,"
"It's alright," Leo reassured the youngest, closing his eyes again.
April moved away from Leo to stretch her arms, getting up to join the others in a little huddle. They talked in hushed voices.
"What did he say?" Donnie asked.
The teen didn't want to say too much, as Leo had spoken to her in confidence, "Let's just say that he had a few things bottle up and now he's talked about them he's feeling better,"
"Good, he talked to me a bit, but obviously not enough," Raph folded his arms, his annoyance at his older sibling for bottling things up plain.
"I think we need to give him a bit more space, or at least watch him more subtlety," The others nodded.
Casey asked about dinner, to which April elbowed him, but nonetheless dragged him off to placate his stomach. Raph quickly asked her about going up to the attic, but she agreed they would do it another night. Tonight would be too emotional for her after talking with Leo about their fathers.
Mikey spotted the TV remote on the stand and eyes it mischievously. He studied his blue banded brother whose even breathing indicated that he was asleep. The youngest waved a hand over the eldest's face to see if he really was asleep and he got no reaction. Smirking to himself, Mikey prowled over to the remote, but just as he was about to grab it,
"Don't even think about it," Mikey froze at the eldest's voice. Turning around he saw that Leo hadn't even opened his eyes. Dang that guy was good!
Pouting, the youngest settled for curling up with his oldest brother instead, wrapping an arm around his waist and nuzzling his side. Leo smiled, an arm weaving around the younger's shell to pull him closer.
April walked back into the room, leaving Casey to stuff his face in the kitchen, and beamed at the sight. She'd finally gotten Leo to relax and let go of all that tension and baggage he carried. She walked around the sofa to stand behind the blue banded turtle and saw the serene face.
Leo opened his eyes, sensing the presence.
"We should do this again sometime,"
April smiled and kissed her brother's forehead, honoured that Leo would turn to her when he needed someone to talk to besides his father.
"Anytime brother, anytime,"
So yeah I hope you enjoyed it. Leo's just had enough here and can't carry the weight anymore, he really needs someone to go to and I think April would be the best candidate besides Raph, and I don't think Leo would really want to bother his brothers too much, the whole leadership and big brother thing...
Donnie's phrase that April is 'sweet enough' I just couldn't resist putting in! It's something me and my Grandad say when talking about tea, as neither of us have sugar in it :) So call this a little nod to my Grandad as a late Father's Day mention. Actually the story itself when Leo and April are talking about their fathers is sort of a nod. I really love my Grandad so here's to you Grandaddy :)
I thought the Handkerchief would be a nice touch, I always thought of April giving them quite a personalised gift and it's something they would be able to carry easily with them, especially Donnie ;)
Ice Cream Kitty made an appearance here, gotta love the Kitty :) I do have a story with her in mind, that was again inspired by a conversation I had with Sairey13 (I love you for giving me all these ideas!) which I will try to write, but it's not the next one I want to do.
Oh and one final thing before I go - I didn't intend this to be anything romantic, everything to me is a brother/sister thing, even the kiss, but if you want to read into it then feel free. Everyone interprets things differently, otherwise the world would be boring :)
The next TMNT story I want to write is not in this Season 3 series, but rather takes place at some point in Season 2. I talked about it on my profile, Leo is overworking and needs to be told to rest! Not the first time it's been done I know, but it'll be different... I hope!