Leo was thinking of ways to excuse how tired he looked when the time came to train. That was plenty of hours away- - after all, the sun wasn't even up yet. None of his brothers were going to wake up so early in the morning. Neither would he if he had actually slept, but that was besides his point. There was the obvious excuse that he had been asleep for 3 months, his recovery was rough, they were beat up by a plant monster the night before- - any of those could work in his favor. It'd work on all but Raph and Donnie, who would be constantly asking him about his nightmare. He kept scolding himself about how he acted towards them- - he knew they were just worried about him. They'd been without him for 3 months, which must have been excruciatingly painful for them. He wanted to make things easier for everyone, but he knew that their lives were never easy. One thing kept popping in his mind: none of it would have led up to this if Leo had just stuck with Donnie's plan back in New York. Who was he to doubt his brother's smarts? Why did he let his ego get to him? Who was he to doubt anything Donnie suggested? Donnie had done so much for the team and contributed so much to the missions- - perhaps he took it for granted... no, he had taken it for granted, and thanks to him, their city was probably gone by now, along with their father. It was all his fault. He should have just gone with Donnie's plan. He shouldn't have tried facing Shredder on his own. He- -
"Leo?" Leo tensed up a bit, glancing up from the couch cushions he was staring so intensely at. He saw Mikey looking down at him, a confused look on his face. "Whatcha doin', dude?"
Leo took a couple of seconds before he replied, "what do you mean?"
Mikey smiled and laughed a bit. "C'mon, dude, quit messin' around. You were looking at the couch and whispering stuff to yourself. What were you doing?"
Leo flushed, sitting up now. "I.. I was not doing that," Leo said a bit defensively. "...was I?"
Mikey nodded. "Yeah, man," Mikey's smile faded a bit. "Is something wrong?"
Leo shook his head, giving his brother an innocent smile. "Nah, nah. What time is it?"
"It's like 9 in the morning."
"What?" Leo asked, surprised. "Already?"
Mikey narrowed his eyes at Leo, leaning in close. "What do you mean 'already?'"
"I just meant that time flies by," Leo replied nervously. "I thought it was maybe 6 in the morning since it wasn't that bright out, but I guess I was wrong."
Mikey stayed leaning in for a moment, but accepted this and backed off. "Ah, well, it has been 3 months- - don't worry, bro, you'll get the hang of things soon. I know ya will."
Leo rubbed the back of his neck, humming a sort of 'yeah' response. He really didn't know how to respond to the 3-month situation. "Anyways, why are you up so early, Mikey? You don't usually wake up before 11am."
"Well, since it's 'quiet' around here, the light from the sun comin' up and the chickens doing their morning calls got me on some new waking system. Basically whenever the chickens are awake, I'm awake. Which reminds me- -" Mikey left the room for a moment, coming back out with a straw hat. "- - it's time to feed them."
Leo smiled a bit, nodding. "Have fun," Leo yawned, laying back down on the couch and throwing the blanket over himself.
"You're gonna try to go back to sleep?" Mikey asked. "You usually have a hard time going back to sleep when you've woken up, bro, so you usually just stay awake."
"It's just that my body still hurts," Leo replied. He wasn't lying- - he was still hurting, especially his bum leg. "Moving feels really weird, like doing basic movements makes my body feel heavy and I feel this weird rush throughout my body that I've never felt before. I don't know how to explain it."
"That's cause," Donnie yawned suddenly, trudging in the room and rubbing his eyes. "your body is most likely atrophic."
Mikey and Leo exchanged confused looks before they looked back at Donnie. "What's that mean?" they asked in unison.
"It means that your muscles are deteriorating- -"
Leo shot back up, which he immediately regretted. He hissed as his muscles seemed to tighten painfully all at once. "My muscles are dying?" Leo asked, worry spread across his face.
"No, no," Donnie quickly replied, trying to get Leo to settle down. "You've been asleep for 3 months. That long of a period of not moving is bound to make your muscles weaken since you've underused them for so long. You didn't move at all, you just laid still in a tub. It's going to take a while to regain the strength you had before. You have to be careful with your body, especially with the damage Shredder caused."
"Not to mention that plant monster last night," Mikey added, rubbing his shoulders and rolling them. "Thanks for fixing me up, by the way, Donnie."
"Don't mention it," Donnie replied, kneeling down in front of Leo. "You should feed the chickens before they get feisty again."
"Sure thing," Mikey chirped, about to head out. "Leo, are you gonna start to train today?"
Leo was about to reply, but Donnie cut him off. "The most he should do is walk around. Stretching is something he'll have to try, just to see if he can do any basic techniques."
"Mm, give the guy a lil breathing room, Don," Raph grumbled, starting to wake up. "It's not the best idea to restrict Leo, he's stubborn as shell."
"If he wants to get better, I think he'll set aside his stubbornness and heave my advice."
"He's gotta take risks, though. Nothing is ever done without some risks, you can't deny that."
"I'm not denying it, I'm just saying he should take it easy for now- - we don't want him stretching himself out too thin so soon."
"He wants to get better as soon as possible," Raph groaned as he sat up, looking at Donnie. "so I don't think he'd risk that."
While they were bickering about his well-being, Leo started spacing out- - all this talk about what's best for him was starting to stress him out. Raph and Donnie's voices were fading out. Leo stared at his bum leg and everything else just disappeared. How long was his recovery going to take? When would he be ready to protect his home? When would he be able to at least defend himself in a fight? He was just weighing everyone down at this point. Nothing was going to progress because of his decision 3 months ago. It was probably going to be too late whenever- - if ever- - they go back to save New York and search for Master Splinter. His body felt hollow yet everything felt like it was tingling. He felt heavy yet light. He felt really, really tired. Everything felt really slow...
"...ing him out!"
That sounded really far...
"...wo just drop it already?"
The voice echoed around him. He felt something clutch his hand, and he immediately snapped back to reality- - somewhat.
"...ou okay?"
Leo blinked a couple of times, waiting for that slow feeling to go away before he looked up to see who was talking to him.
"Leo, are you okay?" Mikey was looking at him really worriedly. Leo looked at Mikey, but he wasn't really looking at him. It was like Leo was looking past him. Leo had a lost but blank look in his eyes. Mikey's worried expression soon turned cold, and Mikey sharply turned his head to glare at his other two brothers. "You guys freaked him out! When will you two learn when to drop something?!"
Donnie and Raph looked defeated. They didn't know what else to say except "we're sorry."
Mikey turned his head to face Leo again, and his face looked soft again. "Bro, snap out of it." Mikey waved his hand in front of Leo rapidly until he saw that Leo had fully snapped out of his trance. Mikey dropped his hand.
"Sorry," Leo breathed out. "Did I miss something?"
Mikey gave Leo an innocent, soft smile. "Nah, dude. You wanna go outside, watch me work my magic with the chickens?"
"I thought I had to- -"
"Nope, you're comin' with me," Mikey cut him off, grabbing Leo's crutches. Mikey held out a hand to Leo. "Let's go get some fresh air, yeah?"
Leo was confused, but he grabbed Mikey's hand anyways. His little brother was a walking safety blanket, and he'd go anywhere with him. Mikey had Leo sling an arm around his shoulders as they got Leo off the couch. Mikey handed Leo the crutches, and they both walked out of the farm house.
"Are Donnie and Raph co- -"
"Just you, me, the chickens and the outside, bro," Mikey replied. "I know ya feel like you've been cooped up in there for too long, even if you did just wake up. I know ya don't like all this attention, either."
"I just didn't wanna hurt anyone's feelings if I said anything, so I didn't. I don't really know how to process all this, Mikey."
"I know, dude, but like always, we'll get through it together. Ya wanna meditate?"
Meditating sounded really nice to Leo, but the thought of the nightmare potentially sneaking its way into his meditation scared him. Leo knew if he said no, it'd raise suspicion out of Mikey, so he instead replied "I thought you wanted to show me your chicken magic?"
Mikey perked up. "I was just using that as an excuse to get ya outta there, but if you really wanna watch me, I'll be happy to show ya!" Mikey carefully let go of Leo, running to the barn and coming back out with a bag full of chicken feed. The chickens had learned by now that the big brown sack meant food, and they immediately huddled around Mikey. Some of them started pecking at each other to get closer to Mikey. Mikey bent down and waggled his finger at them, and they eventually stopped pecking. Mikey tore open the bag and drew out lines of feed in different areas, corralling groups of chickens to one line at a time. The chickens ate in peace, and they all ate their own shares, not trying to peck at another's feed. Leo was surprised none of the chickens tried to eat each other's feed, impressed that Mikey had created a peace among them.
"That's really cool," Leo said softly, watching them eat.
"Eh, it's just chickens eating food," Mikey replied. "The first couple of times I did this, they all flew around and pecked at each other and stuff because they wanted more food. It took sooooo long to get them to be this calm."
"It's calming to watch," Leo said, glancing up at Mikey. "Peaceful."
Mikey smiled, walking to Leo's side. "C'mon. Let's go sit in the woods, yeah?"
"Sure, but maybe we should bring a rope or something so we don't get lost in them- -"
"Don't worry, bro, I've got a spot I've been wantin' to show ya. I bet you'll love it." Leo nodded, slinging his arm around Mikey as his little brother led the way. Once they reached the spot, Leo felt a little smile tug at the corners of his lips. It was like a really cliche scene in a movie- - a long log under the trees, lots of grass, the sounds of squirrels chattering and running from tree to tree, lots of sunshine in the center of the area, but enough shade to provide a balance. The sound of the leaves in the wind was relaxing all in itself. Mikey looked to Leo, a smile on his face. "Ya like it?"
"Love it," Leo replied, gently elbowing his little brother. "Thanks, Mikey, this is really nice."
"Wanna sit?" Leo nodded, and they sat down together. "I'm real glad ya like it, bro. This can be your little getaway world- - a spot to call your own. Whenever I first found it, the first thing I thought was woooooaaaahhhh," Mikey giggled a bit as Leo chuckled at that. "The second thing I thought was 'Leo would love this.' Every time I came here, it made me feel good, but kinda sad at the same time."
Leo frowned a bit. "Why?"
"Everyone was really worried about you. It was hard to keep up any positivity for those 3 months. I tried my best to make them feel okay and give them hope that you'd wake up. I'm the comforting, happy, cute brother. Whenever I came here, it was just me and my thoughts, y'know? I kept thinking of you, and I always wondered if I had my hopes up too high. I wished you were awake a lot in different ways, like whenever it was 11:11, when the first star came out, when I blew on a dandelion or eyelash- - every wish I made was for you to wake up." Mikey looked down at his feet, twiddling with his fingers. "I really missed you. Whenever I saw you in the tub, I just wanted to shake you until you woke up. It was really weird not seeing or hearing you around. It really sucked. And even though you're awake now, it feels like it's all a dream, and I'm gonna wake up and be super sad about it because it wasn't real but it felt super real. My brain's weird. Maybe that's why I haven't let it out yet." Mikey fell silent for a while, trying to collect himself. He was feeling really vulnerable- - he wanted to be strong for his big brother. He finally drew in a long breath and perked his head back up, plastering a smile on his face. "Anywa- -"
Leo grabbed Mikey's upper arm tightly, tugging his little brother towards him and engulfing him in a tight hug. Mikey froze for a moment, but carefully hugged his brother back. "Your wish came true, little brother," Leo said softly. "Let it out, Mikey." Leo heard Mikey sniffle once. He knew Mikey was trying to hold it in. "Mikey, give me a real hug. Don't worry about me. Can you give me a real hug, please? I've missed your hugs." Mikey quickly tightened his embrace around Leo, resting his head on top of Leo's shoulder. Mikey started to sniffle a bit more, but he kept trying to hold it in. Leo placed one of his hands behind Mikey's head and gently rubbed it as he said "I love you, lil bro." He felt the tension in Mikey's body fade away, and held Mikey tightly as his little brother started to sob.
"I-I l-l-lo-love yo-you t-too, b-big br-bro," Mikey cried softly, laughing a bit as he heard how he sounded. He heard Leo sniff a bit and glanced up, worried. "Wh-what's w-wrong?"
Leo laughed, shaking his head. "Nothing. This is just a really emotional moment, I couldn't hold myself together. Sorry."
Mikey roared with laughter, squeezing Leo quickly. "We're such babies."
Leo managed to keep the groans of pain from escaping his throat as Mikey hugged him- - he didn't want to worry his brother, and he was pretty sure he'd be fine later on. Leo was glad his little brother was happy and had trusted him enough to let out his bottled up emotions in front of him. He smiled at his little brother, who was watching some squirrels fight over an acorn. Leo was going to let himself enjoy today instead of letting the invasive thoughts take over. Perhaps he stared too long at his brother, because eventually Mikey gave Leo a funny look.
"Bro, something up?"
"Wha, uh, no," Leo replied quickly. "I was just thinking."
"About?"
"About if you've learned new things to cook while we've been at the farm house- - have you?"
Mikey lit up, shooting straight up. "Yeah! We can go back and I can show ya something!" Mikey helped Leo up, and they headed back to the farm house. "I'm gonna warn ya, most of the dishes include eggs, so I hope you don't get sick of it too soon. April and Casey got a hold of this thing called chorizo, and lemme tell ya, it's so good with scrambled eggs. There's also..." Leo listened intently as Mikey went on about different egg dishes, feeling content for the first time since he'd woken up. Maybe, he thought to himself, things wouldn't be so bad as he had thought.
