"Misunderstood Guardian"
Ch. 7
When Gerald and Donatello arrived back at the lair, everything was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the soft breathing from the others' rooms where they were still asleep. Maybe they had made it back before Leo got up after all.
They were sneaking past the dojo when a voice from inside suddenly asked, "Where did you two go earlier this morning?"
Don groaned when a candle in the dojo was lit, revealing a non-too-happy Leonardo. "Gerald just went out to get some fresh air and I joined him."
Leo stared at the genius turtle, and then turned to look at Gerald, who remained silent. "Did something happen, Gerald?"
"I just had a bad dream and I needed to clear my head, that's all. Now would you stop the interrogation already?" He grumbled softly to himself as he headed to the bathroom to get washed up for the day.
Donatello sighed, looking after the older male and then he turned back to Leo. "Are you ever going to trust Gerald? If you would just stop being so paranoid and just get to know him, you'd realize he's really a good person. I'm going back to bed."
Leo watched the purple bandana clad turtle leave, sighing. It had been several days and he still hadn't found any information on Gerald. Most of what he looked up was classified or password protected and he wasn't a techno-genius like his younger brother so he couldn't hack in to the files. There had to be a way… but what?
---
Gerald was in the shower; his head leaned against the wall as he let the water wash over him. Leo knew; he didn't know how but Leo knew about the demons the retired bounty hunter hid away; the demons that broke free of their cages every time he closed his eyes to sleep. Every time Gerald was with the blue bandana clad turtle, he could feel the other looking inside him to see those demons.
It would be only a matter of time before he would unveil those demons and he would be forced to flee… to hide away in the darkness once again. But he should be used to this by now. But at the thought of Donatello learning of those demons made the retired bounty hunter's chest ache with a strange pain. He wanted to continue to hear the turtle's soft, understanding tone, feel his gentle touches and listen to him talk of his hope to better the study of science. He didn't want that to be poisoned by the demons. But he knew he would never get his way. Like always, he could never have a happy life.
Turning off the shower, he slowly stepped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. Then he grabbed a second towel and began to dry off his hair.
"Hey, Gerald, breakfast is almost ready!" Bryan exclaimed poking his head in the door completely unfazed by the fact Gerald was practically naked if not for the towel around his waist.
"Okay, I'll be there in a second," the older male said as he tried to brush his unruly hair.
"Ooh, you want me to help you with that?"
He was trying to brush his bangs over his eyes when Bryan said this and his eyes went wide with terror. Bryan… doing his hair? An image of him with frilly, pink bows popped in to his head. "N-no, that's okay. I can do it myself."
"Nonsense," Bryan stated, entering the bathroom, closing the door behind him the click of the door being locked could be heard. "Now, what do you think? Braid, or pig tails?"
"Hey, morning Gerald, I heard you and Donny snuck out earlier this morning. What were you—?"Gina stopped short when she looked up from the newspaper she was reading to see Gerald walk in to the kitchen, his hair in braided pigtails a big grin plastered on Bryan's face.
"Don't. Say. A word."
Mikey, Raph, Don, and Gina exchanged glances then all four friends cracked up laughing.
"Here, let me offer you a seat, ma'am!" Raph laughed, sliding a chair out and offering it to Gerald.
The older male growled, his face turning a bright red. "I'll get you for this, Bryan." Reaching up, he freed his hair from the braids, shaking it out so it was back to its normal, unruly self. Then he sat down, Mikey setting a plate of eggs, bacons, and toast.
"So, what were you guys doing out so early in the morning, hmm?" Gina asked once everyone had calmed down.
"Nothing. Nothing happened. Now let's drop the subject." Gerald grabbed his fork and began to eat without another word.
Gina blinked then turning to Donatello asked, "Come on, Don, what happened?"
The purple bandana clad turtle blinked, then turned to glance at Gerald who had paused from eating to look at him. "Nothing… Gerald just had a bad dream and went to get some fresh air. I just happened to join him. Leo's just being overprotective, that's all."
"A bad dream? What was it about?" Mikey sat down at the kitchen table, staring wide-eyed at Gerald.
"I don't want to talk about it… Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to meditate with Master Splinter." With that he got up and left the kitchen.
"What's up with him?" Raphael asked, staring at barely touched plate of food.
---
Leonardo was surfing the Net on Donatello's computer when he suddenly got an instant message from someone with the screen name "LordOfDarkness666".
"So, you want to know information about Gerald?"
The blue bandana clad turtle stared at the message in awe, then looked around to make sure no one was around. He typed back, "Do you have any?" He pressed the send button and waited anxiously for the response.
"Heheheh. I know everything about him; even the things he would rather keep secret from you and your family."
"Tell me."
---
Leo suddenly entered the kitchen and said, "Time for morning practice."
Gina, Raph, Don, and Mikey got up, heading for the dojo but when Bryan went to follow, Leo stopped him. "Not today, Bryan; why don't you, go meditate with Master Splinter and Gerald?"
Bryan blinked, staring after the other in confused shock. What the…? What's going on?
