This morning in the Hamato household was much like the others before it.
There was no storm looming on the horizon, no chill in the wind, only Casey wandering into the kitchen, still clad in a loose t-shirt and plaid boxers, with the look of a particularly low-functioning undead. Shortly after, April slipped into the kitchen, having scented out the scrambled eggs and bacon Donatello was cooking at the stove while Raphael set the table with hibiscus-themed plates.
Though they hadn't always been a part of family, they'd been friends with their adopted father for longer than either of them could remember, and Donatello threw them both a soft smile at the sight of their bleary-eyed shuffling. He chuckled under his breath. "Why don't you two take a seat at the table? Breakfast's almost ready." When April opened her mouth to protest, however, he gently waved her off, saying kindly, "You can help me clean up afterwards, okay?" Successfully placated, she plopped down into her seat, readjusting her night tee slightly when the glittering Celestite gem on her shoulder peeked past the fabric. Donnie and Raph had gotten a lot better about seeing their gems, but there were still vague memories instilled in her and Casey of how their smiles seemed to fall at the sight of them, and they'd taken to keeping them covered long after the Gems cottoned on and insisted they were fine.
It wasn't and they weren't, but so long as they stayed, so long as they didn't disappear like their parents did, then that was okay.
"Hey!" April glanced up from her plate full of eggs and bacon to see Casey shoveling food into his mouth, Raph looking on with disgust. He reached over, bopping Casey on the back of the head. "You're human, knucklehead. Eat like it."
"Only half," Casey grumbled once his subsequent coughing fit subsided. Don traded a glance with Raph over their heads, then carefully untied and set aside his apron, and told them he was heading out for some fresh air.
Raph watched him go for a moment, before climbing to his feet with a heavy sigh. Looking down at them sternly, he said, "Those eggs better be gone by the time I get back. Casey," Casey straightened with an eep, "no second helpings of bacon before those eggs are done." Then he left them on their own to follow Donatello, who was already making his way across the beach to the pier. It was where he liked to go to think, his quiet place, and usually only Raph was brave enough to go after him when he went there.
April glared at Casey. "Why'd you have to mention that?"
Casey shrugged, not quite meeting her eyes.
"I think you have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to say." Donatello glanced up at his footsteps more than his voice, his gaze dull. He shrugged. Raph sighed, settling down beside him. "Well, I've been wrong before."
He allowed his own legs to dangle over the sea, giving Donatello the time he needed to gather his thoughts. It was like that, sometimes. They'd been alive for so long, experienced so much, that for a guy who liked to think about things as much as Donatello did, it could all get a little overwhelming. Finally, Donatello took a deep shuddering breath, and with his voice muffled by his knees, said, "I dreamed about them last night." Raph stiffened. He'd expected this and it still stung like crack in his shell. "Our brothers. Our friends."
"Yeah?" Raph glanced at him, forcing himself to relax. "Figured it might be something like that." It was impossible to hide the hurt completely, however, when he managed to ask, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"And what would that accomplish?" Looking every inch of his several hundred years, Donnie shook his head. "I know misery loves company but I'm not about to rob you of a good night's sleep for no reason."
"Of course there's a reason!" Catching sight of a subtle flinch, Raph forced himself to calm down. He wanted to stand and shout - it was in his nature - but none of that would help him here. Instead, he reached out to clasp Donatello on the shoulder. "You're all the reason I need, Donnie. You shouldn't have to be alone with this stuff." When Donatello still didn't look convinced, he dug down deep. "I have nightmares, too, you know?"
It was tough, surprisingly tough after the years they'd spent with Yoshi and the kids, to admit to weakness, but gratifying when Donatello finally looked at him, his eyes wide and startled. The corners of his mouth twitched. "Next time, okay?"
Raph grinned, pushing off his shoulder to sit more comfortably on the pier. A fish jumped out of the water, its scales reflecting the sun. Donatello tilted his head back, taking in the endless blue of the sky with a contented sigh. "Casey gets more like Jet everyday, doesn't he?"
Several seconds past. Donatello heard the sound of stone scraping against wood. "You got that right. Big mouth and all."
He smiled.
Gems that weren't even involved in the war fought to survive, frightened of being trampled by a rampaging Jasper or shattered. Crystal Quartz had spoken out against shattering gems, had urged her rebels to incapacitate, but such pretty words could only carry so far for so long when the soil glittered with gem shards. There were screams and smoke, the acrid scent of plant life burning, and still Tanzanite held his ground, stuck to his beliefs, refused to kill.
Siam had wanted to give a weapon developed by one of Crystal's generals a try, something that was guaranteed to smash and crack the enemy gems like they were made out of ice instead of stone, but Jet had managed to talk him out of it. Tanzanite hadn't expected the rowdy gem to take his side on the matter, yet was undeniably grateful. The last thing he wanted was for Siam to survive the war and lose himself to shardlust.
"Hey Tee!" Tanzanite caught a flash of orange among the droves of Homeworld soldiers, and craned his neck over a combined Ruby in an attempt to find the owner. A blast from an Amethyst's gauntlet shook the ground, kicking up dirt. Obscuring the already chaotic battlefield.
Miles away from the pier, in a too small cave carved out for a too small body, a young gem sat up with a gasp. It touched the flower-shaped gem on its forehead for comfort, taking deep, calming breaths until the worst of the dread had passed, then poked its head outside, not expecting to see anything other than the collection of rocks and pebbles it had befriended over the years.
It certainly didn't expect to find another gem, this one taller and older, with a displeased scowl and some kind of box in its hands.
Its strange nightmare very much forgotten, the little gem crept from its cave, feeling a growing warmth in its chest it couldn't name.
