DICLAIMER: I delcare that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not mine…I'm just borrowing them for a spell, making no money from it, blah blah woof woof…
As far as I can tell, there hasn't been alot of fic done on the Keno character from the second installmnent of the TMNT trilogy...so after watching it one night, I plucked up the shiny new idea, (which I have notoriuos habits of starting but not really finishing), and said... Well, what the heck!
So tell me what you think...
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Moving forward, he walked through the hall, the familiarity of the walls, the rooms struck him in a deep, emotional place, and his mask slipped for a moment.
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Arriving home, he set his delivery jacket and keys down on the bench. The house was oddly silent, and only light illuminating the kitchen filtered through from the streetlamps outside.
He called out to his parents. Hearing nothing, he shrugged, moving further into the house. Figuring they were asleep, he tiptoed past the lounge, trailing down the hallway to his room. He closed the door quietly, his hand feeling for the light switch.
The bulb switched on with a click. He turned, ready to climb into bed; he was exhausted. And his jaw dropped open. There was no bed.
Or desk, or chair…
The room was empty. Only the indentations on the carpet gave way that, until recently, the room had been occupied.
Suddenly, he turned, tearing the door open, and ran through the rest of the rooms, turning on lights as he went.
The dining room: empty.
The lounge: empty.
The bathroom; empty. Every little bit of furniture was gone.
He felt like he was drowning, he couldn't believe this wasn't a dream. He stopped in the hall, overlooking the lounge. There were no broken windows; the doors hadn't been forced open- the house had been locked up tight.
Frantic, he called out again, this time his voice reached a screaming pitch. "Mom, Dad…ANYBODY!" This couldn't be happening…it just couldn't. He thought of his parents, and turned back, running, his heart pumping wildly.
He paused outside their room; hand on the doorknob, dread filling his stomach, making him sick. Breathing out, he opened the door and went in.
"No," he whispered, leaning against the door for strength, the truth finally hitting him. The shadows played over his agonised face, his eyes darting across the space, unable to accept the emptiness of the room. The silence that met his ears was deafening, and he sank to the floor, knees coming up to support his head.
There was nothing; the room that had once comforted him with its warmth, the bed he'd climbed into as a child, his nightmares fleeing into the night. The oriental paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling he'd broken, and then tried to repair again with duct tape…His parents had placed them with amused pride in the centre of the room.
It was all gone. There was nothing…Nobody. Apparently his parents had been true to their word…the fight earlier that morning coming back with startling clarity.
The fights were happening on a daily basis now. This time, he'd told them to stop melding- they were still living back in Japan, no matter where they called home…And they had said things. They had yelled, back and forth; him letting out a lifetime of frustration, them growing angrier and angrier, until…
She'd hit him…He now reached up and cupped his cheek, eyes glistening as he took in the darkened room.
He'd sworn, and she'd slapped him…His parents had never, in their life, touched him like that, and there they were, and she started crying. His father told him, as he gathered up his work jacket…
"Leave and we won't be there when you got back."
The voice of his father echoed again and again in his ears, and he closed his eyes. Placing his head on his knees, his shoulders shook, and he let go of the anger, crying burning tears. His sobs were the only noise in the still house.
He cried out into the darkness...A horrible, lonely weight settling over him. No-one would come…
Because there was no-one there.
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Later, much later, after he'd exhausted himself crying, he awoke on the floor of his parent's room, disorientated. It took a moment for his head to clear, and he stood, eyes coldly visioning the last hours.
Moving forward, he walked through the hall, the familiarity of the walls, the rooms struck him in a deep, emotional place, and his mask slipped for a moment.
Then he saw the spaces, the emptiness that mocked him, the memories that seemed betrayed by a fight that grew smaller and smaller the more time separated him from that morning. His watch flashed 2am, and he pulled it together. Barely.
The kitchen, stark except for his jacket and keys, was reached before he'd even realised he was moving again, but he found he really didn't care. The numbness blissfully kept him from feeling the brunt of it, for now.
Gathering up his things with a horrible finality, he tugged his cell free of his jacket pocket, and stared at it, uncertain who to call. His school buddies wouldn't care, and he had no relatives in the city to stay with.
He thought for a minute; his thumb poised above the keypad, until a name jumped out at him from his jumbled, chaotic reflection. He struggled with it for about five minutes, before he dialled, and lifted the little thing to his ear, the ringing drawing out longer and longer as he waited, nerves stretched tight.
After the twelfth ring, a sleepy female voice answered. "Yes?"
He sent up a quick prayer of thanks then spoke, "April. It's me. It's Keno."
There was a slight pause, and then, "Keno…It's 2am." Then the voice changed, concerned. "What's wrong? Are the guys alright?"
He bristled slightly, then remembered he was calling for help. "They're fine, but…I." He stopped, clearing his suddenly tight throat. "…I need a favour…" He took a deep breath, before everything came spilling out.
April was silent for a long time, and Keno thought she'd hung up, until her voice, shining and clear, came through the phone.
"How fast can you gather up your stuff and get to my apartment?"
Two days later, he saw the morning sunrise through an entirely alien set of windows. The numbing coldness of that night was still there, but slowly, it had begun melting since he'd woken on the first day.
April, to her credit, had taken over the situation remarkably well. Keno realised, at one point, he'd have to properly thank her for everything.
He was so lost in thought; he started when her voice sounded right next to him. "Hey." She smiled, handing him a steaming mug before settling down on the chair across from his.
Accepting the coffee, he held it between his hands, the warm tufts of steam rising up into the chill of the morning. He looked up at her, and caught her studying him over the rim of her mug. Lowering her coffee to her lap, she stared back, saying nothing.
"Thanks," he offered up lamely, unable to think of anything else to say. "Thank you for everything. You didn't have to, but you did. And I'm grateful."
"I will repay you, but right now, things may be a little tight, but I will…"
"Hey, it's okay. Believe me: one human houseguest is a lot easier to manage than four teenage turtles and a rat." He cracked a smile, and sipped his coffee, eyes drifting back to the windows.
"Keno," April started, "I understand this is going to be a bad time for you, but…"
His head jerked up. 'Here's where she tells me to leave'. The muscles in his arm tensed, and his grip on the mug wavered. He'd been expecting this, naturally, but not so soon. Depression began to sink into him and he almost missed her next words.
"But I want you to know that you can come to me for support; the guys too. They'll be more than happy to help. And even though we don't know each other very well, I just hope you can come to me again if you need to." As she finished, he let his breath in a whoosh, consciously forcing himself to relax.
She studied his face. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." He took a nonchalant sip of his coffee. She squinted her eyes, then nodded to herself, satisfied her words had gotten through. Reaching down, she picked up her cup and straightened smoothly, moving off towards the kitchen area.
Keno sat, processing her speech for a while. She reappeared, dressed smartly in a business suit, her hair swept into an up style. With a jolt, he looked at the clock; he realized he'd been thinking for over a half hour.
She rushed about, calling out as she went. "Okay, spare keys are by the phone. I should finish around five, but don't worry if it's later. There should be food in the cupboards- however there is an all night store than delivers around the corner."
She was almost at the door when he called out.
"April?"
She paused, keys in hand. "Yes?"
His eyes, that had avoided her all morning, suddenly pierced into hers, and she drew a quick breath.
"I appreciate everything you've done for me, and what you've said helps. But," he stood, eyes never leaving hers. "I need you to promise me something."
Nodding, she swallowed. "Sure."
He smiled a little at that, continuing on. "Thanks." His voice took on a hard edge. "I need you to promise you won't tell the guys. Raph, Leo…especially Mikey…I don't want them to know."
"But..." She started, and he continued on, ignoring her completely.
"They've had a lot of stuff to deal with lately. To have to add to it with…It wouldn't be fair. And selfishly, I don't think I can handle anyone asking about it, or talking about feelings. So, I'm asking you to promise you won't tell anyone. Please."
April didn't speak at first. Then, "You do realise you're asking me to lie to them?"
Keno shook his head. "No, not lie, just not say anything."
"A lie by omission is still a lie." She started, but he kept staring at her, and finally, she agreed. "Fine. Alright. I won't say a thing to the guys about it. Happy?"
Keno nodded, turning to pick up his cup and head to the kitchen. Halfway there, April's voice lanced out from the door.
"Keno, when you are ready to talk about it…"
He cut in, smiling. "You'll be there when I do."
She smiled too then, closing the door on her parting shot. "Good."