Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT
Each lash against my skin,
Each tear in my soul,
A line of red,
A trickle of life,
The screaming pain,
The words of disgust,
Brenna scribbled out the lines with her dark blue pen, frustrated that she couldn't concentrate and the poem wasn't turning out how she wanted it to. She knew she was distracted. She rested her chin on her palm and laid her pen down.
Her test to enter the Purple Dragons was tonight. No one had told her what it would be, but Tyler had mentioned something about stealing. Just the thought gave her a thrill, and the shred of a conscious left at the back of her mind told her that wasn't good. Before her life had begun to spiral out of control, Brenna would have never dreamed of committing any type of crime. Now she found the thought rather enticing.
Who the hell was in my room? Her mind drifted to the other subject that was distracting her from her writing. Was it like a serial killer or something? Why the hell does he even act like he cares? Maybe it's someone I know? She shook her head. No, none of the crackheads I run with now give a damn about me, just like everyone else. Maybe he's like a psycho child molester tryin' to gain my trust so he can kidnap me? Haha, like hell that'll work. Though, it could be pretty fun to mess with the guy. And it would give me something to do, since anything else I do is stupid and pointless anyways.
Now with a new determination, Brenna grabbed a fresh piece of paper and began writing.
"Enter, my son."
Leo sadly slid the door to his father's room open, guilt and hurt weighing heavily on his mind, but showing physically through his hunched shoulders.
"Kneel,"
Leo unconsciously obeyed, habitual force from nearly twenty years forcing him to do so without question.
"What troubles you, my son?"
Leo was silent, the raging hurt and anger and frustration roiling through him. He didn't know where to begin. He opened his mouth several times, but found no words to convey his troubles. He knew that part of his training in Central America had been to teach him to rely only on himself, but another had been to show him how important his family was, to teach him that he needed them, that he could never take them for granted.
Because now, he thought, I really have lost them.
"I overheard your….conversation with Donatello this morning. Is his reaction still troubling you?" Splinter's normally calming voice provided no comfort to Leonardo.
"Yes, Sensei. I don't know why he reacted that way. I was simply talking about my concerns for Raphael with him and he got defensive, then blew up in my face." Leo looked up at his rat master, his eyes searching for an answer.
Splinter's expression was one of puzzlement. "Of all of your brothers, Donatello would be the one to not react so violently. But perhaps you hit a nerve? Your absence, after all, did not just affect Raphael. Donatello accepted the role of leader while you were away, though there was barely anything to be called a team left. Think of how you would have felt, had you been in his shoes for that year. You two were very close before, just as you were with all of your brothers. You all were a close knit team, a single machine needing four parts to work. When one piece was broken, the whole machine would be broken. But when one piece was taken away to be improved, the other three adapted and learned to function by themselves. Now that the fourth piece has returned, the three pieces need to learn what it is like to be part of a team again, what it is like to be whole again. Perhaps something you had or did with Donatello before that he expected to return to normal has not happened?"
"Are you implying something specific, Sensei?" Leo asked quietly.
Splinter sighed. "I am, but it is not my place to make the four pieces fit together again. That is your role, and yours alone. Now that we are all growing older, I cannot be there to fix everything, Leonardo. Sometimes the most deadly enemies are ones we cannot see, rifts of simple actions that tear families apart. You knew that things would be broken and hard to fix after you returned, that putting the four pieces back together would be painful. It was difficult when you first came back, but now it is time for those new wounds, and the old ones that have been hidden in the past months, to begin healing. It is time for the four pieces to not only be able to fit together and function on their own, but for them to become a working team that rely on each other again. Not only Raphael, but Michelangelo and Donatello as well. Your younger brother may have been impacted most visibly, but you know Donatello's ways. He is quiet, and often denies that he is in need. He bore heavy burdens while you were away."
Leo was silent, absorbing the subtle reprimand and council his father had given. "Yes, Sensei."
"Are you angry Leonardo?" Splinter asked harshly. He had noticed the quiet contempt in his son's voice. Leo flinched.
"No, Sensei. I just…" Leo sighed. "I just want the brothers I left to be here, not these strangers that have changed into brothers I don't know."
"Leonardo, have you not changed as well?" Splinter's voice was soft, like he was talking to an insecure child.
"Not to the extremity of my brothers!" Leo said quickly, the frustration he was fighting to control rising to the surface.
"Leonardo," Splinter chided. "The brothers you know and love are still there. The pieces are the same, if changed in shape or color. They, like anyone else faced with the loss of a loved one, built up a wall of protection of the outside forces that they were normally protected against by their older brother. Now it is time for that older brother to tear down those barriers and reunite this family. The task presented to you is difficult, and will be frustrating and discouraging, but you have been presented with difficult challenges before. I do not doubt your skills or your patience Leonardo, but it will take time to earn your brothers' trust again. Be patient, and be gentle. I know you can do this my son." Splinter placed a soft hand on his son's leathery shoulder, and Leo looked up. Splinter smiled softly at him; Leo hesitantly smiled back.
"Thank you, Sensei." Splinter smile broadened when he saw a new fiery determination in his son's eyes. Leo rocked back on his heels and stood up before sliding the door open and slipping out into the main room of the lair.
"Yo Leo! Where you been?" Mikey suddenly appeared on the couch, a video game controller in hand. The annoying theme song to one of his games was blaring through the speakers, but Leo flipped over the couch and muted the TV before Mikey could blink.
"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Mikey whined, tossing his controller aside and digging into the couch, searching for the remote.
Leo closed his eyes and pinched the bridge between his eyes before answering. "Nothing, just a headache."
"You always use that excuse." Mikey muttered before turning the sound back on and plopping onto the couch. Leo watched as his youngest brother tuned out the rest of the world and absorbed himself into the game. Leo stood and watched him play for a few minutes before sitting down next to him. Mikey made no reaction.
"Can I play with you?" Leo asked suddenly, and at first he didn't think Mikey had heard him. Mikey froze, pushed the pause button that immediately silenced all the rough engine sounds and annoying music, and turned to his brother with his mouth hanging slack. Leo nearly laughed.
"Huh?" Mikey squeaked.
"Can I play?" Leo asked again as innocently as possible.
"I repeat," Mikey said dramatically. "Huh?"
"Mikey, I want to play video games with you. If you don't want me to, I guess I'll just go find something else to do…" Leo trailed off.
"No, uh, why? You never play video games. Like, ever."
"You want to do something else with me then?" Leo said like a threat.
Mikey's eyes rose in realization. "Oh ho ho! I see what this is. It's a 'you-gotta-do-somethin'-with-Leo-time-so-either-let-me-play-video-games-with-you-or-we'll-go-train' kinda scenario, huh?"
Leo smiled at his brother before nodding. "Exactly."
Mikey sighed in defeat. "Ugh, alright. We'll play MarioKart. That's about as extreme as you've ever gotten in the video game world."
"I'll still kick your shell," Leo smirked as he hopped up and grabbed a controller.
"Will not." Mikey pouted.