Ugh! This one took me so long. Teachers throw you right back into school after the break. 2 presentations, 2 tests etc. etc. And this chapter just didn't want to be written =.=
It was completely silent around April's house, nobody dared to say anything and they were all preparing to leave soon. The sun was already gone and it was completely dark outside expect for the few lights illuminating the sky. Any other day it would be a beautiful sight to watch. And they would surely stop to enjoy it, but not tonight.
Everyone felt the pressure around the house. Nobody knew what was going to happen, the foot was gone but it was still dangerous to transport Mikey anywhere. He hasn't been outside for a year, apart from the little trip to April's house. He was still extremely weak and his legs would give out within seconds of walking.
His muscles convulsing because of the sudden exercise. Donnie had assured them he would be okay if they would slowly build up his muscles again, but it would take a lot of time before he would be running around again. He only managed short runs to April's room, and even those were mainly fueled by fear and adrenaline.
Raph was the strongest out of them so he would be carrying his baby brother home tonight. April and Casey would go with them and still they were extremely vulnerable. If they would get caught, both Mikey and Raph would already be unable to fight, for the first part at least. And someone had to stay with Mikey to defend him.
April hasn't been training for a really long time, and while she was already pretty good, she certainly couldn't hold her ground against all those trained ninjas. Casey was good but impulsive and was fighting with strength rather than real ninja moves. He still held up pretty good, but the lack of training got him hurt a lot. And still they had no other choice than to go.
TMNT
"You know you can't ignore him forever Leo" Donnie whispered as walked into the kitchen. Leo whipped his head around, catching Donnie's auburn eyes for a few seconds before gazing down on the fruit beneath him. His mouth was firmly sealed as he continued to cut the pieces of fruit beneath him, forcing his tears to stay back.
"Leo…" Donnie breathed out, taking another hesitant step. "Don't shut me out too, I only want to help you… and Mikey" A low growl escaped Leo's throat but never turned around to face his younger brother and continued to make food for Mikey. They would leave soon, and Mikey would need some food in his system before they'd leave.
Donnie sighed and walked over to Leo. The eldest' shoulders were tense and his mouth formed a thin line on his face. His eyes were focused on the fruit beneath him and yet he wasn't looking at all, lost in his thoughts. Carefully Donnie wrapped his arms around the older turtle and nuzzled his beak in Leo's neck.
Leo growled again. A sound Donnie had heard way too often in his life. It was the sound of their leader and it was at moments like this they all knew they shouldn't argue with their oldest brother. And not even Raph dared to argue with Leo when he growled like this. He rarely used it, but way too often for Donnie's liking.
It meant something was really wrong, a fight that went wrong, Leo threatening their enemies to stay away, or giving an import and maybe life-saving order to his brothers. And Donnie couldn't help but to flinch every time he heard the growl, Leo only did it to keep his brothers safe mostly and still it was scary, but not this time.
"Just give him this" Leo snapped, untangling himself from the hug and shoving the food in Donnie's hand, but the genius brother wasn't about to let Leo go this easily and angrily put the food away and stopped Leo before he could leave the kitchen, snatching his wrist and turning him around. It wasn't often he was like this.
"Don't gimme that Leo" Donnie hissed, unusual anger present in his voice. Donnie was furious and an obvious shiver went down Leo's spine. "He asks for you and you keep ignoring him, why won't you see him? He's your brother." Donnie continued, a bit less threatening but still furious about Leo's behavior the last couple of days.
"I just… can't" Leo snapped, his voice cracking with the last word and his shoulders slumping. For a second he allowed his emotions to get the better of him but he immediately wiped the tears away with the back of his hand, attempting to walk past Donnie again, but again the taller turtle wouldn't allow it.
"Bullshit Leo, I did, April did, Raph did. Heck even Casey visited him!" Donnie said, raising his voice slightly. He was angry, no furious with his older brother and yet he couldn't help but to feel sorry for Leo. He was truly heartbroken, they all were and yet Leo seemed to take everything the hardest, and they all knew why.
"Just leave me alone" Leo hissed and angrily pushed Donnie out of the way, making him stumble slightly. Leo only accomplished to take a few more steps, attempting to get out of the kitchen before a pair of surprisingly strong arms wrapped around him and turning him around, forcing his head against Donnie's crook in his neck
Donnie said nothing as he steadied himself, not daring to let Leo go despite his futile attempts to get loose. Donnie could feel Leo's attempts weakening and slowly his arms began to shake. And it wasn't before his neck was staining with tears, he noticed what was going on with his eldest brother, and he tightened his hold slightly.
"I-I c-can't … D-Donnie…. " Leo hiccupped completely breaking down in Donnie's arms. "He'll hate me Donnie… he hates me…" He whispered, his voice cracking with every word. Donnie just held his older brother close. They all knew Mikey's disappearance was the hardest on him, it was his fault, though no one blamed him.
"He won't Leo, I'm sure" Donnie whispered and pulled out of the hug, carefully wiping away the few lost tears in the blue eyes. "Go to him Leo, he's asking for you" And with a small smile Donnie handed Leo the plate of food. Leaving Leo no choice to deny it, but Leo gratefully accepted it, though he was still hesitant.
"He won't hate you Leo, he missed you. All of us but you rarely visit him" Donnie looked down for a second, his own tears threatening to come. "He keeps asking me, small words but he's asking for you… he wants you too Leo, he needs you" Donnie mumbled and hugging his own body tightly. Leo slowly nodded, the plate trembling slightly in his hold. He slowly stepped forwards and wrapped a single arm around Donnie's body, pulling him close for a moment.
"Thanks little bro" Leo mumbled back and pulling out of the hug again. "Just relax for now, everything's set. We'll leave after I get Mikey, 'Kay?" Donnie slowly nodded, they were all up tight for this evening. Leo told them the foot was gone, but honestly Leo could be lying for that matter, or the foot could still be around New York. They just didn't know.
And that's probably what scared them all the most, not knowing what was going to happen. They couldn't make a plan because they didn't know what was coming. Mikey couldn't handle the stress, couldn't handle to fight, and they would be severely weakened if they were attacked, someone had to stay to defend Mikey. They just hoped they wouldn't encounter any enemies.
TMNT
Softly he knocked on the wooden door. The plate of food still balancing on one hand, and the other at the door. Mikey had claimed April's bedroom ever since the incident with Raph, and nobody complained about it, not even April herself. She was happy to give her room to Mikey if that would make him feel more comfortable.
"Mikey?" Leo softly called out, giving his youngest brother a warning before softly opening the door. The room was dark, only the light coming from the window lightening the room. Mikey was sitting on the bed, his knees drawn up to his knees and his eyes fixed in his arm, the bandage undone and the huge surgical wound in full view.
Leo flinched slightly seeing the wound and all the stitches but shook his head slightly. Mikey tensed slightly when Leo stepped into the room but never looked up, trailing his fingers along the large wound and all the stitches. A violent shiver went down his spine and he gasped slightly, and Leo quickly put the plate aside.
"Do you.. hate me?" Mikey's voice was low, and even after a whole day still raspy and painful. Donnie had assured his voice would be back to normal eventually but it would take time. He hadn't talked in the last year, hasn't said a single word at all. His throat was extremely dry and the muscles or something had to be build up again.
Leo could feel his heart tighten even with those few words. Mikey thought he hated him, but he could never ever hate his baby brother. And honestly, Mikey was supposed to hate him after everything Mikey had been through because of him. And yet Mikey was asking him if he hated his little bro, the one that had been gone all this time.
"Never Mikey" Leo cracked, almost rushing over to his youngest brother. Mikey tensed visibly when the mattress beneath him sank because of Leo's weight but didn't pull away or made a move at all. His eyes kept fixed on the huge surgical wound on his arm, and at the same time he wasn't even looking at it.
"Why?" Again the raspy voice Leo grew to hate. He was happy, so damn happy Mikey was speaking to them, acknowledging them and being comfortable enough to speak up, but at the same time he hated it. He hated hearing how painful and raspy the voice was, and how much it hurt Mikey to speak even those small words.
And even though it was just a simple word, Leo knew exactly what his little brother meant. Why he was ignoring him. Mikey still wasn't looking up, and it horrified Leo to see the wound up close. His skin was clean again but the wounds hadn't disappeared. He still wore the bandages around his wrists and ankles, and around his legs and arms.
"Because" Leo started hesitantly, shifting slightly. And still Mikey made no motion to move at all, or look at Leo. "Do you… remember that night.. a year ago?" Leo carefully asked. He needed to know if Mikey still remembered the reason. The one and only reason he was captured in the first place.
Mikey tensed and his arms slowly started to shake slightly, barely noticeable but Leo caught the spasm movement. His eyes were squeezed shut and his breathing got heavier with the second, desperately trying to calm himself down. Agonizing seconds past but eventually Mikey managed to control himself enough and nodded slightly.
He remember, everything about that night. So many nights he had replayed it in his head. There was no way he could ever forget that night, ever again.
"I can't look at you without thinking about that night… how can you still have me around Mikey? Y-you should h-hate me…." Leo continued, his voice cracking as tears once again appeared in the corners of his eyes. The same horrible feeling crashing over him, the same the first night they knew, or thought, Mikey was dead.
The same night he cried himself to sleep in Donnie's arms, pleading and begging for someone, anyone to give their baby brother back. He had remained strong after that but he still carried the memories of that faithful night. The words that were spoken around the lair and the emotions written on Mikey's face, the last thing he'd ever see of him.
He was brought out of his thoughts when something warm touched his plastron. His eyes snapped open, unaware that he had even closed them, and looked down. A small smile made its way on Leo's face as he saw Mikey's head pressed against his plastron. It wasn't a full hug, and Mikey obviously wasn't comfortable enough for something like that.
But Mikey was trying to show his affection. Carefully Leo wrapped his arms around Mikey's small body. It was small, his growth had been tempered with because of the poor living conditions, and the lack of sunlight and movement in the past year, but his arms still fit perfectly around his little brother, bringing him closer slightly.
"Never" Mikey whispered softly, keeping his eyes open but nuzzling his face in Leo's plastron. They stayed there for a few minutes, both shedding tears. Leo could feel his plastron staining with them but he didn't protest, the same ones rolling down his cheeks. So many nights he had bared the weight laying on his shoulder.
He never told anyone about it, not more than he had to. His brothers had assured him it wasn't his fault but he could see it in their eyes, in Raph's eyes. And every day he was forced to watch how his family was slowly tearing apart, how Raph was tearing himself apart over the loss of his baby brother, his best friend and the one he had sworn to protect.
"Thanks.." Leo muttered, not really knowing what to say before carefully pulling out of the hug. "We should get going soon, are you ready to go?" He whispered as he carefully snatched Mikey's wrist, presenting the stitches, earning a shudder from both turtles. Mikey gulped and looked away quickly but allowed Leo to keep his arm.
Out of the corners Leo saw Mikey nodding, still hesitant but it meant he was ready to go. There was still a slight tremble in his body and it was obvious Mikey was beyond scared to go outside. And just like Leo, he didn't want to leave April's home, where it was safe. But it would be better to go home, and even Mikey knew.
"Nothing will happen to you Mikey. Raph will carry you the whole way" Leo tried as he carefully re-wrapped the wound again, covering it with the bandages and making a mental note to replace them once they got back home again. This time Mikey slowly twisted his head, looking into Leo's sea blue eyes.
"I'm serious Mikey, no one will hurt you ever again, not as long as I'm living." He stated with a confident voice. "They'll regret if they do" He said, and he was deadly serious. He had always been serious about protecting his little brothers and the small family they had, but right now he was more serious than ever. Anyone who would even try to hurt his baby brother would pay, dearly.
He watched Mikey closely as he finished the bandages around his arm, covering the wounds once again and letting out a slight sigh. Mikey was beaming at him with his giant baby blue eyes. The same eyes that once held such joy and innocence, but was completely shattered right now, only few pieces remaining. And on top of the fear and suppressed joy, there was determination.
"I'm ready"