ššØš§šš¢š„'š¦ š”š¢š§š:
This one is really small, I have been going through a lot at home and I thought this little snip-it would be great. Happy early Father's Day (and I think this can fall under Men's Mental Health so happy Men's Mental Health Awareness month).
š§š„ššššš„š¦: Self-Doubt/Single Parenthood
The white hare hummed slightly, stepping through the portal to the sewer he had become quite used to over the years. Admittedly, Usagi had been visiting his blue cladded terrapin friend a lot more. Especially since his friend had added four more turtles to the family.
If Usagi was honest, his initial visits were to make sure that Leonardo was coping with his new-found children and niblings, but eventually the visits became more about making sure Leonardo was taking care of himself. Leonardo had a tendency to worry about others more than himself, and now he had two little turtles that he was personally responsible for.
Usagi stepped quietly, not wanting to disturb any of its inhabitants, until he came to a stop at his friend's room. Leonardo sat on his floor, two hatchlings in his arms, as he rocked back and forth. His mask was discarded on the floor, putting the exhausted father's eye bags on display.
"Why have you not asked for the others to help?" The rabbit questioned, giving a soft smile as he bent down to free one of Leonardo's arms. Leonardo shifted slightly, feeling weight be listed out of his arms. He opened one of his eyes, looking over the rabbit.
"No Gen, today?" Leonardo asked, rubbing his eyes before sitting up slightly. The rhino, Gennosuke, had been visiting with Usagi. Just not as often. He heard Usagi hum in response, not wanting to change the subject from the original question.
"Leonardo," Usagi scolded, "you cannot run yourself rigid."
"I know," Leonardo responded, reaching over to grab his mask but not worry about pulling it on. Usagi had seen him plenty of times without it. "Dom was having a hard time sleeping, and Elisa refuses to sleep without her brother." Her brother. It was still so weird to refer to Elisa as his daughter. "I didn't want to wake anyone else to help, so I just held them to get them both to sleep," he continued, a yawn betraying how exhausted he was. He hadn't wanted to ask for help, he promised both Raphael and himself that he could care for Dom and Elisa. Asking for help felt a bit like lying.
"You need to take a moment for yourself," Usagi said calmly, rocking Dom as he began to fuss. "You are a father and a leader, but that does not mean you are invincible. Do not bite more than you can chew, my friend."
"Iā¦" he took a breath, there was no point in talking about it. He was aware Usagi was right, but they knew that Leonardo was far too stubborn to actually ask his father or brothers for help. He definitely couldn't ask April for help, she was going to have her child any day now. Leonardo looked at the sweet girl in his arms before pulling himself to stand up. "I will make us tea."
"I can do that," Usagi argued, taking Dom with him to the lair's kitchen to put the kettle on. Leo knew he was just exhausted, and truly it was a "simple task", but at the moment it hadn't felt simple and Usagi seemed to remind him that it was a simple task.
I am failing, aren't I?
Leonardo sighed, moving to sit back down on the ground with his daughter bundled up in his arms.
Am I good enough?
Doubts were easy to bombard his thoughts, he was running on little to no sleep to keep them at bay. He had a friend show up and effortlessly remind him that simple things were not so simple.
"Is this what Donatello calls 'spiraling'?" Usagi asked, sitting the hot kettle down. He moved to sit across from Leonardo, a child in one hand and fishing two cups out of his pocket with a second one.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Leonardo replied, leaning forward to pour their tea. He could hear Usagi hum in disbelief. Leo could feel his eyes on him. "What?" He sounded exasperated, not wanting to get angry at his friend for simply caring.
"Take a moment, you are doing well for yourself. You are caring for children on your own, with the means that you have at your disposal," Usagi gave a small smile. "What can I do to help you?" He asked, "I can take the children for the night, or I simply can just get other things done to make everything easier. Just take a moment for yourself, before you break."
"You are doing a phenomenal job." Sometimes those words alone can help a lot.