Chapter Text
The portal opened, tearing into its surrounding.
Damaging the peaceful and calm atmosphere.
The four began to pour out. All crashing to the pavement below.
Their Limbs tangled together as they tried to get up.
Michel and Leon walked out after, laughing and snickering as they passed them.
“GET OFF OF ME MIKEY!” Raph shouted.
Moving his hands to push down, one on Donnie's legs and the other on Leo’s arm.
Both groaned with pain.
“I'M TRYING DUDE!” Mikey yelling back.
He started to untangle his legs from Leo’s left arm.
Within a few minutes, all of them stood untangled.
The four began to walk in the direction that Micheal and Leon assumed their lair was in. They both look at each then back towards the other four before walking in the opposite direction unsure if they should follow them.
“Well, are you two dudes coming or what?” Mikey asked.
He was facing them as he walked backward.
They both stop in their tracks, turning around to face Mikey.
They both took glances at each other, letting their eyes speak for them.
The one to speak up is Michel.
“If you guys don’t mind, sure!” Michel replied.
The walk was silent. Painfully Silent.
Nothing compares to their walks.
The loudness, the piggyback rides and the random races that would break out.
Michel felt the pit in his stomach at the thought.
He missed his raph and Donnie.
His head hung as they walked.
He felt something brush against his arm. He ignored it the first time, only lifting his head to look the second time.
“Hey, you okay?” Leon asked.
Making sure to keep his voice low.
Michel saw the look in his eyes, the same calculating look He would give Donnie if he stayed up all night, overworking himself or when Raph would say he was okay but it was obvious he wasn’t. Everyone knew he wasn’t.
“I’m okay,” Michel replied.
He didn’t feel like talking. He just wanted to retract into his shell and Hopefully, he would appear back at home.
“Michel” Leon spoke
“Leon, I’m fine,” Michel replied.
His tone was sharp. He wrapped his arms around him as a way to end the conversation.
The oldest didn’t take his eyes off his youngest brother with that.
----
“I noticed something I believe that is important and something we should all be made aware of.” Donnie whispered.
The others were facing him with some sort of boredom but Donnie could tell they were listening very closely..
The living room was poorly lit by the T.V . All of them sitting on their signature color beanbag.
A phone sitting in the middle of the three It reads April.
They knew if Donnie was worried about something to the point that he was the first one to call a family meeting, the rest of them should be worried. Especially if one of them weren’t at said meeting.
“And what is that Donnie? ” Leo replied.
His tone sounded uninterested, bored even.
He laid down with a comic in one hand and the other open to turn the page, but his shoulders held tension, and the arch where his eyebrows should be told him that he was worried just like the rest of them. Donnie could see through Leo's smile and “Laid back” Position. He must know what and who this is about.
“Leo” she called.
“The quicker we let Donnie explain the quicker we can all get back to bed. ” she said, a yawn slipping as she spoke.
Donnie rolled his eyes.
He felt tired too but Angelo was hurting, He was upset that Home no longer felt like it. That they longer felt like home with all the yelling and distance that they all were putting between them.
“It’s Michel, I'm worried about Angelo” He finally said. He sounded so dejected.
Raph and Leo sat up fast, abandoning their relaxed position, and switched it for a more focused one. Their eyes trained on Donnie as they waited for him to speak again.
When nothing was said April spoke up.
“Donnie, what about him? Is he okay? Sick? Hurt? ” April asked.
Her voice held concern and worry. Concern and Worry that Leo couldn’t express.
“He isn’t sick, I would’ve noticed, but What I did noticed was he doesn’t feel like home is home anymore, we talked,
“The lair?”
“No, I mean-“
“Than what exactly”
“I can explain that if you’ll let me finish Raph”
A quick sorry could be heard before spoke again
“not the lair, but New York and Us. He was explaining how he felt like New York was his home, but how we give him the “home” feeling”-
Donnie cut himself off, trying to find a way to explain Michels feelings in a much easier and less complex way
Donnie tried again.
“ We don’t feel like home anymore, He talked about how he doesn't really feel comfortable being so far away from New York-”
He began talking with his hands to make it sound less complex but it felt like no matter how he phrased it, it didn’t sound like Michell. He stopped again.
“Take your time Don,
“It just makes me so mad that i didn’t notice before but to put it shortly, New York is his physical home but we’re his mentally home, and the distance we’re putting between ourselves is affecting him.”
“I noticed he'll get irradiated or upset, sometimes nervous to the point of closing himself off, when he’s not Home or if he doesn’t feel at home. Do you guys understand now?” Donnie added.
“Yea we do but-“
“How can we help him” April interrupted
The conversation walked away from Leo.
He heard the whispering but not the words. Donnie wasn’t the first to notice but he was glad that he was the first to bring it up, because just like Donnie he didn’t know how to explain it, he didn't know how he would either.
---
Leon stole glances from Michel from time to time as they walked.
“Signs to take notice are shell retraction, beginning to become closed off and irritation and or jumpiness”
The words ringing in his ears, How did it not be noticed before at the fight? When He touched Michel he jumped, He's being closing himself off this whole walk and-
“We’re here” Leo announced.
That and only that’s when Leon takes its eyes off Michel. He watched as all four entered the manhole.
“You coming or what?” Raph asked.
He hadn’t noticed he froze but He notice that Michel froze.
“Yeah,” Leon replied.
“We’re coming”