Chapter Text
The lonely noise of the TV and nothing else. Leaking pipes, noisy drains, squeaking rats and other trifles of living in the sewer seem to have decided to reduce their volume to zero, leaving only background and white noise from the TV.
The soft walls of the dojo let these sounds through, muffling them exactly by half, but not enough to forget about their presence.
The rat's ear twitched first once when it seemed the girl was screaming from an iron box, then two because of the unnatural crunch of bones, and three when a weapon probably appeared on the screen, followed by shots. Slowly opening his eyes, sensei sighed heavily.
His brain continued to warn him of all kinds of danger, did not let him go deep into himself until there was a firm sense of security. The years of living as a ninja made themselves felt, as well as the years of the rat, who is forced to hide and not alone.
Mentally counting to five, the man got up from his knees, shaking off his own kimono, his tail accidentally touching the trunk of a wide tree in the middle of the room. Approaching the reverences with a slow step, he blew on them, extinguishing the small lights that gave rise to a wonderful and soothing smell.
The gaze slid from the sticks to the side, clinging to family photos of the new family, and then the old one. Carefully, he ran the claw of his own paw over the glass of the second frame, feeling the roughness after his own claws, which made the same line every time they noticed a native one |already someone else's| a photo.
Oh, his Tian Shen. Her wonderful sapphire eyes. Eyes in which he was drowning not only in love, but also in infinite wisdom, despite the fact that she was not even close to thirty yet.
These eyes haunted him at first in photographs, and then in reality. It's as if the universe decided to give him a sign or a reason to hate himself more than he is, and perhaps to start being proud of his own brainchild.
His eldest son. Leonardo… And his wonderful sapphire eyes, which shine just like his deceased spouse and fade just like his love. They were so similar that at first it hurt him, but now-…
The swearing from the metal box hit my ears sharply, as if someone had turned up the volume. The previous noise quickly subsided, leaving behind only a deafening silence for a second, and then quiet vibrations and vibrations returned to its place.
It brought him back to reality.
Touching his own chest with a clawed hand, the rat took a deep breath, turning away from the frames, heading for the exit of the dojo. The sash was moved to the right, driving inside, then slowly descending the steps into the main room, meeting only ... Darkness in front of them.
The lights were extinguished everywhere and only the small LEDs that his brilliant son installed helped to see at least something in the pitch darkness. In addition to this darkness, someone was obviously lying on the sofa in front of the TV, and the TV itself illuminated a small range of the person lying down.
The turtle on the sofa raised his head, then abruptly sat down, throwing his feet on the floor, looking at Splinter.
- Good evening, sensei — Leonardo greeted his father gently, starting to move more actively, but he would have stood up and done something, but someone else's palm rested on his shoulder, pacifying his former ardor and energy.
- Good, my son, what are you looking at? — the master carefully walked around the sofa, sitting down at the feet of his own student, fixing his gaze on the screen, trying to understand the meaning of this TV show. The turtle awkwardly tried to pull his legs closer, until someone else's palm was on him again, gently squeezing his knee under the thin blanket. This little gesture absolutely always calmed the turtles. The clawed paw always seemed to return to reality, demanding nothing in return.
- Some strange, it seems, Turkish film… The girl's grief happened there... it seems... — The leader began somehow uncertainly, as if he had hardly watched the movie at all, which he turned on. It was as if his mind was not there all the time, until he heard a noise.
- She's trying to get her family back ... or rather, to find her, to be brief ... — adjusting the mask on his own neck, the turtle awkwardly swallowed, not taking his own gaze away from the rat's muzzle, which turned away from the screen and with its bright fiery eyes looked as if into the soul.
The master touched his own beard with his other hand, slowly running his paw down it, squeezing his son's knee with the same hand, watching the actions of the child, which was fundamentally different from his usual behavior.
On his face there were still beautiful red marks near his eyes, small scars at the temples that were hidden in everyday life behind the mask were now open and he knew that there were scars on the back of his son's head, as well as on other parts of his body, but apart from these things that did not cause him almost there were no feelings, he saw a hazy and glassy look, dark bags under his eyes, which clearly indicated a prolonged lack of sleep and a slight pallor of his already light greenish skin.
And he was very confused by the fact of the absence of his other sons.
- Leonardo, where are your brothers? — the man spoke slowly, as if on purpose, but to let someone else's brain digest every word. After pausing for a second, looking into someone else's face, the turtle blinked sharply, seeming to remember who and where had gone.
-Donnie went with Mikey to the landfill, he seems to need some details for a new project, and Raph went with Casey to the roofs, these two are not really sitting quietly in place, but Casey promised to call me if something goes wrong - the guy quickly began to explain to his father the approximate location of each from the turtles, calculating in his own head where they could be in time, thinking a little, from which he moved his hand from the grip of his own thigh closer to his knee, squeezing the fabric of the blanket.
Someone else's change of mood, the difference in the folding of speech and actions is hard not to notice.
His son seems to have... switched…
It was scary.
And he couldn't help but grab onto the idea that maybe it was his fault.
Having removed his clawed paw from someone else's knee, sensei changed his position a lot, folding his hands on his knees, pulling himself up to the back of the sofa and pushing his whole body against the soft upholstery, covering his eyes, slowly waving his tail, twitching his ears and whiskers.
Leonardo blinked several times, looking at his father, then took the remote control, turning down the sound a little, covering his eyes for just a second, too, taking a deep breath, and then wincing as if from a sharp pain.
The palm itself reached out to the knee, squeezing it harder than it should have been, the look dulled, and the atmosphere became a little unpleasant.
The turtle clenched her other palm into a fist, digging her short nails into her own skin, leaving small marks and redness, slowly opening her eyes, but lowering her head, and clinging to her knee with her gaze.
Biting his own lip not too hard, the guy opened his palm when he felt the sharp pain fade into the background, after which he took a small pillow from behind him, lifting it higher and leaning back on it, being in a semi-sitting position, holding one leg bent beside him, pulling it a little from time to time, and the second touching the cool floor with your fingertips.
There was a deafening silence again.
Uncomfortable.
The fog covers the mind again, and a cloudy veil appears again before the eyes.
- Leonardo, my son, what are you worried about? His father's deep voice made him twitch. Raising his sapphire eyes to the rat, who was still sitting with her eyes closed in an extremely relaxed pose, his sharp flash of fright could not but evaporate as quickly as it appeared.
Clearing his own throat, he began to tap on his own kneecap, collecting his thoughts, which seemed to float right out from under his fingers. It was hard to grab onto something. He felt tired.
"I'm fine, Sensei, really… I'm a little distracted right now, but it will pass soon. — the mutant in the blue bandage ran his tongue over his dry lips, pursing his lower lip a little, fidgeting on himself. It was awkward. More awkward than usual.
Telling the truth about yourself has always been difficult.
- Hmm, but it seems to me that there is still something… What about your leg? You keep a lot of attention on her — Splinter finally opened his eyes, slowly turning his head, looking at his child, whom he caught in the act.
The elder ran his eyes around the room, opening and closing his mouth like a dumb fish, trying to invent an excuse, but not finding even a small clue, he just gave up, gritting his teeth, going down a little from the pillow, but still leaving enough free space for his father.
- Lately, on the surface, the devil knows what the weather is and... my knee bones are a little sore… Donny said that everything is fine, but I probably won't be able to get rid of it and over the years the aching pain may feel stronger… I try just not to think about it ... — The turtle awkwardly chirped, as if ashamed of his own little ailment after a severe fracture, his cheeks turned a little pink, and he himself took a more protective pose, crossing his arms on his own bib.
I didn't even notice how I started making other sounds.
There was something so magical about it that it made the rat smile, which he restrained with all his might.
Once his son tried to assure him in the same way that he did not cut himself when he was learning to use katanas, or when something happened in the den in his absence, but he could not understand what, because Leonardo always made sure that everything was in order.
It's so in the spirit of his son, to keep silent, so long as no one worries.
Yoshi stretched out his paw to the leader's leg, touching his knee and gently pressing, which caused the turtle to be surprised again. He gently moved his sore leg onto his lap, patting gently on the leg, tracing metaphorical circles on the green skin with his own fingernail, smiling faintly. He clearly heard Leonardo make a chirping sound again from embarrassment, but did not resist. The lingering pain seemed to become weaker under the gentle movements and warm hand of his father. I wanted to close my eyes and just enjoy, despite the fact that his cheeks were about to burn with shame, and he himself would not mind burning alive.
- If something bothers you, you can always tell me — A hint. A small, not at all clear hint that the turtle could easily understand, understand that his father sees that his leg is not his only problem, but the guy in the blue bandage was not going to tell what else was eating him. At least not right now.
"I know, Sensei.I know. The hoarse voice responded just as calmly to Rat's previous soft tone. He deliberately repeated himself, making it clear that he would not say anything.
Yoshi just nodded, realizing that their conversation would not go anywhere further and he would not know more, but he could help with what he has now.
Closing his eyes, he continued to massage someone else's knee with careful movements, pressing on some points, from which blue shuddered, opening his eyes each time, which were closed from fatigue.
Warmth, quiet noise that did not deafen him like sharp flashes, or silence and simple care calmed his lump of fears, pulling out a couple of threads, easing the situation.
They were both silent, just enjoying the situation, each in his own thoughts, somewhere far away from here. There were no more words needed, no unnecessary actions either.
And at some point, a quiet snuffling was heard with an occasional chirp.
Having adjusted the blanket on his son, the rat remained sitting in his place, gently stroking his knee further, slowly blinking and twitching his own tail.
It would seem like a small conversation, but you could always talk to Leonardo even for a couple of seconds and think about something really important.
Wise and brave beyond his years, sometimes he could surpass him in wisdom itself, but he was still young for this and not ready.
Perhaps he forced his own child to grow up too soon…
***
-In total, this should be enough, but the option of course that this is not enough is better not to throw it away. Perhaps next week we will still go to the dump — the Genius rattled off his little plan of action for the next week, adjusting the bag on his shoulder with one hand and comfortably intercepting some ordinary details with the other, and some Kreng details that people mistakenly threw away along with the rest of the junk.
Hah, fools, but I'll use them.
- It doesn't sound very fun… I was planning to go to a boxing match with Raph next week. I think he will be upset — The merry fellow made a sad face, shaking the metal in his hands, shuffling his feet through the sewer tunnels, occasionally yawning, because it was late enough, and he spent his energy reserve in the middle of the day when he was running away from Raf through the same tunnels. He's going to have bumps on the back of his head, definitely.
- Don't be silly, it will only be sad for you, he may even jump from happiness. Hah, I would have looked at it for real — A turtle in a purple bandage grinned quite, approaching the horizontal bars and carefully passing through them, hearing a standard, soft click, after which Michael came right behind him.
It was dark enough in the den, but thanks to his young genius, the LEDs are doing their job. And the TV.
His gaze fell on the blue ribbons that hung from the pillow, and his father was also sitting on the sofa. Carefully leaving the metal on the floor, he quietly approached the upholstered furniture, his father's ear did not even twitch, which means he is aware of their arrival even before they reached the horizontal bars.
Right behind him was Mike, who followed someone else's example.
Clapping their eyes, they looked at the elder a little perplexed, remembering that before they left, he was going for a little run, but certainly not to lie down. More precisely, Donnie knew it.
- What... — the turtle was not allowed to finish. The rat put his finger to his mouth, making a quiet and hissing sound.
The leader frowned a little and frowned, after which he relaxed again, as he felt a magic touch on his own leg.
The merry man blinked his eyes and smiled radiantly, taking the edge of the blanket and pulling it up to Leo's neck.
- Sleep well, big brothter)