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As Leo walked through the familiar tunnels of the sewer walls, he never thought he’d ever missed that smell, but it was the smell of home, and every inch of his body screamed for him to run, to run home, to let his legs take off and stumble into the lair, back to his father, but he couldn’t, not after the last few months he’d had in space, not after the previous days, possibly the most possibly most draining few days of his life.
The sound of the dripping echoed around Leo and his brothers as they entered the lair, the light giving off much needed warmth and it was like they almost had never really been gone.
Everything was still where they had left it; everything was still the same, except the bumbling presence of Michelangelo.
Leo felt his heart lower, his eyes burning again at the thought of his brother, how he hadn’t come back with them, how he hadn’t been a second quicker to save his little baby brother, how his brother would never stand in this lair ever again.
He felt Raph silently brush up next to him, his eyes screaming with sadness, this was the day that they had looked forward to, the day that they had so desperately wanted, the day they went home. But it wasn’t truly home without Mikey, it was simply a lair with a missing piece, a home without family, and that killed Leo.
He heard the slow shuffling of Donnie, who so slowly stepped into the lair entrance, almost as if he was stepping over enemy lines, almost as if he was too afraid. And Leo didn’t blame him for this truly was some sort of hell.
The sound of movement in the kitchen caught all three turtle’s attention, Leo’s eyes flickering up like a dog watching a squirrel.
Leo felt his heart beat a little louder.
Father.
He smiled for a second before remembering, how would he explain this to his father, how would he explain that he couldn’t even save his own brother, how would he explain the events of the past few months?
The questions ran through the turtle's head at a million miles an hour, enough to give him a headache.
But he felt his heart fly to his throat, an uncomfortable knot forming in his stomach as a figure stood in the doorway.
Mikey?
And just like that, Mikey smiled. His trademark smile shone, so simple he smiled, like nothing had happened. He heard the muffled gasp from Donnie and the hitch in Raph’s breath.
“Hey dudes!” Mikey grinned, his face slowly twisting in confusion from the stares he was getting back as Leo felt tears now dribbling from his eyes, f it wasn’t from the shock, Leo was sure he would have crumpled to the ground, but now he felt like he’d been shot and simple hadn’t fallen yet.
“You okay?” He asked, shuffling his feet slightly
Raph spoke first, yet it was hardly an audible whisper, his voice cracking slightly, not caring if he had fat tears not rolling down his cheeks.
“Mike…”
Mikey frowned, then put one hand on his hip, grinning slightly
“Dude, was patrol really that bad? Because like, I know the Foot are getting bad, but if it's making ol’ Raphie here tear up, I think Shredder really upped his game.”
Leo felt his face crack in two, his smile so wide, that if he had ears, it would be reaching them.
It was Mikey, it was so Mikey, to make light of such a heartbreaking moment like this, like he had no idea, because from how he was acting and what he was saying, it was like he really didn’t have the slightest clue. And did he say
patrol
?
Leo’s eyes glazed over his brother’s plastron, they were absent from the small bite marks he had received not recently whilst in space from the shark villain. They weren’t there, like Mikey hadn’t even been a part of that fight, but Leo didn’t care because his brother was here, and his brother was alive and safe and cracking jokes whilst he heard soft sobs from Raph and Donnie.
Mikey was alive and that’s all that mattered, as long as this wasn’t a sick joke or some twisted dream, Leo didn’t care.
He knew he most definitely wasn’t in the hologram room, he’d spent days in that room, talking to his father, he knew that the images of his father weren't real and simple pixels just to make him feel better.
But Leo knew that this was so real, it felt so real, the warm feeling that started in his heart and that had begun to spread all over his body felt so real, and he would be damned if his paranoia ruined it now, not for him or Raph or Donnie, not for Mikey.
But as his brother, the same brother just days ago had been lying so still on the floor of the ship, the same brother Leo had sobbed over and had countless sleepless nights over, his little baby, blue eyed freckled brother stood there, a dumbfounded look on his face, and Leo began to laugh, he didn’t know if it was out of relief or nerves but the blue banded turtle found himself laughing slightly, finding the energy to move him legs finally, stepping wobbly steps to his brother who was now mere centimeters away from him and just like that, Leo found himself flinging his arms around him, he felt Mikey flinch from the sudden contact but soon enough the younger brother relaxed in his older brothers hold.
Mikey felt the tears dripping from Leo’s eyes onto his shoulder, he was totally confused to what was going on but he didn’t care, he knew whatever it was, his bros could tell in their own time, but this right now was all Mikey ever wanted, just his brothers. And seconds later, Mikey felt the warmth of two more bodies and Raph and Donnie joined the hug, a huddle of sniffles and happy sobs, as Mikey nuzzled in closer to Leo’s plastron, hearing the steady beat of his heart.
And the pain and sadness seemed to roll off of Leo like a river over stone, because he realized that he was home. It wasn’t the lair, or the sewers, or even New York for that matter. Home was family and Leo knew that as long as he kept his family close and safe, he knew he was always home.