Chapter Text
Donatello sat hunched over in a chair far too small for his six foot eleven frame, but it’s all they had in this hallway. His hands wrung together, over and over, to the point it was likely wearing through the material of his gloves at an alarming rate.
What was taking so long? It shouldn’t take this long. Either she was okay or she wasn’t. Wasn’t this a magic hospital? Didn’t they have some spell to just make things better?
He wanted to puke. He wanted to pace. He wished someone else were here but his husband needed to stay on the surface to watch over both the business and their daughter.
Could someone just come out here already and tell him what was going on?
Because he certainly didn’t know. The day played out like any normal business day. He and Holly Blue were in her office, talking finances. Over the past few years she insisted on making him watch and learn how she did these things, him and Jase in fact. And not just where money was concerned either. Also in making pitches and connections to investors and business partners, something she normally took care of. And Donatello tried to pay attention but he kept questioning why it mattered even though she told him why it mattered but he didn’t want to think it’d ever—
He took a shaking breath, because he hadn’t taken one for at least twenty minutes.
Regardless, they’d been talking, and he wasn’t oblivious to how tired she sounded. He asked if she got enough sleep. She said yes.
Then only a couple of minutes later she collapsed on the floor.
Donatello hadn’t seen it happen. He just heard her words cut off, followed by a horrifying thump. He rushed to her side and called her name, wondering if she just tripped, but she didn’t respond. And with no way to wake her up, he screamed for someone to call a medical team.
And now he was here, sitting uncomfortable in the hallway of a Hidden City hospital.
She couldn’t be dying, right? She was only what? Sixty? Maybe? He gave up asking for her specific age; she would always scold him and tell him it was rude. And okay maybe wasps didn’t have long life spans but neither did most turtles or rats and yet his father was still alive. Complaining about his back more than ever, but healthy otherwise.
She couldn’t be dying. She just caught some kind of virus and didn’t realize until it got overwhelming and the doctors here would be able to fix it and then Donatello would insist she take a week off work to treat herself and tell Hueso to take her on a nice date and tell his daughter to make her another beautiful scarf and—
“Donatello?”
His gaze shot up to the doctor, a rather regal looking golden tamarin yōkai, not just in her mane but also her posture.
He stood in an instant. “Is she okay?”
“She’s alive, and stable.”
Even with Donatello’s lacking ability to catch tone at times, he still felt the incoming, “But.”
“But,” there it was. “I can’t exactly say how long it will last.”
His hands, that were still clasped together, tightened even further. “What does that mean?”
“Putting it plainly instead of delicately, she’s dying.”
His brain scrambled and screeched like a bird freshly trapped in a cage, desperately denying what he just heard.
But he forced himself to keep his composure. “Wh…what do you mean? Why? What happened to her?”
The doctor sighed and looked at the clipboard in her hands. “Her being a mutant, it's hard for me to give you specifics. But I can at least say what’s happening to her body lines up closely with other bug yōkai we’ve treated. Her body is starting to fail her.”
She lowered the papers again and looked him in the eye. “That’s not a guarantee of anything. It’s possible she may spring back and go on for another year or two, but she also might not. We’ll do what we can to help her recover.”
Donatello clung to that tiny fabric of hope as tight as he could. “Can I see her?”
“Of course, we’ll be moving her later though, so be sure to get an updated room number from the nurses. She’s still resting right now.”
Donatello nodded and thanked her before heading to the door. His feet moved a bit faster than he expected. He stumbled and caught himself on the wall before he fell over entirely.
His vision blurred. He blinked the tears away and stepped inside.
Holly lay on her side, presently without her dress or a hat. At least the sheets covered her lower body, her wings resting on top of them. He might bring a scarf by soon, for her to put on if she wanted.
The wasp opened one eye as he approached the bed. The orange iris seemed unfocused but then fixed on him.
“Ah, Donatello. I should have figured you didn’t leave.”
“Of course I didn’t.” He pulled a stool over to the bed so he could sit down, putting them more on eye level. “I had to make sure you were okay, obviously.”
She kept watching him. Even in her exhausted state her gaze seemed to go right through him.
“I will assume the doctor told you the same thing she told me.”
Donatello swallowed. “Y-yes but it’s going to be fine. If they don’t find a way to help you bounce back then maybe Draxum could—”
“No.”
He avoided her gaze as the rest of the words tangled in his throat and came out as a whine. “Holly, please—”
“I am not allowing that man to experiment on me further.”
“It’s not an experiment, we’d just be trying to—”
Holly Blue reached out and grabbed the collar of his coat, likely because it was the closest thing in reach.
“Donatello, if I am dying then I am forbidding you from doing anything to stop it from happening.”
Once again the words caught in his throat, and this time when the tears arrived he failed to stop them. “Holly I can’t… I can’t just let you die.”
Holly Blue let go of his coat and moved her hand to rest against the side of his head, her thumb trailing over his eyebrow.
“You already saved my life once,” she said. “That is enough.”
No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t enough. He hadn’t even known her for two full decades yet, that was nothing. Why was she asking him to let her go so easily?
He sniffed and blinked, glancing at the wall. “You shouldn’t talk like you don’t matter.”
“I am not. I know you will miss me. I know the others will too. But I refuse to fight this. I will be glad if I get better, but if I don’t…”
Her hand stilled and Donatello squeezed his eyes shut, for a second trying to pretend they weren’t in this room anymore. If he concentrated hard enough he could pretend they were in her house on the outskirts of the city. Late in the evening because he came into the habit of going to her whenever he had a horrible nightmare, regardless of the distance it took to travel. And on the nights he couldn’t sleep she’d quietly sing a song and draw lines over his mask, in spite of her insistence that she hated singing in front of others.
His eyes opened when he heard the sheets move. Holly Blue pulled back her hand and tried to push herself up.
“Don’t strain yourself.” Donatello reached out, initially to push her back down, but when it was clear she planned to be stubborn about this he helped her instead.
She propped her side up against the pillow and moved her legs so it looked more like she was kneeling. Then after she tossed the sheets back over her legs, she patted her lap.
“Come here,” she whispered.
Donatello could crack a joke about how he wasn’t a kid anymore, but he didn’t hesitate to listen. He leaned against the bed and rested his head in her lap. She gently removed his goggles and ran her fingers over his scalp.
And then she began to sing.
The minute Donatello returned home—because he simply couldn’t stay at the hospital all night—his entire family was waiting for him.
And that wasn’t an exaggeration. He opened the door to his apartment to find the entire Hamato clan crowded together in his living room. Kora sat on the floor with Mikey in her lap. Leo, Jase, April and Sunita all sat on the sofa with Mayhem just behind April’s head. Raph sat on the floor with all the kids—Karai, Holly, Shaun, Cassidy and Comet—around him. Cassandra leaned against the wall with Splinter and Draxum near the kitchen.
Donatello stood there for a second, taking it in, because despite how often his family made an effort to see each other, it’d been a while since they all were in the same room.
Just when did it get this crowded?
“Donnie.” Jase spoke and moved first, getting off the couch and jumping over the others legs to get to him. “Is she okay?”
Donatello looked down at his husband. His response to that question was instantly lost. Instead he wrapped both of his arms around Jase and lifted him from the floor when he hugged him. Donatello hung on for dear life, knowing the moment he let go he’d fall apart.
“Donnie?” April asked, and then he could hear them all stepping closer.
“Comet?” Raph said. “I hate to ask but…”
“ Alive. ” The mushroom child—he really should stop calling her that she was in her mid twenties now—projected the thought through the room. “ Holly Blue is alive. But… she is dying. ”
Donatello felt the silence that struck the room, he felt the eyes on him, but he refused to remove his face from his husband's shoulder.
Until said husband wiggled in his arms. “Donnie? Hey, at least adjust your grip for me.”
Donatello did, tugging Jase up further so his husband could more or less sit in his arms and hold Donatello’s head against his chest.
He knew he should give them all more details than that, but for the moment he just let his husband hold him, whispering reassurances all the while.
The only thing that snapped him out of it was a tug on his coat. He looked down to see his daughter—Holly, named after the greatest woman he knew—looking up at him with sad eyes.
“Dad?” She tugged again. “What’s happening to Aunty Blue?”
Donatello kept holding Jase as he knelt down to look at her. No sense in fudging the truth. She was far too observant for that. “She’s… not doing well, Holly Berry. Seems her age is taking a toll.”
“Huh?” Sunita squeaked. “I didn’t even think she was that old.”
Draxum tapped his chin. “While the mutagen would extend her lifespan, most wasps only typically live for about a year. Even living this long is a bit surprising.”
Donatello didn’t want it worded like that, but he didn’t argue either. He rested his head against Jason’s shoulder again as their daughter climbed up to hug his neck. He tugged an arm away from his husband to hold onto her as well.
“H-how long?” Leo’s voice stuttered, which was very unlike him. “I mean, Comet said she’s alive but.”
Donatello sighed. “There’s not really a clear way to tell. She may even recover and get back on her feet or…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, just in case he wound up speaking it into being.
“Can we go see her?” His father asked.
Donatello nodded. “I mean, she’s sleeping for the night, but tomorrow. I can take you guys down there.” Then he glanced at the amount of people in the room. “Just uh, maybe not all at once.”
“Aw, what?” Mikey grinned, though it wasn’t as full as it usually was. “You don’t want us all to pack into a tiny hospital room at the same time?”
Kora purred, scorpion tail gently swaying back and forth. “I would hope not. You might get crushed smaller than you already are.”
“I’m not that small.” He immediately protested.
It drew out a few chuckles, but Donatello saw the ever deepening dark blues in Comet’s spots. He saw Leo’s subtle steps backwards, as if he were trying to leave the room with no one noticing. And he felt Holly shaking in his grip.
He turned to kiss her on the side of the head. “Do you want to go see Aunty Blue in the morning?”
Holly nodded.
“Do you have another scarf for her? I think she’d appreciate one right now.”
Without a word she jumped out of his arm and padded off to her bedroom, probably to look for one.
“Donnie.” April stepped over to rub his head. “Do you want us to stay?”
“Only if you guys really want to.” He tugged Jase closer. “It is a bit cramped in here.”
April offered a smile. “True, next time we should hang out at the lair. Right Leo?”
She looked at the slider when she said his name and he flinched. He straightened up and forced out a smile. “Oh uh, yeah. Speaking of, I'm gonna hop back home. Karai?”
His daughter ran to his side in an instant and climbed up onto his back. Almost pointless with how tall she was getting at this point, but Leo never complained.
“See you guys in the morning.” Leo and Karai both waved before he tapped open a portal on the floor and vanished through it.
April frowned. “Pretty rapid exit.”
Donatello knew his twin was likely just not coping well with the news, but he didn’t say that.
Comet announced that they were leaving too, soon followed by Draxum, Mikey and Kora. Raph, April, and their families hung out for a bit longer, but eventually headed off to tuck into their own beds.
Donatello wanted to do the same, though he wasn’t certain he’d sleep. But he still tucked under the covers, once again pressing his face against Jason’s chest.
They’d barely turned the lights off before the door creaked open. Donatello lifted his head just as his husband turned. Predictably, their daughter stood there, teddy bear in hand.
“Can I sleep in here?” She mumbled.
Jase patted the bed and she climbed up and nestled between them. Donatello put an arm around both of them as he closed his eyes.
He tried to focus on the warmth radiating off his husband and not the cold, suffocating air of the hospital.
Leonardo at least managed to keep it together until his daughter went to her room, though she kept eyeing him the entire time. Probably knowing he had a facade on right now.
But when she finally left him on his own, all of it fell apart.
She’s dying.
The thought looped around his head and snared his throat. The image of that time years ago when he’d stumbled upon her empty shell in Donnie’s lab wouldn’t leave. He could taste the acid in his mouth. He wanted it to stop.
She’s dying. She’s dying. She’s dying.
Leonardo curled up as he sat on his bed and took off his mask before his tears soaked through it.
It took everything he had not to just portal into the hospital and demand to know which room she was in. Why did Donatello even leave? What if something happened during the night and he didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye?
Damn it. They hadn’t lost anyone like this in so long. He didn’t even know how to deal with it anymore.
The door to his room opened. For a second he glared, even if it was his daughter. Karai stood there in the oversized band shirt she slept in, a mug in her hand. The #3 Dad mug, in fact.
He swiftly wiped his eyes. “What’s up?”
She rolled her eyes and moved her braided hair from her shoulder to behind her back. “Come on, Dad. I can tell this is messing you up. Here.” She stepped over and held out the cup.
He took it, already smelling the chamomile. “Yeah, maybe, but I’m not about to toss my baggage on you.”
Another roll of the eyes as she sat down. “I think you could do it for ten minutes or something, maybe.”
Leonardo sighed and stared into his tea colored reflection. He almost couldn’t stand how fast she grew up. To be expected when you adopt a kid at age six.
And he always struggled to be emotionally open with people, but his daughter most of all.
In fact the person he had the easiest time talking about feelings to was…
She’s dying.
Leonardo tried to down some tea to drown the thought, but it burned his lips and he flinched.
“Still hot,” Karai said.
“Yeah, figured that out.” He groaned.
She leaned against his shoulder. “You don’t have to be an iron pillar all the time.”
He switched which hand held the mug so he could wrap an arm around her. “I know. It just feels lame for me to turn into a sobbing mess in front of you.”
She leaned even closer, looking down as she spoke. “You’ll be a mess sooner or later. Might as well do it now.”
He cringed at that, swiftly remembering how many arguments they had because either he was bottling up stress or she was. They were both pretty bad at this, to be honest.
“I… don’t want to lose Holly.” He at least admitted that much.
Karai pulled her legs up onto the bed. “I can get that.”
He wondered if that was a jab for that mission gone wrong from a few months ago. Hypocritical of him to lecture Donnie and Raph for going on missions when they have kids to worry about and Leo just did vigilante work any evening he didn’t have a magic show to run. He even let said kid go with him from time to time, more now that she was older, but she hadn’t been with him then. Despite her insistence on helping, he told her to stay home because it was too dangerous and, well, he’d been right.
Karai shouted at him half the time he was recovering for being stubborn and stupid.
Holly Blue had to be the one to point out to him that Karai was already abandoned by her previous parent. For him to do the same thing to her would be cruel.
He started being a lot more careful on missions.
Leonardo took a sip of tea, since it was finally cool enough to do so. “Do you want to sleep, kid?”
“Not really.”
“Want to watch some Jupiter Jim?”
“Yeah.”
He smiled and took the opportunity to turn and kiss the top of her head.
“Ugh, Dad.” She shoved her hand against his chin. “Gross.”
He chuckled and stood, careful not to spill his tea. “Come on, let’s go and get comfy on the sofa.”
They both settled into the living room after turning on the projector, nostalgia running on the screen. Leonardo lay on the sofa and let Karai curl up in her usual spot against his chest. He figured with her slipping further and further into this rebellious phase she’d opt to sit somewhere else.
But he didn’t bring it up, or even tease her by kissing her head again. He just wrapped both arms around her and held her close while they watched the movie and fell asleep.
Donatello dreaded facing the next morning, but he did it anyway.
After a quick breakfast in the early hour, he took his husband and his daughter through the apartment portal into the Hidden City. From there it was a bit of a walk to the hospital, but Jase made it a quicker trip by summoning his dragon to carry them.
Like the doctor said yesterday, they moved Holly Blue to another area of the hospital. Donatello sent the room number in the family group chat in case anyone came to see her without him.
At least the room she was in now felt much nicer, the walls actually had some color and it seemed to be better arranged for her. Rather than a bed she had her preferred nest of pillows of various sizes. Did she arrange them herself or did hospital staff do it.
She was even sitting up when they walked in, though she had her upper body draped over a pillow until her antenna twitched and she looked at them.
“Aunty Blue.” Holly ran over right away, pale blue scarf fluttering through the air behind her. “Are you okay?”
Holly Blue smiled and patted her head. “I’m certainly feeling better now that you’re here.”
“Here.” His daughter held up the scarf. “Dad said you might want this.”
“Oh, yes, thank you.” The wasp wrapped it around her head and then around her neck. “The hospital wouldn’t let me keep my hat on, but hopefully they won’t mind a scarf, hm?” Then she looked up at Donatello and Jason. “And how are you, Jason? Hopefully things didn’t get too hectic at work yesterday.”
Jase waved a hand. “Nothing I can’t handle by now.”
Holly Blue hummed. “That’s good to hear.”
Something about her tone made Donatello feel sick to his stomach.
“You said you feel better?” He asked. “That’s good, right?”
“Perhaps.” She shrugged. “Time will tell. What else did you bring, Little Holly?”
The subject was swiftly changed to Holly’s sketch book. The ten year old eagerly opened it up to show her aunt all the new outfit sketches she’d been working on.
Donatello sat on the floor and let Jase curl up in his lap as they all listened to their daughter prattle on. Sometimes she asked her aunt for critiques and took them very seriously, even though her art still needed plenty of practice. Still, she drew clothing surprisingly well for her age.
About thirty minutes later, Jason checked his phone, and announced that he and Holly needed to head back since she still had school.
“What? No.” Holly clutched her sketchbook to her chest. “I want to stay.”
“Don’t worry, dear.” Holly Blue reassured her and rubbed her head. “The weekend is tomorrow, yes? You can hang out all day then.”
The concern grew on his daughter’s face as she looked at the wasp. “You’ll be here, right?”
“Yes, dear. I promise.”
The child reached up with one arm and demanded, “Kisses.”
Holly Blue chuckled and leaned over, her antenna tapping against Holly’s cheeks. His daughter giggled and finally stepped away.
Jase got up, but he didn’t go far. He turned back to Donatello, taking his face in his hands. “Will you be alright?”
“Yeah,” Donatello said honestly. He could still feel the devastation clinging to his brain, but it was quiet enough he could handle it for the time being. “I’ll try to come by the business later.”
Jase hummed and kissed him. “I’ll be checking in.”
“Okay.”
With that he stood up straight and headed for the door, Holly close behind him. “I’ll see you later, Miss Blue.”
“Of course.” The wasp buzzed her wings. “Take care of yourselves.”
The moment the pair left the room, Holly Blue fixed her gaze on Donatello.
“Are you truly doing alright?”
He snorted and scooted closer to her. “Of course not, but I am staying in one piece, for now.”
Holly Blue hummed. “How did everyone else take the news? Assuming you told them, I suppose.”
“I told my family, at least. But you’d have to ask them yourself.” He rested his hands in his lap and tapped his thumbs together. “Though I don’t think Leo took it very well.”
Her eyes softened and her gaze moved to the window. “I hope he doesn’t give into his usual habit of burying everything.”
Donatello frowned as he looked at her. “You’re one to talk.”
Her antenna twitched. “It’s different.”
“It is not. Are you seriously okay with this? Don’t you… I don’t know, have other things you want to do? We still haven’t driven Big Mama out of the city.
Holly Blue chuckled at that. “No, but we sank her stadium years ago, and the slander to her name has driven her mostly underground. I don’t think we’ll ever rid this city of her entirely, and I’m not sure it’s worth doing. Give her the chance to gain power elsewhere? That just sounds foolish.”
Donatello sighed. “It still just feels too soon.”
“I’m certain you’d say the same thing if it took me another ten years to expire.”
“Don’t say that so callously.”
“Donatello.” She fixed her gaze on him. “You have a terrible habit of denying the reality in front of you when things go wrong. You seem to think of everything as a fixable problem.”
“Because it is.” He shoved his hands against the floor as he leaned forward. “Lengthening your life would probably be simple if you’d just—”
“So you will waste your time trying to find a fix rather than actually spending that time with me? So when your fix fails you can sit there regretting not taking those hours to talk?”
He snapped his jaw shut and stared at the floor. He swore he might vomit from the pit in his stomach.
Her voice softened. “I know you are such a kind person, Donatello, but I do not want a fix. If this is indeed it, I would rather spend the time I have with all of you.”
He hated that. He hated it, but he wouldn’t argue. She was every bit as stubborn as he was. And sure he could go behind her back to make up a cure, or just something to give her another year or two, but then she probably wouldn’t take it. And it really would be time wasted.
He let out another sigh and kept scooting over until he could lay sideways against some of the pillows. Holly Blue’s hand rested on his shoulder, rubbing up and down.
“Let’s discuss something else.” She offered. “I was window shopping the other day and forgot to tell you about the most delightful dress. I think Little Holly would love it for a birthday gift. I know she’s very fond of frills and ribbons so…”
Leonardo did ask Karai if she wanted to go with him to the hospital.
But she waved him on, insisting she should get to school and that she’d go by in the afternoon.
So he left her to get ready, after giving her one more teasing kiss on the head, and headed to the Hidden City.
He checked his phone a couple of times to make sure he got the right hospital, and then did the polite thing by going in through the front door rather than trying to portal into the room as well.
The nurses politely pointed him in the right direction, so he headed up a floor and down the hall.
He wasn’t really surprised to find Donnie in there, but he was a bit surprised to find his twin passed out on the pillows while Holly Blue read through a book.
She glanced up at him and smiled. “Hello, Leonardo.”
Part of him swore she might not even be sick. She looked alright, poised on the floor like she often would when relaxing. But her voice did sound just a bit strained.
“Hey,” he mumbled and quickly tried to gather his facade off the floor. “Bro fell asleep, huh?” He smirked.
Holly Blue chuckled and closed her book. “I assume he didn’t sleep well last night. How about you?”
He flinched, already feeling her piercing gaze. “I… you know.” He forced a smile. “This all just kinda came… out of the blue. You could say.”
She snorted, antenna twitching. “That one was terrible.”
“Still got a laugh.”
“That was a snort of disgust.”
Leonardo stepped over and crouched down in front of his twin, poking his face. “Hey, hermano. Hey.”
Donnie curled his lip and rolled over. “Nardo. Fuck off.”
He feigned a gasp. “Wow, I can’t believe you’re cussing in front of our aunt.”
“She also cusses.” Donnie’s hand shot out, probably trying to shove Leo away, but he missed his target. The softshell finally blinked his eyes open, looking grouchier thanks to the faint smudge on one of his eyebrows.
“Children, please.” Holly Blue scolded. “I figure you boys are old enough to quit acting like this.”
“What? Nah.” Leonardo put both of his hands on his brother’s face as he leaned toward her. “Annoying sibling is a job you keep for life.”
Now Donnie did shove him, hard enough to knock him to the floor. And the softshell didn’t quit there, jumping from the pillows to pin him to the ground.
“Go be a nuisance somewhere else!”
“What?” Leonardo smirked. “That’s no fun.”
“Boys!” Holly Blue raised her voice, then took in a wheezing breath.
That made both of the turtles freeze and look at her.
She cleared her throat and spoke again. “You are absolutely not wrestling in my hospital room.”
Donnie climbed off Leo and pouted. “He started it.”
She hummed. “Donatello, would you be a dear and fetch something sweet from the café for me?”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” He got up and straightened out his coat. “Not getting you anything, Nardo.”
“Aw, what?” He leaned back and grinned as he watched his twin leave. “Not even a choccy milk?”
“Not if you’re asking for it like that.” The softshell spat and vanished past the doorway.
Leonardo kept smiling at his twin’s frustration, but bit by bit it fell apart as his gaze moved back to Holly Blue.
She watched him for a second and then gestured him closer.
So he did, inching across the floor until he was close enough for her to touch his face.
“There.” She said as she drew lines along the red marks just above his eyes. “He’s gone for now, that was your goal, wasn’t it?”
He flashed a very small smile. “As usual, you see right through me, huh?”
“I’ve had quite a bit of time to get to know you, Leonardo.”
He liked how she said his full name, as if it were worthy of respect. Even back after he’d just repaid his debt for destroying her jewelry, she would say it like that.
Leonardo ground his teeth together. “Are you really…”
She squinted, but her smile looked just as fake as his. “Do not tell this to Donatello at the moment, but I truly feel far worse than I am letting on.”
He flinched. “Th-then should you be in here? Don’t you need, I don’t know, at least some pain killers?”
“Maybe when it gets worse.” She shifted so she could face him properly. Now two of her hands rested on his cheeks. “For now, the idea of being stuck on another bed and entangled in medical equipment sounds suffocating. At least I can hold onto you this way, hm?”
Tears stung the corners of his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but more took their place. Holly Blue’s hands moved behind his head and tugged him closer.
A sob escaped as his forehead pressed against her shoulder.
“You will be alright, Leonardo,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “But you won’t be.”
“Time comes for all of us.”
“So what? I’m not allowed to be sad about it?”
“You are.” She held him tighter. “And that is why I’m hugging you right now.”
He wrapped his arms around her as another sob escaped. He didn’t share his brother’s aversion to the hairs on her exoskeleton, maybe in part because his scales were thicker. He eventually got used to the sensations and even found a comfort in them rubbing over his scalp.
Leonardo heard the footsteps. He straightened up in an instant and rubbed his eyes as clean as he could. The stains might show on his mask but whatever. If Donnie tried to tease him about it he’d make up some lie about laughing so hard over his own joke he cried.
“Here.” Donatello said as he entered the room, two cups with straws in hand. “They said you should be fine with decaf coffee so I got you one.” He handed the one with ice over to Holly Blue, then turned to Leo. “And here’s your choccy milk.”
Leonardo couldn’t help but laugh as he took it. “Aw, thanks bro, you’re the best.”
“Yes, I know.” His egotistical twin nodded before he sat down.
Actually, seeing the coffee reminded him. “Donnie have you uh, informed any of the Hidden City residents about this?”
Donnie blinked a couple of times. “Ah, no.” He glanced at Holly. “I assume you would like them informed?”
Holly Blue nodded and sipped on her coffee. “Yes. It would be nice to see Agatha and Bueford certainly, among some others.”
“Then let me go take care of that.” Leonardo stood up just a bit too fast, almost spilling his chocolate milk. Jeez, almost twenty years later and these people still didn’t put lids on these cups?
“Are you sure?” Donnie frowned. “You just got here.”
“Yeah, I can get around faster.” He kept forcing his smile, then glanced at Holly. “I’ll be back later when Karai is done with school.”
“Oh, do bring her by.” Holly Blue chewed on her straw. “I need to try one more time to convince her to quit cutting the ends of her hair in such a garish manner.”
He laughed again, thinking about his daughter's awful split ends and mismatched lengths. She insisted she preferred it that way, though, and as long as it didn’t get matted or dirty, Leonardo left her to it.
He said another goodbye and waved before stepping through a portal. It took him right into the familiar space of Bueford’s Bagels. Well, mostly familiar. The light renovations done to the shop over the years, especially when he bought the place next door to expand the dining area, still caught him off guard. He had too many memories of working behind the counter, and now half of the place still felt foreign to him.
He sipped on his chocolate milk, glancing over the patrons who didn’t even pay his sudden entrance any mind.
Bueford slid out of the kitchen, the short, snake yōkai carrying a stack of freshly cleaned glasses.
Leonardo put down his cup on the edge of the counter as he stepped over. “Here, let me.”
Bueford jumped and then laughed. “Leo! Just when did you drop in here? Yeesh, one of these days my heart is going to give out from that.”
He couldn’t laugh at that joke right now, so he focused on actually propping the glasses up under the counter. “How’s business?”
“Booming like always, but nothing I can’t handle.” He rested one of his four arms against the counter as he smiled. “What brings you by here? Suddenly desperate for cash again?”
“No, it’s uh…” His smile faltered more and more and he stayed crouched low, his gaze scanning the room for any approaching customers. “Holly Blue is in the hospital.”
“What?” Bueford barked so loud that it got everyone’s attention, but thankfully their gazes didn’t linger. “What do you mean?” He spoke quieter this time. “Is she okay?”
Leonardo bit his lip, already feeling tears trying to spring up again starting from his throat. “No, not really. I mean, she’s up and talking and stuff but um…” He sniffed and covered his mouth before he embarrassed himself.
“Aw, kid. Come here.” Bueford grabbed his arm with one of his tiny hands and tugged him toward the back. “Geraldine!” He barked. “Watch the front for a bit, would you?”
“Okay boss!” A female voice called back.
Leonardo didn’t look to where it came from, must be a new hire. Instead he kept following the snake into his office. Truthfully a bit of a tight fit for him, he had to actually duck under the door frame.
Bueford grabbed a tissue from a box on his desk and handed it over.
“Thanks, Boss.” Leonardo used it to rub his eyes.
“When did this all start?” The snake asked.
“Yesterday, honestly. Kind of out of nowhere too, though I guess with her being a mutant it’s hard to predict how long she’d have.”
Bueford sighed. “I always did wonder about that. You say she’s up for visitors?”
“Yeah.” He sniffed again and blew his nose. “North Hospital, room 210 when you get time.”
“Of course.”
“And don’t tell her I started crying again.”
His old boss barked out a laugh. “Aw, but she might already know that.”
Leonardo scoffed and threw the tissue away. “My point stands. I’ve got a reputation to keep.”
“Yeah, whatever kid.” Bueford shook his head. “Well, if you gotta keep that reputation, you can come see me if you need to crash.”
“I know, Boss.” He let out a long sigh. “Thanks. Sorry to pop in and out but there’s a few other people I gotta inform.”
“Do what you gotta do. I’ll be around if you need me.”
Leonardo smiled and then cut open a portal to his other other father figure’s restaurant. Who knew how Hueso would take this news, but Leonardo figured he should be the one to tell him.
So he took a deep breath and stepped through.