Managing to Meet

Ch. 11

   Leo glanced up at the doorway and the frost designed windows that decorated the exterior of it. "Nice place," He looked at Donnie. "I didn't peg you for a old antique kind of person." As they headed inside the house, his eyes watched carefully over every detail that was more and more less like his techy brother.

    "This is my country house," Donnie commented. "My city house is more technology updated. But don't be fooled, there are many things in this house that you wouldn't expect."

    Before Leo could speak up a familiar voice spoke over his. "Yes, I learned that the hard way after trying to open the dishwasher." He looked over to see April leaning against a large open doorway, her hair nicely put up in a bun. Brushing away a few strands she stood up and walked over.

    "April," He felt as if all his words had been stolen from him. "You're here."

    "Of course I am," Opening her arms she grappled him into a hug. "I can't believe you're here." She squeezed tighter and a part of him felt like he was going to suffocate. "It's been so long, Leo, far too long. The same with the both of you and Raph and Mikey." She let him go and pulled him back and her voice took on a motherly tone. "You look tired. . ."

    "And you look alive," She chuckled and led him to the living room where Casey had succumbed to the television. She turned it off with a scoff and raised a brow. "Casey?"

    He stood from the couch and smiled. "Yo, never thought I'd see you again." Leo was tugged into another hug, and all he could feel was the life he'd felt was gone, coming back to him - little by little.

    "Well, this is a happy reunion," Lucinda clapped her hands. "But unfortunately, we need to get to business. Donatello, I got a call from your business, and there seems to be a problem. They said that they have some kind of handle on it now, but they'll need you sooner or later." Her words were hasty and felt uncoordinated.

    "I'm sure they can keep it under control until tomorrow." Donnie moved him and Leo to the living set and sat. April moved her way next to Casey and sat down, her eyes filled with amazement.

    "Donatello, I must insist, this is for your company's benefit." Lucinda's voice reached the edge of being demanding.
Donnie stood up and brushed off his pants. "I'll be right back." He walked over to his secretary and led her to another room and closed the door. Their muffled voices could be heard, but nothing could clearly be made out. Leo glanced away toward where his brother was before resting his eyes back on the two humans - his old friends - before him.

    "So," April's voice lingered. "Are you still running the Dojo you started?" He nodded. "How's it going? I've seen many being put up in the places we've traveled, so I guess. . . How's it going with you, in the Dojo. . . As a Sensei? . ." He knew that her sentences were hardly meant to be offensive, and he took them less as that as said, but more how she had paused herself to make sure what she was saying was okay. She'd never acted so sensitive around him, all of what she said was true. Now it was like she felt she couldn't say anything without hurting him. Maybe it was because he was closer to their father than the others, maybe it was because he had been a major part of the fight. Whatever it was, he didn't like how she was tiptoeing around him.

    "It's going great," He smiled, his neck muscles feeling as if they were tearing from their roots for him to do so. "We have expanded a lot since you guys left. . ." He glanced at them, the moment look on their faces forcing him to realize that the word was too harsh. They hadn't 'left' because they wanted to, or to get away from them. It had been a unanimous choice before the fight that April and Casey go out and explore the world and to tell all the people within it about their mutant friends and how they were here to help and protect. "Was the tour good?"

    They both nodded and April spoke up. "As good as it could have been without you four with us. The world was pretty intrigued by you guys and we got across to so many people that you were the good guys." She settled in her seat and smiled. "I'm just glad we're back now, hopefully we can fix this all."

    Leo hid away any doubt and swallowed it whole. "It'll be hard. . ."

    April moved from her seat and sat next to Leonardo. Resting her hand on his knee she smiled. "But not impossible. We can and we will do this."

    "I'm assuming he hasn't heard the call yet."

    Leo glanced up at Casey, his eyes curious. "What call?" He saw April stare daggers to Casey before softening her eyes at Leo.

    "It's nothing, absolutely nothing." She stammered. "Leo, we're going to get you all back together. No matter how far apart you are, no matter how furious your fights get, no matter what tears you apart, you're brothers. Brothers. And nothing can ever really separate you by heart. You all feel that pull, I know you do, just look and both you and Donnie. You can't tell me that Raph and Mikey don't feel it too."

    "I think they do," Leo sighed. "It's just a matter of them accepting and following it."

    "If I know anything about any of you, they will follow it."

    Donnie walked back in, his cheeks flustered with a hint of anger. His secretary came in from behind him and glared downward on everybody. Moments passed feeling as if they were stuck in ice until she finally turned from them and stormed out of the door. Shaking his head, Donnie calmly made his way toward his chair and sat down, his demeanor already speaking loud words that he didn't want to talk about the problem.

    "Lucinda is heading to the office to help with the prototypes." His tone cut it off after that and no one spoke of it afterwards.

    "Alright then," April broke the silence before it could fully begin to build. "Why don't begin to talk about what this evil really is and how we're going to get you all back together in order to defeat it."

    Leonardo opened his mouth to speak but the speakers overhead blasted out a loud fuzzing noise before words broke over it. They all grasped their ears and yelled at how loud the noise had come out.

    "Hey I. . . This was a mistake, sorry for calling you Bro. . . Don't bother calling back, I'm sure you don't want to anyways."

    "What is that?" Leo leaned his head into his chest, his eyes clenching shut. It repeated and Donnie shot up to find the remote. Looking up, Leo watched as April flinched under the noise, her face scrunching tightly before she let out a loud scream and as suddenly as the noise was there, it was gone. They all glanced up at her and she momentarily closed her eyes before letting out a long sigh.

    She was shaking and sweating as if she had been overtaken by a sudden illness. Her eyes dropped and her voice stammered."I-I'm sorry guys, I-I haven't used my p-powers in so long and I-I c-couldn't control it. The noise was tt-oo loud."

    Leo rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "It's alright, April, at least it's gone now. . ." His brows scrunched with confusion. "But what was that? It sounded like Mikey."

    He only became more confused when everyone glanced at each other with less than confident glances. "Because it was him," Donnie finally spoke. "A message he had sent to Raphael. To which he didn't respond exactly too well. . ."

    "Is that what Casey was talking about?" Leo kept in the feelings that wanted to burst out of him. Anger, sadness. . . Guilt. The way Mikey sounded, desperate to want to talk to his brother, drunk in sadly grief and alcohol, and hateful, toward him as well. The feelings, Leo couldn't help knowing was a part of their relationship, how terrible they could be to him at times and treat him like a child instead of a brother. In a way, they all deserved to hear him speaking on such terms, as a way to set them straight - only it sounded as if it made Raphael worse than hopeful. 

    "Yes," Donnie and April said in unison, catching Leo off guard. He looked up, tears burbling from his eyes. 

    "We didn't want to show you because we didn't want you to lose hope. With how you showed up here, so low on it, we didn't want you thinking it was impossible." April confessed. She looked depressed, as if she felt bad for holding it in.

    "It's alright, I do understand, but I wish you would have told me." He stood up and sucked in a deep breath. No, he hadn't lost hope from hearing that, in fact it may have given him some. His brother may have anger built up against them, but he had called, drunk or not, he had called one of them. Which meant that there was hope for him to be brought back, if he was willing to talk, hopefully - if they were lucky - he would be willing to listen. "We've all been separated for too long, and with what's coming our way, we need to band together stronger than ever before. We will not go down without a fight, w-"

    "Leo, we need to get going back. You have a meeting soon with the manager of the building we're trying to buy and he doesn't like late comeres." Mitchell interrupted, his eyes circling from his watch to Leo. He stood stoutly at the door and tapped at his watch.
April flinched, her eyes narrowing at Leonardo's manager.

    "I believe we can wait until later, cancel the appointment." Leo tried to sit back down, but was caught off by Mitchell speaking up again.

    "I have to insist. We've already cancelled once and he's getting impatient with us. If we cancel again, I'm afraid we'll lose the deal."

    Dojo or Brothers. . . Dojo or Brothers. . . The one thing you've been building for two years, or the three things that you've been praying to be together with again. . . The answer should be simple, so obvious. . .

    Leo sat back down and covered his hands over his head and sighed. Taking a few deep breaths he kept still until Mitchell finally gave in and shadowed his sighs with a much bigger, disappointed sigh. "Alright," Mitchell groaned, he voice sounded pained. "I cannot stay here any longer on terms of my own business, but do whatever you want. I'm sure we'll find another deal."

    The door slammed shut and Leo shook his head, his thoughts all jumbled. "He's usually not so stiff."

    "Lucinda either, I really have to apologize for her behavior." Donnie kept back a chuckle. "I guess something had got into the both of them." The scientist mutant looked back at the door, his eyes showing that his mind was moving a thousand miles a minute.

    April leaned back and covered a hand over her head. "I don't know, but I felt something sickening with your friend, Leo. Almost like those feelings I had before when we were fighting those monsters in the woods and in New York."

    "It's probably hunger," Casey coughed. "Can we like, eat something, it's been hours since breakfast."

    "I'll cook us something," April stood, her actions trying to press away the feelings. "But I could use some help from everyone, especially if you all want to eat." Everyone got up as fast as they could and followed her to the kitchen where they began talking nostalgia and plans on how to get their family back together. It was a painful conversation, but one they all knew that needed to be had. If one thing was on the positive side, it was that they were getting it out of the way and in time, it would come together. It was going to take hard work and a lot of convincing, but they would be a family again, someday, hopefully soon.