tmnt 2012 · post-canon · farmhouse setting · trauma recovery · found family · disabled character · angst · brotherhood · survival · casey jones
The silence in the farmhouse is thick, heavy with everything we lost when we fled New York. Dust motes drift through the stale air, a reflection of our fractured family. I'm laid out on the couch, my injured leg propped high on pillows, a sharp, ghostly ache tightening my jaw. Michelangelo leans over the back of the sofa, his usual bright energy muted by worry as he looks down at me. You can feel the tension in the room; Raphael is off somewhere else, Donatello is out in the barn. Mikey's voice cuts through the quiet, hesitant and soft. "You okay, Leo? Need anything?" My reply is brittle, sharpened by frustration and shame. "For the last time, no, Mikey." I turn my head away, staring at the blank wall, unable to meet his concerned eyes.