[Peter manages a warm smile at Leo for the reassurance. Not that it lasts long as he look back at April and Casey. The genuine fear and confusion on the boy's face knocks the smile right off of Peter's features.
He never wanted Casey to be afraid of him.]
The same black magic shit that killed Peter in the first place. Leo, we don't even know how stable this magic is going to be! Barry isn't here, so we can't ask him what- any of this could turn into! [She gestures at Peter for emphasis.] How long is he going to stay Peter? Will the curse come back? You need to think about that.
[Peter honestly hadn't even thought about any of that. The idea of the curse coming back makes him feel ill. If he was cursed badly enough to end the war, what would happen now if it came back?]
[The idea that the curse could come back. Could take Peter over again, that he'd have to sit through it all over again curdles something in Leo's gut. An angry ball of fire and acid that's been building and building for two long years now while everyone made do, everyone just moved on while Leo's world fell apart.]
That's easy for you to say. [His voice is calm. Quiet. That dangerous kind of anger that so few outside the war council meetings heard when someone brought up Peter in the end.] You still have Sunita. You still have everyone else. You didn't have to sit and feel a gaping chasm in your soul be ripped away from you because everyone else said it had to be done and wouldn't listen to you. You didn't have to sit for two weeks listening to the man you've loved for over half your life slowly lose his mind and ability to even think coherently as a curse destroyed him, because what? Because everyone decided he should be the one to go into that base? And you couldn't do ANYTHING to help him. Because everyone needed me. I couldn't break, I couldn't stop.
That's so easy for you to say, April. [By the time he's finished talking, his eyes are angry, his markings glowing furiously.] I don't care what you think might happen.
[Peter runs a gentle hand against Leo's arm, trying to draw him back. Hearing everything summarized so neatly just makes it feel worse. They had to keep choosing everyone but themselves, even at the cost of their own lives.
Hearing that Leo never had the chance to recover, nor really let go doesn't help.
The initial gentle light touch just turns into Peter shifting his hold enough to hold Leo.
April's expression shifts from surprise to a brief moment of grief and then settles on a resigned kind of anger. She empathizes but can't accept what he's done.] Both of you deserved better. I know that much, Leo. We had no real choices. We were making due. It doesn't make any of it better.
I don't want either of you to live that again. Even if you don't care, I damn well do.
[Peter interjects, voice firm. Old habits of being Leo's second in command easy enough to tap into. He was a balm on an argument or a decisive comment that settled a debate.] We don't know what could or couldn't happen yet. Mikey would be able to give us a better idea. It wouldn't be a bad idea to consult with him about- me.
If we deserved better, why did you vote to send him?!
[It's out as Peter shifts into that old habit. Breaking into the discussion with objectively the best answer. Mikey would be the best resolution here. Leo knows it. But his face is wet with hot, angry tears before he sees Casey's face - a little afraid of seeing this side of the adults in his life that he never had to see before. They'd always kept him carefully away from these sorts of conversations during the war, and afterward there really weren't any.
He lets out a shaky exhale, trying to bring himself back down from that raging cliff, if not for himself then at least for Peter and Casey. His voice is so small when he does speak again. Quiet like a single crack of glass.]
[April seems ready to argue with Leo, but is derailed by Peter as well. She clicks her teeth together unhappily.
Peter takes control as Leo's voice settles into something small, it's easy enough. If Raph or Leo weren't present, he was usually the next in line people would approach for direction. He's just holding onto Leo gently, trying to help him stay grounded.]
April, could you please reach out to Mikey? I'll stay here with Leo.
[April nods, the gesture decisive.] Right. I'll do that. I'll take Casey with me.
Whatever makes Casey the most comfortable. [Peter says simply back, leaving the choice in Casey's hands.]
It hurts. The sting of that hurts, but it's earned. He doesn't deserve to look after Casey after what he's done. That none of them knew, hopefully won't if he's lucky. He wipes at his eyes with the back of one hand before looking at Casey who can't... seem to decide.
But April makes the decision for them, hand around his shoulder and gently ushering him back to the front door. It's the front door slamming closed that jostles Leo's nerves, has him on edge.
There's no way back now. He did this. He did this and now they're all going to know he did this and he can't go back to the easy denial now.]
[With the nudge, he's easy to get seated at the nearest stool at the counter.
(Once a month, once a month they'd all come over with food and drinks to remind Leo he hadn't lost everything that day, remind Leo he still has his family, so he got stools and chairs that are empty the rest of the month, that he'd stare at and try to picture himself and Peter sitting eating together until it drove him to tears.)
He sniffs, wiping at his eyes again before reaching for Peter's hand again.]
You didn't. [Said quickly, firm. He's solid on that. Peter didn't do anything wrong.
If he lost everyone else, then that's squarely on Leo. He'd kept them at a distance since Peter was gone, and if this cuts them off completely? That's his fault. But he at least has Peter back. They can be happy the way they were supposed to before he let the Foot get the Krang door open.]
So don't worry. You didn't do anything. All right?
[Peter frowns at that, just squeezing Leo's hand in his own. He wants to argue, but he has nothing to argue back with. The whole situation is something he's more or less woken up into. He has been out of the picture for two years.]
I... okay. I just, I don't want to be the reason you're alone, Leo.
Right, we're here, we're together. [Peter exhales softly, just looking at Leo.
In the warm morning light, he can really look at Leo. He can take in what has changed. The replacement arm looks better, less unwieldy on Leo. It fits his frame much better than what he had before.
The prosthetic leg is new. Worrying. Did something else big happen or was this... tied back to why Peter is here again. The magic tattoos seeming to shift on Leo's skin seemingly towards Peter is just as jarring.]
The first time I asked you that, you were more nervous. [He says softly back, aiming for a tease. A reminder of where they started. April tricking them to go on a date to Hueso's, dancing on the rooftop, laying together talking about not much at all. He strokes his thumb across Leo's cheek.
He shifts so he can lean up and close the distance between them. He brushes his lips against Leo's own. An invitation for something less chaste if Leo wants to take it.]
[It bubbles up an unexpected laugh from him, something Leo didn't think he was capable of anymore. Not after the years of loss and anger and numbness. He cups Peter's cheeks gently to lean into it. Content to not let him go for the moment. Or a few moments.]
[The kiss is gentle, more carefully exploratory than intense. Peter is relaxed and more at ease as they kiss. He just holds onto Leo, trying to keep him close.
The last time they really kissed... Peter had been saying goodbye before he went to the base. A desperate kiss, an unspoken promise that it wouldn't be the last one either had.]
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He never wanted Casey to be afraid of him.]
The same black magic shit that killed Peter in the first place. Leo, we don't even know how stable this magic is going to be! Barry isn't here, so we can't ask him what- any of this could turn into! [She gestures at Peter for emphasis.] How long is he going to stay Peter? Will the curse come back? You need to think about that.
[Peter honestly hadn't even thought about any of that. The idea of the curse coming back makes him feel ill. If he was cursed badly enough to end the war, what would happen now if it came back?]
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[The idea that the curse could come back. Could take Peter over again, that he'd have to sit through it all over again curdles something in Leo's gut. An angry ball of fire and acid that's been building and building for two long years now while everyone made do, everyone just moved on while Leo's world fell apart.]
That's easy for you to say. [His voice is calm. Quiet. That dangerous kind of anger that so few outside the war council meetings heard when someone brought up Peter in the end.] You still have Sunita. You still have everyone else. You didn't have to sit and feel a gaping chasm in your soul be ripped away from you because everyone else said it had to be done and wouldn't listen to you. You didn't have to sit for two weeks listening to the man you've loved for over half your life slowly lose his mind and ability to even think coherently as a curse destroyed him, because what? Because everyone decided he should be the one to go into that base? And you couldn't do ANYTHING to help him. Because everyone needed me. I couldn't break, I couldn't stop.
That's so easy for you to say, April. [By the time he's finished talking, his eyes are angry, his markings glowing furiously.] I don't care what you think might happen.
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Hearing that Leo never had the chance to recover, nor really let go doesn't help.
The initial gentle light touch just turns into Peter shifting his hold enough to hold Leo.
April's expression shifts from surprise to a brief moment of grief and then settles on a resigned kind of anger. She empathizes but can't accept what he's done.] Both of you deserved better. I know that much, Leo. We had no real choices. We were making due. It doesn't make any of it better.
I don't want either of you to live that again. Even if you don't care, I damn well do.
[Peter interjects, voice firm. Old habits of being Leo's second in command easy enough to tap into. He was a balm on an argument or a decisive comment that settled a debate.] We don't know what could or couldn't happen yet. Mikey would be able to give us a better idea. It wouldn't be a bad idea to consult with him about- me.
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[It's out as Peter shifts into that old habit. Breaking into the discussion with objectively the best answer. Mikey would be the best resolution here. Leo knows it. But his face is wet with hot, angry tears before he sees Casey's face - a little afraid of seeing this side of the adults in his life that he never had to see before. They'd always kept him carefully away from these sorts of conversations during the war, and afterward there really weren't any.
He lets out a shaky exhale, trying to bring himself back down from that raging cliff, if not for himself then at least for Peter and Casey. His voice is so small when he does speak again. Quiet like a single crack of glass.]
Yeah. Yeah, we should- Get Mikey on this.
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Peter takes control as Leo's voice settles into something small, it's easy enough. If Raph or Leo weren't present, he was usually the next in line people would approach for direction. He's just holding onto Leo gently, trying to help him stay grounded.]
April, could you please reach out to Mikey? I'll stay here with Leo.
[April nods, the gesture decisive.] Right. I'll do that. I'll take Casey with me.
Whatever makes Casey the most comfortable. [Peter says simply back, leaving the choice in Casey's hands.]
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It hurts. The sting of that hurts, but it's earned. He doesn't deserve to look after Casey after what he's done. That none of them knew, hopefully won't if he's lucky. He wipes at his eyes with the back of one hand before looking at Casey who can't... seem to decide.
But April makes the decision for them, hand around his shoulder and gently ushering him back to the front door. It's the front door slamming closed that jostles Leo's nerves, has him on edge.
There's no way back now. He did this. He did this and now they're all going to know he did this and he can't go back to the easy denial now.]
...Can't go back now.
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Whatever forward has in store for us, we're together. [Peter if anything is hopeful. He still holds onto that hope even if it feels odd now.]
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[With the nudge, he's easy to get seated at the nearest stool at the counter.
(Once a month, once a month they'd all come over with food and drinks to remind Leo he hadn't lost everything that day, remind Leo he still has his family, so he got stools and chairs that are empty the rest of the month, that he'd stare at and try to picture himself and Peter sitting eating together until it drove him to tears.)
He sniffs, wiping at his eyes again before reaching for Peter's hand again.]
Yeah. Y-yeah, we're. Together.
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Peter sits down a little more heavily on a stool, still tired. His whole body is new, but feels wrung out from the wild range of emotions.
He readily holds onto Leo's hand. He laces their fingers together.
Peter's voice is quiet, a touch remorseful.]
I'm sorry... if, if I cost you everyone else. [He had no part in bringing himself back, but the guilt is still uncomfortably tight in his chest.]
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If he lost everyone else, then that's squarely on Leo. He'd kept them at a distance since Peter was gone, and if this cuts them off completely? That's his fault. But he at least has Peter back. They can be happy the way they were supposed to before he let the Foot get the Krang door open.]
So don't worry. You didn't do anything. All right?
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I... okay. I just, I don't want to be the reason you're alone, Leo.
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[He turns on his seat to face him, taking both hands in his now and squeezing them. He has Peter back, he won't be alone.]
And even if that happens, if they decide to walk away, it isn't because of anything you did. Got that?
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In the warm morning light, he can really look at Leo. He can take in what has changed. The replacement arm looks better, less unwieldy on Leo. It fits his frame much better than what he had before.
The prosthetic leg is new. Worrying. Did something else big happen or was this... tied back to why Peter is here again. The magic tattoos seeming to shift on Leo's skin seemingly towards Peter is just as jarring.]
Got it.
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But at that confirmation he nods before leaning forward to rest his head against Peter's shoulder.]
I missed you.
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He wants to say 'I missed you too', but... he hadn't really experienced the same amount of lost time.]
I love you.
[All he really grasps onto is this distant frantic feeling to find Leo. The longer he's present, the more pieces come back to him.]
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I love you too, Peter.
I'm sorry, it- I-it's all messed up right now, but. We'll get it sorted out. All right?
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We'll build our future, we'll get to actually rest now.
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Rest.
While everyone else was resting, rebuilding, Leo had not stopped. But now he can. He can finally stop and enjoy the life they earned.]
Soon as Mikey gets here to look at you, we'll know for sure. But we'll be okay.
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Right. Hopefully, he'll be here soon. To clear things up. Maybe Donnie will be here too, I dunno.
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Ha. Yeah, the- Those are cute. I kept some of the last ones you made.
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[His hand settles against Leo's cheek, just wanting to touch him. Be close to him.] Can I... kiss you?
[It feels odd to ask, but, Peter wants to be sure. It is an old hesitance he hasn't worn in decades. Something similar to their first date.]
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But oh.... He looks at Peter, sad and hopeful all at once.]
Yes.
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He shifts so he can lean up and close the distance between them. He brushes his lips against Leo's own. An invitation for something less chaste if Leo wants to take it.]
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The last time they really kissed... Peter had been saying goodbye before he went to the base. A desperate kiss, an unspoken promise that it wouldn't be the last one either had.]
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