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Firewood crackles, expelling a newfound warmth into the room, making Leo pause as he crosses the room to bask in it momentarily.
He stays there for a moment, watching the flames from the fireplace flicker and dance in hues of reds and oranges, wavering for a moment, he’s forced to walk onwards when a buzz of pain begins dancing up his leg, setting his teeth on edge with a hiss.
He finds his way to the kitchen, seeking solace at the table, he drops himself into one of the wooden chairs with a tired groan, head swimming and world momentarily blinded with pain, he doesn’t notice his youngest brother standing beside the stove, now watching him with round, careful eyes.
Leo palms his knee repeatedly, desperate for the ache to dull itself under his touch, he hears the quick shuffling of footsteps that come to a stop beside where he sits. He lifts his head up wearily, pinching back his eyes to a squint, Mikey places two small pills on the table in front of him, a glass of water in the other hand.
“Here.” He says, pressing the icy drink into his palms. “These should work, Dee told me you might need them after you woke up.”
Leo tries to manage a smile, though, he’s guessing by Mikey’s reaction, it comes out more of a grimace rather than anything else.
He bitterly swallows the pills, washing them away they land heavy in his empty gut. His face pinches together and Mikey moves forward to place a hand on his shoulder, fingers carefully curling around the jut of his shell.
“That bad, huh? I’m making you soup. Probably shouldn’t take them on an empty stomach.”
His brother is already turning away to return to his station, where Leo can now spot the simmering pot that expels little wisps of steam, a vegetarian aroma following close behind, making his mouth wet and his stomach clench with want.
Leo slumps back in his seat, careful not to knock his healing shell, his mouth manages to curl itself into a small, fleeting smile.
“When did you become so grown up?” He says, and there’s supposed to be some humor to his words but it seems to fall flat, what with the way he watches his brothers shoulders stiffen, his whole body bristling before he seems to roll it away with a shake of his hands, he tends to the soup a moment longer before he answers him.
An abrupt, sharp laugh expels out of his brother, seemingly forced, he swallows it down before he turns to face him, this time with a bowl of steaming soup.
“Plenty of opportunities so far, dude,” he tells him, a brief melancholy look flashing across his face before he’s quickly rearranging it to something more neutral.
He hands Leo a spoon, taking it mutely, he chews on his words for a moment, aware of how bitter they all taste. He swallows thickly.
“Yeah,” Leo rasps. “I guess you have.”
A pang of regret fills him, etching into his bones and creeping through his mind, he tries to think of all the instances in their life so far that had cruelly robbed his little brother of his boyhood. This moment being one of them.
He doesn’t take to his soup straight away, not with the way that steam curls from out of the bowl in a heavy cloud, or the way the porcelain dish is still hot to the touch at his fingertips. He dips his spoon in and gives it a lazy swirl. A mix of finely chopped vegetables bob about in the broth like residents at a lazy river.
A rare, uncomfortable silence seems to stretch onwards between them, Leo wrestles with himself to find the right words to say, all of them rushing out at once like word vomit when he finally settles on saying,
“I saw that there was an old game console in the main room. Does it work?”
A grin breaks across his little brothers face, bright eyes twinkling, he pitches himself forward over the table, readying himself for the story he’s got loaded for him.
“Oh man. Raph wishes it didn’t,” he tells him, full of mirth. “I’ve kicked his butt at the same game like. A hundred times already. You’d think with enough practice he’d start getting good at it but he really stinks, man.”
A small laugh bubbles out of Leo, calming the storming guilt that was still thrashing about inside of him like an hurricane, he feels a smile touch at his face. The first in a long time.
“He’s such an old man,” Leo says with a gentle shake of his head. “He probably wouldn’t even know how the controls work, even after you’ve explained it to him a billion times.”
Mikey leaps from where he’s standing, arms up in the air he’s nodding his head vigorously before he can even get the words out.
“Yes! Yes exactly! Man. I had to pause the first game so many times I think the game itself nearly gave up on us. He still doesn’t get it but being the meathead that he is, he’s determined to take a win from me.”
Leo chuckles, picking up his spoon. “That’s Raph for you.” Testing his soup, now at an acceptable level to eat without scalding his mouth to high hell, it goes down with ease, unlike most of the soft foods he’d tried out since he’d awoken from his coma.
“Mm,” he says, eyes flickering up to realize that his brother was watching his reaction closely. “This is good. Really good, Mike.”
If there’s a slight pink color blooming beneath his brothers cheeks, Leo doesn’t mention it. Mikey looks away, shrugging his shoulders, he says rather modestly,
“S’just soup. But thanks.” He taps his foot against the leg of the table, having become overcome with an uncharacteristic bout of bashfulness. He clears his throat before speaking again.
“Donnie said that it was gonna take a while for your stomach to get used to food again. Y’know. What with you being asleep for so long.”
Leo’s chest goes icy cold in a split second. Asleep. His heart wobbles. He spoons in another mouthful of soup to thaw out the hurtful cold feeling, and like magic, it works.
“Yeah,” he croaks out once he’s finished his mouthful. “I won’t lie and say I’m totally not missing pizza right now but. Soup works.”
A genuine smile touches at his little brothers face. The kind that works just as well as hot soup to ease out any cold pains.
“Good. I, uh. Worked on some recipes for you. Now that you’re awake you can finally taste test them for me.”
Leo huffs an easy laugh. The pills, now working in tandem with the warm meal in his belly, seem to ebb their way into his system with full effect now. The pain in his leg having receded into the shadows of his consciousness.
“Sounds good,” he tells his brother with a firm nod of his head. “As long as you teach me how to play this game of yours so I can get back into the habit of also kicking Raph’s butt.”
Mikey laughs, all fizzy and light like a shaken up soda and his eyes squint and there’s that infectious smile that has Leo’s own mouth muscles twitching.
“Sure, dude. I need the challenge.”
Leo picks up his spoon again, bringing it to his lips, he hesitates for a moment to tell him with a grin.
“Always happy to help.”
Mikey’s eyes are soft. His smile lopsided.
“Me too,” he says in a gentle, soothed voice. “Me too, bro.”