Together As Mutants (Book Six)

Chapter 12: New Friendships

In celebration of Taylor's freedom, they decide to have a movie night in the lair with everyone present. They argue over the movies for a bit—Casey and Raphael want an action flick, Leonardo and some of the girls want sci-fi—but they eventually settle on a superhero movie.

The lair is dark, punctuated only by the changing light of the TV screen. The couples are scattered about, wrapped in blankets and each other's arms. As time ticks by, they start to drift off to sleep. This ends up meaning that most of them, since they're sitting up, fall asleep on each other's shoulders. Casey is laid flat out on his back, mouth hanging open, and April sleeps with her back to his side, cuddling the arm he still has around her.

When the credits roll, not a single one of them is still awake save for Splinter himself. He rises to his feet and goes around the room, tucking the blankets closer to the sleeping couples before shutting off the TV, whispering goodnight, and gliding off to the dojo to get some rest.

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The next day, after breakfast, after everyone has left to do an early morning patrol and see their friends home, Splinter sits in the kitchen. He takes gentle sips of his tea, mulling over the silence that the lair exudes when his children aren't around.

Splinter is used to it, or has been used to it, for most of his new life and yet today, he feels lonely. Maybe it's because his sons are all in happy relationships and tend to be out of the lair more and more often, mostly in the case of Raphael and Michelangelo.

The freezer door creaks open and Ice Cream Kitty pokes her head out, letting out a tiny, questioning mew. Splinter smiles a little.

"I apologize, my frozen friend," he says. "It seems my mood is affecting you too."

Ice Cream Kitty meows again and Splinter stares at her. Michelangelo often talks to Ice Cream Kitty like she knows what he's saying and, in turn, he replies to her. They have full conversations sometimes.

Now, Splinter is seriously considering talking to a mutant cat if it means his loneliness dissipates for a while. He supposes she is a pretty clever creature...

Ice Cream Kitty grabs a cheesicle, hops from the freezer onto the table, and crawls over to him. She purrs, nuzzling her head into his hand, and he smiles a little. When she pulls away, he reaches for the snack in her paw, but she yanks it back and shakes her head.

He tilts his head in confusion and Ice Cream Kitty lifts the cheese to her ear and meows a few times. He arches an eyebrow and she stares up at him, expectant.

"The cheese phone?" he suggests.

She nods.

"Are you suggesting that I call someone?"

Another nod.

He strokes his goatee. While he has interacted with many mutants who are closer to his own age, and they are certainly his friends, they are not the kind of friends he would spend long amounts of time with. Most of them don't even have phones.

He perks up, eyes widening as an idea pops into his head. Ice Cream Kitty meows and hands him the cheesicle, making him smile.

"Thank you," he says. "I will return shortly."

Now, to call, and if all goes well, he will just have to find where Donatello keeps the human patches.

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About ten minutes later, Splinter walks down the street, more than a little put off at how no one gives him a second glance. To everyone else, he looks like a tall Japanese man, just out for a walk.