Are You Sure I'm Not A Villain?

46

just a little bit of fluff after all that blood and sad emotional stuff.

enjoy!

Kai spluttered for words. "W-what?" he gasped. "Why? I have done nothing but torment you! I hunted you for years, hurting you, and betraying.... I have done nothing to earn your forgiveness."

"I feel that everyone deserves a second chance," Splinter explained. "Especially those who are worthy of one. You were raised in a home where hunting us was necessary for your survival. For that reason, I am not angry at you. I can sense that you are a great person. You just need a fresh start to be that great person."

"Besides," Leonardo added with a smile. "We can tell that Casey really loves you. If Casey is happy, we are more than ready to keep it that way."

"You- you don't care?" Kai asked.

"Oh, no," Donnie said with a dry chuckle. "We still care and will probably have to wait to let you be near any knives or other weapons, but we still want to help you find your way again."

The boy looked down into his now empty bowl of soup. He didn't even remember finishing it. He felt his hands shake hidden under the table. Kai wouldn't let himself very in front of these people. He couldn't cry in front of these people. "Thank you," he said shakily.

***

Life at the lair was decent, to say the least. The turtles were always gone almost every night, sometimes sleeping through the entire day. April went to school and would only visit five days out of the week. Casey still hadn't shown up. Kai was left in the lair, sleeping in an old closet that the turtles had cleaned out for him, and spent most of his hours in the dojo with Master Splinter. He wasn't allowed to go anywhere as he was still under Donnie's orders. He was tired of waiting to heal. He wanted to go back up to the surface and feel the cool autumn air against his face.

At the moment, he was sitting on the couch with Mikey. He tried to say that the best way to rehabilitate a villain is by watching cartoons. Kai disagreed, but wouldn't argue with the logic. (show with glasses green kid) was a pretty interesting show, even if the characters were a little... odd. Splinter let his sons take a break from patrol to just be teenagers and hang out, watching TV. Donatello and Raph kept making comments about how the show was scientifically incorrect, or that it was "stupid", but Kai didn't see either of the turtles look away from the screen for a moment.

Kai was wrapped in a heavy blue blanket with a cup of hot tea nestled warmly in between his hands. Ever since he died, it had been really hard for Kai to get warm, racked with freezing tremors at night. Donnie assumed that death had caused more of Kai's snake side to come out, making him more cold-blooded. Donnie was planning on going to the junkyard within the next few days to make an artificial light for him to sunbathe in.

Kai snuggled up in the warmth of the couch as he watched the colorful characters on the screen fight against a robot enemy. But suddenly, his whole life stopped as he heard a familiar voice calling out into the quietness of the lair.

"Hey guys!" Casey shouted. "Watching the show without me? Ya know I--"

At the sound of that voice, Kai turned around in his seat and looked back at Casey, cutting him off in surprise. Casey stopped in his tracks, his eyes opening far too wide to be healthy. The person behind him ran into him and rubbed their forehead. The person peeked around from behind Casey. Kai's heart skipped a beat.

"Kai?" Karai asked, pushing Casey to the side as she quickly walked towards her little brother.

"Yeah?" Kai answered. He sat the cup of tea on the ground, standing up and meeting her halfway. The blanket fell off his shoulders and landed in a pile on the couch. He was so overcome with emotion at the sight of his sister. He had missed her so much over the past two weeks. He could imagine how she had been holding up, considering she was only now seeing him for the first time two months after his death. Karai placed her hands on either of Kai's shoulders, holding him at a distance as she examined him. Kai felt very awkward as she did this, suddenly becoming hyper-aware of the scar tissue spanning the width of his neck.

But to his surprise, Karai pulled him close and squeezed him tight in a hug. Kai stood there in shock for a moment before wrapping his arms around her too, digging his face into her shoulder.

"You're alive," Karai breathed. "I visited you all the time. How are you alive?"

Kai didn't answer, just holding Karai tighter. Finally, the hug ended and the siblings pulled away.

The TV was still playing in the background, but it was just white noise compared to the blood pumping through Kai's ears. April was standing next to Splinter, looking happy and smug at the turn of events. The turtles were also watching everything that happened (totally not awkward at all). Karai turned to the side, beckoning Casey over. She went over and stood next to Leo, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Casey basically stumbled forward with how fast he reached the shorter boy. Casey stood a little bit away from him, just looking. There were tears in his dark eyes, his mouth twisted as he tried to stop himself from sobbing. It couldn't be real. This had to be some sort of cruel dream. If it was, Casey didn't want to wake up. Kai was dead. He had been for months now. How...?

"Is this real?" Casey asked.

"I hope so," Kai answered.

"Ya're real?"

"I think so," Kai said.

Casey's face broke out into a wide smile, the gap in his front teeth as cute as the day that Kai first saw it. His knees became weak and he almost broke down in tears right then and there. He grabbed Kai and pulled him close. He wrapped his arms around Kai's waist and put his chin on top of his head. Casey started to sob. Tears ran down his cheeks. Thank you, he mouthed to Splinter. The rat only nodded in return, crossing his hands over his cane.

The others finally left the room, going to the lab or the kitchen and leaving the couple alone. When Casey noticed that they were alone, he pulled away and leaned down to Kai's level. "I missed ya so much," he said, wiping a tear from his eye.

"I missed you too," Kai responded. He cupped Casey's face in his cold hands. "I thought I would never see you again. Leo said that you were banned."

Casey chuckled. "Yeah," he said sheepishly. "I didn' leave yer side for days. I guess they couldn't stand the smell o' me, so Splints made me go home."

Kai laughed. "Thank you," he finally said.

"For what?"

"Believing in me," Kai answered. "For believing that I could change."

"Ya don' need ta thank me for that," Casey said. He grabbed Kai's hands, pulled them off his face, and held them in his own hands. "It was all I could do ta help ya. I care abou' ya, Kai."

Kai's eyes flicked down to Casey's mouth as he said this, quickly catching himself and looking back at Casey's eyes. "Really?"

"Really."

Casey pressed a quick peck on Kai's lips. "You're so cold," he said.

"Yeah," Kai said. He scratched the back of his neck. "That started happening after I came back. Donnie said it was my mutant DNA coming out a little more."

"Oh," Casey said. "Do you want a jacket?" He pulled on the edge of his zip-up hoodie, asking if Kai wanted it.

"I have a blanket," Kai said with a shrug. "And lots of tea. Did you know that Splinter grows his own Gyokuro here? It's so good."

Casey laughed full on now. He led Kai over to the couch, bundling him up in the previously discarded blue blanket, and snuggled up to his side. Kai sipped his tea and watched the remainder of the show with Casey. Just the two of them, on the couch in the sewers, watching cartoons.

He wished he could stay here forever because there was nothing that he had experienced in life that was better than this.

THE END