You are my comfort

Picnic - 2

This chapter features some minor Leo angst, simping for Yuichi and sibling bickering between Hana and Yuichi.
Enjoy!

Just a quick nap, no biggie.

The cold wind was blowing right into Leo's face. It didn't feel cold, he couldn't decipher what felt as cold or hot, for some reason, but he knew that the wind was cold. His eyes were refusing to open and he felt like he was about to fall. His legs felt as if there were heavy weights attached to them, dragging him further down, but he didn't feel the usual pain from it. His leg was strained badly during the battle with the Kraang, so he felt pain from any kind of pressure that was put on his right leg, but it was bearable. Now that he mentioned it, he didn't feel pain anywhere at all, nor did he hear the ringing. What was happening? Where did it all go? Did he finally heal completely?

Resisting the wind blowing right into his face, Leo opened his eyes, but had to shut them immediately from the brightness of the scenery.

When he opened them again, he was astonished not only with how bright everything seemed, but also how painfully beautiful it was. The light shining from above seemed like the sunlight, but it didn't warm Leo at all. The twin cliffs from both of his sides were towering over him, with huge shadows casting down. That probably was why he didn't feel warm even with the light shining straight(gay) at him. Between those cliffs a magnificent sight had revealed itself before the turtle's eyes: a field filled with the beautiful shining flowers caressed by the wind, moving in sync like the waves of the ocean Leo liked watching from ashore. Among the flowers the slider caught sight of his family.

The big frame of his older brother was one of the clearest, although he seemed much bigger than what Leo was used to. That's probably because of the perspective he was watching them from. Raphael was smiling brightly at people surrounding him with a flower crown on her head, his features glowing softly in the light. The slider's attention shifted to people standing nearby only after Raph decided to scoop them all up in a tight hug with his mystic form, holding them gently with so much care present in her eyes, it made Leo tear up.

As expected, the most objection came from Donnie: brows furrowed, mouth moving in a rapid mannered speech and hands flapping the snapping turtle's arms. After the invasion it was hard for Donatello to accept physical affection towards himself, which can't be helped really, being that his experience was undeniably unpleasant. However, about several months into post-invasion, he admitted that they wanted affection and didn't mind receiving it, they just wouldn't respond to it immediately "and/or" wouldn't show a positive reaction to it. The second statement was Donnie reasoning it with an "I want to keep my unapproachable bad boy image". It was admirable, how Donatello stayed relatively positive even with so many things and people overwhelming them. If Leo was honest, he could see how it helped all of the family members move on, just because the softshell usually wasn't the type to forget and forgive that easily.

In contrast, Mikey was smiling his sweetest smile, clearly amused with Donatello's reaction. Michelangelo, the sunshine of the family, was shining so much brighter than the flowers, emitting warmth that reached Leo even through that big of a distance between himself and his family. That's the wonders Mikey did to everyone around him, making them feel loved, comforted and safe, making hope grow even in the most reserved and skeptic person's chest. The box turtle was laughing audibly, looking at the way his mouth wouldn't close, showing his adorable tooth gap. Later, however, it did close to let him catch his breath, holding onto his stomach.

April was present in the group hug too, laughing alongside Mike and dragging Casey into the hug. Once she made sure the apocalypse child was receiving the sibling affection too, she started rubbing her palm on Donnie's shoulder gently in an attempt to call him down. Although April was a human and joined the family when she was around 11 years old, she was considered the true eldest sibling with the way she showed care and support to all of the turtles. After the kids met accidentally on the roof of her apartment building 10 years ago, she took on Raph's helper role, only to take over his older sibling role later on in the future. Raphael was endlessly grateful for an opportunity to experience an older sibling's care and NOT be the eldest for once. That once turned into his entire life though, being that April became an official Hamato after Gram Gram's death. Hell, you can't even say she wasn't one of the Hamatos before! Because she was, is and will be, even after death temporarily distances her from her family. At least that's what she promised them.