Symbiosis

|Chapter 30|

A/N~ Hello guys, unfortunately, I have bad news, I am going to take Christmas and New Year week off this year, so basically after this chapter the Sunday between Christmas and New Years there will be no chapter posted, I need to time to catch up, plus I really wanna spend time with my family, so it's only going to be for that Sunday, but I should be back on a regular schedule after. I know this is a terrible Christmas gift, but I hope all of you have good time with family or your friends, or whoever you consider your family whether that's your neighbor your dog or cat, your coworkers, or partners or associates, I just hope everyone has happy holidays to all religions around the world as well as none religious folks, anyways hope you like the chapter.

Bye Bye <3

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~Two Months Later~

POV Mikey:

"Uncle Mikey! Where do you want me to take the veggies again?", standing up from the ground, I stretched my hands and held my breath, balancing all my weight on the tips of my toes, reaching my hands closer to the sky. Letting go of the breath, I turned back towards Jay as he held the basket, waiting for me to say something, "Just take it inside, we're gonna need as many veggies as I can find in this batch", nodding his head, Jay turned away and ran straight towards the house, I could tell he was excited, his expressions were happier than usual and he seemed so anxious as the hours passed. But he wasn't the only one, I was scared, for the last three months, I had been begging Leo to take us back, to go home, to make sure he was okay, but he always said we weren't ready, that we needed to become stronger if we wanted to find their father. After asking him day after day, Leo finally told the group when we were leaving, and that day was today.

Kneeling back down towards the ground, my fingers dug through the course dirt, even grabbing the food that grew underneath the ground, potatoes, and carrots, honestly, anything I grew I began to harvest it, leaving the unripe plants in the ground. Pushing up from the ground, I grabbed the basket filled with different herbs and plants, turning back towards the house, I froze for a moment and took in my small creation one last time, the field and crops I had grew for over half a year, and now I was leaving it all behind, only for us to hide underground once again...

"I...", letting go of the basket, I turned back towards the acre and fell to my knees, crossing my legs, and running my fingers through the dirt, I didn't want to go back, I didn't want to fight anymore, 'I wished you found us Leo...I wish we didn't have to leave this place...', letting out a shaky breath, I closed my eyes and let my head hang there as the sun warmed my shell, a warmth I wouldn't feel for the rest of my life. There were things I noticed during the months we stayed here, my freckles which were once very dim, became more open, and there were even more freckles than before. I even learned that Raph had freckles as well, not as many as me, but he still had them, all our pale scales darkened, showing off nicer green hues than the pale scales we had before. I so badly wanted to be selfish, I wanted to stay here, but none of us had a choice, we had a job to do whether we liked it or not.

"Mikey?", it was almost time to go, I waited for Donnie to say something, to tell me to hurry up, yet as the silence grew longer, I heard the sound of footsteps coming closer become louder before Donnie sat right beside me saying nothing. "Hey, Donnie?", he hummed as Krisa cooed, "Do you think it selfish to think I don't...actually want to go back to the life we had"

"I thought you wanted to return to ensure Leo was safe?"

"I do, I still do, but I don't want to go back to fighting thugs and the shredder only for it never to end", opening my eyes, I looked off towards Donnie through the corner of my eyes, watching as he closed his eyes with his head hung back, letting the warmth hit his face as Krisa tapped his shell, "I hate hiding in the shadows...I-", looking away from him, I picked up a handful of dirt and watched as it fell out of my hand, "I don't want to be a ninja anymore"