The Rising (final book of The Call series) ~ TMNT Fanfiction

Chapter 35: Porcelain

Nostalgia is a broad term. It can be a smell, or a sound. It can be the feeling of familiarity when you walk into a certain place. It can show itself through words or through the feeling you get when you close your eyes.

For me, right now, it's the smell of gingerbread and pine trees. It's the slight chill to the air when I walk into the front room. It's the crunch of the snow that's made every time someone walks in and out of the house.

There is someone missing, but he's here in spirit. And there is one person who has been added, after being absent for a very long time. We all sit around the fireplace, holding mugs filled with steaming hot chocolate. Dad has been coming in and out of the house to bring in more firewood, so there's a nice constant chill in the air to keep us all from melting. Rose and I baked gingerbread cookies earlier, and they're currently sitting on the countertop, cooling.

Rose snickers. "Can you believe it's been over a year since you guys saved Lexi's butt for the first time?"

She looks beautiful, as always, in her white sweater and big silver hoop earrings. Her hair is down and flowing. It's gotten a lot longer over the last year, and instead of cutting it like usual, she's decided to grow it out. She looks a lot happier than she did before.

"My butt didn't need any saving!" I defend.

"Your butt needed lots of saving," Mom says, chuckling.

I roll my eyes. "Okay, okay. Thank you, my rescuers."

I lean into Leo's chest. He puts his arm around me and presses a soft kisses on the top of my head.

After the night that Leo and I spent holding and touching each other, the only person who mentioned anything was Rose, and this was only because she noticed that I never came to bed that night. She and I were supposed to be sharing a room together, after all.

"Where were you?" she had asked, but she had a big smile on her face like she knew already.

"None of your business," I said the next morning, shuffling through my duffle bag to find another outfit for the day. Little did I know that Leo had left some marks on my neck from his passionate kissing, and Rose saw it as soon as I walked in.

She just smiled at me, knowingly. "You better cover up then because it's about to be everyone's business when you go downstairs."

I had looked in the mirror and my jaw dropped, cue Rose's laughter. She let me borrow a cute turtleneck sweater and helped me style it well. It was one of the most normal sister interactions I think that I have had with Rose in a very long time.

"Are those cookies done cooling?" Mikey asks.

"I'm pretty sure they are," Rose says. She picks one up and bites into it. "Yeah, they're definitely done. And not to brag, but Lexi and I did a pretty good job making them."

"I'll be the judge of that." Mikey hops over the couch and takes one of the cookies. After a few bites, he pauses. His eyes widen and he lunges at the entire tray. "More!"

"You haven't even finished the first one!" Rose exclaims. She serves as a barrier between the tray of cookies and Mikey.

Mikey shoves the entire cookie into his mouth, and muffles a, "Done. Can I have more?"

After a few hours, everyone begins to get sleepy. Everyone heads to sleep except for me, Leo, and Mikey. I carry my empty mug to the sink, along with some of the ones that were left behind. Leo gathers all the blankets that cover the ground and folds them back onto the couch. Mikey stares at us with anticipation, but neither of us notice for a few minutes.