(written for @fluffyjuly day nine: found family & day ten: ruffling hair)
Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Word Count: 3610
âHey, kid.â Lenny greets, as Casey walks into the armory and drops his weapons off with a sigh. Itâs a taser-gun, relatively new, and pretty deadly, the Genius Built symbol glinting purple in the light. âHow was patrol?â
âIrritating.â Casey answers honestly, stretching his shoulder joint and hearing a âpopâ. âI got caught in a feeding hunt. Had to take down a few dogs. Nothing crazy, though.â
âRight.â Lenny drawls, as he takes the gun. Casey watches him weigh it in his hands, and he raises an eyebrow before he goes to put it away.
âBoth cartridges empty.â He calls from the storage. âAnd a nice, long cut on your arm. Not to mention the limp in your walk. But sure, it was ânothing crazyâ.â
Casey scowls, trying to keep his arm out of sight and stand equally on both feet. âIt really wasnât crazy. I just rolled my ankle on some rocks like a dummy.â
âHmm. Sure. On a completely unrelated note, you know I have a direct link to your sensei, right?â
He tenses, his eyes darting away. â...I know that.â
âGood.â Lenny answers. âThen you know I can tell him you havenât gone to medical since you came back.â
âI donât need medical!â Casey protests.Â
Itâs too loud to be convincing. Lennyâs gaze ticks to him, unimpressed. âThereâs blood on your scarf.â
âThatâs, uh. Crayon ink.â
He raises his brow higher. âHave you ever even seen a crayon?â
âYeah. Of course I have.â
âThen you should know crayons donât need ink.â Lenny looks more and more done with this conversation. âJones. Medical. Or Iâm telling on you.â
Casey opens his mouth, to try to tell him that no, he really doesn't need anything, he is a-okay, but stops himself. He was never going to be able to out-stubborn Lenny. And Uncle Tello has eyes in every important room on the base. The last thing he needs is to get caught arguing in the armory and then be caught hurt-not-hurt.Â
âFine, fine.â He groans, turning away. âMedical it is.â
âAnd Iâll be checking on you!â Lenny yells behind him as he leaves. âDonât try me!â
Casey keeps his irritated growl to himself.
He tries to wipe the blood off the arm before he gets to the med ward, because it isnât that big of a deal, really, itâs just a long cut thatâll take like, a day to heal at most. He thinks he does a decent job of it when he gets there, immediately overcome with the noise and the scent of antiseptic.Â
He moves to stand in an unassuming corner, simply watching the controlled chaos. Most of the beds are taken by humans and yokai of various shapes and sizes, bandages on their various injuries. Dr. OâNeil is in the back, a stethoscope slung around her neck and a tablet in her hand, ordering around her nurses this way and that, looking like the commander of her own domain.Â
Casey briefly wonders if he can make an escape, since he really doesnât want to add on to their work, when she catches his eye.Â
Immediately, her face changes into something much more friendly and kind, her eyes getting tinier from the force of her smile. Going from being Dr. OâNeil to being Grams.Â
âIs that Mr. Jones Junior I see?â She asks out loud, and a few heads turn his way. Casey ducks his head, caught.
âHi, Grams.â He walks up to her to immediately get trapped into a tight hug. A tension he didnât know he was holding in his shoulders seeps out. âWhatâre you up to?â
âMaking sure everyoneâs alive.â Grams snorts, running a hand through his hair. âHow was patrol?â
Casey doesnât even blink at the question. Grams doesnât have access to the patrol schedule, but somehow sheâs always aware of when he goes out. âIt was okay. Not too terrible, I promise.â
She lets him go, and looks him up and down with a critical eye. He tries to be casual about hiding his arm, but ultimately fails, when Grams just holds a hand out for him, an eyebrow raised.Â
âUgh. And I also got a little scratch.â He admits, showing her his arm. Which, fuck, is bleeding again. Great, just great. Â
She purses her lips. âThis is not a little scratch, Jones Junior. This is a deep laceration. And the fact that youâve been back for at least fifteen minutes and itâs still bleeding, meansâŚ?â
âMeans that I have to get stitches.â Casey mutters.Â
âExactly. Which also means that you should not have tried to hide it from me.â Grams pulls him, gently, towards one of the empty beds, forcing him to sit down. Casey tries not to look at the person directly behind him, with their leg in a cast and half their face wrapped up.Â
âSorry.â He offers, and does his level best to not wince as the wound is cleaned. He doesnât even cry when the stitches are placed, keeping his eyes on the nurses.Â
The door to the ward opens, and in strides the Sergeant, her hair pinned back tightly and a set of sterilized tools in her hands. She catches sight of him and grins, teeth glinting white.
âCasey!â Auntie Sunita greets, before her eyes tick towards his injury. âOh. Yikes. Bad day out?â
âNot too shabby.â Grams answers for him. âDidnât even need more than five stitches.â
âNice!â She says happily, dropping off the tools and joining them. She presses her lips to her hand and smacks him on the head with it. He smiles. âHey, youâll have an awesome scar now.â
âOh, yeah! Iâll match with my Uncle.â
âDonnie would probably have a heart attack if he saw a single graze on you.â Grams snorts, and finally wraps his wound up. And plops a kiss on top of the bandage like heâs five-years-old.Â
âGrams.â He whines, embarrassed.Â
âHey, thatâs how the bacteria stays away from your insides!â Grams teases. âThat, and hydrogen peroxide.â
âItâs like a good luck charm, too.â Auntie Nita nods sagely. âThemâs the rules, kid. Donât argue with your grandma.â
The doors slam open again, and someone from the other patrol party emerges, half-carried by his friend, looking just slightly delirious from pain.Â
âOh, damn, another concussion.â Grams mutters, and Casey can watch the shift back to Dr. OâNeil happen in her eyes. âAlright, then, Junior. Time to scram. Sergeant, with me.â
Casey weaves through the crowd quietly, waving a gentle goodbye to some of the younger kids huddled together, and leaves.Â
The stitches pull at his injury, and he tries not to itch at it through the bandage. Ugh. Itâd been his turn at the washing stations tonight before bed, and itâs going to be a nightmare. He hates trying to clean around a wound.Â
He heads downstairs, towards the bunks, because stupid mission reports donât file themselves.
He whips around, one hand on his hockey stick, crouched into a defensive position, when he realizes what the hell heâs seeing.Â
Itâs Uncle Angie, floating upside down, with a shit-eating grin on his face.Â
Casey groans aloud, as Angie cackles, his entire body turning in the air with the force of it.Â
âOh my Spirits, your face ââ
âAngie, that was not funny!â
âThat was so funny! I hope to Pizza Supreme Donnie recorded that.â
Casey lets his head fall into his hands, trying to hide his smile. âGod, I hope no one heard me.â
âEveryone heard you.â He hears the wry voice behind him, and sees Auntie Apes walk out from the Hamato family room. She has her locs collected into a ponytail, and sheâs wearing her civvies. She leans against the doorway, shaking her head at him. âIâm sure even the dogs up there heard you.â
âYep. We're gonna find out this area is suddenly red-lit, and itâs all because of me scaring CJ.â
âDamn, Mikes, I always knew you would be the end of us.â
Casey huffs as they joke back and forth, going inside. He changes out of his armor, putting on some shorts and a giant blue hoodie. Thereâs a tear on the cuff, but he pays it no mind. The sooner he gets the worst part of his day over with, the better.
He pulls out his tablet, sitting criss-crossed on his mattress, and starts the paperwork.Â
âWow, how the heck do you have the patience to do reports in silence? â Angie groans, paddling in the air to float directly above Casey, strands of gray hair hanging down. âThatâs so boring.â
âI like to do my reports with some Beyonce playing in the background.â Apes pipes up. âSame way I used to do homework, back in my day.â
âEugh. Homework.â Angie physically recoils, wrapping his cloak around himself like it would protect him. âHorrifying. Hey, did we ever tell you what homework was, Ceej?â
âUh.â Casey says distractedly, wondering if a half-Krangified cat heâd encountered near the Midtown area counted as a âwitness to an accidentâ. âOh, yeah. Mom used to say it was like aâmedieval torture device.â
Apes snorts. âNo oneâs more right than Cassandra Jones.â
Caseyâs lip quirks up.Â
They stay in the room for a while, Casey flitting between finishing his paperwork and watching Angie make Apes float so they could dance to Beyonceâs Single Ladies in the air. It takes him twice as long, mostly because he keeps accidentally mixing up his report with song lyrics.Â
âSee, now, why arenât we like him?â He hears Apes say, when heâs finally at the part where he has to promise that he did his work all by himself, no proxy utilized. âWhy donât we do our paperwork immediately after we come from a mission?â
Angie sighs, quietly, and Casey tries not to look over at the thread of wistfulness he can pick out through the breath.Â
âWell,â Angie answers, âCasey Jones Junior has always been the best of us.â
He swallows, his throat suddenly dry. Apes hums in response. âThatâs very true. Yâknow how I know that?âÂ
From his periphery, he sees her poke a finger into Angieâs cheek, who giggles softly. âItâs âcause he has your smile.â
âOf course. Donât you remember when Casey adopted him? She was pissed that he looked more like you and Raph than her.â
âOh, I remember that! And then we had an arm wrestling competition to see who he was going to be named after.â Angie tsks. âStill canât believe she won.â
âHe could have been named Raphael Junior. Or maybe Michelangelo Junior.â
âYikes. Yeah, no, itâs better she won.â
Casey takes a deep breath, stretching his neck, letting them know he was done working. He shoots them a tired smile. âTime for dinner?â
Apes blinks blankly at him for a second, and Angie rolls his eyes. âYes, thank you, CJ, for actually reminding some people that they need to eat.â
Apes rolls her eyes but concedes, standing up and putting her locs into a bun. âYeah, fair. I was fully going to go into a meeting.â
âWe know.â Angie and Casey intone together, and chuckle.Â
The mess hall is crowded when they get there, loud and bustling, the sounds of laughter and jokes drifting in the air. It looks like nearly everyone, including the night-shift workers, showed up tonight.
âWow.â Apes says, eyebrows raised. âWhatâre they making?â
On a giant banner, just above the serving station, are the words âApocalypse Cake! First Come, First Serve!â
âCake?â Casey reads, surprised. He tries to think back to all his old storybooks, wondering what on earth it was made of. âDonât you need, like, that brown stuff? Brown chalk or whatever it was called.â
âI think you might be referring to chocolate.â Angie huffs, nudging him towards an empty table. âAndâdang it. Now I miss chocolate.â
âItâs okay, Mikes, I think it would just spike your blood sugar now.â Auntie Apes jokes, and Angie gently swats at her with a tiny mystically conjured chain.
âShouldnât we go up there?â Casey asks. âTheyâll run out.â
Uncle Angie winks at him. âWell, when you have an in with the kitchen, no, they wonât.â
âAh, Michelangelo,â they hear a voice drone behind them, âyou always were such a deviant. Iâm so proud of you.â
Casey turns, and sees Uncle Tello step to their table with a small smile, looking away from the four purple holograms floating near him. He grins.
âUncle Tello!â He gets up and immediately wraps his arms around him, fingers fisting in the yellow Cuddle Cakes crewneck.Â
âCJ-squared.â Tello greets him, affectionately rubbing his back. âI saw you had to go to medical today.â
âUgh. You were spying on me?â
âI spy on everybody. Thatâs my job. How else would I know that you guys had a dance party without me?â
âYeah, we did. Your jammy-jams were sorely missed.â
âSassy.â Tello notes. âYouâre getting very sassy. I donât know if I like it or not.â
Another three-fingered hand comes to Caseyâs head to ruffle his hair. Itâs a different, bigger one. A hand heâd recognize anywhere.
âOh, câmon, Don-Tron.â a familiar voice teases. âGive someone else the chance to be the âSassiest of Them Allâ.â
Casey glimpses up, and sees the well-known twist of Senseiâs grin looking down at him, and wastes no time in hooking an arm around his waist and bringing him into the hug.Â
Sensei snorts out of surprise, and then squeezes Tello and him hard enough for both to squeak. âGroup hug! I love group hugs.â
Tello sighs, exasperated, muttering mild insults under his breath which he responds to in kind. Casey smiles into Senseiâs dark blue shawl. And yet, no one lets go.
âIâm finally off, please tell me dinner is servedâoh. Aww. See, I always knew the General was an utter softie.â
Casey extricates himself, surprisingly blinking some wetness away from his eyes as he chuckles. He hadnât realized how long it had been since he got his personal favorite kind of twin hug. He missed it.
Lenny tilts his head at him knowingly, but says nothing. Instead he smirks, eyes darting to Sensei. âYou greet all your students like that?â
Sensei rolls his eyes at him. âMy favorite ones, sure. And Iâd like to remind you, oh Loathsome Leonard, that you always hide an extra taser gun away from the main store, completely off the books, just to save it for Casey.â
Lenny clears his throat, looking away suspiciously, while Caseyâs jaw drops.Â
âAre you kidding me?â He exclaims, feeling both shy and also a little indignant.Â
âOh, Lenâs like a total softie.â Angie drawls. âRemember when he gave up his favorite pair of gloves to CJ when he lost his?â
âThat was your favorite?â Casey gapes at Lenny. âYou told me you hated those!â
âShut up. All of you.â Lenny grouses, sitting down and completely ignoring Caseyâs scoff. He shoots a glare at Sensei. âIf you tell anyoneââ
âThat you love Casey Junior?â Sensei snorts. âI think itâs a little too late for that.â
Lenny rolls his eyes hard enough to probably see the inside of his brain. Despite his indignation, Casey tries not to grin cheekily.Â
âOh, good, youâre all actually here for once.â Gramsâ voice says above their heads, and he feels nails raking through his hair. âJones Junior, you desperately need a haircut.â
âWhy?â Lenny grunts out, messing with the bandana holding his own long hair together. âHe looks fine.â
âNo, he doesnât. And neither do you. Youâre both getting a haircut first thing in the A.M. Majorâs orders.â
Casey and Lenny start to complain loudly in the exact same petulant tone, which makes them pause as the table erupts into laughter. Lennyâs smirk gets a tad warmer.
A smell wafts around the mess hall just then, something nutty yet caramelized, and nearly everyoneâs heads whips towards the source.Â
Danny storms out of the kitchen, cutting through the long line of people waiting to be served, coming straight towards them with a tray. Heâs still wearing his stained apron and mitts, and when he places the dish on the table, he nearly collapses into his seat, head in his folded arms.Â
âI. Am. So fucking tired.â He groans. âWhoâs bright idea was this shit?â
âHey.â Grams says sternly. âLanguage, Daniel.â
Danny looks up, exhaustion mixed with faint irritation in his eyes. âCarol. Trust me, I love you, but Iâm going to curse however much I fucking want right now. Iâve spent three days getting the tannins out of thousands of acorns, and then grinding all of them until they were finer than talcum powder. I canât even feel my arms anymore.â
Lenny pats his back commiseratingly, as Casey leans towards the tray. There are nine pieces of a really thick, dark brown cake, slightly burnt crust at the top. The caramelized smell comes stronger now, and itâs something he can only barely recognize, making his mouth water.Â
Uncle Tello blinks at the dish, seemingly stunned as he dismisses all his projections. âIs thatâŚÂ honey?â
Danny incoherently mumbles an agreement.Â
âHoney?â Auntie Apes asks, shocked. âWhere on earth did you get honey from?â
Danny doesnât answer, almost halfway asleep. Lenny shrugs.Â
âThe new refugees got it for us.â A sweet voice pipes up, and they turn to see Aunt Sunita hurry towards them with a smile, her cloaking broach on her civilian jacket. âSorry, Iâm late. But yeah, it was the group that came in from Maine. One of the grandmothers had a jar saved up. She let us use all of it today.â
âHoly shit.â Angie whispers, and Casey spies a light in his eyes he hasnât seen in a very long time. âGuys. Weâre feasting tonight.â
âGod.â Sensei shakes his head in wonder, as everyone grabs their designated slices. Lenny twists Dannyâs ear until he wakes back up and takes his own with a scowl. âI havenât had honey sinceâŚâ
The sentence hangs, and the moment around the table sours, just a little. Solidifying into something Caseyâs all-too familiar with.Â
Sensei shuts his eyes. âSince the last time we all had tea.â
âI remember that.â Grams says quietly, studying her piece. For a second, she looks older than usual. âIt was the night weâd found this cave.â
Danny nods, solemn, tapping at the table absentmindedly. âYeah. Just after the Hidden City finally collapsed. Weâd all carried whatever supplies we could, and⌠Master Splinter, he brought his tea.â
A melancholy smile grows on Telloâs face, as he swallows. âIt was sakura tea. Japanese cherry blossoms. He lit a fire, and asked me to make a pot and some cups with my ninpo. And when it was done, he put the last bit of honey we had in each cup. Well, he put the most in mine.â He adds with a chuckle. âI hated the taste so much, I literally could not drink it without honey.â
Sensei takes a breath, and lets it out slowly. âI remember he gave us this speech. About how sakura tea represents resilience in times of uncertainty. It wasnât even a metaphorâthe tea was made out of blossoms preserved through many, many years.â
Senseiâs arm comes up and around Caseyâs shoulder, as he continues, âHe told us it was a lesson we should learn, before we start building this base. That hope persists, like the wind under every floating pink petal. It can ebb and flow, but itâs never truly gone. He wanted our hope to fuel our resilience.â
He squeezes Caseyâs shoulders, and he glances up. His sensei is smiling at him, and, damn, his heart leaps at the pride on his face. He hopes to the Spirits heâs not imagining it. Making his family proud is all heâs ever wanted.
âAnd so, now, I guess itâs my turn.â Sensei raises his piece of cake, and so does everyone else.Â
âA toast. To every single person at this table. You are some of the kindest and bravest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. And the privilege of loving.â Sensei says.Â
Thereâs a small waver in his voice, and Casey reaches and squeezes the hand on his shoulder tightly.Â
âYou have shown immeasurably loyalty, not only to our cause, but also to this family. You are the reason the Hamato legacy lives on. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you are, and everything youâve done. And I hope to all the Spirits above that your stomachs can digest the atrocity we are about to eat."
The table breaks out into a bark of surprise laughter. Grams shakes her head, her fingers intertwined with her daughterâs. Angie pats at the corner of his eyes with his cloak, and stands up to affectionately bonk his head with Senseiâs. Tello meets his twinâs eyes, and something deep and unspoken passes between them, before he hooks his ankle under the table with his. Auntie Nita twists and rests her legs on Lennyâs lap, while Danny leans onto his shoulder, both giggling at the fake irate look on Lenny's face.Â
Casey just watches all of them, happy. And something in him tells him to memorize this instant forever, to brand the curves of their smiles and the lilts of their voices onto the walls of his brain. Itâs that strange feeling he gets sometimes, that tells him a moment is beautiful and fleeting and rare while heâs living it.Â
He breathes, and takes a bite of his cake. Itâs gritty and earthy, but just sweet enough.
He listens to that feeling, and memorizes it all.