꧁𝑴𝒂𝒎𝒂'𝒔 𝑩𝒐𝒚꧂

Chapter 4

Splinter sat inside the lab, mourning his son's disappearance while the others were having their resting time. He hadn't left in days unless to train his other sons, and he barely ate. He didn't feel like doing so, and even if he wanted to he didn't think he would be able to stomach it well. Raph and the others had to coax him out of the lab to eat on the 3rd day, as they were growing more and more worried for his health.

He was scolded by Raph (which was a first) to start eating more. He understood it would help keep his strength for when they went to save the purple-masked family member. Splinter hadn't done anything in the lab. He just stared at the picture frame for hours on end, as if expecting his fourth son to crawl from the frame at any moment.

He did not.

Splinter hadn't gotten much sleep, either. He hadn't been able to. He had nightmares, nightmares about what could have possibly happened to his genius son, nightmares about what could happen to him, about what could happen to his other sons if the rescue went wrong.

Nightmares about what is possibly happening to his son right now. . .

He jolted out of his thoughts, hearing the metallic shifting of the door opening behind him. He craned his neck to see the new arrival, noticing that it was Leonardo, and he seemed to be holding what looked like a plate of pizza. . But- shaped differently and way thicker.

"Hey, Mikey made some Pizza Casserole. We ran out of some things in the pantry so he decided to improvise instead of just getting take-out. I think he's just trying to take his mind off of things." The blue masked turtle set the plate beside the rat mutant, sighing as he straightened back up with a somber expression.
"Thank you, Blue." Splinter thanked him.
"Yeah, no problem. . ." The slider replied, looking down at his feet as one arm gripped the other, his nails digging into his skin.

Splinter glanced up at the latter, frowning in sympathy for him. He knew he missed him. . They all did, but Leo had always been the closest with the resident genius. Called it a 'twin bond' or something of the sort. They always had the most in common, and were basically attached by the hip since their mutation. They shared everything with each other. . They shared their food, their belongings sometimes, used to share a room, hell they even shared a birthday with each other. He couldn't even imagine what was going on in his head as of now. . . His lifelong best friend just suddenly deciding to leave without warning or so much as a goodbye to him. He sighed softly and spread his arms out beside him, gesturing for a hug if he so chose.

Leo looked up, then paused for a moment to think about what he wanted to do. He ultimately gave in and accepted the gesture, hugging his father tightly and beginning to cry like that of an upset child.

Because he technically was.

"W- what if we can't save Don—?" He asked through heavy, choked sobs. He couldn't imagine life without him. . . He already hated the time since his leave. How lifeless the lair was, how stressed everyone was, how everyone seemed to keep away from the far-too-empty room he resided in. Even hearing crying from various hosts throughout the nights, including himself.

It was so. . . Lifeless without him.

"My son, we will find him. We will save him, no matter what it takes. We will all be together again, as a family." Splinter cooed softly, patting his back and allowing him to cry as hard as he needed. It was unfortunate, he didn't even know why the purple coded turtle left. Did he not feel accepted enough? Did he feel like he was being held back?

Did he feel unloved. . ?

"Okay— but a- are you sure. . ? What if—"
"No ‘what if's, my son. Do not think about the what if's, think about the what will's." The rat mutant replied, interrupting his son's train of thought as soon as it began.
Leo nodded, then broke the hug with a trembling sigh. "Can— can I sit with you for a while? I don't wanna go back out into the lair." The blue masked slider asked, hugging his sides and staring at a far wall.
"Of course, my son. I'm sure we can find a chair—"
"No, I can stand. If I get tired I'll just sit on the ground or a table or something." Leo interrupted, shaking his head and leaning against the workbench.
"Alright then." Splinter nodded. "If you change your mind, let me know."