The obnoxious sound of Mikey purposely banging on a pot echoed in everyone's ears, arousing them from slumber. They groaned, burying their heads in their pillows. He did this every Sunday morning.
"Shut u-up," croaked Raph, his voice collapsing on him. Exhausted and frustrated, he tossed the sheets away and stumbled to the door, opening it wide. "Shut up!" He screeched, then slammed it closed.
The clanging failed to cease. "Get up!" Mikey shouted back mockingly. He strolled up and down the hallway, banging on a soup pot with his wooden spoon. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Raph's bedroom door flew open again and out he ran, jumping onto Mikey and tackling him to the ground.
One by one, Donnie, April, and Casey filed out of their rooms, rubbing their eyes. Ignoring the skirmish at the end of the hall, they followed each other to the kitchen and began dishing out the breakfast Mikey had prepared. Master Splinter was already seated and eating. Mikey and Raph joined the group soon after.
It was common on any day of the week for Leonardo to eat his morning meal separately. He always awoke two hours before the rest of his family to meditate, then trained with his brothers. Even after they finished up, he stayed behind while the others went on to make breakfast. On Sunday's he was the only one who got up early to train. If every person in the kitchen stopped talking and listened, they could hear Leo's occasional grunts as he practiced.
They had all warned him multiple times that there was such a thing as training too hard. Even Splinter, who encouraged dedication, advised the eldest to give himself a break more often than he had been. "All in moderation," as the rat reminded each of them regularly.
If Leo heeded their suggestions, they would never know. Over the years he had closed himself off from them, shutting himself away in his bedroom or in the dojo. Actually, the bedroom could probably be discarded as an option. He practically lived in the dojo.
His brothers were unable to understand why their leader had chosen the path he had. They missed his maturity and wisdom. Without his guidance, they'd had to teach themselves how to live the way he would've taught them to if he'd been there. How to do things he otherwise would have shown them how to do.
As the second in line to the throne that is "Oldest Sibling", Raph had done his best to take over as the responsible role model his younger brothers needed. But that was tough because like Donnie and Mikey, he also needed someone to look up to. And, quite frankly, Raphael was a terrible roll model during his elementary and middle school years. He got significantly better by the end of high school, but still.
Leo didn't come out until after everyone else had dispersed. Towel draped around his neck, he scoured the refrigerator for something to fill his empty stomach, which growled at him impatiently. A few eggs would re-establish his protein level, and he threw in some other sides like toast and an apple.
Raph passed through to grab a snack to munch on while watching Yu-Gi-Oh on one of the Saturday morning television channels. "Well, look who finally crawled out of his cave," he teased.
Leonardo sighed, for this was standard in his life.
"You know, you haven't laughed in forever," he began, snatching a bag of potato chips from a cupboard above. Leo rolled his eyes and stuffed a bite of egg into his mouth. "Haven't seen you smile in a while either."
"Raph . . ."
"I'm being serious here." Raph turned around and leaned up against the counter as he popped the bag open. It squeaked repeatedly in his hands.
YOU ARE READING
「ABSENCE」 TMNT 2012
Fanfiction"Come back!" She screamed. But the voices only left her farther behind. For months she's waited, never giving up the thought that they'd come for her. Others had related to her the tales of how they'd come to be. She knew, deep down, that they w...
