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“Boys– get up and go to the store!”
Raph, Mikey, and Donnie looked up from their scrolling and reading and looked over at their father. It was a quiet and peaceful evening in the lair. And the Hamato family was planning on spending it together in the TV room in peace… until Splinter voiced his parental command for action.
“Aw, what?” Mikey whined. Raph and Donnie were just as unhappy with the idea and weren’t afraid to let it show on their faces. It was cold and gross outside. They were exhausted. They were finally getting a hang of their new ‘normal’... and Pops wanted them to go shopping??? “ Now? ”
“Hmph! Yes right now!” Splinter huffed, nodding. He sat by Leo’s side, busying himself with peeling a little orange for him. Leo had his own orange in his hands– less than half an inch of the rind picked off– but he happily abandoned trying to peel it to take Pop’s slices instead. He had a dazed, content look on his face. Head bobbing slightly as he chewed, looking sleepy. He enjoyed his orange slices while blissfully ignorant to the discussion at hand. “We are out of groceries– and more importantly, rainbow sherbet ice cream!!!” Splinter stressed.
“Can’t we just do grocery delivery?” Raph grumbled. Though their ‘grocery delivery’ mostly entailed grocery bags getting dropped into a freestanding, old-school newspaper box Donnie installed above ground right above the kitchen that was secretly a little elevator that would bring the groceries down. (Donnie had insisted they avoid getting things delivered to the boarded-up entrance to the abandoned subway so no one would catch on that they were living there… But the weirdest part was that people actually put the groceries in the newspaper box when they put it in the delivery instructions.)
To their dismay, Splinter barked, “No! You must go there yourselves!”
“ Uuuuuuugh whyyyyyyy,” Donnie whined loudly. That earned an orange getting thrown at the back of his head. Donnie yelped, rubbing the point of impact even though it didn’t actually hurt. Thankfully Leo was too sleepy to have noticed. (Though, hearing Leo laugh wouldn’t be too bad, Donnie supposed… Even if it was at Donnie’s strife).
“... You boys have been cooped up in here too long,” Splinter’s voice was suddenly level. It grabbed their undivided attention. They could see the faint worry in his face. He handed Leo another slice, commenting, “You should go outside for a bit. I can keep an eye on Blue.”
The three of them looked at each other. It was clear that each of them understood where Dad was coming from… but none of them really wanted to leave. And the fact that it was cold and freezing outside didn’t exactly help. Both Donnie and Raph shot a look at Mikey. He instantly got the hint. He twisted in the bean bag chair to face Dad. Clasping his hands together, he summoned his Puppy Dog Eyes. Asking with a not so subtle youngest-child- 'pleaaaase?’ tone, “But we wanna watch a Lou-Jitsu movie with Leo…!”
“NO!” They deflated when Splinter was unfazed. “Now go!” Splinter barked. Starting to lose his patience, he threw a finger towards the door, “And do NOT forget the ice cream!!!”
With a lot of dramatic sighing, the boys picked themselves up and trudged out of the room. Begrudgingly they got ready to brave the cold, cruel, dark New York streets. They also didn’t hesitate to let out offended gasps when they poked their heads into the TV room one last time– about to tell Dad they were about to leave– and saw he took Mikey’s idea and booted up a Lou-Jistu movie. (Probably to help distract Leo from the fact they would be gone for a while. Yet another reason why they didn’t want to go.) Splinter only rubbed salt in the wound by teasing that if they hurried, they could catch the ending of the movie.
They knew they actually needed groceries… and that Dad had a point about getting out of the lair… but frankly, going to the Stock & Shop sucked. It was cold and dreary outside. They had to park the tank at the far corner of the parking lot and walk in the drizzly rain. Annoying Christmas music was blaring in the grocery. All three of them were far from feeling any ‘cheer’, festive or otherwise. They’ve barely slept since Leo returned home. Or eaten. Or moved around. Or frankly anything that didn’t involve being in the TV room and monitoring Leo and soothing each other’s strife. They were tired. They were grumpy. And they just wanted to get this over with so they could go back to their warm lair and get in the pillow fort to watch movies with their brother.
Like usual, they split up. Trying to cover more ground and get what they needed. Mikey trudged towards the produce, mind and body on auto-pilot. He was especially sour about all this… He can’t believe Dad made them go out right now for ice cream. (Well, he could, actually.) He knew it was Pop’s way of making them get some fresh air and help them feel better… But all Mikey wanted to do was sleep until summer…
Mikey made a beeline for a very specific section in the produce aisle. He didn’t need to think about it much– this was always his first stop when they went to the grocery. He absent mindedly reached for a familiar, plastic, webbed bag. Mikey was trying to sludge through his tired thoughts to check his mental list. Okay. First thing done. Mandarin oranges for the shr–
Mikey paused.
He looked down at the bundle of orange fruit in his hand for a long moment.
And then
Something ignited in his chest.
He choked up. He clutched the bag to his chest. He was shaking. Strangled by the monumental feeling exploding in his chest that made him feel ready to burst. Though his hood was up to help hide his face, Mikey couldn’t have cared less if someone saw the tears pooling in his eyes.
“Ugh, they moved the milk. Who the heck moves the m– Mikey?!” Raph rounded the corner, almost instantly seeing his little brother curled in on himself. Raph rushed over, already worried sick. Had he not had two fistfulls of milk in his hands he would have grabbed Mikey by the shoulders. “Mikey what’s wrong?!”
Mikey snapped his head up. He looked Raph in the eyes.
“ I wanna buy pizza rolls for Leo.”
Raph looked at him, needing a second to process what he said. And then Mikey saw the same realization he just had dawn on his big brother’s face. He glanced down at the bag of oranges and back up again. He sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. His eyes got glossy. He tensed up. But he grinned so big his lip quivered. Seeing him smile only made the overwhelming joy in Mikey’s heart swell more.
They didn’t need to buy these anymore.
The two brothers faced each other with unbridled excitement. A silent hype crescendoing in the middle of the produce section. They were shaking with stupid happy smiles like two kids experiencing their first sugar rush.
They didn’t need to buy oranges anymore.
Because they didn’t need shrine offerings anymore .
The euphoric rush was blinding. If either Mikey or Raph had less self control, they would have erupted with a firework show of Ninpo in the middle of the Stock & Shop right then and there. Though, not enough self control to keep from nearly knocking down the shelves as they scurried to the next aisle over.
Poor Donnie wasn’t prepared for his two brothers to come barreling into the cereal aisle and almost bowl him over. Donnie squawked, dropping the box of bland Merry-O’s he’d been holding as Mikey climbed on top of him.
“GAH–! Mikey! What. Are. You. Doing–!” Donnie barked, nearly falling over as his baby brother used him like some kind of ladder. Looking up, Donnie saw Mikey grab a box of Dunk-A-Roo’s– an atrocious brand made by The Dunk that had orange puffs and The Dave’s blue loops in it with the basketball star himself printed on the front of the box. Seeing it again made Donnie cringe. Disgusted gag they still made those–?! They haven’t bought those since–
Mikey looked down, beaming, “I’m getting these for Leo!”
Donnie felt his thoughts trip up.
“DONNIE!” Raph interjected, elated. Donnie looked over at him, stupefied. Raph’s eyes sparkled, “Whadda we gotta buy to make your crazy breakfast burrito thing? Leo loved that!”
Both Raph and Mikey watched realization hit Donnie. And after a moment, that chaotic grin they all knew and love came out to shine.
What had started as an unhappy trip to the store turned into an exhilarated race to see what all they could get their hands on to take home to Leo. The three brothers completely ransacked every aisle they went down. Ice cream, pizza rolls, cookie dough, potato chips, candy, soda, sugary cereal… Stuff to make tacos, burgers, french fries, chili dogs, chips and dip… anything and everything made it into their cart. By the time they were done, they had a pile so high it could have rivaled their Lair Game’s fridge-stack challenge. They bounced on their heels as the poor clerk rang them up. Not giving a single fuck as to why three green dudes were buying every product of junk food they could find in the store. (Though, ironically, Mikey still had the oranges in the cart by the time they checked out.)
They whooped and hollered, bursting into the parking lot like a gang of drunk frat boys. The tank’s tires squealed as they tore out of there. They chanted “SNACKS! SNACKS! SNACKS!” triumphantly all the way home. Giddy, they carried their haul to the kitchen– shushing each other under their quiet giggle fits so they wouldn’t get caught. Like they were teens who snuck out after dark and were coming home after partying. It was exhilarating. It was fun. It was the best they’ve felt in weeks.
And they just couldn’t wait to see Leo’s face when he sees all his favorites again for the first time in five years.
Alas, reality settled back in when they managed to get everything in the kitchen. Putting away groceries was always the worst part– but the normally mind-numbing task was disrupted by the sheer volume they had. They were all a bit sheepish as they filled the cabinets and stuffed the fridges. They had totally and completely gone overboard…
… And the worst part was, Leo couldn’t have any of it. Not yet. It would be a long time before Leo could eat any of the stuff they bought. After all, Leo just spent five years in a dimension where he couldn’t eat anything. They had to go slow… and acquaint his body to food again. It’s impossible to know if he ate as ‘Neon Void’... but frankly, after seeing him eat half of a worm mutant and a gallon of pizza glaze, if he did eat anything it was probably very not good for him.
Leo might not be eating pizza puffs soon, but he was getting better. The list of what he could stomach for now was short, but it was a list none of the less. And that’s all that mattered.
But the other thing that mattered was getting back to the TV room as fast as possible. After literally throwing one too many things into a pantry, Shelldon offered to put the rest away for them. It should have been shameful how fast the boys opted to let the little drone do it, but with hurried thanks they peeled out of the kitchen. Shedding their winter-wear as they went. Eager to rejoin the brother they had been so excited to shop for. Though Raph did pause long enough to grab the oranges off the counter before hurrying out of there.
But in their exhilarating grocery heist they had completely forgotten about catching the end of the movie. When they came back in, the Lou-Jitsu film had definitely ended– and in its place was a Jupiter Jim DVD title screen, playing on loop. Waiting for them was a disgruntled splinter, several discarded orange peels, and a dozing Leo.
“Ugh, finally!” Splinter stressed, throwing his paws up. His exasperation stirred Leo awake. His head bobbed up, a confused mumble on his breath. He rubbed one of his eyes as Splinter wagged a finger at them, scolding, “What took you boys so long? Didn’t I say to come back before the end of the movie?” (He most certainly didn’t say that, they thought to themselves).
Leo perked up when he saw them. He beamed with a grin. He gave them a silly wave, motioning them to come over, “Hey guys! Just in time– c’mere!”
Sweet joy swelled in their chests. Mikey, Donnie, and Raph were more than happy to abandon the spots they’d been lounging in before to join Leo in the pillow fort. As they shuffled inside, Splinter sighed, jabbing a thumb over at the TV, “Blue insisted on waiting for you to come back before watching a Jupiter Jim movie. We’ve been listening to that stupid theme song for ages!”
The three brothers snickered under their breaths. Raph did a poor job apologizing with the big grin on his face, “Sorry Pop. Was just, uh… stocking up.”
Splinter saw the bag of oranges clutched in Raph’s fists and let out a pleased humph. He waved his paw, turning to leave, “Good. Enjoy your movie with Blue–,” Splinter pat his own stomach, tail swishing happily, “Papa’s going to have some ice cream!”
Mikey snorted, cheekily making bets with Donnie on how fast Splinter could eat a gallon of ice cream as Raph ripped open the bag of oranges. Leo snickered at Mikey’s comment, struggling to click the buttons on the remote from his giggle fit. When he managed to hit play, they all piled into the fort. Raph settled next to Leo’s side, fishing out an orange. Mikey used Donnie’s shell as a pillow– to which Donnie didn’t seem to mind, already zeroed in on his phone. As Jupiter Jim entered the scene on the screen, a nice sense of normalcy settled over the den. One they hadn’t felt in a while. It made Raph’s chest feel warm and full.
Silently, Raph whittled away at the orange. Peeling it carefully without squashing it. Breaking a slice free, he nudged Leo. When Leo looked over, he was surprised to see the little offering. He smiled– and Raph’s heart swelled. Though his right hand still shook badly, Leo happily took the slice. By the second slice Mikey and Donnie noticed the free snack handout. They made a rhetorical fuss, asking Raph for a slice like the silly, whining little brothers they were. Raph handed Leo another slice, opening his mouth to say that these were Leo’s oranges–
But Leo simply turned to offer the little wedge of fruit to Mikey, a content grin on his face. Mikey blinked, taken aback. Looking almost guilty– that he didn’t actually mean to take some of Leo’s snack. But with a little wiggle of the fruit, coaxing Mikey to take it, the youngest brother accepted with a warm smile. Raph felt like a fist was squeezing his heart in the best way– it was so wholesome he could cry. The next slice was offered to Donnie– who took it with a raised eyebrow and grin. Raph almost did cry when Leo offered him a slice. Never before had an orange slice tasted so sweet.
And they spent the movie like that. Sharing orange slices in silence. Laughing at all the parts they loved to laugh at. Gasping at all the right moments. Feeling so complete. Though by the third orange, Raph was starting to get tired of the taste. It made his heart ache to know that Leo was probably tired of it too– but it was one of the few things he could eat right now…
But, it was okay. After all… they had all the time in the world now. Leo was home. And he can take all the time he needed to readjust to all kinds of food. Once Leo could graduate from oranges, they would be ready. And Raph couldn’t wait to see how happy Leo will be to get to eat normally again. And he couldn’t wait until Leo could do his favorite things normally again too. That someday, he wouldn’t be confined to this pillow fort to the den… and be able to live the life he deserved. And the fact he had that chance now made all the slow recovery feel rewarding.
So for now, Raph was content. Sitting here with all of his brothers, watching Jupiter Jim… peeling mandarin oranges.