Chapter Text
April didn’t know how to approach Leo. For the first time since meeting the four brothers, and for the first time with Leo in particular, she didn’t know what to say.
Leo had never been hard for her to talk to. If anything, he was easy in so many ways because he always made her laugh and he was surprisingly good at listening when she needed it. All the brothers were sweet to her; all of them were supportive. But Leo was a sort of safety net that was different from the other three.
They had what they called “Girls Night” once in a while, and it’s where they’d do skincare and paint nails and talk recent gossip. It was their vent session, the slow pressure release of their individual lives in the comfort of one another’s familiarity. It was a way to smooth themselves out and it worked because they knew each other so well.
So it felt wrong to look at Leo and feel like she was seeing a stranger. All the things she thought she’d known about him, all the things that make him tick and run and laugh, she thought she’d known them down to a tee. The incident in the dojo proved she didn’t. Hell, even the weeks prior to that, when he’d been seeking some kind of coping mechanism only to make himself sick and then say such horrible things, not knowing they’d all heard. Even then… especially then. It struck her how much she might not know him.
It was enough to drive her mad.
It was enough to break her heart.
She didn’t stick around the lair much after their beach day. April needed some space to think and process and cry in peace because she felt so guilty. At her core, she knew she hadn’t done anything to feel guilty about, but it didn’t stop her from feeling it anyway. It was the snowball effect of her thoughts and nightmares in full motion, and she didn’t know how to bring it up.
Hypocritical, probably. She was so gung-ho about helping and fixing everyone else, she’d sorta forgotten about herself.
So there was a poetic irony to her current situation, which was Leo texting her on a Thursday night.
💙> Girls Night?
💛> when?
💙> tonight, if ur free
Was she? She supposed… but also she was a little afraid. How silly, to be any kind of afraid facing any of her friends that she’d saved the world with twice over. Silly to think that Leo would ever be anything but gracious and light toward her, like he’d always been.
But things were different now. It scared her.
💛> I don’t know, Lee. I have homework
💙> I know that’s a lie
💛> u don’t know shit
💙> i know everything. Also our dearest Donatello told me ur classes are canceled until spring
💛> that SNITCH
💙> so what, don’t wanna see me?
Okay, ouch. That’s an unfair tactic… mostly because it was so direct in its approach. No hedging jokes or easy letting go this time.
💛> that’s not it
💙> if it is I get it
💛> don’t you dare start that spiral of thought. I know you
💙> then what’s the issue? It’s not like u to lie
She didn’t know how to answer that. The truth was too large and too small, all at once.
💛> Okay maybe i’m just a little… not sure what to say
💙> to me?
💛> to anyone
💙> ah… yeah, i get that
💛> i’m sorry. I do want to see you, i promise
💙> it’s okay. We can do it another time if you want.
And something in her is now suddenly desperate to see her Leo. The Leo who made her laugh and got her to talk so easily and made her feel understood no matter the situation. To see him and talk and get a chance to fix whatever awkward thing had put a wedge between her mouth and heart when it came to speaking with him lately.
💛> no I think. Maybe that’s what i need, ya know?
💙> … are u sure?
💛> yes. But can we do tomorrow night instead? I need to clean my apartment
💙> sure. See you then?
💛> it’s a date, bb blue
She set her phone down and looked around her apartment from her perch on the couch.
CJ hadn’t got back to her yet about staying with her and her parents, but he had at least come to visit a couple of times. One of his newly acquired sweaters was draped across a chair in the dining room where he’d forgotten it, and there were an extra pair of sneakers by the door. Not a big deal. However, there were several piles of their collective fast food trash on most of the flat surfaces across the main areas of the house and definitely in her room.
Her mom had been too busy to clean, working long hours at the hospital even this many months after the invasion. And her dad had been stuck in another state for a while because the New York airport had been half destroyed in all the chaos, but he would be home in the next month or so after he finished some work he took up while waiting to come home.
Then there was April, who had been so heavily preoccupied with Leo and the others… well, she hadn’t cleaned much either…
Living alone had its perks, but cleaning was definitely not one of them.
April spent the rest of her afternoon picking up laundry and sorting it for cleaning, sweeping, mopping, dusting, taking out trash, and washing her few measly dishes while listening to her favorite podcasts. She let her body go on autopilot so she wouldn’t have to think so hard about Leo’s visit.
The guilt continued to eat her alive, a slow, prodding thing in the back of her mind the rest of the day and all through the night and the next day.
Friday rolled around and she couldn’t believe that she was nervous. She’d never been nervous around any of them. But it was true what she said the day before and it was that she didn’t know what to say.
Right as she was trying to decide what to have for dinner – her mom would be pulling an all nighter again so she’d left April money for food even though she was a little too anxious to choose anything – a blue portal opened in her apartment, pulling a surprised squeak from her.
“Your world champion has arrived!” Leo crowed as he slid through it, a duffel bag over his shoulder and a crooked smile on his face.
“Leo, you’re not supposed to be using your portals right now!”
Leo rolled his eyes, setting his singular katana against the wall. “Pshhh, it’s fine. Besides, this wasn’t that far.”
April scowled at him, seeing how he was just slightly breathless, how he pointedly avoided her Big Sister glare as he set his stuff on the couch beside her. He must’ve left the other blade in his room – or maybe Donnie’s – in case he needed a quick escape. From her, probably, if tonight went bad.
Yikes.
Out loud she said, “I’m unconvinced.”
“You and everyone else.” Leo replied, just a bit too sharp. He immediately redirected, tone lighter. “What’s for dinner?”
“Dunno. Anything you want?”
Leo looked at her then, and she knew that even with the casual expression on his face, he was observing her, cataloging anything that might make her upset or that she may already be upset about. He was good at hiding it but April knew what to look for now. It was such a practiced look, a perfectly honed shield against anything that might actually strike true by already playing several steps ahead to keep people off his tail.
April raised a brow. Leo cleared his throat. “I’m down for anything.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll order us some deli sandwiches from that place down the street.”
Leo nodded, flopping down to sit on the floor and pressing the back of his shell into the couch. “Fine by me.”
April ordered on her phone, glancing at Leo every once in a while. He was so quiet. Way quieter than she’d ever seen him. He’d been like that for weeks now. Months, even. Like he was somewhere else entirely, eyes staring into a middle distance she couldn’t see or understand.
“Leo?”
He tipped his head back and to the side, meeting her gaze with a small smile. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
Something shuttered in his expression and he sighed, closing his eyes. “Everyone keeps asking.”
“And?”
He dropped his head forward, plopping his cheek onto his knees now. “I don’t know how to answer. I don’t want to.”
“Ah… okay.”
“It’s nothing personal.”
“I know.”
“I don’t think you do.” He scrunched up tighter, arms hugging his legs to his chest as if he could make himself smaller. “You haven’t really talked to me in weeks. And the others… feels sorta similar, I guess. It’s like everyone is afraid of me.”
April fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “Well… you scared us, handsome.”
Leo didn’t respond, looking like he also wasn’t sure he wanted to stay. A horrible flash of guilt and regret made itself known in the line of his shoulders and the slight twist of his mouth, eyes looking at the wall across the room. Beating himself up internally, most likely.
Well, she couldn’t have that. Leaning forward, she settled her palm on his shoulder, feeling the slight flinch under her fingers and how it echoed with a squeeze in her heart. “Hey, it’ll get better. I know… it doesn’t feel like that sometimes. And I know you’re probably tired of hearing it. But, I do mean it. We mean it. All of us are treading new territory right now, and that’s going to take some adjusting.”
He was quiet, still not looking at her, but she could sense that he was listening. So, she added, “I’m sorry I’ve been distant, Blue. I needed some time to process… everything, really.”
Leo’s exhale was soft and a little wobbly, but he lifted a hand and set it over hers where it still rested on his shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry for being so sensitive.”
“You’re allowed to be sensitive, Lee.”
“Still,” he said, finally and slowly looking up over his shoulder at her. He had a sort of sad, shy expression, one she hasn’t seen on him for years. Something open and honest and vulnerable. “I’m sorry, anyway.”
All the unspoken is there between them, in the ‘sorry’. All their mistakes and meaningful reflection of past events and heartfelt genuineness that made April want to cry.
“Apology accepted. Do you accept mine?”
“Yes.”
“Okay then,” she squeezed his shoulder again and then withdrew. “Now, what did you bring? I have some new nail polishes and face masks, if you want to try any of them.”
Leo brightened a little, the smile less shy and more full. “You know I’d love to.”
“Great! Let me go get them. Make yourself comfy and pick something for us to watch. Our food will be here soon.”
When April returned, Leo had Mama Mia queued up and a brighter smile. Relief washed over her; things would be fine.
💛
Things were not fine.
Not when the bad dreams dragged her under again. Not when she had to watch them die and decay and point bony fingers her way as they crawled toward her. Grabbed her ankles and pulled her down into the muck. For help or retribution, she didn’t know; she never knew.
April wasn’t even aware she’d screamed until she felt hands on her shoulders and then her face.
“Wake up. It’s just a dream. Deep breaths, Apes, you’re okay.”
But she wasn’t okay. Nothing was okay. She’s tried to be okay and strong for more than half a year.
The feeling of Karai’s body fading under her fingertips, the wreckage of the old sewer and its atrium, Raph not coming back in his escape pod, Leo closing that stupid portal behind him with the knowledge he wouldn’t be coming back, and the fear she fought to keep down in the soles of her feet. All of it came rushing up out of her with open jaws and sharp teeth.
She opened her eyes, chest heaving and sweat pooling at the back of her neck and along her back. Leo had let go of her face, now rubbing up and down her arms with a horribly sympathetic and understanding look on his face.
The tears came upon her at rapid speed and, realizing this was not a flood she could dam, she began to cry.
Leo looked alarmed but quickly shifted into good friend mode because that’s what he was. What he’d always been and would always be. Her friend. Her little brother, in heart and clan. Someone she’d thought had died only to get him back with a crushed body and spirit.
He was healing. They were all trying to get better. Why couldn’t the dreams just stop?
“April, hey, it was just a dream.” Leo murmured.
As per their hangout usual, he’d been camping out on the floor in a pile of blankets and pillows while April had taken the couch. But now he sat by her hip and gently pulled her into sitting up, swiping a nearby tissue box from the coffee table and setting it in her lap.
It took a while for her to be able to manage any kind of speech. She had to blow her nose and wipe her eyes so many times because the fear and grief kept crashing into her over and over.
“April,” Leo started, worry lining his features. “Not to make any of this about me, but you are lowkey scaring me. What happened? Talk to me.”
“J-just a d-dream.” She hiccuped. “M’fine.”
Leo scoffed gently. “Nah, see, we don’t do that anymore. If Donnie would strangle me for it, I know he would truth serum you for it. No more pretending we’re good.” He runs his hands over her arms again before leaning back a bit and looking at her expectantly.
She gained some semblance of composure only to immediately lose it again when she says, “It was my fault.”
Leo’s brows raise, the curve of his face stripes stretching with them. “What was?”
“You.” And she dropped her face into a hand and barely restrained another body wracking sob. “It was my idea, Leo. I’m sorry.”
He sounded more than a little confused now. “What are you talking about?”
“The portal. The idea to close it. It was my suggestion and… you did it but… I didn’t…” She couldn’t stop crying. “Seeing the shape you all were in… after… and you barely breathing and broken and… it’s my fault.”
He didn’t move or say anything for so long she started to wonder if he was mad. But then he sighed and scooted closer, pulling her into a hug. She clung to him and soaked up the fact that he was here at all.
“Dummy,” he muttered against her bonnet, one hand now smoothing up and down her back as she cried. “No it wasn’t.”
“But… I—”
“It was a brilliant suggestion. It led us to probably the only plan that would’ve worked. We were severely overpowered and…” He trailed off and April pulled back to see Leo visibly working through his own internal thoughts about the whole thing. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let his arms fall away from April only so he could move her legs aside to make room for him.
They ended up sitting side by side, staring into the dark of her apartment and thinking. Processing. April eventually isn’t outright crying anymore and plopped her head onto Leo’s shoulder with a wet sigh. “I dream about it. About my suggestions setting off different chain events. How it gets all of you killed each time. And… how… all the fingers end up pointed at me.”
Leo tipped his head sideways to rest on top of hers. “We would never blame you. I surely don’t.”
“Maybe you should.” She sniffed miserably.
“Never. You’re the smartest person I know — next to Donnie, but he must never know I said that — and if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s your adaptability. You’re quick to think of new solutions when the time calls for it, but unlike me, you always dive in head first, no matter the danger. You don’t freeze up, you act. You’re damn fearless, April.”
The plain compliment was nearly overwhelming, especially from one of the twins. But she pushed back anyway. “More like reckless.”
Leo puffed a laugh. “Well, then we have that in common. But I mean it; you’re braver than me. You’re not built like us with freaky mutant strength and all that. You’re a human, but that has never made you falter in the face of really extreme dangers. In every big fight we’ve been in, your help has got us through to the end. If you hadn’t been there… man, who knows how things would’ve ended up.”
She turned and hugged him, hard. “What if you’d never come back? What if this time me being there was the reason we never saw you again?”
Leo didn’t move for a moment, and she could hear the way his breathing hitched a little at the thought. But then he hugged her back and said, “Mikey told me to stop focusing so much on the what ifs of everything. It’s way easier said than done, of course, but… I am here. I did make it back. That counts for something… right?”
April smiled against his definitely Raph-sized Jupiter Jim shirt, and hugged him tighter, making him laugh again. “Right. Of course. It counts for everything.”
“Good. Don’t blame yourself, April. It’s… I know I’ve made things really extra difficult for everyone lately, but I’m working on it. It’s not easy, but we’re doing this together, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You can cry some more, if you need or want to.”
She blew her nose into a tissue. “Thanks.”
A pause. Then, “Wanna go back to sleep, or watch some TV?”
“TV, for now. I don’t really want to end up back in the same dream.”
His tone was full of understanding. “Fair enough.”
They watched some gameplay videos until the gray of early dawn filtered through the curtains and April, inevitably, fell back asleep while Leo sat in his little blanket nest on the floor and chuckled quietly to himself.
He doesn’t blame you. She thought with relief as her eyes drifted shut. He’s right; it’ll be okay.
💛
Things went relatively back to normal after that. April felt less awkward around the boys, and she felt like she could start living life again, piece by piece. She applied for the Spring Semester (online only, for now), gathered some of her notes she had before the invasion, and began typing out her theories and data.
Something was definitely going on with the deforestation liquid she’d snagged. Unfortunately, because she’d used all that evidence against the Kraang, she knew she’d have to find another way to get some. If it had an effect on those alien monsters, then it had to be bad for the planet at large. And she wanted to figure out who was actually making it; she wanted to sniff out the source.
She spent days going through her remaining evidence – with Donnie’s help she was able to recover the video on her broken phone – and found herself tucked away in Donnie’s lab with him relatively often. The two of them were deep in their projects, and both had to be dragged out for food on multiple occasions, but neither of them complained or fought the family on it.
Leo was starting to feel more like Leo. He was laughing more often, and while he whined about his physical therapy, at least he was doing it again. The brace had to remain for now, but he wasn’t hobbling nearly as much as he was before, so it was a start. And while everyone pretended hearing Leo crack jokes again was the worst, the smiles on all of their faces spelled out relief and happiness in crystal clear lines.
Even CJ got back to April, telling her he’d like to take her up on the offer to stay with her family until he figured out what he was going to do with his free time. She was thrilled at the response, and even gave him the option to help her do some stealth research on her current project.
The prospect seemed to light him up from the inside, so she took it as a win.
The only one who seemed to be pulling up just a little short on the positivity train, was Raph.
One evening, when April had left the lab to stretch her legs, she heard him roaming about in the kitchen, mumbling to himself.
“Everything okay, big Red?” She asked.
Raph startled, turning toward her and nearly dropping the huge mug of tea in his hands. On the counter beside him was another mug – Leo’s favorite with the blue waves along the ceramic – steaming from being freshly made.
“April!”
She raised a brow. “What’s up?”
“Nothin’!”
Humming in mild disbelief, she pointed toward him and then the other mug. “Not that I find tea making suspicious, but you’ve been extra jittery the last week or so.”
“Raph has not been jittery.”
“You have,” she smiled, going for lightheartedness. “But it’s okay. Maybe the caffeine is not doing you any good.”
Raph’s mouth twisted a little. “Actually… it’s sleepy-time tea. For both of us.”
Ah. Got it. “Gonna take a wild guess and say, nightmares?”
“The usual.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
Raph shook his head and set his mug down, dragging his free hand over his face and back again. “Just… hard to readjust this time.”
Yeah, no kidding. “Compared to?”
He gestured vaguely with a twist of his hand and a slight wave of the arm. “I dunno. Everything? Draxum, Big Mama, all the other mutants… just didn’t feel life threatening, ya know? But Shredder? The… the Kraang.”
April crossed the room and leaned against the counter beside him. “Yeah, I get that.”
“You… you don’t think Raph still has some of that in him… right?” The question was hesitant and full of quiet fear.
Her eyes widened. “What? No. Honey, no, not at all.”
He visibly sagged with relief. “That’s good to hear.”
“Why ask something like that?”
Raph looked between the two steaming mugs of tea like he could find his answers there. “I… well, sometimes Raph… sees things.”
“Things?”
“My reflection,” he all but whispered. “Sometimes it looks… like a monster. Like when I was under their control. And Raph trusts you guys when you say there’s nothing left behind; it was burned and ripped away, according to Leo. But what if I see them… hear them still?”
April set a hand on his forearm, getting his attention on her. “Then I’d think you’re still dealing with the trauma of what happened to you. It was nothing to sneeze at, that’s for sure; for any of you. For all of us. We endured something really awful and… I think all of us are realizing that a fix isn’t going to happen overnight. We are going to need time and patience with one another and ourselves.”
Raph set down his mug and scooped April into a hug that she readily returned. He still sounds too quiet when he says, “Thanks. It’s been so hard to keep it together for everyone and…”
“You don’t have to,” April squeezed around his shoulders and neck, her legs dangling a few inches off the ground. “You’re allowed to fall apart sometimes, too, Raph.”
“Maybe later,” he muttered shakily. “Leo’s waiting for his tea.”
“Okay.” She paused, then added, “If you need a safe space to fall apart… you’re always welcome at my apartment.”
“Even if your mom is there?”
“Even if my mom is there. She’s seen pictures… she’ll just have to get used to your in-person size.”
He softly snorted. “Thanks.” He pulled back, offering up a wobbly smile and a quick forehead press followed by an affectionate rumble. “Thank you for everythin’.”
“Any time, I mean it.” April replied fondly as he set her back on her feet.
Raph picked up his and Leo’s mugs and smiled a little more confidently. “Yeah, we know.”
He shuffled off toward the direction of his room and April watched, leaning back against the counter with her own mirrored smile.
💙
Leo had decided not to be a chicken about things anymore, especially in the Feelings category. He’d always considered himself as laid back and cool, able to handle anything with a smirk and a wave, a flash of blue and white light in a city that never sleeps.
It was only half fake. At one point he had been confident in himself and his abilities, he just played them up more for the public. It just became harder of a facade to uphold in the face of… everything, lately.
But he’d survived, and they’d survived, and they were all healing, so he had to stop running from himself all the time.
It’s why he’d gone to Raph. Even though his pride kicked and screamed, even though every step felt like some sort of ridiculous march to his eternal shame.
He went.
He knocked on Raph’s door and waited.
Leo took note that the door was not only unlocked but also not entirely closed.
The small detail made Leo want to crumple onto the floor right then and there, the shadows of his nightmares and buzzing of his sleeplessness falling quieter in the presence of his big brother. Even though he was barely awake.
Raph left the door unlocked. For them, most likely.
How long had it been since Leo had reached out to him, really?
Leo went in.
“Leo?” Raph had mumbled, propping himself up on an elbow and rubbing at the corner of his good eye with a knuckle.
“Raph,” Leo whispered. It was all he could manage. His throat closed and his eyes watered and he was blinking them away furiously because this whole thing was so dumb but…
He didn’t want to be alone.
But, like always, his brother seemed to understand. He patted the bed next to him and Leo slunk forward, sliding stomach first onto the mattress and hiding his face between his folded arms in front of him.
“Nightmares?” Raph slurred, his large hand already rubbing up and down Leo’s scarred carapace.
“Mmhmm.” Leo fought back another wave of frustrated tears.
Raph rumbled and said, “That’s okay.”
Was it? He didn’t know. But… they’d all had them. April had them, even. That had surprised Leo more than he’d expected, honestly.
April was always such an immovable object, an unstoppable force of nature. She was brave and strong and funny and compassionate. She was… April. But hearing about her guilt, about how she carried it even now, made Leo realize a few things.
One of them being that his family loved him far too much.
It honestly hurt.
The other being that they all carried hurt for themselves and one another. He wasn’t alone. He knew that, in theory but… the true meaning was starting to sit with him more.
“Leo?” Raph asked, hesitant and a little more awake.
“Gimme a minute.” Leo managed around the lump in his throat.
Raph just made himself more comfortable and continued to rub Leo’s shell. It was a comforting, familiar gesture; one Raph had learned from their father and continued to give without question. It was sweet.
They’d fought for too long, Raph and Leo. Over such dumb shit, too.
It was a fact that struck true each time he thought about it. He wasn’t sure what he’d been so pigheaded for. He didn’t know why he’d been such a giant, obnoxious showboat even though he’d known he was throwing the missions off. He didn’t know why he did the things he did.
But he was different now. He’d changed. They all had. Leo learned his lesson and he’d never…
“You’re alright,” Raph mumbled softly, interrupting Leo’s thoughts. “No one is upset. No one is in danger. You’re alright.”
“Upset?” Leo asked, trying for levity even though his voice cracked.
Raph plopped his large palm right over Leo’s head and rubbed three times before going back to his shell. “That spinning wheel of a brain likes to fill your bald head with nonsense. You’ve always been like that.”
“Hey.” Leo sniffled, smiling.
“But it makes you think of things the rest of us wouldn’t dare. Looking back… you’ve steered us out of trouble before, and other times you tried to but ignored it for the sake of fun.”
Leo tilted his head and looked up at his brother with one eye. “Like with Moncrief?”
“Gosh, yes.” Raph rolled his eyes dramatically and grinned. “Anyway, I just think your thoughts are being too loud right now. Tea?”
“Tea?” Leo fully turned his head now, convinced he wasn’t at risk of crying anymore. “You hate tea.”
“Ehhh, it’s not Raph’s favorite, but I’ll make us both something if you want.”
He thought about it before nodding slowly. “I’d love some.”
Raph got up, the entire bed frame giving a squeak of protest as he shuffled over Leo a little clumsily. It made Leo laugh.
And if Raph looked like he won some sort of lottery because of it? Well… that was okay too, he guessed.
He waited, soaking in the familiar feel of a room where he wasn’t on his own.
💛
CJ moved in a couple weeks later. He was shy and polite and extremely formal, and it made April’s mom laugh and ruffle his hair. “Stay as long as you need, honey.”
She was mostly grateful her mom didn’t dig too much on the whereabouts of his parents. With the invasion situation… lots of kids were displaced or orphaned, anyway, so she left it at that. Besides, CJ explained he’d be 18 soon enough, and then he could get his own place. It’s a comment that sparked their current conversation, sitting on the floor of her bedroom.
“What are you gonna do in the future, Case?” April asked, helping him sort out some of his inherited clothing. She gently folded up the ragged cloak he’d arrived with and set it off to the side.
Casey sighed and leaned back on his hands. “I’m… not sure? I guess that’s been the big question recently. What’s next? I… haven’t thought too hard about it because of everything but, I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been a lingering question in my head for weeks now.”
“Is there anything you’ve wanted to try? School? A sport? A creative hobby?”
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck and rolling his head in a slow circle. “Huh… yeah, actually. Though, school might not work. Don’t tell anyone, but Uncle Tello gave me a very thorough education and he was pretty clear about the fact that public education would be of no use to me.”
April tipped her head back and laughed loudly. “Oh, that does not surprise me! That’s such a Donnie thing to say. What a brat. He’s probably right though. Buuuut, I’ll have you take a test just to be sure; not because I don’t believe you but because it might be good to see what you do and don’t know when it comes to the human world.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
“Anything else?”
Casey set his last shirt on its matching pile and gently folded up the duffle bag. It was an old one of Leo’s, and he set it in his lap thoughtfully for a moment. “I mean… during the… when we were in the depth of the war, one thing I helped Uncle Tello with was watching over the growth of the greenhouse. It had vegetables and fruit and grain, all things so we could… try to have clean food.”
“Hmm… we can work with that.” April leaned forward, setting her elbows on her knees and her chin on the backs of her hands. “Did you enjoy that though?”
“I did.” He smiled wistfully. “It was sorta therapeutic. Watching the plants grow and bloom and be ready for harvest. Making charts to keep track of them all and make sure they were doing well. Cutting out anything infected or… dead.” His smile fell. “Hated when I couldn’t save a plant.”
“That’s natural though.” April said gently. “And you’re no longer in a time where good or clean food is so extremely scarce. Now you can tend to plants if you want to. There are several types of jobs that involve working with plants and food products.”
“Do I… do I have to get a job?”
“Well… no, but I think it would be good for you. Learn to socialize with more people and get out a little more.” She reached across the distance between them and gave his knee a couple pats. “The world is still dangerous, but it is not ending. And we can go just a little bit at a time.”
CJ nodded and looked over his meager piles of clothing. “Can I think about it for a little?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
April stretched and then stood. “On that note! Let’s get you situated in the office.”
“You’re… you’re sure I’m not imposing, right? Your dad won’t mind that I’m using his space?”
She waved his concerns away with a hand. “Dude, trust me, you’re fine. My dad spends a lot of time away for work, and when he’s here, he’s hardly in there as it is. It’s more in case he’s working from home, which is super rare. And if it comes to that, we will work it out then. He already gave us full permission to use whatever you need.”
He looked embarrassed but also relieved. “Alright… thank you.”
“Hey, any time, man. As far as we’re all concerned, you’re part of the crew now. Or… you have been, but to our other selves. Anyway, we help each other. It’s our strength.”
And CJ laughed, a knowing and nostalgic look on his face. “Yeah. Yeah… I know.”
Plopping her hands on her hips, she grinned. “Remind you of someone?”
“Just one of the strongest women I’ve ever known, that’s all.”
April’s grin stretched and she snapped her fingers, flashing a wink. “That’s right, and don’t you forget it.”
CJ’s smile was genuine and fond. “How could I ever?”