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[apuckalypse]

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[neonleon]

[Lighter is good. Even though Casey's things are. Definitely being drooled on. Did he mind? Did he want for that? Too bad, it's happening. He lives in the cocoon now.]

[apuckalypse]

[Drool is better than blood, he'll gladly accept this development. Though maybe he won't tell Hunter what's been done to their couch blankets until he does the laundry.]

[neonleon]

[Eventually. It's still quiet and no one's come back, but eventually Leo is laying there with eyes still closed but awake.]

...Hey.... Case. Future me. What... ever happened to that Miyamoto guy?

[apuckalypse]

[Casey's gone back to fussing over the cloak as he returns to his vigil; his hands go still against the fabric when Leo asks. He's quiet at first, making no sound beyond a hesitant, exhaled breath. He hadn't known Leo was awake again.]

Are... you sure you want to know?

[Everybody dies, he'd said. There were no exceptions.]

[neonleon]

[Casey had only talked about Miyamoto in the past tense. Ergo, he definitely died. But... he's tired and out of it, and thinking about Peter has him thinking about this.]

He died, right? But.. what happened?

[apuckalypse]

[Another pause, but... only to give himself the strength to say it. He respects Leo and his right to know the truth, so lying and sugarcoating it wouldn't feel right. Still, it's... it's hard. In many ways Miyamoto had become family, too.]

They had a plan, to... take down Krang Prime. They went in together, but got separated. It was a trap. [He tugs idly on a loose string, needing to keep his hands busy.] When sensei found him, he'd- he was already infected. We never knew people could come back... all we could ever do was- was free them.

[neonleon]

['Free them'. As bone tired as he is, as drained and out of it as he feels, Leo gets it. Raph may have been a special case of fighting back from the moment it started for all they knew. But that sounds... really final.

I- stop it, stop whatever this is-

Watching Peter get shot in the throat, be controlled by the Unseelie-]

...That, uh. Sorry to hear.

Future me probably... didn't take it well. Did he?

[apuckalypse]

...N... not really. He forced himself a lot... tried to act like he was okay. Uh- Donnie and Master Michelangelo noticed. They talked sometimes, when they thought I wasn't listening. I was still kind of young, but even I knew he was... different. For a while.

[Sounds familiar.]

[neonleon]

[It does. It's so familiar, actually. He hates it.

Leo falls silent again, resting his eyes and his thoughts. Trying to think more clearly than he has the last few days. Casey might even think he'd fallen back asleep.]

...I think Peter died.

[apuckalypse]

[Casey's eyes widen at that, staring over in stunned silence for a moment.]

Wh... what? But he's... he's here. He's fine.

[How could he have died if he was just here?]

[neonleon]

It's-

Before, before I got to you. He called me for help. And I [Why is it hard to breathe?] watched-

[Breathe.] Watched the. The, um. Fae. Guy. Attack Peter, and then take him. I was... looking everywhere while I was helping you guys. I never found him.

But.. he told me he woke up in our room the next morning. [No injuries. No real strong memory of what happened that he could (or would) tell Leo.]

[apuckalypse]

[Casey stares down at his lap for a long moment, shaken, trying to let those words sink in. After so many nights trying to survive their attempts, it'd become evident that the hunt didn't... really do anything like a catch and release. Their goal is to wound and kill. If Peter was taken...]

...I... tried to reach him, so many times. After you got hurt. I tried all night. I worried that something happened to him, and there was nothing any of us could do...

[All that time, he could've been dead? And he didn't say anything?]

[neonleon]

[That just lends more proof to the theory. Peter died that night. He was killed by the Hunt. What's visible of Leo's face scrunches unattractively as he tries not to start crying. He can't, not right now.]

Then- th-then it definitely happened.

[apuckalypse]

[....

Yeah, to hell with being careful or leaving space. Not with... this. Casey shifts closer, tugging the Leo-burrito against himself and winding both arms around him, lightly bumping his head against Leo's.]

He's probably hiding it... he doesn't want to distract from all this.

[An educated guess based on... well, him kind of doing the exact same thing. Their situations aren't comparable, but it is a matter of priority. Injury always trumps trauma.]

[neonleon]

[It isn't like he can say no or get away from the hug. Instead, he leans into it, wishing he could hug back.]

Probably. Probably thinking he's not as important, but- H-he... [Leo had swore to him, promised Peter that he wouldn't let anything happen to Peter.]

He probably won't tell me either.

[apuckalypse]

...Maybe... maybe he'll be able to talk about it later? It hasn't been that long. Anyone would have trouble talking about it so soon after.

[Even as he says it, it feels like wishful thinking, and there isn't much conviction in his tone. He could, maybe. But will he...? It seems unlikely.]

[neonleon]

I don't know.

[If he could go into his shell, he would. But everything is still sore, and he's wrapped up and Casey is holding him and-

Slow down, Brain. Breathe.]

...I'm glad you guys are all okay. I... I don't wanna force him to tell me.

[apuckalypse]

[It... is admittedly better if it can be shared in its own time. He feels a lot better about the conversation they'd had mid-spar than the... intervention. The problem is when it becomes so overwhelming that it's obvious that person is suffering alone. He doesn't want that for Peter, either.]

Do... you think it's that he's hiding it, or that he doesn't remember...?

[neonleon]

[The mid-spar conversation did feel better. Felt less pressure, less like he'd done something wrong and more like just. A conversation between family. So he'll do the same for Peter. Wait until he's ready and comfortable to say so.]

I don't know. ...It's- hard to say. Give him some time first.

[apuckalypse]

[Casey makes a thoughtful noise, nodding slowly. They can keep it in mind and leave the door open in case Peter wants to reach out. And... hopefully he will. ...Unless he actually doesn't know.]

I was, um. I was stolen by the fae.

[neonleon]

You what.

[apuckalypse]

D-don't look at me like that!

[neonleon]

Oh I'm looking at you in this tone of voice. You were taken by the fae? When?

[apuckalypse]

[Uuuugh he really should have kept his dumb mouth shut. He was trying to be helpful.]

Early on, during the day- when the parade was around Gram. One of them tricked me, and pulled me out of my body, sent me to their realm. Then they just... took over what was left. Rue called it a changeling.

[neonleon]

...And Rue got you back, right?

You're you, that I'm talking to? Right now?