Darker in Silence

If it’s one thing the blue-clad turtle tot detested, was a crying Mikey. Another thing, a terrified Donnie. And an angry Raph was a force to be reckoned with. Each in their own terrors, individual issues that Leo had to cope with for as long as he could remember. Subtly avoiding arguments with his spiky brother, making sure nothing startled his energetic baby brother and keeping his soft-shelled older brother protected. It didn’t give Leo much time to develop his own angst.

But he did.

No matter what the turtle tot did, he found his own nightmare poking it’s ugly head around the dark corner.

It was never loud, never growling. Always deadly… always silent.

And Leo learned to fear the quiet.

Because silence was loud.

So loud that it rung in his sensitive ears, forcing the turtle tot to drop to his knees, scraping the delicate skin away and burning in his air. Hands clamped over his ear- breathing heavy and far too noisy to hear anything else.

But today? Today was the worst so far- because the quiet had never once been so deafening. 

Not one sound of his footsteps reached his ears.

Leonardo pushed his bedroom door open with such force that it hit the wall- silently. Not even when the turtle stood in the living room with eyes widened and head wildly turning- not one peep came.

Nothing but the ringing silence.

Frightening, ringing silence.

Leonardo opened his mouth, willing his voice to cry out for Donatello. And Raph. Mikey too.

One desperate cry for Master Splinter had Leo dropping to his knees – and the pain shooting through his knees were not accompanied by the thud he knew should have been there.

It didn’t take a full minute for one red-banded turtle to peep around the corner, eyes widened and mouth moving. Leo shook his head slowly, whispering words he could not hear.

Willing himself to utter some sort of sense.

“I can’t hear you Raph…”

Why were his eyes blurry?

In a crash Leo couldn’t make out- Raph was by his side, gripping his arms so much that the pressure crept under his skin to attack his bones. But Raph’s mouth kept moving- and Leo kept shaking his head.

Nothing.

He could hear nothing.

Leo’s head snapped up to find a zipping Mikey scurrying around him- and Raph grabbed the youngest by the shell and pulled him to the ground. Leo watched in the best of blurry vision as their mouths moved in a frenzy.

It was…

Scary…

Leo’s head dropped, hands reaching to his eyes to push away the stubborn tears.

He wouldn’t cry.

He wouldn’t cry.

There’s nothing to be afraid about.

Leo wrapped his arms around himself, sending a quick glance to his arguing brothers. He didn’t hear them- but he felt them.

Raph keeping a grip on Mikey’s plastron to threaten him- large hands trembling in the way Leo knew was Raph trying to morph his panic. Mikey- his baby Mikey… was shaking- arms clenched and knees ramrod on the cold, cold floor.

Mikey was crying.

Leo shut his eyes tight- so tight that it pained his lids to be put under so much pressure and pulled at his face and it was just ­so dark but it still didn’t make things any better because he couldn’t see anything nor could he hear anything and everything was so quiet but everything was so noisy like the fact that his knees were aching and his eyes were burning and now Mikey was crying and it was all his fault and he couldn’t even comfort his brother because he needed comforting himself…

Somebody grabbed his arm- and Leo’s eyes shot open to send them a horrid glare. He didn’t need hearing to know that Don was asking questions.

Lots and lots of questions.

Questions Leo didn’t know how to answer.

So the eldest turtle shook his head again, pointing to his face, “I can’t hear anything Donnie,”

The purple-banded turtle winced, and Mikey beside him was suddenly in Don’s face, asking more questions that only fueled Raphael’s panic.

Leo stared- silently. Hands fidgety against the nippy air and knees protesting at the pressure, the lingering burn in his eyes that accompanied the emotions just willing to spill out.

But Leo didn’t cry.

He daren’t cry.