Chapter Text
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It's still so wild to Leo, even a month in, that he's got a little sister now.
He and Donnie are the same age, being twins and all (no matter what Donnie says, Leo knows it in his bones), but Leo is slightly younger—not by much, but he is. That means he's the official middle child. He's got two baby siblings to look after now. It's a big responsibility. Not as big as Raph's, as the oldest and biggest brother, but still pretty big. And Leo is seven years old, but he'll do whatever it takes to live up to the big brother title for his new baby sister.
So when Venus has a nightmare, Leo is wide awake in seconds.
He only knows because his room is closest, and her scream rips through his dreams like lightning, ragged and terrified. Mikey has bad dreams, too, but he's never screamed like Venus. Not in the way that sounds like she's dying.
Heart pounding as he struggles out of his tangled bedsheets, narrowly avoiding his stack of comics, Leo sprints out of his room—he has to double back twice, his feet automatically carrying him towards Donnie's room and then Mikey's—and skids to a halt in front of his little sister's teal coloured curtain, dotted with patterned daises. He yanks the curtain back. “Venus?!” he calls, “you okay—?”
Another shriek cuts Leo off as Venus dives under her thick blanket, curling into a ball. Leo watches the ball quiver in the dark and bites his lip. Not even five seconds in, and he's already screwing up. He forgets that Venus isn't like Mikey, who needs the instant, loud assurance that one of his big brothers is here to cuddle him and scare the nightmares away. If anything, she's more like Donnie; she hates sudden loud noises and being snuck up on, and will not tolerate touch when she's this upset. And yet, unlike Donnie, she always asks for cuddles afterwards. It's confusing, at least for Leo.
But Dad said she'd had a rough time before he found her in the tunnels. She needs time to... what was it? Recover? Adjust? Let her brain and feelings heal and figure out what she wants and needs as she learns and accepts that she's in a safe place, that no one will hurt her or leave her alone again. Or something like that.
That's even more confusing, though. Because why would they ever hurt Venus or make her think she isn't safe? She's their baby sister, and they love her. Of course she's safe.
(Much later, Leo will wonder who had hurt his sister enough to make her think she'd never be safe or be left alone. And maybe invest too much time thinking about how he'll make them pay for it.)
Dad also said that the best thing they can do is be there for her when she needs them. Well, good thing Leo is the best at being there! Like, just being around, if that's what Splinter meant. Because that's what big brothers do, just like Raphie. Sometimes even Donnie.
So he squares his shoulders and marches (quietly) into her room. It's still pretty bare at the moment, with only the bears, the books and the bed, but Dad's going on another supply run soon; maybe Venus will ask him to bring something back for her.
Or they can just... go out and get stuff themselves. They're big enough for that now, right?
But that's later. Right now, Venus.
He tiptoes to the bed and carefully perches on the edge of the mattress. She's still shaking under the duvet, whimpering, sniffling and generally breaking Leo's heart. But he keeps his twitching hands to himself, tucking them between his knees. “Vee? It's Leo,” he whispers. “I'm sorry I scared you. I heard you scream, and I thought you were hurt. Are you okay?”
The lump twitches in Leo's direction. “... Leo?” she croaks. “... that you?”
“Yup. Can you come out so I can see you?” And maybe hug you? He adds silently.
“... dun' wanna.”
“Oh.” Rats. This just got harder. No big deal, he can still do this! So she doesn't wanna come out, that's fine; Donnie sometimes hides, too—
Stop it. She's not Mikey or Donnie. She's... she's Venus.
But he's still sorta getting to know Venus. Before Dad named her, she mostly sat around and listened to them talk at her, show her around and stuff. She's only recently started opening up, yet she doesn't share much. All they know is that she likes the colour teal, stuffed animals that look like zombies, weird names like Scrot, Cee-Cee, Kraken and Juice (her three new bears) and the dress her Mama gave her that she hasn't worn since Dad had washed it. How is he supposed to be an awesome big brother to his little sister if he barely knows her?
… well. He could just ask her. Right?
Leo is very good at talking. Donnie says so, so it must be true. Maybe that's what Venus needs; someone to talk to about the things that scare her so bad she wakes up screaming... or the things that make her laugh 'til she can't breathe. Or the things she loves and hates. Someone to talk to about anything and everything.
Oh. That's what Splinter meant about 'being there'.
Just like how Raphie is always around for all of them. Or how Leo will help Donnie when he needs quiet time. Or how Dad will still pick Mikey up and hold him until he falls asleep on his lap when he's feeling lonely or sad. They're always... there for each other when they need it. And right now, Venus needs it. Needs Leo.
Leo has been overthinking this so much.
He shuffles closer to the lump, within touching distance. “Do you... wanna talk about it?” he asks. “You don't have to if you don't want to. I can sit here until you want me to go or you fall asleep. But if it was that scary... I wanna know so I can protect you next time.”
Venus twitches again. “... protect me?”
“Yeah, from the scary dreams. Daddy says that the scary things we see in our nightmares are just fig—uh, frickment—f-fig—stupid things our brains make up while we're sleeping.” Leo kicks his feet against the edge of the mattress, itching to move, 'shake his sillies out' like Dad says he should do, but forcing himself to stay. Venus needs him. “But sometimes, they can be real things that we're actually scared of, and our brains are bored while we're sleeping, so it pranks us with those things to make us wake up scared. Donnie says it's a load of crap—don'ttellhimIsaidthat—but Dad's usually right about those kinds of things.”
Venus shuffles backwards. Leo feels her foot bump against his thigh. “... that sounds mean,” she mutters. “... why'd our brains do that?”
Leo shrugs though she can't see. “I dunno, prolly better asking Dondon, he's smart. But anyway, if the things that scare you are real, I can protect you from them! And even if they're fake stuff your brain's making up, I'll still protect you!”
Finally, Venus pokes her head out from the blanket, baby brown eyes rimmed with red and staring at Leo with hope and confusion. “... how'd you protect me from the fake stuff?”
Leo gives her his biggest winning grin. “By sticking by your side!” he chimes, flexing his arms—their training only started recently, but Leo checks; his muscles are growing, and they look super cool. “I can make any bad dreams go away with hugs and awesome comic book bedtime stories!”
Venus giggles—yes!—sitting up with the blanket draped over her head and shoulders. She curls her arms to her chest, bites her lip and asks softly, “... what about the... the real stuff? The stuff that—that really scares me and makes me cry? What if—if they come and... and try to get me or hurt me again?”
Leo's smile dims, and he drops his arms. Venus watches him, tears building in her eyes again as she shakes.
Leo is seven. He barely knows what the outside world is like, drinking in what he can from TV, pictures on the internet, fairytales and whatever scraps their Dad brings home. He doesn't know how the brain works, why it sometimes scares you on purpose, why his and Donnie's work differently, or why the outside world would be scared of them because of how they look. He doesn't know why Dad is sometimes happy, laughing and kissing them goodnight before bed, or why other times he won't leave his room for days no matter how often they knock on his door.
Leo doesn't know many things, and sometimes he feels stupid. But if there's one thing he does know—
“Then I'll protect you from them, too.” He reaches out slowly and curls his fingers around her shoulder. Venus stares, moving with him as he shuffles until they face each other. “I'm your big brother. It's my job to look after you, and Mikey too. If there are bad things after you in your dreams or real life, I'll be there to beat 'em up for you or scare 'em away if they try to scare you. 'Cos nobody makes my little sister cry. Not even some dum-dum monster.”
Venus' bottom lip quivers. There's an emotion in her eyes too big for either of them to name, but it spills over in the form of tears down her striped cheeks. “... b-but... but what if you're not there?”
Leo tilts his head. “Why wouldn't I be there?”
Venus hiccups, scrubbing her eyes with her right stump. “'Cos—'cos Mama said that—that I'd a-always be w-w-with her,” she says between heaving breaths that turn into soft, terrible sobs, “a-and then she—she said she was g-gonna send me away t-to a bad place to do bad things, 'cos she—she didn't l-love me! What—what if Daddy doesn't love me a-and sends me away, and then you won't be there, 'n Raphie 'n Mikey 'n Dondon won't be there, and I'll be alone—!”
Forget this.
Leo lunges, grabbing and pulling her into a hug so tight she squeaks. She stiffens, but only for a moment, before latching onto him with all the strength in her tiny body, sobbing into Leo's tank top. They sit like this for a while, Leo holding her, chirping in soft, soothing tones and hiding his own tears against the blanket still draped across her shoulders. Venus eventually chirps back, her sobs dying into sniffles.
His shirt is soaked, sticky and gross, and he'll have to change before he goes back to sleep, but that's okay. Mikey and Donnie mess up his shirts, too, just like Leo sometimes messes up Raph's or Dad's. Just a family thing.
When the sniffles stop, Leo takes a deep breath and says, “Teal and Blue.”
“... what?” Venus lifts her face from his chest to look at him quizzically.
Leo uses the hem of his shirt to wipe her tears away. “It's an oath. We're gonna make one right now, and then it'll last forever and ever. Nobody can break it, not even monsters! Lou Jitsu made an oath once to his best friend in one of his movies, and he kept it after the fight was over and all the bad guys were beat!”
Venus almost lights up. Lou Jitsu is still pretty new to her, but every movie (and commercial, for some reason) has her loving it more and more, enraptured by the action and 'razz matazz' as her brothers are. “Really? Lou Jitsu did that?”
“Heck yeah! So you know it's gonna work! Here—” He reaches for her arms, stops, and meets her gaze. She nods, holding her arms out for him to take, which he does, carefully cradling her stumps in his palms. It feels odd, but only for a moment. “Donnie and I are twins, so we already had an oath when we were born to be twins forever,” he explains, “but you and I can make a new one just for us. Copy me.”
Venus nods.
Leo clears his throat dramatically. “'Teal and Blue, me and you'.”
“... T-Teal and Blue, m-me and you.”
“Good! Now say it with conniption! I mean, conviction!”
“What's that mean?”
“Dunno. Say it again, but stronger!”
“Teal and Blue, me and you.”
“Great! That's our new vow. It means I'm never ever gonna leave you. No matter what, I'm always gonna be there when you're scared, lonely, or if you just wanna talk to me and hang out. Leo shuffles close enough to bump their foreheads, smiling wide enough for his cheeks to hurt. “Nothin' no monsters or real, scary things can do to make me leave you. You're stuck with me, and I'm stuck with you. Teal and Blue, me and you. Okay?”
With their faces this close, Venus has nowhere to look but into Leo's eyes that betray nothing but love. It's a new love, one they're still testing the waters of, and Leo feels every bit of it as Venus finally matches his smile. “Okay,” she says. “Okay. Thanks, Leo.”
Leo rubs his nose against his little sister's until she giggles wetly. His heart, which hasn't stopped pounding since he heard Venus scream, finally settles to a slow, stable beat as he pulls Venus back into a hug. He feels her heartbeat match his, calm and steady, and it feels like a victory.
(Lou Jitsu can battle against muggers, ninjas and samurai, and he always comes out on top. Leo isn't big enough for that yet, but he has nightmares and monsters, imaginary or not, beat by a mile. In these battles, he's the reigning champion.)
“So,” he ventures, “do you wanna talk about the dream? Or do you wanna cuddle? Or both?”
Venus shifts against him, burying her face against his arm. “... I don't like spiders,” she mumbles.
Leo blinks. “Really? But—but I thought you liked creepy stuff?”
Venus lifts her head to pout at him. “Scrot isn't that creepy! You're jus' mean.”
Leo just catches himself from telling her how much they all think Scrot is creepy and nods instead. “Okay, sure. So, you hate spiders?”
“Yeah,” Venus nods, curling up against him. “And there—there was a giant one in my dream. She was... was chasin' me, screamin' 'n tryin' to catch me. I tried to run away, but then she got me. I tried calling Daddy, but he wasn't there. Was really scared...”
Jeez, no kidding. Leo's kinda scared just listening to it. He hates spiders just as much, and fighting those in real life is gonna suck, but he'll be brave for Venus. He'd made a vow, after all.
So he bundles her closer and feigns a scoff. “Well, like I said, no monster or real spiders can get you while I'm here. I'll stay with you all night if I gotta!”
“... you will?”
“'Course I will! Teal and Blue...?”
Venus giggles. “Me and you.”
“Heck yeah, you got it!”
He shifts on the bed so that they're lying down, pulling the massive blanket up and under their chins. “Alright, cuddle time. Want your bear?”
“Yeah.”
“Which one?”
“... Cee-Cee.”
“Cool.” Leo reaches over the bed to snatch the green bear with the torn ear, stitches for eyes and a missing arm, handing it to her. She wraps her arms around it, squeezing tight and shutting her eyes as she inhales deeply. She loves the scent of Raph clinging to the fur. Leo gets it. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her in. “All cosy?”
Venus opens her eyes and nods. “Yep. You... you won't leave?”
“Nope. Not gonna leave you unless you want me to. Remember? Teal and Blue?”
Venus' smile is tired but wide and real as snuggles against him, shutting her eyes with a yawn. “... me and you.”
Leo waits until her breathing has evened out, fully relaxed in his arms, before he shuts his eyes. He follows her into sleep with a smile.
Big Brother, one. Nightmares, zero.