Casey wakes in the morning to the comforting bustle of the lair. Destiny sings along to her t-phone's varied music library while she cooks breakfast, pans clanking. He sits up, rubbing his eyes as he cracks a yawn.
"Good morning," Leonardo greets as he moves past the living room towards the kitchen. He's got a duffel bag on his shoulder, a surefire sign of a coming humanized trip to the surface. "Hungry?"
His stomach growls in answer even as he gets up. "Starving."
He follows Leonardo to the kitchen, the scent of eggs and bacon wafting into his nose. Donatello, Splinter, and Michelangelo sit around the kitchen table; Splinter cuts a wedge from his waffle, Donatello nurses a mug of coffee, and Michelangelo talks to someone on his phone.
"He's all gee, Tay, just like we promised," Michelangelo says as Leonardo moves to Destiny, kissing her cheek. Her tail wags in greeting. "I cross my heart, hope to fly like Desti-bear, stick a pizza in my shell." A pause. "No, he slept through the night. Hasn't woken up yet, but his fever's gone. Donnie says he's looking good!" He nods to Donatello and earns a gentle coffee mug lift in return. "But enough about us, how's school? Classes going well?"
He props his head on his chin as he listens to her speak, eyes sparkling.
"There's plenty of coffee, Casey," Destiny says. She steps away from the pan of bacon to open the waffle maker, using a fork to lift the fresh waffle onto an ever-growing stack. "Guys, Splinter can't be the only one eating. Dig in."
"I can't stick around," Leonardo says as he snatches a waffle, taking a bite. "Karai wants to review lesson plans before students start rolling in."
Destiny scoops a helping of scrambled eggs onto a plate along with two strips of bacon, turning and handing them to him. "You can't be a good sensei on an empty stomach."
He smirks at her but takes the plate, sitting down to shovel it as gracefully as possible into his mouth. Casey skirts around him to get a plate, allowing Destiny to serve him while he looks back at the rest of the family. Michelangelo hangs up his call and gets up to join in on breakfast.
"Is Flash still asleep?" Casey asks.
Donatello nods. "She was pushing twenty-four hours awake. She can sleep for as long as she needs," he says. Casey whistles, thanks Destiny, and takes a spot at the table. Donatello eyes him for a second and adds, "Thank you for encouraging her to rest last night."
He shrugs. "It was nothing."
"Not to me."
He digs into his breakfast without answering. It makes his stomach feel weird to hear that.
"Where is your shadowy friend this morning?" Splinter asks. "I had hoped to speak to her again before she left."
Casey swallows a mouthful. "I asked her to stick around. She said she would." He has no idea if she'll actually follow through, but he has hope. "She's probably lingering nearby."
"Think she can hear us?" Michelangelo asks. He turns and cups his hands around his mouth, shouting towards the main area. "THANK YOU, SHADOW LADY!"
Everyone goes still, waiting for a reply, but nothing comes. Michelangelo shrugs, making a shooing gesture at the air before returning to his breakfast with renewed gusto.
"Does she need a plate? I can throw on a few extra strips," Destiny offers.
"She can't eat," Casey says.
Michelangelo gasps. "She can't eat?!" he repeats. "What kind of freaky messed up existence is that?"
He blinks. "A freaky...messed up one, I guess?"
"Oh. Yeah, good one! Ha!"
They fall back into eating, Destiny joining in once she makes sure nothing has been left on the stove. Leonardo finishes his plate, brings it to the sink, and gives Destiny one more goodbye kiss before gathering his duffel and heading out. Casey also finishes his food and brings his plate to be cleaned.
"I'll do the dishes," Donatello says. He sets his mug aside and grabs an old takeout container, gathering up the leftovers and packing them up.
"Oh, Casey, I forgot to give this back," Destiny says. She pulls a folded black and white square from her pocket. "I washed it, or...tried to."
Casey takes his bandana back, tying it back into place. Man, it's good to get his hair out of his face. He could use a haircut sometime. "Thanks, wolfie."
"No problem."
People spread out. Donatello gathers the dishes and starts washing, Destiny and Splinter disappear to the dojo for a training session, and Michelangelo heads off to his room. Casey wanders back into the living room. He should probably go back to his apartment, but something is keeping him here. Maybe it's Raphael. Maybe it's Shadow.
Both?
It's probably that nothing waits for him in his apartment but emptiness, frozen meals for one, and piles of laundry and garbage that he hasn't had the strength to clean up since the accident.
"Tay...I'm fine," a groggy voice mumbles from the hallway. "Yeah yeah, don't think some wimpy lioness can take ole Raphael down so easily."
Casey's heart leaps as he turns towards the hall, gloomy expression melting away. Raphael yawns as he enters, alive and walking, the only sign of his ordeal being a new scratch on his plastron and a fresh white bandage wrapped around his right arm from bicep to wrist.
"Taylor..." he says, dragging her name out even as a smile graces him. "I'm okay. I know you were worried." He stops, still smirking a little. "I don't know. I just woke up and the first thing I did was call you." Another pause. He rolls his eyes. "What was I gonna do? Ignore your texts?"
Casey forces himself to stay put, no matter how much he wants to tackle Raphael in a giant hug. He's okay. Shadow really did save him.
He has to find a way to thank her.
"Yeah, I've got it. If I'm gonna be stupid, wait until you're around to knock some sense into me," Raphael says. "Yeah. Mmhm. Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Yo también te amo."
The second Raphael puts his phone down, Casey's there, wrapping him in a tight hug. Raphael grunts, a little stunned, but Casey doesn't let go.
"Geez, man, I thought you were a goner," he says.
Raphael snorts as he thumps Casey on the back a few times. "I would agree, but I have no clue what happened after that lioness thing got me," he says. He pulls away. "So?"
"Oh, man, long story. Basically—"
He feels a brief chill behind him and the words die on his tongue. Raphael's eyes widen. Casey knows who's behind him before he even turns around.
"Go on," Shadow urges softly. "I'm just making sure you don't take the credit, puckhead."
Raphael stares, mouth hanging open slightly. "You...you're the one that helped me."
Casey turns enough that he can face them both. "Raph, this is Shadow. Shadow, Raphael." He awkwardly gestures between them.
Shadow cocks her head. "You remember?"
"I mean, I didn't think you were real," Raphael says. "I thought I was dying."
"I'm not the Grim Reaper, don't worry."
"Clearly." He rolls his injured shoulder with a grimace, glancing at Casey again. "Well, thanks for everything, Shadow."
"Sure."
Raphael clasps Casey's shoulder and heads towards the kitchen, giving Shadow a long passing glance as he goes, and then they're alone again.
"I'll be going now," she says.
"Could I walk you up?" he asks. She raises a brow at him, one eye squinting a little. "Please?"
She sighs. "If you insist."
----------
Every step back towards the surface makes Casey more and more anxious. He hasn't forgotten their conversation last night and maybe that's why he's such a wreck. Once they reach the surface, he may never see her again.
"Can I ask you something?" he asks.
She doesn't look at him. "If you must."
"Are your parents...gone? I mean, you said you miss your dad. I miss mine. It just...I can't see mine ever again, but yours? He could still be out there. You must know where he is."
She exhales. "It's complicated."
"Why?"
"It just is. I don't want to talk about it."
He frowns, but doesn't push it. Maybe her family situation is like Taylor's and, in that case, he can understand not wanting to dredge up unnecessary pain.
After a second, she sighs. "If you must know, my biological parents shouldn't have been parents. I went into the system when I was only a few months old and I was eventually fostered by the people who ended up adopting me."
"That's lucky."
She snorts. "Yeah...I guess that was the only bit of luck I ever had."
"What do you miss most about them?"
"Hm." Her eyes narrow in thought. "The sports. We used to go to games all the time. We'd get a bunch of jalapeño poppers and just chow down while we screamed our faces off."
His eagerness grows. "Woah, wait, you like sports? What kind?"
She doesn't meet his eyes. After a second, she mutters, "Hockey..." He starts to grin and she rolls her eyes. "I didn't play. I just watched."
"But you played something?" he presses.
"Soccer. I was pretty good, too. My parents got me into it as soon as I was placed with them. Apparently, I used to kick things all the time and they wanted to redirect my energy into something productive."
He laughs. "Oh, man, that's awesome. Hockey's totally the same thing for me. Nothing gets your heart pumping like slapping pucks and body-checking dudes."
She shakes her head even as she exhales through her nose. "So your dad tossed you into hockey for the same reason?"
"Nah, not really. My dad played semi-pro, so...I think he always hoped I'd follow in his footsteps. When he was busy at games, my grandpa took me to my practices and showed me the ropes. It's a family thing. If you're a Jones, you've got hockey in your blood."
He had a good childhood. It got a little harder after his mom died, but his dad and grandpa did everything they could to make him happy and fulfilled. They both did so much to set him on the right path.
And just like that, whatever modicum of joy Casey had found disappears as the guilt and sorrow return. They did so much and how did he repay them? Failing senior year twice? Giving up on everything he used to love and throwing away anything that made him happy?
He blinks hard as he swallows the lump in his throat, tucking his hands into his pockets. Shadow keeps drifting along at his side and, if she notices his sudden shift, she doesn't mention it.
----------
He climbs from the manhole cover, debating on sliding it shut again. It's later in the day than he expected, but he finds that time always passes differently in the sewers. Shadow lingers in the patch of shade between the buildings, a line of daylight separating them.
"I think I know how you can repay me," she says.
He perks up. "Oh? What is it?"
She crosses her arms over her chest. "How are you with cars?"
"I've fixed a hot rod or two. Why?"
She exhales. "There's a mechanic shop not far from here; Nezbit Mechanics. They've had a help wanted sign in the window for months." Her body ripples for a second. "Give them a call. They might even take you as a volunteer."
"Really?"
"It's a small shop. Family run. Good, salt of the earth people," she says. "Who knows? You might be able to count it towards your extra credit. So, you mind stopping by? Help them out for me?"
A mechanics shop? He can't believe he never thought of that. Even better, it sounds like Shadow knows the place.
He nods and sticks his hand out. "Deal."
She glances at his hand, raising an eyebrow. Before he can realize what he did, she sticks her hand into his and he yelps at the sudden shock of cold. A short laugh escapes her as her shadowy form wobbles.
He shudders as he blows warm air over his chilled palm. "Well played, jerk."
"You're the one who tried to give a shadow a handshake." He snorts and she lingers for another second, staring him down. "Well...have a good life then, Casey."
"Don't think you can get away without saying goodbye," he says. "I'm gonna find you again."
"And what if I decide I don't want to be found?"
"I'm stubborn."
She shakes her head. "You're ridiculous. I told you, we can't be friends."
"Then we'll hang out. Totally not as friends. Not as anything."
"You have to be something."
"Then we're just two lonely people who happened to be in the same place at the same time. How about that?"
Her eyes disappear as she closes them, sighing again. "Sure. See you, Hockey Puck."
"That's a really bad nickname, you know that?"
"Puckhead it is, then."
She gives him a wave, wiggling her fingertips at him before she melts away before his eyes, disappearing into the shadows she's made of. Casey shoves his hands in his pockets, letting out a sigh.
"See ya, Shadow," he murmurs.
----------
Casey did go home, briefly, but it was only to pick up something. The duffel bag bounces against him as he hurries back to the lair.
He knocks on the laboratory door, pushing it open slightly as he does so. Donatello and Sarina are both in there, looking far more refreshed than when he last saw them, and Sarina smiles at the sight of him, her bright blue eyes flashing once.
"Casey! We thought you had returned home," she says.
"I, uh...forgot something," he says. "Weird question, but do you still have that white mutagen?"
"I am calling it inanimation mutagen, but yes! We do," she says.
"Do you think it could mutate objects?"
Donatello and Sarina share a look, then slowly turn back to Casey.
"Possibly," Donatello says. "Why?"
Casey takes his bag off his shoulder. He was lucky he still had one of these kicking around. "You guys up for an experiment?"