semilethal | LEO - POST MOVIE

[Leonardo freezes in place at the outburst.

Donnie's emotional sometimes - he claims he isn't, claims he's incapable, but Leo's seen it enough times, knows what his brother gets emotional about - and this is possibly the most emotional he's ever seen the purple themed brother.

But everything he's saying, he's trying to retain it, trying to keep it in his concussion ridden head so he can process it and say anything back. "Hate bait" sounds so ridiculous but that is what he was, isn't it? How else were they supposed to keep Krang in one place, keep him on the other side of the portal long enough to close it? They were out of options, not while the three of them were on Staten Island of all places.

His voice comes out quiet, even.] Is that really what you think?

Obviously that's what I think!

Donatello, enough. [splinter is there and reaches for donnie's wrist, raphael holding onto mikey and looking like he's half a second away from his own outburst, april with her arms folded and and her lip bitten-

SMACK.]

Don't touch me!

[if the medbay hadn't been pin-drop silent before, splinter with his hand slapped aside, staring up at his soft-shelled son in complete shock would've done it. something in donatello's expression shifts, from rage to confusion and hurt, back to anger and desperation.

he spins around and points to mikey and raph.] You two! Rest! [turns on leo] That goes quadruple for you!

[and then he's stalking for the door, practically running.] I'm going to my lab, do not bother me!

[it takes a few seconds after donnie's departure for michelangelo to finally burst into fresh tears.]

Edited 2022-08-28 05:12 (UTC)

[Leo is struck dumb watching Donatello yell at everyone. Their brothers, their dad. Casey looks like a mouse trapped with things much larger than he can fully comprehend; whatever he'd seen of them in 2044, it hadn't prepared him for inter-brother fights. He slinks back over to April who's looking not that impressed by Donnie's tantrum. But Michael's outburst is enough to break the silence and get some movement going - April to him, rubbing his head to soothe, Casey to go get more water to make up for the cup he dropped.

Splinter comes to stand by Leo as he's stuck watching the door Donnie stormed out of. He wants to sit up, wants to go after him and explain - but the still-drying spackle on his plastron is enough to keep him rooted there laying on this cot that doesn't do anything to help them.]

Give him time. [For once, their dad's voice is quieter. He's never been good at the soothing supportive dad thing, but he's been trying to get better lately, to make up for lost time, to make up his own shortcomings and putting off the reality of their lives and destiny as Hamato.]

[All right, that's enough of that. Raphael hands Mikey over to April to look after and heads over to Leo's bedside, a hand on Splinter's shoulder.] Pops, me n' Mikey were talkin' about a pillow fort in the living room for the next few days. Could you an' April help?

[April catches on quickly enough and starts chatting up pillows and "bedsheet architecture," wrangling Casey into it as well as he's on his way back in 'for the experience,' hyping up the impending cuddle puddle and throwing a wink over her shoulder at Raphael.

Splinter is more reluctant to leave his son's side, but at the look on Raphael's face he nods solemnly. He does reach up to squeeze Leonardo's fingers briefly, a spot of comfort before turning to go. They'll be together soon enough, but perhaps this moment is better left between the two leaders.

Raphael drags over their taped-together milk crate stools, dropping his bulk onto the plastic with his usual 'big dog who thinks he's a small dog' energy when it comes to standing or sitting on things. He carefully doesn't look at Leo too long, glancing over the plaster but gazing back out the door where he can hear the bustle of the rest of the family perking up, a calm sort of warmth settling over him despite everything that...happened.

Donnie had given him an eye wash and then a patch for his right eye, which Raphael had thought was excessive. He already took some blood, did he need more than that?]

...Mikey's amazing, huh?

[Leo watches them go. A pillow fort for a few days, huh... He's smart enough to know what Raph's doing, but he won't say anything. It's getting Mikey and Casey in better spirits pretty quickly. His eyes focus still on the door, wondering when Donnie will come back for something, his tools, his gear, anything. But he doesn't...

So he turns his eyes up to his big brother. Then up to the ceiling.]

I- Yeah. I still don't know what you guys did, though.

It was mostly Mikey.

[And Raphael just...tells Leo. No muss, no fuss, minimal drama. Answers.

Mostly because he understands; he can handle any of his own issues, so long as he knows his brothers are all right. So long as he knows what happened, how they got through it, that they're going to be all right. It's the unknown that is the most terrifying to someone who shoulders the burden of protecting his team, his family.

It's not something Donnie's going to understand.]

He did this thing he called his mystic hands. Don't know how, but looked like he was trying to pull open a stuck manhole cover, then all of a sudden the air's glowing gold right in front 'a him. Me and Donnie backed him up, held him steady and, uh, [Looks down at his own hands, wiggling his fingers, brow furrowing in confusion.] Gave him some of our mojo? Not sure how that worked. But it did, and he opened that hole and there you were.

[Raphael meant it. Mikey is amazing. He might not understand everything about how their mystic powers work, but he knows it takes a special kind of concentration to make them work good and Michelangelo had done something incredible.]

Edited 2022-08-28 06:27 (UTC)

[And Leo listens. It's clear he's listening because he's not fidgeting. 'Mystic hands', huh. The thing Casey told him he does. So that's coming around to happening, and may be something to train Mikey on more when they get over all... this.]

...And you and Donnie made sure it didn't hurt him?

[Michelangelo didn't seem like he was hurting more than just being upset and scared for them all. But then again, Leo couldn't tell Donatello was pissed at him, so who is Leonardo to guess? His hands start to tremble again and he instead folds them together over his stomach as he stares back at the ceiling.]

Did our best. Mikey said he didn't think he could've done it if we weren't there, so. [Raphael lets the quiet sit for a moment, looking down at his brother. A whomp sound echoes up into the medbay, followed by a chorus of smaller whacks and Michelangelo's shrieks.

Raph carefully untangles Leo's hands atop his plastron, and takes one in his to just. Hold his hand on the cot.]

Hey. [He waits for his little brother to look over at him.] We're gonna be okay, Leo. All of us. Whole family.

[Leo lets Raphael take his hand and hold onto it, watching him. Seeing those scars around the eye and the patch kept over it. Did Don even finish drawing blood, or was his anger at Leo that much of a distraction?

He doesn't plan to tell Raph how desperate he was to get his big brother back, or how singleminded focused he was that the others had to hold him back from attacking Casey. How the worry and fear had clouded his judgement and made some bad calls in the heat of the moment(s). Raph doesn't need all that.

God. Raph's eye. Leo's not sure he can ever forgive that - the Krang for doing it, and Leo for putting Raph in the position to start with.]

You sure? How're you feeling, big guy?

Like a trashed Mrs. Cuddles. [Used up and exhausted. Raph doesn't let go of Leo's hand, even looks down at it as he holds onto him. His fingers are so much bigger than his brothers', his hands so much stronger. The Krang made him use his stronger hands to hurt his brother, though thank god not to his end.]

...Leo- [Actually, no, it's stupid.] Ah, forget it. It's done anyway.

[He catches that. Raphael wants to say something, but that stupid big-brother-must-be-stoic nonsense is stopping him. Leo shifts a little, trying not to move too much - half out of pain, half out of genuine fear of Donatello - and not getting far.]

Hey, no. Don't do that, what is it? [They almost lost their big brother, Leonardo went through and did too much to get him back for Raph to not feel like he can talk about something now.]

Hey, hey, [Raph half-stands to put his hands on Leo's shoulders, gently pushing him back down. Don't crack that plaster, bro.

Raph sits back down but he doesn't take Leo's hand again, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, hunched. He stares down at his toes, at the locked wheels of Leo's cot.]

...what Donnie said...about givin' up. [Raphael clenches his fists tight, pressing them together between his knees. His throat burns, mouth tastes sour just remembering it. Remembering how he-] I didn't know...didn't know how to get you back. I didn't know how we could get you back, and I-

If Mikey hadn't been so determined...if Mikey hadn't tried, we might've- [Reaches up and wipes at his mouth, sniffs hard. Passes the hand over his head and sniffs again, against the tears gathering.] You might'a gotten left there. I don't- I don't wanna- [No, he can't.]

[He goes utterly and completely still at the larger hands on his shoulder -

D̶o̵n̶'̴t̸ ̵r̸e̵m̴e̶m̸b̸e̵r̸ ̷d̶o̴n̸'̸t̶ ̵r̸e̴m̴e̶m̷b̶e̷r̸ ̵d̸o̴n̴'̵t̸ ̷r̵e̸m̶e̸m̸b̴e̵r̸

before he settles again.

And he ...gets it. When he'd come up with the plan on the fly, when he portaled himself and Krang in there, he hadn't really come up with a plan to get out. On the one hand, he was prepared for that. On the other hand, he trusted them to figure something out.]

I know, look. Look, I get it. But. I knew you guys would figure out a way.

That's just it Leo, I didn't. [Bows his head again, shoulders up and tense, fists clenched tight atop his knees. Every inch of him feels exhausted and sick, but none more than his heart.]

I was ready to grab Donnie and Mikey and get them outta there. I didn't- I didn't jump into any plans, I didn't stop to think. I just, I- [And here it is, here's the grief he hadn't been able to show at the waterfront, staring up at the destroyed half of a Krang ship as it speckled with explosions and fell. His shoulders shake as he sobs over the sheer guilt of having, even for one moment, given up on protecting one of his little brothers.] I gave up on you. Leo, I'm sorry.

[The reverse being that Leo never gave up on him...

He watches his big brother start to crack and break in a way he hasn't ever in front of him, in front of the others either. Sure, Raph's cried sometimes but usually over something inconsequential in the long run. Not over this. Not over them. The big guy had gone out of his way to save Leonardo at the start, got captured, got taken over and alien cocooned for who knows how long...

Leonardo opens one arm up to him, making a beckoning motion.]

Hey, c'mere. Come here. [Raph willing, Leonardo will hug him with that one arm as gently as he can manage with the pain.]

It's why there's four of us, you know? Can't all carry all the hope all the time, sometimes you gotta let someone else carry it. [He has no idea what he's saying or talking about, but this is the kind of stuff heroes say, right? The kind of stuff Raphael needs to hear whether Leonardo believes it or not.] Mikey had enough for all of you and he did it. So it's all right.

[Even if Raphael wasn't 'officially' the leader anymore, he still is very much the eldest, biggest, and strongest. He's the heavy, he's the team shield. He's the one who saves his brothers from hits, who does the headcount to make sure they all get out alive. He picks them all up and carries them to safety and even if Raphael's felt as if he could crack under that pressure, he wouldn't have it any other way, regardless of whatever their team positions may be.

But that's also the problem, too. Raphael does crack under pressure. The pressure isn't a big fight, a scary bad guy; it's the thought that if his brothers get hurt, if they fail, it's Raphael's fault for not keeping up morale or for not making a plan. This whole entire thing, trying to get the key in the first place, trying to get it back-

Everything that- that happened after. The things he can't think about just yet, what happened to him, what he did to Leo- and then what he couldn't do for Leo, it's all just too much. He doesn't want to show Leo this, he doesn't want to show this to any of his brothers, but maybe he-

Well, maybe it's- Maybe he can trust them with it. Maybe just for a few minutes. Just long enough to release some of that pressure.

Leo's (small, trembling) arm goes around Raph's neck and Raph immediately stands to move closer and down, hover over him. He wraps his arms around Leo as gently as he can possibly manage, but there's so much of him and so little of his brothers that he ends up just blanketing Leo anyway. Knowing that the only reason they got Leo back is because of Mikey both terrifies and warms Raphael, but he doesn't know what to do with it in the face of his own guilt.]

Y-you, [Raph pulls back just enough to wipe at his eye, going back in for the hug again as soon as he possibly can,] You ain't old enough yet to be talkin' like that. Sounding like a grandpa over here, Mr. "Best Ninja in the World."

[The hug is all right. He's trying to get over that, the instinctive reaction from hours ago (it really was just hours ago, not even half a day ago, that they were fighting, that Raphael was trying to kill him, was clutching around his neck firmly enough to dangle him over the edge of the bridge like he was a fly-) by staying in close.

But his chest rattles with a breathless chuckle.] Eeeew, don't- Don't call me that, don't call me old or grandpa, gross.

[But it's good. It's such a good relief to have him back. And if nothing else? He can keep this between them, leader to leader. The two obviously older brothers. It won't fix things all around, but it can at least repair this between the two of them.]

And "Best Ninja" remains to be seen. I'm workin' on that one.

With a long way to go. [Gotta get that little jab in there. Leo feels shaky, like he could break apart at any moment, but Raphael's already troubled him enough with that breakdown. He needs to be strong for the others while they heal. They went through so much to get him back, and he- he can hold it together for them until they're okay.

Raph pulls back and snuffles (snorts) hard, smacking himself on the cheeks until he feels a bit more evenly keeled.] Plaster'll probably be dry by the time they finish that pillow fort. I'll carry you down there.

[That wasn't even a real breakdown, bro! Leo doesn't look quite ready to let him go, still keeping one hand on him. Afraid any second he lets go, Raphael will be ripped from them again and Leo couldn't bear that, he couldn't do it a second time like that.]

Awh, you don't- You don't hafta do that. I'll be fine. [And he lowers his voice a little.] Might help Mikey feel better to see me up on my own, y'know?

Nice try. You ain't movin' one inch for the rest of today, got it?

[Look, Raphael is not afraid of Donnie. ...but he was real big mad.]

Oh, well if that's the case, then I guess I'm staying here. I'll take a fresh cucumber water and my reading materials.

[Donnie was indeed real big mad. And - well. Leo doesn't really know how everyone else is feeling about his decisions today. He almost doesn't want to face it, lest they also all be big mad.]

[oh gonna play the diva card? lmao u thought]

Sure. You go ahead and ask April to cut you up some cucumbers. [And watch her struggle against her impulse to pour that cucumber water on you, scrub.

Raphael just picks up the entire cot like it's a couple of grapes and starts maneuvering it and Leo out of the medbay.]

Uh. Raph?

[Is what he manages to get out before the cot is UP and MOVING, and he is clinging to the sides of it for dear life.]

Donnie might kill you for moving this out. [Donnie's going to kill them for a lot of things probably, this will just be bottom of the list.]

[Dramatic. Like he's gonna drop you WHOOPS- no false alarm, he's okay, just almost tripped.]

Sounds like Donnie needs to work on stickin' around if he wants people to do stuff a certain way! [...a bit long-winded, but you get the picture.

Mikey gives a cry of joy when Raphael and his cargo appear around the corner. The pillow pile has turned into an impressive bedsheet fort, and Mikey crawls through several "hallways" before bounding over to his brothers with his hands clasped.] Leo, Leo! We gave you the biggest room even though it was going to be a ballroom mostly because we couldn't get the chandelier to stay up!

[That's real long winded, but Leo at least gets the picture. His breath catches at that almost-trip though, clutching to the side bars of the cot before being set down.

And gosh darn it, if Mike's enthusiasm isn't contagious. He wants to look better for him at least.]

What? No, you didn't do that. Also maybe I wanna be in the same room as you guys, did you think of that?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject