Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He's doing it again.

Raph turns his head, looking pointedly over at Mikey, if only to stop Leo from gawking at his eye. (The box turtle, noticing Raph looking over, gives a cheerful little wave.)

Raphael is at an utter loss. Leo is so completely, utterly guilty- he can act cocky and over-it all he wants, but it doesn't change the fact that he hasn't been acting right. There's a sort of... weariness to him, a trepidation. And some weird vibes. A lot of energy, buzzing just below his skin. Raph could feel it coming off of him in waves, practically ever since Casey showed up.

Whatever it was, Leo was hitting harder than ever before. He'd nearly grounded that worm guy into a paste last week, over practically nothing. Less quips. More stab-at-first-sight. Over defensive. Almost paranoid, at times. Raph had wanted him to take things more seriously, especially since Pops had made Leo the leader for whatever reason, but... Well, now he wants his brother back.

"It finished rewinding," Donnie calls from across the lair, patting the old VHS player as it projects a flickering title across the wall- Jupiter Jim and the Sephron-356 Invaders. Donnie hits pause before the tape can start to play.

"And Angelo's got the popcorn, baby! Movie night, here we come!" Mikey chirps, grabbing the massive bowl he'd been making and carrying it into the living room, only spilling a few pieces onto the floor. Okay, several pieces.

"So inconvenient," Donnie mutters, nudging at the player. "I could digitize all our tapes, you know. Wouldn't have near as much hassle."

Mikey gasps, shaking his head. "Nuh-uh! That's where all the charm comes from!"

Donnie quirks an eyebrow. "Right. Obsolescence. How charming."

With a sigh, Raph pulls himself to his feet, stretching and peeking back towards his brother. Who was... Staring at his chipped shell. Perfect. "You comin', Leo?"

Leonardo blinks, looking up at Raph, confused for a brief moment before he catches sight of the Jupiter Jim movie all queued up. His face scrunches at the sight of the title screen, octopus-like aliens reaching out for Jim with their tendrils... He shakes his head. "Hm? Me? Nah, go ahead."

"But Jupiter Jim and the Sephron-356 Invaders is one of your favorites!" Mikey calls from the other room, leaning over the recliner.

"They're all one of his favorites, he's the ultimate Jupiter Jim nerd," Donnie comments. Oh, big words coming from an Atomic Lass stan and the biggest nerd in general. They all wait for Leo to point out as much...

Oh. No comeback from the slider. The brothers all stare at him in vague concern. Leo blinks.

"You alright, bro?" Raph asks, stepping closer, but Leo is quick to wave him off with an eyeroll and an easy smile. Like normal, right?

"Relax. I've just already seen it a million times," Leonardo excuses. He shrugs, taking a few steps back towards the door. "I'm not really in the mood for space movies tonight, okay? No biggie."

"Mm-mm." Mikey shakes his head. Not normal.

"We could watch something else...?" Raph suggests.

"I just rewound the tape," Donnie groans, crossing his arms. Raphael shoots him a look.

"He just rewound the tape," Leo takes the offered excuse, gesturing towards their brother. "You gonna let all that hard work go to waste?"

"Which I wouldn't even need to do if SOMEONE would rewind them after watchi-" Donnie starts, glaring at Leo, but Mikey smushes a hand into his face to shut him up.

"Do you need to talk, Leo?" the youngest pipes up. "You need a visit from Dr. Feelings, maybeee?" He waggles his eyebrows, tapping his fingers together. 

Leo sighs, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "Guys, I'm fine. This isn't the first time someone's missed a movie night! I've got other stuff to do, you guys have fun."

He slips out of the living room, further into the lair, before anyone could object some more. Raph's brow furrows.

"Alright. Are we doing this? Mikey already made popcorn and everything," Donnie asks as Mikey thrusts the massive bowl of popcorn into the air to prove his point, stray kernels flying everywhere.

"Uhh... Yeah, let's watch," Raph nods, eyes lingering on the doorway for just a moment before he makes his way over to the screen. The film starts to roll. They're treated to a nice few minutes of setup, some lovable banter between Jupiter Jim and Red Fox. And then the invasion starts.

Jeez. Raphael definitely remembers it as more goofy, and less dire. The movie was certainly campy as hell, but as one of the antagonists is grabbed and hoisted into the air by a massive tentacle, Raph feels a sort of tenseness that makes it all feel a little too real. He looks towards the others to see if he's alone in that. Mikey squirms a bit in his seat, looking rather uncomfortable. Donnie is... Looking at his phone instead of the movie, naturally. Raph turns his attention back towards the film.

"Foolish human," the leader of the aliens shouts as Jim struggles to get free. "You have no idea what you're up against! Are you really the strongest this world has to offer?"

It's not getting any better. In fact, as the tentacles tighten their hold on the hero, the alien's monologue emanating from the tinny speakers of their projector, it feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. Without thinking, Raph slams his hand onto the pause button of the player, freezing Jim in place just as the tentacles are about to strangle him. He stares at the screen for a moment, shell shocked, before his eyes drift wearily over to his brothers.

He's not sure if Mikey looks almost relieved for the movie to have paused, or if Raph's just projecting. Donnie looks over at him, confused.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Raphael blurts, the first excuse he can come up with. Donnie shrugs, looking back down at his phone. Mikey reaches for the popcorn as Raph hurries off.

He... doesn't really need to go to the bathroom. Obviously. But he goes in there anyway, peeling his mask off and splashing some cold water on his face. It doesn't make any sense, he's seen that movie a hundred times, they all have, but it never... It was never like that. He looks at himself in the mirror, gingerly touching the scar around his eye.

When he comes out of the bathroom, Raph finds he still can't quite bring himself to go back into the living room and finish the movie. It's a bit too much. Donnie and Mikey can wait for him a little while longer. Instead, he sneaks further into the lair, following the sound of something getting hit. Over and over and over. Someone's training.

Raphael steps into the room, finding Leo absolutely whaling on a dummy. The slider doesn't notice him right away, too focused on his fake opponent. Dad would admonish him for that, remind him that he needs to be hypervigilant, that he can't allow himself to be snuck up on by an unseen foe, and some other hypocritical advice. Almost funny when Splinter doesn't even notice them enter the living room half the time. Raph, though, he doesn't speak up. He's grateful for the few moments he can watch Leonardo train, a glimpse into how he's been acting when no one else is around.

He sure is attacking the dummy, alright, the poor thing rattling around as he hits it again and again, harder and harder. Like he's got some personal vendetta against the stuffed man. Raph feels a twinge of some kind of emotion, deep down in his gut. Concern, maybe? Uncertainty? Leo's not much of one to really... train a whole lot when he didn't have to.

That little feeling multiplies tenfold when Leo draws both of his katana. He slices here and there, doing all sorts of flips and tricks, really giving that dummy everything he's got. Leo raises both of his swords into the air, swinging them in a wide arc, the air whistling around them. Finally, Leonardo brings them down in two diagonal slashes, one right after the other, in the shape of an "X". The dummy falls into four pieces.

Raph raises his eyebrows. Mikey will be annoyed that he's got to stitch that thing back together again- he'd specifically implemented a no-blades rule for that exact reason. The bigger turtle watches in silence as Leo stands there, staring down at the dummy for a long moment.

And then Leo drives one of his katana through the dummy's metaphorical skull. Raph's jaw drops as Leo tugs the blade out from the fake head, the other one dragging slightly against the ground.

It was... Well, it was no harm done, it was just a stuffed puppet to whack around, but Raphael can't help but be worried.

"I can smell you, Raph," Leo calls out, looking over his shoulder at his older brother with a cock of his hips as he sheaths his katana. Damn it! Raph's worry-stench! He should've known better!

"I thought smashing shit to cope was my thing," Raph half-jokes, stepping out from the doorway and crossing his arms. He doesn't miss the eyeroll from Leo, the clear agitation at being questioned... At being discovered, for that matter. But Leo is quick to cover up his irritation with a little smirk, like usual.

"Movie over already?" he asks, ignoring the comment. Raph shakes his head.

"Paused."

Leonardo purses his lips, his arms crossing. "Why? So you could come check on me? I'm not nine, Raph."

"It was just. A lot."

Leo's expression softens. After a moment, he sighs, uncrossing his arms. "I know. But hey, you got farther than I did, huh?"

Raph frowns. "Are you okay, Leo?"

"What? That was a joke!" he brushes off, waving his hand dismissively.

Raphael points, and Leo follows his finger down to the scraps of the dummy. "Look what you did to poor Mr. Punch," Raph accuses. "Mikey said no more cutting him up, only blunt-"

"I know, I know!" Leo defends, his hands up in the air defensively. "I was just training, Raph. Don't worry, I'll put him back together this time." Raph raises an eyebrow. "I will!"

"That's not it. Look, Leo, it's just... not really like you. I think I have a right to be worried. Since when do you train?" Raphael asks, doing his best to use his gentle voice. Not that that seems to be helping much.

"Since when do I train?" Leo repeats incredulously, tilting his head in disbelief. "Uh, I dunno Raph, since I was like four?"

"You know what I mean," Raph groans. "I know you're just bein' prickly right now because you're insecure, but I'm not trying to- Look, I just want to make sure, okay?"

"No, not okay! What are you worried about me for? If anything, I should be worried about you! You went through a lot more shit than any of us did, Raph. And now you can't even finish a Jupiter Jim movie," Leo snaps, taking a few steps closer. Raphael glares.

"You can't even start one!"

"I'm just not in the mood!"

Mikey pokes his head through the doorway, wide-eyed. Leo looks over at him, and Raph follows his line of sight. "Guys?" the youngest asks, glancing between them both. "I heard shouting. Did something happen?"

"No, Mikey, we were just doing some quick training," Raph excuses, approaching Mikey as Leo hurriedly tries to sweep Mr. Punch's remains under the mat.

"Training?" Mikey asks, crossing his arms and stepping into the room fully. "You said you were using the bathroom! My popcorn's all cold now!"

"Just put it back in the microwave," Leo suggests with a smile and a shrug as he pops up right beside Raph, leaning on his brother's arm. He brushes some stray stuffing off of his shoulder. Mikey's face scrunches up, and he sticks his tongue out in disgust.

"No way, Leon, that'll burn it!" he objects, earning a mischievous grin from Leo. Mikey huffs. "Alright, whatever, but I wanna finish the movie- are you coming Raph, or are you hanging out with Leo?"

"He's not hanging with me," Leo is quick to declare, pushing Raph towards the door by his shell. Raph stumbles a couple of steps- normally he wouldn't budge, but Leo had pushed him unexpectedly hard. He glances back towards his brother, but is met with the same easygoing attitude. Raph's hurt expression tightens into something a bit more annoyed. He turns towards his other brother.

"You and Donnie go ahead and unpause it, Mikey. Don't wait up," Raph urges.

"Okaaaay, but you're totally gonna miss the sick fight scene! Jimmy knows how to knock 'em down, baby!" Mikey calls, hurrying back towards the living room to finish the movie. Okay, so maybe it wasn't bothering him. Maybe Raph really was just projecting. The eldest takes a deep breath before pointing at Leo.

"We're not done with this conversation," he warns, backing out of the room.

"Oh, I think we are," Leonardo says, shutting the door in his face. Raph's lip curls.

"We're not!" he shouts, pushing the door open again- only to catch the tail end of a portal closing. Great.

He shuffles back towards the living room, ignoring the sounds of an alien invasion ringing through the hallway.

Chapter Text

At the very least, Leo leaving provides enough of a distraction that Raph doesn't need to worry about tuning the rest of Jupiter Jim out. He mulls it all over in his head- Leo's weird vibes, the way that clearly something was wrong but he was in total denial, the way he was reacting to reasonable concern by being intentionally annoying. Ugh, Raph hates when he does that crap. Altogether, it only means one thing... Only one answer makes sense.

Leo's stupid.

Raph nods to himself. Yeah, that about sums it up. And now he's out god knows where doing god knows what, instead of staying here and solving his problems. Typical. He shouldn't be going out alone like that- something could happen to him. Not that Raph didn't trust him to take care of himself, but, well... He didn't like his little brothers venturing off on their own on a good day, much less right after an argument. Especially after all that had happened recently. And double-especially with the way Leo has been acting since. It is so frustrating. What the hell is this sudden distance? Leonardo Hamato is nothing if not a huge attention magnet. He doesn't avoid people, he isn't quiet, and he sure as hell doesn't completely shut everyone out. Did Raph do something wrong? Every time he tried to bridge the gap, Leo pushed back harder. The slider usually gives in by now. But that was it- the problem hadn't been solved, whatever the problem was. What was there to give into? And Raph wasn't sure that this was a problem he even could solve.

"Uh, hellooo? Earth to Raph," Donnie says, breaking up Raph's train of thought by waving a robotic limb in front of his face. He blinks in surprise, pushing the claw away. In the back of his mind, he's aware that his brothers had both been saying his name for a good few seconds.

"You mean Jupiter to Raph!" Mikey contributes, smacking Raph on the shell.

"Jupiter to Jim," Donnie jokes.

"What? What is it?" Raph asks, looking back and forth between the two of them. Donnie nods towards the screen, where the credits are still rolling.

"Movie's over. Were you even watching?" he asks, tilting his head.

"Course I was watching. You're the one on his phone the whole time," Raph snorts, crossing his arms. "Turn the volume down as low as you want, I could still tell you were on Tiktok."

"I dunno, I don't think either of you were watching the movie," Mikey declares, pointing at both of them. "Donald was on his phone and Ralph was just muttering to himself the whole time."

"Ay. Don't call me Ralph." Mikey grins. "What do you care if I was watching? I've already seen it, I know what happens," Raph says dismissively.

"Oh, going for the 'Nardo approach, are we?" Donnie asks, leaning closer. Raph glares at him. Pushing buttons, laying it on thick with the sarcasm. Sometimes Donnie and Leo were more alike than he realized.

"No. I'm here, aren't I?"

"Touché."

"You and Leo are both actin' weird," Mikey insists, crawling over the back of the recliner to get up and go get the lights. "Anything you wanna talk abooout?"

"I'm not actin' weird! He's acting weird. Like, remember when he let Donnie have the last pancake this morning?" Raph says, looking pointedly at Donatello. Leo always made a grab for the last pancake- or any food they were sharing, for that matter. And sometimes foods they were not sharing. They all did it. So, him forking it over to Donatello without so much as a complaint...

Donnie nods, a shiver running down his shell. "That was weird."

"See? So I'm not actin' weird, I'm just weirded out by how weird Leo is actin'," Raph says with a nod. 

"And that's why you couldn't watch the movie?" Mikey asks, leaning closer and raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." 

"I don't believe you!" 

Raph groans. "Mikey!"

"I'm sorry bro, but you gotta admit it! You're just as weird as Leo lately. You can't wait to talk about your feelings until you feel better, because talking about your feelings is what makes you feel better, and you'll just be waiting and waiting and-" 

Donnie clears his throat. "Actually, I beg to differ. I never talk about my feelings and I'm doing fine compared to those two." 

"Oh, you're doing fine? Because I saw the face you made when I made meatloaf the other night and-" 

"That's not a Krang-specific reaction, Michael! Stop making meatloaf, it's totally gross!"

"Guys! Enough. Look, you wanna hear about me watchin' the movie? I'll tell you." Raph takes a deep breath, twiddling his thumbs a bit. "It just." He leans back, looking up at the ceiling. "It felt really familiar. In a bad way. Like, those aliens... They're just eerily similar to... Y'know?" 

Raph is not actually doing a very good job of explaining himself. Like, at all. But, somehow he was certain the others would know what he's trying to say. As awkwardly vulnerable it is to admit all of this, he braves a glance towards his brothers, looking for their reactions. Mikey hits him with a startlingly and yet predictably earnest look. And Donnie's staring at the floor- not any less attentive for it, that's just how he is. Okay. Raph continues. "Honestly I don't... I don't know how you guys can sit there and watch that stuff."

"No, no, I get it," Mikey assures, nodding. His voice is a lot softer. Comforting. It's nice, but it rubs Raphael the wrong way somewhere in the back of his mind. "I mean, the plot and everything is like, crazy similar, right? But see, for me, it's like... Jupiter Jim isn't gonna back down, or give up. He keeps fighting, even when it seems like it's over- he comes out on top, defeats all the aliens, saves the day! Right? Everything turns out okay. He's just like us. We're just like him!" 

Huh. "That's a really cool way to look at it, Mikey. I'll... try to see it that way- but, just. I dunno. Watchin' it like that, even knowin' that he wins in the end... It just freaked me out. Like, logic wasn't a factor." 

"That's okay! You gotta do what you gotta do to cope, Big Red. Just like Leo has to do what he has to do," Mikey reminds him. Raphael grunts noncommittally in response. 

"So you're using the movie as therapy," Donnie interrupts, brow creasing. Raph and Mikey both turn to face him simultaneously. 

"Someone's gotta therapize the therapizer," Mikey says lightheartedly. Raph gets that twinge towards the back of his shell again. Luckily, Donnie is there to put that feeling into words. 

"Mikey, you're not our therapist," Donnie states. Mikey gives him a funny look. Bingo. There it is- that's what that funny feeling is. Donnie hit the nail on the head. 

"I'm Dr. Feelings, I've been helping you guys out with this kinda stuff forever-" 

"Yeah, sure. But this isn't... This is really heavy stuff, Mikey. You're not solely responsible for the whole team's mental wellbeing," Raph helps out, stepping closer. 

"Sure I am. Donnie does the smart stuff, Leo does the pep stuff, you do the safety stuff-" 

"What? I do the safety stuff?" Raph asks, squinting. That's lame as hell. No, he did the pep stuff! Right? Leo did the... Annoying stuff. Donnie shoots Raph a look, and he gets back on track. "Seriously, Mikey. It's not on you. You're real helpful and all, but you're our little brother." Mikey's look turns rather sour. 

"So? Just because I'm younger doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about, Raph." 

"That's not what I said. I just mean it's not your job to take care of us." 

"We were just having a conversation?" Mikey says, a question in his voice. Raph sighs, looking towards Donnie for help. 

"Me?" Donnie asks, pointing at himself. "Ugh, okay, if you're sure." He turns to face Mikey, who looks back with sincere confusion. "The conversation isn't the problem. Look, you don't have to rely on kinning Jupiter Jim to cope. If you need someone to talk to... We can be Dr. Feelingses too, okay?" 

The youngest turtle's eyes sparkle. Raph nods as Donnie pats Mikey on the shoulder. Should pats be damned, Mikey swoops in for the hug, because of course he does. "Besides," Donnie continues, "Frankly, I think it's a crime that you have a monopoly on all the 'Doctor' nicknames when I'm right here and easily the scientiest-brother." 

"You gotta point... Doctortello," Mikey dubs him, patting his head in a jarring way. 

"Mmm, nope. A better one, please." 

"Mr. Medicine?" 

"Hey, no, you're not cheating me out of the doctorate!" 

"How about Dr. Dork-"

"I think you know the answer to that one, Michael, I'm not humoring you!" 

All Raph can think about is the big gaping hole in their group hug. He pulls away, frowning. "Guys, I'm worried about Leo." 

The others quiet down, looking over at him. "Because of your fight?" Mikey hazards. 

"I told you, we were just training-" 

"He's not stupid, Raph, that's not what training sounds like. Just go apologize, let Leo do his thing, he'll come around eventually. We all come around eventually, right?" Donnie asks, though Raph doesn't miss the way he fidgets with his hands. He's not nearly as confident in that answer as he's trying to sound. 

"I can't go apologize, I don't know where he is," Raph mutters, rubbing his arm. Besides, what was he supposed to apologize for, anyway? Being concerned? Either way, that answer earns soft noises of surprise from both of his brothers. They exchange glances while he looks down at the floor. "He portaled away. Couldn't follow him." 

"Donnie, don't you have trackers on us or something?" Mikey asks, searching for a solution. Donnie groans, crossing his arms. 

"No. Leon sat on me reading out of a joke book until I took his out. Despite their obvious usefulness, might I add!"

"I think we're just gonna have to wait 'til he decides to come back, guys," Raph sighs. "Sorry." 

"Well, maybe we can do something nice for him in the meantime! Y'know, for him to come back to and be like- omigosh! I love my brothers so much!" Mikey suggests, jumping around and making a fake surprised-face. 

"Well, he likes pizza. And skateboarding. And..." 

"We all like that stuff, Donnie! I mean something special!" Mikey corrects, shaking his head. "And I just might have a great idea."

Chapter Text

It's dark. Mikey blinks a few times, bleary-eyed, trying to gather his thoughts enough to realize where he is and what's going on. His heart is racing, for whatever reason- presumably because of something he'd been dreaming, though he can't say for sure, as it's all already slipped through the cracks in his mind. Forgotten, save for the slight tremor in his hands and the drying tear marks on his cheeks.

He looks around the room, wiping his face with the back of his hand. It's a little hard to adjust to the lighting- not just because it's dark, but because the TV was playing, images flickering across the sewer wall. Muted. No, wait, not muted- just turned down very, very quiet.

Squinting as he watches some me infomercial about cake pans play out against the concrete, he thinks for a moment. Why were they in the living room? For Leo. Right. Even now, he can see the outlines of the balloons stand out against the wall. The streamers dangling from the ceiling. The great big homemade banner, pinned up above the TV-projection, that read We Love You, Leo!

...Yeah, okay, maybe in hindsight a big surprise party was a bit cheesy. But cheesy was Mikey's secret weapon. How could someone look at such an earnest display of affection and turn away? Cheesy worked for these brothers.

Speaking of brothers, he looks down at Raph and Donnie, both still fast asleep. Someone's snoring. Y'know, you'd think it'd be Raph, but Mikey knows it's Donnie. Everything is really piecing itself together now. He remembers, they'd spent all evening putting together this surprise party for when Leo got home, and then they'd turned off the lights and waited... And they must have all dozed off. Mikey laughs a bit to himself at that realization, before frowning. Did that mean Leo hadn't ever come home?

He sees Donnie's phone lying a few feet away, and carefully extracts himself from their little cuddle pile enough to grab it. Locked, super locked, but he can still see the time- 4:27 A.M.

Way past curfew. If Dad found out Leo was still out at this hour, he'd be in trouble.

Something rattles in the kitchen, catching Mikey's attention in the way that only a minute bump in the night can do. His head swivels in an instant, gaze trained on the kitchen door. Was someone there?

There'd been a whole stack of pizzas on that kitchen counter, waiting for the surprise party to commence. Mikey curses himself for not remembering to go put them in the fridge before going night night. Regardless, it's not like any of them really had high standards when it came to pizza. It'd get eaten. That's probably what was happening now- Splinter had gone into the kitchen for a midnight snack. Or a 4 AM snack. Whichever. Nothing to be worried about, anyway.

Mikey catches a shadow shift out of the corner of his eye, and he turns that way. Okay, maybe not Splinter. Was someone here? He pulls himself further out of the cuddle pile, sitting up straighter. Alert. Raph mumbles something as he shifts, brow furrowed in his sleep. The entire scene is making Mikey a little bit uneasy. But, try as he might, eyes straining to read the layout of the room amidst the flickering light of the TV, Mikey doesn't see the suspected intruder. Maybe it was all in his head.

Or maybe not. A shadow slips past the doorway, and Mikey nearly screams. Suddenly, Leo's standing right in front of him, eating a slice of room temperature pizza. See, Mikey knew it would get eaten.

"Leo?" He asks, before the slider holds a finger up in front of his mouth.

"Shhhh." He gestures to Donnie and Raph, both still asleep. Mikey looks back up at Leo as he gestures for him to follow.

By the time Mikey fully frees himself from the accidental cuddle pile, Leo's already halfway up the ladders to the second floor, and Mikey has to scramble to catch up. Leo slips into the arcade, pizza box in tow, and Mikey finally comes in after him.

"Leo, where were you? We were waiting all night," Mikey asks as Leo slides into the seat of the racing game, smacking at the START button. Mikey sits down in the seat next to him, looking over with concern.

"You not playing?" Leo asks. Mikey shakes his head, and he shrugs and confirms the single player mode. "I was just... Out doin' stuff. Y'know. Doin' my thang."

"Raph was so worried I thought he was about to barf," Mikey informs him. Leo snorts, rolling his eyes as he scarfs down the rest of his pizza just in time to wrench the steering wheel to the right, narrowly avoiding crashing his video game car.

Mikey frowns. It's hard not to hate that Leo's just brushing it off. The image of Raph and Donnie getting onto him for playing therapy hangs fresh in his mind, but helping his brothers makes him feel better. And Leo had been so distant, lately... It was worth a shot. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Leo assures around a mouthful of pepperoni. "You know how Raph gets. He overreacts."

Mikey hums, clearly unsatisfied with that answer. That's not what he meant. He scoots a bit closer in his seat, looking at his brother. Close enough that Leo's grin falters, and he glances unsurely at Mikey out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Leo asks, eyes darting between his brother and the game in a desperate bid not to crash his digital car.

"Where did you go, Leo?"

He rolls his eyes. "I just went to talk to a few people, okay? Cool it, Mikey, I'm back now."

The younger turtle sits back with a frustrated sigh. Okay, so there wasn't an opening there. Mikey just isn't sure how to get through to Leo- he can definitely see why Raph was so frustrated earlier.

It's quiet for a while, except for the tinny sounds of racecar engines rumbling through the speakers. Leonardo glances at Mikey again, guilt gnawing at him over the youngest's troubled look. Shit. He falls behind in the racing game, his mind preoccupied with his brother. His car slows to a stop, the others zooming past and leaving him with just the background music.

"Heyyy. Mikey," Leo says after a moment.

"...Yeah?"

"Y'know what I thought was pretty sick?"

"What?"

"When you did that mystic portal jazz and totally saved my life," Leo says, in a deceptively casual tone of voice. Mikey smiles sheepishly, snorting softly as he rubs his neck. "Seriously, little bro! That was insane!"

"I don't even know how I did it," Mikey says halfheartedly, tapping his fingers on the side of the arcade machine.

"Bet you could figure it out. You heard what Casey said, about the future. You can do anything."

Mikey grins. "You think so?"

Leo nods. "Of course! You're already, like... Way more advanced than you were supposed to be. It's like a cheat code." He turns back to the game, jiggling the controls and pressing buttons and pedals in just the right order- and suddenly his car rumbles to life, going about 1000mph down the road and plowing past just about any obstacle in it's way. Mikey's eyebrows raise. Cheat chodes, huh?

Leo crosses the finish line ahead of every other car, and the digital crowd roars. A trophy flashes up on the screen, and he shoots Mikey a see? look, gesturing towards the screen.

And then, he takes a deep breath.

"Do you know what else Casey told me?" His voice is less wry, an uncharacteristic seriousness befalling his tone that made Mikey's heart jump a little bit. Brow furrowed, the younger turtle shakes his head a little bit.

"In the, uh... The bad future. The one we stopped. We were the last two turtles left." Neither of them were smiling anymore. In fact, Mikey was staring, mouth agape. He knew that future was bad, like really bad, but- but he'd never even considered that his brothers might...

And Leo just looked vaguely guilty. Mikey could feel his intestines knotting up. "Yeah, but we stopped that one, right?"

Leo slowly nods, with a little shrug.

"Mikey, that all... That happened because of me."

The protest is immediate- Mikey bristles, shaking his head, entirely prepared to tell Leo what a stupid, pointless line of thought that is. But Leo cuts him off- "It was, Mikey! This all happened because of me. The gate opening, the Krang, everything that happened to you and Donnie and- and Raph. Not because I made one mistake. Because I made about a million."

"Leo... You can't blame yourself, you're just... You're just a kid, bro. We all are. It shouldn't even be up to us," Mikey says softly, hesitantly reaching out to lay a hand on Leonardo's shoulder.

"Yeah. Well, it is on us."

Mikey tears through his brain for more to say. There's got to be something he can say, to fix this, to have everything go back to normal- Something.

He isn't quick enough, though. This isn't silly conflict resolution or self care tips. This is... Maybe a little more than he reasonably can fix, even with all the powers of Dr. Feelings.

"You're right. Kids shouldn't be in charge of saving the world. That's why we've got to grow up!" Leo explains as Mikey's brain races through every self help youtube video he ever watched. "Mikey. Casey said I was the greatest ninja the world had ever seen- I know what I can do. I just have to get there. Now. Before anything else goes wrong."

It's... Starting to click. Mikey nods. Yeah- he may not agree entirely with the execution, but Leo was definitely making sense. Maybe he has a point. Mikey tilts his head. "So you're gonna train?"

"Like crazy, little bro."

Yeah. It honestly seems like a good plan. Mikey would be the first to attest to how far Leo could go when he was really motivated.

"We've got the cheat codes, like I said- we know our potential. I can ninja it up, and you're already doing some badass mystic warrior spells," Leo explains, getting more excited. It's a bit contagious- Mikey nods along, a smile starting to curl up.

"I haven't been able to do any other spells," Michaelangelo points out, and Leo scoffs and waves his hand in dismissal.

"But you know you can. So just- dig in, Angelo! You know Casey said you float around in the future? Like, all the time! Without breaking a sweat! Don't even have to touch the ground! That's your power. You just have to get to it, unlock it, you know?"

Mikey nods, grinning in earnest.

"We get good now. I mean, really good. Ahead of the game. Use our cheat codes. And then, should anything else happen..." Leo says, trailing off.

"We can protect our brothers!" Mikey pipes up, with a cheer and a pat on the back from Leo.

Mikey stands, dusting himself off, much to Leo's confusion. "You going somewhere?" he asks, brow furrowed slightly.

"Don't you think we should get started?" Mikey asks, nodding towards the training room. Leo looks surprised, for a moment- but laughs, shutting the game off and following his brother back to the training room.