Michelangelo had never been the most mature one of his brothers. In fact at now nineteen, he still had an affinity for bunny slippers, stuffed animals and sucking his thumb to get to sleep. Outside of the lair Michelangelo might have been the Battle Nexus champion, but within the confines of his own home Mikey could often be classified as clingy, insecure, and often times even codependent.
Leonardo took notice of Mikey's neediness; however as the oldest of his brothers and leader of their clan his concerns for Mikey were always more focused on his ninja training and not his emotional rearing.
Donatello also took note of Mikey's seemingly increasing need of the support and comfort his brothers provided within their home. Since Splinter had passed Mikey seemed increasingly attached to Leonardo and himself, leaving Donatello to scramble for moments of peace and quiet during the day in order to get any of his projects done. Between the two of them, Donatello and Leonardo seemed to pass Michelangelo back and forth all day.
Nobody talked about it though. Donatello and Leonardo seemed to think avoiding the phase until he grew out of it was better than addressing it.
Only Raphael knew that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Michelangelo never clung to Raphael. He never pestered him. He never asked for his company.
During the daytime at least.
At night when the nightmares crept in, turning the innocent shadows on his walls into demon monstrosities that haunted the insides of his eyelids, that was when Michelangelo sought Raphael's comfort.
It was a change from when they had been children and Raphael and Michelangelo were thick as thieves. They had spent their days imaging they were superheroes like in the comics they found. Or building forts with the express purpose of keeping out Fearless and Brainiac. Or when they'd sneak up to the surface and go dumpster diving behind an old toy store for the broken display toys the owner would throw away. As kids, Michelangelo and Raphael had been more than brothers, they had been pals.
Pals who shared everything.
That was why now, at twenty-one years old and seemingly a man amongst his naive brothers, Raphael knew this was more than a phase for Michelangelo. He knew they weren't just going to turn around one day and find that Mikey had "grown up." If anything he was more worried than ever that his baby brother was in fact getting worse.
But he didn't talk about it. He never talked about it. Raphael knew that if Mikey was getting worse he'd been condoning it since Splinter had died.
It'd been eight years since the last time Mikey had creaked Raph's door open in the middle of the night, seeking solace and comfort from the torment of his own imagination. Raphael even remembered the nightmare that Mikey had recounted to him about a circus clown intent on slaughtering their family. It had been graphic and Mikey had told it to him in such detail that even Raphael was shaken by the images.
That'd been Michelangelo's last visit to Raphael's room in eight years.
Then Splinter died. It was sudden and unexpected. And though all of them struggled with it, it broke Michelangelo.
Three nights after, Raphael woke to his bedroom door creaking open and Mikey poking his head inside. After eight years the nightmares were back.
Raphael hesitated in a moment of uncertainty as Mikey pleaded with to let him stay the night with him.
Raphael didn't want to go there again. It'd been hard enough when they were kids to get Mikey to sleep in his own room. He knew if he said yes he'd be opening the door on all of the demons he'd worked so hard to lock behind it for the past eight years. He knew giving in to his brother's request would break him. But he could never say no to Mikey and with a sigh he agreed, trying his best to make Mikey know he meant it when he told him it could only be just this once.
Mikey had reluctantly agreed and slipped inside of Raphael's bedroom, closing the door as silently as he could. Raph got up from his hammock and held it steady for Mikey to climb into, both of them remembering that they faired better with Mikey on the wall side. It was harder for him to accidentally tip them both on the floor in the middle of the night, and Raphael was much more comfortable with their arrangement if he himself slept with his shell to the door. It hid Mikey's form in the event anyone came barging in without knocking.
Raphael didn't ask what his brother had dreamt of that night. Instead Raph laid with his brother until Michelangelo's quiet murmurings of a request to comfort him broke the silence.
Raphael sighed as he slung his arm around Mikey's waist and pulled him in close for a snuggle. Mikey's shell pressed tight against Raph's plastron and he could feel Raph's heart beat. They lay that way for a long time. The soothing rhythm was nearly enough for Mikey.
Nearly.
Soon Mikey murmured again. It was just two words.
Please, Raphie.
They shattered Raphael.
With his heart heavy, guilt filling it within an instant Raphael gave in to Michelangelo's need to be comforted that night.
That night wasn't the last though. Day after day, Michelangelo seemed to cling a little more to their brothers, and night after night he returned to Raphael.
No. No one talked about it, and Raph couldn't be the one to bring it up now. Not when Michelangelo didn't seem to seek his attention or bother him during the day. And not when he assuredly was perpetuating the problem every night that Mikey crept into his room. Raphael knew this wasn't just going to stop with Michelangelo.
No. If he wanted his brother to grow up, Raphael was going to have to stop doing things for him. Raphael was going to have to stop letting Mikey depend on him to provide the comfort he was seeking.
A/N: So... If you want more of this, review and let me know. In my head this story is plotted out for many more chapters but if there's no real interest then I wont bore you guys with it, especially if it doesnt really feel like its going anywhere. I've just always thought there was more to Mikey than his carefree spirit than meets the eye. Mikey's not as naive as he appears sometimes, and nor is Raphael as blockheaded as he allows people to assume of him. But let me know if you're into where this is going so far or if I should throw in the towel.