Ever So Slightly
-Human AU One-shots-
by TJ Hector
-Summary: Human AU one-shots. Fluff, brotherly moments, father-son moments. Friendship. Healing and comfort. Confrontation and understanding. Serious stuff ever so slightly and silly stuff. Enjoy!
-Background: this is set in the same universe as my other Human AU stories (Stranger Whistles, The Longest Sunset). If you never read them before it's okay! This can be treated as many individual stories, I mean, one-shots. All you need to know is Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are adopted brothers and only Raph & Donnie are biological brothers-they are twins.
-A/N: Fluff. Yes, FLUFF! I'm not actually a comforting person but why not wind down a bit and be tender to people? This series is for healing (hopefully lol)! Yay!
'Cause I think The Longest Sunset would be kinda dark lol so I make it up to you guys with this new series!
And on with the first story: kid Raph & Mikey (& Yoshi LOL!) fluff.
Hopefully we can have some Leo or Donnie fluff in our next chapter! I'll try!
-Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or TMNH (humans).
Obstinacy
"Okay," Mrs. Curtis stared down at the two boys, who were sitting down two chairs before her in the empty classroom, "One of you should start talking and explain to me what happened."
The boy on the left was a fourth-grader, a grumpy kid with light brown skin, dark red hair that growing and curling in any possible direction, and a pair of green eyes—once fixed on a certain object, they would stay there stubbornly and determinedly as if want to burn a hole through the target. Every teacher in the school knew him, and…well, most of them did not like him much.
The skinny blond boy with big bright blue eyes and freckled cheeks sitting on the right side was a different case. He was only a second-grader famous for his mischief, but almost every teacher who had taught him seemed to like him, for he was sweet and caring toward other children. He just had a short attention span and tended to be overly energetic.
Strange enough, the two of them were brothers.
"Raphael," Mrs. Curtis asked the boy on the left, "I believe you have something to tell us?"
The green eyes were unmoving. The blond boy sitting by his elder brother shifted uncomfortably in the chair.
"Michelangelo?" she turned to him.
"…Uh, yes, Mrs. Curtis," Michelangelo answered nervously, "I—"
"Don't tell her anythin', Mikey," the redheaded boy hissed.
Mrs. Curtis pursed her lips, "Why, may I ask?"
Raphael glared at her, his left hand moved to his right shoulder and stayed there.
"But Raph—" Mikey said.
"She let 'em go, don't you see?" Raph whispered to his little brother, and Mikey seemed confused.
"You did not answer me, Raphael Hamato," Mrs. Curtis put on her stern voice, one that she used only for those rare occasions—occasions like this.
Raphael just glared at her boldly.
Mrs. Curtis sighed and turned once more toward Michelangelo, "If you don't answer me, I'll have to report this incident to Mr. Adler, and he will take over this—"
"Don't tell him!" Mikey jumped in his chair. Mr. Adler was the principal, who had once handled the case of a fight between Raph and some other kids. Raphael was severely punished that time, and Mikey remembered their father was very, very upset about the event. He didn't want it to happen again.
"Then maybe you should tell us something?" Mrs. Curtis said.
"Okay!" Mikey cried, and blurted out before Raph could stop him, "I was playin' in the playgroun and some guys from Raph's class came over and then they said I couldn't play there because it's their spot and I said everyone can play there, but they started to push me, and then Raph came…"
"Did he hit Andy Flores?" Mrs. Curtis asked.
"But Mrs. Curtis Andy hit him first!"
"Andy had a bleeding nose. Did Raphael hit him or not?"
"I did," Raph said.
"And did you push Jamie Winston?" Mrs. Curtis faced the older boy with a cold gaze.
Raphael nodded.
"And Davie Terrance? Did you kick him in his stomach?"
"Yeah," Raph said.
"But Mrs. Curtis!" Mikey stood up, "It's them who started the fight!"
"Michelangelo, please be quiet," Mrs. Curtis said gently, "They didn't hurt Raphael, but he hurt them. And some of the injuries are quite…serious."
"It's not fair!" Mikey yelled.
"There's nothing unfair, Michelangelo," she tried to sound as mild as she could.
And then there was a knock on the door.
"Please come in," she answered.
The door slid open quietly, and a tall, thickset man wearing a kimono came in.
"Mr. Hamato," she greeted.
"Mrs. Curtis," the man nodded. "Sorry for the troubles."
"Daddy!" Mikey ran toward the man, "Some other kids wanted to hurt me but Raph saved me! Please Dad! Raph didn't do anythin' wrong!"
"Shhh, Michelangelo, I want to have some words with your teacher," Hamato Yoshi said to the child.
"You boys can wait outside," Mrs. Curtis said.
"Let's go, Mikey," Raph got up and grabbed Mikey's arm, starting to pull him toward the door.
-O-
"Are you okay Raph?" Mikey asked his brother, who had resumed the position of holding his right shoulder with his left hand.
"Fine," the older boy grunted.
"You think dad's gonna take us home?"
"Maybe," Raph said, "Or maybe she'll leave me to Mr. Adler."
"No she won't! You didn't do anythin' wrong!"
"Huh, really," Raph smirked, "I wonder that's what she thinks."
Mikey leant against the door of the classroom, trying to hear the conversation inside in vain. After a few seconds, he gave up. "Ya think daddy will take Leo home too?"
"Leo didn't do anythin', he could finish his classes," Raph said.
"It's not fair. If Leo's there he woulda help me, too. And she'll never punish Leo."
"Hmmm," Raph stared down at his shoes, "Yeah, Leo's good at these stuff."
"Why didn't you tell her, Raph?"
"Tell her what?"
"Tell her they hit you, too."
"Because she didn't deserve it," Raph turned to Mikey and locked his wide blue eyes with his narrowed green ones.
"What do you mean?" Mikey asked, puzzled.
"Forget about it," Raph kicked the wall, "Just…forget about it."
A moment later Yoshi came out of the room.
"Let's go home, boys," he said with a grave face. "Mrs. Curtis said that you should contemplate on what you did wrong. And she will need to discuss this matter with your principal."
The boys glanced at each other, and both faces sank.
-O-
During the drive home, Yoshi didn't say anything, which caused a disturbing silence. Mikey kept glancing at Raph, but the older boy just held his shoulder and stared firmly out of the side window.
When the vehicle finally slowed down and glided into the parking spot behind the apartment building where the Hamatos lived, Raphael instantly reached for the door bolt.
"Raphael, please wait for a momen—"
Before Yoshi could finish his sentence, Raphael had flung the door open and jumped out, disappearing into the building.
Yoshi sighed, "Let's go, Michelangelo."
-O-
Yoshi opened the door with his key. In his failed attempt, Raphael had tried to lock his father and brother outside the apartment, but fortunately Yoshi had his own pair of keys with him.
As the door opened, Mikey rushed inside.
"Raph!" he called, running to the bedroom shared by the two eldest. He pounded on the door and tried to turn the knob.
"Daddy," he turned to his father, who had placed his bag on the couch and come to his side. "Raphie locked the door."
Yoshi sighed, "It's all right, my son. Why don't you go watch some TV while I try to talk to your brother?"
Mikey's eyes widened, "I can watch TV? Now?"
Yoshi smiled slightly. "Only half an hour."
Mikey cheered and ran into the living room.
Standing alone in front of his son's locked bedroom door, Yoshi tried in a mild voice, "Raphael, please open the door."
No response.
Yosh sighed once more, "I want to talk to you, my son…"
"WELL BUT I DON'T WANNA LISTEN!" a shout came out, followed by a noise of something crashing on the floor inside the bedroom.
Yoshi raised his voice, "PLEASE. I am not angry with you. I am not blaming you, nor disappoint with you, my son…"
"GO AWAY!" Yoshi heard books being thrown across the room and hit the door with a blunt sound. Leonardo was going to be upset—those were his precious collection.
"Raphael," Yoshi called again, feeling pained. It sounded as though there was a tornado going on inside the small bedroom.
"Raphael," Yoshi tried again, "I do not believe what your teacher has said to me. I want to hear what happened. From you."
"Why don't you ask the principal? Why don't you go ask those idiots?" Raphael yelled. "Why don't you just let me alone like that stupid Curtis did?"
"Because they are not my son. They are not you. I want to know it from you."
"You just picked me up from a stupid orphanage. I'm not your son!"
"YES, yes you are," Yoshi said loudly. "Now open the door, please."
He heard an angry growl, and he believed that Raphael had destroyed another pillow—the fourth one this year.
"Raphael…" Yoshi muttered, and then just as he was about to go fetch the spare keys in the living room drawer to unlock the bedroom, the door opened.
Yoshi gazed down at his second son. The ten-year-old was breathing in erratic, short pants, his eyes red with fury, and his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles went white.
The man knelt down and pulled the child closer. He held the boy's fists and slowly unclenched them.
"Slow down your breaths, my son," he said slowly. "Tell me what happened."
Raphael blinked rapidly and bit his lips.
Yoshi held the boy's small face between his palms, but Raphael looked down.
"Th-they pushed Mikey," he uttered, "Mikey hit his head and he almost cried but he held it back. I-I…I can't help it. Dad. Really, I just can't..."
"Did you fight with them?" Yoshi asked.
"I told 'em to leave Mikey alone, but the leader of those guys threw a punch. He didn't hit me because I was faster than him…And when I was fightin' that boy, other guys went to Mikey an' they…I kicked the first boy so hard he fell down. I wanted to save Mikey, Dad, they were gonna hurt him…I swear I wouldn't have started this but they were gonna hurt Mikey, Dad, you have to believe me—" A sob suddenly choked the boy, and tears wet his long lashes.
"Oh I believe you," Yoshi said, "I believe you, my son."
"R-really?" Raph asked in a trembling voice.
"Daddy," a small voice said, and Yoshi turned and saw Michelangelo stood by their side. "It's true. They pushed me. And Raphie saved me."
"I believe your brother, Michelangelo." Yoshi said, "And please, would you bring us a handkerchief? I think it is in my bag on the couch." Mikey nodded and ran away.
Yoshi pulled the elder boy into a hug, and gently rubbed his back. "I just want you to understand one thing, my son…" he began slowly and softly, afraid that Raphael might recoil from him, "You are stronger than those boys because you are trained. You might hurt them. And if you hurt them, the teacher won't listen to you."
"Why?" Raph asked desperately, "They hurt Mikey, too!"
"But I heard that one of the boy sprained his wrist, and the other got a bleeding nose."
"Lucky for them they didn't break their necks—"
"Raphael…" Yoshi said firmly, looking into his son's green orbs. "You are aware of your strength."
Raph nodded.
"And you will be careful when you use it."
Raph nodded reluctantly.
"I do not blame you," Yoshi then said warmly, "I am grateful that you protected your little brother, my son."
"Daddy," Mikey reappeared at their side with the handkerchief, "They hurt Raph."
"No they didn't!" Raphael cried.
"Yes they did," Mikey said, "Raph's arm's weird. He keeps holding it."
"No it's not," Raph retorted. "I'm fine!"
"Let me see," Yoshi said, turning his son to a side. "Does it hurt?" he clutched the boy's right shoulder slightly and the boy flinched.
Yoshi rolled up the shirtsleeve and felt the bones under the child's tender skin, "I am afraid it's dislocated, my son."
"What does it mean?" Mikey asked.
"It means that the position of the joint is not in its right spot," Yoshi said.
"Sounds like a lotta pain!" Mikey cried. And Raph winced.
"Yes," Yoshi said, "But I can get it back to normal."
"You can?" Mikey gaped.
"Of course," Yoshi said. He was a specialist in martial arts. He knew about all the pressure points and joints and weakness on a human body. "But first—"
He took the handkerchief from Mikey's small hands, and wiped away Raph's tears.
"I know you are very brave, my son."
-O-
"Just look at me, Raph," Mikey said. "Don't mind daddy."
Raphael fixed his eyes on the smiling face of his baby brother. And when his father touched his shoulder again, he couldn't help but tense up.
"Relax, my son," Yoshi said, "Forget about my presence."
"How's that possible?" Raph snorted. His father was right there, a hand on his funny shoulder.
"Just look at me. You're goin' to be fine, Raphie," Mikey said, holding his brother's left hand, the one lying on Raph's lap, shaking.
"I will count to three," Yoshi said, resting his hands on his son's upper arm and shoulder. "One…two…"
Mikey stared at him with his clear, big eyes. Raph started to study the freckles on his brother's cheeks—this would keep him occupied…
He bit his lip when the pain rose up. But then it was done. The next moment he found himself securely locked in Mikey's arms.
"Tell ya you'll be fine," Mikey was saying, "Now you're good again!"
Raph smiled and held his brother tightly.
[Some years later]
"Why does he have to be so stubborn?" Donnie moaned as Raph stormed into his bedroom, "Why doesn't he just let me dress the wounds? Jesus!"
"Ya have to ask?" Mikey grinned, "He's the Raphael for God's sake! Haven't you heard of the latest movie 'The Good, The Bad, and The Raphael'? Wait till he rips his third pillow apart this month. After that, he'll come out."
"Who dared to fight him today? Man it's only the second day of high school." Donnie asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "Who's that unfortunate bastard?"
"I heard that the name's Casey Jones," Mikey answered. "Leo said the fight was epic. LEO SAID, EPIC!"
"Can't believe Leo'd say something like that," Donnie muttered.
"He did!" Mikey laughed.
They heard the bedroom open with a crack. And the drained-from-his-own-rage red-haired teen came out, still wearing the white t-shirt stained with his own blood.
"Nice to see you, Raph," Mikey smiled.
Raph smirked weakly.
"Tell ya what, Mikey. Yer wrong. My pillow's fine."
—The End.
-A/N: What do you guys think? Maybe I'm good at fluff too LOL! If you have any ideas on a topic or situation you wanna read you can tell me! I can't promise I'll use them but I might be inspired and write a good drabble or one-shot!