Description: This story takes part when the turtles were still just kids. It's kind of based in the 2003 universe but can be read and understood whether you have watched that series or not.
Cheerful laughter echoed through the sewer as two young mutant turtles ran through the seemingly endless maze of tunnels. Feeling in the mood for a competition, Leo slightly increased his speed, silently challenging his younger brother. Realizing almost instantly what his older brother was doing, Raph smiled and darted forward, accepting the challenge and momentarily turning their game of "Follow the leader" into a race.
And so, the two of them sped through the twists and turns of the labyrinth they had come to know as part of their home. They were neck and neck for the most part, even though Leo had to slow down every time they came to a fork in their path since Raph was technically still playing the "leader" in their little game and so it was his choice which way they should go.
As they speeded around yet another corner, they finally had to bring their race to a close as they approached an end to the tunnel. Both of the turtle siblings slowed their run in till they came to a stop near the end of the tunnel. As they came closer they saw that it wasn't only the end of the tunnel, but the end of the path they were taking all together. The way they had hoped to go was cut off by a deep rift between the tunnel they were standing in and the one on the other side, with nothing but a pipe connecting the two. Looking over the edge Raph could see the waters from the heavy rains they had recently rage far below. Looking up and down between the pipe and the tunnel on the other side, a daring smile spread across the hot headed ninja's face.
"Come on." He simply said as he stepped onto the pipe, intending to use it as a bridge. He seemed to ignore the creaking sound the old pipe made under his weight.
"Wait! Raph are you out of you're mind?" Leo questioned as he stepped away from the edge of the rift. "If you fall off of that thing you'll be dead."
"Nah, it's fine. See?" He replied, lifting one of his legs and balancing on one foot while still standing on the pipe.
This made Leo flinch, almost as if someone had just pinched him. Looking down at the pipe, he really didn't feel like this was a good idea what so ever.
"Raph, that thing looks like it could collapse at any moment. Please just get off of there and let's go home." Leo asked again, hoping that his stubborn brother would see sense just this once and do as he asked.
But he didn't. Instead Raph just gave him a teasing smile. "You're not scared, are you?"
This actually caused a cold chill to run down Leo's spine. He was scared. More than that, he was terrified. He hated heights. Thought he would probably never admit this to anyone, he was terrified of them. He could still remember, after Mikey had almost fallen off of a ladder while they were playing, how the nightmares had started. Now he could barely look down while standing on something relatively high without feeling the panic start up in his mind.
"Fine." Raph continued after not receiving an answer. "Stay there if you want."
"Wait!" The eldest turtle tried again, but to no avail. Raph completely ignored him and continued making his way across the rift.
Leo felt stuck. He couldn't imagine having to actually cross the pipe, but if Raph was serious about this, then he couldn't just let his younger brother go on alone either. Taking a deep breath as if to calm himself, he made a choice.
"Hold on." He leaned forward. Peeking nervously over the edge Leo could feel his heart already start to beat faster in his chest.
"Hey! Are you coming or what?!" Raph called, having already crossed the pipe about half way.
Squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, Leo tried to rid himself of the fear that bubbled up inside of him. "It's not that bad. It's not that bad. It's not that bad." He repeated in his head, taking another deep breath and stepping closer to the pipe. No way was he going to let Raph know he was afraid. If he did, his brother would surely think him weak. And he can't be weak, he's the eldest. He's the one who's supposed to be strong.
Slowly but surely Leo started walking across the pipe, doing his best not to look down. The first step onto the pipe surprised him with how cold the metal was under his bear feet. Step by step he followed behind Raph. They both had their arms stretched out to their sides, making them look like two acrobats walking a tightrope.
It wasn't long before the red clad turtle reached the other side, having moved quite a bit faster than his older brother. With a grin of pride that he had made it he turned around to check what was taking Leo so long.
"See, no sweat! Now come on, you're moving slower than a snail!" He couldn't help but poke fun at his sibling. It wasn't exactly every day that he could do something so much better than his older brother.
Leo however, hardly even registered the words that were being spoken to him. His heart was racing now, and despite the fact that he and the others were technically cold blooded it felt as though his blood was boiling. "Come on. You can do it. Just a few steps, easy right?" But with every step he took it seemed to get more and more difficult to keep the panic he was experiencing down. Though he tried to resist it his eyes kept glancing down, only to be confronted with the view of a seventy meter drop. Soon he realized that he wasn't moving forward at all any more.
"Leo?" There was a touch of concern in Raphael's voice now. Something was wrong, he could feel it. His brother never acted like this, this wasn't like him at all.
"Hey, stop fooling around bro. Get over here and let's go!"
Leo didn't budge. He couldn't. Even if he tried, he couldn't move. For the first time in his young live, Leonardo was frozen with fear. He had given up on trying not to look down and was now staring at the raging waters so far below, his eyes wide.
Raph was taken aback at the sight. He had never before seen Leo this way. He could see his legs shaking as he stood there, clearly unable to move.
To make matters worse, it started to become clear that Leo was right to be concerned about the stability of the pipe. As it gave jet another loud creak, Raph noticed that it had began sagging.
"Leo! Snap out of it! Get over here now!" No response. It was as if Raph's words hadn't reached his brother at all. Now his heart was beginning to speed up as well. Seeing the pipe sag a bit more, he realized just how bad this could get if they didn't do something soon.
As it turns out, soon came a bit faster than expected. With another loud creak followed by what could be described as a snapping sound the pipe bulged downwards with a jolt. Thankfully the pipe didn't break completely, but the shock of the sudden shift was more than enough to throw off the young ninja's balance.
Without even realizing it Leo let out a small scream as he felt himself topple off of the bending metal cylinder. Instincts kicked in. Reaching out he had just enough time to grab hold of the pipe, folding both his arms as tightly around the metal structure as he could manage.
"Leo!" Raph's heart leaped in his chest. "Oh, no no no!" He could feel panic start to form in the back of his head as he thought of what might happen to his brother if he didn't act.
"Hold on! I'll get you off of there!"
"R-Raph!" His voice shook and tears started forming in the corners of his eyes. He was breathing so fast that he almost started feeling dizzy. "Raph! Please!"
The red clad turtle's mind started to race. What could he do? What could he do?! He tried to step onto the pipe to help his crying brother, only to instantly discard the idea as the pipe threatened them with another loud creak. "Maybe…" He thought. Maybe he could reach him from here. Leo wasn't too far from Raph's end of the pipe, so if he could just reach out far enough.
Kneeling on the ground Raph used one hand to hold onto the pipe for some support and with the other he reached out as far as he could.
"Grab my hand!" He ordered.
Leo didn't answer. Instead he merely shook his head rapidly. He couldn't even think about loosening his hold on the pipe, and yet it would be necessary if he ever wanted to get out of this situation alive.
"Come on bro, please!" Raph was practically begging now. He could feel the pipe bend lower under the weight of his eldest sibling. Tears started stinging his eyes as well, though he didn't even notice as the warm liquid started running down his cheeks.
"I can't Raph. I- I'll fall." Leo rejected the idea with a sob. Feeling his legs dangling in open air he almost started to miss the feeling of the cold metal under his feet.
"Leo, please. Just look at me." This finally got some cooperation from the blue masked turtle. Somewhat hesitantly, Leo forced himself to open his eyes and look up at his brother. Looking into his eyes, Leo could see the fear that Raph was experiencing, just as Raph could see his.
"Trust me." Raph sort of asked, sort of ordered as he tried to reach out his hand even further.
Slowly, as if he had to think about it first, Leo nodded. Taking a deep breath he slowly loosened one arm's hold of the pipe. Then, as the pipe gave another loud groan under his weight, he reached out for Raph's outstretched hand as fast as he could. The second Raphael had his brother's hand firmly grasped in his own he pulled him closer.
Leo finally fully released his hold of the pipe and in a swing like motion Raph pulled him towards the edge and helped him up to safety.
As soon as Leo was back on solid ground he grabbed hold of his brother in a tight hug. The tears that were still streaming down his face now dripped onto Raph's shoulder. Feeling how much Leo was shaking, Raph's overprotective, brotherly instincts kicked in and he wrapped his arms around his brother, returning the hug.
"Hey. It's okay. You're safe now." He whispered to him, hoping that this might calm him down. If only he had known from the beginning that Leo really was afraid of heights, then none of this would have happened, he probably wouldn't even have suggested they do this in the first place. It truly hurt him to see him like this. He never wanted to see any of his brothers like this ever again.
After a while, Leo's sobbing and shaking slowly became less intense as he relaxed. At some point they released the hug and now the two of them were just sitting next to each other.
"You okay?" Raph asked, finally breaking the silence that had hung between them.
"Yeah." Leo answered simply, wiping away some of the last moisture that was still left on his cheeks.
Nodding at his brother's reply, Raph stood up. "Ready to go home?" He asked, holding out his hand for Leo to take. He really wanted to ask him exactly how he felt since he knew he wasn't really okay, but decided not to press the matter any further right now.
Nodding slowly, Leo accepted his brother's hand and Raph helped him onto his feet. Glancing back at the pipe one last time Leo quickly turned his head away and started walking down the tunnel.
Walking side by side, they spent the journey home in silence. Raph merely glanced at his older brother a few times, wondering how long it would take before he would truly be "okay". Remembering the how horrible it was to see his brother so hurt and scared, he decided to take it upon himself to ensure that none of his siblings would ever have to experience something like that again, not if he could do something about it.
Author's note) K, so here's my very first – and hopefully not last – TMNT story. Hope you liked it. If you didn't then I'm sorry that it wasn't what you were looking for. Reviews are always greatly appreciated and criticism is welcomed – If you don't let me know what I need to work on then how can I improve it? Other than that, readers of my other fics please understand that I am still working on those, I've just gotten a case of writer's block so yeah.