A/N: This story's main idea and its title was extracted from korean band Infinite's video clip Before the Dawn [ watch?v=JvNUilVWFDs]. There will be hints of fantasy and supernatural, and A LOT of angst, emotional hurt and desperation, but a lot of bonding, fluffy (as fluffy as they can get being trapped anyway lol) and t-cest too. Enjoy! :)
He didn't know exactly where they were. The air was cold and his body was slightly wet. His muscles screamed in pain and his eyes burned, even though his surroundings were dark. The only light came from the moon, sipping through the bars that Leonardo concluded belonged to a window.
He blinked his eyes again and took a deep breath, feeling his throat scratch. Leonardo could not remember when or how he had ended up in that place.
He could remember patrolling as usual. The four of them had split in two teams. Mikey with Donatello and Leonardo with Raphael. Leonardo remembered grunting mentally for having to partner with the hothead when he was on one of those moods, but as the oldest and the leader, the responsibility of dealing with the sai-wielder laid on him.
He was in the middle of a hot argument with Raphael about something... He didn't quite remember what. Probably something useless. Raphael never missed the opportunity to criticize and prick his oldest brother, and their fights were nothing new. Anyway, Leonardo vaguely remembered being in a dark alley, while watching from a distance a group of Purple Dragons.
Raphael was ready to attack, both his sais on his hands, when Leonardo held his arm.
Leo didn't remember the following events after the tranquilizer dart that hit his bicep. He only knew that was some big dose and something bad must have happened, because his body hurt a lot.
Leonardo didn't know who was behind that attack; though he was not surprised someone considered them their enemy. The turtles were used to being targets of kidnappings, ambushes and violent battles. It was the destiny they've chosen. Leo knew the author of the attack would show up sometime. He just hoped his headache and pain on his body wouldn't be enough for him to pass out.
His eyes – grown more used to the dark – carefully scanned the place. Leonardo ignored again the pain he was feeling, focusing around.
He was in some kind of cell, and there was a bed with white sheets and an equally white pillow. On his right, a shower and a toilet. Nothing more than that. The cell bars were worn out and rusty, though Leo concluded they were not exactly old, given the fact they weren't locked by a key. Actually, there wasn't any kind of lock. Apparently, there was some kind of control that made the cell door open and close.
It wasn't possible to see much outside the cubicle. The place was wide though, and the walls had a dark brown color. The place as a whole had a dark color, making it even more difficult to get a sense of where he was.
His good hearing could sense some unsteady breaths around him, giving him the new information that he wasn't alone. He chose not to scream or try to interact though, since he didn't know whether they were enemies or prisoners like himself.
No one had told him, but the only conclusion he could get was that not only he was kidnapped, but beaten and drugged. His thoughts weren't exactly coherent and the willingness to surrender to exhaustion was very appealing.
A groan next to him caught his attention and his heart almost stopped beating.
Raphael!
It was obvious that his brother had also been kidnapped and trapped in that prison, since they were together before passing out.
- Raph? – Leo whispered, so low he almost didn't hear his own voice. His throat was dry, protesting even though Leonardo didn't say anything more than a word.
Raphael groaned again, seeming not able to say anything.
Leonardo collected all strength he got, leaving his previous position on the left corner, next to the bed and crawled to the opposite side where Raph was. Raph was merged to the darkness of the place, the weak moonlight not reaching him.
Leo blindly touched Raph's leg, feeling the gelid temperature of his emerald skin. The cell was damn cold, making Leo's chin tremble a bit.
- Are you ok, Raph? – Leo asked, squinting his eyes so he could examine his brother.
Raphael sighed, feeling his ribcage hurt inside him. His shell was leaning against the wall, though he had no idea where he was. Just moving around demanded more than his exhausted body could afford to offer, so he remained still, vaguely hearing a voice call him.
Probably Leo.
Thank God he was ok.
Aside from horrible pain in his plastron, his leg throbbed so much it was almost unbearable and his neck wouldn't move. His eyes, though partially open, couldn't see one palm before him. The headache bothered him and his arms were heavy.
Raph wasn't sure who the hell the group of men than ran against Leonardo and him on that New York's alley was.
He was sure both Leo and Raph were going to run against a group of Purple Dragons. At least that was he was going to do if Leonardo hadn't tried to stop him.
Raphael closed his eyes tightly, trying to gather his thoughts and remember what happened.
[Flashback]
Leo's blue eyes gleamed with rage from Raph's lack of planning, he was sure of that. That was one the main reasons for their constant bickering. Raph was heart. Leo, on the other hand, was reason. Ying and Yang. Water and fire. White and Black. They had to deal with the consequences of that animosity between them more than once. Raph was ready to throw a pierced look at him and demand Leo to let go.
But before he could to anything, the elder body was laying unconscious on the floor.
Raphael blinked a few times, trying to understand what the hell just happened. Leo was not an easy opponent to beat. The leader was wise, not one for reckless moves and his movements were almost like a dance. He always moved easily, as if he could become one with the air around him.
Leo was always the best opponent to Raphael. The hothead always discounted his frustrations on him. Mostly because Leonardo was the cause of the majority of his frustrations. But Fearless Leader never complained about his role. Actually, Raphael was sure that most of his own frustrations were relieved when Leo's katana found his sais. Forget about that meditation and peace of mind crap.
The blind rage that always accompanied him came back at full strength at the sight of his unconscious brother. The held his sais tightly against his hands, looking around to try to locate the shooter.
Nothing.
Not a goddamn trace.
The Purple Dragons were long forgotten. His heart was beating forcefully against his ribcage, making even breathing difficult. His vision went red at the sight of unconscious Leonardo and his helplessness against the unknown attack.
Raph grunted in frustration, looking around again.
The night was hot and humid. The wind was loud, denoting summer rain was coming. The trees rattled hard, making it difficult to hear any sound that gave the culprit away.
Raph felt his right leg burn then. His eyes looked long enough to see a slightly greenish liquid penetrate his body. His senses became confused and his body tingled. His vision became blurry and his legs threatened to betray him.
One of his knees touched the asphalt as he supported himself in a trash can on his right.
Three men wearing dark vestments approached him and with all strength he had left, Raph stood in front of Leo, serving as a shield against any kind of attack they might strike.
He begged his legs to obey him, getting up with a lot of sacrifice.
- Who the hell are you? – Raph snarled at them.
No answer. They were coming towards him, but Raphael refused to give in.
Being sure no one was going to give him the information he wanted, the red-clad turtle ran towards the group, feelings his legs wobble.
He couldn't see their features, as they all wore gas masks. They didn't seem armed, but Raphael concluded all their weapons were hidden inside the black coats they wore when his sai blade collided against one of the man's kunais. The sound of blade against blade echoed thought the street. Raphael was ready to stick his other sai on the waist of the man he was fighting against, when he felt a sharp sting on his neck.
He backed off, touching the place he had been hurt.
- Quit the dirty play! – He practically growled, once again not having any clue of where that fukibari that hit his neck came from.
Fukibaris usually were filled with poison. He was sure he had been poisoned when his eyesight – already blurred – darkened even more. His body grew heavy and his legs gave in.
Raphael crashed against the dirty asphalt, next to Leonardo. Aside the tranquilizer dart still on his biceps, Leo seemed to be fine. Good.
His last move was to throw his sai against the group. They were only observing him, still not saying a word. He tried to reach one of Leo's katanas that were on his shell, but a kusarigama nailed on his left thigh and stopped him.
The sharping pain took away all the strength he had left. His scream echoed through the alley and his leg got a little bit wet. His blood ran through the deep cut.
Raph used the last bit of consciousness to stare at the former stabber. Unlike the others, he wasn't wearing a gas mask. Instead, he was using a traditional ninja mask.
- This red one was a little bit more difficult to knock out. I see. – That was all Raph heard the ninja mutter, before he lost consciousness.
[/Flashback]
Raph felt his body slightly shaken and got out of his trance. Even though Leonardo touched him gently, his body ached from the touch. He grunted softly, hoping the older would get his discomfort.
Raphael hated to look weak in front of others. Especially in front of Leo. But given the actual situation, that was the least important of his problems. He knew they were in trouble, waiting to find out what that group wanted. He only hoped whatever they wanted, they would say it soon.
- Raph? – Leo tried again, feeling panic rise inside him at the lack of any reaction other than some painful groans.
The taller unfocused eyes met his. Raphael blinked a few times and laughed a bit. Just laughing was enough to send shocks of pain through his body, causing him to cough a few times.
- What kind of face is dat, Fearless? – The sai-wielder asked hoarsely.
Leo exhaled the air was holding and seemed to relax a bit when realized Raph at least was sane. His relief didn't last much as, past the initial shock, the smell of blood invaded his senses. He squinted his eyes through his brothers' body, seeing Raph's plastron rise and fall slowly, arms on his sides. His heart skipped a bit when he found the source of the smell.
The wound on Raph's left thigh seemed deep. His emerald skin was covered with a livid red color, both from the blood and exposed flesh. There was some kind of patch over the cut in an attempt of a bandage, but the fabric was already soaked and wasn't strongly tied against his skin.
Leonardo forced himself to calm down. He was sure panicking wouldn't help, but his hands – trembling from the cold – could barely move to touch Raph's wound.
- Jeezus, Raph. – His voice gave away all the fear Leo was feeling. – What-
- That's not the worse. – Raphael interrupted, knowing his wound caught Leo's attention. – I've been poisoned. Even if I try, I won't be able to move. It took me a long time to find a less painful position.
The older was speechless.
Raph looked so tired.
Leo knew Raph wouldn't show weakness in any other situation. But that seemed to be too much to anyone. Worse than the pain he was feeling, Raph was losing blood constantly and Leo was totally helpless.
He couldn't save himself. He couldn't save Raph. He knew his brother was going to have a hemorrhage if he doesn't stop the bleeding and he had no idea what the poison was doing to Raph's organism.
And then a new feeling invaded him: the feeling of being useless.
He had failed on his brother, losing conscience and allowing Raph to get hurt badly.
And now he was powerless, with nothing but his will to survive and save them both.
Leo took a deep breath, demanding his mind to organize his thoughts and think of what to do. It wasn't a situation he could just sit and meditate on what to do. There was not time.
He looked around him. He stood up with a lot of effort, wobbling and holding onto the bed, pulling out its white sheets.
- You are going to be fine, Raphie. – Leo said, more to himself than to the hothead.
He had to be fine.
He sat by Raph's side and removed the fabric that was previously wrapped on Raph's leg. He tore the sheet on his hands, improvising a bandage around his thigh, tying it firmly. That would have to be enough to stop the bleeding.
- Thanks, bro. – Raph said, smiling weakly. Leo returned the smile.
- I know you can't stand. At least not by yourself. But… - Leo started. – If I help you, do you think you can at least walk to the bed? It's not good for you to be on this cold floor.
Raph stared at his brother's blue eyes. There were a few times he witnessed Leo afraid. That would only happen when one of them was in danger.
And Raphael could say his brother was terrified. But there was a hint of relief for at least getting rid of the first problem: the bleeding. Raphael couldn't tell for sure whether the bandage would stop the bleeding or not, but he hoped so.
For his own good and for Leo's sanity.
The older stared at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.
All Raph wanted was to give in to the exhaustion right there, on the floor, but he nodded.
- Don't get used to me agreeing with you so easily, Fearless. – He teased, not being able to suppress the painful grunt that escaped his lips when Leo helped him stand up, pulling Raph's arm around his neck and circling his other arm around Raph's shell.
- Just a little bit more, Raph. – Leo promised. The path to the bed appeared to take forever, even if they were just a few centimeters away.
Raphael closed his eyes tightly, leaning only on his right leg. Leo lay Raph down on the bed, feeling his knee weigh for sustaining his and the taller one's body.
- There you go. – Leo said when Raph finally was on the mattress. – Not so difficult, was it?
- For you, probably not. For me... totally. – Raph muttered, closing his eyes as Leo sat on the edge of the bed.
Now that Raph was comfy (As comfy as he could get with a wounded leg and poisoned anyway.), Leo could get a better look of his younger brother current situation. His green skin was pale from blood loss and his neck had shades of purple. Other than that, he didn't seem to be injured in any other place.
He touched Raph's forehead softly. No fever. Actually his skin was cold, making him wish he had something to cover him.
There wasn't any blanket, so he gently caressed his face for a while, trying to transfer him some of his body heat, even though he could barely stand the cold himself.
- You better come back to me in the morning, Raph. – He said, even if he had no sense of time. He took Raph's hand with his and squeezed it tightly. Leo caressed his hands' cold skin for a while before kissing it softly.
Leonardo then sat beside the bed on the floor, not knowing when he had given in to the exhaustion.
Also posted AO3. This fic is still not finnished though I already got the idea how it'll end. My job takes a lot of time out of me but I'll try not to take long to update. RxR. :)
