Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the TMNT franchise or the characters in it. I don't own the song "Yellow".
Hurtful words were thrown back and forth across the room. The words were propelled by anger and misunderstanding. They were the type that fell like punches and would sting for days. Like one giant slap to the face.
Donatello was tired of listening to them argue. He'd heard it all before.
Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow
Pointed accusations. Underlying fears torn to the surface. Flaws revealed, mocked under the harsh light of another's scorn.
Unnoticed, Don walked out of the Lair leaving his brothers to their fight. He knew what would happen next. Raphael would run. No one would hear from him for days. Leonardo would isolate himself in regret and immerse himself in his training. Either way, both would be unreachable. Untouchable by either physical or mental distance. It didn't matter. The result was always the same. Donatello had seen it all before. He didn't need to see it again.
The door closed behind him.
I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called "Yellow"
Michelangelo winced. Even from his room, even above the sound of Leonardo and Raphael fighting, even hidden beneath his protecting sheets, he heard the door shut. Donatello had left. Why wasn't Splinter doing anything? Why didn't he stop them? It shouldn't be like this!
Leo and Raph shouldn't have to fight! Why couldn't they just get along like they used to? Why was everything so unfair? Why couldn't they all just be happy?
Pounding footsteps. The Lair door creaked as it was swung open. Silence reigned after it slammed shut.
Mikey shut his eyes and turned towards the wall. Pulling the covers tighter around himself, he ignored the tears that leaked from between his eyelids.
Couldn't they just get along?
So then I took my time
Oh what a thing to've done
And it was all yellow
Splinter meditated. The argument outside would take its natural course and soon everything would be back to normal. He didn't need to interfere.
Splinter knew how hard it was on his sons to live this particular lifestyle. Hidden from the world. Leonardo had been chosen to lead and the others to follow. It worked well to keep his family safe, but did it allow for their happiness? Splinter had never been quite sure of his answer, though at times he had thought he was. Now he questioned his decision again.
What if he had chosen one of his other sons to lead? Or even none at all? Would that have somehow avoided the conflict now occurring in their home? Somehow, he didn't think so. Leonardo and Raphael had always been competitive. Had always had conflicting ideas and and understandings of right and wrong. They were two very different beings, spirits.
Splinter didn't know the answers to his questions. He knew that if he interfered now nothing would change. So he continued to meditate and search for his answers.
Outside his room, a door slammed shut.
Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know? You know I love you so
You know I love you so
He ran as far away from the fight- maybe not the fight, maybe his brother, maybe himself- as he could. Raphael's footfalls echoed behind him even as the memory of the expression on Leo's face chased him. Snippets of the words said, the accusations that had been thrown seemed to drag at his heels.
"You're not the boss of me!"
"Hothead! You could have gotten us killed" For once Leo had looked angry.
"Oh yeah? What was I supposed to do? Let them kill her?"
I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh what a thing to do
'Cause you were all yellow
"No," Leo's mouth was a firm line, his eyes narrowed, "But you should have waited for us! You could have been killed!"
"Yeah well, what do you care?"
The words caught up and floated past his ears. Could have been killed... No... Hothead... Should have waited...
The angry look- not angry, shocked, betrayed, hurt- on his brother's face accompanied Raphael's guilty thoughts.
He kept running.
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow
Leonardo watched the door close. What just happened? Shock, betrayal, and hurt rearranged into something unidentifiable. For a moment he just stood in front of the door with this non-expression on his face. The moment passed.
He should know better by now. He shouldn't risk our family like that! Leo walked to Mikey's bedroom and stood in the doorway. Maybe if I'd kept up with him this wouldn't have happened. No... If he hadn't run ahead of us none of this would have happened. Why can't Raphael just stop running! It doesn't help anything!
Leo stood in the doorway and watched Mikey sleep. He looked so young, vulnerable. Mikey's eye ridges were drawn together ever so slightly. The corner of his mouth was turned down; frowning in his sleep.
Leo's non-expression changed to match Michelangelo's. His shoulders dropped and he sighed.
Neither does this.
Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know? For you I bleed myself dry
For you I bleed myself dry
Raphael climbed the fire escape and entered the room. He looked back out the window at the rain. He didn't need a cold while he was gone. It was late and dark; no one would notice him if he waited it out here for a while. Unfortunately, he had chosen his escape poorly. Something stirred in the room.
He turned his back to the window and looked for the source of the noise. His eyes met the sight of toys scattered across the floor, children's books in a pile next to a small dresser, and a little bed.
A little girl sat up in her bed and looked through the dark at him. He didn't move, hoping she wouldn't see him and go back to sleep. She saw him.
"Hello." Her quiet voice carried through the silence.
Uncertain. Gruff. "Hi."
It's true
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for
Splinter had left his room and was now watching his sons sleep. Both of them seemed calm, peaceful in their sleep as opposed to earlier events which certainly weren't. Splinter was glad Leonardo had fallen asleep, otherwise he knew Leo would be tearing himself apart from the inside out. For once the cycle had deviated.
Leo's face was uncommonly open as he slept. He looked as if he had come to terms with a hard decision and that he would be fine whatever the outcome. He lay on top of the sheets towards his youngest brother. From Splinter's view from the doorway, Leo's position was decidedly protective.
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for
Michelangelo's features were arranged to show worry and concern. He was on his side, curled loosely in the fetal position. His chin rested on his plastron.
As Splinter turned to leave the floor creaked. Michelangelo shifted. He brought his head up so it lightly touched his brother's plastron and his knees were drawn up closer to his chin. Seeking comfort; he found some. Some of the worry left Mikey's face. Splinter saw this from over his shoulder.
He left then. He wouldn't meditate any more tonight and would instead get some sleep of his own.
Perhaps they will find their own answers.
Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do
Donatello had been sitting there for hours now. He continued to look out of the grate into the night sky. Soon it wouldn't be night anymore. The sky was already beginning to lighten. Leaning against the sewer wall with his legs pulled up to his chest, he tilted his head back and looked for stars.
He'd never been able to understand why people insisted on polluting. The had all that beauty right above their heads, yet they couldn't see its value. These were the people that his family tried to help. He shook his head to get rid of these thoughts. You can't see stars through smog. As it was, he could only make out a few dim stars above his head. He'd seen Pinocchio and heard children's rhymes about wishing on stars, but Donatello has never actually tried it. He'd never had the time or the inclination.
But tonight he really wanted a wish. Gazing at the stars, he picked the brightest one and wished harder than he had ever wished before.
Coming home early, Raphael watched his brother from the shadows. Looking up through the grate, he wished with his brother.
"I wish everything would be okay."