Disclaimer: TMNT, the characters, canon storyline etc. do not belong to me and I have no rights to them. The copyright lies with Viacom or Nickelodeon (I'm not sure of the current owner). I do not earn any money with this fanwork, I write just for fun.
And After
There was no skyline left to look at.
The few buildings from the old times were in danger of collapsing and the broken windows reminded Raphael of grieving dark eyes. Thankfully the roof of the ramshackle townhouse he had settled down on was still more or less intact.
Dusk was close, the sun already tinted brightly in orange and red. He leant back against the metal grate on the stairway top. The slight breeze the city had been gifted with that day turned livelier and whipped his jacket and bandana tails around.
He could hear the noises below him. With the downfall of Shredder's empire optimism returned to the country at a rate to be proud of. The people busied themselves with rebuilding, cleaning up the wreckage the regime left behind and restoring a nearly lost sense of confidence.
They laughed and talked and the voices were carried up to the turtle on the roof.
He could join them, work with them and celebrate their victory. But he was content with his windswept look out point and the half full bottle of moonshine Casey had gifted him with all those years ago. (It tasted bitter sweet.)
And then someone was there, right behind him. There was some rustling and the person settled down on the platform right next to him. Agonizing moments of silence followed.
He took a respectable gulp and clutched the bottle neck as if he wanted to strangle it.
"Were have ya been, Don? Were have ya been all this years?"
A sigh.
"Everywhere and nowhere, Raph."
Raphael's hand shook as he lifted the booze up again. From the corner of his remaining eye he watched him, taking in everything.
Like the rest of them Donatello seemed to have developed a taste for human clothing. He wore jeans and boots along with a coat similar to Leo's and nearly as worse to wear. Next to him sat a heavy duffle covered with patches. There was no bo in sight.
His brother just sat there, slightly hunched and an expression on his face which might have been guilt. Suddenly Raph roared.
"The fuck, Donnie! Ya stupid fucker, you just vanished from the face of the earth, no word, nothing! WHO DO YA THINK YOU ARE?!" And then softer, "We needed you – I needed you."
Raphael empty fist found his brother's face with the precision and power of a sledge hammer. The ugly sound of compressed flesh and breaking teeth and bones filled the darkening New Yorker sky and brought a short but liberating satisfaction to the initiator.
Donatello's head snapped back, he lifted his hand to his mouth and it came back bloody. A strangled cough and two splintered teeth feel in his palm. He looked at them with sad eyes before locking his gaze with Raphael.
"I'm sorry." Don whispered quietly. "I didn't know that anyone would care."
A hoarse groan left Raph's throat. It sounded suspiciously like a sob.
"Ya stupid, stupid son of a bitch...!"
And then Raph wrapped his arms around his little brother, so tight as if he were determined to break Don's bones. He could feel the stickiness of the blood on his left shoulder but he did not care. It was proof that Donnie really was there with him, sitting on the rooftop, hugging and bleeding all over him.
Flesh and blood. No hallucination.
They remained that way for quite awhile. The sun, crimson red and fiery, vanished behind the horizon, leaving some stray rays of her light to linger.
When they separated there was nothing to say anymore. Raph's gaze left Don's aged face and wandered over the remains of New York City. He felt strangely content with the situation.
His temper wanted him to bash Don's head in some more for leaving them but his soul was simply happy to have it's lost part back again, still in one piece, back were it belonged.
The wind lived up yet again; Raph stood up and held out his bandaged hand.
"Now, ya idiot, ya'll face the music. If yer lucky ya'll survive Leo's dressing-down without losing to much dignity. And Mikey…, we'll see."
Don smiled uncertainly, showing off his newly acquired and still bloody tooth gap. He hesitated briefly before he took Raph's outstretched hand.
"I look forward to it."
And then they were running together again, on top the broken down roofs and walls. Not as light-footed and nimble like all those years ago and surely not as quiet.
For some precious moments Raph could fool himself into thinking that everything might turn out alright.