gladrial prompted "don't leave"
ooo
"I'm only stayin' to shut you up," Raphael grumbled as he clambered into bed next to Michelangelo, who cowered beneath the covers and gazed at him with wide, fearful eyes. "But you bug me while I sleep and I'm outta here, got it?"
"Thank Raphie," Michelangelo smiled in relief and tried to snuggle up to his big brother.
"Hey! Quit it!" Raphael scowled and shrugged him off. "Don't paw me neither. Stick to your side of the bed."
The two settled down, Raphael tugging the blanket up to their chins and turning his shell determinedly to his baby brother, closing his eyes against the dark room. For a moment there was silence and then Michelangelo whispered: "Raph? Do you think Freddie could get us inour dreams?"
Raphael scowled against the pillow. "No. It's just a movie. Quit bein' such a baby."
"But how do you know, Raph? The movie says you make him strong by being scared of him and I'm scared."
"Freddie's not real, Mikey!" Raphael almost shouted, before catching himself and lowering his voice to a harsh whisper, turning over in bed to glare at Michelangelo through the shadows. In the dimness, he could just see the gleam of his brother's terrified eyes, catching what little light emitted from the digitial display on the VCR. He sighed and rolled his eyes back. "But if you even whimper once in your sleep, I promise I'll wake you up, okay?"
Michelangelo brightened. "Promise?"
Raphael nodded curtly. "Yeah. Now go to sleep!"
"Thanks Raphie," Michelangelo said again and happily snuggled down, closing his eyes. A moment later and his breathing evened out, a faint snore wheezing through his snout. Raphael rolled his eyes again and tugged the covers up closer around his face, his gaze flickering to the deep shadows of the room. It was just a movie. Make believe. Special effects and junk. None of it was real.
Good thing Michelangelo had asked him to stay. He would never have figured out a believable excuse on his own.
