Finally, it's time for Raph to meet Leo. I don't own tmnt.
Leo Returns: Raph
Raph pushed his motorcycle speed to the limit, narrowly avoiding several cars along with a few trees and trashcans. He could hardly stand it in the lair tonight. It had been two months since Leo had left, and they'd heard nothing as far as when he'd come back. For some reason, Raph just couldn't stay in the lair. Mikey was planning on making spaghetti while Don fixed the microwave. Splinter was meditating in his room.
Raph had nothing to do. He'd wrecked his punching bag this afternoon, there was nothing good on the TV, and at the moment he didn't have a spotter for lifting weights. Casey was spending the evening with April. The only thing to do was head out on the Shell Cycle and hope for some action.
As Raph raced down the streets, his thoughts drifted to Leo. He couldn't help but feel both angry and ashamed when his brother entered his mind. The oldest turtle was always in the others' business, the first one to help and encourage communication if any of them were troubled. Yet Leo was a closed book when it came to his own feelings. If Leo had just talked to them, let them know he was hurting, then maybe matters wouldn't have come to this. He might not have injured Splinter and have to be sent away to find someone to help him. He might still be with them.
On the flip side, Raph knew it was partly their fault too. None of them bothered to confront Leo about his behavior. Sure, they knew something was wrong, but they always believed Leo would handle it himself, even when for months the issues only got worse, including the way Leo acted towards them and Master Splinter. Especially Master Splinter. That alone should have set off warning bells in their minds. But it didn't. All they did was gape and wonder about it, they never confronted him.
They could have though. Raph was sure that if all three of them teamed up, they could have found some way to convince Leo to open up. Heck, they probably could have siced Mikey on Leo to annoy him until he agreed to talk.
Raph slowed down as he neared the docks. He'd never admit this to his family, but for the first two weeks after Leo left, Raph would frequently drive to the docks. He didn't know why. He just always felt closer to his brother here. That, and it was a place he could really be alone to think his thoughts.
Looking out to sea, his thoughts drifted to the time he and the others set out to blow up Shredder's boat. Leo had somehow convinced Karai to listen to her sense of honor or whatever, and she hadn't been able to kill him. Raph would never have been able to do that. He would've just attempted to hurt her for breaking her promise. But Leo…
That was one of the things Raph couldn't always understand about him. Leo, for some reason, saw friends where he and the others saw enemies, including Quarry (or Sydney) and Traximus. It was probably the same principle that led him to see Karai as a possible friend, or at least an ally. He cringed. Karai stabbing Leo probably hurt the leader more than his brothers could imagine. That comment he made back at the farm probably hadn't helped. He'd been regretting that for a long time and wished he could tell Leo that.
His eyes widened. Something was moving through the docks. Quiet. Stealthy. He glared. Only a ninja could move like that. And ninjas skulking around the docks at night usually meant trouble somewhere.
He drew his sais, tackling the ninja as it passed him, pinning him to the ground, and threatened grievous harm if Raph didn't get answers. At least, that was what Raph intended to do.
Unfortunately, he only succeeded in tackling the unknown ninja before he was thrown off and into a crate. Raph heard swords drawn. He leaped to his feet and yelled as he launched himself toward the ninja again. The ninja froze, then leapt aside at the last minute.
"Raph?" Raph froze. No way! Was it really-
The ninja stepped into the streetlight, revealing Leo, who also stared at Raph as if unsure it was really him.
Raph jammed his sais back into his belt and joined his brother under the street light.
Leo's face betrayed unease, unsure how Raph would react to seeing him again.
"When did you get back?"
"I just left the ship," answered Leo, gesturing to a boat about fifty feet away as he continued to search Raph's face.
Raph couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face anymore. "I'm glad you're back bro." He placed his hand Leo's shoulder.
"Me too," Leo replied, the tension draining from his face. "What are you doing here?"
"I got bored in the lair, so I came up here. It's just, kind of peaceful, you know." Raph didn't want to admit the real reason he sometimes drove up here, but Leo could read between the lines. Thankfully, he left it at that. "Sorry about attacking you," he said, changing the subject.
"It's cool. You probably thought I was up to something."
"Yeah," he trailed off. Do it now! he ordered himself, and continued before he lost his nerve. "Hey Leo. I'm sorry about these last few months."
"What are you sorry about?" asked Leo, completely flummoxed.
"I should've confronted you about your problems earlier, but I didn't. And I'm sorry about what I said on the farm about Karai stabbing you."
"Don't worry about it Raph. Yeah, you guys never talked to me, but it's not like I came to you asking for help."
"The way you were acting should have told us you needed help."
"It's okay, Raph, you-"
"Just accept my apology, okay Leo. It ain't exactly easy for me to say." His eyes bore holes into Leo.
Leo sighed. "Okay, I accept your apology."
"Thanks,"
The atmosphere became strained, each brother wanting to return to a better footing, yet neither knowing how.
An idea sparked in Raph's head. "I rode my bike up here. Want a lift?" he asked as he rolled the bike out and got on. He laughed to himself at Leo's face. He didn't usually let people ride his bike.
Leo stunned expression melted into a grin. "Sure," he replied as he joined his brother.
"Don't think I'm gonna take it nice and easy just because you're back. This ride's gonna be wild," Raph warned as he tossed Leo the spare helmet.
"That's what I'm counting on!" Leo retorted as he wrapped his arms around Raph's shell.
Raph grinned.
The city of New York rang with the sound of the two brothers' laughter. With Leo back, enthusiasm and adrenaline penetrated Raph's body, and it showed in his stunts and tricks with his bike. He accelerated and braked at completely random intervals, and turned corners with such speed that their knees came within a foot of the road.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
By the time they arrived at the warehouse with the elevator, both turtles were breathing hard from laughing. Raph couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun with Leo. The best part; they hadn't fought the entire way home. Not once. It had been a nice change.
"I can't wait to see the others faces when you show up," Raph said as the two headed for the elevator.
"How has everyone been?"
"Okay. We definitely missed ya though."
The elevator door opened. As Raph started to step in, Leo hesitated.
"You okay?" Raph asked.
"Well-"
"Look, Leo," said Raph, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder, "none of us are mad at ya. Not even Splinter. He's forgiven ya, bro. Trust me on that. And everyone's gonna be happy to see ya."
Leo smiled slightly. "Thanks Raph," he said as he joined his brother in the elevator.
When the door opened to the lair, a strong smell of spaghetti and meat sauce assaulted their nostrils. Leo's face grew hungry and his stomach growled. Raph smirked. "Hungry?"
Leo blushed. "I couldn't exactly steal a lot of the food on the ship without raising suspicions, okay."
Raph chuckled.
"About time you got back Raphie-boy! The spaghetti's been done for a whole five minutes already." Mikey's voice called from the kitchen.
"Mikey also goofed up the recipe and made a double batch instead, so we're going to have a lot of leftovers." Donnie's voice piped up with a groan. There were already too many leftovers in the fridge.
"Well, excuuuuse me! You opened the cook book to the wrong page, braniac."
"That was you, chucklehead! I've been in the lab all day. Raph only went into the kitchen to hit the fridge and Sensei only searched for tea bags."
Silence followed Donnie's comeback, broken only when Mikey started muttering to himself.
Raph laughed. "Relax guys, we've got an extra for dinner tonight."
"And who is this extra, Raphael?" asked Splinter.
"Someone," Raph replied as he turned the corner with Leo following behind. Splinter was the first to glance up. He froze.
"Leonardo?"
Don and Mikey's faces shot toward Raph and Leo and stared. Raph turned and grinned at Leo.
"Uh, hey everyone," Leo greeted them nervously.
Mikey jumped onto Leo, nearly smothering him in a hug while Donnie approached.
"Come on Mikey, let Donnie see him," Raph ordered as he and Don gently pried Mikey off of Leo.
The two calmer turtles gripped each others arms and grinned. "It's great to see you, Leo." Don voice was soft, but no one could mistake the sincerity behind his words.
Leo smile widened. "It's great to see you too, Donnie."
"My son." Master Splinter approached, smiling while at the same time studying his eldest son.
Leo returned the smile; despite his nervousness, he really was glad to see his Sensei again. Splinter's smile grew wider as he realized that indeed that Leo had returned to them. The real Leo, his son.
"Welcome home." The happiness behind those words drove away all of Leo's fears as he knelt in front of his father.
"I'm glad to be home Sensei." Silence stretched, a happy silence where everyone simply enjoyed basking in the fact that Leo was home and himself again, only to be broken when Leo's stomach growled again.
If Leo were human, his face would've turned beet red. His brothers howled with laughter and even Splinter chuckled.
"Well, looks like someone's hungry," Mikey commented while Don quickly set a place for Leo. "So, Leo, does Japanese spaghetti taste any different?"
"I wouldn't know. I didn't have any."
"What? You mean to tell me you haven't had spaghetti for two months! No pizza! Cake! Cookies!" Mikey exclaimed, growing desperate and horrified as Leo continued to shake his head.
Raph grinned. Classic Mikey, he thought as the youngest turtle's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets.
"Dude, you are so eating a double serving tonight. And at least half of the leftover pizza and the cookies and cake I'm baking tomorrow. Two months with nothing good. How are you still alive?" Mikey asked dramatically as he piled Leo's plate high with what resembled more a triple serving than a double and covering the whole thing in sauce that nearly ran off the plate onto the table.
Oh, yeah, Raph thought. Things are definitely getting better. He couldn't wait to hear about the new ways Leo learned to kick butt.
The End
