The light was on. That was the first thing that Raph noticed. Leo was using his light. OK, so it really wouldn't seem too unusual for someone to walk into a room and turn on the light but before this moment, the red banded turtle hadn't known that his older brother actually had a light on his ceiling. He had always used the light on his bedside table or lit candles or didn't even use a light period.
Raph rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked into the room and pushed the door closed behind him with his feet. The Fearless Leader had his head buried in a book while he sat on the floor beside his bed.
The younger raised an eye ridge at that but decided not to question it. As he twisted his mouth down, his eyes easily caught the flinch and almost soundless swallow of nervousness as he reached Leo's side. The normally steaming cup of green tea on the bedside table had grown cold.
Leo just didn't do this. He had probably put up the whole charade to fool the others, but heck, they'd had to put up with each other for years, so there was really no reason to even try hiding anything. They were open books when it came to the other members of their family.
The red masked turtle took a seat next to his older brother. Stinking cold, stone floor. Did the idiot have to sit here?
Raph's frown twisted up into a smirk when he spotted a definite clue that would give it away to any and everyone that this whole setup was a hoax.
"What?" Leo whispered while he glared into the page he was already reading.
"OK Fearless, you can either stop the act or turn the book right side up," Raph said, reaching out and righting the upside down piece of literacy that the eldest had had his face buried.
The embarrassed look on the elder's face made Raph laugh out loud before he asked, "Are you gonna drop it now?"
Leo closed his eyes, face burning. He thought he had actually put up a good cover front. As if listening exactly to those words, the eldest let the book slip through his fingers and clatter to the floor.
"What do you want?" the blue banded turtle asked as he looked to the side at empty air.
Raph rolled his eyes and handed the plate of pizza over, "You didn't eat."
The eldest just stared at the plate.
"And these."
Leo jerked back when his katanas appeared in front of him, his eyes wide as they fell on his crossed legs while he clutched the plate tightly in his hands, fearing he might break it, but at the same time, not really caring if he did.
A calloused hand on his shoulder made the eldest look his younger brother in the eyes for the first time in hours. There was the normal anger, normal rage, normal over-protective nature and everything else in his eyes that made Raphael, well, Raphael.
"How long you gonna prolong this?" Raph asked, removing his hand from Leo's shoulder and crossing his arms over his plastron. Shell, he'd prefer to get all of this over tonight. If any of them are off during training in the morning, then Splinter would prolong it until someone had a literal breakdown.
Of course they all had their forms of mental breakdowns. Leo would go mute, Mikey would act more like Raph himself, Don would spill everything and start on his unlimited number of theories based on this and that and Raph, well, he'd get angry. OK, angrier. And he'd probably punch someone or something.
"What do you want me to say?" Leo asked quietly, staring determinedly down at his plate now, his concentrated sight trying to push the sight of the swords in his lap far from his vision of the world.
"How about, I'm sorry?" Raph said, unfolding his arms and glaring.
"That won't fix anything."
The red banded turtle reached over and turned Leo's face towards him, "Pay attention before I knock ya lights out bro."
Leo looked at him but stared past, right over his shoulder. Raph almost growled but he swallowed the urge before trying those 'deep breathing' exercises that their sensei said was supposed to help them. It worked for a good three seconds before his glare at Leo intensified.
An almost inaudible gulp again, but not from fear of a physical out lashing. Shell, Leo probably expected it. Stupid emotional brother.
Again. He wasn't really one to talk, now was he?
"It won't fix this."
Leo glanced down at his hands, seeing all too familiar blood on them that really wasn't there. Glare still in place Raph forced Leo to look up at him again.
"Try me."
OK and I just want to give a big Hello out there to N Jas J. Just wanted to thank you for all the reviews and messages. You rule and I might make this fluffy, might not. You know how those 'jerks' are out there. I write brotherly fluff, random people label it as incest because they're ticked off and I'm reported.
*Shakes head* Well, I'll see what comes to mind.
Thanks again.
Now, the challenge. Type out the most annoying symbol on your keyboard or mention it if you can't type it up. Like that Spanish N, I can never find on any of my keyboards!
*Eye twitch.*
ñ
Or that infinity symbol!
Seriously, can't we just get like, an extra row of keys for these symbols?
~Moonsetta
