Disclaimer: I don't own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in any reincarnation; movies, comics, TV shows, etc
Title: Love And Letters
Summary: Mikey has a secret. Raph has a secret. Both are content to keep their secrets quiet from their older brothers and teacher. But it never works out that way, does it?
Warnings: Gay Mikey and dyslexic Raph.
Chapter Title: Letters Revealed
...
Zelgadis55- Thanks! =)
...
It took him all of three days to give in. Which was, ironically enough, a record.
When Mikey nitpicked, he nitpicked. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, if need be. No one, not even the stubborn wall that was Raph, stood a chance.
And neither did Mikey. All week it had been the same thing; he'd bother him, Raph'd get mad, then suddenly he was being chased around the lair in hopes of dodging his older brother's rather hard fists until Master Splinter or Leo intervened. Rinse and repeat.
For three. Whole. Days.
Raph as pretty sure no one had slept much those few days, and the lack of a good nights rest was driving him up the wall.
Fine, then. He'd spill his guts, take a long nap, then beat the green off his younger brother with reckless abandon.
"It's just a door, you know."
Raph stopped drumming his fingers against the hard cover of his book and wheeled around, hiding it behind his shell. He glared at the cheeky (and somehow still perfectly awake) turtle in front of him.
"I know that."
"Well, you're acting like it's a foreign concept." A pause. "I know that book. That's the one I gave you for Christmas, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, I thought you'd finished it."
He shrugged uncomfortably. "I did, kinda."
"Oh?"
"There's some parts I... don't quite get. I was waitin' for the right chance to ask, but..."
"Oh."
It was best to get the hard part over with first. That way, everything else would be that much easier. "I'm gonna ask Donnie, alright?"
Mikey, if it were possible, brightened up even more. "Really? As in, really really? Awesome!"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't get smug on me."
"Smug? Please, bro. You know me better than that."
"That's what worries me." He tapped the cover of the book nervously. "So, uh, you gonna follow me in or..."
"You want me to come with you?"
"Do I look like I need you there to hold my hand?" He snorted.
"Yeah, kinda." Raph snarled at him threateningly. Mikey chuckled and shook his head. "You're seriously confusing sometimes, you know that?"
"Thanks."
"Anyway. Good luck and all that. Not that you'll need it, or anything. If you need me, I'm gonna go hang with Leo."
"Isn't he mediating with Sensei?"
"...You know what? Never mind. I'm gonna go chill in my room."
"Sounds like a plan." Raph nodded. Mikey gave him a smile and walked down the hall.
Stupid, annoying little brothers. They should come with warning labels.
Raph turned around to face the door and sighed. He could always back out now, but doing that would make him a coward, and Raph was no coward.
Nor was he the kind of guy to knock, so instead he merely pulled open the door and stepped inside.
Unlike Mikey or Leo, Donnie always jumps when he enters the room alone, like he had never expected him to even think of coming near him 'off-hours.' It was more than a little annoying.
He sighed and put down the wires he was messing with. "What do you want, Raph?"
He stood in the doorway a second, shuffling his feet, before finally stomping over with an angry grunt and shoving the open book into his face.
"I need help."
Donnie stared at him as though he were a stranger. "Huh?"
Raph sighed in frustration. "I can't figure out a word." He said through gritted teeth. "I underlined it. Could you help me, please."
The 'please' made it sound more like a demand then a plea, but Donnie took the book anyway, scanning the page with a furrowed brow. "You... You're kidding me, right?"
Raph didn't answer.
"Raph, this... It's not even that complicated of a word. I've seen you work through more difficult words. What is this, a joke?"
Again, no answer.
Donnie looked at him a long moment, then the book. "...Or was there something you were gonna tell me?"
Raph finally looked at him. He'd been staring intently at the wall during the older turtle's rant, but now a single green eye finally slid his general direction.
He watched him out of the corner of his eye a long moment, gathering his courage (not that he needed it, or anything), before speaking. "Words... they get mixed up. Letters, I mean. They look different to me, sometimes. Mike usually helps me out, but you're the genius around here, so..."
Donnie blinked at him. "You're dyslexic? That's it? Raph, come'on. You went to all this trouble for that?"
He stood up from his chair. Raph stepped back, turning to face him fully. His eyes said more than his mouth ever could.
Donnie's jaw almost fell open. "You thought we'd think you were dumb?"
Raph grunted in what could almost pass as agreement and looked away.
Stupid eyes. Stupid genius Donnie. Stupid mixed-up letters. Why couldn't a turtle catch a break around here?
"Raph, come'on. You should know better than that." He put his hand on his shoulder. Raph tensed. "Okay, I admit it. Your not the brightest guy on the planet. Neither is Mikey, or Leo, or Sensei, or me, even. But this-" He waved the book. "Doesn't make you stupid. It makes you different. And I think we all know how that feels."
"Whatever." He jerked away, unwilling to admit that his chest felt the tiniest bit lighter. "Don't go all sappy on me, Don."
"I'm not." He plunked down in his chair and motioned for him to find a seat. "I'll help you."
"Uh, thanks. I guess."
"No need for thanks. Just don't ever keep something like this from us ever again."
Somehow, the moment he told Donnie about his secret, Master Splinter found out, if not sooner. He suspected a certain orange-banded ninja, and swore to himself that he'd make sure to get paired with him tomorrow for training.
Whatever the case was, he opened the door to his room to find the older mutant sitting as stiff as a board on the edge of his bed, paging through his old 'ABCs' book with a frown. Raph felt a small twinge of nostalgia.
"Master Splinter?"
His head jerked up, though Raph didn't doubt that he'd known he was coming long before he'd reached the door. He sighed, shoulders slumping.
"I... should have known."
"Nobody knew, Sensei. That was the point of keeping it a secret."
Master Splinter stood and closed the book with an air of authority. "I will not make excuses, my son. Only... try to be more observant."
Not possible. This was Sensei, after all. He walked over and put the book in his hands without a word.
"Never feel like you are less than others because of this, Raphael. Never again."
The door clicked shut.
Leo never said anything, but he didn't have to be a genius to notice that Leo was spell-checking everything he ever wrote and put two and two together.
But that was okay. It didn't change anything. Except, well, everything.
He didn't have to wait for the room to clear to ask Mikey a question about a book. He didn't have to be the second-last to write something in hopes that Mikey would come in behind him and spot any and all errors in his messy scrawl.
He didn't have to hide anymore.
He had to admit, he could see the appeal in opening up. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
But that doesn't mean they aren't watching. He can feel their eyes on them every time he hands Mikey a comic book, and when he's intently watching his younger brother act out a scene from a game, they notice it, and perhaps even feel a bigger sense of respect for their little brother because of it. They're more aware of them, more understanding, and more interested.
And that's okay. Raph can live with that.
Author's Note: So... This is the end. The end of a really short story, but the end nonetheless.
This story has now made me fully headcanon that Raph is dyslexic. Mikey... well, I'm not quite sure. But I've managed to sell myself on Raph. That's... kinda geeky, now that I think of it.
Oh well. Thank you for reading this! It's been fun (for me, at least)!
Until my next TMNT story!
-Mandaree1
No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!