'Okay, who wants to start saying something?' Leo asked
Everybody was deadly silent. Then the most unlikely person to say a word, opened his mouth
'I want to' Raph said
The others looked at him with big eyes. Most of the time when they had a family meeting like this one, Raphael just sat there looking grumpy and keeping his mouth shut.
Finally, Leo had recovered enough to reply: 'Ok then… Go ahead Raph'
Raph looked to all of his brothers before he took a deep breath and started with his explanation: 'First of all, I want to say I'm sorry for running away for no apparent reason. By doing that, I almost got all of us killed' His brothers smiled at each other before Mikey said something: 'Yeah, bro. Next time you run away without thinking… think it through, would you?' Everyone started laughing, even Raph. Then Raph continued: 'And I also want to thank you guys for coming after me… especially Donnie for finding me in time. If you would have been only 2 minutes later…' He couldn't even finish his sentence.
Don looked at his older brother. He saw fear in his features. Not like when you saw a big spider in your bedroom, but the kind of fear when you think what might have happened if something went differently. He could almost see the worst scenario play behind his brother's eyes. He put his hand on his brother's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. Raph looked Donnie in the eyes, but didn't smile like Donnie expected him to do.
Raph looked back at the ground. He barely could find the courage to continue, but he also knew that if he didn't do it now, he would never get to it. 'And I also want to apologise to you, Donnie, for some other things' For the first time that day, he really looked into Don's eyes. Don was surprised by Raph, but also a little curious as to what he was going to say next.
Raph still looked in his eyes while he continued: 'I said some things today that I shouldn't have said. I didn't realise it until the moment I almost lost you… and when you guys almost lost me'
He looked at the rest of his brothers. Leo and Mikey were sitting cross legged on the floor next to each other. They were looking at him very strictly. 'When I was almost… you know…' Raph continued, 'I still heard what you guys said about me…' Leo, Mikey and Donnie looked at each other. They all shared the same thought: He heard that? Not good…
'Mikey', Raph said to his youngest brother 'You don't need me. You can handle things perfectly by yourself. Well, maybe not perfectly, but at least decent' 'Geez, Thanks Raph' Mikey rolled his eyes, but still smiled. It didn't happen very often that Raph said nice things like that. It gave him a warm feeling inside.
'And Leo?' Raph asked. Leo turned his attention back to his brother. 'Yes?', he replied.
'Since when do you think you need me?' Raph asked teasingly. Leo smirked a little: 'Since always. I just can't imagine my life without you… And before you mention it, yes I think you're strong. Not just in muscles, but also in the heart' This made Raph quiet for a moment. He needed some time to let it all sink in a little more. Finally, he managed to reply: 'Thanks Leo'. He gave his older brother a genuine smile.
But now, Raph knew that the hardest part was yet to come…
'Donnie' Raph started 'I need to clear something up here… I also heard what you said. Actually, that was what made me fight to stay alive' Donnie looked truly confused.
'I think we all have something to say to Donnie today' Leo added. Mikey nodded.
'It's not that we need you around to fix things' Leo said. 'Yeah', Mikey continued 'I think that master Splinter can also fix my videogames. It surely would take some more time, but I think it will work just as good'
'I don't need you as my technician, Don' Raph added
All the three brothers looked around because they heard a sort of a sniffle and some loud breaths.
When they looked to their genius brother, they saw that he was trying his hardest to hold back the tears. They all stood up and went to him.
'Hey, what's up?' Leo asked
'Did I say something wrong again?' Raph asked 'Man, this is so not my day!'
'Dude, talk to us' Mikey added 'What's wrong?'
'What's wrong?' Donnie asked perplexed 'what's wrong?! First, my brothers only need me as their 'handy man', but now I have even been replaced by master Splinter! So now I'm no longer to any use to any of you guys, you will kick me out of the lair and I will continue the rest of my life alone in the sewers. That's what you guys want, right?'
'WHAT?!...' Leo, Mikey and Raph yelled together.
They looked at each other with big eyes. They all knew what the others were thinking
Not good! SO NOT GOOD!...
Author's note: Thanks to everybody who still reads this! I'm completely open to reviews or ideas for the rest of the story. If you have got friends who might like this, send them the link to this story
If you have got suggestions, questions,… about me or my story, review or send me a private message. I will try to reply
