Chapter Six
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Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT
The next morning, Don was disappointed to see just a couple of cereal boxes on the kitchen table. Mikey usually made a big effort to make every meal different or at least varied. He ignored the upset feeling he had – he was being selfish. Mikey was injured, after all. He'd checked over Mikey's ribcage and thankfully it seemed as though nothing had broken – just bruised. He had no doubt that if Mikey were human, he'd have several broken ribs and probably a punctured lung too. He thanked any deities there were for the built in natural armour they'd been born with.
"Morning, Mikey," Don smiled. He sat down at the table, opposite his little brother. Mikey looked up from his own cereal. The milk had turned brown. It made Don feel slightly sick. How could anyone subject themselves to so much sugar and chocolate so early in the morning? He grabbed his coffee like a lifeline and smiled. He wasn't one to talk – his caffeine intake would probably give Mikey's sugar addiction a run for its money.
"Morning, bro," Mikey mumbled. His eyes looked heavy, like they were just waiting to droop shut. They looked odd on Mikey's face. They were usually seen gracing the faces of any one of his brothers. The only time Don recalled bags under his little brother's eyes was when he'd had a nightmare about Bishop the night after they were rescued from the Agent's lab. Donnie didn't want to push Mikey about what was bothering him. If he wanted to talk about it he'd do it in his own time. Asking Mikey about his problems was like locking down a high security vault and throwing away anything that could help re open it. Don sipped his coffee.
"Leo and Raph aren't back yet," Mikey commented. Don looked genuinely surprised.
"Really? That means neither of us won that bet then, huh?" he smiled. Mikey did not smile in return.
"Don, why didn't he save me?" Mikey asked suddenly. His blue eyes flashed with hurt .
"He did save you, Mike," Don frowned.
"Not Leo... I meant Raph! He was right there... and then he wasn't." Mikey sighed.
"Raph... disappeared?" Don asked. His voice rose to a level of real curiosity and Mike shifted uncomfortably.
"He never said what happened to him last night and he wasn't injured, so why didn't he save me?" Mikey rubbed at a dint in the table, his eyes fixed on the spot. Don recognised it as a nervous habit.
"Maybe... Mikey... I need to..." Donnie sighed. This new information Mikey had introduced gave the possibility that his little brother would heal alone. He didn't need prodding in the right direction as Leo kept suggesting. "He was probably fighting off his own Purple Dragon thugs and then the police came."
"But... Donnie... Raph must have seen Hun coming for me. He had to have been watching!" Mikey cried. "What happened to teamwork and looking out for each other, huh? When did that get less important?"
Don sighed. "Mikey I'm sure that Raph was pre-occupied somehow." He found it hard to talk to Mikey these days. He felt like he was spouting a constant lie. Mikey frowned, unhappy with the answer and ate his cereal which had now gone soggy.
Later that day, at around three o'clock, the door to their lair flew wide open and Mikey heard two sets of footsteps stomping inside. One of them jumped to the upper level and a door slammed – that would be Raph. Leo headed for the kitchen. Mikey could feel the tension and it was as strong as before. Don was practically hiding in the couch cushions now. Mikey wished everyone would stop acting this way and get back to normal. He grinned at Don.
"They came back together so does that mean Leo's lecture lasted twelve hours? Dude, that is pure torture," He laughed. Don didn't think it was funny apparently. Leo came out of the kitchen with a bottle of water, screwing the lid back on.
"Michelangelo, we need to chat. Alone," he looked at Don who gave him an urgent look. Leo's poker face didn't shift and Don reluctantly headed off to his lab. As soon as he'd disappeared, Leo's gaze shifted back to Mikey who suddenly felt slightly worried. Was he about to be lectured for twelve hours too? Surely Leo would need some sleep at some point, right? Leo grabbed him by the arm and marched him to the dojo.
"I need to know why you decided to go out last night," Leo sighed. It looked like it was taking up a lot of effort to keep calm. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and he still wasn't wearing his mask. Mikey frowned.
"We decided to go out because-"
"No!" Leo snapped. "I want to know why you went out last night."
"Because Raph-"
"Raph has nothing to do with this, Mikey." Leo ground out through his teeth. He was trying desperately not to lose his patience but the lack of sleep and the events of the past week were catching up with him now.
"Raph has everything to do with it. I don't get it, Leo," Mikey pleaded. He hated being left in the dark when something was going on. He knew something was wrong here but he couldn't figure out what it was. "Raph always goes out on his own, Leo, I don't get why you're so angry this time. What makes it any different?"
"Raphael isn't healed." Leo growled out.
"How do you know? You haven't even talked to each other properly. Donnie checked his leg," Mikey asked raising his voice slightly. "He's been healed up for-"
"Did you see Donnie check on Raph?" Leo asked suddenly. Mikey laughed. Why would he watch Don check Raph for injuries?
"No... why? Don't you believe Donnie?"
"I don't believe Donnie because I know for a fact that he hasn't checked on Raphael since the night it happened."
"Well he did – Raph told me that Don had checked on him like every day since it happened and-"
"No he hasn't, Michelangelo!" Leo raised his voice to match Mikey's. Mikey growled.
"You're being and idiot, Leo. You've acted like a jerk to him ever since that night! Yeah, he disobeyed your orders, but whatever! He always does. You're acting like this is a big deal! You're making drama out of nothing!"
"No I'm not!" Leo yelled. Mikey continued.
"You're even annoying Donnie, Leo! You're ignoring the fact that everyone's okay and nothing happened, and you're ignoring that Raph has healed because you're bitter! You want to make him look like he was in the wrong, when really he saved us all! You're the problem, Leo!"
"Oh? I'm the problem am I?" Leo asked, dryly. "Yeah that makes a lot of sense. When Raphael decided to go alone in that fight it almost cost us two lives, Mikey! You could have died and then what would Donnie and I have done?"
"I wouldn't have died, because we were working as a team!"
"The fact that you did something so stupid doesn't get cancelled out when you mention the word team! Where was he last night when you needed rescuing?"
Mikey sighed. He calmed down slightly. Leo still looked crazy.
"He didn't have my back last night, Leo, I-"
Leo growled and felt all the anger from the past few weeks shoot through his veins. "That's because he wasn't there!"
"Yeah he was. Donnie said he must have been pre-occupied with-"
"No! Mikey I've had it with all this! I can't stand it anymore. I tried to do what Donnie said and it's not working. Raph wasn't there."
"Ugh! I can't deal with you right now, Leo. Talk to me when you've decided to say sorry or something. I'm gonna go and see Raph."
"You can't go and see Raphael! He isn't in his room, he isn't even in the lair! He died! He finally did something so reckless that he got himself killed! He isn't here! It's in your head! He's dead, Mikey!"
