Chapter 11
Choices, Part Two
"If you must choose between her and us, choose her.
Because if you really loved us, there wouldn't be a choice."
Raph scoffed and glared at Leo. This was ridiculous. He was getting banned from going out with Mona, from his older brother! Not even his father! And yet, his father is sitting right there next to Leo, nodding along, as if this is okay!? Or something that is "sadly necessary"?!
Oh please.
Raph then shoved Leo.
"You're just mad that ya can't get a girl! Admit it!" He shouted angrily
"Seriously Raph? You think, you seriously think, I'm jealous?" Leo asked in disbelief.
He'd been at this with Raph for 20 minutes, just trying to get the hothead to see reason. Raph had been slacking off lately in training, staying out way past curfew, not helping around the household like he should; it was out of control! Even Sensei believed this was true, hence why he allowed Leo to step up and talk to his immediate younger brother. They were all getting sick of Raph's attitude lately.
"You are! Admit it! And stop acting like you're my father! Ya ain't!" He yelled, he was getting ready to tackle Leo, when Sensei decided to step in.
"Raphael!"
Sensei's voice was controlled, yet icy cold. The kind that always warned the boys when their father was getting serious.
"You will NOT be going out! Not at all! Understood?" He commanded.
Raph rolled his eyes but didn't respond.
"Understood?" He repeated louder, his voice sending chills down even Leo's back.
"... Understood." He grunted out. Raph turned tightly on his heel and stomped out of the living room and upstairs to his bedroom.
"Leonardo, go get ready to help me. We will start dinner."
"Hai Sensei." Leo responded, bowing out of habit. Especially after hearing Sensei's voice like that.
Raph got into his room and purposely slammed the door. He grumbled angrily before taking his pillow and throwing it across the room and slumping on his bed.
He heard knocking on his door.
"Raph?" It was Mikey's meek voice. He then slowly opened Raph's door. He'd been listening to the whole half hour argument.
"What is it?" Raph asked angrily.
"N-nothing." Mikey immediately shrunk away. He'd never heard Raph so angry, at him anyway. Normally, it was only annoyance.
"No, no, what is it?! You bug me now you don't even have tha guts ta say shit?!" Raph said, now officially pissed off. This side of Raph scared Mikey, leading Mikey to go wide eyed.
"S-sorry! I just thought that, maybe we could, hang out?" Mikey said, his voice going higher in fear at how Raph'd react. He wanted to brighten up his older brother when he'd knocked at his door earlier, now he wasn't so sure that was the smarted idea.
"Seriously? Just get tha fuck out!" He roared. Mikey jumped and left, closing the door behind him. He was terrified.
When Mikey left, Raph grumbled to himself before running a hand through his hair. He sighed and laid down, texting Mona his situation. He was supposed to meet her tonight so he could visit her parents and meet them. He himself wasn't too thrilled but Mona was. And he'd sworn on their relationship, that for Mona's sake and his love for her, he'd be there. And now, he couldn't.
And what really sucked is that before tonight, he was already SUPPOSED to have met her parents two times before this. Both times he'd say he was grounded and unable to come. The second time he'd said this, Mona found out he was lying, now, Raph actually wasn't lying.
Karma's a bitch. So's payback.
(Text Messages)
R: Can't make it 2nite
M: ?
R: Big bro and dad forbid me/grounded my ass…
M: SERIOUSLY!?
R: Look I'm sry k?
M: Sorry? That's all? You were supposed to show Raph!
R: How bout another time?
M: Raph…
R: pls?
M: Maybe it's time we went separate ways.
R: ? wtf are u talking about? I miss ONE thing, and now ur skipping out on me?
M: this ONE thing was to meet my PARENTS. And you swore. "On us", remember. Now, I don't think you're taking "us" seriously.
R: u r fucking kidding me, right? I luv u Mona. Jesus, why can't u give me a second chance…
M: I already have before, remember? This is the third time I've asked you, and now you're making this dumb excuse up, the third time. Same excuse as last time, and the one before. If you can't take "us" seriously, maybe we should stop dating.
R: u kno what? FUCK u Mona. I didn't kno I'd be FUCKING grounded! Now I'm the one in trouble! Fuck you then. If u can't take my word for it, then maybe we ARE done. If I'm such a liar, ur such a horrible gf for being unable to trust me! :(
M: I'm unable to trust you? I thought our relationship was strong. Then I found out you're untrustable Raph. You know what? Look at what you've done and are doing before you start saying I'M untrustable. Grow Up.
R: .
M: Fine then. Never loved you anyways, not like it mattered.
(Text Messages END)
Raph growled angrily and threw his phone across the room with great force. Thankfully, it landed on the pillow he'd thrown earlier, talk about irony.
Raph squeezed his eyes tight. He'd broken up with Mona. A girl he actually liked, and not just because she was hot either. Her personality was so similar to Raph's it killed him. Raph found himself struggling with hot tears and a weird stinging sensation in the back of his throat.
'I hate love', he thought. He felt hurt, sad, and angry all at the same time.
The door opened just as Raph let some tears, very stubborn ones, flow. Leo popped his head in but the minute he saw Raph crying, he dropped his lecture mode and put on Big Brother mode. If Raph was crying, something was wrong, very wrong.
"Raph?" He asked softly.
"GO AWAY! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Raph roared. He turned his hurt and sadness into pure rage and charged at Raph. Leo predicted this though, and launched himself into Raph. He forced Raph and him to hug as Raph tried fighting Leo's embrace. But Raph realized that despite him looking stronger than Leo, the minute Leo was in Big Brother mode, Leo became strongest. Raph was like this with Donnie and Mikey, even though they are never, and never will be, stronger than Raph.
It was an older brother thing.
Leo held Raph strongly as he whispered, "It's okay. What happened? If this is my fault, I promise you, I'll do my best to fix it. What happened Raph?" He questioned calmly.
"I-I-... I was supposed ta meet Mona's parents today Leo. And this is the third time I've blown it off. Except before, I told the same lie, twice. My father grounded me. And I swore this time that I'd…" Raph trailed off. Before pushing Leo away roughly.
"I promised on us. Us Leo. That I'd come today. That I loved her and wouldn't lie, not again. What happened is that we broke up! We're through Leo! And I- I loved her!" Raph yelled, his voice cracking from the raw emotions in it. They'd been together for months now. Months.
"Raph. Raph come here." Leo said softly. He drew Raph in for a hug.
"Raph, I promised you that I'm going to try and fix this. I will, don't worry. I'll call Mona up and tell her that I actually have been grounding you, along with Sensei. Okay? Don't worry Otouto. Don't worry." He soothed.
"Th-thank ya Leo… Really. I'm sorry for yelling at ya."
"It's okay. I get it, you love her, a lot. But Raph, I think you don't just owe me and father an apology."
"What?" Raph asked quietly. He pulled away gently as Leo grabbed his wrist and guided him over to Raph's bed. They both sat down as Raph looked at Leo, confused.
"I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings or start anything Raph." Leo began, his eyes soft and caring. "But Mikey and Donnie, are well, feeling bad. I see it. I don't know all the reasons and causes, but I do know they're hurting. And missing you. I mean, I know you're never home before Mona, but now? We don't even see you. Not at training, or doing chores, or even at breakfast or dinner. You don't talk to anyone unless it's to tell us off or tell us you're leaving or going out with Mona. How would you feel if one of us left all the time and never seemed to have time for you or anyone else." Leo paused to let Raph soak all this in.
He continued as Raph's eyes hardened with guilt.
"Mikey and Don feel, well, abandoned. You were just protecting them from bullies, now, it's like you don't even notice them. I get you love Mona Raph. But, family comes first. You know that, right?"
"Yea. I do. I'm sorry Leo, I'm so fucking sorry."
Leo hugged Raph as he saw Raph clench his fists.
"Raph, it's okay, you're not a bad person because of a mistake. We're human. We make mistakes. But what makes you a good person, is when you fix those mistakes."
As he said this, he pulled Raph away at barley arms length. He looked him in the eyes and held his shoulders tightly.
"Do you understand? Know what you have to do?"
"Yeah. I'll get to it."
"Great." Leo said, giving a small smile. "I'll call up Mona and clear things up. And since you realize the consequences of your actions, I'll even cover up the past lies you made and tell her you were actually grounded those days." He said, and smirked as Raph smiled despite himself.
Raph tried to hide his smile but couldn't help it. "Thanks Leo."
"No problem."
They both got up and went separate ways.
Raph slowly opened Mikey's door. He wasn't expected to see Mikey and Don both on Mikey's bed, cross-legged, playing a game of Uno.
"Oh hey Raphie!" Mikey cheered happily. As if the incident earlier never had happened. The fact that Mikey was like this, even after the way he'd treated him, made Raph saddened.
Don, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"So, what do you want? Let me guess, sneaking out and you want us to cover up your escape?" Don's voice was snarky. Way more snarky than Raph'd expected.
"Um, uh, no. Actually, I came to, er, apologize."
That made Don and Mike's eyes go wide.
"For what?" Mikey asked.
"For what Don just said. I don't eva talk ta ya guys anymore. Don't do what I'm supposed, nuthing. And I'm sorry. So ta make it up ta ya, I'll spend as much time, anytime, doing anything, with ya guys. Deal?"
Don looked at Raph and glared.
"That's it? You'll spend time with us today, then go back to abandoning us? Whatever. I'm not going to get my hopes up on false statements." Don said angrily.
"Don, please. I ain't joking no more. I actually want ta spend time with ya guys. Plus, her and I, we ain't even together for tha moment." Raph added sadly.
"Really?" Don asked, eyes wide.
Raph rolled his eyes, "What does it look like brainiac?" He snapped.
But regretted it when Mikey jumped up and ran towards Raph. He threw his arms around Raph's neck, basically jumping to reach, and hugged his older brother.
"I'm sorry Raphie."
"Hey, I'm good. I don't need to be coddled." He said defiantly, but ending up wrapping his arms around Mikey and patting his back.
Don finally moved. He got up and went to Raph, Mikey having been detached by then. The two looked at each other before Raph walked towards Don and hugged him.
"I love ya Don."
"I- I love you too. Raphie." He added, smiling contently.
"I'm sorry about Mona."
"It's alright. Plus, there's still a chance. Mind telling me what else is making ya two dorks upset. Besides the fact that I'm basically failing as an older brother." He added with a smirk.
"You're not a failure of an older brother. And, for the record, I think you're an actually good older brother, when not love sick."
"Oh haha." Raph said rolling his eyes.
"Well, I guess, I've been missing you." Mikey said softly, looking at Raph with big baby blue eyes.
"Awe, missed ya too little buddy." Raph said, hugging Mikey.
"Well from here on out, I ain't going to treat a girl first. Even if it's the best girl in tha girl and I get back with Mona. Ya guys are first. Family comes before anything." He kissed Mikey's forehead.
"And, I admit, I'm a tiny, itty, bitty, bit jealous." Don admitted, blushing.
"Seriously, what, of Mona?" Raph asked, running a hand through his hair.
"Well her, but not her exactly." Don took a deep breath before continuing. "You got the girl. I still can't get April to like me. Even though I said I got over her, I can't help it. Everytime I see her even just around Casey, I can't take it. I wasn't able to get the girl, you were." He finished. Don took off his glasses to wipe his eyes quickly before putting them back on.
"Don-"
"I know, it's selfish. But, I also missed you. You used to be a great body guard you know." He teased, smirking to cover up his pain.
Raph moved forward and slapped Don up the back of his head gently.
"Don, if you think I'm gonna ignore what ya just said, you're the dumb one. First off, you'll find someone that'll like ya back Don. Ya know, the whole "Plenty of fish in the sea" shit. And second, April just wasn't into ya. It's fine, plus, she sees ya as a brother, ya know that right?"
Don sighed as he look at Raph's intense eyes. Raph's eyes shone with passion to make Don feel better, and he knew it.
"Yeah, I'm not her type right? I'm no one's unless they're into nerds." He murmured.
"Don, ya ain't just a nerd. Ya can fight guys twice as big as ya, even if ya ain't the strongest of us. So, yer smart and a good fighter. What's not ta love? Ya might not be as strong compared to me or Leo, but still strong all the same. Get what I'm saying Don?" He said caringly.
"Yeah, Raph. Thanks." He said blushing. Never, had he ever heard his older brother speak with such passion for him.
Raph patted him on the back before saying, "Alright, now that tha sap shit is done, let's actually do something. Any ideas?"
"Skateboarding!" Mikey cried immediately.
"How about, dinner?" Came a new voice.
All three boys jumped a little, or in Mikey's case, screamed and jumped all the way behind Raph, as Leo smirked from the doorway. His arms folded as he leaned against the door frame.
"Seriously, eva heard of 'knocking'? Ya came inta my room without knocking, now yer doing it ta me again? Why is knocking such a struggle for ya?" Raph vented.
Leo laughed. "I'm the eldest, I can enter any of your guys' rooms if I want." He grinned as a pillow from Don hit his face, Mikey whined, and Raph went to Leo and socked Leo's shoulder.
"My sons!" Came Sensei's call. All four boys winced, knowing they'd waited to long. As the four brothers headed down, Raph felt Leo and him drift behind the other two.
"So, how'd it go?" Raph asked anxiously.
Leo sighed. "She's thinking about it."
Raph frowned and Leo patted him on the back.
"Plenty of fish in the sea." Leo repeated, giving a reassuring smile towards Raph. Raph found himself "accidently" smiling back.
As the boys all had dinner with their father, Raph realized that he had been missing out.
"Oh, C'mon Mikey!"
"Sorry! Lemme clean that up for you Donny!"
"Nevermind my shirt! Look at my glasses! They're smeared!"
"Calm down Don."
"No Leo!"
Raph smiled softly as his three brothers bickered. Well, more like Mikey and Don bickered and Leo try to calm the fire.
Yeah, he'd been missing out for a while.
A/N:
Hey guys, I know this is turning Raph centric, but I wanna focus on him more for whatever reason. I just love his tough older brother attitude I guess.
Btw, in case you're wondering, this human AU is a mix of 0'3 and '12 turtles. I'm sorry if I'm slow with updates, that's the way I am, especially with summer school :/
Really sorry.
Also; THANK YOU ALL SO FUCKING MUCH FOR THE LOVE
LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU ALL AS WELL (Heart XD)
I really hope everything goes well with you guys, don't worry, more drama is to come XD
But at least Raphie's problems are solved, right?
….. You know what, don't hold me to it.
